Valka ran through hallways, leading Hiccup as the young viking followed behind her. Toothless, who was now up once again, following them closely.
"Ah, ho-hold on! Wait just a minute! Would you-" Hiccup yelled out as he tried to keep up with her.
As Hiccup chases after his mother through the caves he is steadily ignored. Valka swiftly jumps on the rocks ahead of him, motioning for him to follow.
"This way." Valka called out.
"Come back here!" Hiccup yelled out.
"Come!" Valka insisted before moving forward.
"You can't just say something like that and run off." Hiccup said as he climbed on the rocks after her, while Toothless came after him. "You're my mother!? I mean what the - Do you, do you grasp how insane it sounds?"
They reach a steep slope that Valka climbs in seconds. "Come quickly." She calls out.
"I have questions! Where have you been all this time?" Hiccup says as he attempts to climb after her but slips. So Toothless pushes him from behind with his snout. Hiccup tumbles forward and gets back on his feet right after. He mumbles a quick 'thank you' to Toothless before keep going.
" What've you been doing? They said you were dead. Everybody thinks you were eaten by a..." Hiccup stops in mid sentence as he and Toothless get out in an open, sunlit cavern where hundreds of Dragons are flying around frozen structures covered in greenery.
As they step out, Hiccup and Toothless glance at a group of baby Gronckles playing nearby. They both step back when a huge Dragon flies right over them. Hiccup smiles at the multitude of dragons flying freely in the open space and gets closer to the rim where from above there is a creek seen running down the edge.
"Hiccup, look." Toothless points up.
And Hiccup gasps seeing the same Storm-cutter from earlier hanging from the ceiling, his mother also holding into it. The rust coloured Dragon croons as it tilts its head to look at them.
"This is where you've been for 20 years?" Hiccup asks, amazed by all he has seen.
Valka observes him carefully, her face alight with happiness, hope and a twinge of fear. She smiles and nods. Behind Hiccup, Toothless sits down on his hind legs and is approached by a green dragon.
" You, you've been rescuing them."
Valka looks around and nods again.
"Unbelievable!"
"You're not upset?" Valka asks.
"What? No, I don't know..." Hiccup says "It's a bit much to get my head around to be frank. It's not every day you find out your mother is some kind of crazy, feral, vigilante, dragon lady."
Valka chuckles at that. "Oh...At least I'm not boring, right?"
The Storm Cutter offers Valka a claw that she hooks her staff around and she is lowered down, sliding on a wing. Hiccup looks down as a dragon bumps his shoulder. He is hesitant to touch it but gives in when it continues.
" Well, I suppose there is that. One specific thing..." Hiccup says.
"Do you-Do you like it?" Valka asks as she approaches him unsurely.
"I-I-I don't have the words..." Hiccup replied.
Meanwhile, Toothless is surrounded by curious dragons. One dragon sniffs him down the tail and then lifts him up with its snout. Toothless is stunned as he finds himself supported only by his front paws. He roars and they back off.
Valka gets closer to him, hunching down.
"Can-Can I?" Vlaka glances at Hiccup. At Hiccup's approval she crouches and lets down her staff. "Oh, he's beautiful." she says as she lifts a hand for him to sniff then traces the small spines on his head. Toothless laughs along with her and nuzzles her cheek. "Oh, incredible."
Hiccup watches them get along and smiles. Valka stands on her knees and keeps the Nightfury's head in her hands.
"He might very well be the last of his kind."
Toothless walks around her and puts his head underneath her arm for more attention. He rolls on his back in her lap as she scratches him.
"And look, he's your age!"
"Wow!" Hiccup couldn't help but be amazed by his mother's knowledge in Dragon anatomy.
"No wonder you get along so well!" She says.
Toothless was in much better spirits. The female human was very nice and entertaining. It was quite obvious she would be, since she was the mother of his brother in arms.
They stand in front of each other again, Valka tipping her head up and down like Toothless and mimicking his yelps. She laughs and Toothless, having classified her as no threat retracts his teeth.
"Retractable teeth?" Valka gasps and sticks her head in Toothless' mouth and slowly pets his tongue. "How did you manage...?"
Hiccup's smile dropped as he was reminded of the circumstances under which he met Toothless. "I found him in the woods. He was shot down and...wounded."
Valka frowns as she stands while Hiccup sheepishly fidgets on the spot. She walks to a light and brown Snafflefang and runs her hand down its jaw.
