Last of the rewrites and then i will add a new chapter never before seen! hooray. Ok so not a lot was changed in this but the ending is different... very different (no spoilers) you'll just have to read!

enjoy!

Astrid

The high-speed, frigid winds swarmed past the two girls flying on the backs of Deadly Nadders, one sky blue with yellow markings, the other deep blood red with black undertones. The sun was just rising above the horizon and the light pastel colors overtook the dark blue of the night. They flew in a tense silence, only the wind whistling in their ears to break it up, and the occasional squawk from the Nadders. Astrid was very curious about this Keira person, she either spoke matter-of-factly or nonchalantly, and the thought that their were more people out there who rode dragons was… surprising, she always thought it was only a "Hiccup" thing, riding dragons never even crossed her mind until Hiccup showed her Toothless. She thought back to when she first met the odd couple, a dragon and a Viking, side-by-side like brothers. When Hiccup kidnapped her and took her on an enchanting night fly over Berk, also the crazy thing with the nest and the Red Death. The Nest… but this isn't the way to where the Red Death was, where is she taking me? Astrid thought as the air got colder and snow started flaking around them. The ocean was frozen beneath them, and she could see the silhouettes of sea dragons gliding under the ice. Her warm breath forming clouds with every exhale, and a shiver ran down her spine and her face only kept warm by her fur lined hood propped over her head.

Dragons started closing in and coming up on their sides, Astrid had a surge of nervousness from the unfamiliar looking dragons enclosing them. They broke through a bank of clouds and Astrid's breath hitched in her throat at the sight before her. Her eyes widened at the sight of a mountain with tremendous spikes of massive amounts of ice crowning the top. Dragons swarmed around it and disappeared inside it. Keira dived forward and Astrid regained her senses and followed, still gaping at the sight.

It was like nothing she'd ever seen, the mountain's crown of ice was sharp, and looked deadly, the clouds swirling around it making it have a ghostly appearance. Dragons were perched on the ice shards scrutinizing her and Stormfly, their piercing yellow eyes staring into her soul. She shuddered and pressed Stormfly forward.

They entered a system of tunnels, ice being replaced by smooth, pillar-like rocks. The darkness would have encased them if not for the translucent ice casting a cool blue light from outside. As they got deeper and deeper in the tunnels vegetation popped up from cracks in the ground, fresh and green. Murmurs and growls of dragons became more pronounced, and it eventually got darker. Keira landed in the middle of an open cave, pillars of ice forming most of the walls, Astrid landed next to her, and the feeling of being watched was overbearing. Astrid squinted her eyes and peered into the darkness, pairs of glowing yellow eyes opened and enclosed on her. She gasped and took a step back and brushed up on Stormfly, she hoped. She reluctantly craned her neck to look up at the dragon she bumped into; she jumped back when it wasn't her dragon, but one that she'd never seen before in her life! She tried to slow her breathing and remain calm, she tensely held out her hand to the dragon like Hiccup had showed her all those years ago, turning away her gaze slightly, then feeling the cool scales rub against her hand. She turned back to the dragon and tilted her mouth into a small smile.

Another dragon drifted down and landed, its head round with thick horns that went along its brow, and frills on the back of its head. A figure lithely slid off the dragon's back and landed in a crouch. Astrid backed away and this time actually found her dragon. The figure wore such strange clothes, it was like armor, it had a couple blue stripes painted on the right shoulder, and they wore a light blue mask with long thin spikes on the top and two coming out like tusks. They had cape dragging behind them, a shield in hand, and a strange looking staff in the other. The figure shook the staff, rattling it, the dragons responded by opening their mouths and lighting flames to sit in them, acting like torches. Light emitted around them, casting odd shadows, and glazing over the dragons surrounding Astrid and Keira. Keira was acting as if this was an everyday thing and didn't look worried at all, whereas Astrid was confused on another level. The figure dropped the staff and shield and awkwardly crawled towards Astrid, but detouring towards Stormfly, the Nadder unfurled her wings and protectively guarded Astrid. But with a flick of the hand, the stranger had the Deadly Nadder lolling on the ground. Astrid took a shuddering step back and gawked at her dragon, rolling on the ground and fazed by a slight movement. The stranger turned to Astrid, she couldn't see the person's eyes, but felt stared down. They slowly took off the mask and tossed it to the side, bright green eyes stared up at Astrid, the person, a she, stayed crouched down and examined Astrid with her eyes. Keira stepped in and bowed her head respectively towards the stranger.

