The Dragon King: The Eye and the Alpha

by Threni

It has been one year since the events of "The Dragon King" and life on Berk is a good as can be expected. And then one day they receive a message from a mysterious tribe ordering Hiccup to return to them something he swears he never stole. What follows is series of adventures and discoveries that will forever change their lives...and could also destroy them.

40. Chapter 40

I Own Nothing

All Rights Reserved

Chapter 40

The Final Matters of Business

When the wall of Grimmige Festung had collapsed, Viggo had fallen with it. But by some miracle he had not died, nor had he been gravely injured. Still, he had landed in a dazed and exhausted state, so if an enemy had found him he would have been completely at their mercy. But an enemy did not find him first. Dagur found him instead.

"Well hello there, Viggo!" he said cheerfully as he dragged the man from the rubble. "I've been looking for you!"

Viggo struggled to his feet. His pants were crusted with drying blood. "Where is everybody?"

"Hiccup got snatched by a dragon and the others have gone after him. Now's the time to get out of here!"

Viggo agreed the time was ideal to move, but he kept his distance from Dagur as they hurried away. Dagur noticed and asked him why did he not trust him?

"I trust no one," Viggo said coldly, "especially those who betray me." If he had a weapon right then he would have killed Dagur.

"I didn't betray you, Viggo!" Dagur laughed, "I promise you, I had no idea about those gypsies being fakes!"

"Oh really?"

"Really! Do you think Heather or Hiccup would ever have trusted me with their secrets? Me, Heather's deranged and estranged brother?"

"And those gypsies?"

"Either Hiccup made it up or there is a real troop and Hiccup slipped imposters into their ranks. Either way, I had nothing to do with it. More to the point, if I was secretly in league with Hiccup, don't you think I would've just killed you when I saw you, instead of helping you get away?"

Viggo still kept Dagur at a distance, but he relaxed a little inside. "So where were you this whole time? As I recall you ran off when the fight began."

"So did you, but that's beside the point! I was afraid there'd be a dragon attack coming, so I ran up to the battlements to take a look. Next thing I know, when I want to go downstairs the whole wall came down with me!"

"What do you know about Hiccup's plans? What else has he done?"

"I have no idea."

Viggo suddenly laughed. It was an incredibly chilling sound. "Well, it does not matter much! I wounded him with a poisoned blade! It'll take some time to take effect, but the end result will be the same."

"Poison? Well! But what if they cure him? Who knows what those dragons are capable of healing?"

Viggo shook his head. "There is no cure. I assure you, Dagur, Hiccup will never see the morning."

Dagur smiled. "The Doom flower is blooming! Doom is in Bloom!"

"Why on earth do you keep saying that?"

"I think it sounds neat. Doesn't it make me sound like an awe inspiring prophet? But getting back to the subject, did Hiccup get what he came for? Will he win in spite of his death?"

Viggo laughed again, "Oh no. He thinks he's won, but he hasn't. Those ledgers he took from me were fakes! Hah! He thinks he knows where to find the rest of his Tribe, but instead they'll all be heading to the wrong places! It'll be months before they realize their mistake! Berk will never be saved now. He's got the Dragon Eye, yes, but I'll get it back soon enough."

"So where are the real ledgers?" Dagur asked, "What did you do with them?"

Viggo did not answer.

They hurried onwards until they at last came to the outskirts of a small hamlet. Viggo felt it was too risky to enter the place, as it was likely any pursuers would search for them there, but they stopped behind a fence to rest a little. Viggo badly needed it.

"So what now?" Dagur asked.

"I still have plenty of wealth, and the Pope is on my side. With his support the Kings of Europe will agree to my business offers. And this time Hiccup will not be around to stop me."

"You do realize Astrid will be coming after you now with everything she's got, right?"

"She will be upset and angry, and she has nobody to rely on. She will be easily crushed."

"I don't know, Viggo," Dagur said thoughtfully, "Hiccup had nothing for a while and he did pretty well…until you killed him, of course!" he laughed shrilly. "Poor Hiccup is dead! My little brother's died! He finally did something I wanted! It's almost pitiful."

"Yes it is," Viggo agreed. He smiled. "He lost the game, Dagur. Hard luck, but that's how it goes. I almost feel sorry for him. The poor boy staked everything and lost it all! And if he'd only accepted my friendship when it was offered, he'd have gained the world! But what good is the world to a dead man?" he chuckled.

"Wow! Is the world really yours to give?" Dagur asked eagerly, "I thought Drago was the one who wanted the whole world. Can I have a bit too? A few private islands and a bunch of slaves with rose thorn nose rings sound nice. Say, are you hungry? I might have some biscuits in my pack here…" as he rummaged he said, "If you don't mind my asking, what have you gained from my brother's defeat?"

"Time," Viggo replied smugly, "time to rebuild what I lost and more, without anyone standing in my way!"

"Ah yes, Time. The one thing in all existence that nobody can tame, control, bribe, recover, or evade." Dagur sniggered.

