Chapter 14: Fading Fast

Valka cooked dinner for everyone at the sanctuary. Eira had never seen her so hospitable. She wondered if this was a result of Stoick's presence. Come to think of it, the chief was acting a lot gentler than usual as well. Had love been the answer all along? She listened carefully as Stoick began to whistle an unfamiliar tune. Valka paused in the middle of filling a gourd with water that dripped through the cave ceiling.

"Oh, I love this one!" Gobber said excitedly.

"Remember our song, Val?" Stoick said slowly moving towards Valka. "I'll swim and sail on savage seas, with ne'er a fear of drowning. And gladly ride the waves of life, if you will marry me." He gently took the gourd from her hands and set it down. "No scorching sun, nor freezing cold will stop-"

"Will stop me on my journey!" Gobber sang off key, earning glares from Stoick and Hiccup. "Sorry."

Stoick turned back to Valka and took her hand in his, bringing it to his heart. "If you will promise me your heart... And love..." He lowered his head sadly when his woman neither looked at him or said anything.

"And love me for eternity," Valka sang at last. "My dearest one, my darling dear, your mighty words astound me. But I've no need of mighty deeds, when I feel your arms around me." The song grew upbeat, and the couple started to dance together.

"But I would bring you rings of gold I'd even sing you poetry. And I would keep you from all harm If you would stay here beside me."

"I have no use for rings of gold. I care not for your poetry. I only want your hand to hold."

"I only want you near me!"

Gobber danced around as well. He even brought Hiccup to his feet, inviting him to join in.

"To love to kiss, to sweetly hold,"Stoick and Valka sang together. "For the dancing and the dreaming. Through all life's sorrows and delights, I'll keep your love inside me. I'll swim and sail on savage seas, with ne'er a fear of drowning. And gladly ride the waves of life if you will marry me!" The couple stopped with their hands clasped together, gazing into each other's eyes lovingly before embracing.

"Me-eee-e!" sang Gobber. "I'm still goin'..." Hiccup elbowed him. "I'm done."

"Ah... I thought I'd have to die before we'd have that dance again," Stoick said.

Valka brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "No need for drastic measures."

"For you, my dear... anything. Will you come home, Val? Will you be my wife once again? We can a be a family! What do you say?" Stoick smiled at Hiccup and then Valka while everyone else waited in anticipation for her answer.

Valka's smile slowly faded. "Oh, Stoick... I - I can't. This is so sudden, and I have plans - a life!"

Stoick lightly touched her cheek. "We can create new plans together. If you want to rescue dragons, we'll rescue them together. Whatever you need, I'll provide it for you. Let me show you I've changed."

Valka gazed at him sadly. "I'm sorry. I'm not ready to leave this life behind. I don't know if it's possible to combine our lives... but if it is, it will take time to figure out."

Stoick nodded solemnly. "Then I will wait for you as long as it takes."

"Does this mean we're free to leave?" Hiccup ventured.

"You've been keeping them here unwillingly?" Stoick said in surprise.

Valka gave him a guilty look. "I thought it would protect the dragons, but now I see I was wrong." She nodded at Hiccup. "You're all free to return home."

Hiccup smiled slightly. "Thanks, Mom." Suddenly, Toothless growled while looking towards the edge of the island. "Toothless?" Then they heard a distant sound coming from that direction. "What's happening?"

Everyone rushed outside the cave to the edge of the island. Eira gasped when she saw three dragon trapper ships not too far from shore. The trappers were attacking the dragons that circles them, and occasionally the island was struck instead. Hold on... Those dragons carried her friends!

"I'm under attack!" Valka cried. "Who are those dragon riders?"

Just then, Stormfly turned in their direction. "Hiccup!" Astrid called.

Then Shadowwhisper moved closer, revealing Ingrid and Eret on his back. "Eira!" shouted Ingrid. "We found you!"

"No, no, lead them away!" Hiccup cried. The closer the riders got to the island, the more damage both the dragons and trappers caused. Fortunately, they seemed to realize this and slowly started for the open water.

Valka stood rigid, watching the scene. "I should have seen this coming," she said softly, her voice nearly breaking. Her face fell into her hands, and her body shook. "I should have seen this coming!"

"It's alright," Stoick said gently. "They're leaving."

