Astrid thought back to the person who had single-handedly halted and reversed their bid for freedom, and involuntarily shivered.

She hated herself for, in that moment, being terrified, but what could you do when eyes like that were looking at you?

And he was working for Myre?

Myre must be something else entirely, if he could subjugate someone like that.

=0=

Omegas walked through the smoking streets, and sighed. Even with alchemy, it would take a while to get enough building materials to repair the damage.

Myre had just left after the cannons fired. Omegas could see why, but was there really any reason to wave at them as the remaining ships sailed away?

Speaking of ships, the waters around Nisi were a veritable graveyard of the things. If they could salvage enough, they'd have quite a bit of stuff. Alchemy could handle the rest of it.

Omegas grinned. Oh, the irony. The same things which broke them down would build them up again.

He began humming as he strolled down the empty streets. Rubble everywhere, parts of walls standing around him, smoke wafting into the air, darkening the sky and turning it gray. Heavy clouds hung over the island, dark and foreboding.

It set a very specific atmosphere. Omegas found himself liking it, despite what it had taken to achieve the circumstance.

He kept walking, making his way to the castle. He'd sent Spiral off on his own. The dragon deserved a rest after all they'd done in this battle.

Hiccup - and wow, he still couldn't believe that the guy was unfortunate to be Hiccup, Horrendous, and Haddock all at once - had flown off to one of the islets dotted around Nisi after the battle, saying he wanted to be alone for a bit. Omegas was inclined to respect that, but he still sent two people from the Stealth Division to keep an eye on him.

Secretly, of course.

While all these thoughts passed through his mind, he walked onward, hands in his pockets, listening to the sounds of the island recovering.

He stopped in his tracks as a thought hit him.

Myre knew where they were now, didn't he? What was to stop him from bringing hell to Nisi?

Ah, damn. They'd have to rig up even better defenses.

He turned, and walked down a side street to where he had last seen Leonidas. He was the man to ask about that sort of thing.

=0=

The name of the soldier who first happened upon the two was Arsenios. Contrary to his name, he was average in almost all respects. The way he found them was quite anticlimactic. He was just going to go and find a place to rest for a bit, when he found both his commander and his prince prone in the street.

Blood had crusted on Alphas' face and dried on the street, but it still ran freely from Leonidas' face. Arsenios couldn't see what the injury was. The commander was on his hands and knees, fingers curled so hard that they had gone pure white.

"Oh," he gasped upon hearing Arsenios approach hesitantly, "good."

He had never heard him sound so vulnerable.

"Help me… up," he said, breath shuddering on the last word. "Don't… look."

Arsenios gripped him by the arms and helped him up, turning his head away as the Commander rose weakly. He swallowed.

He'd seen the arrow shaft.

"What about… what about Alphas, sir?"

"Later. I'm urgent." Leonidas took a breath. "Healer."

"Yes sir."

Arsenios put the Commander's arm around his shoulder, and they slowly walked off. Arsenios tried to distract himself from that horrific image of the shaft sticking out of his face.

Leonidas was really quite heavy.

Leonidas seemed really weak.

He'd tell someone about Alphas on the way.

The clouds were gray. Maybe they'd get some rain.

Something dripped onto his shoulder.

Arsenios shivered as he carried the Commander onward, then dared a glance at his shoulder and just as quickly looked away.

He didn't know what the transparent, gel-like fluid was, but it was sickening and he wanted to forget immediately.

Slowly, they managed to move out of the area and into a place devoid of people. Inwardly, Arsenios groaned. There'd been people here just a moment ago.

Despairingly, he carried on.

The Commander's feet were beginning to drag on the ground. Arsenios wondered if he was going to pass out, and hoped beyond hope that he wouldn't. He already didn't want to deal with something like this. If Leonidas fell unconscious the feeling would be amplified exponentially.

They kept going, slower now.