"This is Astrid Hofferson, the one you sent me for," Keira spoke just above a whisper, and told what didn't need to be told.

"Yes… Thank you," the stranger said softly, her gaze easing up and she stood up, glazing a hand on Astrid's cheek, barely even touching her skin. Astrid blinked several times, her mouth ajar and so many questions in her eyes. "You've grown so much."

"W-what? H-how do you know me?" Astrid tried to gather herself and her brow furrowed in confusion.

"You were very young, but I remember meeting you Astrid…" She took her hand away and her eyes drifted to the floor, "You've changed since then," she chuckled, "but I still remember."

"Remember what? Who are you?" Astrid tried not to shout in frustration, but calmed herself.

"Hiccup's mother," she whispered, and still not meeting Astrid's eyes.

"Valka…" Astrid's voice was barely audible, but filled with shocked emotion, "b-but how? You're supposed to be… dead. I'm sorry, but you were carried off by dragons!"

"Yes," Valka sighed, "but I was actually saved by dragons, Cloudjumper never meant any harm" she gestured to the dragon she slid off of, "I guess he thought I really belonged here."

"But why didn't you ever come back? Everyone thinks you're dead!"

"I never belonged there, trust me, Berk was better off without me. So, I stayed," Valka sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

"Why would a dragon bring you here? What even is this place?" Astrid gestured around her with amazement and confusion.

Valka's emerald eyes glanced up, "Come," she murmured and took off into one of the tunnels. Astrid stole a look at Keira, who was smiling and ran after Valka, and Astrid followed the two. Stromfly had come-to and was in tow behind Astrid, struggling to climb the rock formations in their path. The two in front of them knew these tunnels like the back of their hands and were fast and agile going through them, whereas Astrid could stumble on an out-of-place pebble.

At the end of the tunnel Astrid could see light, and the crisp smell of plants and fresh water filled the atmosphere. Astrid hurdled over another rock and squinted her eyes when the light hit her face, her eyes adjusted to the brightness and they widened at the beauty before her. There were dozens of gorgeous waterfalls twenty feet high, and green plants covered the rocky surfaces. Rock structures from the ground to the top stood mightily and held up the fortress. Ferns sprouted through the cracks in the moss-covered rocks, and vines dangled from ledges. The inside was swarming with dragons of all different species, all-living in harmony. They spiraled around a giant pillar of rock that towered over everything, some dragons landed on the ledges, all squawking and playing happily. Astrid could hardly believe what she was seeing; it was, with lack of better words, amazing!

Astrid stood gawking at the brilliant sight before her; she was at loss of words and could only watch. Stormfly got caught off guard by the other dragons and started playing like an adolescent dragon that just got a taste of dragon nip. Astrid couldn't help but laugh at her Nadder's childish antics. Keira came up behind her and gently laid a hand on Astrid's shoulder.

"Amzing, isn't it?" Keira smiled and stared out to the wonderful display.

"Y-yeah, I've never seen anything like it!" Astrid ran a hand over her hair and brought her hood down, she felt the crisp air against her skin and couldn't help a sigh of relief. She stepped out a bit further and cast her gaze down, and if her eyes could widen any more, they would. What she saw before her was incredible, besides the large lake at the base where dragons drank and the waterfalls landed, there was a massive beast, and its scales were white as snow with blue highlights and grey undertones. Instead of wings, it had giant webbed fins on either side of its body. On its head was a sizable amount of spines that went down its back; it had two immense tusks that could take out a whole fleet of ships, and a broad face. Its tail was thick and full of spines and webbed fins, the end almost looked like a Night Fury's tail, and four colossal legs. Astrid's jaw dropped again at the spectacular sight.