"This Snafflefang lost his leg to an iron trap." She says. She then stands down to grab her staff and goes to another Dragon. "This Rain Cutter got his wing sliced by razor netting." She moves over to a Hobblegrunt "And this...oh, poor Hobblegrunt was blinded by a tree snare... She carefully pets the pink-violet dragon and it leans into her touch, turning yellow-green "And then left to die alone and scared."
Hiccup nods along with her when she points to Toothless' prosthetic fin.
"And what of this? Did trappers do this too?" Her voice turns cold and hard as she grips the leather and examines it.
"Ooohh...hehe, yeah... Huh, well crazy thing is..." Hiccup nervously said. He swings his arms awkwardly as he walks closer to his dragon "I... am actually the one who shot him down." He goes on more cheerfully at Valka's confused look "It's-It's okay though... he got me back, right bud?" Toothless shakes his head happily in Hiccup's arms as he keeps running his hands over his scales. "You couldn't save all of me, could you? You just had to make it even. So..." He throws an arm around the dragon's neck and lifts his left foot, freeing it from the boot and showing off his prosthetic "Peg leg!"
Toothless shakes him off and dives down between his legs, throwing the Viking on his back as he laughs nervously. Valka, just as uncomfortable, gets on her knees to touch Toothless again.
"What did your father think of your Nightfury friend?"
"Uh...he-he didn't take it all that well." Hiccup admitted. "I actually ran away from Berk when he found out about this."
Valka gasped as she heard this. She had come across her son's vigilante form sometimes in the past, but back then she didn't know who the person behind that mask was. And now that she knew that her son was the 'Night rider', she was saddened by his circumstances.
"For five years I was away, thinking that nothing could be done. But then, under some circumstances, we met again. And he changed. They all did. And pretty soon, everybody back home had Dragons of their own." Hiccup finished.
A crease of disapproval crosses Valka's face as she listens and then scoffs,"If only it were all possible."
"No. Really!" Hiccup insisted
"Believe me!" Valka said "I tried as well but people are not capable of change, Hiccup." She sits up and looks at him and then at her Dragon. "Some of us are just born different."
"Berk was a land of kill or be killed." Valka said "But I believed peace was possible. It was a very unpopular opinion. Then, one night, a Dragon broke into our house finding you in the cradle." She let out a shaky breath and continued with her story "I rushed to protect you. But what I saw was proof of everything I believed." She looked at her Storm-cutter "What I saw wasn't a vicious beast, but an intelligent, gentle creature whose soul reflected my own."
Valka closed her eyes as memories of that night rushed in her mind. Memories of her trying to de-escalate the situation, of a Dragon getting in her house, memories of rushing in that house with a sword in her arms to protect her child, memories of seeing the Storm-cutter playing with her baby son.
Memories of how she saw a reflection of herself in the eyes of the beast. Memories of how Stoick came in to protect her and their son, telling her to run as he leapt to save Hiccup.
Memories of Stoick calling out her name as she was carried away by the Dragon.
"You and your father nearly died that night..." Valka said, her voice heavy with emotions "All because I couldn't kill a dragon."
"Runs in the family..." Hiccup comments.
"It broke my heart to stay away," Valka turned towards her son "But I believed it would be safer if I did."
"How did you survive?" Hiccup couldn't help but ask.
Valka smiled at that question. "Oh, Cloudjumper never meant to harm me." She took Hiccup's hand and began walking, cueing him to walk with her "He must've thought I belonged in the home of the great Bewilderbeast."
They walk closer to the edge. Down below, in a pool of water, is a huge, white creature with giant tusks and hundreds of long spikes jutting out from the back of his head and all over his back. Hiccup gasps at the sight of such a magnificent creature.
"The Alpha species, one of the few that still exists." Valka says as Dragons fly around the great Bewilderbeast and bow down to him when they get close.
"I've never seen one from this close before." Hiccup says.
"Every Nest has its Queen but this, this is the King of all dragons." Valka continues "With his icy breath this graceful giant built our Nest. A safe haven for dragons everywhere."
Valka points with her staff at the ice covered roof of the cave while they walk down.
"Wait, he's an ice-spitter?" Hiccup asks as something clicks in his head "He's responsible for that destruction in the northern sea?"
"Only to protect us." Valka said "We all live under his care and his command."
Behind them, a group of hatchlings appear out of the foliage and converge on a frightened and annoyed Toothless.
"All but the babies of course. They listen to no one." Valka finishes with a chuckle. Hiccup smiles too, seeing the misery of his companion.
The Nightfury is eventually saved by Cloudjumper, who scares them off.
Valka laughs as the babies fly and hang on the King's face, unbothered whatsoever. The dragon rises and spins to look at them. On the hill they are on. Valka bows down, while Hiccup looks at the giant's head and even Toothless is mesmerised as he keeps staring at the giant.
