I do not own Dragons: Defenders of Berk. Direct quotes from the series will be bolded.

A Skrill To See: Part Two

A full moon hung in the night sky, giving the land below an eerie silver glow. Toothless was nothing more than a shadow as he flew through the night air. Sunset sat behind Hiccup, emerald eyes narrowed as she tried to see through the darkness. "Ruff! Tuff!"

But like every other time, there was no answer. Sunset nibbled on her bottom lip as the concern built up. "They've been gone a long time, Hiccup. And it's getting late."

"I know. But we have to keep searching."

Sunset nodded. "Of course."

They stayed out for a few more hours. When they say no sign of the twins, they were forced to admit that it was time to head back to Berk. They arrived back at the academy, where they waited news from the other riders. It wasn't long before they started to trickle in, and no one had any good news to share. Fishlegs was the last to arrive on Meatlug, who looked completely beat.

"Anything?" Fishlegs asked anxiously as he climbed off of Meatlug.

Hiccup shook his head tiredly. "No one found them."

Fishlegs' face fell. "So they're still out there."

"Yeah. But I have some provisions. We're going back out there."

"Are you going to look all night?" asked Fishlegs.

"If we need too," replied Sunset, climbing onto Toothless behind Hiccup. "We came back to see if you guys found anything. But the twins are still out there, and I don't know about you, but I won't be able to rest until they're found."

"We'll come with you," offered Fishlegs.

Hiccup shook his head. "No, you and Meatlug need to rest. We'll be fine."

Toothless flew back into the night sky, and they soon entered the dark clouds. Sunset eyed the blue volts that crackled around them nervously. "Well, if we don't find the twins, maybe we'll find the Skrill."

Hiccup mulled that over for a minute. "Hey…maybe you have a point. What if the twins decided to go after the Skrill?"

"It's a possibility," agreed Sunset. "The twins like destruction, the Skrill is capable of mass destruction."

"So if we follow the lightning, we find the Skrill, and we might find the twins."

"Okay…and if we follow the lightning and find the Skrill but no twins?"

"At least we'll have found the Skrill," replied Hiccup optimistically. "Toothless, follow the lightning."

Toothless soared deeper into the clouds, the lightning growing more intense the farther they got. Sunset yelped as the lightning zapped a little too close for comfort. "Okay, watch your tail, Toothless! Hiccup, watch your leg. And thanks for bringing your Gronkle Iron shield, by the way."

"No problem," he drawled. "Toothless, get us out of here. We'll find someplace to wait out the storm."

Toothless swooped out of the clouds and the first island they saw below was none other than Outcast Island. Sunset scowled. "Fantastic."

"We don't have much choice," said Hiccup grimly. "Set us down, bud."

Toothless dove downwards and landed on the rocks that made up Outcast Island. Hiccup and Sunset climbed off and crept to the edge of the rocky slope. Peering below, they noticed a dozen Outcasts in Alvin's dragon arena.

"Please tell me they're having a party or something," muttered Sunset. "We cannot deal with Alvin right now."

"It's not a party," a familiar voice said to her left. "Alvin's got a plan for that Skrill."

Startled, the two turned around to see Ruffnut crouched a few feet away. "Ruff!" exclaimed Sunset, relief flooding through her. "You're okay!"

"Where's Tuff?" asked Hiccup eagerly.

Ruffnut pointed over his shoulder. "He hollowed out that tree to use as a hiding place. But the only problem is that he can't move."

"Other than that, it's not so bad," Tuffnut said, his voice sounding slightly off due to his place in the tree.

"Twins have been found, safe and sound," said Hiccup with a slight smile. "There's one thing to check off our list."

"Yeah, but now Alvin has the Skrill," said Sunset with a frown. "Guess Snotlout really did jinx it." She turned to Ruffnut. "How did you two get here?"

"We saw Alvin pull the Skrill out of the water and decided to follow him," replied Ruffnut.

"Good job," said Hiccup, impressed. "You guys did great."

"We know, we're awesome," said Tuffnut boastfully.

"So now we have to figure out what Alvin wants with the Skrill," said Sunset as Hiccup crouched down near the edge of the slope.

"On it." He removed his spyglass from his pocket and focussed it towards the arena. He could see the Outcasts struggling to bring the Skrill into the arena, where Alvin was waiting. "Ooh. Not good."

"Tell us something we don't know," spoke Tuffnut.

"Alright, here's something, Mildew's down there."

Sunset flinched. "I shouldn't be surprised by it, but it still kinda hurts."

