The Berserker's eyes twinkled. "Now, you're talking. If you go soon, you'll probably be able to bring him back here by tonight."
"Woah, woah," Hiccup said. "We're not going there immediately. I want to help the Skrill, but I need to talk with my friends."
"Getting an early start with your idea bouncing, I see."
The Berkian nodded his head. "The twins and I put him there, so I wouldn't feel right to just free the Skrill without letting everyone know."
"Good luck talking with them then."
"Thanks. I'll probably need it."
Hiccup and Toothless left the prison to go find the others. Considering the time, they would be at the Academy. The boy's guess was proven true when they reached the location. Fishlegs and Snotlout were bickering as Hiccup approached.
"Slow dragons are boring," the dark-haired boy said, deliberately dragging out the last word.
"Meatlug isn't slow," Fishlegs retorted. "She moves methodically and with way more control than Hookfang."
"Hey! Me and Hooky are the definition of controlled."
Astrid was watching them from afar as the twins continued to verbalize their desires for the two to fight. They stopped for a moment when they saw the trainer.
"Hiccup," Ruff called, "get in on some of this fighting action."
"What fight?" he asked, worried. "No one's fighting."
"Because we haven't been convincing enough," Tuff told him. "If you chant with us, maybe they'll do it."
"Yeah," his sister chimed in. "Astrid won't help."
The other blonde rolled her eyes. "No, I won't because this is stupid. Everyone knows Stormfly is fast and controlled, so you're both really just competing over second place."
Fishlegs's jaw dropped and Snotlout frowned at the other Berkian.
Hiccup sighed. "That's not helping."
"I know, but it's fun to interject here and there." When the boy did not say more, Astrid noticed the thoughtful look on his face. "What happened?"
"I think we should free the Skrill."
Astrid's eyes widened and the friends got quiet. Breaking up the silence, the twins started to laugh. Tuffnut wiped away a tear as he realized no one was laughing with them.
"You're not playing an early Loki Day trick?"
"No," Hiccup informed him. "The Skrill didn't really do anything to deserve being trapped."
"Uh, how about attacking us?" Snotlout asked. "Since when is that not a good enough reason?"
Fishlegs made a little noise of disagreement, provoking a sigh from the other boy.
"What is it now, Fishface?"
"Well, technically, you and the twins did break him out of the ice before we could come up with a plan for how to deal with him safely."
"So, it's our fault?" Ruffnut questioned, frowning at him. "Look at Snotlout if you want to blame someone. Tuff and me helped put him in the ice, so we're good."
"Except now, Hiccup's saying that's a bad thing," Tuffnut added.
"Your mood swings are hurting the team, Hiccup," Snotlout told him, shaking his head in disapproval.
"It's not a mood swing. I just got a chance to think more about it. Freezing him was a quick solution, but it's not the right one. He was probably out of it after being in the ice for so long. He needed a period to just adjust to the world again, but there was chaos since the second he was free. Imagine if one of our dragons got out and someone froze them because they were scared."
The other Dragon Riders got quiet. Fishlegs hugged Meatlug and the twins sadly looked at Barf and Belch. Hookfang nudged Snotlout with his head and the Berkian tried to subtly assure him that he would never let that happen. When he was done, he turned back to Hiccup and crossed his arms.
"I hate you," he grumbled. "Fine, let's free the Skrill."
Hiccup smiled at the group, seeing the approval on most of their faces. The only one who still seemed reluctant was Astrid.
"What do you say?" the heir asked.
The girl hesitated with her response. "I want to help the Skrill," she eventually said. "But was this Dagur's idea?"
"It was, but I still think he's right."
"That makes it even riskier. What if he plans to use the Skrill against us again? We'd basically be freeing it just for him."
This idea caused Fishlegs's face to pale. "M-maybe we shouldn't do this then. We really don't need angry, crazy Vikings with lightning dragons coming after us."
"That won't happen," Hiccup insisted.
"So, you're saying that you trust Dagur?" Astrid questioned.
The Berkian paused when he heard this. He had not thought to put it in words.
"I…I'm not sure," he admitted. "I haven't really seen him in a situation where I'd need to trust him. I guess he could have attacked me when I flew him here, but he didn't."
"He was probably too wounded and knew he couldn't fly Toothless without you," Astrid argued. "If you do this, it could put all of Berk in danger."
Snotlout suddenly looked unsure. "I kind of don't think he'd attack. He seemed different."
"Not this again," the blonde groaned. "He hasn't changed."
"Astrid," Hiccup said, getting her frown to fade slightly. "A lot happened between the end of the war and now. I think it gave him time to really think about things and what he wants out of life."
The other Berkian looked less sure of this. "Let's assume for the moment that he does want to be better, which is doubtful. We still don't know how to calm down the Skrill. So, even if this isn't some setup to break out of prison and kill all of us, this plan won't work."
"Not necessarily. He told me that Berserkers used metal daggers to calm them down in the past."
Fishlegs became intrigued by the information. "I didn't know they did that. I'll have to add it to the Book of Dragons."
"See?" Hiccup said, smiling. "Maybe you should give our new guest a visit. He could tell you a lot about Skrills. He actually did a lot of reading before the war since Berserker Island had traders from more places than just the Archipelago."
The Ingerman looked intrigued by the idea of learning more about the world. Astrid could easily tell that she had lost a supporter with her viewpoint.
"Let's get this over with," she said, sounding as unhappy about this as she felt.
Hiccup got on Toothless's saddle and the others followed his lead. Together, they took off to find the dragon. After a short amount of time had passed, Tuffnut pointed below them.
"That's where we put him!"