Valka turned around and gave him a look of anguish. "Or finding a better position to strike... or return with reinforcements." Her expression hardened, her eyes turning to ice. "You brought them here."

"What?" Hiccup said in confusion. "No!"

"Then how do they know your names?"

"Slow down, Val," said Stoick. "It's not what you think."

"They're from Berk, here to rescue us," Hiccup said. "They have nothing to do with those trappers. Believe me."

"I've done far too much of that already!" Valka roared. She eyed each Viking suspiciously. "You're all very clever, aren't you?"

Stoick, a look of supreme concern on his face, reached his arm out to her. "Val-"

Valka continued on as if he had not interrupted. "And I fell right into your trap, distracted with heartstrings and promises, while your allies crept in to destroy me."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic!" Stoick exclaimed.

"And you!" Valka pointed at Hiccup.

"Mom," Hiccup said, a pained look in his eyes, "I know what you think, but you're wrong."

"My own child. How could you?"

Hiccup tentatively moved closer to her. "You're getting this all wrong!" He reached out to her, but she abruptly turned away from him. Pain flashed across his face.

For a moment, Valka's expression softened. "Then help me fight them." She motioned to the dragon riders and trappers. Hiccup followed her gaze to his friends and then gave her a regretful look. Tears filled Valka's eyes as she lowered her head. "You're just one of them." She turned around and walked away from them, stopping near the center of the sanctuary. Hiccup reached out to her once more, but a second later his arm fell feebly by his side.

"Alright, I've heard enough!" Dagur said loudly.

Heather grabbed his sleeve. "Dagur, now may not be the time-"

Dagur shook him off. "Now is the perfect time." He walked right up to Valka, who looked at him with narrowed eyes. "You can't just turn on your family like that! And after you abandoned them. I know Hiccup can be annoying and mess up the best plans, but he would never betray his friends or family. Just stop and take a deep breath. Rushing into action seems satisfying, but it can backfire big time."

"It's no use, Dagur," Stoick said. "She's doing it again with the 'everyone is out to get me' routine."

"Oh, I know all about that one!" Dagur gave Valka a pointed look. "Trust me, when you play that game, you're always missing something."

"Don't tell me I'm jumping to conclusions!" Valka growled.

"Then stop jumping to conclusion!" Stoick said.

"Oh, you think I'm overreacting?"

"YES!" Stoick met her glare with one of his own.

"I'll tell you why I'm not overreacting, Stoick. It doesn't matter if I have the facts wrong; the end result is just the same."

"Don't you think it matters who you target your rage at?" Eira said. Not that she thought erupting on the perpetrator was very productive.

Valka swung to face her. "And you. You with your scoundrel friends and ridiculous notions of redemption. I'll bet it was one them who's responsible." She fixed her steely eyes on Krogan. "Where did you go before you found this place? Did you return to your master and lead him here?"

"I have no master!" Krogan snarled. "I'm on my own." Eira did not like the way Valka was glowering at him, so she quickly placed herself in between the two, though she was not certain Valka would not hurt her this time. Dagur and Viggo positioned themselves on either side of her.

"That's even worse! You have no loyalties and are capable of anything. You can't be trusted."

"Now you're actually starting to make sense," Stoick said.

"No! This isn't Krogan's fault!" Eira insisted.

"How do you know?" Heather asked.

Eira did have reasons for her faith in Krogan, but none of them she could articulate very well. "I just do."

"To be fair, I doubt he has what it takes to pull off that kind of deception," Viggo said.

"If Eira trusts him, then so do I!" Dagur declared.

"Then you're fools," Valka said darkly.

"Look, the trappers are leaving," Hiccup said. He motioned to the boats sailing away. Their friends hovered in the air behind them.

"Am I to assume they will not be back? They discovered this place once, they can discover it again. It does not matter if your friends are innocent bystanders. It is now clear to me that the only way dragons will be safe is if I bring them here to me."

Hiccup looked at her in dismay. "You don't mean that. We love our dragons."

"Then you will do what is best for them." Valka turned around and tapped her staff on the ground. "I am sorry it has come to this, but you leave me with no choice." Slowly, the Bewilderbeast emerged from his nest, showing his massive size.

