Author's Note: Hello, fellow HTTYD fans! I have returned with Chapter 2 of Race to the Dragon Eye! Sorry, this took so long to update. School and life take over pretty easily. But no worries, I always try to update as soon as I can. Before I get to the replies, I just wanted to say thank you for all of the great feedback I got so far on this! I'm really glad you guys liked the first chapter so far and hope you continue to enjoy it! Now…REVIEW REPLIES!
Guest: Well, if I told you that, it would ruin the surprise wouldn't it? XD
Guest: Yeahhh….this is clearly not smart…
Blue wing: Sorry this is taking so long. I used to be able to update weekly, but I've been really busy. But I promise this story will not be abandoned. Hope you continue to like this story!
Cherrybomb: Thank you so much! You'll have to wait and see! Lol!
Guest: Lol *rimshot* Thank you for your kind words! Glad you love it! That means a lot to me!
Guest: I shall!
Snowflake: Hope you like what's next!
Foxxlight: Thank you so much! Glad you love it!
Kikka: Hello there! OMG yes, it was SUCH a great episode! The season was honestly probably better than RoB and DoB as whole. Not that I didn't like RoB and DoB, but RTTE was quite an improvement in more ways than one, and "Maces and Talons, Part 2" was proof of it! Yeah I was surprised as well, but that's partly what inspired me to write this. Hopefully, it can hold us over until the new episodes start premiering again. Glad you're liking it so far! Hope you like what's next!
ScoreLaine: Yeah, what happened with Hiccup being outsmarted by Viggo has been debated in the fandom in terms of IC or OOC, and honestly, I thought that it was very much IC. Up until this point, Hiccup thought he pretty much had all the answers. He had many successes so far with the Red Death, training dragons, Alvin, and so on. Then when Viggo comes along, he manages to manipulate Hiccup, and that can hurt someone's confidence pretty badly, which is why it makes me think that it's the perfect tie-in to HTTYD2 where Hiccup isn't confident that he will make a good Chief until he faces Drago. I'm glad I helped to clear that up! Hope you continue to enjoy it!
Lightning and Death Itself218: I know right? I was shocked at the cliffhanger it ended on! Hopefully, this can tie us over until the new episodes are released! Glad you liked the first chapter and hope you continue to enjoy it!
Flopy: We shall see what happens!
Guest: Yay! Glad you enjoyed it! Hmm…we shall see how long! Needless to say, Astrid won't be happy when she does.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything related to the How to Train Your Dragon franchise.
Chapter 2
Dagur the Deranged, Chief of the Berserker Tribe, walked through the hallways of Viggo Grimborn's ship. One of the soldiers told him that Viggo and Ryker wished to speak to him, and it didn't take long to figure out what they wanted to speak about. It was about his little sister, Heather, the traitor to the Dragon Hunters. He had been ordered to supervise Heather's execution, but…he couldn't bring himself to let it happen. She might've been working with his own mortal enemy, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third to spy on them, but Ryker, for once, had a point when he told him that Viggo was his younger brother. Despite knowing that Heather betrayed him, she was still his sister. She was right as well. They were family…They shared the same blood, and Berserkers never turned on each other…no matter what.
So, he did what he needed to do. He released his sister and her pet Razorwhip, but of course, he could never risk Viggo knowing that. There was no telling what he would do if he found out that Heather was alive, and that he released her. No, he wasn't afraid of Viggo, but unlike Hiccup, he valued the brotherly bond, especially the one he shared with Heather. Viggo could never find out about his sister still being alive, so he straightened up, put on the best smirk he could muster up and knocked on the door to Viggo's quarters.
"Enter!" a voice said on the other side of the door.
With that, Dagur opened the door and walked in only to see Viggo himself sitting at his desk with Ryker standing next to him. Both Grimborn brothers were looking right at him making the Berserker Chief feel slightly uneasy, but he did his best not to show it. He couldn't afford to…for both his and Heather's sakes.
"Dagur," Viggo said, "I'm so pleased you could join us."
"Right," Dagur simply said eyeing the leader of the Dragon Hunters, "so…what did you want to see me for?"
"Oh, nothing too important," Viggo said as he stood up and walked over to Dagur. "I only wanted a report regarding your treacherous sister. Did you do what I ordered you to do?"
The Berserker Chief's eyes darted away for a brief second as he immediately remembered his last interaction with his younger sister. He could still see the fear in her eyes when he knocked out the two soldiers, who were leading her to what would be her execution claiming that he no longer cared what Viggo said.
"Dagur, please," she begged.
He stole the axe from the unconscious guard and raised it above his head while keeping his eyes on the teenager in front of him.
"Don't!" Heather shouted.
Dagur brought the axe down, but the weapon never touched her body. Instead, the axe broke the shackles on her wrists freeing her. When Heather realized what happened, there was nothing but silence between the two children of Oswald the Agreeable. The Berserker Chief then let out a whistle signaling Heather's dragon, Windshear to emerge from the tunnels.