As they came out into a crossroads in the roads of Nisi, Leonidas slumped over his shoulder, causing Arsenios to stumble under the additional weight. He spotted a group of other soldiers heading in the opposite direction as he adjusted his stance, chattering between themselves. Probably going for a drink together, the bastards. How dare they have the luxury of relaxing when he didn't?

"Hey!" he called, keeping all those thoughts silent because it was childish, and he knew it. They looked back, then ran over when they saw Leonidas hanging limply.

"What happened to him?" one of them asked as he took the Commander by the other arm. Arsenios basked for a moment in the bliss of not having to take so much of the Commander's weight, then looked at his helper, who he promised himself he would try to befriend.

"Arrow to the face," he replied. Everyone visibly winced, then the expressions of sympathy gave way to horror when they saw the arrow shaft. One of them, a bit more composed than the others, bent down to take a look.

"Straight to the eye," he said. "Got to get him to a healer right now."

"Alphas also needs a healer, I think," Arsenios told them. "He's passed out in Straton Road. Someone go get him."

They looked at each other, then the calmer one pointed to three people, two of them obviously twins, if the identical features were anything to judge by.

"Myron, Theo, and Kleo, you go get him. We'll take care of the Commander."

They nodded and set off at a jog for Straton Road.

"We'll be at the healer's in Lysis," the calm one called after them, then turned to Arsenios. "That's where we're going. Nearest place with a healer."

"Wasn't everyone evacuated?" the one taking the other half of the Commander's weight said.

"They were, but the healers were supposed to come out first. For any injuries, you know? They'll be at their own places, for maximum coverage and all that. Isn't that right, Commander?"

Leonidas did not respond. The calm one peered at him again, then straightened.

"Unconscious," he informed them. "Come on, let's go."

He began walking off towards Lysis, and Arsenios and the other guy followed. The two remaining members of the group followed uncertainly, trailing behind.

"So, what's your name?" the other guy carrying Leonidas asked Arsenios.

"Uh, Arsenios," Arsenios responded. "You?"

"Lysander," he said.

And that was it. They just kept walking in silence. Arsenios cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Sorry?" Lysander asked.

"What?"

"Did you say something?"

"No."

"Oh."

They faced forward again, and silence descended once more.

Arsenios could hear the two people behind them starting up a hushed conversation, and tried desperately to think of something to say. Where were you going? No, they were obviously heading to relax and let loose somewhere, that wouldn't do. He'd just say they were going for a drink and then it would end there.

Dammit, think, think!

"How did you find them, by the way?"

Arsenios looked up at the guy in front, who was looking back at him.

"Was just going somewhere, then I came into Straton Road and found them."

"Huh," he said, nodding. "Where were you going?"

"Just… finding some place to relax for a bit," Arsenios admitted.

"Heh," Lysander said with a smile. "That's just what we were going to do, too."

"Where were you going?" Arsenios asked, relieved at having some conversation.

"A bar."

"There was one on the next street over from where you were," Arsenios told them.

"Nah, we already checked that one. It got crushed," said the one in front.

"Oh," Arsenios said. "How much further, by the way? He's getting heavier."

"Just a little more," the one in front said with a smile.

"Kallistos!"

Arsenios looked back, as much as he was able while still carrying Leonidas. The three that had gone to fetch Alphas were sprinting after them, carrying the prince between them. One of them had him by the arms, one by the legs, and the other one was beside them, carrying a sword.

Lysander stopped, so Arsenios stopped as well, and looked to see why. The guy leading them had stopped and turned around, waiting for the others to catch up.

"This jerk won't do anything!" the one carrying Alphas by the legs said. "He said we can do it together because we're twins!"

The leader, Kallistos, shrugged. "I mean, there's nothing for him to do. And he's got the sword, anyway. Just carry him, will you?"

He took a look at Alphas as they neared.

"That's a lot of blood. Nose is broken for sure."

He glanced at Arsenios as the Alphas-carriers caught up at last. "Just for introduction, I'm Kallistos. The two who've been with us," he said, pointing at them in turn, "are Nereus, on the right, and Theron on the left."