"What in Odin's name is that?!" Gobber exclaimed.

"This is the Bewilderbeast. The King of Dragons. No dragon is able to resist his call." Valka faced the edge of the island, where the dragon riders were coming in closer, and raised her staff. Then the Bewilderbeast let out a thundering roar.

"No, no!" Hiccup said. "You can't do this!" He spun around. "Fly away!"

But it was too late. The riders were already too close to evade the Bewilderbeast, and suddenly, their dragons began to twist and turn in discomfort. "What's going on?" Astrid shouted.

Hiccup stared at his mother in horror. "If the dragons shake them off, they could be seriously injured... or worse!"

"Enough of this madness!" Stoick roared. "Release them at once!"

"Help!" Ingrid cried as Shadowwhisper shook violently.

"I am not certain they deserve it," said Valka, "but I will show mercy." She tapped her staff again, and the Bewilderbeast made a small grunt. The dragons retained their glazed eyes, but they waited until they were low to the ground before rolling over and forcing their riders off their backs and safely into the snow. Then the dragons joined the gathering flock around the Bewilderbeast.

"Toothless!" Hiccup exclaimed. He raced to his dragon's side, but the Night Fury ignored him and walked to Valka. Swiftwings and the other dragons followed suit, seeming to not even hear their riders' please.

"What's going on?" Snotlout said in fear.

Valka gave everyone a severe look. "The dragons and I will fly to Berk and collect the rest of the dragons there. When we return, I will transport all of you back to Berk, where you will live a peaceful life without dragons."

"What?!" Astrid exclaimed. "Are you insane?"

Valka ignored her and climbed onto Toothless' back. "If any of you cause damage to this place..."

"Val, please," Stoick said. "You're making a big mistake."

"The only mistake I made was breaking the rules of this place: no outsiders allowed." Valka and Cloudjumper joined the Bewilderbeast in the sky. The rest of the dragons followed. Soon, the giant flock was out of sight, leaving the helpless Vikings behind.

"Hiccup, what just happened?" Astrid said to break the silence. "Who is that insane woman?"

"That would be... my wife," Stoick said. The newcomers stared at him in shock.

"Wait a minute," said Tuffnut, "I thought you wife - you know..." He dragged his finger across his throat.

Stoick sighed. "Apparently, instead of being killed by dragons, she ran away with them."

"She's been working against Drago and the dragon tappers, rescuing dragons and bringing them to this sanctuary," Hiccup explained.

"She doesn't think it's possible for dragons and Vikings to live in peace," Eira added. "She's trying to protect them."

"Why don't we let her?" Krogan said unexpectedly.

Eira looked at him in surprise. "Let her take all of our dragons to live here?"

"Why not? Your insistence on living with dragons is what brings you so much trouble. You will have nothing to fear from Drago if you have no dragons. It's time to admit your experiment has failed and move on."

"What kind of talk is that?" Stoick growled, taking a threatening step towards him. "The one thing Valka was right about was not to trust you."

Eira quickly positioned herself in front of Krogan, blocking Stoick's path to him. "Hey, Krogan is allowed to have an opinion on the situation."

"And it is a reasonable one," Viggo said. "You may not find it acceptable, but it is an option to address the Drago problem."

"There was only one time I came close to believing it was the right choice," Hiccup said slowly. He frowned, furrowing his eyebrows in thought. "My dad was severely injured by Krogan's flyers, and we didn't know if he would make it. That was the first time I truly realized the repercussions of choosing to live at peace with dragons. I thought it might cost me my village and everyone I loved. In a moment of weakness, I thought it would be better if I had never befriended Toothless."

"No!" shouted Dagur. "There's no way it could have been better. If you hadn't bonded with Toothless, Eira wouldn't have had a reason to come here, and we would have never met. And I never would have been reunited with Heather or accepted my place as chief."

"And who knows where I would have been?" Heather said. "Angry, bitter, and all alone, probably... if not dead from trying to kill my brother."

Hiccup nodded. "Yes, I get it now. Bad and good have occurred because of my actions. But that's not what matters. It's in the past and we can't change it. What do we do now? Is my mother right? I know her methods are all wrong, but is her goal worth considering? Are dragons better off away from Vikings... from us?"

"No way!" Eret declared. "That's a ridiculous notion."

