Unexpected Turn of Events

Hiccup stood on a precipice, overlooking the wonderful view as he fixed pieces of his armor in place. A myriad of colorful dragons flew in peaceful circles around the aquamarine landscape that was the alpha dragon's nest. They were content and happy in their home and it was a beautiful thing to watch. This dragon sanctuary really was amazing, but he couldn't stay here forever. Not like his mom...

After spending the day with his mother, who turned out to be alive for the past twenty years, they had returned to the nest for some respite. Valka had told him she had some things to tend to and encouraged Hiccup to explore or get some rest. She had been adamant that he was not to leave and go searching for Drago.

But since when did Hiccup ever listen? Not even the parent who had been there for his whole life had been able to get through to him. So Hiccup decided to prepare himself and Toothless to leave as soon as his mother was out of sight.

"Well bud, we can't wait around for Drago to attack this place. We've got to find him first." Hiccup turned to his Night Fury companion who was batting away some baby dragons, in annoyance. Toothless growled, scattering all but one, who decided to clamp onto his tail. Hiccup smiled in amusement. "Let's go."

A giant hand clamped over Hiccup's mouth. His eyes widened in surprise as he made a startled sound, muffled by the hand.

Toothless swung his head around so he could face off with the intruder, growling menacingly at whoever dared threaten his dear rider.

"Easy now." A familiar voice directed. Toothless blinked and licked his lips as he stood down. It was just dad. Hiccup pushed his father's hand away and spun around to face him.

"Dad?" Hiccup echoed Toothless' thoughts. "What are you doing here?"

"Are you alright?" Stoick took his son in his arms again, but this time to examine him for injury. "We found your helmet in the water. It looked like you and Toothless had fallen. I've been so worried!"

"Yeah, we're fine." Hiccup dismissed his dad's concern, which only frustrated Stoick more, who had been sick with worry all day.

"I thought you'd been killed. Or captured!"

"We weren't! Well..." Now that Hiccup thought about it, they had technically been captured.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Stoick looked around them for a threat.

"Yeah! If there's a threat, you had better tell us." Gobber came out from the entrance to the caves. "We're trying to save you! Again."

"Gobber?!" Hiccup sighed in exasperation. "I didn't need saving then, and I don't need saving now!"

"What is this place? What's going on?" Stoick asked as he finally took in his surroundings. It was beautiful, he couldn't deny that.

"Uh... it's kind of a long story..." Hiccup didn't know how to bring up the fact that his mom, Stoick's wife, was still alive. He wasn't even sure if it was his secret to tell. What if his mom didn't want his dad to know just yet?

"Hiccup." Stoick took on that stern, all business tone. It was a tone that said there were to be no arguments.

"I was... uh, brought here? By a... dragon rider." Hiccup replied with absolutely no confidence. He winced at his less than satisfactory answer. How do you respond to that dad-tone, while still remaining vague? Stoick turned to face Hiccup, and gave him a look that said his answer wasn't good enough.

"I really was brought here by another dragon rider." Hiccup continued, "She's been saving the dragons that Drago's men have been capturing."

"How do you know she can be trusted?" Stoick knew Hiccup was too friendly for his own good. He didn't assume the worst or display any caution, he thought people were all good. And some of them definitely were, but Hiccup couldn't tell them apart from the people who were inherently bad. Some people were just evil, and they didn't need a reason for it. Some were beyond reason. Hiccup was still an innocent child in his father's eyes, he was still naive.

"Uh... I'm pretty much positive that she's on our side. The... the dragon's side..." Hiccup fidgeted and wouldn't meet his father's eyes. His son was also hopeless when it came to lying or deceit in any form. He was just so young and inexperienced.

"Hiccup." Stoick held his son's shoulders in his hands, so that Hiccup was forced to face his father. "I know you mean well, but it's time to go home."

"But-" Hiccup finally met his father's eyes.

"No, Hiccup. If there is a threat out there, it is our responsibility to protect our people." Stoick could see the frustration in Hiccup's eyes. He still didn't agree, he didn't see what the right course of action was. But that was okay, Stoick was there to guide him and teach him.

