The Triple Stryke flew to the outskirts of the archipelago. In the air, Dagur thought about how Mala was still on Berserker Island.
"It might have taken too long to get her up," he reasoned. "I don't even know when Heather left."
Something else that the Viking quickly realized was that he had no clue which direction his sister had gone. All Dagur knew was that Heather would be heading outside of the archipelago. The Berserker flew all night until he finally found a Berserker boat and two other ships docked by an island.
"Over there, pal," pD told Strykie.
The two swooped down to find Heather and the Hunters. She was fighting off several hunters with an ax. As one rose his sword, Strykie blasted it out of his hands. The Triple Stryke stung the Hunters with his tails, making them drop to the floor and writhe in agony. Within a few moments, the venom killed the men. Dagur looked at his sister with a furious expression.
"Are you okay?" he asked gruffly, too worried to ask anything else.
She nodded sheepishly.
"Did any of them get away?" was his next question.
"Yeah, I saw some head towards the ships before you got here," Heather confirmed.
Dagur's scowl had not left his face since landing and it managed to become more angry.
"Maybe take a few deep breaths or you might explode," fD suggested.
PD did as he was recommended and silently pointed to Strykie's back. Reluctantly, Heather hopped onto the dragon and Strykie flew over to the Berserker boat, grasping the side with his claws. He flew off with the small vessel and the trio headed away from the island.
"Why are we headed in the opposite direction from Berserker Island?" Heather asked.
Dagur kept his eyes on the water. "Because now that we'll be having company, we could use more dragons." He was too upset to let the younger Berserker off so easily and turned slightly. "I get that you don't want to believe Dad is the way he is, but why not find a less possibly war-causing method to prove that?!" the boy questioned.
Heather's head lowered a bit. "This was the only thing I could think of to do. If no one shows up, that'll mean that Dad didn't try to set you up."
Dagur sighed and turned back to the skies. "Honestly, I'd like to have you be right on this."
After a short amount of time, the three reached the midway point between Berk and Berserker Island. The Berkians had arrived already and were able to note that something was wrong.
"What happened?" Hiccup asked.
"Nothing yet, but some Hunters got away and will be coming back for revenge on their hunts being ruined," Dagur told him.
Heather's shoulders rounded a bit and the Berkians took notice.
"Well, what do we know about these Vikings who are coming?" Hiccup asked.
FD spoke to his younger self, who repeated what he was learning. "They're Dragon Hunters led by the Grimborn brothers. The older one, Ryker, leads the field hunts, but his younger brother, Viggo, is the one who's really in charge. If we take him out, the rest of them will crumble; however, right now, we need to get ready for their attack. They've got arrows with dragon root tips, so we need to avoid those." He paused for a moment/ "They aren't too tough to beat, but we've got to remember that our dragons have to stay high up to not get disoriented."
The Berserker side-eyed his older counterpart.
"Yep, that's everything," fD informed him.
Several seconds lapsed as the Riders took in what they heard. Though the time was not long, it was more than the impatient Berserker wished to spend.
"So, we need to start heading back and letting the Berserker guards know that we're about to have an attack," Dagur said, arms crossed.
This snapped the younger Vikings back into the situation and their dragons flapped their wings. Since time was of the essence, all the dragons flew at top speed. Toothless matched Strykie's pace to fly alongside the Berserkers.
"These Hunters, have you fought them a lot before?" the Berkian inquired.
Dagur shrugged. "Twice now."
Hiccup frowned slightly. "Then, how do you know so much about them?"
His friend bit his lip. "Um, perceptive? It doesn't really matter, brother."
Before Hiccup could ask about anything else, Dagur tapped the Triple Stryke's head to signal for him to fly faster and go ahead of the others. When they got to Berserker Island, the Vikings went to the top and landed. Mala was there waiting with her arms crossed. She was given a sheepish grin.
"Glad you're up. Can you spread the word on the east side of the island to go to the center for an announcement about a battle strategy?" Dagur requested.
Mala nodded and hurried down the hill.
"Heather, you, Astrid, and the Twins can take care of the West. Hiccup, Fishlegs, and Snotlout get the south. I'll get the north."
The group split up and headed in their separate directions. Given the location of the Hall, Heather went in to tell Oswald about the impending attack. The chief smiled when he saw her, though it faded when he saw how worried she looked.
"What's going on?" he questioned.
"The Hunters are on their way," Heather said.
In a flash, she could see rage in his eyes. His fists clenched at his sides.
"That's where he went this morning. No wonder Ansson couldn't find him," he said, through gritted teeth.
"No, it was me," Heather stated. "I went out to prove that he was wrong about what he said you did."
Oswald's expression softened. "Heather, all of my actions are to ensure your safety and the longevity of our tribe."
The girl's brows furrowed. "I just need to hear you say that you didn't set him up. You couldn't have, could you?"
Oswald remained quiet. "We need to prepare for battle."
He went out to the center and saw that all of the Berserkers had gathered to hear the plan. The chief also saw that Dagur was about to give the plan and went to the stage with him. Dagur stood his ground.
"Do you know how to stop the hunters or just work with them?" he asked, glaring.
Without answering, Oswald turned around and spoke to the crowd of Vikings. The Berserker spoke like the chief he was, but not like someone who had a good plan. During his speech, Hiccup noticed that Heather could not stop frowning and went over to her.
