Mala pointed her sword at Oswald.
"You are Dagur's father?" she asked, expression suspicious. "That would not make any sense."
The Berkians looked baffled.
"Why wouldn't it?" Hiccup asked.
"Because Dagur received a letter, saying that Berserker Island had been attacked. I would assume the entire note to have been a fake, had it not been written in his father's hand," Mala told him.
The chief's eyes widened for a second. "That's impossible," he said. "I don't even know where he's been. How could I have sent him a message?"
Hiccup glanced at him. "Wait, 'where he's been?' Dagur hasn't been here?"
Oswald eyed Mala. "Well, he had to have gone somewhere to meet her."
The Berkian relaxed at that. "Right," he quietly commented.
Frowning, the blonde said, "The matter of where he has been is of little relevance now. Dagur left my island to help you all. If your island is undamaged and he is not here, then clearly the letter was a trap and he is in danger."
Hiccup looked between the princess and chief and began going down the hill.
"Where are you going?" Astrid asked him.
The boy kept walking. "To find Heather. She might be able to tell us something that can help."
The Vikings went down to the village and found Heather talking to some of the other Berserkers. Her eyes lit up when she saw the Berkians and she rushed over to them, smiling.
"I didn't know you guys were coming," she said, giving Astrid a hug.
The Berkian warrior pursed her lips. "Unfortunately, it's not a social visit."
Hiccup nodded. "We saw some evidence that Alvin was training the Whispering Deaths and thought that he might attack here. When we realized that he hadn't, we thought that Dagur might have been caught."
The young Viking frowned, feeling worried. "Sorry, but I'm not sure where he could've gotten captured. I have no idea where he's been."
Mala spoke up. "We know where he was. He was on his way back here."
Heather looked shocked. "He was coming here? Why would he do that?"
The princess eyed her. "He was coming because a note that Dagur thought was written by Oswald said you all had been laid siege to."
The Berserker's shock took on a mild hint of sheepishness. Mala noticed this and her tone changed to a slightly more hostile one.
"Even beyond Dagur trying to help, why is it so strange that he would return home? He was once chief after all."
Heather bobbed her head in agreement. "Yes, but he lost the position because he wasn't mentally stable enough to lead everyone." For a second, she averted her eyes from Mala's hard glare. "For the safety of the island, he was banished."
The expression on Mala's face was a mixture of shock, anger, and sadness. She turned on her heel and began marching back up to where the dragons were waiting.
"Where are you going?" Hiccup asked the Defender.
The queen-to-be kept walking. "I am going to retrieve Dagur. I have seen him fight. If he has been caught, that means that the Outcasts took extreme measures and he will need my assistance."
Hiccup rushed to keep up with her. "You can't go alone. You're right. If they got Dagur, they could get you too."
Mala nodded. "I will not go on my own. Instead, I will return home for reinforcements." She glanced at Heather and Oswald with contempt. "Apparently Dagur's fellow Berserkers will do little to come to his aid as he sought to do so for them, so I will include my own people."
Heather stepped forward. "Dagur's only in this mess because he was trying to help us. I have to try to help him too. He's my brother."
With a moderately surprised look, Mala narrowed her eyes at the younger girl and nodded. "I am still leaving now, so I would suggest finding a dragon to ride if you wish to accompany me."
"You can ride with me on Stormfly," Astrid offered.
Heather gave a smile of thanks to the Berkian and got on the Deadly Nadder. Strykie flapped his wings and began leading the others back to Defenders of the Wing Island. As this ensued, Alvin was happily moving to exit Dagur's cell. Stopping, the Outcast wiped some blood off a sword and sheathed the weapon.
"Don't seem to have as much spunk now that you're chain up," he taunted. "Or is it that what I told you has gotten you all glum?"
The Berserker's mind was elsewhere and he did not answer. Annoyed, Alvin went to kick him in the side.
"Hey!" fD called, snapping his younger self back into his present situation.
At the last second, pD caught Alvin's foot with some chain and tripped him. This infuriated the larger Viking who slashed the boy's back with the blade. Alvin grabbed Dagur by the braid, forcing his head back. Then, he put the sharp metal by the prisoner's throat and pushed it in.