"We, we sort of figured that one," muttered Tuffnut. "I said something we don't know."

Hiccup's hands tightened around his spyglass as he watched a new development unfold before him. "I've got something for you. We have Berserkers teaming up with the Outcasts and now they both have the Skrill."

Sunset paled. "Ooh. So not cool."

"And guess what their first order of business is going to be?" muttered Hiccup.

"Annihilating us from existence?" suggested Sunset.

"Yup. Followed by the rest of Berk."

"So…now what?" asked Ruffnut, eyeing the arena below warily.

"That's the question of my life, apparently." Hiccup glanced over his shoulder as Toothless and Barf and Belch started to growl lowly.

"We're not so happy about this either, guys," said Sunset feelingly. A sudden snort mixed with a laugh from Hiccup caused her to turn and glare at him. "Excuse me, there is nothing funny about this situation."

"Sorry," said Hiccup, quickly growing serious again. He was still looking through the spyglass. "Mildew just got nailed by the Skrill."

"…is he okay?"

"He looks completely out of it. But I think he's fine otherwise." He watched the commotion happening below. "The Skrill is now in a cage…I don't like the expression on Dagur's face…Alvin is now talking to him…oh geez." Hiccup lowered the spyglass and thought hard. "Okay, before we do anything, we need to figure out what Alvin and Dagur are planning."

Sunset settled beside her best friend and leaned against the rock. "So, what, we waltz up to them and say, 'Hey, guys, we saw you plotting together and were wondering if you could fill us in'?"

"Not quite. Since they know who we are, we're going to have send either Ruffnut or Tuffnut."

Ruffnut raised her hand. "I vote for Tuff."

Tuffnut grinned widely. "Ooh, ooh, I vote for me!"

"Tuffnut it is," declared Hiccup. "Okay, get down there and get as much information as you can without being seen."

"Got it! I'll move like the wind!" Tuffnut wrestled his way out of his hiding spot. He started to crawl down the rocky slope, but soon lost his grip and tumbled the rest of the way down.

Sunset winced. "So…do we have a rescue plan in place?"

"Uh…we'll make it up as we go," muttered Hiccup. He looked through his spyglass and watched as Tuffnut interacted with the guard he had fallen in front of. After a tense moment, his shoulders relaxed once the guard pointed in a direction and Tuffnut sauntered off with no problems. "Okay, looks like he's doing it."

"Now we wait?"

"Now we wait."

…

It was daybreak by the time Tuffnut returned. Sitting up from where she had been resting on the ground, Sunset said in relief, "We were getting worried for a second."

"Me too," said Tuffnut, settling beside his sister against the rock wall. "I know I wasn't supposed to be seen, but stuff happened and I said a poem to Dagur and sang a song and ran into Mildew, but it was alright because he can't speak properly due to the lightning bolt to the brain."

"That's nice…but did you find anything out?" asked Hiccup.

Tuffnut nodded. "Dagur and Alvin are going to destroy Berk with both of their fleets. Complete annihilation!"

"Of your home and your friends," pointed out Sunset.

"Oh." Tuffnut deflated. "Right. Not so exciting."

Sunset hugged her knees to her chest, clearly troubled. "So how are we supposed to beat two fleets and a Skrill? Even with our dragons and Berk's own fleet, we're still at a disadvantaged thanks to the Skrill."

"Actually, Alvin's not giving Dagur the Skrill until he takes out Berk. They don't trust each other all that much," said Tuffnut.

Hiccup's ears perked at that. "Dagur doesn't get the Skrill until after the attack, huh?"

Sunset smiled. "I think we can work with that."

"We sure can." Hiccup grinned.

Ruffnut blinked. "I'm lost."

"The only reason those two are working together is because of that Skrill," stated Hiccup.

"Take away the Skrill, and you take away the alliance and the invasion," finished Sunset.

"Tuff, you have to get back into town and distract the guards at the arena. When they're gone, Sun and I will get that Skrill."

Tuffnut made a face. "Ugh, fine. But I just want to get it out there that Dagur threatened to cut off my legs." He stood up and started to make his way to town.

Hiccup glanced at Ruffnut. "Wait here."

Ruffnut saluted him. "You got it."

Sunset mounted Toothless and Hiccup climbed behind her. They waited a few minutes before heading out. Toothless flew down the slope and landed on the outcropping of rock beside the arena. The two teens hopped off and crept to the edge, peering down. Both Outcast guards were knocked unconscious.

"Huh," said Sunset in surprise. "Tuffnut works pretty fast."