Hiccup stared at him. "Uh, what are you doing here and when did you become an advocate for dragons?"

"Since a few hours ago," Ingrid said brightly. She moved to stand by Eret and looked around at everyone. "This is Eret. He saved us from Drago."

"After he handed us over to him," Astrid said. She glanced at Hiccup. "We thought Drago had captured you, so we made Eret take us to him."

"Drago didn't appreciate it too much," Eret said with a weak smile. "He tried to kill me when I objected to him killing Ingrid."

"Then how are you alive?" Krogan said suspiciously.

"Stormfly - Astrid's dragon - shielded me with her body." Eret nodded at Astrid, who gave him a small smile. "She was tranquilized as a result. Then I was tied up with the riders. My point is, Stormfly chose to save me - an enemy - on her own accord, not because of any order from Astrid. If a dragon is able to overcome her natural survival instincts to save the life of a Viking, then I believe our species can get along if we all try. Stormfly certainly wants to try, and who are we to take that decision away from her? If you ask me, Valka is no better than Drago, forcing dragons into a lifestyle against their wills. They deserve better than that."

"Even if that's true, it doesn't solve our Drago problem," Krogan said. "Unless we can get Valka's Bewilderbeast on our side - which seems highly unlikely at this point - we don't stand a chance. No one escapes Drago."

"You and I did." At Krogan's surprised look, Eret smiled. "Yes, I know you are. Anyone who's worked for Drago for any length of time knows who you are, Krogan. Drago wasn't too pleased to find out you escaped him. And to think you've been under the protection of the dragon riders!"

"Mostly the protection of my sister, Eira," Ingrid said.

Eret glanced at Eira, who smiled at him. "You sister? Ah, that makes sense."

"It was Dagur who thought to rescue Krogan in the first place," Eira said. "He had enough foresight to realize it wouldn't be good for him if his men brought him back to Drago."

"But you're the one who made the judgment call he was worth saving," said Dagur.

"And you thought the dragon hunters who surrendered could be saved," Krogan said.

Dagur looked at him in surprise. "You remember that?"

"It was quite unusual, so it stands out in my memories."

"Berserkers showing mercy to enemies?" Stoick said in disbelief, which transformed into admiration when he looked at Dagur. "Your father would be proud."

Dagur dipped his head in acknowledgement, his eyes suddenly wet. "Thank you."

"Anyway," Eret said loudly, "I am done being afraid of Drago."

"That's a lousy choice," Krogan said.

"Nope! It's the only one that makes sense. I've already stared death in the face and won. What more can he do to me?"

"Kill you for real?" Tuffnut suggested.

"Don't worry, I'll save you," Ruffnut said, earning a disgusted look from her brother.

Eret ignored them and strode towards Krogan. "The way I see it, you and I should both be dead, but we're alive. We've been given a second chance. It's like a free pass. If we should be dead anyway, why not make the most of this gift by doing something meaningful? If not for ourselves, then at least for those who saved us." He looked around at Ingrid, Astrid, Eira, and Dagur while Krogan cast his gaze to the ground.

"You're right," Hiccup said. "We can't give up."

"Uh, none of this matters if we can't get our dragons back from you lunatic mom," Snotlout said. "No offense."

Hiccup frowned. "Some taken. But I think I have an idea. My mother's Bewilderbeast must accept the notion that some Vikings are trustworthy. He never would have accepted her otherwise. At first - he controlled Viggo and Krogan's dragons to protect them but not Toothless or Swiftwings. Then when Viggo proved he wouldn't attack his dragon even in self-defense, the Bewilderbeast accepted him. That is what we all need to do. We need to get near our dragons and prove our bond in a similar way. I believe the Bewilderbeast will sense our good intentions and leave our dragons alone."

"Well, it's as good as a problem as any," Stoick said. "But we need to get to Berk before the villagers mistake Valka and the Bewilderbeast for enemies and attack."

"Only one problem," said Fishlegs. "How are we going to get there? Valka took all the dragons."

Hiccup smiled. "Not all the dragons."

A/N: That was fun. The scene with Valka was taken from the original storyboards with her as the villain. I toned her down though. According to the storyboards, Valka basically tries to make Stormfly kill Astrid and Eret. Yikes.