Sleuther brought his friend to a hut and, gently, set him down on a bed. The Berserker was flushed and grunting, in obvious pain. Fishlegs started to rant, "What happened? Is Dagur all right-of course he's not all right. He's been poisoned!" The Ingerman let out a deep sigh and spoke again, this time in a calmer manner, "I'm still trying to figure out what kind of toxin Viggo used." Hiccup nodded, solemnly, and looked at the chief. Dagur had begun to shake, violently, and cough. More of the Berkians entered the hut, followed by Heather. She stared at the ill viking with an unreadable expression. "Did he run in like a madman or something?" she questioned, judgementally. With a sad shake of his head, the Berkian heir answered, "No, Viggo set us up-like Dagur thought he would have-and one of the hunters fired an arrow at me. He knocked me out the way and got hit instead." Heather blinked a few times and remained silent. If the chief had willingly risked his life for Hiccup, then it was possible that he had done so, sincerely, for her. Maybe, he truly did care for the Dragon Riders. Finding it to be too much to process at once, Heather left the hut, leaving in time to miss the Berserker clutching at his ribs, painfully. Hiccup could not take any more of it and rose from his chair.
"I'm going to find Viggo again and see how to get the antidote." Hiccup said. He stopped and thought for a moment, "Viggo mentioned that Dagur had been at Caldera Cay a lot." The other riders were not catching on. "Yeah, and so what?" Snotlout asked, "He liked seeing lava dragons, apparently. How's that supposed to help?" The taller viking still was walking for the exit, "If he and Mala are close, she needs to know about this. I'll send her a Terror Mail, so she can be here...just in case-" He halted and left the hut, grabbing a scroll. Quickly, he wrote down a message and attached it to the Triple Stryke. Strykie was in no rush to leave his rider and looked at him, miserably. "Sleuther, you have to go tell Mala. She needs to be with him." the Berkian told him. Reluctantly, the dragon nuzzled Dagur's head one more time, seemingly easing his pain as his grimace receded. Next, the dragon took off and flew for Defenders of the Wing Island. As Hiccup went to get on Toothless's back, Astrid caught his hand. "What are you going to do?" she asked. The viking turned to her, "I told you. Find Viggo." Unsatisfied, the warrior frowned, "I mean, I get that you want to, but how are you going to do any better than you two did before?" Hiccup opened his mouth to protest, then furrowed his brows. "I have to try, Astrid. Knowing Viggo, he would have made the antidote as well as the poison." Astrid crossed her arms, "And, knowing Viggo, he'll have another arrow aimed and ready for you."
Hiccup looked at Astrid and sighed, heavily. She placed a hand on his shoulder, "Let's think about this a little bit more. You won't be of any help to Dagur if you get poisoned too and you know that's the last thing he'd want." The viking was determined, "Viggo won't kill me because he wants me to bring him the Dragon Eye. That's why he's doing all this. If I give it to him, he'll give me the antidote." Astrid was quiet for a moment and some of the other Berkians had poked their heads out of the hut to listen. "I know that Viggo is the last person who should have the Dragon Eye, but we'll figure something else out later. If we wait too much longer, Dagur might not be around later." Hiccup reasoned. Fishlegs bobbed his head in agreement, "We can always get it back from Viggo and it's worth the risk." he declared. Even Snotlout and the Twins agreed. "I'll go with you." Astrid offered. Hiccup shook his head, "I'm not risking anyone else on this. Viggo would want me to return with someone, so he'd have the upper hand again." He saw the concern in Astrid's eyes, "We'll be as careful as we can be." Hiccup promised. Conceding, Astrid stepped aside so that the other Berkian could grab his gear. Once that all was accomplished, Hiccup got on the Night Fury's saddle and they flew away from the Edge. The young man's heart ached. He recalled the horrid feeling of thinking that his friend had died before and it was not one that he had missed. Sensing him, Toothless made a small noise for solace. Hiccup patted the dragon's head and tried to keep his own clear. "He'll be fine." he stated, trying to convince both Toothless and himself, "If Viggo didn't want alive, he would have killed him during those three years." Saying that actually hurt the heir as well. As much as Hiccup was glad that his friend was no longer a prisoner, he understood that it was far easier for him to move on than it was for Dagur. It had been so simple to see the Berserker and try to forget that he had been a prisoner, but at the same time, it had been impossible.
Something was different about the chief-something was off. While even Hiccup knew that Dagur could have been labeled as 'crazy', he seemed gradually less stable with each passing day. Preparing to attack things that no one else could see, always having a mildly sad look in his eyes. It all cumulated together that last time they had been around each other. Did he really feel that the Berkians were not his friends. Yes, Hiccup had known that Fishlegs was moderately timid around Dagur and that was why he had wanted them to spend time together when the Ingerman was thinking that he was Thor Bonecrusher; yes, Snotlout was the type of viking to prefer what he thought to be cool, daring, invincible and wild; yes, the twins were acting, strangely, with their constant notes; and yes, one could argue that Astrid and Dagur never had much of a relationshionship, neither good nor bad. But did all this mean that they were not friends? The Berserker had seemed to also doubt the sincerity of his and Hiccup's friendship, which had to be absurd. Dagur was one of the Berkian's best friends and he would do anything for him. Still, he had to admit that the chief had a point. It is one thing to say you will have someone's back and another for it to be proved. Three, long, agonizing years went by and Hiccup knew neither that he needed to help nor would have known how. If only he had not stopped searching. Maybe they could have found the Berserker. Interrupting him from these ponderings, Hiccup saw the hunter's ship and flew down.
