Chapter 38: Family on the Edge
It was a nice beautiful day and the Riders were practicing an ambush they were planning on Viggo's ships. Below them they had rowboats prepared to act as Dragon Hunter ships.
"Three, two, one!" Hiccup yelled.
"Bombs away!" Hicca yelled next.
Hiccup and Hicca then drops the four jars he was carrying of Monstrous Nightmare gel. Toothless and Midnight fired plasma blasts at the jars causing a massive explosion that struck the target on one of the rowboats.
Astrid then did the same with Stormfly, as did Raeda with Sparkfire while Henry and his five dragons are doing multiple targets at once. However, Snotlout and the twins were not as accurate as they were and so their shots missed the targets.
The Haddock twins soon landed on a sea stack where they had set up a sundial and looked down to read the time. They then turned their heads as the Thorston twins landed behind them.
"Slow and inaccurate." Hiccup said. "That's quite a combo."
"Yeah, really nice you two." Hicca sarcastically said to them.
"It was also our parents' nicknames for us," Tuffnut said, not catching the saracasm. "My nickname was 'Slow', which I thought was inaccurate."
"Viggo doesn't know we found his shipyard, yet." Hiccup reminded firmly. "We'll only have one chance and knock out his fleet. We have to get it right."
"So we make no mistakes if we have a shot at hurting, Viggo. So we keep practicing." Hicca added firmly as well.
(Linebreak)
Later that day, Hiccup and Hicca returned to the Edge and to Hiccup's hut. It had been a long day and they looked like they were going to ride down for a few hours.
"Come on, guys." said Hiccup yawning as he dismounted Toothless. "Let's get some shut-eye before dinner."
"Yeah, I'm bushed." Hicca agreed with a yawn as well. But when Hiccup opened the door he got the surprise of a lifetime when he saw Dagur transfixed at Hiccup's Inferno, which was set ablaze.
"This is cool," Dagur said in awe.
Hiccup yelled in surprise.
"Dagur?!" Hicca yelled in surprise causing Dagur to turn them.
"Brother! Sister!" Dagur yelled cheerfully as he swung Inferno unconsciously. "Wait, where are you both going? It's me. Where's my hug?" He asked them as he got closer to them.
The Haddock twins quickly backed away, not wanting to be burned, Hiccup's Inferno.
"Dagur, put that away before you burn us!" Hicca called out as she and her brother backed away.
Dagur soon realized why the Haddock twins were backing away from him so suddenly.
"Oh, sorry," Dagur apologizes as he pulls Inferno back. He then tried to figure out how to un-ignited. "Uh, how do you turn this thing off?" as he clicked the button.
Hiccup quickly shut the door, not wanting the other Riders, especially Heather, to find out that Dagur was in their base.
"Give me that." Hiccup said, snatching his Inferno away from him as he and his sister walked in.
"I've seen you two have been keeping busy," Dagur said to them. He then smiled at Toothless and Midnight, while Toothless simply snarled at him. "Hey, come on, Toothless. Where's the love, man?"
Midnight however, gave Dagur a big lick to the face in response. "Least someone's happy to see me." Dagur said in satisfaction.
"Well, you did save Toothless from the effects of that new dragon root formula, so Midnight appreciate you." Hicca said with a small smile as she patted Midnight's head as her dragon purred in response.
Hiccup sat down in his chest and Toothless blew Inferno out. Once he placed the blade down he looked at Dagur, with a mixed expression. "What the Thor are you doing here Dagur?" Hiccup asked.
"Yeah, what brings you to the Edge?" Hicca asked in curiosity.
"Heather. I haven't seen a trace of her," Dagur he explained in honest worry. "It's so… frustrating."
"Yeah, I'll bet." Hiccup muttered as Dagur didn't realize his sister was closer than he thought.
"So what does that have to do with you being here?" Hicca asked, but had a feeling that Dagur knew Heather was here.
"I've gotta have a dragon." Dagur told them.
Hiccup and Hicca jumped up and stared at him. "What?" Hiccup asked in surprise.
"You of all people, want to have a dragon to ride?" Hicca asked in surprise as well.
"To find Heather, I need to cover more ground faster," Dagur explained. "Dragony fast!"
"He does have a point." Hicca told her brother as Hiccup gave her a look, "Just saying." She defended.
"Yeah, I don't think so." Hiccup stated as he walked away.
"Hiccup!" Dagur said as he grabbed his arm. "You, Hicca, Midnight and Toothless owe me. I saved your lives."
"You also try to kill us." Hiccup recalled, shoving his arm out of the way.
"Multiple times." Hicca added with a raised eyebrow.
"Did I really? I think maybe in here, I never really wanted to." Dagur said, placing a hand over his heart. "Name one time I've tried to kill either of you."
Hicca then raised a brow, "Okay, that time you used Hiccup for knife throwing practice?" She asked.
Dagur blinked before he responded. "Okay, but that was years ago. Name another one." He insisted.
"That time when you were on Dragon Island where you nearly killed Midnight while my brother tried to stop you which ended up nearly killing him and Midnight if me and Toothless didn't show up?" Hicca asked again.
"That was a misunderstanding, try again." Dagur retorted.
"That time you threatened to kill me and the Screaming Death's mother to get Toothless or have the Screaming Death try and kill us all?" Hicca asked again.
"I wasn't actually going to kill you, Hiccup's too much of a softy." Dagur said in defense before turning to Hiccup. "No offense, brother."
"Some taken." Hiccup answered with a frown and arms crossed.
"What about when you used the Skrill to try and zap me and Midnight, which forced us to put it on ice again?" Hicca asked again, getting really annoyed that Dagur had completely forgotten about those times.
Dagur raised a finger to answer but then realized he didn't have one, "Okay, maybe that time I was going to kill you." He admittedly said as he just gave a smile. "But that's all in the past and I've changed." He added with a wide smile.
"Oh, gods," Hiccup said, shaking his head. "We… we can't train you to ride a dragon." He told him.
"Why not?" Dagur asked with a frown.
"We… don't have the time," Hiccup said, scratching the back of his head, it wasn't a complete lie since they had been really busy planning the attack on Viggo's shipyards.
"Yeah, sorry, Dagur. Things have been busy for us lately." Hicca added. "And training a dragon takes a long time, even days. Believe us, it took us a long time to earn Toothless and Midnight's trust when we first met them." She added as she gestured to the two Night Furies as they warbled in agreement, knowing that is true.
"Oh. You're both too busy. I get it. Sorry. Guess I'll be going." Dagur said. "First maybe I'll, you know, take a scroll around the base. See if you are old friends. Make a few apologies."
The Haddock Twins quickly stopped him before he reached the door. The last thing they wanted was for Dagur to wander around the base, partly so he wouldn't learn of their plans on attacking Viggo's shipyards, but mostly they knew if Heather found Dagur was here it could end with Dagur losing his head.
"Uh… No, no, no, no. You can't." HIccup said quickly.
"Yeah I agree, you can't just go out there." Hicca added.
"Why not?" Dagur asked.
"Because, uh, you've got to be up early tomorrow…" Hiccup said, not believing what he was saying as his sister looked at him in confusion, "uh… to start your training."
"Are you serious?" Dagur starred. "But I thought—"
"Well, we can stretch our schedule for tomorrow, Dagur. We can make some time." Hicca quickly said. "With the two of us, we may be able to make up for lost time." She added.
"Yeah. So, we'll meet first thing in the morning on the far side of the island." Hiccup said, not wishing to explain his quick change of heart. "That's where the best wild dragons are. Actually, you should go right there now and camp out for the night."
The three of them just looked at each other in silence the next thing the Haddock twins realized, Dagur pulled them to a massive bear hug.
