Viggo stumbled forward through the dark caves as fast as he could, the skrill keeping step right behind him, growling low after they had just finished off another team of Johann's guards, but this last time they hadn't been fast enough. Viggo kept all his focus on making it to Johann's treasure room.

"Ahh! They knew we were coming! Or Viggo tipped Johann off! How could I have been so stupid to trust him?" He heard Hiccup shout as Viggo finally made it to Johann's treasure room.

"Apparently Johann wasn't as easy to fool as I thought," Viggo admitted, he had to hold on to a nearby crate to keep himself standing as the pain from the arrows and poison sticking out of his back.

"You double-crossing- The antidote! Viggo, where is the antidote?" Hiccup turned to glare at Viggo, and Toothless was growling at him with a matching look of rage on his scaly face.

"Ah ha ha." Viggo chuckled under his breath, thankful for one last moment of humor. "Ah, there isn't one. You really don't know your oleanders, do you Hiccup? Red oleander is harmless to dragons. I knew there was no other way to get your help." Viggo's voice softened as he took in the sight before him one last time, one that he'd once thought he'd get the chance to see in his lifetime. "I would never harm such a magnificent creature."

He could tell both Hiccup and Toothless were confused by his respect-filled statement. "When Johann and Krogan left me for dead, a monstrous nightmare saved me. I spent my whole life hunting dragons, killing them…but I've come to respect them as equals, you taught me that, Hiccup."

As he was talking, the skrill walked up to Toothless and they gave each other a sniff, and a nod of understanding seemed to pass between them.

"That's the final irony I suppose." Viggo stepped forward a few paces but collapsed against a nearby table, and he turned, revealing to Hiccup the arrows sticking out of his back.

"Viggo!" Hiccup ran forward. "Come on let's get out of here, we can take you back to the Edge, Fishlegs and I can stitch you up, and we even have gallons of dragonroot antidote if you need it."

"No Hiccup, this is it, the end of the game for me." Viggo choked out, his voice filled with the pain he could no longer hide.

"Viggo." Hiccup ignored his protests and leaned down to support Viggo under his shoulder, but as he did, they both heard the shouts of the guards running closer to them, ready to cut them off.

Viggo stood up. He had made his decision. Hiccup Haddock would not die this day. He stepped forward, pulling his sword off his belt and refilling it with a fresh canister of nightmare gel and zippleback gas. "Go, I'll hold them off."

"No, I'm not going to leave you." Hiccup refused stubbornly.

"Hiccup…" Viggo turned back to face him and grabbed his hand tightly. "You are more ruthless than you realize. I know you will defeat Johann and Krogan." He let go, and Hiccup glanced down for a moment at his hand, in which Viggo had placed the accomplice piece.

When he looked up, Hiccup nodded in confirmation and confidence.

"Now go." Viggo pointed with his sword.

Hiccup and Toothless didn't waste any more time before running out of the cave and into the tunnels beyond, but the skrill stayed behind with Viggo.

"You too Dragon. Get out of here." Viggo ordered.

But the skrill simply roared and let lightning spark across his body in response.

"Suit yourself." Viggo nodded in affirmation. He ignited his sword and stepped outside of the cave, the skrill following barely a footstep behind him. When he stepped out of the cave, he faced over a dozen hunters, all that used to be his men, back when he secretly ruled the Barbaric Archipelago beneath its surface. He had never dreamed this was how his game would end, but he accepted it completely.

Whenever he had imagined his death before, he always figured it would be in his old age, surrounded by the treasure of his empire, he had never taken any real stock in the tales of Valhalla, but now here he was, about to take his final breath on the field of battle, he didn't require the Valkyries to show him this was a more than appropriate end for his life, filled with more ruthless double crosses from previous allies then he could count. Here he was, about to killed by his own men under new orders.