"I'd slit it if this weren't so much fun," Alvin growled.
"I have always made for a great time," Dagur retorted, smirking crazily.
Alvin just glared at him and let go. "Guess you've earned your moniker too," he commented. The man relocked the cell and began walking down the halls. "And don't expect any more food or water besides the needed amount for survival," he called behind him.
The Dagurs glowered after him, but fD quickly brought his attention back to his past counterpart. "You're going to need your head in the game. It's too tempting to become insane in here," he warned, feeling an uncomfortably familiar chill run up his spine.
PD looked at him sadly. "He had to have been lying about why we're in here, right?"
FD sighed. "I don't know. We'll be able to tell in-person, I think." To himself, he added, "Of course, the next time we see them could be in three years." The chief felt a panic rise in his chest and he did some fast deep breaths. "We don't even deserve to be here this time. What else won't change for the better?"
PD noticed his companion's anxiety and went over to him. "How long did we stay here last time?" he asked.
FD wanted to keep everything clandestine, but conceded to a bit of information. "Not forever obviously, but a lot longer than I wanted. It wasn't because of what Alvin said, though. I'd already done enough to have jail time coming. That's why I'm really not getting why this is happening still."
When a new sound was heard, the older redhead turned ashen and looked out the bars. The sounds were footsteps.
"No," he said quietly.
Before pD could ask anything, he went back over with a serious look on his face.
"Insult the guards," he instructed.
"What?"
"They're about to come in. Do that and make a scene."
"Why?"
"It makes them mad."
The boy was going to ask why that was a good thing, but the Outcasts unlocked the cell. They eyed him and he glared when they started stalking over.
"You're all cowards," he said, gesturing to the chains. "Anyone can attack someone who's chained. Take these off and see how well you do."
His words were mostly ignored by the six guards who got closer. Their expressions were strange and Dagur moved back. Without anywhere to go, the prisoner was backed into a wall. In surprise, the redhead was quiet as one grabbed his face. When he got a better look at the Outcast's eyes, he knew why they were there and paled.
"Guys," one guard said, chuckling, "the little Berserker's scared all of a sudden. Should we make that fear warranted?"
The others nodded and fD could feel his own body becoming tense. "Act wild. They don't like that. It'll distract them."
Obediently, pD headbutted the Viking closest to him. The boy yelled and kept ramming his shoulder into the others, knocking them down and into the walls. It startled them, but when the shock wore off, they were furious. The guards fought back, clubbing the boy until he was dizzy and coughing up blood. Too tired for anything else, they began to leave the cell. One turned and spat at Dagur.
"Tonight will be different," he promised.
The redhead heard the bars close, then painfully rolled to his side. A tremble went through his body as he looked up at his older self.
"Will that work tonight too?"
Another prisoner heard him and laughed. "I wouldn't count on it."
Anxiously, fD sighed and shook his head. PD's voice lowered to a harsh whisper.
"Then, what do I do?"
There was no answer for him and a pit formed in his stomach.
"Why's this happening?" he asked miserably. "I didn't start a war. I didn't hurt anybody. I've been trying to be good. Why am I getting punished?"
It hurt the chief to see the fear in the younger Viking's eyes–fear that he knew would only grow to hatred and worsening derangement if he stayed there.
"I'm not sure why things are happening like this. Just know that nothing that goes on here will break you," the man encouraged. "Focus on the outside world and it'll give you strength." He paused and said under his breath, "I just don't get why you're here. You don't deserve this."
His wording surprised pD who frowned. "Do you think you deserved this?"
FD hesitated with his answer. "I…I don't know."
"Not sure if I count, but I'd say at worst you deserved to be locked away. You didn't deserve all of this."
The man was unsure if he agreed, but he appreciated the sentiment. Fire was still in pD's eyes, but his head lowered.
"If everyday's going to be like this, I can't promise future sanity. I still don't even know for sure whether or not Heather's alive. She's going to think that I just decided to never try to return. And Mala too. I said I'd come back. She'll think that I was lying and hoping for a way to leave with Strykie."
