Stoick looked at his wife for several moments, taking in a sight he never thought he would see again. Valka was nearly frozen in place. Her eyes were wide as she tried to force herself to move. Immobility was not an issue for Stoick. He approached, making Valka want to move even more. She inhaled sharply but was surprised when Stoick brought her into a gentle hug.
"A day hasn't passed without me missing you," the chief told her.
The embrace felt dream-like to Stoick. He had been there–seen the love of his life get dragged away by a wild dragon. Yet, knowing what he did currently about the reptiles, maybe he should have considered another fate for Valka besides death. Guilt bludgeoned him in the chest. So many searches had taken place, but they had all been fruitless.
"I'm sorry it took me this long to find you," he said sincerely.
"It's not for a lack of trying," Gobber added, an understanding smile on his face as he regarded his old friends. "He spent every waking moment trying to search."
The blond's smile faded slightly as he saw the look in Valka's eyes. This was when Stoick noticed something as well. The hug was cold and not returned. Hesitantly, he moved back. He brought up a hand to caress the right side of the other Viking's face so that their eyes could meet. Stoick was not entirely sure what he saw.
"You shouldn't be here," Valka said, still not moving away from him,
Stoick's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "What's wrong?"
The former Berkian started to frown. "You'll lead Drago's people to us. They might have noticed you."
"We were careful," he assured her. "No one followed us."
"You still shouldn't be here."
The redhead regarded her in confusion. This emotion increased when he saw the frown deepen. Valka turned to look at the younger Vikings behind Stoick and Gobber.
"I told you not to come back."
"Yeah," Tuffnut said sarcastically, "like we'd be able to stop Stoick the Vast. You really have been away for a while."
"They told me you were here," Stoick stated, brows pinching together slightly. "I didn't want to wait for Hiccup to bring you back."
"Hiccup's not bringing me back."
The chief's eyes widened in shock. "What are you talking about? You can't stay out here."
Valka turned away from Stoick in anger. She started to walk deeper into the base, but the Berkian followed after her. This irritated Valka who began to sneer.
"This is my home, Stoick."
"No," the man corrected. "This place has kept you safe–which I'm very grateful for–but it's not your home. Your home is on Berk."
"Berk has never been my home," the other Viking said, spinning quickly to face him.
Stoick pulled back, stunned at the rage he saw. There seemed to be an equal amount of sadness in Valka's expression.
"How could it have ever been my home, Stoick?" she asked. "As soon as I was old enough to walk, I was ostracized from the others. I've always been too different."
"That's not true."
"How isn't it?" Valka questioned harshly. "I didn't want to kill dragons and couldn't fight. Do you truly take me for such a fool, you think I didn't notice what they said about me? They were far from shy. Your interest in me hardly changed their opinions. Day after day, I was reminded of how they hated me for being useless. I just brought more poor fortune to the island by not believing dragons were born evil. Your own parents didn't even want us to be wed."
The chief caught her hand, giving it a loving squeeze. As he did, Cloudjumper snarled at him, but Skullcrusher growled at the dragon. Stoick barely noticed them, his total attention on Valka.
"They were wrong to feel that way."
"They were just like everyone else." The woman looked at their interlocked fingers. "I fell in love with you for so many reasons. The least of which was not your bravery, but I used to wish you would show that for me."
She took back her hand as she looked at Stoick. The lack of understanding on his face only angered her more.
"You never did anything," she stated. "Not once! How many times could I come to you with tears in my eyes before you came to my defense?"
"I made sure you were never harmed," he said defensively.
"Pain can come in more ways than just physical. You've never protected me from the other kinds." Valka glanced at the blacksmith. "Gobber was the only one who did not act like I deserved to be sent off the island, but even he would say nothing. Neither of you would."
"We didn't know–" Gobber started.
"Impossible. You didn't want to do anything because there was always a part of you both that agreed with everyone else. I was strange for feeling the way I did. Maybe they were right and the incessant raids were the gods punishing us for my blasphemy. The Berkians said as much when we had Hiccup. That was the only explanation for the great Stoick the Vast having such a small heir. It was my fault for all the years I'd spent not being in support of slaying dragons relentlessly."
Tears appeared in Valka's eyes, but they did not fall. Instead, she looked at Hiccup whose own expression was just as sad as hers.
"I cried myself to sleep the same day he was born because I felt responsible for all the pain he would endure on Berk. I didn't know if there was anything I could do to change that, but I knew no one else would. If I could not find a solution, he would be as unhappy as I was. He'd learn that he could be surrounded by Vikings and still completely alone."