He pointed at the Alphas-carriers. "Myron's the one with the sword, and the twins are Theo and Kleo, full names Theophilos and Kleopatros."

"Kleopatros is a name? I thought the only thing was Kleopatra," Arsenios said, confused. The twin called Kleopatros, the one holding Alphas by the legs, sighed like this was a regular occurrence, which it probably was.

"Everyone says that," he said tiredly. "Yes, it's a name. Everyone knows about the Egypt queen person, but there's a male version too, you know. Just like with so many other names."

Theophilos sniggered. "Whoever decided that Kleopatra should have a male version was only thinking of how funny it would be."

"Blame your parents," Kallistos said briskly. "Now let's keep moving. We're almost there."

=0=

The man who'd stopped them from leaving was sitting outside Astrid's cell, staring without blinking. It was extremely unnerving to see someone stare for that long.

And why did Myre have only men in his army? There should be a few women as well. They were excellent fighters. Astrid was the perfect example.

Of course, she wasn't all that much compared to some of the people she'd met recently, but she was sure that with enough training, she could get to the same level of expertise as people like Alphas.

Although maybe even Alphas couldn't fight this guy. When she looked at him, he didn't look away, didn't even blink. She sat up, staring right back at him. He smiled at her, a crazy little smile.

"Feeling brave, are we?" he said. "Nothing that can help you against me, sweetheart."

Astrid shivered in revulsion, a disgusted expression on her face. Someone she hadn't seen or heard coming walked up behind the man and laid a hand on his shoulder. Astrid looked up to see his face. The crazy idiot turned, expelling breath with a sound like the verbal equivalent of the smell of smoke, a violent look on his face, before he saw who it was, and all of that melted away.

Myre looked down at him, not smiling for the first time since Astrid had seen him. He hadn't been smiling all the time when he'd come as Fannar, but he'd been acting like someone not himself, so it didn't count.

This was Myre, as he was, genuine in himself, not smiling.

"Carvid," he said slowly.

The man shot up, straight as an arrow, and saluted, his eyes fixed on a point a foot above Myre's head.

"Yessir, Myre!" he yelled.

"I've told you, haven't I?" Myre said, still not smiling. "Haven't I, Carvid? I've told you not to act like that, isn't that right? And the moment, the moment I leave you out of my sight, I come back to find you doing exactly that."

He pushed Carvid until his back was against the bars of the cell, then slammed his hands down against the bars on either side of Carvid's head so hard that there was a faint omm sound from the metal.

"When will you listen to me, Carvid?" he said.

Carvid was sweating so hard it dripped off his face.

"Will not do it anymore, Myre sir!"

"And is that a promise," Myre said, still looming directly over him, "or is that your idea of deception?"

"It is a promise, SIR!" Carvid yelled out, so loud that someone sleeping a few cells away woke up with a crash. Myre didn't even flinch.

"Good."

Myre punched Carvid in the head and he staggered away, the cell bars still ringing. Astrid watched with her mouth open as the man with a firework for a mind was reduced to something like that, quailing before Myre.

He was smiling again, now.

"That is your reprehension," he told Carvid, nursing his head. Carvid shot up again, saluting once more. His eyes had locked another time onto the same point, a foot above Myre's head.

"Thank you, sir!" he shouted, a vein pulsing in his forehead. And if Astrid saw it, Myre definitely saw it.

"Don't thank me for it," Myre replied, the smile fading again. "I don't expect you to actually be appreciative. If you're going to hate me, Carvid, then at least recognize that it was your own fault."

"Yes, sir!"

"Don't just 'yes, sir' me and expect that to be the end of it," Myre said, frowning now. "Say what you're thinking. I promise you I will not do anything against you for speaking your mind."

For a long, tense moment, neither of them said anything, then Carvid dropped the salute and looked Myre straight in the eyes. And grinned.

"You son of a." He stopped there, and nodded his head indicatively. Myre nodded back, and started smiling again.

"Thank you. In other news, we are leaving Berk."

"What, sir? Why? I thought you said you were taking the aggressive approach this time?"

