Present Day
"How can you be my mother? I thought you were killed?" Hiccup asked the woman in front of him. The middle aged woman backed up with a sad expression. She explained what happened that night. She explained how she believe that Berk and Dragons could live in peace. How she was different. But then Cloudjumper broke into their home and Valka rushed to protect a young Hiccup. But when she was about to strike the dragon, she saw proof of everything she believed in. The Dragon was king and gentle. But Stoick rushed in Viking rage and fear for his family. In the chaos, Cloudjumper grabbed Valka and flew her away. Since then she knew that Berk wouldn't accept peace with the dragons and stayed away to protect Hiccup. The young man sat on a rock after learning what happened that night. His mother sat next to him as Toothless lay his head on Hiccup's lap.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you Hiccup." Valka said brushing her hand in his messy hair.
"So this entire time, you were trying to protect me?" Hiccup replied and the woman nodded. Hiccup took a deep breath knowing that his mother was alive.
"How did you two meet?" Valka asked and Hiccup looked at the Night Fury.
"Yeah. Funny story. We first met in the woods on Berk after I shot him down with an invention of mine." Hiccup answered and Valka's eyes widen in surprise. Hiccup stood up, took a few steps forward rubbing his neck. "But when I found him, I let him go. I eventually found out he was grounded and I built him a new tail fin. Now we've become best friends. Saving dragons and protecting what we can."
"I assume Stoick wasn't pleased with your friend." Valka asked inspecting Toothless.
"Yeah, he doesn't know. No one on Berk does." Hiccup answered.
"I guessed as much." Valka remarked.
"But I have made new allies away from Berk." Hiccup added.
"Yes, the Defenders are good allies to have."
"Not just the Defenders. I've been recruiting and training Vikings to ride Dragons." Hiccup remarked and his mother looked at him in surprise. "I got a good amount of Riders. Enough to repel some brutal Hunter attacks."
"The Hunters? I assuming you mean Viggo's men." Valka replied.
"Yeah. Why?" Hiccup asked and Valka sighed.
"There is a man in the North name Drago Bludvist. A monster who is enslaving dragons." Valka answered and Hiccup grabbed a notebook from a pouch on the Night Fury's saddle. He flipped the pages before showing his mother the book.
"Is this his banner?" Hiccup asked.
"Yes, but How?"
"Viggo offered us a truce. I sent three Rider North to investigate. Two came back." Hiccup said turning away with clutched fists. "I've been trying to find out who is leading the Northern Fleet, but all I got were fanatics loyal to the core and battles. Now we know a name."
"Oh Hiccup." Valka replied hugging her son and Hiccup hugged her back for the first time in his life.
Elsewhere
Astrid grabbed her ax when she saw an unknown ship sailing towards her. Astrid has been out on the seas for months now. She has visited the known world twice before expanding her search into the unknown. Now she has an unknown ship approaching her. With her spyglass, she saw it was a black banner with a red dragon that she has never seen. As it sailed closer, she wondered if they could help her find Hiccup. She went through so much trying to find Hiccup and she wasn't going to let potential threats stop her now. If they try anything, she'll kill each and every last one of them. When they were in shouting range, Astris saw a tall blond man stand on the longship's figurehead. "Friend or foe?"
"Friend!" Astrid yelled lowering her ax. She dropped the anchor as did the other ship. She walked to the side to see a ship of cloaked warriors. "Who are you?"
"I am Throk of the Defenders of the Wing aiding an allied while they rebuild their defenses! Why are you here?" Throk asked and Astrid grew suspicious when she heard Defenders of the Wing.
"I am Astrid Hofferson of Berk! I am looking for a friend of mine!" Astrid answered and she Throk was rubbing his chin.
"Berk?" the stranger asked confirming what she said and a spark of hope whispered in her.
"Yes, have you heard of it?" she answered.
"I believe I have!" Throk replied and Astrid's hope grew.
"Do you know a Hiccup Haddock?"
"I know of a Hiccup, but I don't believe he ever told us his last name!" Throk answered and Astrid smiled. Hiccup was alive.
"Can you take me to him?"
"Of course Astrid Hofferson." Throk answered before ordering his ship to turn back to an Edge. But all Astrid cared about was seeing Hiccup for the first time since his disappearance. The thought of seeing the young Viking brought her more joy than when she killed her first dragon.
One Day Later
"Here's the Edge. Well what remains of it." Hiccup said to his mother as she held onto the King of Dragons egg. Valka was happy to see her son again, but she was hesitant about visiting the Dragon's Edge with the egg. But he convinced her and now she gets to meet his Dragon Riders. As they glided down to the island, she saw collapsed buildings, burned down forests, and Vikings working on rebuilding the outpost with dragons by their side. When they landed an armored woman on a Razorwhip landed next to them.
"Hey Hiccup. Who's that?" the woman asked as she got off the dragon.
"This is my mother." Hiccup answered and the woman showed her shock.
"I thought you said she was dead?" the woman asked.
"Well, I thought she was. Turned out she's been riding Dragons longer than us." Hiccup shrugged. "How are the repairs coming?"
"Well. We should have the huts and the stable rebuilt by the end of the week." she answered and Hiccup nodded.
"Okay, keep up the good work. I'm going to go with my mom to secure the egg. I don't know when I'll return." Hiccup answered before handing the woman a piece of paper. "This has some new intel on the Northern Fleet."
"Got it." she answered as she got back on the Razorwhip. The Riders launched into the skies. Valka and Hiccup were going North to the Sanctuary.
"So who is that?" Valka asked.
"That would be Heather. She leads the Auxiliary Team." Hiccup answered.
