So, as has been stated previously, RTTE did not occur in this timeline. However, some of the major events that occurred over the course of that show have still come to pass, just in different ways.
This includes Dagur's reformation for example, but not the search for the King of Dragons. Also, Hiccup recognizes that Eret's crew are dragon trappers back in Chapter 2. I don't have a concrete opinion on the Grimborn brothers ever appearing, but the gang has certainly clashed with hunters and trappers in the past. I'll likely never write something to definitively fill the gap, so any headcanon anyone might have is perfectly valid.
19. Reunions
"Wings, ho! Rider coming in hot!"
Astrid looked up from supervising a few of the men unloading a ship of supplies. A trader had just come in from the south, and she thanked all the gods for the merchant's timing. The man had been quite spooked by the unusual number of people and dragons on the island, but Bertha had been happy to buy his ignorance with a few extra dragon scales. The supplies he had brought in exchange would go a long way in feeding and housing the suddenly overpopulated Bog for the next few days.
Astrid looked up at the morning sky, recognizing the dragon with ease. She could never mistake the black-and-cream scales and the trio of barbed tails lagging behind the dragon's body, and because of that there was likewise no mistaking the dragon's rider.
It also helped that said rider was screaming to the high heavens.
The scorpion-like dragon landed with an audible thud on the edge of the town, and the red-haired rider leaped up to stand on the dragon's saddle, as if he were trying to get a better vantage point to see the village by.
"Where is he? Where is my brother!?" Dagur howled, raising his hands high above his head as if he had triumphed over some great enemy. "I'll bathe in the blood of the men who took Berk from him, I swear it!" His dragon clacked its pincers together, agreeing with its mildly deranged rider with a hearty yowl. The Triple Stryke and Dagur the Deranged were a curious story—the Berserker's previous dragon, a Gronckle named Shattermaster, had been crippled in a skirmish with dragon trappers and rendered unable to fly. Dagur had nearly died protecting the dragon, only for the Triple Stryke to come to his aid.
Sleuther, as Dagur had come to call him, was a fearsome fighter and had since become Dagur's primary fighting mount, possessing powerful flames and paralyzing toxins in each of his three tails. Dagur, to his immense credit, had in turn proven himself capable of loving two dragons like his own family. With Shattermaster, he showed a care that many had thought him incapable of feeling, and with Sleuther, he displayed that awe-inspiring, fearsome side that had given him his adult title. To say that Dagur had come into his own and made up for his wrongs was a fairly large understatement.
"Hiccup!" Dagur screeched, "Show yourself and give me this invader's name, so that I may destroy him for daring to attack our family!" The Bog women that had guided him in looked utterly repulsed, trying and failing to control the fanatical Berserker Chief.
"Dagur!" Astrid called, walking over with Stormfly at her side. She opened her mouth to answer him and explain that Hiccup wasn't back yet, but Dagur interjected the second he laid eyes on her.
"Astrid Haddock! Looking as beautiful as ever! Say, can you tell my brother I'm here? He seems to be ignoring me," Dagur dropped back into a seated position and his crazed smile shifted to a pout, looking utterly ridiculous in the process. His spiky red hair and full beard looked freshly cleaned—had he bathed in preparation or something?
Another dragon crashed into the island at Dagur's side, its scales a gleaming silver. The Razorwhip cried out and reared up, the young woman on its back holding the reins tight. Her hair was as black as the night and her skin a smooth fair tone. A few hours spent sitting beneath the archipelago sun had left her cheeks tinged with a faint red blush.
"Beard of Thor, Dagur, think you could slow down for one minute?" Heather snapped. Windshear, her Razorwhip, squawked at Stormfly, to which the Nadder trilled back excitedly.
"Apologies, sis, but I'm just so stoked! I haven't seen Hiccup since the Thing! Astrid here was just helping me look for him!" Dagur replied, adding in a demented laugh for good measure.
Heather looked down from her mount, noticing Astrid for the first time. She'd been too busy scolding her child of an older brother. Upon seeing her good friend, Heather's eyes lit up. Astrid would even go so far as to call Heather her best friend (Ruffnut didn't need to know that). "Astrid! How's the archipelago's finest warrior doing?" Heather asked, genuinely concerned.
"As well as I can, I guess." Also, kind of pregnant. "Hiccup is out at the moment. He went to… go track down an ally," Astrid said, guarding the identity of said ally at least for the time being. Dagur and Heather would have a multitude of questions already. She didn't have the headspace right now to handle even more of them if she revealed that this ally was Hiccup's dead mother.
Dagur straightened up, seemingly passing over the notion of Hiccup's absence without a care. "Well, then we must begin our battle plans without him and pray for his safe return! Rejoice, for I've brought the whole of the Berserker Air Armada in my wake!" Dagur howled with laughter and pointed to the sky. He and Heather had flown ahead of them—Heather more in the interest of keeping up with her brother than leaving her men behind—but there was a large force indeed flying in towards the island, all shapes and sizes of men and women riding on all shapes and sizes of dragons.
Heavy footsteps thundered from behind Astrid. Dagur and Heather looked past her, almost reverently, and Astrid looked over her shoulder to find Bertha heading their way, casting two narrowed eyes to the sky where hundreds of Berserkers were flying in with their dragons.
"Dagur! Did you truly need to bring your entire army to my island?" Bertha growled.
