Almost an hour of mild peace existed before morning arrived. One prisoner kept talking, and he had a lot to say about the events of the night. Dagur did not answer him. He barely even heard him. It felt like his mind was somewhere else entirely. He just wondered where. For the first few minutes after his cell had only him in it again, he did not move from where he was–just trembling in place. Somehow, he felt both numb and in pain. Blood covered the Berserker's cell and body.

"Did you hear me?" the other inmate asked, annoyed at being ignored.

Dagur had spent the entire night trying to ignore him. It was not just him–the other prisoners had a lot to say as well, but that one always was the most verbose. Dagur had to ignore jeers and laughs. If he did not, he knew he would snap and try to kill everyone. If he did, he would kill his people as well. The viking mentally went through one of the Berserker songs. It was a favorite of his. He knew he should have done some pushups. This would have been a productive use of his time. He desperately needed to get stronger so that he could escape and not worry about what would happen in the attempt. He could not attempt. He had to get out of that prison and back to his Berserkers. This would not be the way the rest of the former chief's life was spent. Dagur glanced at the floor, wondering if he would begin that workout or the situps. He started pacing around the cell. He did not want to be so close to the floor again. Looking at it made him nauseous.

Dagur's thoughts were unclear and his head felt foggy. He kept trying to not think about the night, but the other prisoner's comments made this more difficult. With each question, remark, and snide insult, Dagur's hand clenched into a tighter fist. It was becoming more difficult to pretend that the Outcast did not exist and even harder to prevent his own thoughts from wandering to that destination. Everything kept repeating. He kept seeing it all being replayed. It seemed as willing to stop as the Outcasts had been.

Dagur let out a low groan and hit his head against the cell wall several times. This made some of the noise quiet down but not entirely. He did not have much longer to listen to the other inmate as Alvin returned. He heard him coming and pressed himself into the back wall. The cell bars were slid open and the man entered. As soon as he did, Dagur looked away from him, just side-eyeing enough to see where he was.

"Don't want to look at me?" Alvin asked, pretending to be offended.

He walked over to the Berserker who wanted to move away, but he knew what the mornings meant. Alvin gripped the top of his head, forcing them to face each other. Dagur did not look him in the eye, though. With a smile, the Outcast attached the neck chain, pulling him closer.

"You're even more quiet today than you have been this week. Any ideas why? You weren't a few hours ago."

He chuckled at the embarrassment on the younger viking's face, then attached the other restraints. They began heading to the ship and returned to the clients' island. The entire voyage there, Dagur thought of what the day would bring. There was an issue he had not really considered for long since it was distressing, but now he could ignore it no longer.

When they docked, Alvin undid the chains and sent some of the Outcasts to stay with Dagur while he left to go back to his island. The vikings forced him to walk forward. One wrapped an arm around his neck, smirking as the Berserker recoiled at the contact. When they got to the homes, he picked up from where he had left off the previous day. The clients approached, ready to complain, but they saw the work was done well. They also noticed a change in the boy. It did not seem fun to try to provoke him.

"That board's not even," one of the Outcasts claimed.

Not arguing, the prisoner just moved it. The other viking's amused smirk faded and he went to the home.

"Not like that," he said, taking the board out and breaking it into pieces.

"Hey!" the elderly woman called angrily. "This is still what we're paying for. If we don't have a problem with it, don't you start messing up stuff."

The Outcasts shrugged. "He'll fix it." As the vikings approached the Berserker, he lowered his head slightly. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Dagur shook his head and went to get some more lumber to replace what had been destroyed. When he got to the forest, he leaned against the trunk of a tree. It was the first moment he had had peace and quiet. The Berserker gripped his hair on the sides, pulling. He pulled hard. It hurt, but it hurt less than what was inside of his head and distracted him a little. It was tempting to release an agonized yell, but he did not have it in him. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw an Outcast and jumped. The forest trees all seemed like a group of Outcasts surrounding him.

"Leave me alone," he thought.

They did not go anywhere. If anything, it seemed like they were getting closer. The Berserker's breaths became rapid and he pushed against the trunk. He shut his eyes.

"They won't go away!"

The sounds of taunts and threats kept becoming louder. They were approaching faster. He could almost feel them. Panicking, Dagur started climbing the tree to get away from the soon-to-be attackers. When he reached the top, he could look out at the island. Peace again. It lasted as long as it did the first time.

"Maggot!" one of the Outcasts shouted, not quite sure where he was. "Hurry up!"

The prisoner unhappily climbed back down and collected the wood. It was more difficult to carry as much as he would have normally. The piles were heavier than what they would have been had he been well-fed. Still, he could not say anything about this if he did not want retaliation. Even if he said nothing, there would still be retaliation.