"I'm impressed, Dagur. That was rather insightful."

"We all have our bad days. So, you've gained time. After all your schemes and executions and dealings, after all the lives, fortunes, energies, and efforts spent, is that all? I would've hoped for something a bit more expensive, personally, like a nice set of silver knives to go with my spoon collection."

"Well it's more than Hiccup's gained." Viggo said defensively. "For all his cleverness, what did Hiccup gain from his life? As far as I can see: nothing worth bothering about."

"True! He had a best friend, a wife, a family at long last, and a home. Who needs them?" Dagur laughed.

Viggo wondered if Dagur was agreeing with him or slyly insulting him. For it was a fact that Viggo had none of those things, not even a home anymore. For a brief moment he felt strangely unhappy. He was not feeling remorse, but he felt inadequate compared to Hiccup. He got the sense some people might say that Hiccup had been the more successful of the two in life. No doubt his remaining family was weeping over his corpse right now, but Viggo could not help but wonder who would cry over his own?

The feeling quickly passed. He shook his head forcefully. He did not care about such pitiful prizes. He was going to finish what he started, unlike the great and powerful Dragon King! He had triumphed, not Hiccup! Hiccup was dead, by his hand!

Thinking of the dead prompted him to muse briefly about Draccus and some of the others he had had killed. He felt a surge of pride. He had won and they had all lost, as it had always been. In his games he had always come out ahead of his opponents.

He shook himself from his thoughts and turned impatiently to Dagur. "Well? Are you going to give me something to eat or not?"

"All right, keep your pants on," Dagur muttered, "Here we are. Here's a nice big old biscuit for you."

He offered it to Viggo but Viggo shook his head. "You take a bite first."

"Why?"

"To check for poison, naturally,"

Dagur was hurt and offended. "Viggo! Don't you trust me?"

"I mean no offense, my dear Dagur, but I always have someone taste my food for me. Even if Ryker offered me something I would have someone taste it first. I have lived my whole life being careful, and now that I have succeeded I must take even more care of myself. I'm too important to die now."

Dagur shrugged. "Suit yourself. More food for me anyhow!" he tore off some of the biscuit and popped it in his mouth. They waited for a few minutes but nothing happened, so Viggo accepted the food offering.

"It's a bit moldy, but it will do for the moment. Now, how much money do you have? If it isn't enough to buy us a boat we shall have to steal one. Can you sail a vessel to Barren Island?"

"Where's that?"

"Not too far from here. If I gave you a location, could you get us there?"

Dagur puffed his chest out. "I'm a first class sailor! I could sail us around the moon and throw every member of the crew overboard within two days!"

"Good," Viggo muttered dryly. He highly doubted Dagur was that great with boats, but a Viking could be expected to have at least some experience at sea. "Now, once we get to Barren Island, we will have to separate for a while. I will…" he stopped, for he had begun to feel sick in his stomach. He felt like he was going to throw up. His eyes widened slightly, sweat appeared on his forehead, and his throat and lips went dry. He looked up at Dagur and suddenly understood.

"You—"

"It was Hiccup's idea originally." Dagur said casually, as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening, "Poison part of the food and have the taste-tester eat the safe part. He told it to Heather, who told it to me. Oh sure, I could've just stabbed you when I found you, but this way's more fun. Poison is very effective, isn't it? Guess you didn't gain much Time, did you?"

Viggo began gasping for breath.

"I did warn you Viggo: Doom is in Bloom!" Dagur went on with a sinister smile. "You killed my little brother and threatened to kill my little sister."

Viggo tried to reach for him. Perhaps he was only trying to see he had an antidote on him, but whatever the reason, his arm lost its strength quickly and he slumped onto the ground, still frantically and futilely gasping for air.

"You lost, Viggo. Bad luck. It's almost pitiful, really. You should've known better than to trust me. They don't call me Dagur the Deranged for nothing, you know!" He laughed hysterically as Viggo gave one final shudder and went limp.

The Vikings and Dragons had regrouped amidst the ruins of Grimmige Festung. For a group of allies that had just largely succeeded in their plans, and for prisoners who had just been released, they all looked as though the opposite had happened, as though they had failed and were all captives without any hope of escape. The Defenders of the Wing were busy tending to those wounded, including Radamar. The Bog Burglars were mostly looting the ruins of the fortress and their prisoners, something nobody else cared about. Indeed, the Berkians present were milling around aimlessly, torn between wanting to go home and wanting to do nothing.

Astrid was still clinging to Hiccup's body, while her mother was clinging to her. Toothless was there too, now and then nudging Hiccup's head, as if that would make him wake up. Tuffnut was cradling his sister's body in his arms, an act more intimate than anything they had done in real life. Camicazi was crying on Thuggory's shoulder. The unwounded dragons, excluding the Night Furies, who were huddled together in a group, were mostly standing in revered silence.

It took Dagur some time to walk back to the ruins. He dragged Viggo's body along behind him. In complete contrast to everyone else, Dagur felt thrilled to be among the sights and smells of battle that had taken place, and he strolled forward proud as a peacock.

