A/N-Just a quick reply to a guest review:

King crongleton-Of course I'm not going to put out any serious spoilers, but there is a reason I tell dino fans to stick around: with the myriad mysteries still held in this tale, there's plenty of room for surprise, with powers untold still to be revealed and, recalling how stories tend to come to life in this world, a lot of imagination out there to be worked with. Plus, we've already got one class of large reptile, what's to say there aren't more? :)

Chapter 12

To Pacify a Nutcase

Late January, almost heading into February: it never was my favorite time of year, and worse still that I had to worry about midterms coming up on top of everything else to be dealt with in Berk. What with a possible life-threatening crisis on its way, a whole tribe of trigger-happy visiting psychopaths showing up at the same time put me well over the edge.

We landed in front of the Great Hall, and I strode forward and shoved the double doors open before my arms were even fully human again.

"Stoick!" I yelled, garnering the attention of everyone in the hall for a moment as my voice echoed off the walls. Stoick turned immediately to face me. "Well, good te see she passed my message along," he said, nodding behind me at Cami. "We need te discuss plans for moving"- "Tell me Dagur isn't actually the chief of the Berserker tribe already," I interrupted, surprising everyone there.

Stoick spluttered for a moment. "I…well… how did you, I mean where did you….who told you Dagur was the chief? We haven't even seen them in nearly three years!" "I know things, remember?" I growled. "Things that I probably really shouldn't know."

Stoick sighed. "Well, yes, Dagur became chief, succeeding his father Oswald, though I take it you already knew that too." I nodded. "Yes, anyway, we had some run-ins with him after he discovered the thing about the dragons, but after a spectacular incident not long before you showed up he's left us well enough alone. Only a couple days ago we got a message sayin' he's on his way here te resettle the treaty we had before." He gestured to Toothless, Thorn, and Stormfly behind me and the other teens. "We want to try and keep things calmer, since the Berserkers still haven't adopted friendly relations with the dragons yet, and so I decided that we need te try and get them out of"- "No, we don't."

Whatever side conversations had been going on cut off as a stunned silence filled the room, everyone turning to stare at me, even Cami included. I had never so directly disagreed with Stoick before on such a matter, so even he looked taken aback. I rubbed my forehead in exasperation, before spreading out a pair of Night Fury wings. "Look, we all know what I am," I began, "and what I can do. And we know the dragons are going to be citizens here as much as any human is from here on out. Our corner of the world knows about us and most of the rest of the world is apparently getting hints too, so not only do I think it's time to quit trying to hide the dragons just so things go smoothly, but I am sick and tired of hiding things everyone is going to know at some point anyway!"

The crowd cringed at my rant and even more as my voice rose near the end. Even Stoick took a step back as my irritation finally boiled over, irises turning black. I drew a sword then.

"If Dagur is going to have a problem with the dragons being around," I growled, my low voice dripping finality and my hand aiming the sword at one of the spare shields on the wall nearby, "then turn him to deal with me. I can bring down an entire fleet of drekkar on my own; one crazed teenage chief shouldn't be a problem."

I threw the sword as a final statement, the blade whistling through the air before it sank point first into the shield.

Only a couple of days later, the Berserkers arrived. I returned to Berk in the evening after school, at about the time they did, but this time instead of wearing my usual attire, I decided I wanted to make an immediate impression: dressed in all black with one of my coats modified into a long open jacket, and all four of my personal swords crisscrossing my back. I flew silently to the walkway at the top of the cliffs leading to the docks, before sauntering casually down to stand next to Hiccup and Toothless with Stoick. Bertha and Cami stood with Ember on the other side of Stoick, and Astrid leaned against a post with her axe at the ready next to Hiccup.

After a couple of minutes, the first of the longships docked, and a plank was laid between the vessel and the docks before us. A slim, boyish figure appeared and walked down the ramp, arms swinging in a cocky manner and a disturbing grin befitting the figure's title decorated his expression.

Stoick stepped forward, crossed arms unfolding to extend a handshake out of formality. "Chief Dagur, I extend welcome to Berk," he said tightly. Dagur nodded tersely, but did not take the extended hand. "Hello Stoick. I am here to discuss the reinstatement of our former treaty, as well as your dealing with the dragons. We both know that you've had them around for a few years now, refusing to kill them as is tradition, but I found it well under authority that you have been amassing an army." He gestured up to the tops of the cliffs, where I could see the other teens sitting atop their dragons, along with numerous reptilian village residents.

"As far as I can tell, those rumors are true," Dagur continued, "which I perceive to be a threat to all the other tribes, and a violation of many of the old laws." He pulled out one of his swords and looked it over, checking the sharpness of the blade. "For the good of the archipelago, you should desist such activities, or I will take it as an act of war, and my army," he gestured with the sword out to the multitude of ships in the harbor beyond, "shall attack with all the ferocity we can muster!"

