Valka noticed the symbol on the red tailfin attached to the Night Fury right away. It was the Berk crest. Why would a dragon have a Berk crest? More importantly, since when did Berkians ride dragons?

She stared at the young man sitting on top of the unholy offspring of lightning and death. Who was he? And why did it feel like she should know him?

Valka pointed her staff at the man then swung it and watched as one of her dragons took the Berkian dragon rider off of the Night Fury. She had questions and wanted them answered.

The strange man screamed one word, "Toothless", as he tried to reach for the Night Fury as it fell to the earth. If that was the dragon's name, the reason was lost to her.

As they flew back to the nest, the Berkian screamed at her to go back since his dragon couldn't fly on his own. She wanted to tell him not to worry, but he would see soon enough that his dragon was fine.

She watched as the dragon who had captured the Berkian, drop him. The man did a somersault and came up standing.

"We have to head back for my dragon," he demanded.

She studied him as he took out a strange device that had fire shooting out of it and wave it at the dragons in front him. When he realized that he was surrounded by them, he shut the fire off and turned his weapon around as he let a small canister-like object fall to the ground.

He quickly popped another in its place and spun around a in circle as Zippleback gas came pouring out of the strange device. The Berkian then ignited it. She watched as her dragons became entranced with with the Berkian and what he could do with fire.

Valka looked on as he moved toward the dragon that had dropped him with his hand held out in front of him. She could not let him touch the dragon, so she made her presence known. Slowly she moved until she was facing him.

"Who are you?" he asked as he took a couple of steps back. "The dragon thief? Uh, Drago Bludfist? Do you even understand what I'm saying?"

She banged her staff on the ground and two dragons flew up behind her and dropped the Night Fury in front of them. She watched with interest as the Berkian and dragon bonded. The young man made sure that the black dragon was okay and called it "Toothless" again. Why he called it that, she didn't know. She would ask later.

Valka shook her staff and one by one the dragons opened their mouths, which were full of fire. The Night Fury protectively wrapped its tail around its rider and the two started backing up. She had to stop that, so she moved forward and held out her hand. Soon the dragon was subdued and she could get a closer look at the strange man before questioning him.

That when she saw it. The scar on his chin. The same place where Cloudjumper had accidentally scratched her son twenty years ago. No, the man front of her couldn't be Hiccup. But he yet he was. This young handsome man was her one and only son.

Valka backed away. "Hiccup?" she asked cautiously before taking off her helmet. "C-could it be? After all these years? How is this possible?"

"Uh, Should I... Should I know you?" he asked, making it clear that he was indeed her son.

"No, you were only a babe," Valka replied slowly, "but a mother never forgets."

She forced herself to watch as Hiccup gasped and stared at her with many emotions in his eyes. Disbelief, hurt, anger, loss, and many more.

As she watched Hiccup register her presence, she knew that she needed to show him the rest of the nest. "Come," she said, before running.

Hiccup followed her the best he could. His dragon was not far behind, helping him when ever he got stuck. While he tried to keep up, he rattled on about how impossible and insane this was.

Before he exited the tunnel, she climbed up on to Cloudjumper. She smiled as Hiccup looked at all the dragons she had rescued. She had so many questions she wanted to ask. It didn't take long for him to spot her.

"This is where you've been for twenty years?" Hiccup asked in disbelief.

Valka just nodded as she continued to smile.

"You've been rescuing them," he stated as he looked at the dragons.

She nodded again.

"Unbelievable," he said in awe.

"You're not upset?" she asked slowly, worried he might run out of the nest.

"What?" Hiccup asked as rubbed the back of his head. "No, no... I-I don't know. It-it's a bit much to get my head around, to be frank. It's not everyday you find out that your mother is some crazy, feral, vigilante dragon lady."

"At least I'm not boring, right?" she chuckled as she climbed down the Stormcutter.

"No," he replied, shaking his head. "I suppose there is that one specific thing."

"Do you like it?" Valka asked as a dragon came up next to Hiccup.

Hiccup stuttered for a few second then said. "I don't have the words."

The two were silent as they looked at each other. Before either could speak Toothless let out a startled cry as one of her dragons lifted his hind legs off the ground.

Hiccup chuckled as Toothless roared at the dragons surrounding him, and made his way over to them.