Stoick held Valka's shoulders in his hands. "I never wanted you to be alone, Val–either of you. I have loved you for as long as I've known you."
The shorter Viking moved, freeing her right shoulder before freeing her left one.
"I loved you as well," she stated. "That changed the same day I gained the trust of the dragons. For the first time in my entire life, I was accepted by those I was around." She let out a scornful chuckle. "The same beasts you'd all warned me about and chided me for having an interest in, they were the ones who showed me support when no one else would."
Cloudjumper nuzzled his head against Valka. She petted him and gave a small smile.
"There's nothing that can be done about what happened on Berk, but I can control what I do now. I'm staying. I want Hiccup to stay as well. My one regret in the last twenty years is not being there for him. That was the only time I was like the other Berkians. I won't make the same mistake again."
Valka began walking away from the group. Stoick tried to go after her, but this time, Skullcrusher nudged him. He looked at the dragon and saw the concern. To the chief's dismay, he felt that Skullcrusher was right to have stopped him. There was nothing he could think of to get Valka to change her mind. It had all been so much of a shock. The Berkian might have felt numb if his heart did not ache so much. He kept staring in the direction his wife had gone like this might have convinced her to come back.
"I'm sorry, Hiccup," Stoick said.
The dragon trainer's eyes moved to his father in surprise. Stoick forced himself to look away from Valka and to his son.
"Sorry for never getting involved when you were being hurt." Regret was on the chief's face. "I thought that as long as you weren't injured, I was doing my job. It never really occurred to me how much pain you could've been in even without bruises."
Moments went through Stoick's mind involving both Valka and Hiccup. He remembered trying to convince the woman to change her mind about dragons. He remembered feeling disappointed when the boy would not excel in dragon killing. The redhead began to frown, now feeling disappointed in himself.
"Even if I couldn't have changed everyone on Berk, I should have made our home a place you both felt comfortable being yourselves. All I did was add to you feeling rejected."
"It's okay," Hiccup assured him, going over to the man.
"It's not," Stoick stated. "If it hadn't been for you finding Toothless, nothing might have changed. That's how it was for Valka. I just hope it isn't too late now."
The younger Berkian's expression turned to one of contemplation. "You never told me that Mom and I were so similar. Why not?"
Letting out a heavy sigh, Stoick answered. "It brought up bad memories and could have convinced you to share her beliefs. Back then, I didn't want that. She'd gone through so much simply for being who she was. If you'd known you were like her, you might have felt comforted in that and tried less to be like the others. As terrible as it is to say, that was something I wanted to avoid. If Valka was mistreated for being so passive, I wanted to encourage you to be more aggressive. It was my way of preventing the same fate."
"I wasn't any better," Gobber admitted. "I hated seeing you hurt, Hiccup, but my best solution was asking you to act less like yourselves when you were around everyone else. I'm glad you didn't listen. It was terrible advice."
Hiccup got quiet as he took in their words. He turned slightly to the right when he felt Astrid holding his hand. She looked remorseful. When Hiccup saw his other friends, they were the same.
"You were braver than we were," the blonde said. "It takes a lot to make a stand when you're alone. It's easier to keep traditions even if they cause someone to get hurt. I'm sorry that I was part of the problem for so long."
"We are too," the other Riders said together.
"Your mom was right," Fishlegs stated, ashamed. "We either went along with the bullying or actively were part of it. Not being a target meant more to me than being a friend to you."
Snotlout's eyes were low while he nodded. "I could say the same about fitting in. I figured that I had to pick on you if the other Berkians thought you were weird. I felt bad sometimes, but it never was enough to make me stop."
Tuffnut let out a quick yelp when his arm was punched.
"And you didn't help," Ruffnut scolded.
"You didn't either!"
"No, but you were worse."
They began to whack at one another.
"Muttonheads," Snotlout said, untangling the siblings, "just say you both sucked."
Liking the idea, they stopped fighting.
"We both sucked," they said.
This caused Hiccup to chuckle. "Thanks, guys. It does actually feel nice to hear all that. Everything with Drago and Mom just stirred up a lot of old emotions. I guess I hadn't moved on as much as I thought."
"There's nothing wrong with that," Astrid told him. "We tried to move on by not talking about it, but maybe this will help more."
Hiccup saw the agreement on his friends' faces and smiled. This faded as he thought of what had occurred before everyone's arrival.
"We need to get Mom to change her mind."
"I know," Stoick said. "I want to do that too."
"No, you don't understand. People are going to die otherwise. Drago's planning on wiping out every island he can find."
The other Vikings' eyes widened in concern as Hiccup continued.
"He has a Bewilderbeast like we were afraid of."