Stoick took a step forward and held up his hands placatingly. "Look, Dagur, you and I both know we were never on the friendliest of terms, regardless what ground I stood on with your father, but I no longer make the choice of whether or not the dragons live here with us," he explained. "That decision was made years ago, and they've proven themselves to be villagers, residents, just as much as any of us Vikings. They come and go as they please, if they please."

Dagur burst out laughing, that irritating, choking sound I'd gotten used to from the TV series. He slid his sword back in place, but kept his hand upon the handle of the knife at his side. "Villagers? Really? Stoick you must be turning as deranged as I am! The dragons are and have always been wild beasts! They raid us and destroy our homes and belongings! If you keep them, surely they can't be much more than weapons at your disposal!"

"I have no choice but to firmly disagree," Stoick returned. "The raids have not been an issue since the Red Death was taken down, and since then the dragons have proven to be allies, much like our sister tribe the Bog Burglars you see here with us."

"Allies can be made to fight for you," Dagur hissed. "Only by their consent, according to law," Stoick countered again. I could see our chief was losing his patience, so I sent him a telling look. He nodded, and signaled to Camicazi, who gave a sharp whistle.

Dagur turned to look at the heiress. "Well, if it isn't the resident Berserker of the Bog Burglars," he sneered. "So much a better fit in my tribe I think, how sad you're the heir." A light went on in his eyes, and he gestured to her, as the first of his men stepped onto the docks to support their chief. "I think I also remember you from…."

Dagur trailed off as Camicazi's whistle gained a response. Stormfly sailed down from the walkway above and calmly landed in front of him, scales blushing red. Dagur drew his sword again and prepared to swing on impulse, but the response he got to the move froze him in place.

"Strike me and you not only ensure war, but your own demise," the Mood Dragon growled, scales darkening further. Dagur sputtered for a moment, before stammering, "W-what kind of trickery is this? Stoick?!" Stormfly snorted and brought her snout level with the young man's face. "My species can speak as well as yours, it's not a trick. And I speak for all the dragons when we say we mean no harm to anyone unless they attack first. I stand also with my tribe in being a friend and ally to the Hairy Hooligan tribe."

Dagur shook his head. "This has to be a trick, somehow. Dragons don't speak!" "It's not," Cami replied, sidling up to her dragon. "Like she said, Stormfly can speak common tongue. At the very least it should prove to someone even as hard-headed as you that they're not mindless." "And if it doesn't, well, you already know about Toothless," Hiccup spoke up, joining Cami as the mentioned Night Fury walked beside him. "So-called the offspring of Lightning and Death, yet he stays at my hand, and we defend each other."

Dagur's eyes widened at the outspoken actions of the two heirs. "You both tread dangerous lines, you know that?" he snapped. "Only dangerous if you decide to attack, much like Stormfly said," Hiccup countered.

Dagur stayed silent for a moment, before frowning and turning to face Stoick again. "Stoick!" he called. "None of this is upheld by our former treaty that we both signed, and it most certainly goes against the Viking code of conduct as I said earlier! How do you explain yourself?" "The code is far outdated and born of clouded minds," Stoick answered. "Our forefathers didn't know the truth of things, as they never encountered the queen dragon on Dragon Island, and so they acted on falsehoods and half-baked ideas."

"It still doesn't negate the fact that this would be a violation of our treaty," Dagur growled again. "Need I remind you that you were the one who originally broke that treaty by attacking my son and his friends two and a half years ago?" Stoick asked. "It is still treason, and that alone is nearly an instantaneous call for"-

"Don't say it!" Stoick warned. Dagur grinned wickedly. "Oh? And why not, afraid I'll actually get the chance to prove how powerful my armada is, that I could take you and the Burglars together?"

"No, Dagur, he's really protecting you," Hiccup spoke up again, drawing the other chief's attention. "My father is more concerned about what he might do if you declare war on us." As he spoke, he jerked his thumb back, drawing for the first time our visitor's attention to where I leaned casually, but angrily, against a dock post.

Silence fell as Dagur glanced between Hiccup, Stoick and I, as if waiting for the admittance of a joke. Then he started laughing again. "W-who is he?" he guffawed, waving his sword at me dismissively. "Come now, Hiccup, the boy is no bigger than you are," he noted, gesturing at Hiccup who slumped slightly and glared at him. "And what's with the clothes? He looks like a circus actor!"

I managed to gather a smirk from the cringe the crowd made at the remark, but Dagur was going far enough. If we didn't resolve this now it would blow into another war, something I would be forced to prevent if we were to stay ready for Jezebel.