"Great idea," Dagur said excitedly, not realizing he was crushing the Haddock twins' ribs. "Thank you, Hiccup. Thank you."
"Don't mention it." Hiccup wheezed.
"Glad to be of service to you." Hicca wheezed as well.
"You're both so small and cuddly," said Dagur.
The Haddock twins forgot how awkward it had been to talk with Dagur when he was so friendly and quickly broke apart from him.
"Please never say that again." Hiccup said to him,
"Yeah, that's just weird to say." Hicca added, wishing they could forget those words.
"Uh, so, we'll see you later." Hiccup said as Dagur then made his way outside. "Remember, on the far, far side of the island."
"We'll meet you there tomorrow." Hicca finished.
Dagur nodded and closed the door and Hicca turned to her brother with a deadpan stare. "Great, now we have two problems: Viggo's fleet and getting Dagur off the Edge." She muttered.
"Yeah. This just keeps getting more and more complicated." Hiccup muttered as well.
"Wouldn't be if you hadn't blabbed out to train him how to ride a dragon." Hicca said in a deadpan tone.
"What? It was the best I could think of at the time." Hiccup said in defense.
"And this is why I do the talking." Hicca said with a smirk.
"Are we still doing this?" Hiccup questioned in unamused.
"Yes. Yes we are." Hicca answered with a smirk as Toothless and Midnight gave dragon-likes chuckles from that.
"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up." Hiccup said with a dull expression.
(Linebreak)
It was later that night and the other Riders were busy having dinner and Tuffnut was telling one of his jokes to the others.
"But somebody better explain how yak stew got into my pants," said Tuffnut.
They all laughed.
It was then that Hiccup and Hicca entered and they too began to laugh, but it was very awkward.
"Hey, uh, speaking of soggy pants, you ever wonder what happened to Dagur's and his crazy pants?" Hiccup asked as Hicca facepalmed herself.
That ruined the mood almost right away as every one of them stared at Hiccup.
"Uh… no," said Snotlout.
"And for the record, I don't think his pants were that crazy," Ruffnut said.
"What brings Dagur up, anyway?" Fishlegs frowned.
"Nothing," Hicca said quickly. "What my brother meant to say was, we haven't seen him since the 'Viggo Fiasco' when he and the Hunters caught Heather, Henry and the Flightmare and helped Heather escape from Viggo and helped Henry escape as well." She explained, covering up the truth since the other riders haven't seen Dagur since then.
"Probably is a distraction so he can get away himself," Astrid offered.
"Or he just wanted to get back at Viggo for using him as a henchman. Since we all know that he doesn't like being a grunt." Raeda suggested.
"Maybe," Hiccup slightly agreed. "I don't know. But what if it was actually the first step of a path towards a new life?"
"A 'new life'? Dagur?" Heather yelled in fury slamming her fist on the table. She then began to brush the dust off her twin-bladed axe. "A dragon doesn't change its markings, Hiccup."
"Uh, technically…" Fishlegs said tentatively.
"Except for a Changewing, yes, I know."
"And a…" Fishlegs continued.
"You get the point!" Heather snapped.
"Right. You're probably right. But then again, uh…" Hicca said, trying to choose her words carefully. "Remember how we all thought Alvin the Treacherous couldn't change but surprise, surprise he did help us stop Dagur and retake his island and made a truce between the Outcast and Berk."
"Yeah." Hiccup said in agreement. "And who would've thought our father, Stoick the Vast, would ever ride a dragon?"
"Don't tell me you're comparing your father to Dagur now," Henry asked.
"Of course not." Hiccup said quickly. "But you never know. Next time we see Dagur…"
"I'll split the father-killer in two!" Heather yelled getting to her feet and slammed her twin-bladed axe into the table holding the meat.
Everyone just stared at her slightly uneasy.
"Yep. Okay. I think we get your point." Hiccup said, breaking the silence.
"Thank you for voicing your opinion." Hicca added, now seeing it would be really bad if she found out Dagur was on the island.
"Sorry. Just lost it a bit. I better go. I have island patrol tonight," Heather sighed, changing the subject.
"No, Heather! Don't!" Hicca yelled, fearing that she could find out their little secret.
The others turned to her in surprise. "Um, why?" Heather asked slowly.
Hicca darted her eyes, "Um, because um. Hiccup and I will cover for you." She gestured to her brother.
Hiccup caught on and said. "Uh… yeah. We'll take that. We have a way more important mission for you."
"You do?" Heather stared in surprise.
"Of course I do," Hiccup confirmed as he tried to come up with one. "It's, uh, one final recon mission to check out our target. You and Snotlout."
Heather and Snotlout looked at each other then back to the Haddock twins frowning.
"What are you two talking about?" Snotlout frowned in confusion. "We went last time."
The Haddock twins had forgotten that as well.
"We know." Hiccup said.
"That's why we're sending you again. To be on the lookout for any last-minute changes if anything goes wrong out there. You never know if Viggo might plan a sneak attack on the Edge." Hicca said quickly with a nervous smile.
"That sort of makes sense," Heather frowned.
"And you should leave tonight." Hiccup said.
"Tonight? But I haven't even packed yet," Snotlout told him. "Argh! It's gonna take a whole day to get out there."
Heather stared at the Haddock twins in amusement. "Jeez, guys, are you trying to get rid of us?" She asked.
"Yes," Hiccup said and quickly realized his mistake as his sister looked at him with wide eyes. "No. No! That's crazy. Why would we…"
Heather looked at him even more amused now. "I'm kidding, Hiccup. Relax," She said, trying to hold back a laugh. "Come on, Snotlout. Soon we leave, the sooner we get back."
They watched as Heather and Snotlout left.
"Take your time," Hiccup called to them. He and Hicca then noticed the puzzled looks at Astrid, Raeda and Henry were giving him an added, "And by that we mean 'be safe'."
"Why did you guys ask them to scout the ship yards again?" Raeda asked with a raised brow.
"You can never be too careful with Viggo, right Henry?" Hicca asked, turning to the Grimborn boy with a nervous grin.
"I guess so." Henry confirmed slowly.
"Great! Now if you'll excuse us, we've got island patrolling to do!" Hiccup said as he and his sister slipped out of the clubhouse. He then deadpanned at Hicca, "Leave the talking to you, huh?" He mocked.
"Hey, at least I'm more convincing than you, bro." Hicca said in defense as she gave a look to her brother. "At least it bought us some time with Heather off the island to teach Dagur how to ride a dragon." She added.
"Yeah. Let's hope that it will be enough." Hiccup said as the Haddock twins walked out as they began their patrol.
(Linebreak)
At first light, Hiccup and Hicca flew to the far side of the island to meet up with Dagur. To say that Dagur was excited to see them, would have been an understatement.
"Finally!" The mad berserker said as he ran up to them. "Not mad, just excited."
"Yeah, we can see that." Hiccup said.
"Been thinking about what dragon I should ride." Dagur told them. "Something that makes a statement. You don't have any Skrills hanging around, do you?"
Hicca widens her eyes at the mention of Skrills, having a feeling that the Skrill wouldn't be thrilled to see Dagur again after the last time and that Heather wouldn't be the only one who wanted to kill him.
"No, no. No Skrills on this island, Dagur. Sorry." Hicca said while crossing her arms, the last thing they want is Dagur riding the Skrill or the Skrill blasting Dagur to Valhalla with his electricity after what he did to him.
"Well, I suppose I could just settle for a Night Fury," Dagur said, looking down at Toothless and Midnight. "Not the same 'zhush' as a Skrill, I could get by." He said as Toothless and Midnight growls a bit in offense, they are the unholy offspring of lightning and death after all.