"Can I?" Valka asked as she reached out a hand wanting to pet the black dragon.

Her son just nodded. She got down on her knees and began to studied the Night Fury up close. "Oh he's beautiful. Incredible. He might very well be last of his kind. Oh and look, he's your age."

"Wow," Hiccup said, amazed.

"No wonder you get along so well," Valka pointed out as Toothless opened his mouth and retracted his teeth.

"And retractable teeth. Incredible," She stated in awe as she opened the dragon's mouth to see how he did it. She placed her hand on Toothless tongue and stroked it gently, wondering how her son got him. "How did you manage to-"

Hiccup cut her off, knowing what she was asking. "I found him in the woods. He was shot down and wounded."

Valka stood up and stared her son for a second. His tone of voice unsettled her. It was like he was nervous to tell her how he came to own a the fastest dragon alive. She remembered him mentioning her nemesis earlier. To put his mind at ease she told him about of the few injured dragons she rescued from Drago Bludfist.

"And what of this?" she asked lifting up Toothless' red tailfin with her staff. "Did Drago or his trappers do this as well?"

Hiccup chuckled nervously as he stroke his dragon's head. "Well..., crazy thing is, I'm actually the one that shot him down."

She looked at him, not knowing what to say to that.

"Hey it- it's okay though," he quickly assured. "He got me back. Right, Bud? You couldn't save all of me, could you? You just had to make it even. So, peg leg."

Hiccup gestured to the prosthetic attached to his left leg as if it was the punchline to a bad joke.

Valka looked at the metal leg, wondering how she hadn't noticed it earlier. Before she could ask what had happened, Toothless had picked up Hiccup with his snout and slid him on to his back. Hiccup just laughed at this and vigorously scratched Toothless under the jaw-line for a few seconds.

That's when her thoughts to Stoick and how he must have reacted to his son having Night Fury.

"What did your father think of your Night Fury friend?" Valka asked as she scratched the dragon's chin.

"Eh, he didn't take it all that well," Hiccup replied, "but then he changed. They all did. Pretty soon every one back home had dragons of their own."

Valka knew that there was story behind his short answer, but that was a question for later times. She also didn't believe what he was saying. Everyone on Berk was pig-headed and stubborn. They didn't listen.

"I never thought that possible," Valka stated as she studied Toothless eyes.

"No," Hiccup said quickly. "Really."

"Believe me, I tried as well," Valka said as she stood up and began walking. "The people are not capable of change. Some of us were just born different."

Hiccup climbed off of his dragon and followed her

Valka told her son the story of her last moments on Berk before being carried away.

"You and your father nearly died that night," she finished. "All because I couldn't kill a dragon."

Hiccup shrugged. "It runs in the family." He gave a small nod in Toothless direction.

"It broke my heart to stay away," Valka admitted, "but I believed you'd be safer if I did."

"How did you survive?" her son asked.

"Oh Cloudjumper never meant to harm me," Valka replied as they walked toward the giant dragon relaxing in the water. "He must have thought I belonged here, in the home of the great Bewilderbeast, the Alpha species. One of the very few that still exist." Around them dragons bowed at the giant white dragon. "Every nest has its queen, but this is the king of all dragons. With his icy breath, this graceful giant built our nest. A safe haven for dragons everywhere."

"Wait? That's the ice-spitter." Hiccup asked. "He's responsible for all the destruction?"

"He protects us," Valka defended. "We all live under his care and his command. All but the babies of course, who listened to know one." She laughed as the baby dragons flew around the Alpha's tusks.

At that moment the Alpha dragon began to rise from the water, Valka got down on one knee and bowed in respect. "I've lived among them for twenty years, Hiccup. Discovering their secrets." Her son remained standing, at a loss for words as he watched the Bewilderbeast look at them.

As she began to stand up, the Alpha blew in Hiccup's face, covering some of his hair and his eyebrows in ice.

"He likes you," Valka chuckled as the twenty year old shook the ice out his hair.

"Wow," he exclaimed in a soft voice of pure amazement.

Valka smiled at how easily it was to impress her son. Time to show him even more.

"You must be hungry?" she asked.

"Um, yeah I could eat," Hiccup answered.

"Good. It's feeding time," she said with a mischievous grin as she walked back toward the tunnel.

Hiccup eagerly followed, with Toothless not far behind him.