A little under a year had passed since the Dragon Hunters and Flyers were defeated. Still, there would come times when the Riders had to defend their dragons and those that remained in the wild. This did not happen often at least and generally speaking, the vikings thought that they had won. So, with most of the war behind them, a new era of peace was quickly being ushered in by the Berkian heir.

Flying until it reached its desired location was a Terrible Terror. It was headed towards Defenders of the Wing Island. It had gone to Berserker Island first, finding Heather who was working as acting chief until her brother and sister-in-law returned in two months. For the past month, they had been in Caldera Cay. They would alternate every three months, but she enjoyed this. Despite everything she once thought about the chief, they did have a relationship she valued. She also had quickly grown to love her new sister. As much as Heather appreciated their faith in her to do well in their absence, she missed the pair when they were gone. The dragon must have sensed her loneliness because it arrived just as she was thinking about what her friends were doing on Berk. Reading the attached letter, she smiled and sent the dragon off to find the rest of her family.

The Terror arrived in Caldera Cay after a tiring flight and slumped onto the king's shoulder. Dagur's eyes widened as the reptile collapsed. He was still getting used to those tiny dragons, so he was unsure if it was only tired or sick. Gently, he took it with him to find the queen at the healing bay. While he did, he noticed a note tied to its body and took it in one hand.

"Malapoo," he called, "what's with this thing?"

Mala glanced up from some of the other dragons and approached him. She accepted the dragon, chuckling softly at the way her husband tried to both carefully hand it to her and not get nibbled.

"He is only exhausted," she explained, checking it for injuries. "That is why it tried to bite you."

Dagur's face turned pouty, see how it snuggled against the Defender. "Now he's all affectionate. These dragons never like me. I tried meditating with them before, but they'd always swarm everywhere."

"They're just a bit more…rambunctious than larger dragons."

"Much. I'll stick with the big ones. We can't ride those anyway," he said, starting to unravel the letter.

"What is that?"

"Probably a Terror Mail from Berk. Yep!" Dagur began smiling as he read, "'Queen Mala and Chief Dagur'–our names sound so good together–'Hiccup Haddock the Third and Chief Stoick the Vast would like to formally invite you to celebrate the 401st year anniversary of Berk.'"

Mala turned pensive. "I am surprised that the letter is so formal. They typically are not when they are from Hiccup Haddock."

"It sort of makes sense. This is an important celebration for the Berkians. I don't think they've ever invited anyone else to it before. At the very least, no one from Berserker Island. It's a pretty big deal. For his next letter, it'll probably be casual like they usually are. I bet Heather got one of these too. That'll be fun to see her before the last two months are up and it'll definitely be fun to see everyone else again." Suddenly, Dagur's jaw dropped open and he dramatically gasped. "You've never been to Berk!"

"No, I have not."

"Then, that makes this trip extra special and probably another reason why Hiccup wrote it like that. It'll be your first time there. Have to make the right impression. You'll love it! Gobber makes the best weapons, so you'll really love the armory."

Excitedly, Dagur and Mala began collecting some of their belongings and then hopped onto Sleuther's saddle. The flight was not long, but their excitement was growing. When they landed on Berk, they were glad to see that their assumption about Heather was right. Dagur quickly hugged the other Berserker who smiled.

"I beat you here," she teased.

The chief stuck out his tongue. "We had further to fly!"

Heather just shook her head. "What is that belief in the Defenders' culture? 'We don't take into account the reason for failure, just that it occurred?'"

Mala could not suppress some soft laughter and happily embraced the viking.

"The others are by the Great Hall," the sister said, interlocking arms with her and leading the way.

As she had said, the Berkians were with the others near the building. Some were inside, but Fishlegs and the twins were out.

"Look who I found," Heather called out, grinning.

Fishlegs squealed in delight and went over to the visitors. "Welcome to Berk, Mala! I'm glad this will be your first time here. These celebrations are great. Last time, we put on a show."

"And then Hiccup got abducted!" Ruff added.

"We need to top it this year," Tuff chimed in, with a devious look in his eyes.

"He got abducted?" Dagur asked.

"Yep, we sure know how to throw a party, huh?"

Fishlegs shook his head at the twins. "Thankfully, it didn't last long. Everyone from Savage to Krogan had him, but between Toothless and the chief, we got him back pretty much immediately. But that is not happening again this year and that's a good thing," he said, sending a pointed look at the blond siblings.

They yawned at him. "Boring!"

"Ooh, or we can put him in some other type of peril," Tuff offered.

"No, no peril! Why would you want that?" Fishlegs asked, horrified.

Their noise drew the attention of a few vikings from inside. They were soon joined by Astrid and Snotlout. The Berkian warrior hugged her best friend.

"Heather! I didn't know you'd gotten here."

"Yep, I landed a few minutes ago. Fishlegs and I were talking, then the lovebirds showed up."

Snotlout grinned at the pair, then got an ornery look on his face. "So," he dragged, "are there any mini Berserkers and Defenders on the way yet? Sure seemed like there would be from how you two were all over each other before the wedding."

Mala blushed slightly and Astrid elbowed the viking. "Ignore him," she said.

Snotlout rubbed his sore ribs and went over to Dagur, putting a hand to the side of his mouth. "Viking to viking, you can tell me."

The Berserker squinted at him for a moment, then grinned. "Probably soon."

"Knew it! Hopefully you'll have a son."

"I wouldn't mind a daughter either."

Snotlout gave him a thumbs down. "I want a son."