Myre sighed. "It's too uncomfortable for me. I've tried it, but I just can't seem to get it right."

"You've already got them now, though, sir. Why let them go?"

"It doesn't sit well with me, Carvid. That is all." Myre looked at the floor for a moment, then his head snapped back up. "You have the key, don't you?"

He saluted. "Yes, sir."

"Hand it over."

Carvid fished the key out from a crevice under his belt. The guy from the ship who almost managed to poison Snotlout had had something similar. He'd called it a pocket, she remembered.

Myre took the key from the proffered hand and waved him away. "You can get back to the ships now. Your duty here is over."

Carvid saluted again and walked off. Astrid, watching the entire thing silently, was now left alone with Myre. You couldn't count everyone else in the cells. It wasn't like they could really do anything, after all, and when Myre turned his attention to you it felt like the world shrank to only the two of you.

She wondered where Hiccup was. He hadn't been in any of the cells, so he'd probably escaped.

She didn't want the other option.

"I must clarify something," Myre said, kneeling down in front of her cell. She glared at him. He just smiled, a little melancholically now.

"Yes, yes. Hate me. It's perfectly understandable."

He shifted into a more comfortable position. "In reality, I don't normally take land by force. This time, I tried to get into the aggressive mindset, because you are implicated in what I want."

A gaunt smile.

"And what I want is too important for me to take half-hearted measures."

He leaned back. "However, it just doesn't sit right with me to do something like this. So I'm going to let you all go, and I'm leaving you to your own devices, because I've realized that I can still achieve what I want without having to use you."

He dangled the key in front of the bars.

"What are you after?" Astrid said.

"Ah, so you can talk," Myre smiled. "Ask your sorcerer friends the next time they come over. Ask them about the Heart of the World."

He tossed the key in, then stood up, dusting himself off, and left in the same direction as Carvid as Astrid snatched it up and hurriedly tried to maneuver it into the lock.

=0=

Hiccup only heard about it when he landed back outside the castle. He dismounted and led Toothless into the stables, where Wreckage and Spiral were already asleep. He wondered if the king had a dragon. He certainly hadn't seen it around, if it existed at all.

He walked off around the castle to the entrance, where he found Omegas sitting against the wall with a look that gloomy couldn't even begin to describe. Grim and dour would only be the start of all the words that you could use to try and explain that expression, and even then no word could truly hit the mark on all the nuances of his face.

"What's wrong?" Hiccup asked, sitting down before him. Omegas looked up.

"It's Alphas and Leonidas," he said. "They fought Myre and lost."

=0=

Leonidas sat up on the same kind of bed he'd seen so many times before, groaning. There seemed to be no one else in the room with him, but he could feel some magic working somewhere to his left. Healing someone else.

Tentatively, he tried to open his eyes, but searing pain jabbed through his skull and he instantly snapped his eyes shut again.

The movement sent another wave of heat crashing through his head, and he gritted his teeth, riding it out until the tide ebbed away. Very, very slowly, with extreme care, he opened his left eye.

The pain was like a stab up the nose this time, but it was manageable. Leonidas looked around, blinking carefully, taking extreme caution not to screw up the right eye. The result was a single half-closed eye, severely blurring his vision.

He got up, making sounds like a cornered cat, and walked to the door. He bumped against the doorframe, and a little shot of blunt pain made its way through his head and sharpened in his eye. He seized up for a moment before it faded, then loosened again.

He shifted to the left, walked out of the door, and began walking slowly with a single hand out to account for the sudden loss in depth perception. Golden tendrils of magic leaked out of the room adjacent to his own, and he made his way there. The healer, a woman named Hypatia, started at the sight of him leaning heavily against the doorway. She was tending to Alphas, it appeared.

"Commander?" Hypatia said, coming over to him. "Do you feel alright?"

Leonidas put a hand very carefully to his head, and breathed out. The room was beginning to gently gyrate.

"No," he said honestly. Toughing it out would be extremely dangerous at a moment like this. "I'm thirsty."