"Look, Dagur, ignoring your comment about my outfit and size, your being here is a real hindrance to us right now, and if you try anything you will leave this island, limping home with ships that can barely float," I drawled, standing up straight and coming to join Hiccup with the others, my footsteps not making a sound on the creaking wood. Nevertheless, Dagur's grin expectedly got wider and wider with each step.

"My, such a big threat from a teensy twig," he jeered again. "You look like you could barely heft my axe!" "One thing I have definitely learned over the years, especially hanging around Berk," I began again, looking at my fingers as if I had barely a care in the world, "is that few things are ever as they appear. That also applies to me; would you like to keep pushing your luck?"

Dagur gave me an unimpressed deadpan look. "Oh very well then, I'll inquire: what can you possibly do that seems to make so many people scared of making Hiccup's twin angry?" Toothless began to growl at the jab, but I held up a hand to quiet him, and locked eyes with the visiting chief.

"Due to your, shall we say, less-than-sane qualities, I am sure you will force me to show you one way or another here, but for starters let's just wrap it up by saying I am force enough to sink every boat in your armada," I deadpanned. My look was anything but joking, but Dagur only started laughing again, doubling over as he tried to catch his breath, and slipping a small dagger out of his belt into his palm.

"Oh, oh, that's hilarious!" he gasped, still in spasms from laughter. "You? Take on my army! And I thought Hiccup was funny!" He sighed and shook his head, a dangerous glint in his eye. "Ah, well, if you were so powerful as to do such a thing, then I'm sure you can avoid THIS!"

As he said the last word, his hand whipped out, sending the small blade straight toward my face. "HAWKEN!" the teens screamed in unison, seeing me not even try to move. Only my hand moved, whipping up, palm, out, directly in the path of the blade.

Dagur clearly wasn't expecting me to actually prove him wrong, and his sword, still drawn, clattered noisily to the dock as he stared slack-jawed at me. Some of the weapons in the hands of his crew shortly followed thereafter. I grinned, and glanced at my hand, where the tip of the dagger barely touched my palm as it rotated slowly midair, held in place by a warped magnetic field.

"Honestly Dagur, throwing weapons of your namesake at the ally of the tribe you're visiting isn't a very smart idea," I said nonchalantly, before putting on a grin of my own and electrifying the small weapon. The wooden hilt burst into flames, and the blade melted, dropping to the deck and sizzling against the wet wood. I kept the flow of electricity up as I advanced toward the young chief, sparks jumping between my fingers and running up my arms.

As he backed up toward the far end of the dock, I let my eyes morph to match the Shadow Dragon's, ignoring the teens snickering behind me when he nearly fell off the edge. Nowhere to go, he stood still as I walked up to him, and whispered, "You have the Skrill as your tribe's symbol. Let me show you the powers of its relatives."

Leaving him to gather his wits, I leapt upward, a pair of Night Fury wings snapping out behind me and lifting me high, the rest of my form morphing after as I glided out over to an open portion of the bay, increasing size until I was a Night Fury the size of a Shadow Lord. I glanced down at the placid water below me, and fired a bolt, trailing it with lightning in a constant stream until it hit the water, the explosion sending a shockwave crashing back into the docks.

I had told Stoick I was going to make sure Dagur got the whole idea, so as the electric stream flowed from my mouth, I laced it with a different power, the breath of the Frost Dragon. The bolt froze in place all the way down to the dancing water's surface, and the tendrils racing out into the fluid froze as well, their spidery shapes rising above the surface and glowing inside as the ocean itself turned to a sheet of ice, racing across the bay.

I stopped once the ice covered half the open harbor, and glanced back at the dock. Hiccup and Cami were clearly smirking, as Dagur looked like he was going weak at the knees. Carefully, I settled myself on the surface of the crystalline crust I had formed, sparks of electricity still dancing in the ice, and demorphed save the wings and pulled out one of my swords, energizing it in a different manner and driving it into the ice.

A thunderous crack echoed off the cliffs as the harbor cracked, one sheet becoming hundreds of upturned, chaotic pieces, and I lifted off again as my foothold disappeared, casually gliding back to the docks. Landing in front of Dagur, I relinquished my wings as well, putting the sword away and leaning against Toothless behind me, expression mirroring that which he'd first seen me with.

"So, Dagur, any questions you have for me now?" I asked lightly, smiling as if I had not a care in the world. "Or, do you want your ships to look like that instead?"

His response didn't come in words, but instead as an undignified slumping to the dock, out cold, eliciting a bout of boisterous laughter from the twins.

A/N-I know, it's a short chapter, but only a couple more before we get to the exciting stuff again. So now Dagur has been thoroughly shown up, and the rest of us prepare to move into real war...

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