Dagur batted his eyelashes, completely missing the implication that he'd done anything wrong. "Why, of course, Bertha! Without the might of the Berserker armada, how can we hope to mobilize an army capable of reclaiming Berk?"
"We only needed you and a few others to fly here. The plan was to rendezvous with your forces later. We don't have the space on these islands to accommodate your men and their dragons combined."
Dagur scoffed in disbelief. "All of Berk certainly seems to be here," he replied petulantly, gesturing meekly to the abundance of people and dragons in the village.
"The Berkians are refugees, you hot-blooded dolt," Bertha snapped, "They have nowhere else to go."
Heather hissed under her breath at Dagur, "I told you we shouldn't have rushed off." Dagur hung his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"My apologies, Bertha. I meant no disrespect bringing my army with me," he relented. He seemed mildly disappointed that he needed to be apologizing at all.
Bertha lifted her hands to her waist, a mask of emotionless stone serving as her face. "I accept your apology, Dagur. I'd ask you to send your men back home and wait for further orders. If Drago Bludvist is on the hunt, he may well turn his sights on Berserk next. It would be best not to offer him easy pickings."
That stoked the flame in Dagur's heart again, spurring him into another wild bout. The young Chief practically raised his hackles as he flinched before launching to the defense of his people. "Easy pickings? On Berserk? Never! If this fool foreigner tries to attack our island, he'll find himself hanging from the neck off of a mast!"
Astrid quite liked that visual, horrid as it was. Heather clicked her tongue and Windshear plodded forward a step. "I'll give the word, brother. Scabfester can lead the others back home and stand in as Acting Chief for the time being."
Dagur gave a hasty nod. "Go," he consented.
"Come find us in the Great Hall after, Miss Heather," Bertha added. Heather brushed a lock of her black hair behind her ear and nodded, and with a simple command Windshear spread her wings and lifted off, flapping up to the aerial armada loitering above the village.
Dagur promptly dismounted from Sleuther, patting the Triple Stryke's hide with a calloused hand. "Tell me everything I need to know about this invader," the Berserker Chief urged. Bertha turned on her heel, waving for Dagur and Astrid to follow her.
"Come. There is much to tell, and little of it is good," Bertha replied. Astrid cast one last look at Dagur before falling into step behind the Bog Burglar Chieftess. Dagur mimicked her, sidling up beside her. Stormfly and Sleuther lagged behind, tutting at one another and socializing.
Bertha was dead silent on the walk to the Great Hall, so Dagur scratched his ever-present itch for conversation by talking to Astrid. He looked around the village, busy and overcrowded. "You said Hiccup went off searching for an ally?"
"Yes," Astrid said simply.
"Anyone I know?"
Astrid almost smiled. "I can guarantee that you don't." Oddly, Dagur grinned, probably picturing some celebrated warrior that would single-handedly turn the tide of battle against Drago. If only he knew. Which he probably would pretty soon, if she knew Valka at all. And she really didn't know the woman that well, but Astrid had a hard time believing that Valka would turn away her son asking for her help. It had been less than a day and she wasn't sure when Hiccup planned to be back. She hoped it was soon. She hoped he had actually made it to Valka's mountain and, Odin forbid, not been captured.
Dagur gave the village another once-over. He noticed the amount of Berkians with parts of their bodies bandaged and frowned. "I'm not sure what I was expecting to see, but it definitely had less bandages."
"Drago crushed us," Astrid replied, "We're lucky to have as many here as we do."
"How did a foreigner manage to rout a Viking army?"
Bertha interjected at that, looking over her large shoulder and scowling. Spittle flung off of her tongue as she spoke, reviling the very mention of Drago. "With dragons," she hissed.
"Dragons?" Dagur repeated, "Like, an army of dragons? …Why didn't I think of that?" the deranged chieftain laughed for a split-second, entertaining his delusional self in the process. Bertha glowered, quickly tipping the Berserker Chief off that his response was not appreciated, and he piped down, embarrassed.
"Yes, an army of dragons," Bertha drawled. They reached the Great Hall and she yanked the door open, silently bidding Astrid and Dagur to enter with a gesture. They followed, entering the torchlit hall. The grand table that had been placed in the center of the room two evenings ago was still present, the large map of the archipelago draped over it and the many figurines standing in for their militaries still meticulously arranged.
Dagur looked upon the display with glee. "Well, haven't you all been busy little Terrors! I find myself feeling rather jealous!"
Astrid and Dagur stood side by side at one end of the table as Bertha passed by and circled around to the other side, lazily dragging one finger across the parchment while Dagur admired the many figurines with gleaming eyes. The Berserker Chief seemed to be in his element inside a war room. Not for the first time, Astrid found herself glad he was their ally.
Behind them, the doors to the Great Hall opened and Heather came rushing in, her boots slapping against the floor. Windshear was no longer with her, probably left outside to play with Stormfly and Sleuther. The young woman's black hair bobbed as she ran, a tangled, windblown mess from all the flying. She had moved fast getting the word to the armada and then tailing them back to the Great Hall.
"Excellent timing," Bertha commented as Heather nearly skidded to a stop on Astrid's other side. She combed a few fingers through her messy hair and Astrid nudged her side. The two women exchanged a smile. Across the table, Bertha gestured to the small assortment of pieces closer to the trio, a mix of shapes representing ships, dragons, and soldiers. "In front of you are our current forces," the Bog Burglar Chieftess started.