"How is that possible?" Atali asked. "The Dragon Eye only told us about the one on Berserker Island."
"I don't know," Hiccup admitted. "However he has one, it's controlling more dragons around him already. It didn't seem like he was going to Berk, but he will be. We need the Bewilderbeast here to stop it. The problem is, Mom wants to wait."
"Wait until what?" Astrid asked.
"Until Drago's plan is done."
There was a pause, then Dagur brought his hands together.
"I think I'm misunderstanding you. I know your mom hates us, but it sounds a lot like she wants every tribe–possibly in the world–to be massacred. Did I catch that right?"
Hiccup sighed, giving the group his answer. Minden turned to Eret in shock.
"You knew about this?" she asked.
The Trapper shook his head, equally astonished. "He doesn't tell me much. I had no idea this was what he was planning. I just thought he wanted to conquer different tribes. This…this is further than I thought he would go."
"Many dragons could also be hurt by his plan," Throk said.
Mala nodded in agreement. "Even if Valka used the other Bewilderbeast to stop Drago later, without anyone else, she would have to fight Drago's Trappers alone as the dragons battled."
"We need her to see that," Astrid added. "We won't be able to stop Drago's Bewilderbeast without hers."
Hiccup opened his mouth to say something, then stopped, thinking harder.
"I'll talk with her," Stoick volunteered.
The others turned to him unsurely.
"No offense," Snotlout said, "but that didn't go so well a few minutes ago. Maybe Hiccup should do it."
Stoick stood straighter, turning to where Valka had gone. "I need to take responsibility for what happened to her." He started to walk and then paused, glancing at his son. "Well, are you going to join me? I think Val needs to see that it's not too late for our family."
With a hopeful smile, Hiccup followed after the chief. They walked towards where the other Viking went. There was a brief silence until the trainer spoke.
"I might have been wrong about Drago."
Stoick looked at him in mild surprise. "You don't think he's redeemable anymore?"
"I don't think he wants to be. He doesn't even view any of this as wrong." Hiccup frowned at the ground, then at some of the dragons around them. "If Drago worked with us, we'd be able to keep dragons and Vikings safe all over the world, but he doesn't trust us. He's been hurt by too many tribes in the past. I think he's doing all this for his people. It's just at the expense of everyone else."
"Then if he has to be killed, you'll go along with that?"
Hiccup hesitated, but he was saved from having to answer because they had just found Valka in the cave. She was chastising two hatchlings in the middle of a fight. When she saw Stoick, she turned her back.
"You won't convince me that I'm wrong."
"That's not why we're here," the redhead assured her. "I wanted to let you know that you're right."
This caused Valka to look at him, perplexed. Stoick stepped closer and she did not move.
"You were so different from the others. It's what made me fall in love with you. It also made me not understand you. I should have tried harder back then, but if you give me the chance, I will now." The man gestured to Hiccup. "Our relationship isn't the same as it used to be. It's gotten so much stronger over the years. I regret that it wasn't always like this, but we've learned that there's still time."
Stoick risked holding her hand again. He lifted it so that he could give it a small kiss.
"Vikings can change, Val. Berk did. Let us prove that to you."
Valka looked into her husband's eyes, searching for sincerity and finding it. She looked at Hiccup and gestured for him to approach. Stoick put an arm around them both. It was nice to be like that as a family even if only for a moment. Then the moment passed. Dragons started roaring and screeching in panic. The trio quickly exited the cave and saw the other Vikings on their dragons' backs.
"Drago found us!" Astrid called, ascending into the air with Stormfly.
Hiccup's face paled and Valka turned sharply to Stoick.
"I knew he was going to follow you," she accused. "You led him straight to the nest!"
"It could have been me," the trainer admitted. "I shouldn't have gone out to find him."
Valka frowned at them both before leaping onto Cloudjumper's back and taking off.
"Mom!"
The Viking did not stop. She continued flying, eyes scanning the crowd to find her target. Drago's ships were approaching the nest and the Bewilderbeast was starting to climb onto the land.
"We won't be able to fly our dragons if it starts controlling them," Fishlegs pointed out anxiously.
"We can't stop it, but we can focus on the Trappers," Hiccup told him. "We'll just have to hope that Mom's Bewilderbeast fights."
Uneasy but lacking better options, the Vikings turned their attention to the Trappers. More and more of the foes were firing catapults onto the land. The boulders they shot nearly crushed several Timberjacks, but Meatlug and Grump blasted them. Fishlegs and Gobber instinctively ducked when dragons from Drago's side opened their jaws to shoot fire. Hookfang went in front of them to keep them safe, then Skullcrusher fired at the attackers. The blasts hit them in the side, making the reptiles crash into the ground.
