A belt of daggers. A steel sword. An ebony bow with matching arrows. And a satchel filled with poisons. These are what Hadrian gathers as he scours the blacksmith's shop for all the weapons he can carry. From here, if he could make his way to the hall, it's just opposite the harbor. Hopefully Brandur hasn't been spotted or exposed. Hadrian hadn't heard word since his last conversation in the dungeon.

At least getting here was simple. A trail of bodies lay behind Hadrian as he searches a trunk. Only three guards were present. They must all still be huddled in the arena. Hadrian needs to move quickly; his luck isn't bound to last. The sun persist on rising.

He slips out of the armory and treads across a bridge over towards the volcano where the Outcasts have their hall. Keeping to the shadows, Hadrian rounds to the side of the hall and spots the docks. Hadrian's eyes flick from one boat to another, all of them moored up to the docks. He continues to walk along the promenade; a railing being the only barrier separating him from the deep water.

He spots one guard walking back and forth around the dock. Hadrian hops down an outcropping of rocks, then swoops through the shadows silent as a ghost. As the one guard looks out at the end of the dock, Hadrian swoops up to him and pops his knee into the lumbar of the guard's spine. As he drops to his knees, Hadrian chops at the guard's cervical. He collapses onto the docks and Hadrian drags his body behind a trio of barrels.

Hadrian stays crouched there as he feels the vibration of more footsteps coming. The details of his face are obscured by the shadows, but the built was familiar enough that Hadrian assumes it Brandr. Still, he cautiously steps from the shadows, pulling a single arrow from his sheath' twirling it in between his fingers. He approaches the guard and places a hand on his shoulder. The guard turns around, and after his eyes widen in surprise, Hadrian recognizes Brandr's eyes.

"Glad to see you made it." He smiles.

"You too." Hadrian replies.

"Don't be so happy just yet. I think some of these people are beginning to suspect who I am." Brandr warns.

"Well then let's get out of here. Where's the boat?" Hadrian hurries.

"I couldn't secure one. Dagur had all ships locked down so that all men would be present when Hiccup arrives."

Hadrian groans, but captures what Brandr said. "What do you mean when he arrives?"

"He sent a message saying that he was coming to Outcast Island, with a plan. And he needs you to meet him at the arena." says Brandr

"When?"

"Doesn't say. But since Dagur wanted the Skrill and Night Fury by tomorrow, I assume sometime around dawn, possibly afternoon."

Hadrian turns and paces in a circle swearing. "All right, we need to get there soon; though I'm assuming it'll be guarded heavier than the food hall during a snowstorm."

"Don't worry about it. With your suit, you'll be fine." Brandr assures.

"What about you? If people are getting suspicious you're not safe." Hadrian says.

Brandr isn't the quietest thief, and unlike many others in his line of work, he did not take to the shadows as fish took to water. His fingers lacked the dexterity for caressing locks into opening. But his ears were always listening, and his eyes sharp.

"I'll manage. My cover wasn't blown yet. I'll be fine. I just hope that when they do find out, you and Hiccup will have blown this island to bits."

Hadrian smiles and pulls up his mask. "Perhaps we should lower Dagur's forces while we have them herded into one area."

Brandr smiles back and makes his to the arena separately while Hadrian sticks to the shadows; well, what limited shadows he had left.

Flying over the rocky shoreline of Outcast Island, Hiccup keeps his eyes straightforward, focusing on the flaps of Toothless' wings. He tries to ignore the fact that Alvin is sitting right behind him. He was lucky enough to strike a deal with Alvin, though he doesn't even consider letting an inch of his guard down.

Suddenly the next thing he feels is Alvin's hands on his shoulders. Hiccup doesn't overreact, his first guess that Alvin's not used to flying; but his grip is a little, suffocating.

"Hey you mind loosening up that death grip a little bit?" Hiccup says.

"Sorry, they all tend to be death grips." Alvin smiles.

Then suddenly Toothless' wings whip upwards whacking Alvin in the head. Toothless giggles.

"Toothless no." Hiccup warns, but gives him a smile.

"So, tell me again how you two boys went from being worst enemies to the best of inseparable friends." Alvin says.

