"And once the storm is over, you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about." – Haruki Murakami

Chapter 24

Dagur is alive. Heather told me she ran into him while on a mission with Hiccup. They helped him save his Gronckle, Shattermaster, from the dragon hunters. However, the dragon hunters returned fire, and Dagur stayed behind to hold them off. No one has heard from him since, but if he escaped the first time, he was just fine now. I knew he was too tough to go down that easily.

Since I joined life at Dragon's Edge, Heather often stuck around as well. Neither of us joined the dragon riders in their missions too often because we had to divide our time between them and the School. Still, it was nice to be included.

I tried to keep as busy as I could. I wanted everything to go back to normal. Except... I did not know what normal was. The majority of my time at the Edge had been spent with Harald, and everything I did now reminded me of me. We never figured out where he ran off to. I kept an eye out for his ship just in case he decided to come back, but there was never any sign of him. He was gone.

I told myself it was better this way. If he came back, it could only mean trouble. I ignored the part of me that wanted him back. There was nothing I could do about it anyway, so why dwell on something that would only cause me pain? I did my best to not draw away from my friends. They were very accommodating and acted like nothing had happened. Only Heather checked in on my once in awhile. I assured her I was fine.

Once morning, I was lounging in my hut at Dragon's Edge with Bolt when I heard a knock on the door. "Come in!" I called.

Heather entered, and she appeared nervously excited about something. "Brennda, we have a visitor," she said. "I want you to meet him." Her eyes fell on my dragon. "Bolt as well."

Bolt looked at me curiously. I shrugged. To Heather, I said, "Lead the way."

I followed her out to the main area of camp. I spotted the other riders crowed around someone and talking loudly. The chatter ceased when I appeared. Everyone moved away, giving me full view of the visitor: Dagur.

Our eyes locked. I was not sure what I was supposed to feel. The last time I saw him, I yelled at him for being a bad chief. But he also saved Heather.

"Dagur, this is Brennda," Heather said. "And Bolt. Do you remember?"

Dagur finally tore his gaze away to grin at his sister. "Of course I do! She's the Skrill trainer!" His eyes immediately went to Bolt.

"R-Right," I said.

Bolt stood beside me, giving Dagur a cautious look. I pat his head to reassure him.

Dagur smiled at this. "Very impressive. Oh, and I do remember what you said the last time we met! You were right about everything. I'm sorry I pushed you away from your home. But I have returned to Berserker Island for good, and I am going to turn it into a place you'll beg to come back to!"

I allowed a cautious smile to slip onto my lips. "Thank you, Dagur. I appreciate it." I noticed his gaze flicker to Bolt again. It seemed he had not gotten over his Skrill obsession. Not that I blamed him. "Do you want to meet him properly?"

Dagur's eyes lit up. "Can I?" He looked to Heather as if for permission, and she nodded.

I slowly led Bolt forward, stopping right in front of Dagur, who appeared to be trying hard to contain his anticipation. "It's alright, Bolt." I nodded at Dagur. "You can reach out and touch him."

"Do you think he'll get zapped?" Ruffnut asked from the sidelines.

"I'm sure Bolt can sense that we can trust him now," Hiccup said.

Dagur reached out his hand and held it over Bolt's head. Then he dropped it and moved it along his scales. Bolt made a pleased sound. Dagur grinned at me. "I did it! I touched a Skrill!"

Heather chuckled. "Good job, Dagur."

Somehow, his childlike excitement put me at ease. This was not the same Dagur I had once feared. This was the Dagur my parents knew he could be. Bolt appeared happy about the situation as well. That gave me an idea. "Say, Dagur, do you want to ride with us?"

Dagur seemed surprised at my offer, but then his grin returned. "Of course I do! Let's go!"

We all laughed. Some things had not changed at least.

I enjoyed showing off Bolt to Dagur. The Berserker chief was easily impressed, and Bolt liked the attention. We had a lot of fun playing together. Heather walked back with me to my hut after he left that evening.

"What did you think?" she asked with a smile.

"He's great," I said. "I can hardly believe it." I stopped in front of my hut and turned to face my friend. "It's really over, isn't it? The Berkians and Berserkers are at peace."

She nodded in understanding. "It's finally over. You have nothing to worry about anymore."

"Thank you, Heather. For helping Dagur."

"I didn't do much. He's the one who decided to change."

I shook my head. "But you believed in him. You saw the good along with the bad and brought out the good."

"It's not like I intended to. It just... happened."

She may not have noted its significance, but this meant everything to me. "Is it alright if this allows me to hope?" I stared at her, wondering if she would catch my meaning.

Heather gazed at me without speaking at first. Then she smiled. "Of course it is, Brennda. This is a great reason to hope. This is what we're all about, isn't it? We don't want to just protect dragons. We want to change hearts and minds, right?"

Yes, that was our dream. A dream Harald thought too naive and idealistic. He didn't believe in people the way we did. But because of that belief, one of our greatest enemies was now one of our greatest allies. I realized Harald did not need to be here for me to start proving him wrong.