"I've lived among them for twenty years, Hiccup." Valka says as the Bewilderbeast stands right in front of Hiccup. "... discovering their secrets."
The giant puffs a breath out that covers the two humans. Hiccup, being closer, ends up with his hair covered in frost as his mother laughs merrily.
"He likes you." She tells him.
Hiccup shakes his head, letting the frost fall down and gasps at the impressive creature as it moves away.
"You must be hungry." Valka suddenly said.
"Ah, yeah. I could eat." Hiccup admits.
"Good. It's feeding time." Valka says, leaving Hiccup confused as she gently takes her son's arm and guides him back.
Sometimes later, the four-winged Dragon twirls in the sky, followed closely by a smaller black Dragon. Both of them have humans on their backs. Hiccup glances behind at the large number of dragons that come behind them.
"Hey, I-I thought we were going to eat?" Hiccup questions, looking back at his mother.
"Oh, we are!" Valka exclaims.
Valka and Cloudjumper turn around and she laughs as she holds up a hand, signalling them to stop. The two dragons pause in midair. Valka looks below and Hiccup follows her gaze. Below them, he sees the water churning as multiple sea Dragons move out of that area. Soon, two huge tusks push out of the sea and the Bewilderbeast's massive head shows up, thousands of fish caught in his mouth. In the next moment, the fish are spat out in the sky making it seem like it's raining fish.
Valka is watching in glee her son's surprise and all around the Dragons from the sanctuary dash to catch up a good meal.
Toothless is visibly overjoyed, licking his jaws and glancing at Hiccup for the say-so. The Viking waves his hand and that's all it takes. With a roar, the Nightfury dives down, the speed forcing Hiccup on his back. He gets a grip on the saddle when Toothless rights himself over the sea, dozens of fish caught in his mouth as the Dragon closes his eyes in bliss.
After the eating was done, Hiccup was gladly showing Valka the map he always carries with him, showing various places he has been to.
"And then from Dragon Island I found this archipelago..." HiHiccup stops mid sentence as he glances at his mother.
Valka doesn't seem to be listening, too busy dragging lines over the ice with her staff. From above the shapes look like islands and other lands.
"There." Valka smiles, and Hiccup eagerly busies himself drawing up the new location in his map.
Their attention is soon caught by Toothless, who passes by in front of them with a shard of ice in his mouth, carving his own drawing on the ice.
Hiccup and Valka chuckle at his attempts as he goes around Cloudjumper, the Storm-cutter turning his head around like an owl as he follows Toothless's movements. When Toothless stops, his tongue remains stuck on the ice, no matter how much he tries to shake it off, earning some laughter from the humans.
Later, Valka, Hiccup and their dragons are floating in the air and are kept there by an air current that is forced up by the shore cliffs. They are joined by more Dragons and they all float around each other.
Valka steps over Cloudjumper's wings, hopping on a Nadder underneath them and then sliding down over another Dragon. She walks over its back then hooks her staff over the horns of a Snafflefang and hangs on its side as it circles around Toothless and Hiccup.
The Viking watches his mother in awe as she does her stunts.
Valka lets go when she's above them and ambles elegantly on the outstretched wings of the Night Fury, leaping over Hiccup and ruffling his hair and then slipping down only to come back up on top of her Storm-cutter.
The two pairs fly away from the rest of the dragons.
"Oh, when I'm up here I don't even feel the cold," Valka says "I just feel..."
"Free!" Hiccup suggested.
They look at each other and smile. Valka takes a deep breath and opens her arm wide.
"This is what it is to be a dragon, Hiccup." She exclaims.
Hiccup grins. "Well, it's good and all to call yourself a dragon." He unhooks himself from Toothless's saddle and sits up "But can you fly?"
With that Hiccup lets himself fall down from Toothless's back.
Gasping in worry, Valka looks down. Hiccup opens the leather wings of his suit and to both his mother's and Cloudjumper's astonishment, glides up in the air, flying.
Toothless stares at the Storm-cutter with a signature look of superiority, until he is reminded of how reckless his friend is and lunges after him to provide air support.
Hiccup whoops as he turns to glide on his back. He blinks when he doesn't see his mother. But then she appears out of nowhere on his side from below. When he turns back around he sees a giant rock in front of him.
"Oh no! Not again! Oohhh!" Hiccup yells out, unable to manoeuvre his way out this time.
But Toothless reaches him in time to wrap his wings around him and they both plummet through an opening in the rock and down its snow covered side. When Toothless opens his wings to check on him, he almost gets a heart attack seeing Hiccup isn't there. He panics for a second until Hiccup jumps out of the snow with a cheer. He hoots in excitement despite the dragon's exasperation.