Hiccup feels his heart hitch in his throat. He tries to swallow but it feels like there's a wad of cotton stuck. He coughs and clears his throat. "Uh well, after you hypnotized me into being your son and a deadly Outcast, I guess it, unlocked something inside me. After the Changewing was killed, Hadrian didn't, go away. He became aware, alive. An entity all his own."

Hiccup's voice catches as the memory of him as Hadrian flashes through his mind. Alvin had hypnotized him into becoming one of the Outcasts, so that when he invaded Berk no one would dare hurt Hiccup given he is the chief's son. Once the dragon was killed, it somehow unlocked an ability inside Hiccup that he didn't know he had. Heather's grandmother said that Hadrian became his own entity due to emotional trauma or feelings.

"He started taunting me in my sleep because he wanted freedom. And I couldn't at the time because he was evil. I trapped him in a spellbook belonging to Heather's grandmother, and I thought that was the end of it." Hiccup says, Alvin doesn't interrupt.

"So now you're a full blown wizard, is that it?" Alvin asks.

"Not, exactly. Heather's grandmother thinks I'm a Valkyrie." Hiccup can feel Alvin tense. "The first male, ever."

"First I've heard, but why you?" Alvin asks.

"You think I know the answer?" Hiccup snaps. "Anyway, then a demon came to the village, known as Jolene, but she was really a succubus named Lilith. And it was Hadrian who gave me the answers and help to defeat her; despite everything he's done to me. He didn't have to, but he did."

"Probably for his own benefit."

"Maybe. Lilith had trapped him from within another world, and he still wanted freedom. So he helped me; and when he, died, I was upset."

"Died?"

"Or, dissipated. He saved me from another one of Lilith's minions. Once everything was over, I felt like had done more than earn a pardon. So once I got back to the real world, I reincarnated him, and the rest is history."

"I'm surprised he hasn't tried to flee or take over Berk again." Alvin says.

"He's not you, Alvin." Hiccup states. "He knows when it's time to let go."

Over in the distance, Hiccup can see the apparition of Outcast Island in view.

"And with that, we've arrived."

"Let's get on with it." Alvin snarls.

They swoop closer but Hiccup pulls back on Toothless' harness. "Whoa, whoa, whoa wait. we can't just fly over the island Alvin, they're' going to be expecting us."

"I'm well aware of that. We're not flying over the island, we're flying under it." he points downward to a small sea stack. "Hold your breath."

He suddenly flicks the lever of Toothless' tail.

"What are you doing?!" Hiccup shrieks.

"Dive dragon! Dive!" Alvin commands.

"No Toothless!" Hiccup shouts.

"I though you were going to trust me. Remembers the truce boy." Alvin warns.

There's a moment's hesitation before Hiccup commands Toothless to dive. He does and they plunge into the frigid water. Opening his eyes, Hiccup notices Alvin pointing to a small hollow opening beneath the sea stack. Toothless hurries inside and swims to the surface. They break through soaked and gasping for breath.

Alvin's the first to exit the water. "That tunnel will take us directly to the heart of the island."

Hiccup wrenches out his vest and swoops his hair to one side, "How do you know Dagur hasn't found this tunnel?" he asks.

"Because I've got a man on the inside who assures me that it's clean." Alvin answers.

They walk down a damp passageway; torches placed at every odd interval. Hiccup can't seem to find anything to help him keep track, so he resorts to counting how many lefts and rights they turn. It goes on for about two minutes before they enter the dragon dungeon. The place where Hiccup was first caged by Alvin a couple years back. Inside, Mildew carries a bucket of fish and whimpers back terrified as a Whispering Death hisses and snarls for the fish. The mere sight of him makes Hiccup's blood boil.

"Mildew?! This traitor, is your man on the inside?!" Hiccup snarls. Toothless growls and stalks towards Mildew. But Alvin steps in front of him.

"Well he's always been faithful to me." Alvin defends.

"Oh well there's that warm fuzzy feeling I was looking for." Hiccup snaps. He approaches Mildew and watches as he feeds a Whispering Death a cod. "Mildew I have to say, I never thought I'd see that day you'd be playing nanny to a nursery of dragons."

"Interesting turn of events to say the least." He replies. Then the Whispering Death snatches his staff. He bickers as he tries to get it back.