"Sorry, Toothless and Midnight are two-of-a-kind." Hiccup said next, since they haven't seen anymore Night Furies other than Toothless or Midnight or any signs of the Night Furies children for five years, and even if they are around, the Haddock twins wouldn't let Dagur ride one.
"How about a Razorwhip? Like Heather's?" Dagur suggested.
"Actually Dagur we already found the perfect dragon for you." Hicca said with a smile. "You're gonna love it." She then whistled and at once the bushes began to wrestle as something large headed towards them.
"He's awesome, right? And dangerous?" Dagur asked excitedly. "Bigelow only picks out a name. 'Shattermaster'."
Then jumping out of the bushes was a green scaled Gronckle that stopped a foot away from Dagur out with its tongue hanging out affectionately.
"Is, uh… is that my dragon's breakfast?" Dagur asked hopefully.
"No, this is Shattermaster." Hiccup said as Shattermaster looked at Dagur excitedly. "The perfect dragon for you. Stable, easy to ride."
"Tough skin, spews lava, and eats solid rock. Perfect for a Berserker." Hicca with a smile.
"Yeah, uh, I am not riding that dragon." Dagur said simply.
"Then you're not riding any dragon." Hiccup said firmly.
"It's beneath me." Dagur said, crossing his arms.
"No, Dagur. You need to at least try." Hicca reasoned.
"Prove to us that you can even get on it," said Hiccup.
Dagur looked at Shattermaster with a fixed stare. "Easy."
However, it proved not to be easy. When he tried to jump on top of Shattermaster, the Gronckle simply moved out of the way and he landed face first on the dirt.
"I got this…" Dagur said, jumping onto his feet. He then began to chase Gronckle down, apparently thinking they were playing. "Get back here!"
"Dagur, no!" Hiccup yelled.
"Not by the tail!" Hicca yelled out next.
Too late, Dagur jumped onto Shattermaster's tail and immediately he swatted him up into the air and slammed his bludgeon-like tail down on top of him and sent him flying over the edge of the island.
"Are you okay?" Hiccup asked as he, Hicca and their dragons looked over the edge.
"You made your point, guys." Dagur wheezed, holding onto a tree branch. "We'll do it both your ways."
"Glad of you to see the trial and error of dragon training." Hicca commented with a smirk.
(Linebreak)
Once they got Dagur down, the Haddock twins began to teach him the proper way of training a dragon. Dagur held out his hand and placed it on Shattermaster's snout, who then relaxed by his touch.
They began to teach him how to fly Shattermaster. He soon discovers that Hiccup, Hicca and the other Riders made it look easy, because he and Shattermaster kept on flying around in circles.
"Here we go." Dagur said as he tried to keep control. "Come on, Shattermaster. Turn! Turn!"
Once Dagur finally got hold of actually flying Shattermaster, he flew side-by-side with Hiccup. He then looked down to the ground and lost his nerve and placed his hand over one of Shattermaster's wings.
Next second he screamed as they plummeted towards the ground. Fortunately, Hiccup, and Toothless caught them before they got anywhere near the ground.
"Thanks, T!" Dagur said, looking at Toothless.
Hicca and Midnight then flew next to them as she spoke. "That was a little too high for you and a little too high for you." Hicca said
"Maybe we should try something a little more down to earth," Hiccup suggested.
"Low flying evasion?" Hicca suggested.
"Yep." Hiccup confirmed.
They soon flew at ground level and began to do some evasive maneuvers in the forest. Though, Dagur was having as much trouble as he did higher in the sky.
"You're trying to steer him too much." Hiccup said to Dagure. "You need to trust your dragon, Dagur. He doesn't want to hit the trees any more than you do."
"Remember, flying a dragon is about respect and fairness between you and your dragon." Hicca told him, "You've gotta give Shattermaster some room to make his own choices too."
"If you say so!" Dagur yelled as he looked at Shattermaster eagerly. "Let's see what you've got for speed."
He then nudged Shattermaster, too hard and he shot forwards.
Hiccup could foresee a problem. "Slow down, you're not ready for…"
Too late, Dagur slammed in a tree and bounced off it and slammed right into Hiccup and Toothless. "Ooh, that's gonna leave a mark." Hicca winced and flew down to the boys.
"Bad Dagur, bad!" Dagur yelled at himself. "I'm sorry, Hiccup."
"You're trying to do too much too soon." Hiccup said.
Hicca and Midnight landed near them as she went to them. "Are you two okay?" Hicca asked.
"We're fine, sis." Hiccup said as he then noticed his prosthetic leg. "And I spoke too soon." He said as he brought out his prosthetic leg, which was bent from the crash. "Great. I can't fly Toothless like this."
"Gimme it," Dagur said, taking the leg from Hiccup, before he could stop him. "I can straighten it out."
Hiccup had a sudden case of déjà vu, because he remembered Snotlout doing exactly the same four years ago. "No, no, no, no!" He yelled but was too late, Dagur snapped the leg in two.
"Oops." Dagur said. He then presented the pieces to Hiccup. "Here you go."
"It's okay." Hiccup sighed. "I have a spare back at my hut.".
"You didn't bring the spare with you when you broke so many of them when Barf and Belch worshiped you?" Hicca questioned her brother in surprise that he didn't bring the spare with him this time.
"I didn't have time to grab them when we left this morning, okay." Hiccup reasoned. "I'll take Midnight and be back as soon as I can." He said.
"Okay." Dagur agreed.
Dagur and Hicca then helped Hiccup to Midnight and once he was mounted Hiccup looked back at Dagur. "Now you stay right here. Hicca, make sure Dagur doesn't go anywhere and he doesn't do anything. All right?" he said firmly.
"Gotcha." Hicca nodded.
He then looked up at Toothless. "Toothless, help Hicca keep an eye on him."
Dagur then watched as Hiccup took off at Midnight. Once it was a safe distance away he turned to Shattermaster, Hicca and Toothless, who gave them a very questionable look.
"So, any ideas on how to pass the time?" Dagur asked them.
Toothless did a dragon's equivalent of a giggle. 'I have some ideas.'
Hicca noticed Toothless' expression as she turned to Dagur with a smirk. "Wanna see how fast a Night Fury really is?" She asked Dagur, who grins in excitement at the suggestion.
(Linebreak)
Seconds later the two of them were up in the air flying, Dagur was riding Toothless while Hicca rode on Shattermaster. The Berserker was really enjoying himself.
"Come on, T," he said and dived down into the forest. "Whoa! We're best friends now!"
"Yeah, just be careful not to…" Hicca started but it was too late as Dagur placed a hand on Toothless' wing, who suddenly came to a stop, throwing Dagur right off him. "... place a hand on Toothless' wing while in flight." She finished as she watched Dagur fly off from the toss.
Dagur then went straight through a bush and landed hard on the ground.
"Why'd you do me like that, bud?" Dagur questioned Toothless when suddenly an ax was right to his face and looked up and found the owner of a very angry Astrid with the other Dragon Riders behind her.
"What have you done with Hiccup and Midnight?" Fishlegs demanded, holding the broken piece of Hiccup's leg.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Hicca yelled as they all looked up and saw her flying in, "It's okay! It's okay, they're both fine!" She said, jumping off of Shattermaster and standing in front of the other riders.
The others were surprised by this as they looked at Hicca with wide eyes. "What?" Raeda asked in surprise.
"Hicca. What's going on here?" Astrid questions as she pushes Dagur aside and gets in Hicca's face. "Why is Dagur here and why is he riding on Toothless?"
Hicca then chuckled nervously, "Uh, it's a funny story." She said to them with a nervous smile.
