Chapter 9
The Vikings and dragons retook their seats, and I was gonna start the movie when Stoick spoke up.
"Lad" He said getting my attention and then he pointed to his still light blue beard. "Could the lass, you know…." He said while gesturing with his arms. "Poof it back to how it was?"
I go over and poke Vala, who was busy trying to calm down some hyperactive Terrors, and point to Stoick's beard.
"It 'should' wear off in a few hours." She states and reaches then reaches for her scepter. "But if you want it fixed now…. Don't blame me if anything happens."
Vala shoots off a beam before Stoick could comment. A pink cloud covers him and when the cloud dissipates we see that his beard was back to its original color. The only thing wrong now was that there seemed to be daisies sprouting from his helmet.
Stoick grumbled but Gobber commented with a smile "At least it's better than your beard Stoick. It might even brighten up the cave a bit."
"Let's just move on." Stoick mumbled.
EXT. SKY - NIGHT
Hiccup stares ahead, frustrated, as Toothless glides over a bed of clouds, glowing in the low, Arctic sun. Hiccup YELLS, then slumps back onto the saddle.
"Hiccup how can you even rest like that?" Astrid asked. "It looks uncomfortable."
"Toothless is very warm." Hiccup replies. "That may be why."
"That's true." older Hiccup confirms. "Astrid and I curl up against Toothless during winter."
This caused both the younger Hiccup and Astrid to blush, while the older Hiccup received a punch in the arm, and Toothless grumbled annoyed. "Reduced to a heated pillow." he muttered. "I'm supposed to be the offspring of lightning and death!" Toothless then wailed and flopped down dramatically.
"Is he still such a dramaqueen in the future?" The younger Hiccup asked the older one.
"It's much worse." Was the only reply.
Toothless recoils, sensitive to Hiccup's upset. The steam from their breath mixes in the frigid air.
HICCUP
Don't worry, bud. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. I promise.
Toothless' ear plates perk up. He glances over his shoulder to see a disturbance in the blanket of clouds. A strange and arresting MASKED WARRIOR rises from the clouds,
standing upon something unseen. Its armor and cape flap in the buffeting turbulence.
"So that masked rider finally shows himself." Stoick stated and then turned to us. "Can we finally know who it is?"
"In due time." I stated and pointed at the screen.
The warrior eyes Toothless and Hiccup, pulling up alongside them. Hiccup senses the approaching figure in his periphery and sits up, flustered.
HICCUP (CONT'D)
AW, COME ON, DAD! REALLY?!
"I don't think that is your dad." Fishlegs stated.
"No duh." Hiccup retorted.
Hiccup's statement causes Vala to whack me upside the head. "Stop teaching them slang."
"Damn violent woman." I mutter while rubbing my head.
"It's not violence it is communication" Vala responds laughing while leaning back into her chair. Astrid nodded in agreement.
He whirls around expectantly then FREEZES, mouth agape. The warrior stares blankly, tilting his head in curiosity while cutting a menacing silhouette. Then, just as gradually as he rose, the warrior dips back beneath the clouds, disappearing.
HICCUP (CONT'D)
(ALARMED)
Okay.
(TO TOOTHLESS)
No sudden moves.
Suddenly, the warrior EXPLODES out of the clouds before them, standing atop a large dragon. They circle Hiccup and Toothless, forcing them to TREAD AIR.
The warrior points a staff toward Hiccup, unnervingly, as he returns to face them.
HICCUP (CONT'D)
Hold on, hold on.
Toothless GROWLS a warning. Suddenly, they're ambushed from behind. Hiccup is plucked off of Toothless by another DRAGON and carried off.
"Oh my Thor! Hiccup!" The entire audience screams. They then shoot glares at the masked rider who was leaning against the Stormcutter.
HICCUP (CONT'D)
Toothless!
"Toothless!" Younger Hiccup shouts at the same time as his onscreen counterpart.
With the tail unmanned, Toothless PLUMMETS helplessly. He FLAPS wildly then CRASHES through the ice into the black, frigid water. FLAILING and CRYING OUT, he struggles to stay afloat as he watches...
Hiccup disappear into the night sky, carried off in the talons of the strange dragon - one of TENS that accompany the warrior in a cavalcade. Toothless BELLOWS in distress, desperately trying to take to the air. As he LEAPS and CRASHES, time and again...
"I'm barbecuing that person when I get out of there." Toothless stated annoyed. "No one steals my Hiccup."
A group of SPINY DORSAL FINS split the ice, carving a path toward Toothless. Beneath the ice, a pod of SEASHOCKERS approach, two-headed, with Manta Ray like wings GLIDING silently in the gloom. Fixated on Hiccup, Toothless is caught by surprise as the Seashockers surface and DRAG HIM UNDER. Hiccup's helmet bobs to the surface, marking all that remains.
EXT. ARCTIC SKY/ARCHIPELAGO - NIGHT (MIDNIGHT SUN)
Hiccup shivers in the claws of the dragon, surrounded by the strange flock full of breeds he's never seen. He looks back for Toothless, now long gone.
HICCUP
HEY! YOU LEFT MY DRAGON BACK THERE!
HE CAN'T FLY ON HIS OWN! HE'LL DROWN!
The warrior offers no response, seemingly immune to the cold as he leads the dragon flock across the polar night - an alien landscape, harsh and foreboding.
Both Toothless and younger Hiccup were shooting angry glares at the masked figure.
Out of the fog looms an EPIC ICE FORMATION - jagged, spiked, and similar to the icy aftermath of Eret's fort, but many times its size.