He charged forward with his sword raised high above his head, and perhaps none of the hunters expected him to be that suicidal, none of them fired a single shot. While behind him he heard the now familiar sound of the skrill charging up its energy to fire a blast of lightning, and then suddenly Viggo was blinded by the harshest light he had ever seen, and felt the worst pain he had ever felt, even worse than when he was burned in the volcano sparking over his entire body… and then he felt nothing as everything faded into blackness.

Eventually, Viggo slowly drew awareness again, the first thing he registered was the pain covering every inch of his skin, a burning inch that wouldn't disappear, although his back was the worst, he could feel the four spots that the arrows had been stabbing him like knives. But he also feel something cold and soothing slowly start to wrap around his skin, dulling the agony he was in until it became slightly more bearable.

His sense of smell and hearing returned slowly as well, at first all he could smell was the familiar stench of burned flesh, a scent he had become more than familiar with from years as a dragon hunter, and much more recently in the countless battles with Hiccup. But also the tangy, cloying aroma of medical herbs.

And he couldn't be sure what he was hearing, water was dripping from somewhere nearby, and he could have sworn he heard countless roars, growls, and screeches echoing from somewhere distant, but also the murmured words of someone close by.

His mind turned all this information over slowly as his consciousness gradually returned as he remembered who he was and everything with Hiccup, Johann, and Krogan came back to him, until he finally realized, if he was in pain, and someone was tending to him, then he wasn't dead after all. He took some measure of relief from that knowledge, but then he had a new question, who could possibly be healing him of all people? He had ordered Hiccup to leave him, and Krogan and Johann would sooner stab him themselves to finish him off instead of healing him.

Viggo opened his eyes and tried to sit up with a jolt, but small, yet strong hands held him back down. It was then he further realized, his left eye that he had previously damaged in the volcano, no longer gave him any sight at all.

"Shh, it's ok." A kind-sounding, feminine voice spoke gently to him. "I promise you are in safe hands."

It took Viggo a few seconds to focus on her face with his one good eye as he carefully studied her. He was an expert on reading body language, in his line of work, it was often a matter of life and death whom he trusted. She had a thin face, with large green eyes, and long auburn hair that appeared to be tied back in some sort of braid, there was something familiar about her, but in his current state of confusion, Viggo couldn't place her. He definitely hadn't ever met her before. He could tell she was in a brown, or possibly soiled long-sleeved tunic. That was all he could focus on and take in before she spoke again.

"Not to worry, you're in pretty rough shape there, but I'm confident you'll pull through." She reassured him kindly.

Viggo opened his mouth to respond, but all that came out was a strangled cough.

"Just a moment," she moved out of his sight, and Viggo realized they were in some kind of cave, surrounded by gray stone, there was plenty of light filtering in, but Viggo couldn't see any torches or anything. He lightly felt around with one hand, it appeared he was lying on a fur of some kind beneath him and then the stone floor.

Viggo then glanced down at himself, his arms and torso were completely covered in bandages that exuded the herbal aroma.

The woman stepped back into his sight, holding a small bowl which she held to his lips. "This should help you out, drink it up."

Viggo obeyed and opened his mouth, and she poured the water in, Viggo's eyes couldn't help widening in surprise, it wasn't just refreshing to his parched throat, but it had an almost sweet taste that made him want to have more and it seemed to clear his head and give him more energy.

After swallowing the last drop, the woman took the bowl away, and Viggo attempted to speak again. "Thank you, ma'am, but I have some questions, who are you? Where am I? Why would you help me?"

Her eyes twinkled with amusement. "You may call me Valka. And I'm helping you because I would never turn away someone in so dire need of assistance, certainly not someone brought to me by a skrill of all things."

"A skrill? It's here?" Viggo turned the information over in his head. Valka, he definitely hadn't met her before, nor was there anyone he knew with that name, but the bigger questions he had regarded the skrill.

"Yes. You can come over, he's awake." She motioned with her hands and the skrill slowly padded up to Viggo. The claw on its wing stopped just a few inches away from his hand, and it leaned in to sniff Viggo curiously for a moment, almost as if it was still concerned for him.

"It brought me here? Where is here? Valka, who are you?"