Queen Mala was the first person to meet him and she met him with a cold look. She gestured to Viggo's body. "Your work?"

"That it is!" Dagur replied cheerfully.

Mala breathed a small sigh of relief. "Then the threat is truly finished. It was not for nothing that my friends have died."

"Really?" Dagur grinned. He was debating if it would be more fun to not reveal the truth about the ledgers for a while or not at all. He might have been on Hiccup's side against Viggo, but that did not mean he was wholly on anybody's side but his own.

On the other hand, if Heather found out that he had deliberately withheld such information…

"He didn't quite get everything,"

Mala looked at him sharply. "What was that?"

"Those ledgers Hiccup grabbed? They're fakes. Old Viggo told me so before he died."

Astrid stirred for the first time. "What did you just say?"

"Hiccup grabbed a bunch of false information. So when you think about it, he really didn't get what he came for, and he died for nothing." Dagur replied.

Toothless was stirring too, and his pupils were slits. "Of all the insensitive things to say—"

"That is not true!" Mala retorted, unaware of the Night Fury's words, "He did recover this!" She held up the Dragon Eye. "And there is no way Viggo could make a fake in the short amount of time he had it!"

Astrid grabbed the Eye from Mala, threw it onto the ground, and tried to smash it under her foot. "This cursed thing should've been destroyed the moment it was found! All this time it's caused nothing but trouble! What on earth were you thinking, letting Heather give it to Viggo?"

Despite her efforts the Dragon Eye did not break. Mala coolly retrieved it. "There was no chance Viggo would have believed Heather was on his side without something this desirable. We gave her the lenses we believed would give him the least amount of information."

"Well that didn't work so well, did it?" Astrid snapped. "And now that Hiccup and that monster are both gone, who's going to fight over it next?"

Mala nodded slightly at the implication. She could not help but feel a little intimidated by the angry and grief stricken woman. "It will be put beyond all possible reach, I promise you."

"Good!" she turned away trying to think. But she could think of nothing but the fact that Hiccup and Ruffnut were both dead. "Where would Viggo have put the real information?" Such was her distressed state that she hardly knew where to start. "I don't know. Oh Gods, Hiccup, I need your brain, you're better at this kind of thing than I am. Oh Gods, Hiccup!" she broke down again.

Bertha stepped over. "Stay with him," she said gently, "For now, I'll play the role of Chief for both of us."

Astrid hardly needed the prompting. As it turned out, however, Viggo had not been quite as clever as he had thought. He had evidently underestimated the capabilities of experienced Tracker Dragons, or else he had been confident that by the time the validity of the ledgers was discovered, all traces of his actions would have been wiped away. After learning from Dagur and Eret that Viggo had never left the area since Berk had fallen, Bertha and Mala together deduced that he must have either buried the true ledgers somewhere or hidden them in another room in his now ruined Fortress. Burial seemed more plausible, so Bertha put Stormfly and any additional Tracker Dragons present to work, sniffing out where Viggo had been. The faint scent led to a spot about twelve hundred meters from the Fortress, and a chest was dug up.

While this was going on, the new Alpha inspected the Night Furies. They had never seen such a huge dragon before and cowered before him, mistaking every move he made for signs of aggression. Actually, he was just taking a closer look at them.

"So," he said at length, "these are what the legendary Night Furies are truly like."

"We're the Notoraquin," one of them said indignantly. The others quickly hushed her up.

"As you please," the Bewilderbeast replied, "The fact remains I have been named Alpha by my predecessor—"

"You have no right!" Menomem shouted at once, "The Title belongs to the Notoraquin! No other species of dragon is worthy enough to possess it!" She glared at Salistus, who squirmed uncomfortably and looked away. "The Title belongs to our species. I demand you give it back at once!"

"Be silent," the Bewilderbeast ordered. She stopped talking at once, but her expression held as much anger as ever. "From what I have heard, your own daughter is lying near death, yet you are more concerned with the loss of power that you have never deserved! But I am not going to be another Red Death nor am I going to judge every crime ever committed. The future is what matters now. You dragons have two choices now: to go back to your old home and continue hiding forever, or to come out into the world and finally take your place alongside your fellow dragons. Let those who desire the latter come over to me. As for those who do not, you may do as you please. Go back and spend the rest of your lives in caves, if you think that is the best thing for you." He looked around expectantly. "Well?"

"What do you mean by 'taking our places alongside fellow dragons'?" One asked.

"I mean that you share the lives we live, for good or ill. Throughout the wide world, some find nests, some choose to live alone, and more recently some have been choosing to live with humans." He did not say that he was wondering how much longer living with humans would be going on for. He did not know if it was going to be just a passing dream or a permanent fixture. "It may not be easy to adjust to, but it can be done if the desire exists." He looked around expectantly again. "Well?"

Sclepus came forward. "I've had enough of caves and hiding."

One named Lorkorpol exclaimed, "That's what your Vav said, and look at what happened to him! He died!"

