"Arrogant boy
Love yourself so no one has to
They're better off without you
(They're better off without you)

Arrogant boy
Cause a scene like you're supposed to
They'll fall asleep without you
You're lucky if your memory remains"

- "Therapy" by All Time Low

Chapter 26

I woke up alone. Harald had left. I should not have expected anything else. Still, I held out hope that I would find him when I checked up on Viggo. Upon entering the clubhouse, I saw no Harald, but I did see Viggo sitting on the bed and petting the wild Skrill.

I hid my disappointment behind a smile. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Brennda," Viggo said smoothly. "I trust you slept well?"

"Very. How are you doing?"

"The pain is still there, but it hurts less than before. You do not need to check. Harald took care of everything."

I nodded. So, he had been here. "Where did he go?"

"He left. I told him you would not like it, but for some reason he thought it would be easier this way."

I held in a sigh. "What else is new? Leaving is what he does best." I did not mean for bitterness to show in my voice, but it was too early in the morning to totally conceal it.

Viggo gave me a sympathetic look. "I am sorry, Brennda. But he will be back."

Yes, he would be back. Only to leave again. Somehow, this had to stop. As I looked at Viggo, I remembered he seemed to think he had us all figured out. And maybe he had. "Do you have any idea how to get him to stay for good?"

"You can do a better job at that than I could. I may, however, be able to help your strategy." He paused. "Tell, what is it you want from him? Is it simply to be with him?"

I hesitated. I did want to be with him, but it was more complicated than that. "If there is one thing I want more than that, it is to help him be the person I know he is. I want him to choose good for his sake and not just mine."

Viggo nodded. "Very good. I do not wish to play matchmaker, but I will assist you in saving my friend. You and the dragon riders gave me a second chance at life, and I believe Harald deserves one as well. Wouldn't you agree?"

At first his words surprised me, but then they brought warmth to my heart. "Yes, of course. I would be grateful for your help." My eyes fell on the Skrill beside him. "And if you want, I can teach you how to train that dragon. I think she would like that as well. We have to get Hiccup to let you stay, but I'm sure I can convince him."

"Convince me of what?"

Viggo and I looked to the door where Hiccup suddenly appeared. Excitement built in my chest as I realized what a great advantage it would be to have Harald's friend as an ally. "Can I keep Viggo?" I asked with a grin.

Hiccup froze and stared at me dumbly. "Uh, what?"

"I promise I'll look after him and teach him everything he needs to know."

Hiccup looked past me to where Viggo sat. "Well... does Viggo want to stay?"

"I have nowhere else I need to be," Viggo said calmly. "Besides, this Skrill will not leave me, and I need to learn how to ride her properly."

"Brennda could certainly help with that..."

"And he can help me beat Harald!" I said.

"Speaking of which, where-"

"He left."

Hiccup frowned. "He didn't, uh, steal anything, did he?"

I shrugged. "Not that I noticed." I returned to Viggo's side, and Hiccup followed me.

"I should ask the others what they think, but I am fine with allowing you to stay as long as you want," Hiccup said to Viggo. "I do have one question though. You know Harald pretty well, right? Why would he give you to us when we could use you against him?"

"That is a fair question that has multiple answers," Viggo said. "Is it so hard to believe he would want the only two people he cares for to look out for each other?" He glanced at me.

"It would be more believable if he didn't side with people who want to attack us."

"Ah, the truth is quite complicated. How about this? Yes, I am sure he understands I have every intention of helping Brennda in her battle against him. However, if we were to actually win, it would be to his benefit as well. He simply doesn't believe it's possible."

Hiccup scrunched his eyebrows in thought. "I'm not exactly sure I'm following..."

"He knows we care about him and wouldn't do anything to hurt him," I said. "Our battle is about proving him wrong. He told me once that he wants to be wrong."

Hiccup nodded. "I guess that makes sense. Well, good luck to both of you."

I smiled. "Thank you, Hiccup. I'm going to go check up on Bolt." I left them to go to the stables. I nearly ran into Astrid on my way out. "Oh, I'm sorry!"