As this occurred, Sleuther had reached Caldera Cay and was flying to find Mala. He found Throk first and landed, looking very anxious. Noticing that the Triple Stryke was without a rider, the guard realized that it must be urgent. Quickly, Throk brought the dragon to the queen. "Sleuther?" Mala asked, curious as to why he was there alone. She noted his nervousness as well and saw the scroll attached to him. After undoing it, the Defender read the letter and leapt onto Strykie's back. The entire flight to The Edge had Mala's stomach in knots. She even felt queasy because of it. Despite how the time seemed to drag on in a sluglike manner, the flight to the Berkians was of a short duration. Upon arriving, Sleuther flew to where Dagur was being kept and Mala dismounted. Running to the chief's side, the queen saw all the pain that he was in. The Berserker was, by this point, awake, but very miserable and nearly delirious. Mala caressed his cheek with her hand, bringing him back to some semblance of sense. Drearily, he turned to glance at the Defender and tried to speak, "M-Mal-" Moving her other hand to her own face, Mala gestured for him no to say anything. Instead of exchanging words, they held hands, the queen giving a light squeeze whenever she saw the chief's other hand clutch at the blankets.
At the sea, Hiccup and Toothless landed on Viggo's ship for the second time that day, this time, ready for any attack. None ensued and the hunter was smiling, cruelly, when he saw them. "Back so soon?" he inquired, in his regal manner. Hiccup glared, "I want the antidote." he stated. Leisurely, Viggo moved a piece on his Maces and Talons board. "Naturally." he said, with somehow even more nonchalance, "I do not, however, understand why you seem to have come here without knowing what I would ask for in return." He peeked up from the game, "Have you brought the Dragon Eye?" The dragon rider took the object out, though held on to it. "How will I know whether or not you're giving me the antidote? It might be a plain substance." Viggo pretended to be hurt, "I would see no point in lying in this situation." When Hiccup hesitated, the hunter continued, "I suppose that you would wish to see the antidote." He brought out a vial that contained an oddly colored liquid. "I am only willing to be so lenient and shall require that you give me the Dragon Eye first." The younger viking looked suspicious and Viggo spoke again, "Your desicion will have to be abrupt, Hiccup. While I want the Dragon Eye, it is not a particularly time sensitive matter. Contrarily, by nightfall, without the remedy, Dagur will perish."
The Berkian held the Dragon Eye out for Viggo to take. Grinning, smugly, the hunter accepted the item and put the vial in Hiccup's hand. "It was a pleasure doing business with you." he stated, though was hardly heard as Hiccup was already leaving. The viking and Night Fury flew back to The Edge, hurrying against the ever-arriving dusk. There, the remaining Berkians were still trying to see if they could decipher the toxin. Fishlegs flipped through some pages of a book and stopped, "This must be it. If I'm correct, Dagur's been poisoned by one of a Triple Stryke's toxins." Automatically, Sleuther snarled, as if upset over his own species. Mala patted his head to calm him down, "Surely, we can prepare the antidote ourselves." Fishlegs made a whimpering sound, "It can take a long time to find the ingredients for it and even longer for tests that make sure it's been properly made." Astrid sighed, "So, in other words, only someone who's been planning on the toxin being used would have had enough time to get the remedy for it." Sadly, the Ingerman nodded. "Then," Mala started, despair seeping into her voice, "all we can do is wait." A grim silence fell over the group. It was odd for Heather to see everyone so unhappy. At the very least, she had expected the twins to make an inappropriate comment, but none came.
She, herself, was not overwrought with impending grief, though a part of the viking did feel an indescribable sense of remorse. Before, it seemed like Heather would have revelled in the idea of the Berserker chief knocking on death's cold, iron door. Also, in the pain he was enduring in the duration of his wait for an answer. How much more misery had she endured due to him sending her adrift? Heather had always known that her family was elsewhere, but was forced to believe that it was because she had been unwanted. Still, for Dagur to put his own life at such a high risk for Hiccup, that must have meant he wanted to do the same for her as well. If that was the case, she simply could not comprehend why he had gotten rid of her. Thinking back to their recent encounters, he really had been trying to reconnect with her. But why throw Heather into the arms of another family if he wanted them to be pmart of a happy family? She looked at the viking who was lying in the bed. He did not look the same at all-which was to be expected, all thing considered. Some of Heather-and possibly more than she would have liked to even admit to herself-wanted him to return to his old ways. It was practically unnerving to see the wild viking so quiet, apart from occassional grunts.
Toothless and Hiccup landed on the island and hurried over to the vikings. The Berkian saw Mala still sitting next to Dagur and handed the antidote to her. Immediate realization dawned in the queen's somber eyes as she saw the container. Gently, she lifted Dagur's head, "We need you to drink this, love." she said, kindly. Tiredly, the Berserker complied and swallowed the liquid. Slowly, the chief's short breaths eased and steadied. His hand loosened around Mala's and he was able to rest. The Defender queen turned to Hiccup and mouthed "Thank you". He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, relief filling him also. "We can figure out the whole Dragon Eye thing later." Hiccup thought, "Right now, we've won."