(Linebreak)
An hour later, they went back to the Edge as they walked to the dome as Hicca explained everything to the other riders as they were surprised by this.
"And well, that's what happened." Hicca finished while smiling sheepishly at the others who are just wide eyes about this.
"Wait, you and Hiccup knew that Dagur was here and kept this from us and helped him ride a dragon?" Raeda asked in surprise.
"Well, yeah." Dagur said. "I would've explained it, but knowing you guys, you wouldn't believe a word I say if Hicca wasn't with me." He added
"You know, he does have a point." Henry said, knowing that is true.
And then, Hiccup came walking towards them with Midnight behind him as he saw the other riders in the dome as he was surprised to see Dagur with them.
"What the?" Hiccup said before he looked at Hicca, "Hicca?" He asked as the other riders turned and saw him and Midnight coming by.
"Don't blame me, bro. They found us in the woods." Hicca said in defense.
"Yeah, brother. They found me after your dragon totally flipped me." Dagur added as Toothless snorted and Astrid marched up to Hiccup.
"Hiccup, you better explain so we can hear your side of the story like your sister just with yours to make sure this is true to both of you." Astrid demanded. "Hicca says you two and Dagur are buddies now and you're teaching him how to ride a dragon." She said, pressing a finger against his chest with every word.
Hiccup laughed nervously and placed his finger on top of hers. "Yeah, it's a funny story, actually." He admitted.
(Linebreak)
A little bit later, The Haddock twins led them to the clubhouse and began to explain everything, from how they met Dagur, how he saved the Haddock twins, Midnight and Toothless and all the way to how he rode Toothless.
"Then we flew away in one direction and he sailed the other," Hiccup finished.
"We didn't see his boat when we took off so we thought he might've gone too far to even see or hear." Hicca added.
Astrid, Raeda, Fishlegs, Henry and the Thorston twins just stared at them.
"So, Dagur saves your lives?" Astrid blinked.
"And Toothless's. Right bud?" Dagur asked the male Night Fury.
'Yeah, I guess he did,' Toothless gave a growl as he shrugged in response.
"Yeah. Pretty much." Hiccup said, looking at them awkwardly.
"And he did give us the dragon root antidote when Toothless was shot by one of their arrows." Hicca added as she brought out the dragon root antidote formula she's been holding. "And Midnight seems to trust him for saving Toothless' life." She added as she pointed to her dragon.
Midnight nodded as she nuzzled Dagur with a purr. "See, trustworthy." Dagur said with a smile as he gave a gentle pat to Midnight.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Astrid asked.
"Yeah, why didn't you tell 'em, siblings?" Dagur asked curiously.
"Because we were unsure how you would feel about it," Hiccup explained as he and Midnight then looked at the blank faces. "'Cause we weren't sure how we felt about it."
"That and you were chasing Hiccup for leaving you behind while trying to slice him in half, Astrid." Hicca added with a raised eyebrow. "If we did, you would've gone even angrier than you already were and wouldn't believe us if we did." She added.
Astrid remembered that day as she gave a thought as she then spoke. "Okay, good point. I would've." She said, knowing that is true about her.
"To be fair, I have done some pretty questionable things." Dagur admitted.
"Questionable?" Fishlegs spat in disbelief. "Trying to kill it is not questionable." He said as Dagur gave a blank look, knowing that is true.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. He saved you guys. I get that," Tuffnut spoke. "But why are you two teaching him how to ride a dragon?"
"I'm looking for Heather," Dagur answered.
The Thorston twins smiled at one another as did Astrid, Raeda, Henry and Fishlegs, who could understand why the Haddock twins wanted to keep this secret.
"Yes, and the sooner I teach him how to fly, the sooner he can leave to go find her, wherever she might be." Hiccup said.
"No matter how near or far that could be." Hicca added as Astrid, Raeda Henry and Fishlegs just gave them blank faces.
"Dagur, have we got some good news for you." Ruffnut suddenly said.
"Yes, yes, we do."Hiccup quickly said and dragged Fishlegs towards Dagur. "Fishlegs, here's our best Gronckle trainer in the world. He can help improve your flying."
"Yeah. He trained Meatlug and studied Gronckles all his life. He will be better suited to train you then we are." Hicca added with a smile.
"Aww. Thanks, guys," Fishlegs smiled in gratitude.
The Thorston twins tried to get Dagur attention, in an attempt to tell about Heather.
"Maybe you should go train him." Hiccup encouragingly said. "Now!"
"Now is better than later." Hicca added.
Fishlegs nodded. "Ooh. Yes, right away." He said.
He then dragged Dagur away as the Thorston twins kept on trying to get his attention.
"I want to know everything," Dagur said. He then slammed a hand on Fishlegs shoulder. "Everything!"
"Okay." Fishlegs said awkwardly. "Where to begin? The Gronckle…"
"No!" Ruffnut yelled trying to get Dagur's attention. "Wait, wait, wait!"
"Look towards me!" Tuffnut yelled as he tried to get Dagur's attention.
Astrid and Henry quickly grabbed the Thorston twins and pulled them away from Dagur.
Hiccup and Hicca just sighed.
"Close call." Hicca said in relief.
"Tell me about it." Hiccup said in agreement as the Haddock twins started to wonder how they got themselves into these sorts of situations.
(Linebreak)
Later in Hiccup's hut, The Haddock twins were looking down at the model of Viggo's shipyard to plan their attack with Astrid and Henry.
"Eight ships being worked on at once." Hiccup counted.
"So if we hit them in one coordinated strike, we could cripple Viggo's fleet." Hicca suggested.
"Could we talk about the Rumblehorn in the room, please?" Astrid asked, wanting this to get out. "Dagur, here?"
"Yeah, it is a little disconcerting, and this is coming from an ex-hunter in the room." Henry said, even he feels off about Dagur being here after what the other riders told him of their history with Dagur.
"We know. We know," said Hiccup. "But he seems like he's really trying to change."
"Yeah, he has been making a real effort to bond with Shattermaster." Hicca added.
"You don't think it strange that he showed up here right as we're about to hit Viggo's shipyard?" Astrid frowned.
"You guys weren't there, Astrid." Hiccup told her. "He could turn us over to Viggo's men, but… he helped us escape."
Astrid crossed her arms. "Did he? Or is that what they wanted you both to think, so they could put a spy among us?" She asked them.
"Astrid, if Dagur was a spy you think Shattermaster would even let Dagur near him or Midnight wouldn't have trusted him?" Hicca asked the Shield maiden as she looked at Henry, who had been silent for quite some time. "What do you think, Henry?"
"Well, my father does have many spies in his empire." Henry said in slight agreement. "But Heather did tell me that Dagur helped her and Windshear escape and told them where my cell was to free me. So I think we should at least give him the benefit of the doubt." He said, willing to give Dagur a chance after helping him and Heather escape from his father and the hunters.
"See, even Henry is giving him a chance." Hicca said, glad to see that Henry is giving Dagur a chance.
"It doesn't really prove anything." Astrid said. "For all we know, he might be planning to warn Viggo about our plans."
Hiccup nodded in understanding "Look, I'm not blind to the risks, Astrid. Why do you think we gave him the slowest, least dangerous dragon I could find?" He asks.
"Yeah. the Gronckles are the least dangerous dragons we could find." Hicca said as she then rested a hand on the table. "It's… It's just that…"
"What?" Astrid asked.
"When the chips were down and I thought the Hunters had me for sure, Toothless let Dagur ride him to save me." hiccup explains.
"So If Toothless and Midnight trusts him, then we have to try and trust him, too." Hicca added.
"Well… I hope you both, Midnight and Toothless are right about Dagur." Astrid said. "For all our sakes." She finished.