Hiccup roams around looking at all the cages, and doesn't see Hadrian. "Was Hadrian ever caged in here?" he asks.

"How should I know, I don't run the island . . . yet." Alvin replies.

"But would Dagur at least put him down here?"

"Probably. One of the only prisons we have here on Outcast Island."

Hiccup continues to look around, but instead of finding Hadrian, he finds a Whispering Death surrounded by a scattering of eggs. "So this is where all those Whispering Death eggs you planted came from." Hiccup mumbles.

"Mildew's idea. And not a very good one at that." Alvin chimes.

"So, this one dragon laid all those eggs?" Hiccup asks Mildew.

"Every one."

"Which would include a large, red egg?"

"Hmm, yeah I was worried about that one. How'd it turn out?" Mildew asks.

"Uh . . . big." Hiccup answers. He then takes out a small slip of parchment and a small charcoal pencil he keeps within his vest. As he writes vigorously, he goes over to Toothless where he pulls out a Terrible Terror that he often takes with him on rides.

"What are you doing?" Alvin asks.

"Sending a message home. That red egg, turned out to be a Screaming Death." Hiccup explains, the Terrible Terror crawls along his shoulders. "It's been destroying whole islands looking for something. And now it's headed to Berk. But I think I might know what it's really looking for."

"Alright, here's our plan . . ." Alvin begins.

"Uh, no offense Alvin, but your plans are . . . terrible." Hiccup states. "Here's what we need to do . . ."

Hadrian and Brandr managed to sneak into the district of the arena. Guards were everywhere, and the place is quiet. Hadrian leans out from behind a corner at the south end of the arena. Hadrian's hand slips into his belt, where a dozen of slender daggers were clipped tight. He draws three and throws. The wickedly sharp point pierced the side of the guard's neck. Then he instantly jumps down and first kicks the man hard in the stomach before punching him left and right, then bringing his head down and ramming his knee into the guard's forehead. He collapses, unable to cry out to the others. Sheathing the second dagger Hadrian grabbed in case he missed, he motions Brandr forward.

As he follows, Hadrian helps himself to the many weapons available on the bodies, while Brandr snatches a few more daggers and swords. They were near a wooden scaffolding, with one guard aboard. Hadrian draws his bow and readies an arrow. The double-pronged head giving Brandr a shudder. He watches as Hadrian applies some of the Venom he acquired and lets the arrow fly. Within seconds of hitting the guard, he collapses with tight, rigid cords of sickly green veins webbed across the man's body and limbs, like ropes under his skin.

His fall catches the attention of another one, and Hadrian loads a clean arrow this time, Brandr readying his sword. Hadrian lets the arrow go, and Brandr jumps down. Just as it pierces the guard's up right thigh, Brandr springs into action. The man notices him, and as he swings his spear, Brandr ducks below it, ramming his head upwards, nailing the man in the chin. Then he grabs the guard by the ears and scruffs of hair and drives his knee to his nose. Then grabbing him about the neck by his arm, they swing around and he crashes into the weapons racks, then Brandr kicks him in the stomach, rattling the contents and having him fall unconscious.

Brandr gives Hadrian a thumbs up and the men continue onward, Brandr sticking close to Hadrian. They come to a stairway that leads down under the cages when three more guards show up. Hadrian holds Brandr back, and Brandr stays crouched as Hadrian jumps down and he launches in a round-off.

Back flipping twice, when he lands, he punches on man in the chin snapping his head back, instantly out. Hadrian dances between the two men, his dagger a blur of steel. Both men are bleeding, and one in particular was soaked with blood from a gash underneath his arm. Brandr watches as Hadrian ducks a sideways slash, spins on his heels, and then lunges to the side of a thrust. The sword pierces the air inches from Hadrian's face, but he seems to not care how close he comes to death. Hadrian's dagger punches underneath the breastplate, slicing open the flesh and spilling intestines to the cold stone.

They ascend a stone staircase up to central room located behind the biggest cage in the arena. The cage where they had Lightning cooped. Two guards are in the room, and Hadrian can hear more outside.

