Hiccup arrived in Berk and went into his hut, trying to distract his thoughts by focusing on the Dragon Eye. He frowned at the item and stared, hard. "This indentation reminds me of something. I can't place my finger on it." he thought. The Berkian showed it to Toothless, "Does this look like we just saw it?" Toothless mimicked his friend's look, yet was unable to recall either. Stoick entered the home and greeted his son. He noticed the steam that was beginning to emit from the viking's head, "Something on your mind, Son?" Hiccup stopped, "Yeah, this Dragon Eye." From his peripheral vision, he saw his father's disblieving stare and sighed, "I'm thinking about Dagur too." he admitted. The Berkian chief smiled, "There we are. Well, what about?" Hiccup turned to face him, "I promised that I'd help him train another dragon tomorrow." Stoick's brow rose, "Why another?" His son rubbed his temples, "Because he can't track down and kill every viking that he wants to with the Skrill. He wants to be up close and personal and knows that Bluebolt's blast would just electrocute him too."

Stoick shrugged and chuckled, "Observant of him. Can't say that I see the issue. If you don't want to do that, why'd you agree?" Hiccup leaned his arms on his desk, "I only did because he gave me an ultimatum. It was either help him kill more people, slowly, or let him go and torture Alvin." The chief frowned, "He was going to torture him?" Hiccup nodded, "That's what I'm dealing with now. And who knows what he'll do to the hunters after he finds them?" he sighed, heavily, "He wasn't like this before. He's changed, Dad." Stoick was silent for a moment, "That's not surprising, Hiccup. He has always been a, naturally, violent viking. Being at the mercy of Alvin and whoever those other people were would have to change you, if only slightly." The heir ran a hand through his hair, "He's unstable, vindictive-" "Dagur." Stoick finished, "I'm not hearing anything new." Hiccup shook his head, "You didn't see him. He's worse than he's ever been. Like some type of, adolescent, wild dragon that's just waiting to get his first kill."

Saying that reminded the Berkian of something and he shuddered, "Except he's already killed plenty. He took down an entire shipload of hunters. Even kept two bodies to use for setting off booby traps." A trace of disgust could be seen on Stoick's face as his son spoke of what had occurred. Hiccup glanced at him, sadly, "How do I change him back?" His father leaned back in his chair, "You can't." he said, bluntly. The younger viking blinked, "Well, that's not what I expected you to say." he divulged. "It's the truth, Son. He'll never, truly, be the same. What you can do is be there for him. If something happened to Fishlegs, he'd want a comforting hug and to talk to someone. For the twins, they'd destroy something in an odd and creative way. Do you understand what I'm getting at?" Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck, "Not really." Stoick rose from his chair and patted the viking on his shoulder, "Everyone deals with trauma differently. Being a good friend means that you can figure out what someone needs and try to either provide that or step back so that it can happen."

Hiccup appreciated the advice that his father had given, but did not know how to implement it. Dagur would not just open up about what happened, so that they could talk it through. What the Berserker chief thought that he needed was revenge and Hiccup could not allow that. Vengeance was never the way, so he had to find another. "There's one dragon that I can train him to ride, and he won't be able to track down very many people with it." Hiccup thought. The next day, he and Toothless flew to Dragon Island to begin the training. Dagur was already there, waiting. That morning, he had tried to scarf down yak legs, burly cakes, and water, but his lack of food had messed with his metabolism and his hunger was no longer the same. Bitterly, he stood against a tree, "I guess that seven o' clock was more eight than I had thought he said." he thought and uncrossed his arms/removed the, impatient, scowl from his face as Hiccup approached, "Hey, Brother. Ready to start?" he inquired. Hiccup forced a smile, "Yep, are you?" Dagur fought hard to not roll his eyes, "Yeah," he thought, "have been for over an hour."

Outwardly, the Berserker nodded, "Sure am. Even thought of a name. Shattermaster. What do you think?" The Berkian kind of shrugged, "Sounds...destructive. Are you sure that you can't track the hunters down with Bluebolt?" Dagur glanced at him, "Yes, I am. Even looking past the fact that he wouldn't be able to blast without getting me too, he needs to stay on the island to protect everyone." "Exactly." Hiccup stated, "Stay on the island. Dagur, don't you want to just be home for a while? You've been gone for three yea-" "If anyone knows that, it's-" Dagur started, and closed his eyes, saying a low chant, "Let not the rage consume you. Breathe and be one with peace." Curiousity was clear in Hiccup's face, but as was the fact that Dagur was not going to divulge what that was about. "So, do I just go find some dragon and then you make sure it doesn't want to kill me?" the chief asked. Hiccup led him into the forest, "Not exactly. I've picked one out for you already." Dagur was not sure if he should have been thankful for the consideration or annoyed at his options being taken from him, "Okay."