"We can at least keep an eye on him while he's here and make sure he doesn't find any sensitive information about us," Henry said, wanting to be on the safe side.
"Agreed," Hiccup said as he and his sister got up. "We should check on how he and Fishlegs are doing."
"And see if Dagur isn't driving Fishlegs crazy to know more." Hicca added with a chuckle.
Astrid nodded. "And let's make sure he doesn't discover what we're planning," she said and tossed a blanket over the shipyard model.
While they walked away they failed to notice that one of the ships had fallen off the table landing on the ground in plain sight.
(Linebreak)
A few minutes later, they were on their dragons and flew up to meet up with Fishlegs and Dagur.
"Fishlegs, how's your student?" Hiccup asked as they hovered beside Fishlegs.
Fishlegs pointed and then in the next second they heard Dagur maniacal laughter and looked up to see him flying Shattermaster a lot better than before.
"He is a fast learner!" Fishlegs complimented.
"I have an excellent teacher!" Dagur said.
"Oh, stop it, you," said Fishlegs blushing slightly.
Astrid groaned in disgust.
"Wow, they're hitting it off well." Hicca said in surprise.
"Agreed." Henry said in equal surprise.
"Look at this move he came up with." Fishlegs said. "Remember the Gronckle Drop? Well, watch this."
Fishlegs then grabbed a firm hold on Meatlug and they flew upwards.
"Three, two, one." They counted simultaneously.
They then flipped upside down and plummeted straight towards the ground.
"Oh, Fishlegs!" Dagur laughed excitedly.
Then at the last second they flipped back up straight, just as they touched the water, and high-fived each other. They then soared upwards to meet up with the Haddock Twins, Astrid and Henry.
"That was insane!" Hiccup cheered..
"It was amazing!" Hicca cheered next.
"I know!" said Fishlegs.
"Though not surprising, considering who came up with it." Henry commented.
"Good point." Dagur shrugged.
"We call it the 'Inverted Gronckle Drop'," said Fishlegs. "We could really use it on our next mission."
Hiccup and Hicca quickly shook his head and Fishlegs closed his mouth. "Ah. I think that's enough training for you two." Hiccup said.
"But there's hours of daylight left," Dagur complained. "I have so much to learn!"
"Oh, you're still training." Astrid smirked. "With me." She finished as she gave Dagur a look.
"Uh, he is?" said Hiccup, looking slightly unnerved.
"I don't know if you would want that." Hicca added.
"Relax, guys." Dagur assured with a smile. "She obviously doesn't trust me and wants to check me out for herself." He understood why Astrid wanted to keep an eye on him.
"Oh, hey, he's not as dumb as he looks." Astrid said, looking slightly surprised.
"And she's trying to provoke me," Dagur added laughing. "But it won't work."
"I am the sea, calm and wide
My sense of peace comes from inside."
Astrid then turned and looked at the others. "Seriously?"
"Try not to hurt him." Hiccup said.
"Or kill him." Hicca added before turning to Henry. "And Henry, how about you stay with them to make sure Astrid doesn't do anything, regrettable."
"No promises." Henry said with a grin as they left.
"Yeah, no promises at all." Astrid said as she crossed her arms as she and Henry looked at Dagur as there's silence in the air.
Dagur smiled at her nervously.
(Linebreak)
It was evening now and they had just landed on one of the sea stacks of Dragon's Edge. Dagur landed perfectly on the sea stack, much to her surprise.
"That wasn't horrible." Astrid admittedly said.
"How 'not horrible'?" Dagur asked.
"Probably better than Snotlout could have done it." Astrid honestly said.
"Yeah, you did so much better than him." Henry said in agreement.
"Thanks." Dagur thanked them with a smile.
There was then a very awkward silence between the two of them.
"Use loops to keep the sun behind you and in your enemy's eyes," Astrid advised.
"With the glare, You'll be harder to hit." Henry told him.
"Right!" Dagur nodded. "I saw you do that last time you were defending the Edge against…" He quickly came to a stop when he saw Astrid, who had her eyes narrowed at him. "Too soon?"
"We should head back." Astrid said.
"Yeah, let's go before Astrid changes her mind in not hurting you." Henry said in agreement.
The three of them then headed straight back to the Edge. They were quiet as they flew back towards the Edge and Dagur could sense that Astrid was not trusting him quite yet.
"I am really trying to change, Astrid," Dagur said.
"Hiccup and Hicca think so. Henry is giving you the benefit of the doubt. But if this is an act, if you betray us, or Heather, I will personally make you pay." Astrid warned, clenching her hands around her saddle.
Stormfly could sense the hostility from Astrid and growled at Dagur and Shattermaster growled back. 'Leave him alone!' He warned.
"Aww. It's okay, fella," said Dagur calmly. "She's just trying to make a point."
"He was ready to defend you after one day." Astrid said, looking quite impressed. "Pretty impressive bonding."
"And not to mention he actually stood up to Stormfly." Henry said in surprise and impress as well while Stormfly gave a squawk in response. "Oh, don't take it personally. You would've done the same for Astrid." He said as Stormfly squawk in response with a nod, knowing that is true.
Dagur smiled, but then Astrid flew in closer and leaned her head towards him in a threatening manner. "But seriously, turn on us and I will send you to Valhalla myself." She said as Dagur just looked on in silence.
"Do you have to keep threatening him, Astrid? If you keep doing that, it will be hard to gain someone's trust." Henry pointed out to the Hofferson girl.
"What? Just wanting to make sure he gets the message." Astrid defended with a smile as Henry just sighed and shook his head.
"Hiccup sure knows how to pick 'em." He comments as they reach the Edge.
(Linebreak)
Later that night, Dagur was in the clubhouse having an unusual conversation with the Thorston twins and Chicken. The Haddock twins, Astrid, Raeda, and Henry were watching from a distance.
"This is the 'Reverse Tuffnut'." Tuffnut said, holding Chicken out on her side. "This is the 'Double Twist Tuffnut'." He then moved Chicken side to side. "And my personal favorite," He then began shaking Chicken up and down, "the 'Tuffnut Surprise'. Dinner and a show."
Suddenly an egg popped out of Chicken and Dagur caught it.
"Did you name all these moves yourself?" Dagur asked.
"Maybe." Tuffnut said
Astrid and Raeda looked to the Haddock Twins.
"I can tell Dagur about Heather?" Astrid asked.
"Or vice versa?" Raeda added.
"How can we? You heard last night," said Hiccup. "She clearly isn't ready to see."
"And it was so hard to not tell him that Heather and a certain dragon were on the island, but having both Heather and that dragon knowing that Dagur is here, that's a death wish." Hicca added.
"Well, then get him off the Edge. She could be back any minute," said Astrid.
"She's right, guys, if Heather finds Dagur here she will be even more ferocious than a Monstrous Nightmare." Henry commented. "That certainly would've been done if I saw my father here." He admittedly said, knowing that feeling well.
"Yes, we know. Why do you think we're teaching him how to fly?" Hiccup asked. "We figure we've got until about sundown tomorrow to get him out of here."
"Get who out of here?" A voice said.
The four of them turned horrifyingly as Heather and Snotlout entered the clubhouse.
"How'd you get here so fast?!" Hicca asked in panic.
"We raced back," Snotlout said simply.
"Uh. I think we know who lost." Hiccup said in a worried tone.
"Oh, boy." Raeda said.
"This is gonna end badly." Henry commented.
Heather then noticed Dagur and glared at him. "You!" she snarled.
Dagur turned and raised his hand out in surprise. "Sister!" he yelled.
Heather then grabbed her twin bladed axe charged at Dagur with hatred in her eyes. Dagur just simply walked over to her with his arms outstretched.