Her eyes shifted to the section of the map directly beneath her, three groups of wooden figurines far more numerous than those allotted to the Vikings amassed around the image of Berk.
"And this," she said, a pregnant pause holding her tongue, "is what we're up against."
It seemed to hit Dagur and Heather just then how dire the situation was. The number of pieces allotted to Drago's side had to have been at least double what the Bog Burglars and Berk had to offer, probably even more when adding in the dragons.
"I won't lie to either of you," Bertha added. She splayed her hands on the table, palms pressing into the wood beneath the map. "Drago Bludvist is incredibly dangerous. He's the man responsible for the murder of your uncle." [1]
"Uncle Uhtred?" Dagur asked. Bertha nodded solemnly.
"Your father sent him as his representative to the meeting of chieftains that Drago first struck at. Uhtred's death had a profound effect on your father, so much so that he even forsook his title," Bertha recalled. In the past, Oswald the Agreeable had been better known as Oswald the Antagonistic, a better representation of the Berserker Chiefs of the past. "This fight is personal for many of us. I'm sorry to spring such news on you out of the blue. It was my understanding that Oswald wished to hide this information from you, as I did with my daughter and Stoick did with his son. We have all long hoped that Drago would never return after that night, and for a long time, he didn't."
"But he's back now, and we need to keep what happened the last time he was here from ever happening again," Dagur picked up on the point Bertha was trying to make, "Say no more, Bertha, we're in."
Heather eyed the collection of figures, so much larger than the tally allotted to their side. It was difficult to imagine the scale of the foreigner's legion. "That's quite the army," she said, for lack of anything better.
"His soldiers must be pathetic, if he needs so many of them," Dagur quickly concluded, his bitterness clear as day in his eyes. He hadn't thought of his uncle Uhtred in many years, and this fresh knowledge was opening a wound that had been forcibly sewn shut by ignorance. One day all those years ago, his uncle had simply left and never come back.
"It's not the men that he gets his strength from," Astrid disputed, "it's the dragons."
"That's something I don't understand. Why would so many dragons fight for him? Surely he can't be treating them well if he uses them as weapons of war?" Heather inquired. She wrung her hands uneasily. It was an appropriate response, really, considering what the truth of the matter was. Heather was sharp—she knew that something was up.
"They don't fight for him, not of their own free will. Drago controls them and makes them fight for him," Astrid explained.
Heather's eyebrows crooked downward, confused but feeling the need to be angry about whatever Astrid was implying. "How does he manage that?" she pressed, looking a little peeved at only being fed bits of information at the time. Astrid couldn't blame her.
"He uses a Bewilderbeast. The king of all dragons," Astrid clarified. She fastened her fingers around one of the dragon-shaped figures, lifting it up and waving it over the other dragon statuettes to get her point across. "We don't know how he got his hands on one, we didn't even know that such a thing existed until a few days ago, but his control is virtually ironclad. The Bewilderbeast has the power to impose its will upon nearly any dragon it wants. Drago uses this power to dominate the dragons he captures for his army and force their loyalty."
Heather's jaw dropped. "There's a dragon that can do that?"
Dagur, on the other hand, was curiously thrilled at such an idea. "Aw, can you imagine if I'd had something like that when I was trying to take over the archipelago? The Berserkers would have been unstoppable."
The three women in the room at once accosted Dagur with venomous glares. The similarities were almost uncanny. If one didn't know otherwise, they might assume that Astrid, Bertha, and Heather were all related. Their glares had the intended effect, shutting up Dagur's violent reminiscing. This was the difficulty in dealing with Dagur and warfare—it wasn't very long ago that the young Berserker had maintained a rather vicious relationship with the tribes he was supposed to be allies with, Hel-bent on 'restoring the Berserkers to their former glory'.
That had resulted in an extremely tenuous alliance with Alvin the Treacherous and the Outcast Tribe that was eventually broken. Through no small amount of work, all-out war had been avoided and the Viking archipelago had found itself in an era of peace, though Alvin and Dagur were still not particularly friendly with one another—who could blame them? Bertha had sent riders to visit the Outcasts and request their help as well, and knowing Alvin, he would come rushing to Berk's aid upon hearing that something had happened to Stoick.
Astrid hoped that having Alvin and Dagur in the same room wouldn't cause things to become explosive, they needed to focus on their common enemy. That was another reason Hiccup needed to return soon. He was one of the very few people that could adequately manage the likes of Dagur and Alvin for long periods of time. It was a gift, really.
"Er, sorry," Dagur repented, "Okay, so, big dragon with a crown on its head."
"Try really big. Like, the size of a mountain big."
"Oh, gods," Heather hissed, lowering her head into one of her hands and shaking it. Astrid felt for her.
"Alright, this isn't a problem. We've got this," Dagur insisted, possibly more to psych himself up than encourage the women. Even he looked affected by the thought of the odds against them, and he was deranged.
"Toothless has shown himself able to resist the Alpha, at least for a little bit. The ally that Hiccup went to find has another dragon that can do the same," Astrid offered.
Heather perked up at that, "Is there some way they can mimic the Alpha?"
Astrid shook her head, "Not that we know of. That's why we're thinking no dragons, at least until we can get the upper hand. We should assume that any dragon we bring into the fight will be taken by Drago's Alpha and turned against us. Until we can find a way to thwart the Alpha's control, we have to rely on ourselves to fight the battle."