As the Berserker worked, Hiccup and Toothless were flying around Berk. When they saw Astrid and Stormfly going around, they thought of their conversation. Hiccup was still not sure how he felt, but he knew at least that he wanted to see the former chief again.

"I'd say the week is up now," Hiccup said, looking at the dragon.

Toothless was not overly surprised by this decision and started flying off Berk. It was getting late, so they would have to be fast in order to not have their absences noticed too much. The pair went to Outcast Island and greeted the guard at the entrance. A second one joined him and waved at the boy.

"Hello, Hiccup."

"Hey, guys. Could I talk with Dagur?"

"He's still out."

"Still? I thought he just worked during the day. It's his last day there too, so he should be back by now."

"Alvin's on his way to bring him back now. If you had been an hour later, you would have probably seen him. You could wait."

The other guard began chuckling. "You should wait. I bet Dagur would enjoy you being here at night."

"Why at night specifically?"

Glancing at each other, the Outcasts tried to not laugh. "Oh, no real reason."

Something about them bothered Hiccup, so he stayed on Toothless's saddle.

"I'll just go find him. He told me where he was."

They seemed bored by this information and waved goodbye as the Berkian left. His mind went back to the last time he spoke with the Berserker.

"The conversation really wasn't bad," he mentioned as they flew. "It's weird to say when it's a conversation with Dagur, but it wasn't. He didn't seem so angry. The only time he even snapped was when I mentioned what happened with the one viking. We talked about the world and it was sort of okay. It was almost like…" He did not finish the thought and changed to a different one. "Maybe today will be the same. Who knows? There might even be a chance for him to realize that the war was a mistake if he could see that he made a mistake back when we were younger." He paused. "Or maybe he won't, but at least it'll still mean you and I got to explore a new island."

The Night Fury was fine with the idea of exploring and they kept flying south, noticing when they went past the three large rocks. As the Berserker had said, they soon came up on an island. Circling it, they got an understanding of the layout before landing. It was a little larger than Berk, but it was still not that big of an island. Landing, the friends started looking around. They saw a lineup of homes near the docks, but they did not see many people. Hiccup turned to Toothless before they got too far.

"It might be better if you stay hidden," he suggested. "Most vikings aren't used to seeing dragons and not attacking–especially not Night Furies."

Understanding his point, the Toothless hid within some bushes, poking his head out in a way that mildly affected the inconspicuous nature of the act. Hiccup laughed and left to find someone he could ask directions from. He spotted a bald viking and approached him.

"What brings you here, stranger?"

"Mostly exploration. I also wanted to talk with someone who's here. He's a little older than I am, has short red hair, and blue tattoos. Have you seen him?"

The viking nodded. "The prisoner. Yes, I have. He's near the forest, working on a garden."

"Thanks."

Hiccup began heading towards the tall trees he saw. Soon, he also saw the Berserker. Dagur noticed his presence and glanced at him. When he did, there was such a distant look in his eyes that Hiccup almost did not recognize the viking. The unhinged twinkle was gone, replaced by a sort of strange dullness.

"Hey," the Berkian greeted.

Dagur nodded his head before looking back at the plant beds.

"I thought you were building homes?"

"I did. They're by the docks," the worker said quietly, pointing. He paused. "I didn't think you'd show up while I was here."

The sound of his voice surprised Hiccup a little. The volume was so low. It was so unlike him. There was something else about it too.

"I was curious what it's like outside of where we always are," Hiccup said, satisfied that it was mostly the truth. He frowned. "Why is your voice hoarse?"

"No real reason," Dagur responded, continuing with the crops. "Where'd you hide Toothless?"

"In some plants. I figured the locals here might not appreciate him as a visitor."

"Good idea."

Hiccup was beginning to feel hopeful. Even though he had not been there long, it was still going better than it could have. Maybe there was hope after all, but something caught his attention. As Dagur worked, Hiccup noticed that his movements were unsteady. His hands would shake as he took out weeds and collected vegetables.

"Hurry up over there!" the Outcasts called out.

Hiccup frowned at them. "A little impatient, aren't they? It looks like you're almost done," he commented.

He expected Dagur to have a caustic remark directed at them, but he just tried to work faster. There was something different about him. It was something more than him being less antagonistic, he was more timid. His head stayed low. The Berserker hardly looked at the Hiccup, only doing so briefly when he had to grab more seeds that were to his right like the other youth was. It was like he was there, but he also was not.

"Did something happen this week?" Hiccup asked, then stopped. "Something besides the inmates fighting you, I mean."

The prisoner froze and glanced at him sideways. "Why do you ask?"

"You seem really different. I haven't seen you scowl once or heard you laugh. You didn't even yell at the Outcasts for rushing you."

Dagur did not respond.

"Have they been like this all week?"