"This is a safe place," Valka answered, answering his question without answering it. "Trust me I was as surprised as you two days ago. I only ever saw him once before now, but I assume he knew he could trust me and wanted me to help you."

"Help me?" Viggo glanced at the skrill once more in bewilderment and reached out with his hand to place it on its claw. "Thank you, Dragon, for saving my life."

"And I would never say no to someone who earned the trust of a skrill of all dragons, and one who was obviously injured fighting Grimborn's vile hunters." She practically growled. "So who are you? What were you doing to get in such a state?"

Viggo paused, and he glanced down again. Valka obviously knew of him, but perhaps didn't recognize his face since they had obviously never met before. Then he noticed that his belt buckle, which bore the raised fist of his tribal crest had been scorched and blackened beyond recognition.

So, whoever Valka was, was obviously a friend to dragons, which up until recent events would have made her an enemy, it would be wise to remain anonymous to her while he could.

"My name is Ivar Gunderson." Viggo said, but he was interrupted by a loud growl above his head.

Viggo paused and looked at the ceiling in shock, for more reasons than one. Unlike a normal cave, the ceiling was a brilliant teal blue and looked to be made out of spikes of ice, but what really took his attention was the large, orange-brown dragon that was hanging there, which jumped down to the floor with a loud growl of warning. Viggo had never seen one in person before, but he recognized it from the Dragon Eye. The stormcutter, extremely intelligent, difficult to trap, and able to fly through a hurricane as if it were a light breeze.

"Easy Cloudjumper." Valka stood up and placed a hand comfortingly on the dragon's frill. But she looked at Viggo in suspicion and raised an eyebrow in question. "Do you want to try that again Ivar?" She asked sarcastically. "Cloudjumper says you're lying. That seems a bit rude after I've brought you back from the brink of Valhalla."

Viggo paused, his mind racing for a way out, but he didn't have much choice, he doubted he could make it ten paces, or more realistically even stand up in his current condition. He had no choice if the dragon was going to see through any lie he could weave, the only way out was honesty. Maybe he could appeal to the compassion Valka had already shown him, and if not. He was a dead man anyway, and death didn't scare him anymore.

"My name…is Viggo Grimborn."

At his words, Valka paled, but then her features hardened even more. She hurriedly reached for some kind of staff that was nearby on the ground and held it threateningly between him and herself. While at her side, her dragon roared and gathered fire in his jaws.

And Viggo watched as all around the corners of the room, more dragon heads seemed to pop out of every nook and cranny, all growling at him, and many gathering flames in their own jaws.

But what surprised him even more, was the skrill's reaction. It roared loudest of all, spreading its wings and launching itself to stand between Viggo and Valka with lightning crackling across its scales.

Valka paused, studying the skrill for a moment, and then she tapped her staff against the ground, a rattling sound emanated from inside the staff, and all the dragons, including Cloudjumper, and the skrill seemed to calm down.

"Viggo Grimborn. If had known it was you, I… I know well of the suffering you have caused dragons. Tell me why I should help you any further, or even allow you to live. Start talking because right now, the only reason you are still alive is because he wants to protect you." She motioned to the skrill again, but set down her staff, and made some kind of gesture, which made Cloudjumper back up a few paces, and the Skrill retreated slowly back to Viggo's side, allowing her to come closer to him once more.

"I see my reputation precedes me." Viggo smiled weakly, "but allow me to explain why you should trust me."

"Trust is a strong word Grimborn," Valka growled.

"Indeed it is, and it is never easy. But you are right, I am Viggo Grimborn, the leader of the Grimborn Dragon Hunters, brother of Ryker Grimborn, I have spent years hunting, killing, selling, and using dragons all for my own means. But I have seen that I was wrong to do so."

"For most of my life, I thought dragons were simply beasts to be used for the benefit of humans, just like any other common yak, boar, or chicken, just a bit more dangerous and fire-breathing. And just like any other resource, the man who can use his resources to his advantage will attain wealth and power."