"If we meet up somewhere near Berk, I can contribute the entire Berserker armada, both sea and air," Dagur said. He glanced down at the carvings representing their forces, an idea coming to him. "Perhaps we can hide our dragons on some of my ships and keep them away from the fight."
Astrid nodded, "I'm on board with that idea. The port is crowded with all of the ships, there's no sense in cluttering it even more."
"That makes three of us," Heather added, slightly raising her hand to communicate her support.
Astrid looked to Bertha, deferring to the Bog Burglar Chieftess. The great woman crossed her arms over her chest, scrutinizing all three of the younger Vikings before her. Finally, she relaxed. "Very well. But we still must consider our strategy for the actual battle… if Drago can simply steal our dragons and use them as his own—"
The doors to the Great Hall burst open, a Bog woman hustling inside. She was meaty like Bertha, but not quite as tall and a result not nearly as imposing. Still, judging by the wicked battle axe attached to her hip, there was little doubt that she was a force on the battlefield. Astrid, Heather, and Dagur turned their heads as the woman bowed, allowing Bertha to look between them at their visitor.
"Pardon my interruption, Chief," the woman pleaded, chest heaving up and down as she tried to catch her breath.
"Of course, Gertrude," Bertha replied, "Is something the matter?"
Gertrude sucked in a deep breath and straightened her posture. She shook her head in denial. "No, Chief. I came running to tell you that Chief Mogadon and his heir have arrived with a small entourage. They are being received at the docks now."
"Mogadon brought Thuggory with him?" Heather interjected curiously. The Meathead heir had grown up for the most part in the shadows in relation to the other tribes. Astrid knew him as, to be blunt, a cross between Snotlout and Fishlegs—that is, intelligent enough to know his shortcomings but still at times a hardheaded, boisterous brute. She supposed he got his relative smarts from his mother, since his father was the typical Viking, proud and stubborn beyond comprehension.
Bertha nodded firmly. "Thank you, Gertrude. Find my daughter and escort her to the docks. We'll be out to greet Mogadon shortly." Gertrude turned and scurried out of the Hall, letting the large door slam shut behind her.
Bertha let out a heavy sigh next and ran a brawny hand through her hair. "Let's table this discussion for now and bring Mogadon and Thuggory up to speed. Mogadon in particular will want to know everything we know. Drago's attack years ago was on his island after all. The Meatheads lost more that night than any of us."
Bertha circled around the table, waving the younger Vikings along with her. The three of them followed, quiet as a couple of mice, and left the table behind to greet the next batch of arriving allies.
"Toothless!" Hiccup called, walking back into the main room. The black dragon was nowhere to be seen. He'd gone looking through the tunnels only to find nothing. Over by the fire, Valka was packing the last of her things into a saddlebag she'd strung around Cloudjumper's flank and humming to herself.
"Hey, Mom? Have you seen Toothless?" Valka looked up from her bag, as did Cloudjumper, blinking his warm golden eyes. Valka frowned and shook her head, at a loss.
"He was here eating with Cloudjumper earlier, but I saw something catch his attention and he ran off into the nest."
Hiccup blinked. "Maybe he's playing with the other dragons?" he wondered aloud and crossed the room, passing behind Cloudjumper. The Stormcutter coiled his head completely around to watch him go, his muscular neck twisted in on itself but apparently not bothering the dragon in the least. Valka closed the saddlebag she'd been packing and followed her son, prompting Cloudjumper to trail behind them both with heavy footsteps.
Hiccup stepped out onto the natural balcony that overlooked the nest, a wide terrace of rock that was effectively the mouth of the large cave that was Valka's main room. The morning sunlight was filtering through the ice in the ceiling, reflecting every which way off of the walls to fill the underground nest with light. Dragons flapped back and forth, calling to each other as they went.
From the balcony, it was too easy to spot Toothless in the crowd—his jet-black scales and red prosthetic tailfin gave him away. The Night Fury was standing in the nest's center, staring at the fairly large gemstone rising up from the earth. The stone was definitely one of the stranger things Hiccup had ever seen. He'd noticed it on his way in yesterday but forgotten it in the slew of monumental events that followed. It was clear and devoid of color, but opaque and filled with a cloudy essence underneath its surface. It was like looking into a wall of fog. And for some reason, it had Toothless absolutely transfixed.
Valka reached Hiccup's side, following his eyes to spot Toothless as well. "Huh," she muttered, saying nothing else.
"I never asked," Hiccup started, "What exactly is that?"
Valka frowned. "I don't quite know. There are many mysteries to this nest, but none greater than that crystal. I've lived here for twenty years, yet I can't even begin to understand its place here."
"I'm gonna go get him. We need to get moving," Hiccup said. He slid his arms into the catches that would let him release his wings and glide, raising one leg up onto the rock ledge.
Valka wasn't paying enough attention to notice what he was doing. "We'll give you a lift—" she started, only to be cut off when Hiccup jumped. The dragon woman bit back a shout and Hiccup went tumbling off the edge. She sprinted to the ledge and nearly threw herself over it searching for him. He plummeted, his fall seemingly occurring in slow motion to Valka, only to yank his arms outward and unveil the leather flaps hidden in his armor. The "wings" caught the air surrounding him and he immediately floated through the air, heading straight for Toothless and the strange crystal.