"We all die, one way or another," Sclepus retorted quietly.

"Well…look at what happened to Radamar!"

"She was attacked by one of our own. I am looking at her. Are the rest of you?" He looked at Menomem scornfully. She looked at Salistus angrily, probably convinced that if he had shown proper leadership none of this would have happened. And because she did so, Salistus squiggled forward and joined Sclepus. It was obvious he was only doing so because he was hoping to escape the rage of his angry mother.

A few more Night Furies shuffled their way forward. Seeing Radamar being tended to by humans, after being attacked by a fellow Notoraquin, was causing them now to wonder if there was perhaps something to this world beyond their own cave. As for the rest, they made up their minds that their cave was the best place to be. With no reason to remain, they took off and flew away. Menomem stayed behind. The Bewilderbeast eyed her hopefully. "Are you staying to look after your offspring? You may speak,"

But she glared at him. "I only stayed for that. My Vav and Plorip have failed me and betrayed their own species. I deny them both!"

"Perhaps they will be better off this way," the Bewilderbeast said coolly, "and as for you—"

"Her name's Menomem," Sclepus told him.

"Menomem, be silent."

Her eyes widened.

"Find me in five years hence and we shall see if you deserve an acquittal," the Bewilderbeast went on. She spat at him and flew away.

Salistus looked nervously at Sclepus. "What do we do now?"

"I intend to go to Berk with Toothless," he said, "And I imagine you should too, since that is where Radamar will likely be going,"

"But I don't want to stay with Emara—!"

"Toothless. His name is Toothless, not Emaracluse,"

"The name the umanu gave him?" Salistus spat.

"If I were you, I would be a little less contemptuous about the umanu, since we're going to be living with them. And yes, the name the umanu gave him. And why not? It's the name he accepted as his own."

Snotlout weakly staggered out of the hospital. Ingrid helped steady him. "Whew! Am I glad to be out of there! It feels good to smell fresh air again!"

"As fresh as it ever is around here," Ingrid said in disgust, "Here, let's get closer to the harbor. I've always loved the smell of salt water."

Snotlout had never before seen a lovelier day. The morning breeze felt fresh and sweet and the sun was shining slightly through a light fog over the icy ocean. For someone who had been near death in a filthy hospital for days, it was truly a wonderful sight. He still felt weak everywhere and his stomach sometimes felt like an inflated bag about to burst, but he was fairly certain he was on the mend. The doctors, with reservations, had confirmed this, though they had hinted there was a chance of a relapse.

"I wonder who won," he said thoughtfully, "any news?"

Ingrid shook her head.

"Well, I'm sure Hiccup's busy getting things sorted out. He'll send for us once he's ready! And you know, nearly dying made me reflect on some things. I should never have gotten jealous of Hiccup. I should have known he and the other riders need me, should've known they can't manage without me, I shouldn't have felt underused and mistrusted. Well, we'll do better now, won't we? After all, now that my cousin's the Chief, I'm gonna be his right hand man! They're gonna need all my skills if we want to rebuild Berk properly! Why, I almost hope Viggo escaped! I want the fight to last a bit longer so I don't miss the next one! And when I get my hands on that Viggo and his—hey, look!"

Ingrid looked around. "What?"

"I thought I saw Hookfang. I did! He's flying to the outskirts of town—I'll be right back!" Snotlout, with more strength than Ingrid could have given him credit for, broke away from her and ran towards the woods that marked the edge of the port's boundaries. She ran after him, but running in a loose dress was not feasible, and Snotlout was practically sprinting. It was as though during his illness he had been storing up energy and now he was unleashing it.

Hookfang was indeed flying into the woods. He dared not land in the town itself, for it was still a place for Dragon Hunters and the inhabitants were unlikely to let him land peacefully. In fact, he had already heard people shouting as he flew overhead.

"Well, I'm just here for the Snotty One. We'll be long gone before anything dangerous happens. I hope. I have no desire to end up in a cell again," he shuddered as he landed in a small clearing. Within minutes Snotlout burst forth from the trees and threw him arms around him.

"Hookfang! I knew you'd never abandon your master! Oh, it's great to see you! Where have you been? I nearly died! I passed through the valley of death! Well, no matter now. Come on, let's get going and fix whatever problem Hiccup's stuck on."

Hookfang had been enjoying the attention but now he clenched the dirt beneath his claws. "He must not know yet,"

Ingrid reached them, half out of breath. She took one look at the two, guessed what was going on, and said "Can I come with you?"

Snotlout smiled and winked. "Come along, fair maiden! Permit me to—"

Ingrid climbed onto the Nightmare without his help.

"—Oh. Well, just hold tight. You can hold onto my shoulders and watch as a true Dragon Rider—"

Hookfang tuned him out, as he often did. "Passed through the valley of death, did he? Well, it doesn't seem to have changed him much." He sighed heavily. "I'm glad Toothless wasn't here to see our reunion."