"Man, almost! We just about had it that time." He exclaims.
Toothless sneezes when snow falls on his head from his friend's jumping. He was not amused. His growling displeasure was starting to reach an unsettling level. That Human was much too careless to be anything other than a hatchling. An annoying, reckless, disobedient hatchling who needs to be looked after all the time. By the Gods, he wanted to knock him on the head until the stupidity would flee out of him.
Toothless scowls and brushes his tail under Hiccup's feet knocking him on his back.
"Ugh!" He grunted.
Hiccup stands up, removing snow from his armour, Valka lands and runs to his side touching the suit.
"Incredible!" She praises.
"Well, you're not bad yourself." Hiccup complements.
As she keeps touching the wings, her hands wander to his shoulders and face. She hesitates for a moment before she puts her hand on his cheek and stares at him with eyes full of love. Hiccup closes his eyes at her gentle touch.
" All this time you took after me." Valka said as her gaze moved down and her fingers stopped brushing through his hair as her voice took a forlorn tone "And where was I? I am so sorry, Hiccup. Can... we start over?"
At his silence, Valka looks down at her feet.
In that moment Hiccup was overwhelmed by feelings he would never have connected with family even if, by all means, they were. Since Stoick was the only family he had, excluding Gobber, he never had much experience in showing or receiving affection. He was trying not to fidget but he couldn't help the slight tremble in his limbs and the hitch in his throat.
Yes! Of course he would forgive her! Gods, he wouldn't say no to such a miracle! It was his mother after all and she was accepting him. If anything, it looked like she was having problems accepting herself!
"Will you give me another chance?" She asks again.
Hiccup meets her glance with a shy smile. "Mom, I will give you another chance. You thought staying away was the best thing to do for my sake, considering how unpopular your opinion was in the beginning."
Valka was overjoyed and relieved as she heard her son.
"I-I can teach you all that I learned all these past 20 years." She offered "Like..." She walks near Toothless while Hiccup gathers the wings of the suit back. She presses the back of his neck right behind the frills.
"Oh... that's good! A little more of that please!" Toothless croons happily.
Suddenly, the spines on his back split in two, forming a pronounced, aerodynamic 'V' down the length of his back and tail. Toothless wriggles his body surprised.
"Now you can make those tight turns." Valka says.
Toothless shudders, as if experiencing a much-needed chiropractic adjustment.
"Look, Hiccup, look! Look at what she did!" He yelled out excitedly.
He bounds over to Hiccup, giddily retracting and splaying his dorsal blades like a kid with a new toy.
"Isn't it cool!?"
"Did you know about this?" Hiccup couldn't help but ask.
Toothless seems to ignore him as he claps the spines close and open, looking like an overzealous puppy.
"Every dragon has its secrets. And I'll show them all to you." Valka says as she walks over to Hiccup and the two watch the Nightfury jump and spin and bury himself in the snow under Cloudjumper's careful eye. "We'll unlock every mystery; find every last species together, as mother and son."
"This gift we share, Hiccup, it bonds us. This is who you are, son. Who we are. We will change the world for all dragons. We will make it a better, safer place."
"Yeah...I mean, that sounds amazing." Hiccup said.
Valka pulls him into a hug. A forceful hug, bursting with emotion. Hiccup takes a moment to comprehend that he was actually hugged by his mother before wrapping his arms around her back too. Valka draws him near, her eyes tearing up as they share a cathartic moment.
Hiccup finally peels away from her.
"Mom, you have to come home." He says.
Valka looked down at that. "As much as I'd love to, I don't think I can Hiccup."
She was about to turn away when Hiccup stepped in front of her, making her stare at him.
"Mom, I know how you're feeling,what you're thinking. But trust me on this, Berk truly has changed." Hiccup insisted.
Getting no response from his mother, Hiccup continued,"When I left Berk, I also thought they would never change, never take the peaceful option. But I was wrong. People do change, mom. Even the most stubborn, boar headed ones do. Sometimes for the worse, but also for the best too."
Hearing his words, Valka looked up at her son.
"Please mom. I have regretted not trying and it caused our family to break even more. I beg you, don't make the same mistake as me." Hiccup pleaded.
Valka just kept staring at her son, unsurety flickering in her eyes.
...
"Boar-headed! Just like his mother. She could never stay put either." Stoick's booming voice echoed through the surrounding as he and Gobber walked down the meadow just outside the village.