"What… the…?" Valka mumbled, fascinated. Cloudjumper's grunt jerked her from her trance and she immediately climbed onto the Stormcutter's back. She had a great many more questions to ask her son during the flight to the Bog Isles.
Hiccup stumbled into a landing, heaving his legs in front of him as he reached the ground. It wasn't the most graceful arrival, but he managed to not fall flat on his face. Toothless didn't so much as flinch in his direction, still giving the gemstone his undivided attention. Perplexed, Hiccup crammed his gliding wings back into their pockets and fixed his eyes on his dragon.
"Bud? It's time to go," Hiccup said. Toothless craned his neck to look at him now, pale green eyes full of curiosity. Both dragon and Viking stared at one another for several seconds, as if speaking would break the tension and send one of them running like a spooked deer.
"Toothless? What's wrong?" Hiccup pressed. Toothless looked back at the crystal and then turned his head again to stare at Hiccup. The dragon parted his lips and flicked his head at the gemstone, offering a muted whine that only served to stump Hiccup even more.
Toothless looked past Hiccup and Cloudjumper landed noisily behind them, but the Stormcutter's arrival didn't deter the Night Fury one bit, even as Valka dismounted and came to Hiccup's side. Toothless returned his eyes to the gem and padded forward, wings nearly dragging along the ground and his long tail swishing slightly as he crept between the crown of frozen spikes at the base of the rock, the gap between them just large enough for the Night Fury to slip through. Hiccup followed at a distance, watching the foggy, blank crystal and trying to figure out why Toothless was so interested.
Toothless only stopped when he was mere inches from the gem, his warm breath brushing against its smooth surface. The black dragon's throat rumbled, and he led out the tiniest warble. Something deep inside had drawn the Night Fury to this stone, something Toothless would never be able to articulate to Hiccup. All he understood was that he needed to be here right now.
"What is he doing?" Hiccup muttered as Valka again stepped up beside him, just as perplexed as he was.
The crystal hummed, dashing any and all thoughts. Hiccup and Valka paused, exchanging identical looks of uncertainty. Had they truly just heard that? Then, a second time, the gemstone hummed, and a deep blue glow formed in its center, pulsing like a very slow heartbeat as it grew in size. It wasn't large enough to fill the strange gemstone, but Valka's gasp said just enough about how unprecedented the glowing was. Toothless staggered a step back, and as soon as he did, the glow went away, retreating back into the crystal's cloudy depths.
Toothless warbled and took a step forward again, but the glow didn't return. The dragon whined again, and still nothing.
"What was that?" Hiccup gasped.
Valka shrugged her shoulders, drumming her fingers along her staff and wearing a look of concentration. "I don't know. I've never seen that stone do anything like that before. I thought it was just a part of the nest. The dragons certainly aren't bothered by it."
Hiccup glanced at her, his mind a disordered mess. Honestly, as strange as this gem was, his thoughts were very much elsewhere. The flight back to Bog was going to take all day, and his impatience to get going peeked through again. "Well… whatever that was, it doesn't seem to be doing it again. Maybe it was some kind of response to Toothless getting close or something. In any case, we really need to get moving. Astrid will start getting worried if I'm not back tonight."
Valka conceded with a nod, "You're right. We can devote our energy to finding out what just happened here once this is over." She turned to her dragon, "Cloudjumper, call the other dragons, please."
"Toothless, c'mon, bud," Hiccup called. The Night Fury turned his head again and moaned, padding away from the gem in defeat. "Hey, cheer up, bud. Stormfly'll be happy to see you," Hiccup pointed out. That seemed to put the dragon in better spirits.
Cloudjumper let out a roar that got the attention of the rest of the nest's dragons, livening the nest with a din of dragons readying to go. Valka was bringing as many of her dragons with them as she could to combat Drago's dragon army with their own. Well, not that word for word, but with the dragons from this nest, once they cut off Drago's connection to the Alpha, they'd be virtually unstoppable. They'd strategized for most of the morning, drafting a partial plan to bring to Bertha.
Hiccup crawled onto Toothless' back and fit his legs snugly in the stirrups. His prosthetic foot locked into the pedal with a metallic click, and the sound made Hiccup relax for the first time in a while. He was ready to leave this place and see his wife. They'd only been apart for almost two days, and yet just the thought of Astrid made him ache and yearn to have her next to him and just be talking to her. That would be enough for him.
The dragons filling the mountain had flocked to them, circling through the nest and merely waiting for the call. Valka climbed onto Cloudjumper, cradling her mask in one hand and her staff in the other.
"Are you ready?" she asked, holding him from a distance with a look that seemed to communicate so much more than three simple words. She wasn't just asking if he was ready to leave, she was asking him if he was ready to go, to put his ideals on the line and take back their home and to be the Chief.
He was.
So, he nodded, and then Valka eyed all the dragons set to come with them. There was a nostalgia in her eye as she examined the nest that she had lived in amongst dragons for so long. Perhaps part of her didn't want to go, but the rest of her knew that she had to. "Then let us be off," she said, and she slid her head inside her mask, its spindly spines extending from her head and giving her the appearance of a seven-foot-tall living myth. "Let's go, Cloudjumper!"
The Stormcutter roared as he lifted off the ground, whipping the other dragons into a frenzy. Similar dragon calls went up in answer, bouncing off of the walls of the nest and filling Hiccup's ears. Cloudjumper beat his great wings and headed for the tunnels to leave the mountain, so Hiccup cranked the pedal to open the tailfin. Toothless squatted down on his haunches and launched, a relieving whoosh of air swirling around both dragon and rider.