Equal parts misery and rage filled the Viking and he let out a roar.
"Shut up," Alvin snarled, having returned to the prison and marching up to Dagur.
"Well, you seem to be in a hurry. What? Worried I'll run away?" the Berserker's voice dripped with sarcasm as he showed off the chains.
An expression which did not convey calmness was on Alvin's face and Dagur took note of it. The Outcast unlocked the cell and yoked the inmate's hair. In a swift slice, he cut off the braid and left the cell.
"Throw him in the pit," the Outcast said.
"Okay," Savage began, "but do you want us to bring him back out bef-"
The Viking got slammed against the wall by Alvin and an ax was by his head. "I just said 'throw him in the pit."'
With fearful eyes, Savage nodded and unlocked Dagur's chains with several other Outcasts. Together, they forced him over to the pit and pushed him down, smiling once a thud was heard. Alvin left the dungeon and went back to the main entrance of his cave. The Viking flung the braid onto the floor and at the feet of his visitors.
"That's all that's left of your friend," he said.
A group of Outcasts each had crossbows, maces, axes, and swords ready and pointed. All of them had their weapons aimed at the Dragon Riders and Mala.
"We cannot be so easily dissuaded," the princess declared.
Alvin stepped forward. "You make one move, you or your dragons, and you'll all be filled full of arrows."
The Outcast's bravado faltered as he heard the sounds of his Outcasts outside the cave crying out. "This should be all of you," he mentioned, trying to conceal his nerves.
Through the entry, Defenders poured in, speedily outnumbering the Outcasts.
"This doesn't have to end this way, Alvin," Hiccup told him. "Just tell us where he is and we can go."
Mala shot him a look but stayed quiet. Alvin eyed the room and watched as his Outcasts fell. Suddenly, the island itself shook. Parts of the roof started to fall and Vikings ran to avoid being crushed. In the chaos, Alvin ran out of the cave. Savage tried to follow him, but was cut off by Strykie. Attempting to find another exit, Toothless shot plasma in front of the Outcast. Savage rose his hands over his head.
"He's below in a pit," he divulged.
The Vikings maneuvered around the stalactites and found the pit. Strykie zipped down and clawed the body of one Whispering Death. A disbelieving, though joyful smile appeared on Dagur's face. He was using his chains to keep the dragons at bay as much as possible, but he was tiring out and appreciated the needed aid. The Berserker let out a laugh when he saw Mala on Strykie's back and the dragon scooped him up to join her.
"Well, I guess you've become a rider," he teased.
Mala playfully frowned at him, then turned serious. "They have completely destabilized the island. We need to escape now."
Understanding, Strykie flew upwards and led the other dragons into the open sky. Since the Whispering Deaths were disgruntled, Toothless reluctantly went down and shooed them up from the ground, rounding them up. The Vikings and Defenders left Outcast island with many prisoners. The Defenders returned to their island, but the riders all went back to Berserker Island. Dagur had noticed that Heather was with them and smiled at her. She smiled back, though it faded. When they arrived back home, she would talk to him, she mentally decided. The ride back was a relatively quiet one, allowing for fD to feel some hope. PD grinned down at his reptilian friend and peeked at Mala.
"Thank you," he told her.
Gently, she hugged him, "I might have been a bit worried." Her eyes trailed over the cuts, knowing many would become scars. "I am sorry this happened," she said.
The boy smiled at her. "I'm all right. Could've been worse. Trust me."
Mala took out some first aid that she had brought with her.
"You don't have to do that," Dagur said, hearing her open up the container.
The Defender's face was calm. "I know. I want to."
She continued, gently cleaning and treating the gashes. She felt anger at Alvin and nonetheless, peace at Dagur being alive. When they all arrived at Berserker Island, they landed back up near the top of the island. Once they had, Oswald rushed over, a relieved look on his face.
"I'm so glad you're back," he said, hugging Dagur. "We were all worried, Son."
The younger Berserker pushed him away roughly, a hurt look in his eyes.
"So it was true," he realized. "You and Alvin set this whole thing up."