"Eh, he's just twenty. And a Viking. I mean, it couldn't be the worst combination." Gobber says in an attempt to cheer his friend "Hah, when I think of how stubborn and senseless ya were back in the day." His expression switches to a hopeless one "Huh, now not much has changed actually."
Stoick glares at Gobber and looks towards the horizon as he sighs. "I'm just worried about him Gobber. I fear that one of these days he will get himself into a trouble way too big for him to handle."
Gobber puts his hand on Stoick's shoulder. "Don't worry buddy. He is yar son. That bore headed lad can handle anything thrown at 'im."
Stoick chuckles a little at his friend's response. "You should go Gobber. I'll return a while later."
Gobber nodded and gave him a pat on the shoulder before turning away. Stoick remained there, staring at the sky and lost in his own thoughts. He sighed. While he knew Hiccup was more than capable of handling himself, Stoick still couldn't help but worry about him.
He was his father after all. It was his job to worry about his son. And with their relationship newly mended, Stoick was even more concerned for Hiccup.
Suddenly, he heard Hiccup's voice,"Oh, dad! There you are! I've been looking for you!"
Stoick turned around and saw his son in flesh, just a few paces away, jogging towards him.
"Hiccup! Where in the nine realms were you? Do you have any idea how worried I was?" Stoick exclaimed, seeing his son.
"Look dad, I'll explain everything later. But first you have to come with me." Hiccup urgently said.
Then, without waiting for a response, he grabbed Stoick's arm and began practically dragging Stoick as he quickly made his way into the woods.
"Hiccup, what is the meaning of this!?" Stoick demanded.
"Nothing. I just got a surprise for you dad." Hiccup replied as they came into a clearing and stopped.
"Oh no, no more surprises! Ya can-" Stoick stops mid sentence as he sees something.
He gasps as if he saw a ghost. Before him stood Valka, his beloved wife. He removes his helmet slowly as he keeps staring at her.
"I know what you're going to say, Stoick. How could I have done this? Stayed away all these years. And why didn't I come back to you? To our son." Valka says, rattled.
Stoick steps towards her, wide-eyed and speechless.
"Well, what sign did I have that you could change, Stoick? That anyone on Berk could? I pleaded so many times to stop the fighting, to find another answer, but did any of you listen?"
Stoick continues to close the gap, mesmerised. With every step, Valka becomes increasingly flustered.
"I know that I left you to raise Hiccup alone... but thought he'd be better off without me. And I was wrong, I see that now, but..." Valka tearfully says as she starts backing away until her back is pressed against a tree.
Now with nowhere to go, and Stoick just a few paces away, Valka was on the verge of breaking down.
"Oh, stop being so stoic, Stoick. Go on... shout, scream, SAY SOMETHING!" She screams at him, but gasps as Stoick raises his hand to her face and caresses her cheek.
"You're as beautiful as the day I lost you." He lovingly says.
His words snuff her retort, rendering her speechless. She softens despite herself, yielding her cheek to his palm. He caresses her skin as a reluctant tear runs through his fingers. He leans down and gently kisses her and doesn't resist.
Behind them, Hiccup smiles, seeing his family whole once again after a very long time.
...
A boat sails towards an unknown destination under the night sky. The occupants of the boat keep rowing, disturbing the calm water of the sea. It finally stops when they reach a snowy shore.
The occupants dismount the boat and one of them leads them forward. All of them wore a hooded cloak to protect themselves from the cold.
They all walked silently. The only sounds coming were the crunching of snow under their boots and their occasional grunts of discomfort. Suddenly a bright light shone on them and they were surrounded by soldiers holding spears while two of the soldiers held lanterns in their hands.
"Wait!" The man leading them cries out "We come as friends!"
The soldiers glance at each other, confused and unsure of what to do with these trespassers.
Sometime later, one of those soldiers walks on the deck of a large ship. On the very end of the deck, standing on a platform, was a large man. Most of his figure was hidden under the Dragon skin cloak he was wearing, while his long coarse black hair hid his facial features. He was observing the sea below as air bubbles formed on the water surface.
"My lord," The soldier reported,"we found some people trespassing in our territory. But it appears that they came here intentionally. They request a conference with you."
The large man didn't turn. Instead he ordered in a gruff voice,"Bring them to me."
The trespassers were immediately brought on the ship's deck. The soldiers were still cautious and had their weapons pointed towards them.
"Speak." The large man said.
The man leading the trespassers stepped forward and removed his hood, revealing him
"My name is Mildew. I'm an elder from Berk and I bring news on the Night rider." He spoke.
The large man's head perked up and he turned around, revealing his scarred face to others. "I am listening."