"It's almost over."

"You better be working as much as you're talking," the other Outcast threatened.

One of the vikings came over to inspect the gardening work. He stepped down, crushing a cabbage.

"Watch what you're doing, maggot. You don't want us to think you're getting rebellious on us."

He roughly patted the side of the prisoner's face. Seeing the flinch, the Outcast left, laughing as he returned to his comrade and Hiccup watched with some bitterness.

"Do they do that a lot?"

Dagur cleared the messed up vegetable out of the way. He thought, "They've done worse."

As the thought came to mind, his face clouded over. Dagur kept tending to the crops. He pulled out the last weed and stopped. The boy was so still that Hiccup wondered if he was just about to start rampaging or something.

"I'm done," he practically whispered.

"It all looks good," Hiccup mentioned.

The viking did not hear him and felt his heartbeat speeding up. "I don't know what's next."

"What do you mean?"

"I was supposed to do this for a week, but I'm done. I don't know if the next client will want a leg or for me to be used as a practice dummy for warriors. I don't know what's next."

Hiccup was quiet as he thought of what to say. He was not sure if he wanted to say anything consoling or not. Did the Berserker deserve sympathy? Even if he expressed some, it was not as if anything he said would make a difference. Not much time was spent with him wondering what to do because Dagur suddenly looked behind Hiccup and tensed. Alvin was there. The younger boy had not even noticed him.

"Hiccup, you're a little far from Berk."

"I figured some exploring could help me. I might even discover new dragons."

The Outcast looked satisfied enough by the answer. "Did he tell you about last night?"

Dagur's eyes widened. "Hiccup doesn't need to know."

"Why not?" The Outcast looked at the Berkian. "I did say there's no privacy in the prison. Even if we're not there right now, that doesn't make you any less my prisoner."

The Berserker had a pleading look on his face. Hiccup saw this and turned to Alvin.

"I don't need to hear about it."

"Eh, where's the harm?" Alvin asked. "Apparently, the other inmates like him now. A lot."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow, not immediately getting the implication. The smirk and how quickly Dagur looked away from him let him know.

"I…"

"I almost felt bad for the lad," Alvin said, nonchalant. "There couldn't have been less than six of them." He shrugged. "It was a humbling moment for him at least. He's much more docile now. I'll demonstrate."

"You don't have–"

"Dagur, get over here."

The viking complied, turning a deeper red when the neck chain was reattached. Hiccup's brows lifted at seeing this. He had never seen a viking be leashed before.

"How many were there?" Alvin asked.

Dagur could see the bloodlust in the Outcast's eyes if he did not respond. "Eight."

"Horrible. Good thing I got there when I did. It could have happened all night. Could you imagine that?"

The Berserker winced as his head was grabbed.

"All night," the Outcast said, "spent suffering."

As the grip tightened, Dagur wondered if his head would pop. "No," he said with a strained voice. "I couldn't imagine that."

"Were you scared?"

After a moment, the Berserker nodded.

"Are you? I've heard that when things like that start, they normally continue."

Alvin let go and smirked at the terrified look on the prisoner's face. Dagur's face was pale as he stared into the Outcast's cruel eyes. Hearing this, anger began tugging at Hiccup, but he did not say anything.

"You're probably not smart enough to have thought that far ahead." Alvin pointed at the ground. "Now, sit and stay." He smiled when the prisoner did this as well. "What do you think about that, Hiccup? You train dragons; I train vikings."

The boy's expression was just that of shock.

"I need to talk with the clients," Alvin said. "I'll be back. If he gets out of line, pull this."

Handing Hiccup the neck chain, the Outcast left. When he was gone, the Berkian let go, looking at the item in disgust. He looked at Dagur who was avoiding his gaze.

"That's why he was acting differently today," the Berkian thought. Aloud, he asked. "Alvin was lying about it being the inmates, wasn't he?"

Dagur said nothing for a moment, then he looked at Hiccup with a newfound sense of bravado. "Of course he was lying. That didn't happen. Do I seem like the type of viking that would happen to?" he asked, laughing.

The laugh continued past the point of normality and became more harsh-sounding. Eventually, it died down and the boy sighed.

"He just wanted to hear himself talk."

Hiccup had a doubtful look on his face that made the bravado fade. Dagur's face twitched and momentarily, he stopped maintaining eye contact.

"Don't look at me like that," he complained quietly. "It's the same way you did the last time."

"Because I know you're making it seem better than it is. You're pretending. You don't have to lie."

"I don't want to talk about it," the prisoner said, pulling his knees to his chest.

Why did Hiccup have to show up this day of all days? Why did that have to happen at all? Frowning, Dagur looked at the chain on the ground.

"Thanks for not holding that."

The Berkian frowned at the metal. "I don't keep anyone in chains."