"Meet, the Bewilderbeast, the king of all dragons!" Valka spoke up as she walked towards the two girls, "With his icy breath he built us this fortress to protect us, he is the Alpha. Very few of them still exist, so he must be protected."

The Bewilderbeast lumbered onto his feet, and slowly ambled towards the small group, his head lifted and stared at Astrid with his icy blue gaze. Astrid felt like a grain of rice next to the Alpha, and his eyes were intoxicating. Valka and Keira both bowed respectively, but Astrid could only stare. A puff of cool air blew from his mouth and wafted over Astrid, frosting her hair and chilling her face.

"He likes yah," Valka laughed as she stood back up, Astrid ruffled the frost off her hair and couldn't help smiling. "He controls all dragons, well, all except for the babies, who listen to no one." A few baby dragons landed ungracefully and started bugging the two Nadders, Astrid and Keira laughed at their dragons' annoyance. Astrid ambled over to Stormfly and stroked her muzzle, the other Nadder pressed its head between them begging for attention, and Astrid stroked its muzzle too.

"That's Bloodshed," Keira walked up behind her and patted the flank of her dragon.

"Bloodshed?" Astrid huffed a laugh at the violent name on such a sweet dragon.

"Eh, I couldn't name him Sweetie Pie, right? Plus he needed something fierce to cover up his loving demeanor." She giggled and Bloodshed nuzzled his rider's dark hair, puffing a few strands out of place.

A few growls from above were heard and two dragons glided down, a Monstrous Nightmare and a dragon Astrid didn't recognize, but saw a few like it flying around. Two people dismounted the dragons, a guy with light blond hair and thin stature, and a girl with flaming red hair and strong but lean type.

"Astrid, I'd like you to meet Fane," Keira gestured to the guy, he gave a curt nod, "and Alex," Alex smiled and walked towards Astrid.

"So this is Astrid, good to meet you!" Alex shook Astrid's hand and gaped at Stormfly,

"Is this your dragon? She's beautiful!" Alex stroked Stormfly with wide eyes.

"Um… yeah, this is Stormfly," Astrid patted Stormfly's flank and the dragon lolled at all the attention she was getting.

"How did you tame her? I know Nadders can be a bit tricky at times," Alex giggled and Stormfly nuzzled the new human.

"Actually… Hiccup tamed her for me…" Astrid was hesitant at bringing him up in front of Valka, she knew questions would rise and she would find out eventually.

"Who's Hiccup?" Alex asked, still petting Stormfly.

"My son," Valka sighed and tears stung at her eyes.

"You… have a son?" Fane butt in and joined the now interesting conversation.

Valka's gaze drifted down solemnly, "Yes… Hiccup, I left him when he was just a baby; I thought he would be better off without me. Astrid," Astrid looked up and met Valka's emerald eyes, "how is he? How's my son?" Astrid's heart shattered at the hopeful look in the mother's eyes, tears gleamed in her cool blue eyes and they were only filled with sadness.

"He's, um… He went flying one night… And uh… There was a storm…" Astrid choked on her tears and found it so hard to say what she had to, "h-he never came back… He's presumed dead." Astrid could see Valka's heart shatter at her words, her eyes that were only filled with guilt and heartache, and a tear rolled down her face. Astrid looked away for fear of crying herself. There was a tense silence in the atmosphere, except for the dragons surrounding them and the roaring waterfalls. Everyone there had sympathetic looks in there eyes and Alex had cupped a hand to her mouth at the dreadful news. "Valka I'm sorry-"

"Don't be." Valka bit back, "It was my fault I left anyways."

The group all felt awkward in the tension and they tried not to make any eye contact. Astrid pursed her lips and shrunk back away from Valka to give her some space. Valka sniffed back a tear and couldn't face any of them, Astrid pressed her self-forward and awkwardly brought her into a hug. She broke down and held onto Astrid tightly, burying her head into Astrid's shoulder and sobbed. Astrid fought back the tears building in her eyes, and her heart sunk.