The village of Berk was unnaturally quiet. Unnaturally quiet and still as death. Snow covered homes and structures were broken up and stood as silent and ominous as tombstones. Fishlegs had known what to expect, for he had been back a few times, but that did not make it any easier to see his lifeless village again. Heather was equally subdued and distressed by what she saw. She vaguely recalled the first time she had ever seen Berk. Then it had been full of life and energy and bustling with activity and excitement. It was like comparing a living person to a corpse.

They had headed for Berk after dealing with Viggo's vault, and from there they had awaited developments while trying to start the vast amount of repairs that needed to be done. The structures had not been as badly damaged as they had during the battle with Drago Bludvist, but this time around more structures had been damaged, some with just a broken window, others with every window, door, and everything inside smashed up. And at the beginning, Fishlegs and Heather only had their dragons to help them. About all they could really do was fix a few minor problems and take stock of what the village had left, which was appallingly little. Among other things, all the food was either gone or too rotten to eat.

But first they attended to Chief Stoick's body. After killing him, the Hunters had thrown the body onto the beach, where it had frozen with the rest of the island as the winter went on. With the help of their dragons they managed to free it from the hard ground and place it in the ruined Haddock house. Fishlegs assumed Hiccup and Valka would not want a funeral to take place without their presence.

It was a horrible feeling, carrying the headless body of their once great and powerful Chief. Stoick had always seemed invincible and indomitable. Some people had thought he would live forever. And to recall that Viggo Grimborn had executed the man like some common thief instead of granting him a glorious end, filled everyone with dreadful anger, and they prayed that Hiccup was being merciless to Viggo and his black fortress.

A few days later some of the dragons who had fought on the island of ice began arriving in small groups, one which included Valka and Cloudjumper. Naturally everybody was anxious for information, especially about what had happened at Grimmige Festung, but they learned virtually nothing. The lack of news was maddening. Valka told them of her success on the battlefield when she arrived, but that was all she could tell. A battlefield victory coupled with the success against Ryker and the Grimborn vault seemed like good omens, but they might amount to nothing if the work at Grimmige Festung had not gone well, and this worried everyone to no end. Even the considerable work to be done did not provide any real distraction from the agony of wondering and worrying. Every moment someone, human or dragon, looked out to sea or to the air, expecting to see a flock of dragons flying towards them with freed and overjoyed humans on their backs, but nothing like this happened.

Finally, after nearly 5 days had passed since Hiccup's plan had been put into action, Snotlout, Ingrid, and Hookfang arrived. Fishlegs had never been so glad to see his friend, and even Heather felt a huge burst of relief to see Snotlout alive and well, more or less. For her part, Ingrid was glad to have the chance to get away from him.

Snotlout's delight at returning home alive instantly vanished when he saw what had happened to his home during his absence. Nobody had seen him so shaken or distressed since his father had been killed. His house had been damaged horribly, and several of his most valuable possessions had been taken, including some of the weapons his father had once used.

It was not that they were unused to the sight of wrecked homes. The long wars with dragons had seen plenty of those. But dragons had never plundered them like this: they had always been after food stores and livestock, not private possessions. Homes had seldom been the real targets, just unlucky victims caught in the middle of a blaze. But this was different. This attack felt horribly personal.

So far nobody on Berk but Hookfang knew the casualties of Grimmige Festung, and he was so upset about it he flew off almost at once, claiming he was going off to gather information. He returned that evening with the large party that had been at Grimmige Festung. For the moment, everyone who could return home to Berk at last had done so.

At first it was confusing to those who had been waiting on Berk. Nobody now returning seemed too pleased to be back, not even the escaped prisoners like Greta Hofferson. They all seemed grim and silent, even before they had seen the condition of their island. Perplexingly, another black dragon besides Toothless was present too. But even stranger, Astrid was the rider on Toothless and Tuffnut was flying Barf n' Belch without his sister.

And then they realized that the long, oddly shaped bags in Astrid and Tuffnut's arms were not just bags of supplies or spoils of war. They were shrouds wrapped around the bodies of Hiccup and Ruffnut.

Valka screamed. So did others. Astrid slid off Toothless and slumped onto the ground, her husband's body still in her arms. All the humans and dragons present were running towards them, hoping in vain that they were not seeing what they thought they were seeing.

"Get out of my way! Let me through! That's my cousin!" Snotlout yelled, "C'mon, Hiccup, get up! I'm supposed to be the one who went through the valley of Death, not you!"

Valka tried to grab her son and cradle him in her arms but Astrid would not release him. Fishlegs hardly knew whether to run to Astrid or Tuffnut. Instead he stood rooted to the spot and burst into tears. Heather went to Tuffnut, who looked more despondent than she had ever seen him.

"It's alright," he muttered, "We'll be pulling pranks Mildew in no time. She just wants a little rest, is all. She's just messing around with us."

Chicken clucked mournfully.

Late that night Greta went to the Haddock house. As expected, she found her daughter there, carefully washing the face of her dead husband. Toothless was there as well, sitting in a corner and looking moodily at the wall.