Hadrian looks to Brandr. Brandr signals Hadrian to go around back while he slinks close to the stone wall. Hadrian nods and draws an arrow. He creeps around corner so that he's within range of one of the soldiers. This one only had on light armor, so when Hadrian's arrow flies, it pierces through his chest and he falls. The other is much bigger. He readies his axe as he notices the man slump to the ground.

Brandr sprints forward and pushes off his feet, flipping in midair. He lands with his feet on the shoulders of the man, and following his momentum, dives forward and ducks through his legs, flipping him over and into the wall. He catches himself and rolls coming up on one knee, but Brandr is already at his face, forcefully leading his knee into the side of the man's head, then kicking with his other foot before taking him by his ponytail and ramming his head against the stone. He slumps to the ground.

"Cool moves." Hadrian compliments.

"Savage taught me that one." Brandr smiles.

They continue on and as they pass a doorway of bars, Hadrian suddenly stops and peeks out form the side of the gateway. He blinks a couple times to make sure he sees it. Hiccup and Toothless stalking the outside of the arena. Hadrian watches as Hiccup lets go of a Terrible Terror and it flies off. He then mounts Toothless and they glide around the arena.

Hadrian watches as they slip one way, then knock out a guard from the opposite angle. They take on out one by one; even when on gets suspicious, he's knocked unconscious the next second. With the daylight, Hadrian knows they and Toothless' blasts are noticeable. If Hadrian can see them, so can Dagur. He has half the instinct to wave, but he needs to stick to his plan and limit the number of guards. They should be down in the dungeon reading to recruit Hadrian. They have limited time.

"Hadrian," Hadrian turns at the whisper of Brandr's voice. "we need to go."

Hadrian nods.

They continue down the curving corridor, taking out numbers of guards while Hiccup scours the outside.

Hiccup and Toothless carefully step into the arena and look back and forth. Suddenly there's a click and a boa comes whirling at Hiccup. He blocks it with his shield and it ricochets off. More come in different directions and Hiccup blocks each while Toothless leaps and whips each away. He leaps ahead and there's the sound of a click and rotating wheels.

Hiccup looks up then screams, "Toothless look out!"

Toothless looks up in time to see the cage hurling down on him. It crashes to the floor, locking Toothless in place and rattling the arena.

Hadrian and Brandr feel this as Hadrian pulls out his dagger from the chest of a Berserker soldier. He rushes to a nearby iron bar window and peeks outside. Toothless is locked in a cage, and Hiccup surrounded. Toothless growls and roars as Dagur emerges from behind Savage; who greets Hiccup with a parody of hospitality by welcoming him back to Outcast Island.

Dagur approaches the cage and Toothless snarls so thickly Hadrian expects his lips to tear and widen. "You're finally mine." Dagur whispers. "All mine. First thing we're going to do is change that name."

Hiccup advances, but a guard stops him and tears away Hiccup's shield.

"I think our time is up." Brandr says.

Hadrian nods and they exit the hemicircle as guards grab Hiccup by the upper arms.

Meanwhile, Dagur reaches for his sword, drawing it. "You will respect me dragon. Or I'll wear you as a hat."

"Leave him alone Dagur!" Hiccups creams.

"Put him with his "twin." Dagur orders. "We'll dispose of them later. I assumed you wouldn't bring the Skrill, but that's fine. Once I raid Berk, I'll have both at my disposal."

Back on Berk, the riders have gathered into the arena waiting on word from Hiccup. And that word comes in on Snotlout's arm. He whines repeating "Painful Message." Astrid removes the note while the twins pry the Terror off Snotlout's forearm; only to have it bite Tuffnut's face. Fishlegs approaches Astrid, asking what the note says.

"Hiccup has an idea to stop the Screaming Death, but, we need to lure it to Outcast Island." Astrid says.

"Okay, what could we use to lure ti?" Tuffnut asks.

"It likes eating islands." Ruffnut says.

"Ha! That's it! We're going to need a really tiny island, and a really big rope. Any idea where we can find that?" Tuffnut asks, only to be knocked in the head by Astrid' fist.

"What about the Dragonroot?" Fishlegs suggests.

"Huh, and you thought my island trap was a bad idea." Tuffnut criticizes.

"Great idea Fishlegs. Gobber locked up the Dragonroot so we could study it." Astrid says.

"Just one problem," Snotlout chimes. "All our dragons go nuts when they get anywhere near it."