"Heather, no!" Hiccup yelled.
"Don't!" Hicca yelled next.
Tuffnut covered Chicken's eyes, not wanting her to see Dagur being disembodied.
Dagur suddenly realizes that Heather was not pleased to see him and closes eyes. Fortunately, Heather calmed down enough with her blade inches away from his face and pulled the blade away.
"I guess a hug is out of the question?" Dagur guessed with a small smile.
Heather then punched him in the face.
(Linebreak)
After Hicca tended to Dagur they all crowded around the clubhouse with Dagur on one side and Heather on the other.
"Hiccup and Hicca Horrendous Haddocks, I cannot believe you two kept my Heather from me," Dagur retortedlooking at the Haddock twins disappointedly while rubbing his jaw. "I was so worried. Was she alive? Was she dead?"
"Oh, please. Drop the act." Heather spat. She then glared at the Haddock twins. "And you two! Bad you both were consorting with my mortal enemy."
"I think that means they're dating," Tuffnut whispered to a sister.
"Ha! Does Fishlegs know?" Ruffnut whispered back.
Heather then stormed up to Hiccup looking furious. "But then you two teach him how to ride dragons?" She then grabbed the scruff of his armor. "Have you both lost your minds?"
Hiccup pulled Heather's hand away from him. "Heather, he saved our lives." He reasoned.
"And gave us the dragon root antidote which helped cure Toothless." Hicca pointed out.
"I don't care!" Heather yelled. "You can't trust him. You think it's a coincidence that he shows up before this mission? It's a setup, guys! Can't you see that?"
"To be fair, that was my first thought, too." Astrid said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"He sent me adrift at the child," Heather reminded the others and marched up to Dagur glaring at him. "He killed our father, for Thor's sake. He tried to each of us multiple times."
"Most, if not all, of those things are true, but I am trying to change, sister." said Dagur honestly.
Heather then grabbed his shoulder and pointed her twin-bladed axe at his throat. "Don't ever call me that, spy," she snarled.
"I'm not a spy." Dagur said, moving the blade away from his throat. "I don't know how I could possibly prove that. I guess you're just gonna have to take my word for it."
He then looked at the blank faces of all the Dragon Riders.
"Yes, I don't think I would take it, either, if I were you." Dagur admitted. "So, thank you for the hospitality, but I think Shattermaster and I should go. Good day."
Dagur then made his way to the door.
"Oh, come on," Hiccup groaned. "Dagur, Dagur."
"Let's talk about this." Hicca told him.
"I said 'good day'," Dagur sobbed and walked outside.
"Was he crying?" Snotlout stared in shock.
"Yeah! Tears of laughter, at us," Heather snarled.
"I should probably talk to him before he goes." said Hiccup and made his way outside.
"And I should talk to Heather here." Hicca said while giving a look at Hicca.
"Yeah, same here." Henry said as he stood next to Hicca.
The two of them then guide Heather outside as she then glares at the two. "What's there to talk about?!" Heather asked in anger.
"Heather, we all know what Dagur's done but even after you tried to kill and betrayed his trust while you were working undercover he still saved you and Windshear." Henry reminded her.
"And when he came here the only reason he wanted to learn how to ride dragons was so he could find you." Hicca added.
"That doesn't mean that he has changed! No Viking like him who's killed their own family can ever change!" Heather told them.
Henry widened his eyes as he glared at Heather with hate. "You think you're the only one who has family problems? And that you're the only one whose own blood killed one of their family?!" He questioned in rage.
Hicca looked at Henry, never seeing him this mad before, "H-Hey, Henry, just calm down." She told him as she tried to place a hand on his shoulder but Henry briskly brushed her off.
"No, no! I won't calm down, not with this!" Henry yelled as he walked up to Heather, who looked at him in surprise with a mean look. "Now listen here, Heather, and you listen good! So what if your brother is a crazy guy with crazy things about him, at least he's showing signs he regrets what he did!" He yelled out.
"So what?! He's just trying to trick us into spying on us for Viggo!" Heather yelled out as well.
"You don't know that! He set you free and told you where my cell is when he went rogue from the Hunters!" Henry pointed out. "And if Hicca, her brother and their dragons trusted Dagur for saving them from the Hunters a while back, then why can't you trust them?!" He added.
"You expect me to trust him, after he burned my village and killed our father?!" Heather demanded.
"You keep saying that, that Dagur killed your father! How do you even know that!?" Henry retorted.
"Because he told me himself!" Heather retorted back.
Henry gave a sarcastic chuckle from that as he spoke. "You think that just because your brother killed your dad, you believe that from him when he's Dagur the Deranged?! The Berserker of your blood who kept boasting and thinks highly of himself would do that!? Do you have any proof that that's actually true?!" He questioned.
"How else do you think he became the Chief of the Berserkers overnight!?" Heather told him her anger blinded her thinking, "You wouldn't understand since you are the son of Viggo Grimborn! It's in your blood!" He yelled.
Henry widens his eyes from that while Hicca covers her mouth in shock as Heather realizes what she just said as she steps back a bit while looking at Henry in regret as the Grimborn boy glares at her.
"So you think that I am the son of Viggo Grimborn, that makes me the bad guy?" Henry questioned as his voice filled with hurt and venom.
"N-no, He-Henry. I-I didn't mean…" Heather tried to correct herself as Henry raised his hand.
"Save it! You obviously only see people of who they used to be with. You think they don't deserve a second chance of making the right choices!" Henry shouted at her.
Hicca tried to reason with him, "Henry, please, don't take what she said personally. If we can just-"
"Forget it Hicca!" Henry shouted at her as he glared, "If Heather can't trust her own brother, how can I expect any of you to trust me? This whole being a team thing is a joke! By daylight tomorrow, me, Wildstar and the others are leaving." He said as he stormed off.
Hicca and Heather watched him go as Hicca then turned to Heather with a hurtful glare. "Hicca, I didn't mean to…" Heather started but was cut off when Hicca spoke in a hurt tone.
"I can't believe you, Heather. You of all Vikings would say that to Henry when he has so much more in common with you than you think!" Hicca shouted.
"I-I get that but this is…" Heather tried to reason but was cut off again.
"This is Dagur we're talking about! I know! But you are so edgy and more aggressive than Astrid when she doesn't trust someone!" Hicca pointed out. "And that's saying a lot. At least Astrid was willing to give Dagur a chance so why can't you?! Your grudge isn't really helping!" She yelled out.
Before Heather could answer they saw Hiccup, Astrid and Dagur heading to the stables. Hicca blinked in surprise before she followed after them and Heather followed her too.
(Linebreak)
A few minutes ago, after Dagur left the clubhouse, he had wandered over to Hiccup's hut and then he saw a model ship on the floor. Curious, he made his way over to the table and removed the sheet and found a model shipyard.
Hiccup then entered, staring at him. "What are you doing?" He asked.
"Everyone kept dropping hints about some big mission." Dagur told him. "I thought I should take a look. Heather may hate me, but I do not want her to fly into any suicide missions."
"It's a shipyard." Hiccup said, walking over to him. "Viggo is retrofitting his ships. Enlarging the cells for bigger dragons, it looks like."
Dagur frowned. "Hmm. Remarkably undefended." He said, almost as if he saw something.
"It's very remote." Hiccup explained. "Deep behind his lines and shrouded in fog."
Dagur frowned again. "Hmm. Seems a little too easy." he commented
"We've kept an eye on it for weeks. Viggo doesn't defend it because he doesn't think we know about it." Hiccup told him
"Let me guess, coordinated attack, using the sea stacks for cover, but staying up out of arrow range?" Dagur question.
"Something like that." Hiccup shrugged.