Hiccup ducked his head and put on his helmet, relishing the feel of the leather on his jaw. He leaned into Toothless as the Night Fury picked up speed. They took off after Cloudjumper, grabbing the second spot in the pack of dragons as they endeavored to catch up. Once they were in the open air, they'd slide in beside the Stormcutter.
Toothless navigated the tunnels as if he'd lived in them all his life, and it wasn't long at all before the light at the end of the tunnel reached them. They blazed out of the cave into the morning sun, and leading an army of dragons, left Valka's mountain behind.
They avoided Berk entirely on the trip back. Partly because it would've been too easy for them to be spotted in the daylight with a dragon horde in tow, and also partly because Hiccup didn't want to see his subjugated home for a second time. He wanted the next time he laid eyes on the island to be the time that they reconquered it and drove Drago from their midst.
His mother wasn't with him at the front of the pack anymore. They'd flown side by side for the first hour or so and talked, but after there wasn't anything more to say, she opted to bring up the rear in order to do a better job of keeping an eye out for any hostile dragon trappers or soldiers of Drago's. There was no telling if he'd sent scouts or not, and reaching Bog safely was of the utmost importance.
Hiccup couldn't say that he minded it that much. It left him to his thoughts, which meant the time slipped away like it always did when he got to thinking. He had ample time to come up with an idea or two for the coming battle and had stumbled upon an opportunity to use Smothering Smokebreaths to cover their approach. If he knew Dagur, the Berserker Chief would happily supply plenty of ships, which meant a strong naval approach. They'd be attacked the second they were spotted. The Bog Isles had a healthy population of trained Smothering Smokebreaths. He'd talk to Cami about it when he got back.
So, with the time getting away from him like a Terror that had stolen some food, it didn't feel terribly long before Bog appeared in the distance. In actuality, the day was nearly over by then, with the sun on its final descent from the sky and painting the seas with a shade of orange, but as far as Hiccup was concerned, it could've been noon. The sight of the island, and the thought of returning to Astrid, energized him like nothing else.
He supposed that she felt the same way, primarily because she was leading the welcoming party that came out to receive them.
She was like a sunbeam, glowing as she and Stormfly came barreling out to sea as their party approached the island. Beside her were Heather and Windshear as well as Cami and Thatch. Stormfly led the pack and leaned into a wide turn, intercepting Hiccup and Toothless perfectly. The Nadder trilled, delighted to see her two favorite boys again.
"Well, good evening to you too, Stormfly!" Hiccup laughed. He looked up at the Nadder's rider, struck by her beauty as he often was. "Milady," he greeted, a huge grin plastered on his face.
"You sure brought the whole mountain back with you!" she shouted over the wind, "Bertha won't be very happy about that!"
"Why's that?"
"She ripped Dagur a new one this morning for showing up with his entire dragon armada. You should've seen his face," Astrid explained.
"Oh, boy," Hiccup lamented. He'd heard of Bertha's famous tongue-lashings and had no desire to be on the receiving end of one. He'd have to personally ensure that all the dragons he'd brought back settled for the time being on the surrounding islands.
"It's all been handled, though, thanks to me," Heather interjected, gliding up on Astrid's other side. She poked her head out so Hiccup could see her.
"Hi, Heather. It's good to see you," Hiccup greeted.
"Likewise. Dagur has been itching to talk to you, 'brother'," the black-haired woman said, cracking a wicked grin.
"Oh, good. I've also been waiting to reconnect with my brother, with whom I don't share an ounce of common blood," Hiccup answered with enough sarcasm to spoil a jug of mead.
"Don't let him hear you say that…" Astrid quipped. While Heather chuckled, she leaned in her husband's direction, eyeing him very seriously. "Hey, babe? Where's, uh, you-know-who?"
"Back of the pack," Hiccup said, "She wanted to keep another pair of eyes out for any danger."
"And are you two…?" she added, leaving the question hanging.
He smiled lightly, appreciating her concern. "Yeah. We're okay," he said, and smiled again as he saw Astrid relax. Neither Heather nor Cami had heard them, and like Astrid, hadn't seen Valka. He wondered how this surprise introduction was going to go once they landed. Everyone he knew thought that his mother had perished in a dragon raid 20 years ago. Or at least they had, before he unmasked her back at the Steppingstones.
The haze of dragons rumbled over Bog, buzzing and screeching and dashing. On the ground, Vikings exited their homes, many of them shouting in confusion and pointing.
"Let's head down, Stormfly," Astrid called out. The Nadder trilled and flapped her wings, angling herself towards the ground. Toothless, Windshear, and Thatch followed in a line, separating themselves from the pack of dragons Hiccup had brought. Berkians mingled with Bog Burglars, and jubilant shouting rippled through the crowd as they recognized the Night Fury descending into town.
"Hey, look! It's Hiccup!"
"Hiccup's back!"
Toothless touched the ground to raucous applause. Hiccup swung out of the dragon's saddle and reached out to help Astrid down from Stormfly. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Bertha walking over to them, the crowd parting to let her pass.
The voluptuous woman had her eyes fixed on the sky as she walked into earshot, arms crossed over her chest. "So, Hiccup Haddock, you leave for a few days and return with even more dragons in tow. I fear if I wait much longer, I'll be the Chief of a tribe of dragons, as well."