Dragonroot is a special type of plant that is said to have the same enticing properties of Dragonnip, only the craving for it becomes so dire in dragons that they begin to fight and become incredibly territorial of it. It was first discovered in the remains of Mildew's old cabbage field and stored away alter in the food storage. It is assumed Boulder class dragons aren't effected by the root as Meatlug was the one who transported it.

"Um if you recall, not all the dragons are effected by the Dragonroot." Fishlegs reminds. "For example as a Boulder class dragon, Meatlug is . . ."

He stops when all the riders stare at him. He clamps his hands over his mouth.

"And I've said too much."

Dagur constantly circles the cage holding Toothless maniacally giggling as he observes Toothless. "I have big plans for you Mr. Night Fury. You, will be the new symbol of the Berserkers! Every corner of the Acapellago will fear you!"

As Dagur speaks, one of the torches in the arena blow out. One guard growls. "Damn drafts. Why can't these things stay lite?"

Hiccup watches as the shadows of the arena creep more towards the center. The lighting doing its best to fight back the intangible darkness.

Dagur doesn't seem to notice and continues on. "Of course we'll need to change all the sails and shields, and I'll need a new belt buckle. What's that going to cost? Well, we'll worry about that after we burn Berk to the ground."

"Sir! Sir!" A guard cries.

Dagur angrily whines. "What is it?! I'm planning an attack here!"

"It's Hadrian sir, he's not in his cell. And there are bodies of guards scattered all across the hallways!" the guard babbles.

"What?! How could he escape?!" Dagur howls.

As Dagur speaks, Hiccup glances around the arena and his eyes widen as another torch goes out. Upon closer inspection, it looks like another breeze, but Hiccup could spot a speck of tattered cloth wisp into the shadows.

His eyes flick around the remaining torches, waiting for the next to blow out. He then sees a flicker of light over Dagur's shoulder, and peers around him to get a better look.

Then an arrow bolts towards them.

"Get down!" Savage screams, hitting the floor.

The arrow hits the door to the cage, and Dagur had just dropped to one knee when another hits into the fire of a torch nearest him. A strong arm wraps around Hiccup's shoulder and shoves him toward the wall. The flames of the fire erupt in an explosion that knocks his body into Hiccup's; pining Hiccup to the wall. Hiccup's rings ear and his right shoulder burns, and he sees a muscled body crouched around him to shield him from the arrowfire. Simultaneously, he feels the binds of his hands drop off. The pain subsides to a dull ache. Hiccup ducks low, his shoes crunching pieces of wood and rock beneath their soles, and pulls his dagger out of its sheath on his belt.

All around Hiccup the fires of other torches have dissipated from the explosion but one, like it had leeched out all of its light. Now they are crouching in darkness with only one torch that managed to stay alive after the burst of warm air after the blast. They wait for another arrow to whiz at their heads, but it stays quiet.

Dagur rises and draws a sword. "Show yourselves!" he demands.

Hiccup stays crouched to the floor, but slides hid hand under his tunic and feels for the wound in his shoulder. He's not bleeding, but the forces of the combustion knocked him down so he must've been hit with something. Running his fingers over his shoulder he feels a hard bump here the skin used to by smooth.

Then voices whisper into the room.

Hiccup jumps like a startled rabbit. His shield is gone and he spins the blade of his dagger out. Toothless is still caged.

"That was quite the entrance!" Dagur says from her stance.

Again they heard the voice, echoing from wall to wall like a magician's trick. This time Hiccup clearly realized that a man was doing the whispering, a fact that should have calmed him but strangely did not.

"We are the domineering," says the whisper. "We are the most fervent, the most skilled, for we have much to atone for. You are a sinner, boy. Will you lift your arms to us and accept our mercy?"

Shadows dance around Hiccup, Dagur and the reaming men in the arena; not cast from the torch flickering on the wall. Hiccup takes tiny steps back into its light, hoping it can somehow drive them away like sunlight drives away vampires.

"Show yourselves!" Dagur repeats.

When Hiccup peers towards the entrance, he sees the shadows swarm together, grow in volume and mass, and then finally fill with color, becoming a man shrouded in black with a thin white cloth covering the gap left for her eyes.