"What about this place? What if Drago comes here, for all the dragons?" Hiccup fought back, but half-heartedly. No one was going to agree with him. "What chance do we have of protecting Berk, if we allow Drago to gain such power?"

"Those are the questions you should be asking." Stoick answered, hoping Hiccup was starting to think along the right lines. "The three of us and our dragons can't take him alone. We stand the best chance with the numbers on Berk. We don't even know if Drago knows about this place."

"If he knew how friendly dragons can be..." And Stoick lost him again. He shook his head.

"No, Hiccup." Stoick had tried to remain calm. Odin knew that the only way to get through to Hiccup was by being gentle. If Stoick lost it, then his son would just become even more stubborn. But it was getting really hard not to lose his temper with his son, who just refused to see his point. "You need to grow up! You're twenty, you're engaged, and you still think the world is full of happiness and people who want nothing more than to get along and have peace."

Hiccup startled in surprise at the new tone his father had taken with him. Stoick's voice grew louder in frustration. Toothless cooed in worry, hoping that this wouldn't turn into another famous Haddock argument. Gobber sighed in resignation and settled in for a battle of stubbornness.

"Well, son, that's not true. The world is full of people who are out for their own selfish gain. Not everyone has peace like Berk does. Not everyone has a kind heart like you do. Some people like wrecking havoc and initiating violence. Some people are just bad and there is no changing their minds or their hearts. Drago is one of those people. You can't get through to him. It's about time you learned about the harsh side of life."

Hiccup narrowed his eyes as his father finished his little rant. "You think I don't know?" Hiccup didn't raise his voice. He spoke in a quiet but firm voice that almost sounded like it was initiating a challenge.

Stoick blinked in surprise. That wasn't the response he had been expecting and it concerned him a little. He opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted when he saw movement at the corner of his eye. A masked figure dropped down from a place on the rock wall. She landed gracefully and stood a safe distance away.

Valka had heard the whole conversation. She hadn't lied, she did have things to tend to—rehabilitated dragons who needed some attention, among other things. But if she had learned anything from her time with her twenty-year-old son, it was that if he set his mind to something, he followed through. She knew she had to keep an eye on him, so he wouldn't go looking for Drago.

What she hadn't expected, was for her husband and Gobber to come flying in on dragons of their own, in search of Hiccup. Apparently he wasn't supposed to be out here. It sounded as if Hiccup had disobeyed his father to come out here and search for Drago and that Stoick wanted him back home to protect Berk.

It seemed that Hiccup had meant what he said, Berk had changed. Stoick had changed. But what confused her the most, was her son's and husband's relationship. They weren't hostile toward each other, she could see that they cared for one another. Stoick had been worried for their son's safety. But all they had done since Stoick arrived was argue, and Toothless and Gobber seemed to think it was normal.

When things seemed to be escalating, Valka had decided to drop in. Her plan, however, did not go past that.

"You must be the dragon rider my son mentioned." Stoick stated diplomatically. Valka looked between her husband and her son. Hiccup was frowning now, he didn't seem to have much fight in him anymore, and it both piqued her curiosity and caused her concern.

Valka nodded in confirmation. She didn't know what else to do. She certainly didn't think she was ready to reveal herself to her husband yet. Not after having abandoned her family for twenty years. Hiccup had been surprisingly kind and forgiving, when she hadn't deserved it. But Stoick had to raise an infant son by himself and lead a tribe of Vikings without her support. It couldn't have been easy on him. What if he held a grudge? He had just drained Hiccup of his optimism, and they had spent the last twenty years together.

"He will be returning to Berk with me." Stoick spared Hiccup a glance, raising an eyebrow in confusion when his son did not protest or acknowledge what he said in any way. "Thank you for hosting him."

Stoick didn't know what to make of the mysterious woman. But, she hadn't harmed them or Hiccup. Toothless wasn't on edge around her either, and if he thought Hiccup was being threatened he did not lay around casually, licking his paw and grooming himself like a cat. Stoick shook his head in fond exasperation at the Night Fury, then turned his attention to his son.