"Windshear! You're okay!" she shouted as the dragon nuzzled her.
And with one last look over his shoulder, Dagur glared at Heather silently telling her to leave while she still could and walked away feeling Heather's heartbroken yet grateful stare from behind.
Dagur smirked at the Dragon Hunters' leader. "Oh, Heather the Traitor?" he asked placing his hands on his hips. "Oh, don't worry, Viggo. I don't think she'll be a nuisance to us anymore. All we'll have to worry about right now is Hiccup…and his Greek chorus." He noticed Ryker raising his eyebrows out of the corner of his eye, but he chose to ignore it focusing on Viggo.
Viggo smiled at Dagur. "Excellent," he said. "Knowing that we are finally rid of the wrong-doer will make all of our lives that much easier, especially now when we've gotten the Dragon Eye. I'm so pleased that at least one of Oswald the Agreeable's children is trustworthy."
It took everything in Dagur's power not to lash out at Viggo or to go…well…berserk. Attacking Viggo especially in front of Ryker would not end will for him. He and Savage secretly agreed not too long ago to go ahead with their plan to take down the Dragon Hunters from the inside despite Heather's unexpected betrayal. If he did anything to jeopardize their chances of getting back the Dragon Eye, then the Berserkers would surely be the laughing stock of the Archipelago, which was the last thing he wanted.
"Yeah, well," Dagur tried to say, "hopefully, you're right."
"I can assure you that I am, Dagur," Viggo replied. "No need to worry. The Dragon Hunters and the Berserkers shall continue with their mission to slaughter and sell every single dragon we find without the threat of a spy in our midst."
"However, that still leaves Hiccup and his Dragon Riders," Ryker finally said.
"Yes, big brother, I agree," Viggo said as he turned around and went back to his desk. "Hiccup must be working on his parry as we speak. If I'm right, and I usually am, he and those friends of his will try to avenge their spy and come after us and the Dragon Eye."
"Well, duh!" Dagur said rolling his eyes. "Of course, he will. He's Hic-cup, the do-gooder dragon rider with a plasma-blasting Night Fury. He—"
"Dagur, I'm sorry," Viggo interrupted, "but this discussion is now strictly between my big brother and me. I'm going to have to ask you to leave. I only asked you here to give me a report on the Traitor's whereabouts, and now it's time for you to go."
"Wait…what?" Dagur asked raising an eyebrow. "You just said I was trustworthy. I can help with taking out Hiccup."
"If you can help with taking out the future Chief of Berk," Viggo began resting his head on his hands, "then how is it that you were never able to take out those Dragon Riders before?"
"Hey!" Dagur tried to say.
"Dagur, I told you before, and I'll tell you again," the leader of the Dragon Hunters interrupted again, "stop thinking and just do what you are told. You may be a great alley on the battlefield, but you clearly have no brains. Your poor skills in Maces and Talons prove that. Therefore, you must leave. Make sure the crew stays on course for our next stop. Notify me when we arrive."
The Berserker Chief growled under his breath as he glared at Viggo for a few moments before silently deciding that it was best to just do what he was told. Without another word or protest, Dagur quickly turned around and stomped out of Viggo's quarters not even flinching when the door was slammed behind him.
"Hmm, he did have a valid point," Ryker finally said as soon as he and his little brother were alone. "You say he's trustworthy, yet you throw him out of the room when we need to plan our next move."
"It's just as I said, big brother," Viggo replied. "Dagur may be a valuable asset on the battlefield, but when it comes to using his brain, he's useless. Now that we have the Dragon Eye, we can't afford to lose it to Hiccup now."
Ryker nodded realizing that his little brother was in fact right. The older Grimborn brother had been working with Oswald the Agreeable's children for quite a while now, and despite the fact that Heather was a spy, she proved to be smarter than her older brother. Yes, Dagur had more interactions with the Dragon Riders than his sister did, but any ideas he had were always proven to be useless as Hiccup and his friends thwarted them in the end. They couldn't afford to risk losing the Dragon Eye after everything they went through to get it back, especially after his brother managed to unlock the object with the Flightmare's mist.
"Well, if we're so worried about Hiccup getting the thing back," the older Grimborn brother finally spoke, "then why don't we just turn around, go to Dragon's Edge, and kill them and their dragons right now? We can easily nip this in the bud quickly and easily."
Viggo stared at him for a few seconds before bursting into a laughing fit. It was so random and unexpected from someone like Viggo that Ryker and the guards present in the room simply stared at each other feeling uncomfortable. It only lasted a few more seconds before Viggo managed to compose himself again.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, big brother," he said wiping his eyes and taking a few deep breaths. "Thor may not have blessed you with a brain, but he's certainly blessed you with a sense of humor." He took a few more moments to compose himself, but he failed to see the glare on Ryker's face. He then finally looked up at his brother. "Honestly, do you think that is the best route to take at this point?"
