The Great Hall was filled with an atmosphere so tension that not even the sharpest blade could have penetrated it. Fishlegs looked at Heather, sadly, "We wanted to stay in touch. It was just that we were worried about anything being traced back to us and being found." The Berserker went over to him. "What I really don't get is why it even had to come to all this." She gestured around. "It felt like that after a few months of writing, the letters stopped coming back." The Ingerman had a shameful look on his face and glanced at Ruffnut. Heather's brows furrowed and her eyes widened in realization. "I didn't know how to tell you." Fishlegs told her, "Time went by and Ruff and I just got close. We had shared so many experiences." Hurt, Heather stepped back to rejoin her family. Dagur glared Fishlegs down and the younger man shrunk. Throk, much like Heather, looked as though his heart had been stabbed with a flaming sword. He stared at Ruffnut and had to turn away. Mala put a hand on his shoulder, giving a warm expression. Hiccup looked between Fishlegs and Ruff, then Astrid and himself. "Time got away from us." he told the visitors, "What started with sending letters back and forth and visiting turned into us starting our new lives back at Berk. Everything seemed to change when we left Dragon's Edge. Even though you all visited, it was different to us. We got more caught up in what we were doing, but I feel like that's natural. After what happened with Drago, it seemed like it would be better for us to handle it ourselves. Same goes for with Grimmel. You might not prefer how we did things, but I really do think we did what was best. And that especially goes for the dragons too."

Dagur, who had been seething on and off since their arrival, had finally had enough. "What the hell, Hiccup?" he barked. The vikings all turned to look at him, shocked at the explosion. "What?" Hiccup asked, confused. The Berserker's blood boiled with anger. "You didn't do what was best. You did what you wanted and left the rest of us to bear it out." Dagur accused. Hiccup's eyes narrowed, "What did we do that was so terrible for you all?" Mala sighed quietly as her husband began. "Oh, I don't know. I'd say that telling all of the dragons to leave was a bit of an inconvenience." "It was what needed to be done. We couldn't have protected them." Hiccup defended. "Yak dung!" Dagur retorted, "You sent them away because you couldn't keep them safe. When we all worked together, we won. It was tough, but we had each other and the dragons too because of our teamwork. We only would've gotten better at that-better at protecting the dragons and one another if you had been willing to give it a chance. All you had to do was just include us." The chief's tone changed to one of sadness. He looked at the Berkians. "When the replies stopped coming, we thought something was up. That was when we came to visit and saw that nothing had even happened. You weren't in danger. You just didn't want to be bothered with us anymore." His melancholy look turned vicious again. "That wouldn't even have been the issue if your actions weren't still affecting us. Remember the Great Protector, guys?" The man paused as he saw the recognition in the vikings' faces. "Yeah." he said, annoyed, "So when you sent away all the dragons, the lava from the volcano took over the island. We only managed to escape without any lives being lost because we realized what was about to happen in its absence. Losing our dragons was bad enough, but our people were almost killed!"

Valka straightened up, "That was not our intention, but I don't think you can blame my son for thinking more about all the situations he was in. From what I've heard, he didn't have an initally pleasant relationship with any of you. I don't deny the good you all have done in later years, but Hiccup shouldn't be held accountable for focusing on others." "That's not what happened." Hiccup interjected, "I guess in the spur of the moment, I just wanted to make sure the dragons would be safe." The Berkian raised his head to meet Dagur's glare. "I'm sorry." he said, sincerely. "We can't change all that happened, but maybe we could visit more too." The Berserker's expression softened and he noticed the kids had come back to the Hall. Keira's and Espen's faces were droopy. Lagging behind them were Zephyr and Nuffink. The latter of the two looked pitiful where as his sister had a combination of embarrassment and anger on her face. Keira gave her father a hug as Hiccup looked questioningly at his children. "What happened?" he asked. She eyed Keira and shook her head. "Nothing really." she mumbled. The chief looked between her and the other children. Suddenly, Hiccup's eyes lit up. "How about we spend Snoggletog Eve with our dragons?" he suggested. Snotlout folded his arms. "Looks like somebody hasn't been paying attention. If the dragons are gone, how do we spend tomorrow with them?" Hiccup shook his head, exasperated. "We go to them at the Hidden World. I still remember where it is." "We can't do that." Dagur objected, "The dragons are stealthy enough to leave every once in a while and not get caught, but I doubt we'd be as fortunate." The Berkians glanced at him in askance. "What are you talking about?" Astrid inquired, "Now is probably the safest time to go. The hunters have been gone for a while and if we just go and return today..." she trailed off, seeing the confused faces of the Berserkers and Defenders. "The hunters are not gone." Mala informed her. Heather nodded. "They're getting better every year."

The Berkians visibly tensed. "No, we took out their leaders." Hiccup started, nervously, "Th-they should be gone." "They're still here, Hiccup." Dagur told him, "They find dragons who leave the world apparently and hunt them down relentlessly. It's too risky to go to the dragons with them lurking around." The Berkians looked at one another. "No." Hiccup said, firmly. "We can make it there and back without being seen. We need to show you that this wasn't just a crazy idea that almost destroyed your home. When you see how wonderful they're all doing, you'll understand why we did what we did." The visitors just shook their heads at his words. "If you're determined to go, we'll come too. Have to make sure you guys don't get killed." Dagur stated, rolling his eyes. "Then it's settled?" Astrid commented. Her husband nodded, "By this time tomorrow, we'll be in the Hidden World."