"Hiccup." Stoick called to his son. Hiccup startled and met his eyes, but they looked dull instead of full of life like they usually were. "You ready?"

Hiccup turned his head to look at the mysterious woman. He gazed at her for a long, tense moment, then he looked down in what appeared to be disappointment and resignation. Valka hadn't made a move to do anything or to stop her son from leaving. "I'm ready..."

Hiccup turned his back on his parents, one of them unaware that the other was even there, and walked over to his dragon friend. Hiccup was not feeling especially loved by his parents right now. He knelt down next to Toothless and the dragon cooed in question at his beloved friend, sensing his sadness. Toothless leaned his head against Hiccup's forehead and they both remained that way for a few seconds, eyes closed and cherishing the other's comforting presence.

Hiccup slowly stood up and ran his hand down Toothless' neck as he moved to his side to check his saddle and rigging. Toothless purred in contentment.

Valka watched as Hiccup got ready to leave. She didn't want him to go, not after just being reunited, but she also didn't know how to keep him here without revealing herself. She had felt terrible when he had looked away from her. It felt as though he was giving up on her, he had seemed so disappointed.

"Come on, Hiccup." Stoick gave the masked woman one last look before leading the way back inside the caves. Gobber ushered Hiccup and Toothless forward so that he could follow from the back and keep an eye on the two best friends.

Hiccup stepped into the caves, but didn't look at his mother as he left. He had told her he would give her another chance, but it felt like she had already used it and decided to let her son go again.

The four of them walked in silence, Stoick leading the way, remembering which route they took to find Hiccup. Every once in a while Hiccup glanced back, hoping maybe his mother was following behind, but was disappointed every time.

Skullcrusher and Grump, Stoick and Gobber's dragons, were waiting inside the ice caves, close to an entrance that they were capable of fitting through. Skullcrusher had been able to lead the Viking chief and his friend this far, off of Hiccup's scent, since he was a Tracker Class dragon, but hadn't been able to fit through the narrower passageways, leaving Stoick and Gobber to continue on their own.

"Alright, it's about time we head back to Berk." Stoick gave Hiccup a pointed look, which his son ignored, and mounted his Rumblehorn.

"Yeah, Grump here is ready to be back in the forge, sleeping lazily in everyone's way, and not doing his job." Gobber gave his dragon a pat and received a grunt in return. Normally such a statement would at least merit a chuckle from his apprentice, but Hiccup remained quiet and distracted by his own thoughts.

Gobber shrugged at Stoick who decided that maybe Hiccup was just upset that things didn't go his way. He was surprised that his son hadn't protested to going back to Berk yet. Hopefully, Hiccup didn't plan on taking off as soon as they departed. Skullcrusher, and especially Grump, were no match for the speed of a Night Fury.

The group took off and Hiccup remained nearby, if not a little distant. He didn't seem much in the mood for socializing and Toothless was picking up on his rider's feelings and was letting out growls every so often.

The landscape was frozen and beautiful. Stoick and Gobber had not even stuck around long enough to meet the alpha, but Hiccup knew that all the ice here had been placed by the Bewilderbeast, for his nest.

The group swerved around spikes of ice and little mountains until the area opened up a bit. They expected to look out at vast, open seas, but something was off. There was a tense feeling in the air and their dragons started grumbling. Toothless snarled, sensing danger.

"Toothless...? Ah!" Hiccup gasped in pain, having been the first to fly out into the open skies and leaving himself completely unprotected from the hostile ships not too far from the icy shore. There were clusters of people and weapons on land, preparing for battle, and one of them had locked onto the first target they saw.

There was an arrow sticking out of his leg, just above his stump. Hiccup fumbled for control, but the sharp, unexpected pain overwhelmed him the more he tried to move. If he couldn't move his leg, he couldn't control their flight.

"Hiccup!" Stoick had seen what happened and tried to dive in to assist his son, but Skullcrusher was too slow.