"Well, yes, I do, little brother," Ryker replied. "We were just saying that Hiccup Haddock the Third and his Dragon Riders are the only problem we have to worry about now. Why not just deal with it now and move on with our lives?"
"Ryker, we can't just turn around and eliminate Hiccup and his…Greek chorus…as Dagur put it," Viggo replied. "No, no, to kill Hiccup Haddock would be to end this game far too soon, and it would be just awful to do that, especially when the game has just begun."
Ryker raised an eyebrow at his younger brother, and as much as he hated to admit it, he was slightly concerned that his brother still kept referring to this whole endeavor as a game. While dealing with the Dragon Riders had been enjoyable to say the least, especially the time when they captured four of them and their dragons, he didn't see it as a simple game like Maces and Talons. Dragon hunting was already serious business, but the heir of Berk and his Night Fury had begun to make it harder. How could Viggo just see such a successful business as a game?
"Why go through the trouble?" the older Grimborn brother asked. "This is a very big risk. Hiccup could show up at any time to take the Dragon Eye. We both know that he will."
Viggo rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose clearly getting tired of these endless questions from his brawny brother. "Let me ask you this, brother. Do you honestly think that Hiccup really is a risk to our business?"
Ryker's eyes darted in different directions as he tried to figure out the best answer. Whether he answered yes or no, there was no telling how Viggo would respond. "Well…uh…h-he does have a Night Fury…his friends and their dragons," he finally said as his heart pounded in fear. "Not to mention that he's the son of a Chief. He could easily summon his village to attack us."
"And I could easily summon our whole tribe for a counterattack along with the Berserkers," Viggo replied bluntly. "Don't you see, big brother?" He stood up and walked over to his older brother. "It doesn't matter what Hiccup does. You saw what happened when he tried to outsmart me. I ended up stealing the Dragon Eye right from under his nose. No matter what he does, I know his every move…the way he thinks, and it just makes the hunt that much more exciting. Why take the fun out of it?"
The older Grimborn brother still didn't fully understand the younger one's reasons for wanting to keep Hiccup alive. However, he knew better than to question Viggo's methods at this point. All he could do was hope that the leader of the Dragon Hunters knew what he was doing.
Heather, the sister of Chief Dagur of the Berserkers, felt the wind brush against her cheeks as she and Windshear flew across the night sky for what seemed like hours. Everything happened far too fast, and now it seemed like everything slowed down at last. She kept looking over her shoulder thinking that someone was following her. Being on your own for three years did that to you, especially when you made so many enemies…and in a weird way…friends.
She figured that Hiccup and Astrid would be the first of the Dragon Riders to follow her…maybe to convince her to come back to the Edge with them, but they didn't… None of them did…even Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins. Maybe, they didn't know she left, or maybe they didn't want to follow her. Although, Heather had a feeling from that awful, ear-piercing scream from Hiccup that they were too focused on what happened with Viggo.
There was no doubt that Viggo stole the Dragon Eye from Hiccup. How? She wasn't sure, but it wasn't hard to figure out that he did it. The Dragon Eye was probably in Viggo's possession at this very moment, and it was because of her. If she hadn't flown back to Viggo's ship when he tricked her into bringing him to her friends, Hiccup would probably still have the Dragon Eye in his hands and probably would have figured out the best place to hide it. Thanks to her foolishness, the Dragon Hunters now had the tool that they needed to hunt and kill more dragons than ever.
Heather's body filled with determination as she realized that she couldn't allow that to happen. She had to stop Viggo and to retrieve the Dragon Eye before more damage was done. However, when she was about to command Windshear to turn back, she realized that now that she was labeled a traitor by Viggo and the Dragon Hunters, it was going to be a lot harder to get back in their good graces, especially when she was clearly supposed to be dead.
She had a feeling what was supposed to happen when Dagur suddenly turned around and released her and Windshear. Not to mention that she would get Dagur into huge trouble with Viggo as the Berserker Chief was supposed to oversee her execution. She even hoped that Dagur made sure those two guards stayed behind so that they could never rat him out, but that was beside the point.
While Heather couldn't get close to the Dragon Hunter anymore, there was one other group she could work closely with…the Dragon Riders. Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, and their dragons…they could all work together to take down Viggo and to retrieve the Dragon Eye. They were her friends, and despite everything she had done to them in the past and who she was, they were still willing to have her back just as she was willing to do the same for them. Together with Windshear, they could be the perfect team again. If they could take down Alvin the Treacherous, they could go up against Viggo Grimborn. With that, she turned her dragon around, and the two of them flew toward Dragon's Edge.
Author's Note: Alrighty! Looks like we have another cliffhanger on our hands! That's all for Chapter 2, folks! Stay tuned for CHAPTER 3! Don't forget to leave some reviews! Thanks a lot guys!