"No, it's my fault," Astrid said, "but I'm glad I caught you. About Harald-"

I immediately tensed. Whenever Astrid talked about Harald, it was never good. "He left already, and he didn't steal anything that I'm aware of."

Astrid blinked. "Good. But that's not what I wanted to say."

I would have made an excuse to walk away, but I caught the nervousness in her eyes. Astrid was never nervous about anything. "What is it?" I said in a gentler tone.

"It's just, after last night..." Some of her confidence returned as she looked me right in the eye. "You were right about Harald. He is capable of caring for others. And if he would show a fraction of devotion to you that he did for Viggo... then I trust you with him. Or rather, him with you."

I stared at her wide-eyed. I did not know what I was expecting, but it was not this. I had to hand it to her for being willing to admit she was wrong. "Thank you, Astrid. That means a lot to me." Our relationship had been strained since she told Hiccup I had been seeing Harald, and hopefully we could fix it now.

Astrid gave me a slight smile. "I'm sorry if I've been hard on you. I can almost understand what you see in him. You're not totally crazy."

I smirked and rolled my eyes. "Gee, thanks." But I appreciated the thought. If Astrid could come close to changing her mind, there was hope yet.

I spent the next few days focusing on Viggo. Each day, he was able to walk around for longer periods of time. We exchanged stories about Harald and dragons and played several rounds of chess - he beat me each time. Once he was allowed outside, I helped him better get acquainted with his Skrill, who he named 'Sanna.' They already seemed to have a strong bond.

After a week, I invited Eret and Skulder over to the Edge. I had not been able to train with them like normal, so I thought it would be nice to show them the reason. By then, Viggo did not have a problem standing for long periods of time. Still, it would be another week until his wounds healed enough for him to start flying.

The sailors arrived on boat, though their dragons were on board. Eret was the first to arrive at the base. "Brennda!" he exclaimed when he saw me. "It's been awhile!" His smile faded when his eyes rested on the man beside me. "Viggo."

"Eret son of Eret, I presume?" Viggo said smoothly. "I have heard a lot about you."

The wariness did not leave Eret's as. "As have I about you."

"That is a shame. I do hope you will give me a chance to change your opinion."

"Well, I'm not exactly in any position to judge. And if Brennda trusts you, then so do I."

"Eret!" Skulder finally arrived after ascending the stairs, panting and out of breath. "You have to stop running so fast!"

Eret looked back at him with a grin. "Sorry, mate. I got excited."

"Hey Skulder," I said. "Meet Viggo, my new trainee."

"It's a pleasure," Viggo said.

Skulder gave him a look that was even more distrustful than Eret's had been. "Yes, I heard. You're Harald's friend."

Viggo gave me a questioning look.

I stifled a laugh. "Don't worry about him. He thinks Harald is his nemesis. But he's harmless."

Before anyone else could say anything, a Triple Stryke landed in front of us. Dagur hopped off Sleuther and approached. "Brennda!" he said energetically. "Am I missing a meeting?" His eyes went form Skulder to Eret to Viggo. "You caught Viggo? Let me take him out!" He lifted his axe and charged.

Alarmed, I rushed up to Dagur to try to stop him. "No, you've got it all wrong!"

But Dagur only stopped when Sanna leapt in front of Viggo and growled menacingly. "He's enslaved a Skrill? Let me at him, Brennda!"

By that time, Hiccup, Astrid, and Heather had all rushed outside to check out the commotion. "What's going on?" Hiccup said.

Astrid surveyed the situation and then gave him a look. "You forgot to tell Dagur about Viggo, didn't you?"

"Dagur!" Heather exclaimed when he raised his axe again. She stormed over to her brother, her arms crossed and a glare on her face. "Harald and I went through a lot of trouble to save his life, and if you kill him, all our hard work will have been for nothing!"

Dagur looked at her, stunned. "Wh-what?!" He dropped his axe to the ground.

"I'm sorry, I should have told you," Hiccup said. "Viggo is on our side now."

For his part, Viggo remained calm during the whole scene. If anything, he appeared amused. "You need to think before you take action, Dagur," he said.

Dagur shot him a suspicious look. "We're just going to accept anyone who claims they've changed? You're too soft, Hiccup."

