One Day Later
"Really?" Hiccup remarked to Heather after seeing that Dagur was on Shadow and not Windshear. Hiccup wanted Dagur to ride with Heather to show him that she wasn't going to let emotions cloud her judgment.
"Told you." she replied and he shook his head. She jumped off the Razorwhip and marched off to her hut. Hiccup was the first to greet Dagur.
"Hello Dragon Rider." Dagur greeted before hugging Hiccup.
"Hello Dagur." Hiccup replied as the Berserker let go.
"You know I never did catch your name." Dagur remarked and Hiccup shrugged. There wasn't much point keeping it a secret now.
"Hiccup Haddock." Hiccup answered and Dagur gave a loud laugh. Then he turned back to the Rider. "Wait you're serious?"
"Yep."
"The son of Stoick the Vast? Lost heir of Berk?" Dagur added.
"The same one." Hiccup answered and the two were silent. "The meeting is at lunch. Thrain will escort you to your room while you're staying here since Heather might throw an ax at you."
"Quick question. A favor really." Dagur asked and Hiccup folded his arms. "Can you perhaps put a good word to Heather for me? So she doesn't try to kill me again."
"I've been trying." Hiccup remarked before leaving Dagur.
Later That Day
Hiccup was in his hut drawing Toothless on spare pieces of parchment. The Rider has dozens of drawings of Toothless on the walls and of other dragons. Today he was going to plot a plan of attack on Drago. Then Berk might stand a chance when Viggo double crosses them. He turned to see Toothless waking up from a nap. The Dragon walked to the door and Hiccup walked over. He opened the door and climbed on Toothless's back. They launched off the platform overseeing a cliff. As they flew over the Edge, he saw the docks being modified so the Dragon can be built since he failed to bring Berk to their side.
"Hey there." Valka greeted Hiccup from his side. He turned to see her in her armor on top of Cloudjumper. Hiccup smiled at his mother.
"Hey mom." he replied.
"I heard Berk side with the Hunters." she remarked and Hiccup sighed. "I'm sorry it didn't go as planned. Some people are just too stubborn to change."
"Yeah I know." Hiccup said hiding the hope that Berk could change.
"So what is the meeting about?" Valka asked as they glided down to the Great Hall.
"An attack on Drago's fleet." Hiccup answered and he saw Valka gasp. "I know it's crazy, but I believe we can win this fight."
"I've seen Drago's forces first hand. He isn't on to be unestimated." Valka remarked as they landed.
"I known. Which is why I'm pulling every Allie, favor, and I owe yous for this." Hiccup said as they got off the dragons.
"I hope you know what you're doing." Valka remarked and Hiccup thought the same thing.
Later That Day
"If we modified the Monstrous Nightmare Gel Bombs with a longer fuse and lite them at the same time, the Dragon Riders will land on the bridges of ice and bury the bombs, then escape. Once those bombs go off, Drago and his forces will be trapped. Then we unleash Hel on his fleet." Hiccup reported to his Alliance leaders as he showed them a map of his first and last scout mission to the North. "Drago will be forced to surrender and release the captured dragons or sink with his fleet. Any questions?"
"Yes, what if Drago isn't there anymore?" Captain Ingirid Andelson of the Yellow Nadders asked. Hiccup remembered meeting the pirate. She captured him and Toothless, they escape and show respect to her fleet. An uneasy Alliance, but she could always get some intel here and there.
"Which is why I'm sending C Team on a scouting mission. They'll check to make sure if everything is the same or if Drago moved. If he moved, then they will search for evidence of where he might go." Hiccup answered.
"So what should we do in the meantime?" General Skuld Leif of the Fortress asked. Hiccup remembered when his team accidentally found the Fortress. Their catapults, ballistaes, and cannons opened fire. But eventually, the two sides became Allies in the war against the Hunters.
"We are going to build ships, armor, weapons, and plans if something goes wrong. Once the scouting mission is done, we'll decide where to open fire on." Hiccup answered seeing each leader of the factions allied with him. "This mission is dangerous and there's no telling if we'll make it back. If you want to back out now. You can."
That Evening
Styr Agnar loaded the necessary supplies for the scouting mission to Drago's stronghold. The last mission up there ended with the death of a friend. Now Calvery Team was going to see Drago's forces. He turned to his team. He was about to lead them to a possible suicide mission. The only thing he can hope for is that they could escape. While he wishes to dine in Valhalla, he wasn't in a rush to do so. Sky Smasher shook his head and Styr smiled. The Rider grabbed a fish and gave it to his friend. The dragon ate it as Styr scratched the Triple Styke's neck. "Don't worry friend. We'll make it home."