They entered the arena and immediately noticed that the cage was open. Sunset stared at the ropes that were once used to restrain the Skrill. "See that right there? That's not good."

A clanging sounded above them and their heads snapped upwards. Tuffnut leaned against the metal caging that made up the roof, panting heavily. "Oh, great," he wheezed. "I thought I was late." He swung through the gap and landed on the ground. "You guys did pretty good with those guards. Didn't think you had it in you."

Sunset stared. "Ooh. So not good."

"What's not good?" asked Tuffnut.

She pointed over his shoulder and he looked behind him. Tuffnut gulped nervously when he realized that the Skrill was nowhere to be seen. "Oh. So…you don't have him?"

"Nope," said Hiccup heavily.

"Then…who does?"

Before Hiccup could answer, sudden commotion coming from near the entrance caused them all to make a run for cover. Peering out from behind the wall they were hiding behind, they watched as the Outcasts started the alarm for the missing Skrill.

"Tuffnut, you got get Ruff," ordered Hiccup, climbing onto Toothless. "Sun and I are going to see if we can find the Skrill."

They took the air as Tuffnut raced off. They flew around Outcast Island, winding between sea stacks. Sunset spotted the Berserker boat and hissed, "Hiccup!"

"Hang back, bud," whispered Hiccup, and they hovered behind a sea stack.

Dagur sailed towards the open sea. Just as it seemed like he would make his escape, Alvin's boat appeared, blocking his way. "I think you have something of mine, Dagur," growled Alvin.

"No, everything on this ship is mine, Alvin," retorted Dagur.

"That Skrill belongs to the Outcasts!"

"No, it belongs to the Berserkers! It's our symbol, it's on our sail! It's ours!"

"What about our deal?!" boomed Alvin.

Dagur smirked and lifted his axe. "Consider it terminated." With a swipe he cut one of the ropes to the sails, causing it to lift slightly. The Skrill, tied down to the deck of the boat, was revealed, and he snarled furiously, body sparking violently with volts.

Sunset stared as Alvin let out a ferocious roar and leapt from his boat to Dagur's. The two fleets went to war, swords clanging and war cries ringing in the air. "I know they're our enemies and all, but I still can't stand war. I really don't want to see any of them get wiped out."

"If we manage to get that Skrill, they'll turn their attention on us," replied Hiccup. "That make you feel better?"

"Uh…sort of and sort of not."

Their attention was returned to the warring tribes when they noticed that Dagur had grabbed the ropes hanging from the Skrill. Pulling hard, he caused the dragon to attack in desperation. The volts narrowly missed Alvin, and with little choice he jumped into the water. A horrified scream got stuck in Sunset's throat as Dagur lit up the water with lightning, his deranged laugh echoing in the wind.

"Dagur, you're insane," Hiccup breathed, feeling slightly sick to his stomach. For all his feelings against Alvin, death was never something he wished upon him, and now he had just witnessed his murder.

"What are we going to do?" Sunset choked out.

"We give him what he wants," said Hiccup grimly.

"Uh…us?"

"Unfortunately."

"Fantastic."

…

An hour of planning later, the pair found themselves watching as Dagur's fleet was completed, compiled of Outcasts, Berserkers and a Skrill. "This better work," muttered Sunset, peering over Hiccup's shoulder.

"It should," replied Hiccup. "Hopefully."

"-with this fleet, we can lure Hiccup, Sunset and their Night Fury out-"

"That's our cue," muttered Hiccup. "Let's go."

Giving Toothless a nudge, they flew into plain sight, hovering above Dagur and his new right-hand man, Savage. "You don't have to go through all that trouble," he called.

"Yeah, we're right here," added Sunset.

Dagur stilled and glowered at the pair suspiciously. "Hiccup and Sunset…"

"I thought that we should handle this whole matter like real Vikings," said Hiccup strongly. "Just the three of us."

"Of course, that's only if you're up for it," taunted Sunset.

Dagur grit his teeth together. "Don't let them reel you in," urged Savage. "We obviously have the advantage, so we should-"

Dagur shoved him aside and jumped onto the deck of his boat, grabbing the ropes attached to the Skrill. "My Skrill against your Night Fury? Bring it on."

He pulled on the ropes and Toothless flew off to avoid the lightning blast. Sunset glanced over her shoulder, watching as the Skrill flew after them, bringing Dagur with him. She ducked as a lightning blast soared over their heads. "Well, he's following us."

"Then hold on. This might get rough."