"Can't take the cold? There's warmth in the Void," the man says as he draws a serrated dagger. "Would you like me to send you there?"

"Don't try and makes threats!" Dagur snaps.

"Be clear with your demands, or accept the cruel gifts fools and selfish men may give."

Dagur snarls and it takes all Hiccup's willpower to suppress the shaking of his hands and keep them gripped in fists. He knows who it is; seeing this trick before, but still the technique is enough to strike fear to his core.

"Why did you attack us without first thinking of us as allies?!" Dagur howls.

"Don't ask questions you should already know the answer to. Remain quiet. We are few, and some things must be done in silence." the man says.

He wraps his cloak around her body, its fabric seemingly made of liquid shadow. A sudden jerk and he is gone, his body exploding into dark fragments that splash across the walls and fade like smoke.

"The Acapellago has long forgotten about you, and your reputation has dispersed. It's time a new and better generation devours the fear of her citizens, and show them the true fear and power true warriors of the shadows deserve." Echoes a whisper through the room. "Remember, the cost you pay is always dearer once it has left your hand."

Just as the last word hisses, Savage is knocked to the side from a brutal kick to the head; nearly crashing into the other side of the arena. Dagur was about to look to him, but kept his gaze forward enough to spot a pale wrapped face barreling towards him. Dagur blocks the faceless man's serrated dagger, but the man then spins knocking the sword aside with his one leg, and ramming it into Dagur's gut with the other. Dagur grunts and feels the man's right fist slam into his cheek, then his left before he grabs Dagur's hair and ears, bringing head down and ramming it to her knee. Dagur stumbles back and feels a stream of liquid run down her lip. Bloody nose.

Savage pushes to his feet and readies his weapon. He charges for the man in black and as he swipes, he expects it to land in the faceless' back, but it only hits the ground. He looks to the left and is met with a vicious punch to his jaw, then kick to the stomach before his feet are out from under him. Dagur goes to slash the faceless man's arm, but instead feels his wrist grabbed and his head bangs into the iron door of the cage. The faceless man then pulls Dagur back and spins and kicks him back. Dagur only manages to roll backwards to his knees.

As he was about to ready himself, the ground vibrates and a Whispering Death erupts from the ground. It snarls and hisses before barreling through the rusted bars of the dome of the arena. Hiccup wobbles but stays close to the wall as more burst from the ground. The arena floor cracks in half and a Whispering Death dragon dives back into the arena with Alvin and Mildew on its tail. It wipes past a gathering of guards and Alvin tosses Mildew to toothless' cage. He pries open the door and pull off a muzzle Dagur had applied.

As chaos explodes throughout the arena, Hiccup keeps his dagger close, locked in an iron grip. The ground shakes again and hiccup would've fallen into the abyss if it weren't for a hand gripping his wrist.

A harsh tug forward and Hiccup's on his hands and knees in front of two black boots. His heart skips for a second before one boots steps back into a knee. Hiccup looks up and finds Hadrian's eyes blaring through the darkness that obscures his face.

Hiccup couldn't have stopped the smile if he tried. Nor could he have stopped himself from launching into Hadrian's arm with a strange sound from the back of his throat. A mixture of surprise, happiness and a sob. The moment his arms wrap around Hadrian's neck, Hiccup feels his back pressed against the wall. His heart triples, but the dropping of boulders roars in his ears.

Once it stops, he releases Hadrian.

He looks into the fierce but warm jade coloring, and even amongst the chaos, Hiccup brings his hands up and pulls away Hadrian's hood and mask. The other faceless man must be Brandr, Hiccup's inside agent.

Hadrian is bruised with cuts clogged with blood, but still he was, beautiful. Hiccup smiles.

"You didn't think it's let you have all the fun." Hadrian smirks.

Hiccup smiles wider and breathes a laugh.

"We need to get Toothless." Hadrian says.

Hiccup snaps out of his excitement and nods.

They split up. As Hiccup goes for toothless, he spins around, bringing his elbow up as he does, and thrusts it towards a perusing guard's face. It catches the end of his chin, but not enough to stop him. He grabs Hiccup's left hand with one hand and presses the tip of his dagger to Hiccup's forehead with the other. A second later he drives the hilt of the dagger into Hiccup's jaw. Hiccup clenches her teeth to suppress a groan. Blood trickles down his neck – he broke the skin.