"I'm sorry for springing this on you, Bertha. I'll make sure of it that the dragons I brought will nest on the surrounding islands and not intrude on the village," Hiccup replied.
"I suppose I have little choice in the matter," Bertha grunted, a compromise she had to make.
Hiccup nodded gratefully, "Thank you, Bertha. I hope you know that I value your help. When this is over, I'll make sure that the Bog Burglars are well compensated."
A wild howl suddenly split the air, closely followed by a flash of red hair and tattoos. "Brother!" Dagur the Deranged came running and nearly tackled Hiccup, yanking him a few inches off of his feet and hugging him tight.
Hiccup wheezed, gasping for breath. "Dagur—urk—you're squeezing me."
"I'm so glad that you're finally here! It's been dreadfully boring without you!" Dagur hollered and set Hiccup back on his feet. He had about two inches of height on the Berserker Chief now, but no advantage would ever make him feel truly safe around Dagur, not when the man could lift him off of the ground with ease. The crazed Viking looked past Hiccup now, scanning the village for something. "Now, where is this mysterious ally Astrid told me you were off searching for?"
Hiccup exchanged a silent look with Astrid. He was glad that she hadn't told Dagur specifically who he was looking for. It made him feel better that he was going to have to share the revelation of his mother's survival with everyone. Berk already knew about Valka, but the rest of the archipelago didn't.
"She's on her way," he answered simply, eyes on the horde of dragons as a Stormcutter visibly broke through the pack and started heading down, all four wings spread wide.
"She?" Dagur repeated, following Hiccup's eyes to the descending Stormcutter. Cloudjumper landed with a thud, claws digging into the dirt pathway as his rider stood tall atop his back. Valka was dressed in full armor, and her staff dangled at her side in her grasp. "Woah," Dagur said, awestruck.
Hiccup motioned for Valka to remove her helmet, and the dragon woman slowly complied, freeing the auburn locks that Hiccup had so clearly inherited. The physical similarities between them were all too telling for the uninformed Bog Burglars and Berserkers. Hiccup even heard Bertha gasp under her breath, disbelieving.
"Everyone, this is Valka… my mom."
"Today just keeps getting crazier," Heather mumbled.
Cami, on the other hand, was effectively flabbergasted. "Your mother is alive?"
Hiccup grimaced, nodding his head nervously. "It's a recent development…"
"But… everyone said she was snatched up by dragons in a raid, what, twenty years ago now? I don't…" Cami rambled. Her features relaxed with realization as she put the pieces together, "They didn't hurt her," she concluded.
"No, they didn't," Hiccup said, "And now, she fights to protect the dragons from Drago. She's going to help us defeat him, once and for all."
"Wait, so your mother is like… some nomadic, vigilante dragon lady?" Dagur posited, giving the idea some thought before cracking a grin, "That. Is. Awesome!"
The Berserker Chief marched right on up to Cloudjumper, holding his grin. Cloudjumper eyed him curiously, ready to protect himself despite being many times larger than the seemingly unarmed man. "Dagur the Deranged, at your service!" he greeted Valka, offering his hand for a handshake.
For someone as wild as Dagur, he was being uncharacteristically formal. Valka practically danced off of Cloudjumper's back, reaching the ground with all the grace of the Chieftess she had once been, and she shook Dagur's hand properly.
"You're Oswald's boy," Valka acknowledged, and Dagur nodded with pride. Bertha lumbered over next. She was larger than Valka in every conceivable way, and yet still she seemed less threatening than the woman that was supposed to be dead.
"Valka Haddock. I thought I'd have to be dead before I laid eyes on you again," the Bog Burglar said. "I'm afraid I don't fully understand how it is that you're here now, but I suppose it matters little considering everything else." Bertha lifted a large hand to Valka's comparatively smaller shoulder, resting it there and offering her condolences. "I want you to know I'm very sorry about Stoick."
"I appreciate your sympathy, Bertha. And I'm sorry for bringing so many dragons to your door. I'll keep them far out of your hair for the time being," Valka promised. Bertha nodded agreeably.
"Thank you. We're discussing our battle strategy tomorrow morning. I expect you'd like to be in attendance?"
"If you'll have me," Valka replied.
"Of course," Bertha promised. She peeled away from the seemingly revived woman and returned to her people, ordering them with various shouts and screams to disperse and return to what they were doing. Little by little, people trickled away, muttering in disbelief, confusion, or alternatively, exhaustion.
Valka's eyes dropped to Hiccup and company. His friends surrounded him, a few of them eyeing her suspiciously (Camicazi in particular). She supposed she deserved the wariness. From across the village, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins came hustling over, all four of them staring at Valka; the shock of the knowledge of her survival having still not worn off. Further away, a few dragons were fluttering down to the ground, a familiar face on the back of one. She remembered Mogadon quite well, even twenty years later. It occurred to Valka that there were a lot of questions that would need answering, and she was not in the condition to be bombarded with such inquiries at the moment.
Hiccup looked up from his friends at her, and a silent understanding instantly passed between them. She was exhausted, and he looked to be feeling the same.
"I'm going to corral the dragons and find an island to rest on. I'll return in the morning?" Valka said, leaving the question hanging.