Greta carefully approached her daughter. "It's alright, Astrid. He'll be in Valhalla soon."

Astrid snorted. "You think he'll be happier for it?"

"Well, he can be with his father now." Stoick's body was laid out next to the right of Hiccup's. Ruffnut's was on the left. Tuffnut had fallen asleep on the remains of a chair. "They'll finally have time to share with each other."

"Assuming the Gods let them both into the same place," Astrid muttered. She gently traced a hand down Hiccup's cold cheek. "I should've known this might happen,"

"Astrid—"

"I knew about those swords being poisoned. I should've warned him, I should have—"

Her mother embraced her and she started crying.

"And we were just about to become parents! What am I going to do, mother? I don't know how to raise a child! We all saw what happened to Stoick when he tried to run a tribe and raise a boy by himself—what if the same thing happens to me?"

Her mother spoke as if her daughter was an infant again. "I'm still here, Astrid, I'll help you. So will Stormfly and all your friends. Toothless will help, won't you? It's going to be alright, you'll see. We'll make sure you don't neglect your child."

She calmed down a little, but only just. "And to think it was always Hiccup who was worried about this. I never thought I'd have to raise our child without him—oh Gods, why? Why couldn't it have been some other poison, something we could've cured? Why did it have to be poison at all? Gods, why couldn't you let me save him?"

Toothless was feeling guilty too. He blamed himself for not somehow breaking free of the Alpha's grip sooner. If he had he could have joined Hiccup, and then they could have taken on Viggo together, and he could have defended him. He knew it was pointless to think such things and that he was really about as blameless as anybody else, but that did not make him feel any better or think differently.

Valka came in and at once felt like an intruder. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'll just be—"

"No, it's all right, Valka," Greta said quickly. Astrid brushed the tears out of her eyes. "You have every right to be here. Come on in. We are family, after all."

Valka sat down next to the bodies. "Why do I get to live while my son and husband die?"

For a long time the only sounds heard were Astrid's sniffing and Tuffnut's heavy breathing: the dirge of the mourners. The ransacked room, which looked as though a tidal wave had passed through, was as depressing as any room could look.

Toothless suddenly laughed, to the astonishment of everyone. "Well, he got what he wanted. Astrid's now the Chief and he doesn't have to be! HA!" The laughs had a steel edge of bitterness to them. "Of course, he won't get to see his child, he won't get to fly on me anymore, he won't get to see his plans fulfilled, he—well, he won't get to do anything now because he's gone. Gone!" The Night Fury buried his head in his paws. Greta patted him on the back gently but he pulled away from her.

There was another long silence which Valka broke. "What happened to Viggo?"

"Dead," said Astrid without emotion, "Dagur poisoned him. We left the carcass for scavengers to feed on."

The following morning the three bodies were placed in a ship, which was set adrift after the icy water was broken up. Vikings did not usually use funeral ships, as ships were frightfully expensive and time consuming to build, but in this case Astrid felt an exception should be made. After all, this vessel was carrying two Chiefs of Berk. And she could not bear the thought of watching up close Hiccup's body burn in a funeral pyre. Ruffnut was placed with them. She had held less status than the two men, but it would have felt wrong to bury her somewhere else.

When the ship had floated a short distance, Valka gave a signal, for Astrid could not bear to, and Toothless spat some plasma at it. The other dragons joined in and soon the ship was engulfed in flames. Then part of the stern blew up and hastened the sinking.

Everyone looked at Tuffnut.

"Nightmare gel mixed with combustible powder. I—I couldn't send her off without one more explosion!" he sobbed.

There were no prayers or rites recited, because there was nobody present who had the power to recite them. Instead they stood on the shore and watched in silence. The only sounds were the waves lapping against the shore, the cackling of the flames as they consumed the timber, and a handful of weeping spectators. There were more Bog Burglars than Berkians or Defenders present, but they wept for Berk's loss, as well as for their friends whom they had fought alongside many times. There were far more dragons than humans present, but they could not shed tears. Partway out at sea stood the Bewilderbeast, the water up to his knees, his massive head bowed respectfully. The new King of Dragons was paying his respects to the previous one.

Nobody looked away until the ship sank beneath the waves. Black smoke rose slowly over the waters.

At last, Astrid sighed heavily and shook her head. "Come on, everyone. We've got work to do. They wouldn't want us neglecting it."

"Neglecting what?" Snotlout asked hoarsely.

Now that her husband was gone for good, her only desires were to finish what he had begun. "We've got our village to rebuild, and we've got to send out dragons to rescue the ones being shipped into slavery."

"We'll help with that," Camicazi assured her, "We've got more dragons and Riders. We'll help you find your tribe."

"So shall we," the Bewilderbeast called to them. "My species is at your command, if you will permit it."

"We will aid you as well," Queen Mala promised.

"I've got a tribe of my own to take deal with, but I'll help where I can," Thuggory added.

"And I'll send some dragons out for fishing," Fishlegs said quietly, "there's nothing left to eat here and Thawfest won't be for weeks at best."