Four Days Later
C Team landed on the snow and Styr ordered two groups. A Group consisted of Styr, Asta Thorlak, Tore Orm, and their dragons. B Group had Arni Oleifson, Bardi Anund, Frida Mak, Egil Surt, and their dragons. A Group was to scout the fleet while B Group stand watch. The A Group Rider got off their dragons and made their way into the cave system. When they reached an edge, they ducked down and crawled to view the massive fleet. Styr knew that Tofa was right. This fleet was massive and armed to the tooth. Styr used his spyglass to make note of all exits the fleet has while Asta wrote them down. Hiccup's plan was crazy, but Styr had to agree with the young man. Drago fleet was growing and dragons were being enslaved. As they crawled back to head for home, a massive explosion could be heard from the cave entrance. The Riders raced back to see Drago soldiers engaging C Team. Arrows, spears, and flames were fired at Styr's team. The Riders jumped on their dragons and tried to escape. But from the corner of his eye, Styr saw pierce Arni's back. His Monstrous Nightmare, Boomer launched into the sky and Arni kept his grip.
"Frida! Egil! Trail of fire!" Styr ordered and the Zippleback left a trail of gas for the pursing dragons. It exploded forcing the armored dragons back. The team cheered, before long spear hit Tore's Deadly Nadder, Dusty sending them down. Styr looked down to see three warships firing their weapons. The team raced home as their brothers and sisters fell and they couldn't do anything about it.
Two Days Later
"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled outside of his hut. Hiccup bolted from his desk and ran to his door.
"What happened?" Hiccup asked as he opened the door.
"C Teams. Back. It doesn't look good." she answered and they raced to the training square to see a battered C Team. Styr removed several arrows from Sky Smasher's hide. Asta was getting her head bandage as she comforted her Deadly Nadder, Shade before his final breaths. Boomer laid his head on Arni's limp body as Heather put a blanket over his body. Frida held her betrothed as his leg was bandaged and their dragon slept from his long journey. They were the only survivors. Shade, Tore, Dusty, Bardi, Arni, and Ghostwhip were gone. Astrid gripped Hiccup's arm as they watched the sadness. Valka put her hand on his shoulder before trying to comfort the survivors.
That Evening
"Today we lost many of our friends. Loved ones. Family." Hiccup said as the boats turned to flames. Astrid was sad to see the boat flaming. They didn't deserve to die. "They fought with us and they will be missed. But let we be brighten knowing they are in Valhalla with our fallen friends from the previous battles. That they died so we can win this war." he added and the large crowd was silent for the night. All they could do was mourn and vow to win this war for their lost friends.
Later
Hiccup held his shield in his hands remembering his failure at Berk. He tried showing them that dragons can be useful. But he was met with defeat. Now he got several of his friends to Drago. This war cost him so much. It cost him good Riders, Dragons, and now Berk. He felt like Hiccup the Useless once more. He heard a knock on the door and Toothless raised his head then lay it back down. Hiccup walked over and opened the door to see Astrid. "Hey Astrid. Something wrong?"
"No. I just need to talk to someone." Astrid answered and Hiccup let her in. She sat in a chair and Hiccup sat next to her. "How do you do it?"
"What?" Hiccup asked confused.
"How do you handle leading people to battle and seeing them die?" Astrid asked and Hiccup sighed.
"I lost people before and every time I felt it was my fault. But I can't let their deaths be in vain. I remembered them in every battle. Every fight. Every time I make a move. They never leave me and I try everything I can to stop the bloodshed." Hiccup answered and the two were silent.
"Why didn't you kill Toothless?" Astrid asked and Hiccup looked at her. "I heard the story of you shooting him down and how you saved him, but I never once heard why you didn't kill him."
"Well. I wanted glory and when I held my dagger above him, I saw Toothless's eyes. I looked at him and he looked as frightened as I was. I looked at him and saw myself." Hiccup answered and Astrid hugged him.
"I wished I could have been there. Helped you with all of this." Astrid said gesturing at his hut and the Edge.
"Same here." Hiccup replied awkwardly and he rubbed his neck. The two looked at each other and Astrid kissed Hiccup on the cheek.
"I better get going." she remarked before leaving a stunned Hiccup.
Next Morning
"Hey sister." Dagur greeted Heather as she looked at the sea on top of a cliff. She turned to the man and wanted to throw him off the cliff. The Berserker just sat on the cliffside making it easier. "I know I've made mistakes and I don't deserve forgiveness, but I want to try and change this."
"And how do you expect to change this?" Heather asked sharply and Daur turned to her.
"After Hiccup's attack, I'm going to search for our father." Dagur answered and Heather hid her surprise. "I would like it if you would join me." he added and Heather looked at the man. For so long she felt anger and hate at Dagur. Now he's here asking for help to find their father. Heather just left with Windshear with questions.
Elsewhere
Savage watched as Ryker's men surrounded the village. A short battle was fought but they were outnumbered and outmatched. Now Savage was taking command of his tribe. Dagur sided with the Dragon Riders and chose his fate. Savage was making sure that he wouldn't betray tradition and that their way of life doesn't fade away. "Chief Savage."
"Yes Ryker?" Savage asked with a grin.
"Viggo is having his fleet sail to Berk. Make sure that they dock and replenish their supplies." Ryker ordered and the Berserker nodded.
"Don't worry. As long as you hunt down the dragons we'll make sure Viggo is happy." Savage replied as Ryker left the new Chief.