"You do realize you're a beneficiary of his 'softness,' don't you?" Astrid said, hands on her hips.

"Oh, and for your information, I did not enslave this Skrill," Viggo said. "I trained her." Sanna wrapped her body around him and snarled as if to confirm this.

Dagur gaped at the pair. "Why does he get a Skrill?"

Despite the tension in the air, I started laughing. Soon, everyone else joined along. Looking at Dagur, I realized he already accepted out decision. I had a feeling all of us would get along really well.

Two weeks after his injury, I gave Viggo his first flying lesson. He started off confident and strong, but he quickly realized all the knowledge in the world could not replace practical experience. It was amusing to watch the usually calm and collected man attempt to manage an unpredictable Skrill. He showed potential, though, and he did not give up.

It took him a few days to get the hang of riding Sanna. Then I asked Eret, Skulder, and Dagur to stop by when they could so we could practice flying together. It took Viggo even more time to work as a team. He was used to giving orders and had the tendency to ignore what I said.

One day, Hiccup gathered everyone at the base to share terrible news: the flyers were headed this way. It had been nearly a month since we attacked the dragon hunter base, and I knew we should have expected some sort of retaliation eventually.

Before Hiccup could explain the plan, Skulder flew to the center of our group on Muddie. "Pirates!" he gasped. "Coming from the west!"

"The flyers are attacking from the east," Hiccup said.

"Maybe they're here for a friendly chat?" Eret suggested.

"Or they're splitting up to divide us," Astrid said.

"I thought you said Stormheart wasn't working with Krogan," Dagur said, confused.

"She's not," I said. "Or at least, wasn't." I looked to Viggo.

"I heard no mention of Stormheart before I left," Viggo said, "but that doesn't mean there have not been any new developments."

I turned to Skulder. "What exactly did you see? Was it the Tempest?"

Skulder shook his head. "No. It's just Harald and his men."

I ignored the sinking feeling in my stomach as I headed for Bolt. This was a time for action. "I'll check it out." I paused before taking off. "Hiccup, you should confront the flyers with your riders. Can you leave Viggo, Dagur, Heather, Eret, and Skulder with me to fight off the pirates if necessary?"

Hiccup nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Good luck, Brennda."

"Thanks." I took off for the ocean, and I soon saw what Skulder had. Harald's boat led a dozen others to Dragon's Edge. From the looks of it, they were here for business. I flew straight for Harald's ship and landed in front of him.

"Hello Brennda," Harald said, his face hard and controlled. "It is nice to see you."

So, we were back to playing games. I had no time for this. "What do you want? And get straight to the point."

Harald smirked in amusement. "In a hurry, are we? Very well. Stormheart asked me to procure a gift to offer Johann as a sign of good faith since she so enjoyed working for him in the past."

If I were to believe his words, and at the moment I had no reason not to, that meant Stormheart was not currently working with Johann and Krogan. But she wanted to. I had to stop this alliance. I quickly went through the options in my mind. "A gift? You mean something like this?" I slipped my hand in my bag and pulled out a Dragon Eye lens. I obtained it from my Armorwing friend weeks ago, and only now did I realize I had forgotten to place it with our stash.

Harald's eyes brightened for a fraction of a second before he concealed it, but I already had the answer I needed. "Yes, that will do. Hand it over."

I stashed the lens back in my bag. "I don't think so. I'm not going to make it that easy for you. If you want it, you're going to have to fight us." And with that, I left him behind and returned to my friends.

"What's the verdict?" Heather asked once I landed.

"Are we fighting pirates or not?" Dagur said, poorly attempting to conceal his excitement.

"We are," I said, earning a cheer from the Berserker. "Stormheart wants something to offer Johann to form an alliance. I showed him this." I pulled out the lens.

Skulder gasped. "Why would you do that? He could have attacked you to get it!"

Everyone stared at him.

"You're the only one who thinks that," I said. "He won't attack me, but he will try to get it from me some other way. And that's why I won't have it." I handed the lens to Skulder. "You will protect it."

Skulder's eyes went wide as he stared at the lens in his hand. "Why does it have to be me?"