Alex let a few tears roll down her cheeks and Fane and Keira just wiped theirs away like they were nothing. The sobs of the mourning mother was so hard to endure, no mother should ever hear their son had died. Astrid held onto her tight, feeling every heave from her sobs, and feeling the light touch of tears falling onto her shoulder, she just had to wait till she was done.

After a minute or so Valka pulled away from the embrace, palming her face dry of the tears, some still fell and she choked back on the sobs. "It was my fault… I-I should have been there for him; I should have been there for my son. I left him to grow up without a mother, thinking she was dead, that I had abandoned him. Tell me, Astrid… Was he happy? Was he happy all those years of his life?" Her eyes were hopeful but full of sadness as well.

"Um… I don't… I don't actually know. I sort of, ignored him for fourteen years. I really only noticed him when he started to do well in dragon training, only because he had actually trained a dragon. He killed the Red Death… And the whole village accepted dragons and he helped them to train the dragons. He was always happy with his dragon, Toothless, and they were inseparable. But I know before all that he had some rough times with his father, they rarely ever got along. That night he left, they had, had a fight… And when he never came back, Stoick blamed himself. My friends and I searched for Hiccup for two years, until they all gave up, and then I did..." Astrid told her the story, and she listened with her eyes fixed on the ground. As the awkward silence pressed on, Astrid begged in her mind for the subject to change, she pushed herself to talk, "I just want to know… how did you manage to find me on the ship?" Astrid asked and turned toward Keira.

"That was just luck… I always raid Dragon Trapper's ships and I saw your Nadder tied up with a saddle on her back. So I assumed you might be the person I was looking for and it so happened I was right." Keira explained nonchalantly.

"You said you would tell me why you need the Dragon Rider… and why would I know something about him?"

"The Dragon Rider is someone who can help us, there is threat on our nest and we need his help. He has a powerful dragon and we need him. We thought you might know something because you're one of them… one of us." Valka wiped away her tears and explained to Astrid. "We have a lot to talk about…"

Hiccup

The sun was rubbing against the horizon, starting to hide behind it; Hiccup sat up in the Home Tree with his dagger and carved another tally mark in the bark. The entire branch was full of tally marks that dated all the way back from when he first found the tree, the second day on the blasted island. He sat back after he carved the line going across four tally marks, he never actually counted them all, but he just knew it was a long time. He knew it was at least six years since the storm, six years since he had that fight with his father, and since he last saw Astrid… He shook his head of the thoughts, he lost hope in them finding him, and he lost hope in ever going back. It's you're fault you're stuck on this island anyway. Toothless nudged Hiccup's side and breaking him from his thoughts, his big acidic green eye yearning for a flight. Hiccup rubbed the top of the Night Fury's broad head and the dragon lolled his tongue out of his mouth, giving his toothless smile.

"Alright, bud… Let's go," Hiccup climbed out the door and up a thick branch, his cleated prosthetic foot digging into the bark for a good grip, and Toothless followed suit. Hiccup got to the top and poked out over the canopy, the last rays of sunlight hitting his face and a warm breeze wafted in the air. Toothless came up behind him, tongue still lolling out his mouth and eyes wide with delight. Hiccup mounted the dragon and adjusted his prosthetic leg into the pedal, he tested the tail fin, still the old one, he hadn't completed the newest one yet, and made sure it was secure. Toothless unfurled his mighty wings, letting the breeze catch under them for an easy takeoff. They lifted off, the branches relaxing as the weight was lifted from them. Toothless beat his wings and shot into the sky, and escaped the island.

Hiccup took an intake of the fresh air into his lungs and sighed with relief at being far from the ground, and Toothless glided at an easy pace to spare the tail fin. The sun had now disappeared below the horizon line only a few rays shining their last light. It was an exceptionally clear night, only a few transparent clouds drifting in the air. Toothless performed a barrel roll for the heck of it and let out a delighted roar, making Hiccup laugh with joy, something the Night Fury hadn't heard for a long time. Hiccup laid on his back in the saddle, looking up at the stars and hearing the gentle waves beneath him and feeling the wind ruffle his hair. He got lost in his thoughts and memories, remembering what Astrid looked like, only glimpses of her face he could remember. His memory was starting to drift from six years ago, but he still had memories he couldn't separate from; meeting Toothless, the flight with Astrid, defeating the Red Death… losing his leg… and that night he had the fight with his father.