I allowed a confident grin to spread across my face. "You're exactly right, Heather. And this is only the start!"

Our battles with the dragon hunters took us through the summer until, finally, we joined together with all our allies to defend Dragon's Edge once again. This time, Viggo Grimborn perished in the fight when he fell into the volcano going after the Dragon Eye. It was finally over. We were free.

Peace only last a few months. With winter on the horizon, a new threat arrived: Drago. He still believed dragons were horrible beasts and the only way to deal with them was to control them before they controlled us. Stoick decided to prepare for war, but Hiccup believed he could talk sense into Drago and flew off with Toothless. Stoick, Gobber, and the dragon riders went after him.

I stayed behind at Berk to watch over everyone. My efforts proved to be futile. Morning arrived, and Drago suddenly appeared with a white dragon as big as a mountain. A Bewilderbeast, I later learned it was called. This dragon has the ability to control the minds of other dragons.

I could only watch helplessly as Bolt flew away from me, threatening me with his lightning bolts when I got to close. I joined the crowd of confused, frightened Vikings who stared up at Drago and his Bewilderbeast in shock. A huge mass of dragons surrounded Drago. They all appeared to glare down at us.

"Your chief is dead!" Drago boomed from atop the giant dragon's head. "No one can protect you now."

Then the Bewilderbeast used his ice breath to prematurely freeze Berk. The Vikings huddled together to keep warm. I wanted to help but found myself at a loss. Where were my friends? Drago would say if Hiccup was dead too, right?

Finally, Hiccup and the dragon riders arrived... riding baby Scuttleclaws. They must have been the only dragons not affected by the Bewilderbeast's hypnosis. I saw Hiccup sneak towards Toothless while the others threw sheep at the Bewilderbeast.

I snapped out of it long enough to get my legs to run to my friends. "Hey!" I said. "Can I help?"

Snotlout grinned at me. "Grab a sheep!"

Our distraction worked. Hiccup was able to get to Toothless and somehow break through to him. He blindfolded him to help him block out the Bewilderbeast's power and mounted him. Then the real battle began.

Somehow, Hiccup and Toothless were able to keep up with the Bewilderbeast. It was quite amazing to watch. Toothless challenged the giant dragon for status as alpha... and he won. The Bewilderbeast lost control of the dragons, and they all joined Toothless to help fight him off. He gave up, plunging into the sea with Drago on his back.

The Vikings erupted into cheers. All the dragons landed and bowed to Toothless as their new alpha. Toothless roared in victory, and the dragons roared back at him. Then they split up to return to where they belonged.

"Bolt!" I cried, flinging my arms around the neck of my Skrill. Bolt grunted happily and nuzzled my back. I pulled away and smiled at him. "It's all fine now, buddy."

The Vikings of Berk crowded around Hiccup with their dragons. Bolt and I joined them to see what was going on. Gothi approached Hiccup and asked him to kneel. Then she used coal to draw the chief symbol on his forehead.

"The chief has come home!" Gobber yelled.

"Long live Chief Hiccup!" the rest of us shouted as one while the dragons fired into the sky.

Somehow, it felt like everything would be alright now. Sure, Berk was nearly destroyed and would take a lot of work to repair, but we were all together again and stronger than ever. And our dragon friends were here with us. We would never let each other down.

"Hey, Brennda!" Hiccup said as he approached with Astrid and a stranger. Toothless and Skullcrusher followed behind. "There's someone I want you to meet."

I looked over the stranger. I vaguely remembered him helping my friends and I fight the Bewilderbeast. He was tall, muscular, and fairly handsome. Despite the recent battle, he held himself with a familiar confidence. And those markings on his chin... where had I seen them before? "Hello," I said coolly. "I'm Brennda, and this is Bolt." Sensing my mood, my dragon let out a low warning growl.

The man flashed me a brilliant smile. "Hello, Brennda," he said. "I am Eret, son of Eret, greatest dragon trapper alive."

Then it clicked. Dragon trapper. Enemy. Enraged, I jumped on him, sending both of us crashing to the ground. I immediately straddled him and pressed my sword against his throat. Bolt stood beside him, his body crackling with electricity. "You were with Drago!" I growled. "Why are you here?"

Astrid burst out laughing.

"Brennda, he's with us!" Hiccup said in alarm.

"It's true!" Eret said, his eyes wide in fear. "I'm on your side, mate!"

Perhaps I would have hesitated if he had not used that term, but memories of betrayal prevented me from giving him a chance. I had learned my lesson. "Nice try," I said. "Hiccup, what did Astrid and I tell you about trusting strangers?"

"He's right this time," Astrid said once she stopped laughing. "Eret was an enemy, but he changed after Stormfly saved his life. We would never have escaped Drago's ship without his help."

My eyes tightened. "Well, if you've been vetted by Astrid..."

Eret nodded vigorously. "It's true!" His eyes flickered to Bolt before catching mine. "You and your dragon are very intimidating. I'm sure you make a mighty good team. I understand that now. Hiccup and Astrid showed me what it means to earn a dragon's trust."