"The Alpha's nest!" Many of the dragons cried out in shock.
"Uh… does someone mind explaining that to me" Younger Hiccup asks while staring in shock at the screen.
"Well…. Uh… you see…. The Alpha dragons…. Are well very large in your two-paws terms.." A small Terror says while running around distractedly.
"Ohhh… Yeah still don't get it" the Twins butt in before everyone starts to focus on the screen as the movie continues.
The DRAGON ESCORT dives into its jagged folds.
INT. DRAGON MOUNTAIN - CONTINUOUS
The WILD RIDE suddenly gives way to a MULTILEVEL, CAVERNOUS CHAMBER made of ice and columns of basalt rock. It's heavily populated with dragons of all kinds, looming in the shadows.
Hiccup is dropped in the center. He scrambles to his feet, calling out into the darkness.
HICCUP
We have to head back for my dragon!
A HISSING dragon CLOSES IN, sniffing, leering, aggressive.
Hiccup extends and lights his telescoping dragon blade, waving a swirl of fire around himself. The dragon pauses, intrigued, and then watches hypnotically as Hiccup pacifies him with calculated sweeps of the fiery blade.
"That is soo cool!" The twins exclaim in sync.
"And no you can't have one" Older and Younger hiccup reply in sync.
"AAwww… But.. But it looks so coool" The twins remark again.
"No means NO!" Both Hiccup's shout sternly. The twins are now making puppy-dog eyes but it wasn't helping.
The warrior watches keenly from the shadows.
Several aggressive dragons close in behind Hiccup. Hearing their hisses, he quickly stows the blade, replaces a cartridge in its hilt, then flips it around and sprays a perimeter of Zippleback gas around himself. He clicks the lighter, igniting a flash ring. The testy dragons recoil.
He then reaches through the smoke, offering his open hand. The dragons re-approach, sniffing him with calmed curiosity.
"Hiccup," Older Astrid said, "Did you have cod jerky on you again?" Several dragons turn their heads towards the older Hiccup as he shakes his head quickly.
A few dragons scamper over to ensure that he isn't lying. Hiccup desperately tries to push them away but no luck.
"Cough it up Hiccup!" Older Astrid stated as she held out her hand.
Older Hiccup reluctantly gave the cod jerky to Astrid and then let out a frustrated sigh.
"I know how you feel son." Stoick remarked sadly.
ON THE WARRIOR
... tilting his masked head, curious. He dismounts his dragon and approaches Hiccup.
HICCUP (CONT'D)
Who are you? The Dragon Thief? Drago Bludvist?
"Obviously not." Older Hiccup stated with a smirk.
"Hey, how was I to know." Younger Hiccup replies and then gestured to the multicolor Terror who was sulking. "They look nothing alike."
The warrior circles Hiccup in silence, taking in his gear, his dragon blade, his face.
HICCUP (CONT'D)
Do you even understand what I'm saying?
The warrior whirls and HAMMERS his staff. In response, a large dragon ASCENDS from the depths, carrying...
HICCUP (CONT'D)
Toothless!
Toothless is dumped on the ground next to Hiccup, sopping wet. Hiccup rushes to him, petting him reassuringly. Toothless coos in relief.
"Thank Thor you're okay!" Both Toothless and the younger Hiccup exclaim at the same time.
"Aaauw isn't that adorable." Older Astrid comments getting nods of affirmation from the audience.
Both Hiccup's grumble about women and cuteness.
"Hey, don't grumble." Dagur stated. "Just admit it that many find you cute, and adorable, and squishy." Before either Hiccup could move, Dagur pulled them both into a bear hug squeezing the air out of them.
"No one said anything about squishy." Gobber remarked but couldn't hold back his laugh.
When the Hiccups were released, they both muttered, "Please... Don't ever do that again."
HICCUP (CONT'D)
It's okay. I'm glad to see you, too, bud. You really had me worried there.
The warrior rattles his staff at a nearby dragon. In response, it and the surrounding dragons produce firelight from their throats, spotlighting Hiccup and Toothless.
The warrior sets down his staff and shield, then approaches Hiccup, cautiously and animal-like.
Toothless SNARLS and circles Hiccup defensively, but then instantly yields to the stranger's outstretched hand. With a quick, disarming gesture, the warrior lays Toothless down in a state of bliss. Hiccup is astounded.
"Yesss, it's barbecuing time." Toothless states happily and then watches himself go down in an instant. "Wait WHAT!"
The warrior's hand continues toward Hiccup's face. He recoils, but the warrior persists, finding the faint scar on Hiccup's chin, glinting in the firelight.
The warrior GASPS and retreats a few steps.
WARRIOR
(whispered, shaken)
Hiccup?
(BEAT)
Could it be? After all these years? How is this possible?
The voice is surprisingly female.
The entire audience was watching the scene wide-eyed. Stoick looked back to the masked figure in the cavern. 'That voice sounded familiar.' He thought.
HICCUP
Uh, should I... should I know you?
WARRIOR
No. You were only a babe...
The warrior slowly removes the strange mask, revealing VALKA, 40, beneath. Her eyes meet his, equally wide-eyed and aghast.
VALKA
... but a mother never forgets.
Hiccup stammers, tongue-tied, aghast.
VALKA (CONT'D)
Come...
The entire audience is quiet for a few seconds before utter chaos breaks loose. Mutters of 'can't be', and 'she's dead' rang through the cavern, but the younger Hiccup's voice cut through it all when he shouted "YOU'RE MY MOTHER!"