"When I took over my tribe from my grandfather, our business was simple, we would hire our warriors out to other tribes to kill the dragons attacking their islands for a sum of gold or other resources, and we would of course take the dragon's carcasses to break down and sell their bones, hides, scales, meat, etc. I'm sure you can imagine."

"But I of course realized, dragons weren't simply pests to be dealt with, they could also be tools, tools that could be further used for my own gain and profit. And so over the years, as you surely know I expanded our business as dealers of dragons, both living and deceased, as well as using them for labor, entertainment, and as weapons to be used against my enemies. As always, my only driving goal was profits and power."

"But roughly two years ago, for the first time, an enemy rose against me that I never could have predicted." Viggo paused for a moment as he thought over everything Hiccup and his riders had done. "To both my delight and frustration, this new enemy presented something I hadn't faced before. A true challenge, with a worthy opponent to play with. Someone who made the game exciting for me."

"Unfortunately for me, thanks to my idiot brother's betrayal, at the moment I would have been at my most powerful, I lost everything, and my empire collapsed. I still made one last attempt to reclaim what I had lost, but I'll admit my hubris blinded me. Quite literally." Viggo motioned to his eye, and he paused for a moment, but Valka's face was still cold and calculating, again he was struck by a sense of familiarity in her expression but he couldn't place it.

"But I managed to survive that battle and stayed in the shadows just focusing on living another day and searching for a new path to power. Which soon presented itself in the form of the warrior Krogan and Trader Johann."

Valka's eyes narrowed. "Johann? I know of him, what could he possibly have to do with the likes of you." She said with absolute contempt for him in her voice.

"Quite a bit actually. I'll admit he fooled even me, and I don't know his full backstory, but he unified with Krogan and they gave me an offer I couldn't refuse. They needed me to help them find the ultimate power in our world, and in return, my own wealth and power would be returned to me tenfold of my old empire."

"Although it appears they stopped trusting me if they ever did at all. Not that I can blame them really. I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them. But I assumed at the time we were still mutually beneficial to each other, but it appears in the end, I overestimated my own value to them."

"Get on with it Viggo, tell me why I should let you leave this place alive." Valka interrupted him.

"It's quite simple really. Viggo said, "When Johann and Krogan betrayed me, they attempted to kill me by trapping me in a cave-in. And they nearly succeeded, but a monstrous nightmare was trapped in the cavern with me."

"And so I took a risk. As I said, for most of my life, I never saw dragons as more than animals, but my enemy, the one who destroyed everything I worked toward for my entire life had proven countless times that while yes, dragons can be used as tools, the much more efficient method is to make a dragon your ally, dare I say your friend."

"Dragons as friends, with humans? Who is your enemy that you say taught you these things?" Valka asked.

"They call themselves the Dragon Riders. Through my study of them, I could give you detailed biographies of each one if you wish. They each have formed a bond with their dragon, stronger than anything you could imagine."

Cloudjumper growled low at his statement, and Viggo got the message.

"Or perhaps you would understand. My apologies. There is nothing their leader won't do to protect all dragons, from myself or anyone else who wishes to use them through force and fear instead of friendship."

"And to be honest, working with Johann and Krogan I was no longer at the top of the pyramid. I accepted our three-way leadership, although I was by far the weakest partner of our triumvirate. Krogan had his army, the Dragon Flyers and Johann had completely taken over the remains of my forces in my absence, the only thing I brought to the table was my knowledge of the Dragon Eye, and once I repaired its damage, I was dead weight to them."

"I was aware of my precarious situation, but I said, I still believed I was valuable to them, and I was wrong. So when I was trapped, and the nightmare was ready to roast me alive in anger of being trapped, I took perhaps one of the biggest gambles of my life. I didn't fight it, I didn't retreat, I surrendered, and offered my hand instead."

Viggo's mind swam through the memories in his head. "It was at that moment I knew without a doubt, the Riders were right. The dragon calmed down and accepted my touch. I promised, we would escape together, which we did. Using the dragon's strength and fire, and my intellect to guide it, we quickly escaped."