"Snotlout, you'll be lucky if you have any kids at all," Astrid said, rolling her eyes.

The other Berkian frowned at her. "Minden and I would have beautiful babies. If she wasn't busy taking care of a new Razorwhip hatchling, she'd say the same."

She facepalmed and Dagur shrugged. "I just want us to have two so that each can lead one of our islands."

"He or she will not have to split time between the kingdoms that way," Mala added.

Heather nodded, chuckling. "And it'll give Throk and I a break too. But let's not stay out here and talk all day. Let's go inside."

The Berkians shared a quick look of hesitance, but it was missed as the visitors entered. When they did, their smiles fell. They saw their friends–Hiccup, Gobber, and Stoick–but they also saw Alvin. The silence was noticed by Hiccup and he tried to fill it with his voice.

"You three made it!" he said, going over to them.

He hugged Mala, then Heather, her eyes leaving the Outcast for a moment as they moved to her friend. When he got to Dagur, the older viking did not budge. An unreadable expression was on his ashen face.

"I see you've really invited everyone," Alvin noted, eyes narrowing.

Hiccup sighed and turned to look at all the vikings. "I know that there's some tension here, but we're all allies now–friends even. I invited you here so that this can be a step towards peace."

"I don't want peace with Berserkers," the Outcast informed him. "I've been down that road. It's a dangerous one."

"Dagur's not the same as he was and neither are you," Hiccup said.

Heather was frowning and looked at her friend. "Since when is Alvin your friend?"

Before the Berkian could answer, the Outcast did himself. "Since Dagur was ready to kill Stoick to get back at our Hiccup. He was our common enemy."

"And common enemies can lead to new friends," Hiccup quickly added. "That happened between Dagur and me for the Hunters."

"And I thought he and I had a shared enemy in you years ago, but I was wrong. He's an enemy to everyone." Alvin's voice took on a more sinister tone. "Maybe things should go back to the way they were. I kept his cell warm for him."

"Alvin," Stoick chided quietly.

The Outcast just scoffed and left the Great Hall, sending the young chief a glare as he did. Hiccup tried to get him to come back, but he was already gone.

"Sorry about that," he said to the guests. "I would have put it in the invitation, but I wasn't sure if you'd come."

"He did threaten me and my family years ago," Heather said before sighing. "But anyone can change. If he has, I'll give him a chance."

Hiccup smiled. "That's all I'm asking."

When he looked at Dagur, his smile fell. The viking still looked pale and had not moved. Hiccup was not even sure if he was breathing.

"Dagur?"

This brought him back and he nodded. "Anyone can change," he agreed under his breath. He began feeling ill. "Give me a second. I'll catch up with you for the next part of the celebration."

Before anyone could ask where he was going, he left the Great Hall. He needed some fresh air. Every day for three years. That was how often he had seen Alvin until he finally broke out of that cursed prison. Dagur saw the other Berkians and avoided them, heading to the coast. The sound of gently crashing waves was soothing. For the time being, he did not want company. He needed to clear his head and could only do that in solitude. The king quietly began a chant for meditation. It always helped, but he had to stop before he could say the full thing. He was no longer alone.

"Talking to yourself? You're still crazy. I guess people don't change that much."

Dagur took a breath, forcing himself this time to speak to the Outcast. "I have changed. I've changed for the better and Hiccup says you have too."

"I have, but you haven't."

"It's been a bit since we've seen each other. You weren't there for everything that happened to make me realize I needed to turn over a new leaf."

"I know that nothing would make you any different from the sneaky psycho you've always been."

"You don't know anything about me."

"That's where you're wrong," Alvin corrected, stepping closer.

Dagur backed away, stepping into the water because it meant getting further away from the Outcast.

"I know you. I know how unloyal you are. And they call me treacherous. What's better is that I know what you're like defeated. The prison hasn't been the same since you left. It's so quiet now and the walls are too clean. I miss the sound of your blood splattering on them."

Alvin was getting closer again. Dagur felt his stomach forming a knot as he stepped back again.

"We can move on from that," he said, voice tense.

"There's no reason to," came the sinister reply. "Soon, the others will know the truth and you'll be right back in your cell."

Dagur snarled despite the nerves building in his core. "I served my time. I've made amends with them. I'm not going back. You never had the right to keep me prisoner anyway."

"I had every right and they'll see you still belong there. You're the same as you were then."

"No, I'm not."

"I can tell."

"You don't know me."

"I know you, Dagur," he sneered. "I know when you're scared…like right now. When you saw me in the Great Hall, you had the same look on your face that I'd seen so many times during those three glorious years. It first appeared when you realized you'd lost and were at my mercy."

"I'm not scared of you."

"You're still a liar. They'll see that and even if they don't, it doesn't matter. I might not be able to convince these sentimental Berkians that you're the despicable viking I know you are, but that doesn't mean I can't have some fun while we're forced to be around each other. Besides," he said, smiling, "I always knew how to make our time together pleasurable."

Alvin walked away to rejoin the others, leaving Dagur with his quickly beating heart. He did not want to be afraid. He had no reason to be. He was not a kid anymore and even more importantly, he was not Alvin's prisoner anymore. Regardless, just seeing the viking was terrifying. The only times he saw him those days were in his nightmares. For the line between bad dreams and reality to blur was concerning. There were so many memories Dagur wanted to forget about those years he spent imprisoned. He just wanted to move on with his life and do his best to be a better viking. Unfortunately, he had a feeling that this was about to be made very difficult.