He glanced back at the other viking. Shame was still on his face and Hiccup could tell that if he could have disappeared from sight, he would have.

"I know it's worse than you've been saying it is," Hiccup continued. "If you tell me what really happened–"

"What?" Dagur asked, glaring. "If I tell you the truth, what, Hiccup? What is it you're even hoping for me to say? Do you want me to say that I didn't actually want to be with that one viking? I don't even think she really wanted to be with me. She just wanted Dad so much that I was the closest she could get. She made sure I knew that she was angry with him too because she kept hitting and cutting me the whole time. Want to hear about that?"

His glare faded as a blush came over his face and he covered his head with his arms, not wanting to be seen. "Or do you want to hear about how they held me down until she was done. I'd never felt more demeaned…and then there was last night. There were more, so it lasted a lot longer. It hurt worse too because they all were attacking with their weapons in addition to everything else. That's why my voice sounds hoarse. I spent all night yelling at them to stop. It didn't do anything and I didn't really expect it to, but it was all I could think of."

Dagur removed his arms, looking at the grass with a sullen expression. "It wasn't the prisoners. It never was and it was never self-mutilation. Since the first day I was brought here, Alvin's been torturing me. I can't fight back or defend myself. He told me if I did, he'd kill my Berserkers no matter what your father said about them being safe." He started to glare again, raising his eyes to Hiccup's. "But you knew from the beginning what was happening. We all knew as soon as Alvin said he wanted me in his prison that he'd make the rest of my life miserable. You just wanted me to say it. I don't know what the point of telling you is. You said you weren't my brother–said you wouldn't help me. I thought we were starting to get along, but I was wrong like I was before. You hate me as much as everyone else does, so you just want me to tell you about everything so that I'll be as humiliated as possible." He angrily pointed towards where Alvin had gone. "I can't even stand up right now without getting permission first!"

Hiccup felt at a loss for words. He had not expected to learn about it being to this extent. His stomach felt queasy and worry filled him as Dagur began grimacing and hitting his own head.

"Noise, noise! There's so much noise in here. It's always been there, but it's never been this bad before. It won't stop. None of this will. I don't want to go back to that cell. I just want to go home. You were right again. I am afraid of Alvin. I know he'll do the worst things he can think of. I know…tonight is going to be the same as last. So, go ahead and laugh. I also know it's coming."

Hiccup found his voice and sadly regarded the viking. "I wouldn't laugh at what you told me."

Dagur did not look back up. "You don't mean it. The guards were laughing. The other prisoners were too. If you do mean it, it doesn't change anything. Stoick said I'd go with Alvin and the sentence was decided. The only thing that could alter that now is if Alvin changes his mind, but I know he won't. Nothing's going to change except me. I'm getting worse and not just from the injuries." A distant look appeared in his eyes as he stared in front of him. "Everything seems different–off. I don't even really know if I'm looking at you or just imagining you here."

"I'm really here," Hiccup assured him.

"That's good then. I don't want to change like that. I've always been the only one able to understand my mind. If I can't either…" He trailed off, tightly shutting his eyes again. "The noise is back. It won't stop." Opening his eyes, he looked at the other viking with a miserable expression. "Why won't it stop, Hiccup?"

The dragon trainer could not shake the sympathy he felt. He had never felt bad for the Berserker before, but he truly pitied him.

"I'm sorry," Hiccup said, causing Dagur to regard him in surprise.

The Berkian shocked himself. He was not the one who had attacked. He was not the one who had spent their childhoods being violent; however, the Berserker had apologized for the latter and seemed like he meant it. Hiccup meant this too. He wanted the former chief to not be a danger to anybody, but that was very different from wishing he would spend the rest of his life in pain and humiliation.

"I didn't know it was going to be like this," he continued.

The Bererker still looked surprised. "I didn't think I'd ever hear you say that."

"I wanted you to not hurt anyone, but I didn't want this. I never wanted this."

A twinge of guilt hit Dagur as he sighed. "You're more reasonable than I thought you were. I've never been good with that." He hesitated unsurely. "Maybe I…"

The boy stopped as Alvin returned. "Stand," he ordered.

Grabbing the chain, he started pulling the Berserker over to him. "Sorry that there's not more time today, Hiccup," Alvin said. "Maybe we'll see you another day. I thought you'd come by tomorrow. You see, with tonight being the first after Dagur completed his work, we've got big plans to celebrate."

He placed a heavy hand on the Berserker's head, smirking at the nervous reaction he saw. Two restraints were attached to his wrists next. Hiccup unhappily watched the two head to the docks and return to the vessel. He let out a sigh, then ran his hand through his hair.

"Why does it have to be complicated?" he thought unhappily. "Why did it have to be this way?"