"Please sit down," Hypatia told him, putting two hands on his shoulders and gently pushing downwards. Leonidas didn't even try to resist, and gratefully slumped into a sitting position against the doorframe.

"I'll get you some water," she promised, and disappeared down the corridor.

"What happened to you?"

Alphas, lying down as the healer worked on him, was now propped up on his elbows. His face looked perfectly fine, apart from the hazy smile that floated on it. Leonidas gave him a look.

"You're drugged, you fool. Lie down."

"Nah, nah, I'm fine," Alphas said, still surrounded in an aura of fuzziness. "Does my question sound like a question on drugs?"

"I have to say," Leonidas admitted, "you talk surprisingly normal. It's just that smile… makes you seem like an airhead."

"What smile?"

"You're asking me that question? You can't feel it yourself?"

"My entire face is numb, Buzzy. I don't know what's going on there."

Leonidas cocked his head, and then regretted the movement as the entire room swam disconcertingly.

"Buzzy?" he questioned with a finger pointed at Alphas, after the colours of the room finished flashing. "That settles it. You're drugged, you're just trying really hard to fight it. Good effort, I guess, but you should lie down."

Alphas gave him a thumbs up and flopped back down. Leonidas sat quietly for a bit, breathing through his mouth while the world descended into underwater pitches and hues…

He blinked. His mouth felt wet and cold. Hypatia was kneeling in front of him, a half empty glass of water in her hand.

"You lost a lot of blood, Commander," she said while he tried to make sense of what had happened. "You should drink a lot of water for now. I'll give you a list of foods to eat for a few days until your situation stabilizes."

"Wait, sorry," Leonidas said, holding a hand up in front of him, the other hand over his eye. "Did I pass out?"

"Not exactly, Commander," she said. "Since you lost a rather substantial amount of blood, you also lost some fluids from your body, including water. It's important for us that we have water, so when you lost a large amount of that, you essentially went into a state of mind where you do things without really knowing. Some of my colleagues think it is our body's way of saving energy to survive for just a little longer."

Leonidas grunted. "So I passed out without my body passing out."

She tilted her head. "I suppose you could look at it that way, Commander. Quite succinct."

She handed him the glass and got up. "You should sit in your room for a while and drink water until you feel better. And please don't stand up too fast, or you might actually fall unconscious."

"How the hell does that work?"

"I'm not too sure, Commander, but it has been known to happen to people suffering from blood loss. So please be careful."

She entered the room and pulled the curtain to, with her and Alphas on one side and Leonidas and the rest of the world on the other. He felt a flow of magic start up again, and golden sparks began to drift under the curtain.

Leonidas finished the water, thunked the glass down on the floor, laid his head back exhaustedly, and fell asleep.

=0=

Astrid watched the horizon for any signs of ships, any titanic vessels looming on the hazy blue edge of her vision.

"Worried?" Valka asked.

"Yeah. I want to go to that island and find out what happened."

"Why not?" Valka smiled at her reassuringly, but Astrid could see the panic, the worry under that gentle expression, the hysterics just waiting for their moment.

"I can handle the island, and I can handle Gobber too, don't worry!"

Astrid gave a brief, humourless laugh. She couldn't quite muster the energy to make it sound genuine. It showed on Valka's face that she noticed.

"You know where the sorcerers' island is, I don't. And Berk needs someone to answer their questions and guide them. I have more experience than you in that matter. It's a very easy choice, Astrid."

Valka cupped Astrid's face in her hands.

"Go," she said softly. "Find Hiccup. Bring him back to us."

Astrid nodded, and hugged Valka tightly for a moment, before letting go and running off towards the stables. Valka watched her go, a small smile on her face, before that collapsed and her face crumpled. She sank to the ground, hot tears running down her face, and quickly wiped them away with the edges of her sleeves.

She hoped beyond hope that Astrid found Hiccup, because she didn't feel like her heart could bleed anymore.

She would die of that mind-crushing, heart-twisting, soul-splitting emotion before she could cry another time.