Hadrian mean while kicks a guard in the jaw, then stabs him in the bicep. The blood slides off the Hadrian's robes like water. Hadrian back handsprings, leaps into the air, raising a sword. His opponent blocks it with his own and slashes it aside, kicking Hadrian in the shoulder; but as the Hadrian hitches a cry and drops to one knee, he uses his other leg to kick the soldier's feet out. The soldier slams into the ground.

Hiccup calls to Toothless, and as they are within feet of one another, the ground cracks and instantly the middle of the arena drops down.

"Toothless!" Hiccup shrieks.

This diverts Hadrian's attention, earning him a punch to the face and fumbling to the ground. His opponent goes for the killing blow, but Hadrian raises his legs up, catching the man's wrists and flinging him over.

The soldiers and Toothless in the inner circle crash to the floor and a horrid screams of the soldiers echo in Hiccup and Hadrian's ears. The foundation of the arena cries and screeches into a high-itched scream as they descend down into the arena. The dome tips inward and screams high. The rasp of the hoarse chants of soldiers and the clang of weapons all rose into a hellish cacophony, converging with the rusted iron's glass-shattering scream.

Hiccup jumps and grips one iron bar as his platform crumples. Down below, Toothless howls. Hadrian rushes towards a soldier closets to him, twirling and bringing his leg up to the man's neck. Hadrian hurls him down trapping his neck between his knee, cutting off his breathing. Within seconds he's unconscious.

Down below, Dagur is within feet of Toothless. Hiccup dangling from above.

Hadrian spots Hiccup, but before he could aid, Savage nearly tackles him. Hadrian spins out of the way last minute.

"Come boy, let's dance." Savage challenges.

Hadrian sheathes his sword and goes to his belt of daggers. He leaps high flipping back drawing another dagger that matched the other. He doesn't waste time throwing his daggers at Savage. But he dodges every single one, coming closer and closer. Hadrian leaps back and to the left as the blade of Savage's weapon comes close to his cheek.

Savage grabs Hadrian's elbow, yanking him back, and pushes his thumb into the wound in Hadrian's shoulder, twisting until the pain makes Hadrian's vision go black at the edges, and he screams at the top of his lungs.

"I thought I recalled you getting hit in that shoulder," he says, "It seems I was right."

Hadrian's knees cripple beneath him, and Savage grabs Hadrian's collar almost carelessly, dragging him towards the dropoff of the arena. The fabric digs into Hadrian's throat, choking him, and he stumbles after Savage. His body throbs with lingering pain.

There's a sudden burst of pain that crackles along Hadrian's skull. He hits the ground, the grit stone scraping against his cheek. He thinks he screams, but he can't tell as his senses have become muted. The world gets fuzzy, his hearing muffled.

"Okay Night Fury, come to daddy." Dagur says.

Toothless goes for a plasma blast, but nothing happens.

"Six shot limit. Oh great." Hiccup struggles to keep his grip on the iron bars.

Hadrian grunts as he forces himself to push up on his hands. He spots Hiccup dangling and peers over the ledge to find Toothless surrounded by soldiers. Hadrian pushes to his feet and observes his options. Hiccup struggles and cries for Toothless, but his grip is slipping.

The guards attack on Toothless. Hiccup's hands slip, and Hadrian throws himself forward.

He grabs whatever his hands can find. An arm. A fistful of shirt. The rough stone scrapes his side as Hiccup's weight drags Hadrian' forward. Hadrian is strong enough to lift him, but the ground is cracking.

"Hadrian!" Hiccup cries. "Hadrian, I'm slipping!"

Hadrian grunts as he looks around; the fissures in the stone spreading wider. A few feet away if Hiccup's shield. Hadrian can feel Hiccup's dainty fingers slipping through his own. Hadrian looks down at him.

"Hiccup, I need to let go!" Hadrian calls.

"What?!"

"I need to let you go. But you have to trust me! Please just trust me!" Hadrian begs.

Raspy breathes escape Hiccup's lips before he speaks. "I do."