"And once we did, I wanted revenge on Johann and Krogan, and I quickly came up with a plan to achieve it. But that plan had no place for the nightmare, so I told it to leave and live its life how it pleased."

"I then forcibly recruited my greatest opponent, and tricked him into helping me accomplish my vengeance, but I knew I needed the skrill to fight Krogan's army of singetails."

"An army of singetails? What are you talking about now?" Valka asked.

"Krogan, he claims to work for a buyer from the north, and he planned to fight dragon fire with dragon fire, by training his army of Dragon Flyers to take on the Dragon Riders in the skies, even though I can guarantee that no Flyer would ever be able to take on any of the Riders in one on one combat. Krogan and Johann only ever have an advantage in numbers and nothing else."

"So I tamed the skrill, and we attacked the base, but Johann was prepared, my new ally escaped and I stayed behind to guard his retreat because I know he is the only one who can defeat Krogan and Johann. And it appears the skrill truly did choose to stay with me and brought me here to you."

"That is my story. Do with me as you wish."

Valka turned to Cloudjumper for a moment, and they seemed to share a silent conversation between themselves.

"Viggo Grimborn. I will continue to tend to your wounds. But I don't trust you. I will keep you alive because he asked me to," She motioned to the skrill, "but also because I want to know everything you know, and I mean everything. You will be wise to remember, Cloudjumper will know if you are dishonest in any way. So let me ask you this. Assuming you do leave this cave, what will you do with your life? Now that you say you have lost everything once more?"

Viggo did his best to pull himself up into a sitting position. "Originally I planned to leave the Barbaric Archipelago, never to be seen again. There is nothing left for me here except burned ships and enemies on every island, both human and dragon. It is for the best that I am dead to both sides of the war. But I know what you are really asking, and I promise you Valka, I will be an enemy to dragons no more. I will never harm another dragon again."

Valka studied him for a moment and then glanced at Cloudjumper, who gave a slight nod of his head. "Very well. Viggo, you are welcome here for now. But you aren't allowed to leave this cave, not that I think you could in your condition. For now I think it's for the best if you try to get some more rest, I have some duties to attend to, but in a few hours I will examine your wounds some more, and if you are up to it, I'll bring you something to eat."

"Thank you, Valka, your generosity is most welcome."

"Here we take care of one another, all of us."

"And just who are we?"

"You shall see. But always remember Viggo, as much as you are a guest here, I am as well. I will warn you it is not up to me in the end who will decide if you leave this place alive."

Valka walked up to the skrill and placed her hand in front of its snout, moments later he stepped forward to place his snout beneath her hand for a moment as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "You of course are welcome to come and go as you please, but he must stay here." She then grabbed her staff once more off the ground and then walked out into a tunnel, made some kind of growling call, and hit her staff against the wall.

About a minute later, a small flock of a dozen night terrors flew in and lined up attentively, Cloudjumper then seemed to give them some direction, and with one wing motioned towards Viggo and the skrill. After receiving their orders, the dragons all took up perches in nooks and crannies around the walls of the cave.

"They'll be watching you, to make sure nothing happens, they'll know to come get me if you need anything, or if you make any wrong moves that they can see. Understand?"

"Perfectly clear." Viggo nodded his head.

"I'll return in a few hours." Valka climbed onto Cloudjumper's back and he walked off down the tunnel, several other dragons within the room following them, until it was just Viggo, the skrill, and his night terror guards.

Viggo glanced at the skrill. "You can go on, be free. You don't owe me anything Dragon."

In response, the skrill moved slightly closer and curled its wings around itself, seeming to relax into the floor.

"Suit yourself then, but thank you for saving my life."

The skrill growled low in response.

With Valka now gone, and the adrenaline fading from arguing for his life, Viggo quickly realized how exhausted he was. He still had no idea where he was, or what the skrill had gotten him into now, but for the moment, he was safe. Something he thought he'd never be in his life, and so he laid his head back down and soon drifted off once more into sleep.