"They're not trying to hurt us!" Fishlegs called out.
Stoick let out a frustrated grunt. "If it's between them and us…"
Astrid defended Stoick from a bolas attack with her ax.
"It might not have to be," Eret said.
The blonde glanced behind her in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"I know where we keep the arrows. If you get me close, I'll be able to grab them for you."
Astrid and Fishlegs looked at one another, uncertain. Eret saw this and tried to lessen their concern.
"I'm sure you don't normally do this, but the Bewilderbeast's control is unbreakable. At least this will make it so we don't have to fight the dragons and they won't be overly hurt."
Skullcrusher swung his tail at a wild Deadly Nadder that tried to bite him.
"Do it," Stoick stated. "Once they're not being controlled, we can make the antidote."
With a nod of her head, Astrid directed Stormfly down and towards one of the ships. When they were close enough, Eret jumped off.
"Ruff, Tuff, give him cover," Astrid instructed., rejoining the battle.
The twins flew over and Eret covered his face as gas spewed out of the Zippleback, providing him with easy camouflage. He quickly headed below deck. One of the Trappers was on his way up and swung a sword at the man. Eret dodged and punched him in the gut. As the other Trapper fell, Eret was able to disarm him and claim the weapon for himself. He used this to slash at another Trapper who tried to club him with a mace. The Viking was flung into a wall and Eret quickly opened a chest on the ground. He took an armful of arrows and some bows, then ran back to the deck. There was a lot of smoke, explaining the explosion he had heard while fighting. Barf and Belch flew down, scooping up the man in their claws before putting him back on Stormfly's saddle. Astrid looked at the new supplies. There were not too many, but anything would be helpful as long as none of the arrows were wasted.
"Heather, Astrid, and Snotlout, the four of us should use these," Dagur suggested. "The others can focus on destroying the ships."
Agreeing, Stormfly flew over to the other three dragons and dropped off bows and arrows. As some of the team began lighting the ships aflame, the others provided them with cover so that they did not have to worry about Trappers and dragons. Wild reptiles were pierced with the arrows in their rears, preventing serious injuries and still injecting them with enough Dragon Root to cause them to stop attacking. While Toothless fired a plasma blast into a ship's deck, Hiccup noticed how their own dragons were still safe. He looked off to the left, seeing Drago's Bewilderbeast. It had a serious look in its eyes. The enormous reptile had nearly reached the fog. When it got there, it let out a roar, marking itself as a challenger.
The other Bewilderbeast roared as well. It stepped out of the fog, growling at the rival. Without warning, the intruder fired a blast of ice. Valka's Bewilderbeast turned its head, deflecting with its tusk. It moved to jab the invading dragon's side, but it was unable to do so before the attack was parried. Seemingly, the duo were at a standstill. Drago's reptile decided to change tactics. It began controlling the dragons of the nest. At its order, they bit and clawed at their alpha. Valka's Bewilderbeast fought to mind control them again, forcing them to instead attack the stranger. Suddenly, it lost that power as the dragons were ordered to fight one another. This distressed the Bewilderbeast. It saw them blasting and injuring each other as it tried to reclaim control. This anxiety began to wear on the dragon whereas Drago's had none. It cared about no one there except its master. The alpha's attacks got sloppy and another attack was missed, sliding off the rival's tusk. With eyes locked on a new sight, the invader saw an opening.
Valka had been flying around to try to find Drago. He was nowhere in sight, but she could see the Bewilderbeasts. Her heart stopped for a moment when she saw a tusk go through her dragon's heart and back. She let out an agonized yell. Furiously, she searched the group even more. Finally, she found Drago. He was about to enter the cave. Cloudjumper started to go over to him, but he was forced to stop. The dragon was stuck, unable to fly. He fell to the snowy ground, causing Valka to tumble off as well. She quickly went over to him to see if he was harmed. He looked uninjured, but his eyes were glossed over. Panic briefly took hold of the Viking, but it was quickly replaced by rage. She took her staff and charged at Drago.
The warlord heard her and moved to the side. Valka swung again, this time striking him across the face and causing a line of blood to trail down his cheek. Drago snarled and caught the staff in one hand. He used it to pull Valka closer before grabbing her by the throat. The Viking started closing his hand into a fist when the sound of a plasma blast filled his ears. He narrowly avoided being shot in the side. Anger appeared in his eyes and he roared to his new alpha. The Bewilderbeast turned its attention to Toothless. A similar sensation hit the Night Fury. He could not fly right. It was too dangerous with Hiccup on his saddle. He could crash and hurt his friend. With fleeting control, Toothless landed and roared for Hiccup to get off. The Viking needed to hide somewhere–to find safety that the dragon was no longer sure he could provide. Hiccup went over to Toothless, holding his head.