"Are you two dating?" Valka asked curious to know more about her son.
"We tried that but within a week we forgot we were even dating." Hiccup answered and Valka laughed. "Yeah yeah. I know how dumb that sounded."
Astrid daydreamed about seeing Hiccup as she followed the Defender Ship. After all this time, she was about to see the small frail Viking who managed to survive brutal training, being captured by a dragon, and all these years alone. But she also wondered why Hiccup hasn't returned to Berk when he knows sailors. So many questions, but she knew she will get the answers when she sees him. As they sailed a shadow was cast over her ship. Astrid looked up to see a Monstrous Nightmare, Deadly Nadder, and an unknown dragon. "Dragons!" Astrid yelled as a warning to the Defenders before running down below deck for cover and a bow. She drew the bowstring back with an arrow armed as her ship rocked. She took deep breaths to calm herself. When she heard footsteps, she was confused. Did the two ships crash against each other? When she saw a man walk down below deck, she lowered the bow seeing the burn scars on his face. "Who are you?"
"Styr Agnar of the Dragon Riders." he answered and Astrid raised her bow.
"Dragon Riders?" she asked to clarify the preposterous idea.
"Yes. I'm part of the Dragon Riders." Styr replied and Astrid let go of the string. The Viking traitor dodged the arrow before rushing toward Astrid. The two threw and dodge punches before Astrid picked an empty bottle and smashed it against Styr's face making him yell in pain. Astrid raced above deck with her ax to find three Dragons and two Riders on her ship. She heard a clicking sound and moved to the left as the unknown dragon's tail split into three striking the wooden deck. Before she had a chance to take a stance, the Nightmare came up from behind and grabbed her. Moments later, they were high in the air. She had her ax with her, but striking the Dragon in flight at this height would be suicide so she waited until they take her to the island. As the dragon flew over the island, she stuck the Nightmare's leg, dropping her and she ran into the woods. At this point dragons were flying all over the woods, but Astrid refused to be found. The Hiccup they have isn't her Hiccup but she still had hope her Hiccup was somewhere out there.
"How can one Viking elude our Dragons?" Kori Torf asked his brother Grettir as they flew over the island on their Zippleback. It has been an hour since Heather ordered A Team and C Team to find the Berkian. The rest of the Rider was rebuilding and guarding the Base.
"Lets just find her soon." Grettir replied as they raced above the trees searching the ground. Minutes later, he smiled. "Find her."
"Really?" Kori asked as they turned to see the Viking running away.
"Well she saw us." Grettir remarked as he grabbed a Monstrous Nightmare Gel, lit it, and threw it in the air. The blast would alert the other Riders to get the girl. As the Zippleback Riders flew in between the trees, the Viking woman ran and dodge them when they tried to catch her. But as the sky darkened and lightning thundered, Grettir knew that Thrain was on his way to help.
Astrid slid under a fallen log as the clouds turned dark. She looked behind her to see that she lost the Zippleback. The young woman smiled knowing she was closer to safety. But then a dark dragon landed in front of her with lightning coming from it. Astrid ready her ax before she saw a young man on the back of the Skrill. The man jumped off the monster with a sword drawn. Moments later other Dragons and Riders landed next to her, surrounding her. It wasn't a fair fight, but no fight ever is. But Astrid knew that she stood no chance. The woman dropped her ax and accepted her capture. The Skrill Rider grabbed her ax while a Monstrous Nightmare grabbed her. All of them flew to the construction of a base. When the Dragon dropped her in front of a woman in silver plated armor, Astrid knew she was in more trouble. But then she saw Throk from the Defenders ship and knew that he planned this from the beginning. Lure an unsuspecting ship for a raid. Now she's here.
"This is Astrid Hofferson of Berk. She says she here looking for a Hiccup Haddock." Throk reported and the armored woman rubbed her chin.
"You missed him. He went North with his mother on their dragons." the woman replied and Astrid laughed.
"Your Hiccup isn't my Hiccup. He would never ride a dragon and his mother was killed by the dragons." Astrid remarked and the woman rolled her eyes.
"Either way, you're not going to go anywhere." the woman remarked.
"Where will she be staying? The stables and huts haven't been rebuilt yet." another traitor Viking remarked and Astrid smirked that she had a chance to escape or was going to go to Valhalla.
"Guess we'll have to set her up a tent." the woman replied to the surprised Astrid. "Katla, get Astrid a tent until Hiccup returns. Alfgeir use the new map to find Hiccup."
"Yes ma'am." the one name Katla remarked before helping the Viking up. Katla and Astrid walked past the Dragons, Riders, and logs and into a campsite. Astrid studied the defenses and locations of this base. This is the greatest threat Berk has ever faced. "How long have you known Hiccup?"
"I've known my Hiccup for fifteen years." Astrid snapped back. The Hiccup she remembered was the top of her class in Dragon Slaying and even bested her for the honor of killing their first Dragon in front of Berk. She remembers his stories of him wanting to kill dragons during the many raids. But everyone underestimated the little runt. Now they all miss him.
"Well Hiccup has certainly changed everything here. You should be proud of him." Katla remarked as they arrived near the woods. A Gronckle dropped tent supplies down before flying away.
"If my Hiccup was here, he would be ashamed to see Vikings riding Dragons." Astrid snapped before setting up her tent.
"Either way, I'm going to keep a watch on you." Katla replied.
"With your beast?" Astrid remarked but Katla was silent as the Viking set up her tent.
"I no longer have a dragon." Katla said in a sad tone but Astrid didn't care. As long as a dragon is dead, then it is good.