"I'll help you with that," Eret offered, "I'm a hunter, after all,"

Valka spoke up hesitantly. "Before we do some of that, there's one other matter I'd like to discuss,"

"What's that?" Thuggory asked.

"What are we going to do with the people we've just conquered?"

Several people looked confused. "I was under the impression the plan was to use dragons to carry them into exile," said Queen Mala.

"It was, but…well, look, when we were rounding up prisoners, I started thinking about their families. I spent over 20 years separated from mine and now I've lost them again. Call me soft, but I feel reluctant to condemn others to such a fate. I thought perhaps Hiccup's sentence of exile was a little too harsh and maybe, once his plan succeeded, he would relent." She had never dreamed he would be past relenting.

"So what are you saying exactly?" Astrid asked. She had known a little about this part of the plan, but until now had paid no attention to it.

"I'm saying nobody's been flown into exile yet. All our prisoners—including your father, Thuggory—are still on that sheet of ice. So what will we do with them?"

"Get rid of them," Queen Mala said coolly. "They fought against us and lost. If we spare them they will rise again and there will be more battles. Death is best."

"And what about their families? What about their tribesmen who weren't in the battle? What about their children? Shall we kill them all too?" Valka asked in an equally cold tone.

"Cubs become wolves in time,"

"Then you can be the one to kill them. I'll have no part in that."

"And these aren't a bunch of animals we're talking about!" Astrid exclaimed, "These are humans and fellow Vikings! We can't just murder them! That would make us no better than Viggo! Hel, that would make us even worse! Hiccup wouldn't—"

"And remember we agreed my tribe would be spared!" Thuggory interrupted anxiously. "I have our treaty in writing right here, and it's signed by Hiccup and Bertha and myself!"

Camicazi spoke up. "The Romans were usually reasonable and considerate to those they conquered, so long as their laws were obeyed. Usually, anyway."

It was shaping up to be an endless debate, but then the Bewilderbeast coughed. All eyes turned to him. "Now I know you cannot all understand me, but in my opinion, this is a matter for Berk to decide. Berk suffered the most from Viggo's actions and this alliance would not have won if not for Berk's late Chief. So I think this decision is up to Berk's new Chief: the Lady Astrid Hofferson."

All eyes turned to Astrid now. She stood a while in thought, asking herself what her father would have done.

She took a deep and weary breath. "I don't want more families destroyed needlessly. Return them to their homes." Before anyone could argue she loudly added, "Their islands are now ours. I'll appoint new Chiefs for them and make them swear oaths of allegiance. If they obey our laws and never harm us or dragons again, they'll live in peace."

"But we tried that sort of thing with the Berserkers last time and they turned against us at the first chance!" Snotlout protested.

"That's mostly because their Chief wanted revenge against us. I don't think they'll go against us a third time. From what I've heard, I don't think they'll have the strength now. But if they do still want revenge, and if we scatter them throughout Europe they almost certainly will, it would be better for us to control their tribes and keep them where we can watch them. Still, we'll tell them that any who don't want to live under Berk's control are free to leave."

So it was settled. Their prisoners would be returned to their homes, and every tribe who had fought against them, excluding the Meat Heads, was now under Berk's authority. A number of tribes had risen against Berk because they had feared Berk would one day seek to rule them yet ironically, by siding against Berk, the very thing they had sought to prevent had now come to pass.

Toothless had ignored the whole discussion. He had remained standing on the beach, his eyes never leaving the place where the ship had sunk beneath the waves. "And just like that, it's all over,"

"So what will you do now?" His friend Midnight asked, "To be honest, we feared you might try to join him,"

Toothless shook his head, "No, we promised a long time ago we would not kill ourselves when the other one died. But I always hoped—thought—expected we'd go out together."

"So what will you do?"

Toothless growled. "My way forward is clear. His island needs to be restored, and someone has to see our plans through to completion. I'm still a Beta, and I've got my nest to save. And when his child is born, I'm going to look after the hatchling, just as he would have intended. I'll make sure it gets the love he didn't."

Midnight nodded. "And perhaps you'll have your own hatchlings one day? I mean, you've got a female Night Fury now…"

"With a broken neck," Toothless said, misery replacing his determination.

"Where is this female Night Fury, anyway?" Shamrock the Treejumper asked.

"She and those tending to her were left behind at the ruins of that fortress. They felt they could not risk moving her yet. Her brother is with her." He glanced at Sclepus, who was standing nearby. "We'll see what happens."

"Don't we always?" the Treejumper said wistfully, "Don't we always,"

Later that day, Dagur was in a foul mood as he sat down next to Heather, who was repairing some leather saddles that would be needed for the coming flights. "The nerve of her! The nerve of her!"

"What are you talking about? The nerve of whom?"

"That woman Astrid! I've been banished from Berk! Can you believe it? She had the nerve to banish me. Me! This is what I get for acting nice and bringing her Viggo's body! I'll never bring her a dead body again!" he crossed his arms and scrunched up in a snit.