Hadrian nods and releases Hiccup's hand. He doesn't even looks as he dives for Hiccup's shield, flicks it into crossbow mode, the swan diving down towards Hiccup. Hadrian mimics a projectile as he dives for Hiccup. He reaches out his hand and Hiccup goes to grab it. The moment Hadrian snatches hiccup's wrist, he rolls in midair so that Hiccup is on top of him. Then he fires the crossbow and a grappling hook launches towards the ledge. It stabs and sticks into the stone.

Unfortunately, it forces them to come to a jerk stop. And Hadrian fired from his wounded arm. Hiccup grips his arms around Hadrian's neck tightly, his legs wrapped around Hadrian's waist and waits for them to both plummet downward. But they didn't. They both hang, slightly swinging, and though Hadrian's grip seemed like iron, Hiccup could hear his grunts of pain.

Once Hadrian controls his pain, Hiccup eases his grip and looks to him. Hadrian looks down, forehead smeared with sweat, but he smiles.

"Thanks for trusting me." He mumbles.

Hiccup smiles back, but a high-pitched roar catches both their attention.

"Oh come on already!" they hear Dagur struggle.

Hiccup looks down and find Toothless bucking Dagur off his back.

"Toothless!" Hiccup shrieks.

Toothless bucks, but Dagur answers with a harsh jerk to the saddle.

Hiccup's face contorts into a vicious snarl. He extends out a hand and his eyes glow white.

"Roxul Rolfelta!"

Suddenly Dagur stops instantly what he's doing, and Toothless thrashes him off. But instead of falling to the ground, he levitates, and Hadrian notices his throat becoming red. His veins protrude out and his eyes become bloodshot. His fingers claw at his neck to no avail. Hadrian looks to Hiccup as his fingers stiffen into a claw, and he excruciatingly encloses his fingers. Dagur's neck gets redder and redder, his eyes building out of his skull. Hadrian almost expects them to pop out.

Hiccup's lips move again. This time they speak in a more whispered, sultry tone. This should have calmed Hadrian, but really it makes him even more nervous.

"Retnia ecart, oh-heara verbs refedlia tear."

Hadrian grips Hiccup's side. Hiccup clenches his hand into a fist, and Dagur's throat turns normal and he gasps for breath; but Hiccup swings his arm to one side and Dagur follows the movements as if he had strings attached to him. Perhaps in a way, he does; and now Hiccup is his Puppetmaster.

Hiccup swings his and to the other side, Dagur follows. Then Hiccup levitates him higher, rotating his hand in a circle so that Dagur spins in the air, screaming and demanding he be put down. Though the hysteria in his voice makes it high-pitched. Hiccup's eyes still white, he jerks his hand to one side, the fists his hand and wrenches it to the opposite side. Dagur goes flying to the right side of the arena and he crashes into a gathering of soldiers. Hiccup's eyes return to normal, and he sighs. He looks to Hadrian who raises his eyebrows, but doesn't tell Hiccup it was unnecessary.

A roar comes from below, and toothless calls as he leaps to a higher ledge. Hiccup looks down, still keeping a grip on Hadrian. Hiccup looks to Toothless and nods. Toothless coos and readies as if about to pounce. Hiccup looks to Hadrian and nods. Hadrian takes a deep breath.

Hiccup drops from Hadrian, hearing the sigh as he switches arms, and lands on Toothless as he leaps across the ledge. Hiccup locks his leg in place and they manage to hover before landing on the ground below. Hadrian meanwhile climbs the rope and swings to a nearby platform. He rubs his arm and takes a deep breath.

As soldiers were about to attack, a cloud of green smoke blocks their path. A second later it erupts into an explosion. Up above, the twins' voices roar out.

"Whoa! This is chaos on a level I've never seen before!" Rufftnut smiles.

"I know! I want to live here!" says Tuffnut.

"Forever!"

The other riders have arrived.

"Boy are we ever glad to see you guys!" Hiccup calls.

"Don't thank us yet. Things are about to get a lot crazier!" Astrid says as she swoops down near Hiccup.

Together they take off while Alvin and Hadrian deal with soldiers. As Hadrian punches a soldier about to strike a knife to his chest, he hears a roar that triumphs over the chaos.

He looks and sees a black body with crimson stripes barreling towards the arena.

"Lightning."