"Are you okay?"
She shook her head. "He did it, Hiccup. He really set up Dagur. His own son."
Despite how much Hiccup wanted to have an open mind and give Oswald the benefit of a doubt, the chief was not really trying to even pretend that he was innocent of the accusation.
"Maybe we just need to hear his side of the story," was all he could muster.
Heather nodded absent-mindedly and watched as her father and brother semi-fought for the stage. The fight did not last long as Dagur's limited patience lessened even more.
"I am chief here, Dagur," Oswald stated firmly.
"I don't care about who's chief right now. The only thing that matters is everyone on this island not getting wiped out!"
Prior to Oswald commenting again, Dagur stepped in front of him and spoke to the vikings. To them, he relayed what fD told him.
"If we go into groups, some of us can fight the Hunters who come on land and the rest can focus on commandeering their ships. Given how much time has passed, they'll probably be here within the hour."
Immediately, the Berserkers began putting Dagur's plan into action. In the crowd, Mala spotted a Viking with an odd look in his eyes. When Dagur was done, she went over to him and gestured with her head.
"He looks suspicious," she said.
Dagur nodded. "He's Ansson and is always up to something. He and Oswald worked together before, but I'm hoping that neither are dumb enough to try something today."
He and the older Berserker locked eyes for a second, but Ansson broke the stare and kept walking. Mala and Dagur found Hiccup and the others.
"Brother, you and Fishy would probably do best up there with the dragons. You can help them spot whatever/whoever needs to be shot."
Hiccup and Fishlegs agreed and went up the hill to the reptiles. As everyone prepared, time flew by. Before anyone knew it, an alarm saying that the Hunters' ships had been seen was heard. When they got in range, Toothless shot the wenches off of the ships. His blasts were soon followed by the other dragons' once the Hunters got closer. A couple of ships were stopped by the aerial assault, but some did dock. The Berserkers started attacking the hunters and the sound of clashing metal echoed through the air. Dagur was attacking several hunters and had run the last one through when Oswald came running up.
"It's Heather," he panted.
Worry filled Dagur and he followed Oswald to find where his sister was. When they got to some rubble, a small portion of a body could be seen underneath. Dagur hurried with unburying Heather and stopped only when he felt something cold against his throat. Oswald kept a blade to his neck and from the rubble, Ansson emerged.
"Now," Oswald ordered. "Do it now."
Ansson glanced between the young Viking, the chief, and his own ax.
"What are you waiting for?" Oswald growled, forcing Dagur's arm behind his back to keep him as still as possible.
Ansson raised his weapon, then heard the cries of hunters and Berserkers battling. He raised it again, but lowered the ax back down.
"Sorry, Chief. We're under attack. This is too far even for me. Ya want him dead, ya can do yer own dirty work this time."
The Berserker left and went to join in the fight.
"Coward!" Oswald yelled after him. "Fine, I don't need him. I can kill you myself."
He pushed the blade in a bit, drawing a trace of blood.
"You'd really kill me, Dad?" Dagur asked, more hurt in his voice than disbelief.
"You caused this attack and I would do whatever it takes to keep my own safe."
FD opened his mouth to make a suggestion, but a look from pD told him that the situation was now under control.
"Heather's already upset about you setting me up. What's she going to think if you murder me?" Dagur inquired calmly.
Oswald fumed, though hesitated. "She'll think that I did what I had to do. If she can't understand, she'll have to learn to work past that."
The younger Berserker continued, "If you want me dead, fine, but even if only you know how it happened, don't you want it to be in a fair fight rather than a sneaky trick?"
Oswald stopped and thought, "That could work. If I slit his throat, that princess would argue that he would not let any hunter get so close. Heather could learn of what I've done and it's possible that she'd never forgive me. I could lose her again; however, if I fight him, he's still wounded from his time with Alvin and I can certainly win against him."
The chief removed the knife from Dagur's throat and stepped away, getting into a fight stance. Dagur eyed Oswald and smirked.
"You know, I'm beginning to see where I got my crazy side from," he commented.
Enraged, the chief charged at him, only to be side-stepped. Oswald unsheathed his sword and came again, but was quickly disarmed. Hearing more of the battling going on around them, Dagur rushed at Oswald and knocked the chief's head into a hut's wall. Oswald stumbled back and received another blow to the head from a club which effectively ended the fight. The man fell, unconscious, and was dragged to the side of a hut before Dagur left to fight more hunters. A few minutes went by before the chief groggily awoke. He rubbed his head and got up to find Dagur again. Instead, Ryker found him.
"You've proven incapable of keeping your end of the bargain, Oswald," the man stated.
Oswald snarled. "If you'd get out of my way, I can."
Ryker shook his head. "It was a mistake trying to work with you. You've failed us and failures are not permitted to continue on as though they had succeeded."
The Berserker's temper flared. "You can't kill me on my own island! This is in-"
A blade plunged into his chest before he could move.
"You won't be failing us again," Ryker said, yanking the weapon back out. He looked around. "Your Vikings have fared better than you."
The Hunter crept around the backside of the island, avoiding the large numbers of Berserkers and made his escape on a smaller ship. Oswald clutched at his wound and struggled to stand. Unable to walk further, he leaned against a hut and closed his eyes.