Hiccup and Toothless plummeted toward the ground. Hiccup tried to hang on to Toothless but was unable to as they spiraled out of control with the Night Fury's prosthetic tail open at an odd angle. Hiccup's instinct was to pull out the wings of his flight suit, but the arrow was caught in one of the loops. Pulling out his wings would tear the arrow from his leg, so he braced himself for the impact. They had been in the air, but with the uneven terrain, they had fortunately not ended up high enough for a fall to kill him. Just maybe injure and/or possibly paralyze... great.

"Oof." Hiccup lost all the air in his lungs at the impact. But he hadn't hit the ground... he was still in the air.

"Hiccup?" The muffled voice of his mother reached his ears as he struggled for breath. He was in her arms, atop Cloudjumper. They soared down to the snow covered ground, behind an incline in the landscape and out of sight of the intruders.

Toothless had landed in a heap of snow and let out a couple growls as he reoriented himself. The Night Fury was better at taking falls than his human counterpart.

Stoick had landed not far away and was running toward his son. Without a word to the masked woman, he reached up and took Hiccup from her arms and brought him down to the ground, careful to support his head. Hiccup continued to cough as he regained his ability to breath.

"Is he alright?" Gobber questioned as he hobbled up to the scene.

"Hiccup?" Stoick asked as he examined the arrow protruding from his son's leg.

"I'm fine..." Hiccup forced himself into a sitting position and placed a hand on his chest as his breathing returned to normal. "Just lost my breath..."

"And got yourself shot by an arrow, but no biggie." Gobber sassed his young friend. Hiccup threw him a glare, not appreciating the comment.

Hiccup wasn't sure what spurred him to do it. Maybe out of spite at what Gobber had said. Maybe because all of a sudden both his parents seemed to care and everything was starting to grate on his nerves.

Hiccup grabbed the arrow and without ceremony, tore it out of his leg. He didn't cry out or wince, but simply took a deep breath before tossing the godsforsaken thing aside.

"Hiccup!" Stoick reprimanded his son for being so careless with an injury. He placed a hand over the open wound to help slow the bleeding, which turned out to not be too bad.

"Ugh." Gobber shuddered. "I've seen far worse injuries than that, but you just gave me the willies."

"It wasn't that deep." Hiccup simply sat there in defiance, almost like a pouting child. Who doesn't know about the ugly side of life? That was him, right? Stoick's idiot child who couldn't do anything right and was too stupid to realize how the world worked. And what, he was worth his mother's time now? Was she going to make sure he was okay and then leave again? Was he nothing more than an obligation?

Everything had been fine at first, other than the potential threat from Drago. But his father's dismissive words at all he had been through had sent him spiraling and then his mom had simply stood there, as if he didn't matter anymore. They didn't know him. They didn't know what he had been through his whole life. Even now, his dad didn't understand the pain he had been in before befriending Toothless. His mom didn't know how lonely he had been, how he had been cast out for his differences.

Now Stoick was trying to tend to his injury that didn't seem that important right now and Valka was trying to comfort him by rubbing his back.

Hiccup didn't like being fussed over and especially not by people who seemed to pretend to care but were not sincere in their love. He suddenly felt very crowded with his father on one side, his masked mother on the other, and Gobber standing overhead, and yet he felt like he was alone.

"It doesn't look too bad." Stoick spoke up after analyzing the wound. "But that was an incredibly stupid thing to do."

"I'm fine." Hiccup glared at the ground when his dad called him stupid. One moment he is the Pride of Berk, the next, he's stupid and incapable of making his own decisions. "The leather of my flight suit stopped it from going in too deep. It just surprised me."

"You could have seriously hurt yourself!"

"Are we not going to talk about the army that shot the arrow in the first place?" Hiccup tried to change the subject to something he deemed more important. "We have to help."

"What is so important about this place that Drago would attack it?" Stoick allowed Hiccup to redirect the conversation since he was right, the army just over the hill was pretty important right now. Stoick looked to the masked figure when he talked. He wasn't sure he liked how she was touching Hiccup with such familiarity.