"You're too gullible, Hiccup. That's your problem," Dagur told him with a grin. "I should know. I tricked you and your twin sister plenty of times."
"Yeah, well, we're still here," Hiccup pointed out.
Astrid then entered his hut. "Hiccup, what did Dagur…" She stopped herself when she saw Dagur standing over the shipyard model. She then pulled out two daggers and charged straight at him.
"Astrid, stop!" Hiccup yelled.
Astrid stopped, but not before placing the two daggers and across formation right underneath his throat. "So, you are a spy!" Astrid glared.
Dagur pushed the daggers away with the model ship in his hand. "Relax, Blondie. I was just trying to talk some sense into your boy Hiccup, here." He said casually
Astrid turned to Hiccup. "We can't let him go now. He's seen the plan." She told him.
"I know," Hiccup nodded, knowing this was too risky.
"Fine. Lock me up," Dagur agreed. "Then go do your mission." He then placed the model ship down and glared at Hiccup. "But know this, Hiccup. If anything happens to Heather, I'll hold you personally responsible."
(Linebreak)
Dagur was then taken to the stables with his hands tied and was placed in the stable holding Shattermaster, who was happily busy eating rocks. He only stopped when Dagur entered, stuck out his tongue and wiggled his tail. 'Daddy!' he growled
"Hiccup, come on! He just saw our plans and that doesn't prove anything!" Hicca told her brother.
"I know, sis. But this is just to be safe." Hiccup said in reason.
"And the reason for this is because Astrid saw him and called him a spy when you two were talking?" Hicca retorted.
"Uuhh, maybe." Hiccup said uncertainty.
"That should hold you," Astrid said, shutting the door behind him.
"We'll figure out what to do with you when we get back." said Hiccup.
"I have some ideas," Heather said, holding out her twin-bladed ax.
Hicca then turned to her and shoved the ax down, "Well guess what? No one asked for them." She snapped.
Heather and the others looked at Hicca in surprise by her attitude. "It's my own opinion!" Heather snarled.
"Which we are going to ignore." Hicca countered as she glared at Heather.
"Just one question, guys." Dagur chimed in. "Why attack now? Does the number of ships in the shipyard just happen to go up?"
Hiccup stared at him. "Uh—Yes. From eight to twelve." he answered
"Of course they did!" Dagur yelled, poking his head from the cage. "Because eight ships weren't enough to draw you in. Use your brain, Hiccup!" He told them.
"I am, and you know what?" Hiccup asked, crossing his arms. "It's telling me not to trust you."
Hicca turned to him in shock, "But Hiccup, you said-"
"Sorry, sis. But my decision is final." Hiccup said as he, Astrid and Heather left without uttering a word to Dagur.
Hicca just watched them go as she gave a frustrated groan as she stomped her foot. "I can't believe this! They just turned down a chance and they won't even listen to you just because you saw the plans?! That's just ridiculous!" She vented.
"It's alright sister, honestly I don't blame them." Dagur said, "I'll just sit here and let them go on their mission."
Hicca wanted to argue but then saw Dagur's determination and just sighed and left too. This left him with the Thorston twins. "You're on guard duty, Chicken," Tuffnut told Chicken. "Keep an eye on this guy."
Chicken then flew down to the floor and Dagur just simply stared at her as she pecked the ground and clucked away.
(Linebreak)
The next morning, the Riders were preparing for their mission. Hiccup was starting to have some misgivings about the mission.
"Dagur couldn't be right about the mission being too easy, could he?" Hiccup asked, starting to wonder if this really was a trap.
"I believe him." Hicca said with a venom tone. "He makes good points and we all know how sneaky Viggo is when it comes to his own business."
"We've been watching those shipyards for weeks," Astrid reminded the Haddock twins. "We haven't seen anything out of the ordinary."
"Dagur is still working for Viggo," Heather said firmly. "He was just trying to keep us from attacking his master. He's a liar and a spy."
"Says you, Heather." Hicca said with a glare. "You're the one who has issues with him and made Henry leave the team because you can't even trust your brother for even one second to even give him a chance in redemption after Dagur helped us." She said through gritted teeth.
Heather just narrowed her eyes and gripped her barrel, "Wait, what's that about Henry?" Hiccup asked.
However before Hicca could tell him, Chicken appeared running up to Tuffnut clucking madly.
"What's that, Chicken?" Tuffnut asked. Chicken clucked at him frantically. "Buck! Buck! Buck?" Chicken continued clucking and seemed to be making some sort of gesture and then fell to the ground. "Henry broke Dagur out?!" He said in surprise.
"I told you." Heather growled at the Haddock twins.
"We don't know why, Heather! Probably he trusts him unlike some Vikings I could mention!" Hicca gritted as she looked at her brother and her friends.
"Oh for, let's just go!" Hiccup told her as the riders mounted onto their dragons. "Wings up, gang. We have to hit the shipyard before Dagur has a chance to give away our plan," said Hiccup mounting Toothless.
They quickly took off into the sky.
(Linbreak)
Hours later they soon reached the shipyard area. They hovered in mid-air scanning the area.
"Anyone see Dagur? Maybe we beat him here." Hiccup said.
"There he is, and Henry's with him." Astrid pointed as they saw Dagur on Shattermaster and Henry on Wildstar with the rest of his dragon ahead of them.
"Okay, here's the…" However, before Hiccup could finish Heather zoomed forwards charging straight at Dagur with hatred in her eyes, "plan."
Heather slowly gained on Dagur. "This is your last betrayal, Dagur. And you picked a bad time to switch sides, Henry!" She snarled.
Heather then fired several shots straight at Dagur, but he managed to dodge them in time.
But then, Henry and his dragons, while riding on Wildstar, saw her coming as he turned to his dragons, Dagur and Shattermaster. "Dagur, guys, you know what to do." He told them.
"Right-o!" Dagur said with a thumb's up as they then flew upwards into the sun, blinding Heather and Dagur and Henry reappeared behind her.
Heather growled and swung Windshear around to strike them with her tail. However, Dagur simply dodged it.
"You two can't lose me that easily." Heather said.
"Says the Viking who never sees the good side of their own blood!" Henry sneered at Heather.
Heather then began to chase Dagur and Henry through the sea stacks and eventually came face-to-face with them in the clearing. However he simply patted Shattermaster and they performed the Inverted Gronckle Drop, and fell into the fog while Henry and his five dragons dive down after them, which surprised her.
Dagur and Henry then sneaked up towards Heather below Windshear and Dagur slammed Shattermaster's tail into her. Heather suddenly felt a downward drop, but they were able to drift over to a sea stack.
'Sorry, Heather.' Windshear panted as Heather patted her neck to reassure her.
She then noticed Dagur and Henry flying straight towards the shipyards.
"What do we do?" Astrid asked.
"Even when they warn them they'll still need time to react," said Hiccup. "We have to hit the shipyard now!"
They then flew down towards the shipyards.
Hicca however, starting to see what Dagur and Henry are doing as she flew in front of them, "Wait!" She said as Midnight growled the same thing.
"What the?! Hicca, Move! We need to-" Hiccup tried to order but Hicca cut him off.
"Just, watch." Hicca told them and pointed to the ships.
The Hunters on the ships were busy talking and that was when they noticed Dagur and Henry overhead.
"Ahoy, in the shipyards," Dagur cried. "We have a message for Viggo."
"Tell him, Dagur the Deranged and his son Henry Grimborn say hello." Henry said tauntingly before Shattermaster and his dragons began firing on to the ships and over barrels of Monstrous Nightmare gel, which caused a massive explosion.
Then suddenly a huge net trap was made to camouflage the sea stack, revealing a port with dozens of Hunters with crossbows, which then began to fire bolts at Dagur and Henry.