The vikings and Night Fury stopped and Hiccup called for a dragon to emerge. Dagur, excitedly, waited, "What kind is it? Lethal, I hope. It'll have to be for what we're going to do." The rustling of bushes stopped as a Gronckle leapt from them, making Dagur's face fall to the grass. He turned to see Hiccup, "Why's this dragon here?" "Because," the Berkian started, "this is Shattermaster." Dagur stared back and forth between the dragon and Hiccup, "You're giving me a Gronckle?" he asked, disappointment and a slight hurt audible in his voice. "They're easy to train and even easier to ride." Hiccup defended. The chief frowned, "I don't need a starter dragon. I need a death machine." The dragon was unaffected and just kept on wagging his tail, happily at the Berserker. "His enthusiam is kind of cute, though." he thought. "Just give him a try, Dagur. Gronckles are really tough dragons." Hiccup told. A light lit up in the Berserker's eyes, "Really?" he eyed the reptile, "Well, maybe I'll give it a shot."

Dagur reached to extend his hand to the Gronckle and it ran away. The Berserker observed in shock and started to chase the dragon. "Dagur, wait!" Hiccup called after him. The, painful, throbbing in the chief's knee made him listen, "Why did he run?" he inquired, sounding almost offended. "Some dragons are just ornery like that. We have to approach him, calmly, and maybe he'll be willing to come back." The Berkian stated. Dagur grumbled some, under his breath, and followed Hiccup to go retrieve the renegade, reptile. He was not difficult to track and was wagging his tail at them. The younger viking walked over to him and extended his hand, which Shattermaster accepted. Hiccup motioned for Dagur to come over and the Berserker did, replacing the Berkian's hand with his own. Carefully, he mounted Shattermaster and patted his head, "Feel like going for a flight?" The dragon ascended, gradually, and flew over the forest's trees.

Hiccup and Toothless trailed beside the duo as Dagur inspected Shattermaster, "Definitely slower than Bluebolt, although that is a thick tail. Bet you could do some damage with that, huh boy?" The chief looked around and spotted a large boulder, "Want to try it out?" The two landed near the rock and Dagur descended to check it's density. "What are you doing?" Hiccup questioned, finding it odd that his friend had suddenly begun to knock on boulders. "I'm going to see if Shattermaster can destroy this. If he can, that'll be a move to use when we attack ships." Dagur divulged. The Berserker turned his attention to the Gronckle, "Now, you'll have to gain some momentum. Maybe try charging. Afterwards, spin so that your tail is facing it. Got that?" Shattermaster examined the object and ran a few yards away. The Berkian and Night Fury moved back, so as to not get trampled in the exercise and were surprised to see the success that occurred.

"It actually worked." Hiccup commented, dumbfounded. "Of course it did." Dagur said, puffing up, proudly. He patted the dragon's head, "Good job. Let's see what else you can do." The two spent some time finding various moves that became more and more lethal and destructive. During this time, Hiccup decided that he was not, necessarily, needed and took out the Dragon Eye to try to ring that bell for his memory. Dagur and Shattermaster found him and approached, smiling, "Gotta hand it to you, H. Shattermaster, here, was a good pick. Thanks." the Berserker beamed. Hiccup did not hear him, due to his focus being diverted. "Not as cool of an artifact as you hoped it'd be?" Dagur asked, speaking, slightly, louder to get a reply. The Berkian peeked up, "Hm? Oh, yeah, kind of. This mark looks familiar, but I can't remember where I've seen it." he gestured to the item. Dagur eyed it, "On Gothi's arm." he answered. Hiccup glanced at him, confused, "Gothi's arm?" His friend smirked, "Don't recall walking into a cave for an echo. Yeah, Gothi had a scar on her arm that matches this, weird, thingy."

A lamp lit in Hiccup's mind, "You're right! That might mean that she knows something about it. Do you think that you're good for today and I can head back?" Dagur motioned to the sea, "I wouldn't dream of keeping you from dragon info, Brother. Thanks for coming out here in the first place. Let me know what you find out, though." Hiccup gave a nod and zipped off to Berk with Toothless. Dagur watched them leave and got back on Shattermaster, "Time to head home for some supplies, big boy." The pair flew to Berserker Island and the chief brought the dragon up to the stables, "There's someone that I want you to meet." They entered the area and Dagur called the Skrill over to them, "Bluebolt, meet Shattermaster and vice versa." The reptiles sniffed at each other and wiggled in friendly manners, "Glad that you two are getting along." Dagur grinned, "You'll both help out in different ways. Shattermaster'll go with me to take out the hunters and you, Bluebolt, will stay here to keep on protecting my Berserkers while I'm gone."