When she didn't respond, Hiccup answered for her. "The alpha dragon lives here. This is his nest. It's the home to hundreds of dragons. If Drago is building a dragon army, this is a good place to build it up some more."

"There's an alpha dragon?" Stoick asked.

"It's not like the Queen, is it?" Gobber had questions too.

"No, it's not like the Queen." Hiccup answered. Valka tilted her head in confusion, she didn't know what they meant by queen dragon. "The alpha is nice and provides for the other dragons."

"So can't the alpha protect the dragons then?" Stoick wanted to understand the situation better. "If Drago is this close to Berk with an army that big, I think we need to go and prepare Berk for war."

"Or we can stop it from ever getting there."

"Hiccup." Stoick said in a warning tone. So they were back to this again.

"I don't mean talking to Drago, I mean preventing him from making his army any bigger by protecting this place."

"Four against an entire army? If we fail, no one will be able to warn Berk." Stoick's voice begged no arguments. "No, we return to Berk. We protect our own.

Hiccup looked to the masked figure. She was their own, in a way. All she had to do was remove the mask. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, he couldn't see her face and so couldn't read her emotions. "You can't protect this place by yourself."

"I'm sorry, but I have to think of my people." Stoick directed at her. "My son trusts you, as does the Night Fury. You can come with us if you like."

The masked figure let go of Hiccup and finally stood up. "I must stay and fight with the dragons. The alpha will do what he can and the dragons will defend themselves and their home. But this is my home too, I will help them."

Her voice wasn't very recognizable with the mask on and it came out a little distorted. But Hiccup had heard her. This was her home. It hurt to hear that. He stared up at her, unsure if she was returning his gaze or not. She couldn't fight an army alone. If Hiccup ever had a chance to return here, he might not find her alive. Even if she let him walk out of her life again and had no intention of returning to Berk, he couldn't bare the thought of her fighting alone and risking death. "If he knew, he might agree to stay."

"Knew what?" Stoick asked. Valka stood in place but didn't speak.

"You don't have to do this alone." Hiccup insisted, ignoring his father. "You don't have to be alone..."

The two men were curious now, as to what Hiccup was saying, they both looked to the masked woman. She stood there, unsure of herself and not liking the sudden attention. Before she could answer, an explosion rang out. Drago's army had started attacking the nest and the ground beneath them quivered for a second.

Valka reacted without thinking, she ran and jumped onto Cloudjumper, taking to the skies and heading in the direction of the battle, leaving the others behind. Hiccup scrambled to his feet, forgetting about his little injury. He could move without too much pain when the arrow wasn't sticking out of him. When his dad rose to his feet too Hiccup turned to him.

"Please dad. You have to trust me." Hiccup looked at him with desperate and pleading eyes. "You'll regret it if you don't help her and something happens to her."

"Hiccup, who is she?" Stoick asked sternly, he didn't like this situation at all and he couldn't imagine who this person was, who could have such an impact on him.

"Its not my place to tell you." Hiccup looked down, he didn't think his father would listen to him. "Just trust me..."

Stoick exchanged a glance with Gobber who gave him a look, he should listen to Hiccup. Stoick knew he was right, he hadn't seen Hiccup like this in a while, but when Hiccup asked him to trust him and he didn't... things never worked out so well.

"Okay." Stoick turned away from his son so he could mount Skullcrusher. Hiccup snapped his head up to look at him, surprised that he had agreed. "We'll help her defend this place. But you had better be careful."

Hiccup nodded his head in agreement. He was afraid that if he said something else, his dad would change his mind. He ran to Toothless who had recovered from his fall rather quickly. Hiccup took a moment to make sure he was okay and to look over the rigging for any damage, adjusted a few things, then mounted his dragon. Stoick and Gobber were ready and waiting for him and Hiccup supposed they were waiting for him to take the lead, so he did.

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A/N: Thanks for reading! I've always wanted to write an AU where Stoick doesn't die during the second movie. Then him, Hiccup, and Valka get to be a family. I have so many ideas and plans for this story, I'm so excited!