"Yep. Trap," said Dagur smiling.
"Nice try dad." Henry smirked.
Then suddenly a huge tarp on a sea stack dropped, revealing a Dragon Hunter ship. "Fire!" The captain yelled as Hunter then fired a catapult with a flaming boulder straight at Dagur and Henry, who merely dodged it.
The Dragon Riders saw the chaos and were completely taken off guard. "What do they think they're doing?" Snotlout asked.
"Proving that Dagur was right," Hicca said before giving a spiteful glance at Hiccup, Astrid and Heather. "That it was a trap all along and they are on our side."
Dagur began spewing live on another ship directly over another barrel of Monstrous Nightmare gel caused in another explosion. He then tossed several daggers at another ship, disarming a Hunter's crossbow and slicing for a rope that was connected to a large net of barrels which then fell upon the two Dragon Hunters.
Henry and Wildstar burned the sails while Sandstorm and Sandtrapper took out the Hunters manning the catapults. Lockjaw and Scout then took out some of the support ships as they blasted them to bits.
However, an exploding boulder knocked them off course and several Hunters began to fire bolos directly at them. Fortunately, Henry, Dagur and the Dragons were able to dodge the bolts and had to dodge another flaming boulder which crashed right through a sea stack he was hiding behind.
Shattermaster growled at the Hunters and Dagur patted him encouragingly. "Come on, Shattermaster! Let's show 'em what a real Rider and his dragon can do!" He declared.
"And let's show them what a Grimborn is made of when joining the good side, fellas!" Henry yelled out to his five dragons before turning to Dagur with a smirk, "Dagur?" He asked.
"Oh, I'm with you all the way, Henry!" Dagur cheered as pulled out a pair of daggers, chuckling in excitement and Henry unsheathed his sword.
"See you in Valhalla!" They both declared as they gave a battle cry and they and their dragon charged straight at the Hunters ships and disappeared in the smoke yelling a battlecry. The Riders could only watch as they heard explosions emanating from the smoke and were unable to see what happened to the Riders or their dragons.
One of Dagur's daggers fell into the water, as did Henry's sword as they sank into the deep.
"Come on!" Hicca yelled in horror. "We have to do something!" She told them as she and Midnight were about to charge in to find Dagur and Henry.
But Astrid stopped her. "Hicca, don't. They're gone. There's nothing we can do." She said with a frown.
"But we can't leave them!" Hicca yelled as tears began to form in her eyes.
"Sis, there's nothing we can do now." Hiccup reasoned as he flew next to his sister. "I don't like this either, but if we go down there, we'll meet the same fate as them." He pointed out that they are outnumbered and unprepared to go down there.
Realizing there was nothing they could do Hicca bowed her in sorrow as she and Midnight flew back to the Edge while the others followed her with looks of guilt on their faces while the Hunters at the wreckage of the shipyard trap were chattering while cheering, thinking they the two Riders and their seven dragons are finished while their ships burned in blazes.
(Linebreak)
Back at the Edge, Hiccup put model ships and the model of the shipyard away while looking down with guilt and shame while grieving for the two fallen Riders and their dragons.
"This is my fault." Hiccup said. "I should've listened to Dagur."
"Yeah, you should've." Hicca said as she had tears in her eyes as she looked down without making eye contact with anyone.
"He knew it was a trap and Henry trusted him as they still flew right in." Astrid said while feeling guilty for being so quick to judge Dagur.
"We never saw them hit the water, so maybe… maybe…" Snotlout said encouragingly, wanting to believe that Henry and Dagur could still be alive.
"Yeah, maybe." Ruffnut agreed as she and her brother were actually taking this moment seriously for once.
"Yeah, I mean, this is Dagur and Henry we're talking about." Raeda said, as she believed that two boys wouldn't die that easily.
"I will never forget their noble sacrifice." Fishlegs said with respect for their brave friends.
"You think my brother and Henry sacrificed themselves?" Heather asked, not sounding as upset as everyone else. "Not with Dagur's ego or Henry's pride. They thought they could make it."
Hicca then looked up and glared at Heather as she hit her fists on the table, which startled the riders as she spoke in a grieving tone. "At least Henry and I believe in Dagur instead of ignoring his warning! They gave up their lives to protect us and you still refuse to see the good in your brother?!" She yelled while looking at Heather with tear-filled eyes.
Heather backed away as Hicca clenched her fist, "H-Hicca, please I-" She tried to reason but Hicca raised her fist as if she was planning to strike her. Hicca held her glare but couldn't find it in her heart to hit Heather and just lowered her fist and walked away. "Hicca-"
"Save it! I have nothing more to say to you!" Hicca yelled, not even turning back.
Hiccup tried to reach out to her, "Hicca just hold on-"
Hicca then whipped around and smacked his hand away, "AND I WANT NOTHING MORE TO DO WITH YOU!" She screamed, looking at her brother with anguish.
She then held back a sob and continued walking away. Midnight looked back at the stunned riders before following after her rider.
Heather then let out a sigh and pulled her hood over her head. "I need some sleep." She said as she walked out.
The Riders watched as she left, none saying a word. "I think we all need some time to ourselves." Astrid said with a somber expression as she walked out next and then one by one, the others filled out of the room.
Hiccup was the only one in his hut as Toothless came to his rider and gave a concern crooned as Hiccup just slumped on his bed, "Oh Toothless, what've I done?" He asked, covering his face as Toothless gave a comforting nuzzling as he laid next to Hiccup.
(Linebreak)
When Heather returned to Astrid's hut, she found a note on her bed. She frowned and picked it up and saw that it was Dagur's handwriting. She then began to wonder outside as she read the letter, which said:
Heather,
If you're reading this, I guess that's bad news for me. Sorry, but I couldn't let Hiccup fly you into a trap. Tell our little brother that if he really wants to hurt Viggo, hit his next dragon auction. It moves around, but if he turns over enough rocks, some worm will tell him where it is.
One other thing. I didn't kill our father. When he disappeared, I let people believe that, so they would think I was tough enough to be chief. I did a lot of things I'm sorry for, but I couldn't rest in peace knowing you thought I did that. Be safe.
Your brother, Dagur
When Heather finished reading it, she pulled her hood down and tears trickled down her face as the storm clouds above broke and rain fell from the heavens as she sobbed in guilt and grief. "I'm sorry, big brother." She said as she sobbed.
(Linebreak)
As the rain poured down, Hicca is in her hut as she cries her heart out over the loss of Henry and Dagur, but mostly Henry while also angry at her friends and her brother for not trusting Dagur to begin with and for Heather not giving Dagur a chance.
"Why? Why?" She sobbed as she thought about all the moments she had with Henry, how their friendship grew over time. She then realized that maybe she saw Henry as more than just a friend. "I just wish the others just gave them a chance and Heather would let go of her stupid grudge before, before…" Hicca cried but couldn't continue.
Midnight came up to her and rubbed her head against Hicca.
Hicca felt her dragon's touch as she hugged Midnight by her head as she sobbed. "Hiccup should've trusted Dagur because he helped us before, but the moment Dagur saw the model, he just dismissed him and me!" Hicca said as she couldn't believe her brother would do that.
She then scowled, as angry as she was at her brother and Heather for what they did, she knew which person was truly to blame for Henry and Dagur's deaths. "You will pay for this, Viggo. You will pay." She promised darkly as her eyes narrowed with hate.
Midnight heard her rider's tone and felt her muscle tense as she gave a little frighten look as she cooed a bit as she could tell that Hicca will not rest until she saw Viggo get tear apart limb by limb by wild dragons or by her own battle staff or Inferno to avenge Henry and Dagur's death.