"Sure," Hiccup agreed, "I'll see you at the strategy meeting first thing tomorrow." Valka dipped her head in agreement and clambered back onto Cloudjumper, briefly twirling her staff so that the rattles inside clattered in their sockets.
"Go, Cloudjumper," she ordered, and the Stormcutter took off. As the massive dragon ascended, he let out a commanding roar that garnered the attention of all of the dragons from the mountain, and one by one they lifted into the air and followed as Valka flew toward one of the small, uninhabited piles of sand scattered around the Bog Isles, disappearing from sight.
Hiccup turned back to his friends and sagged his shoulders with a heavy exhale, the fatigue finally getting to him. Camicazi scoffed as she stopped watching Valka's receding silhouette. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I could use a drink or three."
"Seconded," Heather agreed. She glanced at her brother, inquiring, "Dagur?"
Dagur shook his head, "I'm about to make a patrol run, but I'll drop over in a few. Save one for me, sis."
"Hic? You coming?" Camicazi asked, eyeing him with slightly narrowed eyes.
Dagur butted in excitedly, "Or do you want to come patrol with me, brother? Think about it, it'll be just like old times!" Hiccup's face contorted in such a way that asked how would that be anything like old times? and he shook his head tiredly.
"I think I'm actually gonna follow Mom's lead, guys. It's been a long couple of days and it's starting to catch up with me. I know Toothless could use the rest, too, with all the flying he's done." Toothless snorted agreeably at his side, slowly blinking his big eyes and letting out a small yawn.
Camicazi grunted irritably. "Well, I'm going to snag a table before it gets too crowded. Anyone else who wants to come is more than welcome." The Bog Burglar heiress stalked off; Heather close on her heels. The black-haired Berserker started muttering something to Cami under her breath, but the fire in Cami's steps didn't let up. Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the twins followed in a pack, each of them nudging Hiccup and saying something along the lines of welcome back before tailing the two women up the hill.
"That's my cue. See you in the morning, brother," Dagur said in farewell, and he nearly skipped away, cupping his hands over his mouth to shout, "Sleuther! Where'd you go, buddy? Let's go for a flight!"
As Dagur's voice receded into the crowded village, Hiccup turned his tired gaze to Astrid. She tucked a few locks of her blonde hair behind her ear and the sight of her made his heart skip a beat, rejuvenating him even if only a little. Still, he frowned, taking another look into the square as Camicazi continued to lead the pack of young, alcohol-thirsty Vikings away.
"What's Cami's problem?" he asked, returning his warm eyes to his wife. Astrid looked after the larcenous blonde and shrugged.
"I don't know. She hasn't acted this way before. Maybe I should go after them and try to talk her down," Astrid wondered.
Hiccup nodded in understanding and stepped forward to wrap his arms around Astrid's lower back, wrapping her in his grasp so that they were painfully close to one another. "You do that. I hate to leave you, but—"
"Oh, no, don't sweat it. You need rest," Astrid interrupted, "Head up to Bertha's house. She lent us the loft on the second floor." She suddenly narrowed her eyes in one of her signature glares, "And do not let Toothless take up the other half, please?"
Hiccup couldn't help the smirk that struck across his face in response, recalling one time when he'd let the dragon into their bed for a nap while Astrid had been out doing errands. She hadn't loved that, and he'd had to wash the sheets all on his own thanks to Toothless drooling on the linens. "As you wish, milady."
A sweet smile returned to Astrid's features; any notion of negativity instantly dashed. Astrid lifted a hand to her husband's arm, squeezing his elbow lovingly. Then she reached up on her toes to kiss him, short and sweet. She could almost feel how tired he was. It had been a long several days, and there was no end yet in sight.
"I'll see you soon," she promised, and she slipped free from Hiccup's grip. His hands fell to his sides and Astrid took off.
"Thanks for taking care of Berk while I was gone!" he called after her. Astrid spun around on her heels, backpedaling down the road as she shouted back to him.
"Don't mention it!" Then she was facing forward again and weaving into the crowd of Vikings.
Hiccup sighed and watched until she was out of his sight. Toothless rumbled, bored of standing still when they could be moving instead. One groan out of the Night Fury drew Hiccup's attention, and he chuckled as he ran a few fingers gently down the smooth scales atop the dragon's head. Toothless leaned into his slight touch, appreciative.
"Alright, bud. Let's go to Bertha's," Hiccup said, and he started to walk down the adjacent path in the direction of the village's highest point, where the Chief's house stood proudly watching the people of Bog. Toothless' footsteps shadowed him, and together, Viking and dragon headed off in search of some much-needed rest.
[1] - This is my own personal addition. I needed to place the Berserkers at the infamous meeting, and while my initial plan was to have Dagur's grandfather as the Chief on that night, further research explained that Oswald (previously known as Oswald the Antagonistic) had warred with Berk in the past and Stoick and Valka first fell in love during one such attack. In the interest of keeping close-ish with canon, I instead had Oswald send his brother in his place to the meeting, perhaps out of disrespect or a lack of interest in meeting with the other chiefs. His brother's death in Drago's attack and his understanding that he himself was this close to dying instead therefore changed Oswald's outlook on life and turned him into the docile Oswald the Agreeable that led the Berserkers away from their former glory, in Dagur's words.
Thanks for reading, all. Reviews are always appreciated more than I can say, even if they are negative. Chapter 20 will go up next week, and after that the final arc will begin.