"Because the rest of us will be fighting the pirates, and you're the least skilled in that area. Go now on foot to the volcano. We'll make sure no one gets to you, but if they do, drop the lens in the volcano. It's better no one has it than it gets in the wrong hands."

"That's a crazy plan!" Dagur said. He grinned. "I love it!"

"Perhaps someone should go with Skulder as backup," Viggo said.

I shook my head. "I don't want to draw too much attention to him. I'll keep an eye on him though."

"Don't worry about me," Skulder said. "I can handle this!" At a nod from me, he turned and took off for the volcano.

"What about the rest of us?" Eret asked.

I reached for my sword. "We fight the pirates. Dagur and Heather, you two attack their ships. Eret, go to the docks. Viggo and I will fight them up here."

We split up and headed to our stations. I looked over the ledge and prepared to attack any pirate that got to shore with Bolt's lightning. About half the pirates made it up to the central part of the base, where Viggo and I fought them off with our swords.

In all the commotion, I lost sight of Harald. We seemed to be winning, though, so I did not worry about it. When I caught a break in the action, I flew up high and turned my gaze to the volcano. My heart nearly stopped at what I saw. Skulder had just made it to the top, but Harald must have spotted him and was closing in on him.

"What's wrong?" Viggo called from the ground.

"Harald found Skudler!" I said. It looked like my little trick hadn't worked. "Stay here. I'll take care of this!"

Bolt flew to the volcano as fast as he was able. We landed near the edge, and I stumbled off him before taking in the scene before me. Harald and Skulder faced off against each other, both of them perilously close to the center of the volcano. Skulder held the Dragon Eye lens over the side, threatening to drop it, while Harald pointed his sword at him. Even Leopold growled menacingly.

"Brennda, glad you could make it," Harald said without looking at me. "Tell your friend to give me the lens or I will run my sword through him."

Skulder let out a terrified squeak. He looked at me anxiously for instructions.

It took me a mere moment to ascertain the truth. "He won't do it, Skulder," I said. The words made me feel eerily calm. "He's bluffing."

Harald's eyes hardened. "I am not. I have been ordered to retrieve that lens at any cost."

"You're not a killer."

"You don't know what I've done."

"I know what you won't do. Skulder, drop the lens. You can't let him have it."

Skulder did not move, appearing frozen in fear. "A-Are you sure?"

"Of course she's not," Harald said. "She can't be sure." He finally turned his head slightly to look at me out of the corner of his eye. "It is not worth it to risk his life on something you think I won't do."

His dark look was intended to scare me, but the longer this went on, the more confident I felt. If he really intended to kill him, he would have done so by now. "You're right, it's not worth the risk. But I don't think it, I know it." I gave Skulder an imploring look. "Please, Skulder, put aside your feelings and trust me. Have I ever let you down? He won't hurt you."

The fear in Skulder's eyes slowly subsided, replaced by determination. Without a word, he opened his hand and let the lens drop.

Harald jerked his arm back, and at the same time Leopold flew towards the lens, snatching it in the air. He smirked when he retrieved the item and stowed it in his bag. "Thank you for playing, you two," he said. "Now I must be off."

I recovered quicker than Skulder. I ran at Harald and tackled him. I felt his surprise as we hit the ground. I grabbed at his bag while he attempted to push me off of him. Leopold squawked as he hovered above us, but neither he nor Bolt appeared inclined to help.

"Stop this!" Harald growled. "You lost."

"It's no over until it's over!" When he tried to pin me, I let go of him and rolled out of the way. Then I returned and put my weight on his back to keep him to the ground.

"You're crazy."

"No, I'm a Berserker." I clutched his bag and refused to let go. This time, when he tried to roll over on top of me, I used my momentum to roll with him.

I must have worn out his patience, for he lifted his leg and used his knee to forcefully break my grip and push me away from him. Unfortunately, our scuffle had brought us too close to the volcano, and I rolled right off the edge. I reached up to grab something but met only air.

I managed to look down. I was relieved to see no lava - only hard rock surrounded by a wall. But as soon as I struck the ground, everything went black.

A/N: Well, that just happened. For anyone who's interested, "Sanna" means "she who is truthful" in Nordic.