"You're okay, Bud, You can fight it," he encouraged.
Toothless let out a pitiful whimper as he tried. There were those thoughts again in his mind. They were not his, but they were everywhere. Not a space of his head could be used to hide from them.
"This was unavoidable," Drago stated, throwing Valka's nearly limp body towards her son. "I told you that I didn't need an alliance. No tribe in the world is stronger than mine."
Hiccup stayed between his mother, Toothless, and Drago. The warlord was walking forward, so the Berkian drew Inferno.
"I'm not going to let you kill them," he stated. "I'll stop you."
Drago stopped, appearing slightly amused. He gestured to Toothless.
"But will you stop it?"
Blood running cold, the Berkian glanced at the dragon. Toothless was still twitching his head, but his fangs were bared. He snarled at Hiccup as his friend put Inferno away. The Berkian would not use it on the dragon.
"Toothless," he said. "I need you to focus on my voice. I know you can do it, Bud."
The dragon was trapped inside his own mind, seeing Hiccup like he was far from him. His voice was muffled and difficult to hear. It was even harder to see him. All the dragon could sense was an order: kill. It was difficult to fight. The twitching got stronger and tugged at Hiccup's heart to see him like that. Still, he refused to give up on his best friend. Valka struggled to stand back up and hesitated when she saw the state the dragon was in. She grabbed Hiccup's shoulders, trying to move him.
"We have to run," she said.
"No, I'm not leaving him here," he said, shaking off her hands. "Toothless, you can do it."
The Night Fury started to walk towards them. Valka saw this and her son's determination. She tried to communicate with Toothless through growls, but nothing could get through to the reptile. It made her glare at Drago. She subtly tried to draw a blade from her boot, but Drago noticed and had Toothless split his attention between the two Vikings.
"Kill them both," Drago ordered.
Toothless stalked towards them. They would not have been able to run. At this range, any blast from the dragon would still be lethal. Hiccup would not have wanted to run even if he could. His gaze was locked on Toothless. He needed to be able to reach the dragon again. More dragons began approaching, forcing the mother and son towards one another. It would be easier for the Night Fury this way. Hiccup saw Toothless's unclear eyes and bared fangs as the dragon got closer.
"Please, Bud," he pleaded. "Fight it."
Nothing changed in what Hiccup saw. What did change was what he felt. A strong push sent him and Valka back onto the snow. On instinct, they assumed it had been the attack and tensed in preparation of being mauled. Only, they felt no fangs. Rather, they heard a sickening crack. Looking up, Hiccup saw Toothless with his jaws clamped around Stoick's neck. Blood ran down the Viking's cloak and shoulders.
"Dad!" Hiccup cried, running over to the Berkian.
Drago had the Bewilderbeast release its control of Toothless so that the dragon could realize what he had done. Blood. He tasted it in his mouth. Horrified, Toothless realized who it belonged to. He quickly moved away, seeing Hiccup cradling Stoick's head. The man's eyes were lifeless. Panic filled Toothless and he tried to go over to his friend. Hiccup recoiled because of this. There was a mixture of hurt and anger on his face. He had no words for the dragon, but his look said it all. Devastated, Toothless let out a whimper and ran off. If he got controlled again, he could not kill another member of his family. Hiccup felt a tug on his arm. Vaguely, he heard Astrid calling to him. He could not make out the words. He was dizzy and nauseous. The sight of Stoick was getting further away as the trainer was heaved onto Fishlegs's shoulder.
"We have to retreat!" Snotlout called out, running with the others.
They were without dragons as well. Their former friends were trying to kill them. The only Vikings who could remain with their dragons were the Wing Maidens. They were instrumental in making the way for the rest of the group to the ships. Some of them had not been destroyed. Mala and Throk cut the ropes which tied the vessel to the land while Snotlout, Dagur, and Eret took out a few straggler Trappers so that the ship could be claimed. Gobber and the twins quickly hoisted the sails as Heather stayed at the helm to lead them away. Hiccup still was silent when his feet returned to the ground. He had not noticed much of anything. Slowly, he regained his senses. Looking down, he saw red on his hands. The Viking hurried over to the side of the ship, emptying his guts into the sea. When he finally stopped heaving, tears filled his eyes. Astrid's arms went around him, but nothing she said could comfort him or change what had happened. His father was dead.