My anger receded. He did think we were properly intimidating... I slowly got off of him, but I kept my eyes on him. As soon as he was free, Skullcrusher rushed to his side and nudged him.

"And he has earned the trust of my husband's dragon," came a woman's voice. "He has been vetted by me as well."

Eret got to his feet and gave the woman a grateful smile. "Thank you, Valka."

I nodded. "Understood. Wait-" I looked at Skullcrusher. "That was Stoick's dragon. So, you're-" I looked at the woman. "But you can't be. Hiccup said-" I looked to Hiccup for help.

The new chief smiled at me. "Brennda, I would like you to meet my mother, Valka."

I turned to the woman again, my mouth agape. "But - but you're... not dead?"

Valka chuckled. "Not at all. It is nice to meet you, Brennda. I can see you are a fine warrior of Berk."

"Yes, but how-?" I looked to Hiccup. This was all way too confusing for me.

"I found her living with dragons in a sanctuary," Hiccup explained.

"I left Berk with a friend," Valka said. She placed a hand on a big dragon behind her. "Cloudjumper. Neither of us approved of the fighting between Vikings and dragons, and so we left. I believed Vikings to be too stubborn to ever change... until my son and husband returned to me and proved me wrong." She looked from Hiccup to Eret with a soft smile on her face. "I have never been happier to be wrong."

"You and Stoick were reunited then," I said with a small smile. "That's nice." I closed my eyes as I imagined the scene in my head. My smile fell when the truth dawned on me. This woman had left her husband and son because of what she believed in. It had not been done do to hate, but still, she acted in spite of love. "When you saw him again... was it like nothing had changed? Did the love come back?"

Valka held my steady gaze. Something told me she understood I was asking for myself. "Dear girl, it never went away."

"Love never dies," I whispered. "I know."

Valka placed her hands on my shoulders and gave me an encouraging smile. "It will be alright. Hiccup tells me you have the heart of Berserker. You will choose what is right."

I nodded. "Thanks."

Valka removed her hands and stepped back. "We will talk later." She swept her gaze over the others. "For now, we need to figure out our next step."

"We should get started on repairs at Berk," Hiccup said, "but we should also check up on the School. I do not think Drago made it over there, but they should at least know what happened."

"I am very eager to see this School of yours," Eret said.

"As am I," said Valka. "But I can wait. Berk comes first."

"Brennda, why don't you take Eret to the School and introduce him to Heather and the headmaster?" Hiccup said. "In fact, if he is interested in joining with Skullcrusher, I'm thinking of putting you in charge of his training."

I looked at him in surprise. "Me?"

Hiccup smiled. "Sure. You are a senior trainer now, and you did a great job with Skulder."

"I agree," Astrid said. "I think you and Eret will get along fine once you know each other."

"I would be honored to learn from you,"Eret said, placing a hand over his heart.

I looked him over once more. Sure, I had succeeded with Skulder, but with Harald... I pushed the thoughts away. I could not live in the past. This was my chance. Eret was not Harald. "Okay then," I said, "I accept. Come on, Eret." I mounted Bolt and looked over my shoulder at Eret. He had not moved. "Is something wrong?"

Astrid started to say something, but Hiccup touched her arm and shook his head.

Eret looked uneasily at Skullcrusher, appearing totally lost. I took in a deep breath. Right. He had never rode an adult dragon before. I reluctantly dismounted Bolt and strode over to the Rumblehorn. "You can ride behind me on Skullcrusher," I decided.

"Not on your dragon?" Eret said.

I shook my head. "A Skrill is a little too advanced for you."

"Now you're worried about that?" Hiccup said.

I shot him a look and did not respond. I rubbed Skullcrusher's head to encourage him before climbing onto his back. "Now just get on behind me."

Eret still seemed unsure, but he obeyed. Once in place, he wrapped his arms tightly around me. Thankfully, I found it did not bother me like it had with Harald. "I'm ready when you are."

"I'll meet you there later," Hiccup said. "Good luck!"

"We'll be fine, mate!" said Eret. "It's off to the School of Dragons!"

Skullcrusher took to the air, and Bolt flew beside him. Eret seemed quite relaxed as we flew. His experience over the past day really had changed his view of dragons. Just like Dagur.

Hiccup may not have been able to change Drago's mind, but he had changed Eret's. Not to mention his mother's. And this was only the start. More enemies may pop up, but we would win in the end because we were right. Just like love, the right ideas did not fade. We would change the world... one person at a time.

A/N: In case you noticed, HTTYD 2 has just occurred, but we have not yet gotten to Race to the Edge seasons five or six. It is impossible to reconcile RTTE, HTTYD 2, and the SoD expansions. This is because RTTE came out after HTTYD 2, and each new expansion follows a season of RTTE. Since this story is based on the game, I am following the information given in the expansions. This means RTTE seasons five and six have not occurred yet. I will tweak them to make them fit, though I will not delve too much into them. I hope it all makes sense in the end!