A low growl broke him from his thoughts and he sat up, Toothless had spotted a fleet of ships off in the distance, a growl Hiccup recognized as danger. Hiccup brought his chest to the saddle and ducked down, not wanting to be seen. The darkness of the night concealing the Night Fury and his rider, they silently got dangerously closer to the fleet so Hiccup could get a closer look. He squinted against the darkness to try and see clearer; he could make out the silhouettes of guards with spears and prowling around the deck. His eyes widened when he made out the shape of dragons, being treated like slaves and in chains and heavy metal armor. He scowled at how awfully they were being treated, and they were poked and prodded by the spears of the guardsmen. But something else caught Hiccup's eye, what looked like the flagship, had massive chains connected to the prow of the ship and into the water below and disappeared into the depths. What could be down there? He thought to himself, he urged Toothless closer as quietly as possible, and glide along the surface of the ocean. Toothless latched himself onto the side of the flagship, digging his claws into the wood and hiding in plain sight. Hiccup could overhear some of the guards speaking; it was mostly nonsense until something caught his attention.

"I heard Drago wants to find that Dragon Rider people talk of," one of them said in his gruff voice.

"Ha, it's all talk, I don't think he really exists its just for traders to get attention. I mean, "A man who rides on the back of night itself" BAH! It's ridiculous is what it is!" The other man laughed and gave a huff.

"Aye, I didn't believe it myself either," the gruff man's voice dropped low and Hiccup had a hard time hearing his next words, "but I've seen him."

"Yeah right, maybe after a havin' a few drinks in the tavern!"

"Aye but it's true! I couldn't see the dragon, it was pitch black out, but I heard it. A screech like a banshee but never to be seen! Also, the silhouette of a person on its back!" He protested to the other man that he had seen the Dragon Rider, but Hiccup could tell the other guard wasn't having it.

"Alright, say he is real and actually out there, where'd he come from? And why doesn't he ever show himself?" the other guard tested his companion.

"Well how should I know? It's not like he and I sat down for a cup of tea!" The man said sarcastically and a new pair of heavy footsteps could be heard going across the deck, and it was silenced.

"Get ready to sail north, men! We head for the Nest and take down the Alpha! Then, the dragons will be ours!" The new voice was deep and gravelly, cheers erupted across the fleet and men started getting to work. Hiccup, still in their hiding spot, had heard everything and his brow furrowed in thought, he couldn't let this man take the dragons for himself, not with the way he saw them being treated. But where was the Nest? All he knew was north. A voice broke him from his thoughts.

"Intruder! Dragon rider!" a man shouted and alerted the crew of Hiccup's position.

"Get us out of here, Bud!" He whispered to Toothless and they darted up into the sky. Bolas were shot at the pair and Toothless barrel rolled as best as he could, the flimsy tailfin starting to give. Toothless roared and swerved around the nets. One from behind caught around his legs and wings and he lost control, "Toothless!" Hiccup shouted as he was thrown from the saddle and started falling from the sky. The Night Fury landed hard on the deck of the ship, tangled in ropes and men surrounding him. Hiccup hit the deck, not far from his dragon, on his back and his vision blurred from the pain shooting through his spine. He tried to stand but immediately was pushed back down by kick to the back of his knees. He grunted as his knees met the wood. A man stood before him, a grimace on his face and a spear in his hand. A hard hit to his head and Hiccup blacked out and fell flat.

Well crud thats the end... I had to leave on a cliffhanger somewhere in this story! You're welcome ;) Ok next chapter will be up as soon as i can make it up! Because I really need to think about that... coolio (a word i hope to never use again.)

see ya soon!

~Neon