"Why'd she banish you?"

"She said," and he altered his voice to sound like a spiteful woman, "'I'm grateful for your help this time, but you've caused us plenty of grief in the past, so I want you gone by tomorrow morning and I don't want to ever see you on Berk again!' And I said, 'oh yeah? And who are you to give such orders?' And she said 'I'm Astrid Haddock, Chief of Berk!' Oh the injustice of it all, sister!" he burst into very loud tears. "She had the nerve to banish lovable old Dagur the Deranged! And just after my brother's funeral and before I'm to become an uncle too! I'll bet she just doesn't want me playing with her child!"

"Yeah, she probably fears you'd be a bad influence," Heather sniggered in spite of herself.

"Would not! I could teach him all kinds of things! I could teach him how to cut up—"

"Who said the baby's going to be a boy?" she interrupted, "she could have a girl, you know,"

Dagur sniffed.

"So what are you going to do now that you're banished from Berk and the Berserkers?" Assuming there was anything left of the Berserkers to be banished from.

"Well, she was nice enough to offer me a ship and what provisions she could spare. I suppose I'll start looking for Dad. Or back looking to go. Or go back to looking, I mean."

Heather paused. "For Oswald?"

"Yep! After all, I found you against all odds! He might be out there too, somewhere! How about it, Sister? Will you come with me? Then we can search for Oswald together and be a nice proper throat-splitting family again!"

He looked at her eagerly. She looked away.

"Well I…no, Dagur, I don't think…"

His delight turned to disgust, "It's that Mala lady, isn't it? Let me guess, she's ordered you to do something else!"

"No, actually. I just think I'm going to stay on Berk for a while. Help them rebuild and all that."

Dagur pointed a finger accusingly at her. "It's someone else, isn't it? It's a boy, isn't it? It's that Snotlout Jorgenson isn't it?"

Heather nearly gagged.

"I knew it!"

"No, Dagur, it isn't Snotlout."

"Who then?"

She shrugged, though her face was a little red. "I just think I'll be more useful here than anywhere else!"

"Uh-huh,"

"But if you do find something about Oswald's whereabouts—"

"Couldn't you come with me for just a little while?" he pleaded.

Heather looked past her brother's shoulder and saw Fishlegs busy with repairing a home. "Sorry, Dagur, but no." She stood up and went over to join Fishlegs.

"It's been decided," he said numbly. "We know where all the ships are heading, so Astrid's distributed the locations among the dragons. A few humans will go with each group."

"Are you going with them?"

He shook his head. "No. I'd like to, but Meatlug's almost broken down from all the traveling we've done these past months. She needs rest. And I'm not flying anywhere without her." He chuckled a little. "Astrid wanted to go, but everybody else was against it, on account of her pregnancy. Stormfly refused to carry her."

"She isn't even that far along yet."

"Well, who knows how long this rescue is going to take? Besides, we can't risk losing her too."

"You think it'll be dangerous? You think we won't be able to save everybody?"

He sighed. "I don't know, Heather. I'm hoping it'll be really easy, since Viggo's gone and all that, but who knows what other threats are out in the world? And even if we do save them and bring them all back to Berk, I don't think this place will ever feel like home again."

"It will," Heather said softly, "We'll make it feel like home,"

"I suppose only time will—wait, 'we'?"

Heather leaned closer and kissed him on the cheek.

Many, many weeks later, high above the Atlantic Ocean, Queen Mala sat upon Trachyte the Eruptodon. Her cold gaze went from the equally frigid if much more shifting waters, to the Dragon Eye, which she clenched in her hand.

"And to think, that this device should be the architect of so much death and misery. It is time to do with it as our founders should have done long ago—what I should have done long ago."

They were leagues upon leagues away from the nearest land. Only the ocean could be seen no matter which direction they turned. Beneath them there was nothing to distinguish this part of the sea from any other part. That was exactly the way she wanted it. Hiccup had devised the means to pull the Dragon Eye out of a lake, but with Hiccup and Viggo gone she doubted anyone would be able to retrieve it from the depths in the center of the Atlantic. At any rate, it was the most secure hiding spot she could think of.

She patted the Eruptodon on the back. "And only you and I will know where it has been hidden. When our deaths come, the secret will die with us."

Trachyte gulped. "Hopefully it'll be a while before that happens,"

With that, Mala threw the Eye into the air and they watched it plummet downwards and sink into the sea.

"May it never feel the warmth of the sunlight upon it again," she said as Trachyte turned around and flew back the way they had come.

Only one lens still survived intact: the lens Hiccup had dug up in the Tabernas Desert. It had been placed beside him on his funeral ship. The surviving Defenders had been tasked with destroying the other 24 lenses. These were first crushed beneath the Bewilderbeast's feet, and, in secret, Throk had taken the splintered remains and consigned them to the inner chambers of the volcano Trachyte inhabited. Queen Mala hoped that this way there would never be a repatriation of the awful events of the past year.