The dragons had understanding looks in their eyes and Dagur left to go to his hut. Walking over to a table, he grabbed the maps that he had taken from the hunter ship. The chief looked them over and placed them in a bag for him to bring on his journey. In said bag, Dagur took some water, food, small rocks for Shattermaster, and a few other items. He exited the building and saw vikings going around, contently. For a moment, he yearned for the comfort of staying and leading his people. "Look at them. So happy, but they need a leader. They need me to be here. It's been enough time already." Just as quickly as it came, it left and he glowered, "They don't need me. Didn't for three, consecutive, years. Another full one won't even pass before I get back. Plus, those vikings need to be stopped, so that they don't go after any more, poor, souls."

Carrying the bag on his shoulder, Dagur went back to the stables and waved goodbye to Bluebolt, "We'll see you soon, buddy. Come on, Shattermaster." The Berserker and Gronckle flew from the island, heading South. Along the way, Dagur kept twirling a blade, just waiting to dig it into a hunter's flesh. They flew into the night as the chief's eyes felt stronger. He viewed an oddly shaped cliff on an island and felt excitement manifest in his spirit. "That's the last landmark, Shattermaster. We're close." Within a few minutes, a port came into view as well as a vessel. Dagur pointed towards it and they swooped down, hiding themselves amongst rocks and hills. On the deck of the ship, several hunters were jabbing caged dragons with their weapons. Shattermaster growled at the sight. "Disgusting, isn't it?" Dagur whispered. He saw a few barrels near the hunters, "See those? Only oils get stored in those types of barrels. Blast them and we'll have explosions that rival Hideous Zipplebacks'."

Before anyone could notice, the dragon-viking duo flew over and shot the cage doors. This melted the locks off and opened the pins for the captives to fly away. "What the-" a hunter began. When he raised his bow to shoot at the pair, Dagur sent a blade into his forehead, giggling. "I still got it." he thought, happily. Shattermaster flew upwards and hit the barrels with lava. A detonation commenced and screams of hunters resonated like music in Dagur's ears. Sighing, dreamily, he looked at one viking that kept running back and forth, unsure if it were better to try to avoid debris and jump off the ship or to await his fate. "Should we end his suffering?" the chief asked Shattermaster. A, grim, smile spread across his face, "Nope." His laugh rose over the crackles of flames as he watched the vikings meet their demises.

When almost all of the hunters had died, Dagur and Shattermaster grabbed one that was still alive. The viking yelped as he was dangled over the fire, "Tell me everything you know about Viggo." Dagur ordered. The hunter scowled and said nothing. The Berserker shook him above the flame, "They can't hurt you. I can. I'll state this one more time. Tell me what you know about the hunters." Again, the viking held firm and was, subsequently, dropped, plunging down into the inferno. Dagur sucked his teeth, "Too bad. Hopefully, someone else will be more helpful. Let's find out." The two zipped off to the next location. It was quite far-a few days journey, at least-and the pair had to stop again, so that Shattermaster would not tire out. Going by a land mass, Dagur spoke, "How about we land there for the night. That way, you can rest." The Gronckle was more than willing to comply and planted himself near a pile of rocks, starting to eat.

Dagur cut some tree branches and tall grass, weaving and intertwining them together to form a shelter. He gathered some rocks and was about to start a fire when he recalled Shattermaster. Grinning, he gestured to the soon-to-be firepit, "Would you do the honors?" Shattermaster spewed a stream of lava over the stones and Dagur thanked him. Soon, the dragon had fallen asleep and left Dagur to his own thoughts. Envy tickled at the edges of his brain as he saw his new friend sleeping, soundly, "I miss that feeling." he mused, unhappily. He stroked his, scraggly, beard, "Maybe a couple of winks would be just long enough to get some good rest. A dreamless night would be great." Dagur wrapped up in some blankets that he had brought and doved off.

Hiccup and Toothless were flying over Berk, practicing new moves along with the other riders and Stoick watched them, peacefully, as he and Gobber spoke of village matters. Abruptly, the sun was clouded over, but with wild dragons. These were not the agreeable type and fired at the vikings. Hunter ships pulled up to Berk's harbor and fired catapults and chains at, unsuspecting, people. Gobber was taken down by a boulder and a chain wrapped itself around Stoick's neck, strangling him. Huts were lit aflame and carnage was the only word to describe the scene. Trying to see what all the screams were for, Heather ran out of her hut and, narrowly, missed being killed. A hidden figure laughed at his victory, "I've fooled you all!" he yelled, triumphantly. One by one, the dragon riders were picked off and with one fatal swoop, both Hiccup and Heather were shot with poisonous arrows to their hearts.

Dagur jerked upright and sweat beads dripped from his face. Only an hour, at most, had gone by, but sleep was no longer an option. He hated himself for being forgetful, "How did I not remember that?!" The viking nudged Shattermaster, "You have to wake up." he said, dumping some water onto the fire to put it out, "We need to go to Berk and tell Hiccup about the traitorous, trader among them!" Shakily, but speedily, the Berserker chief climbed onto Shattermaster's back and they zipped off towards the island. "I just hope that we're not too late."