They kept close to the ground so that Dagur would be sure to follow. The Berserker needed solid footing in order to get the Skrill to attack. Keeping his eyes ahead, Hiccup pulled on the reins, causing Toothless to stop on the edge of a ridge. Dagur halted on the other side, the Berkians and Berserker facing off.

"Have you given up?" taunted Dagur.

Hiccup's eyes narrowed. "Nope. Toothless, plasma blast!"

The Night Fury fired two plasma blasts, which the Skrill blocked with his wings. Dagur barked out a laugh. "Is that all you got?"

Hiccup glanced briefly at the puddles of water Dagur was halfway standing in. "No. Not quite."

Toothless flew into the air and continued firing plasma blasts. Sunset noticed that Dagur was now fully standing in the puddle and poked her friend in the back. Getting the hint, Hiccup urged Toothless back down to the ground.

"Anything to say before you die?" cried Dagur, face shining with victory.

Sunset smirked. "Yeah. Water and lightning don't mix."

At Dagur's confused expression, Toothless fired another plasma blast. The resulting backlash caused lightning volts to travel down the ropes and zap Dagur, due to the reaction between lightning and water. His body jerked and spasmed, his pained cries echoing across the island.

After one final explosion, Dagur pitched over the edge and fell to the ground below. Smoking and dazed, he stumbled to his feet for a brief second before crashing to the ground. Hiccup smiled. "I don't think he's fit to be leading any invasions any time soon."

Toothless suddenly jumped to the side, barely avoiding a lightning blast from the freed Skrill. Sunset winced. "The Berserker is down, but we still got an active Skrill."

"It's time we took care of this guy," muttered Hiccup.

They flew off at rapid speed, pursued by the Skrill. Sunset hunkered down, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up as the blasts continued to sail inches from them. Hiccup glanced over his shoulder briefly. "We need to lose him!"

Sunset spotted an iceberg a distance away. She pointed it out and said, "Or we could let him follow us over to that."

Hiccup grinned. "I like the way you think."

Toothless flew over the water and went straight for the iceberg. The Skrill, who was flying above them, fired a lightning blast at the ice formation. A chunk dislodged and fell directly towards the two teens. Sunset shrieked as Toothless raced underneath and veered upwards, travelling the narrow gap between the large piece of falling ice and the iceberg. When they made it through and hovered for a brief moment, Sunset noticed a cut in the ice. "There!"

Toothless swooped into the cut, and soon they were enveloped frigid air. Toothless wound through the icy tunnel, the Skrill following behind them. They came into an open space, with icy walls bearing their reflection.

"Toothless, go stand over there," commanded Sunset, pointing to the snow-covered floor, off to the side.

Toothless complied, and a second later the Skrill raced in. The first thing he noticed was Toothless' reflection in the ice and he charged forwards. With a loud thunk, the black dragon smacked head-first into the ice and crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

"Nice one," exclaimed Hiccup, high-fiving Sunset. He then stroked Toothless' side. "You rocked, bud!"

"Awesome flying, Toothless," praised Sunset.

The Night Fury cooed happily and flew out of the iceberg. When they appeared out in the sunlight, they were greeted by the twins on Barf and Belch. "How come you get to do all the cool stuff?" demanded Ruffnut.

"Yeah," cried Tuffnut. "We wanna do something!"

Hiccup grinned, relieved that the twins made it off Outcast Island in one piece. "Light it up, Ruff and Tuff."

"You got it! Barf, let it rip!"

Flying over the cut, Barf filled it with green gas. "Do your thing, Belch!" cheered Tuffnut.

Belch let out a spark and an explosion occurred, causing the ice in the cut to melt rapidly. Floods of water filled up the cut before freezing again almost instantly, trapping the Skrill in an icy prison once more.

"And that is the end of that," sighed Hiccup, suddenly exhausted. "Come on, guys. Let's go home."

"Music to my ears," agreed Ruffnut.

"You know, some of those Outcasts really know how to sing," said Tuffnut conversationally.

"I bet," said Hiccup with a roll of his eyes.

Sunset frowned. "Wait a second, how long have we been gone?"

"Ooh." Hiccup winced. "Dad is so not going to be happy."

"So we're a bit late," dismissed Tuffnut. "But come on. We actually have a good excuse this time."

"Good point. Alright, gang, forwards! To tell my father and the others of our brave heroic efforts."

"Never mind our heroic effort," muttered Sunset, settling a hand over her stomach. "I'm starving. Let's get the heck out of here."

As they flew towards home, all of them, even Ruffnut and Tuffnut, knew that it wasn't the last they'd seen of Dagur, who would come back with a vengeance, and probably more insane than ever.