"All that work for nothing," Ruffnut complained.
"It's for a good cause, guys," Hiccup reminded them.
The boy led his friends down to the ice. As soon as he got there, he saw Barf and Belch prepare a blast.
"Hold on!" Hiccup called out.
Begrudgingly, the twins stopped the dragon.
"Why?" they whined in unison.
"You keep stopping our explosions!" Tuff added.
"Because we don't want to hurt him."
Hiccup looked at the ice and wondered if the dragon had always seemed that pitiful in there or if he somehow changed. Fishlegs and Meatlug flew over as the boy peered closer at the frozen prison. He pointed to part of the ice.
"Let's melt here," Fishlegs suggested. "If we hit enough weak points, we'll be able to break the ice and he won't get injured."
The twins blasted the suggested location, then Toothless and Meatlug joined in with their blasts. Stormfly shot the other side of the block before Hookfang lit his body on fire and hovered over top. This was the final necessary piece and the melting ice shattered, instinctively making the Riders and dragons move back. Deep purple wings flapped and a ferocious roar filled the air. The Berkians covered their ears.
"What do we do now?" Fishlegs asked nervously.
The blond shrieked as the Skrill snarled at them. Ruff and Tuff were the next to receive his growl. Hiccup and Toothless moved in front of the others. The Viking held out a metal dagger. It caught the Skrill's attention. His head tilted as his eyes followed the blade.
"It's working!" Fishlegs exclaimed, covering his mouth when he saw that his outburst had broken the concentration.
"Hey, hey," Hiccup said soothingly. "Focus right here."
He waved the blade again, but it did not work twice. There was a vengeful look in the dragon's eyes. The other dragons picked up on this and snarled back. Hiccup held out his arms to stop them.
"Guys, this isn't going to calm him down. He can sense everyone's agitation."
"I think it's more perspiration for Fishlegs," Tuffnut commented. "He looks paler than our cousin–"
"Of course, I'm pale! A giant lightning dragon wants revenge against us!"
The Vikings tightened their grip on their dragons' saddles. Seeing this, the Skrill roared again and nipped at them, forcing them to move back.
"Hiccup, this isn't working," Astrid said, attempting to prevent Stormfly from shooting a tail spine at the newly freed reptile.
"And I don't think telling him we came here to help is going to be any better," Snotlout added, yelping as some of Hookfang's back flames came close to scorching him.
The Berkian heir frowned, then his eyes brightened. "Toothless and I can lead him to the Academy."
Immediately, the Night Fury looked back at him in disagreement. The teenagers hardly were more fond of the plan.
"It's too dangerous," Astrid chided.
"We've led him before. It'll work."
"She means it's too dangerous for us," Snotlout corrected. "You're leading him right to Berk."
"I'll put him in one of the pins until we can think of what to do."
The other Riders wanted to protest, but another roar stopped them. They had to move back to avoid getting hit by the dragon's body as he tried to ram into them.
"We'll meet you back on Berk,," Hiccup stated, getting Toothless to circle the larger reptile.
The Night Fury shot plasma just close enough to the Skrill to anger him. This drew his attention to only them. Realizing this, Toothless and Hiccup took off while getting chased.
"Come on, Bud," the trainer encouraged.
Speeding up, Toothless kept a pace so that they would not get attacked by the Skrill but also would not get out of his sight. He needed to keep following them.
"Almost there," Hiccup said, mostly to convince himself that they could make it to Berk before getting bitten in half.
The pair went faster and could see the island. As soon as they did, Toothless zoomed towards the Academy. His tail fin turned, letting him go right just before the entrance of a pin. The Skrill could not make the turn and Toothless blasted above the bars to close them. Quickly, Hiccup got off his saddle and bolted the lock. He pulled back his hands as the Skrill nipped at him. The boy and Toothless glanced at each other.
"I guess this is progress."
The duo left the Academy to get away from the sounds of furious roars. As they awaited their friends, Oswald was standing at the edge of his island. His feet were on the grass, but his focus was on the seas. Maybe Alvin was right. Hiccup was a soft-hearted Viking. It was unlikely that he would leave Dagur in prison for the rest of his natural life. Even with the assumption that he would, this offered Oswald no comfort. As time passed, it was probable that Hiccup would become more trusting of the Berserker. One lock not being latched properly could lead to the former chief's escape. Oswald was certain that he would kill Alvin immediately after getting off Berk, but he would return. The man knew that Dagur loved being chief. Any likelihood of him stepping away from the position ended when he learned of a chief's role as a child. Now that he had tasted such power, he would relinquish it only after death. On Berk, death seemed to not be in his near future. So, Oswald had to consider what would happen if he returned.
Maybe leaving would be for the best. The chief could resume his voyages. If he left in the dead of night, even the other Berserkers would be none the wiser. They would not realize until morning at the earliest. Leaving might even protect them. What if they tried to defend Oswald, then Dagur killed them? So, taking a ship and setting sail was the noble decision. It was not connected to Oswald's desire to continue his exhibitions or longing to smell the saltwater around him. It definitely was not related to how being chief grew tiresome nearly the week after he got his tattoos.
"Chief," one of the Vikings called.
Oswald quietly sighed and turned to her. Someone always wanted something from him. It never ended. The Berserker dealt with the new issue while the Dragon Riders considered their options. They sat in the Great Hall as they had their discussion. It felt wrong to be there instead of the Academy, but for the time being, the Skrill made the area unusable.
"Okay, so what if we just bring water buckets to the Skrill and keep splashing him?" Ruffnut suggested.
"It'll be perfect!" her brother added.
"No," Fishlegs scolded. "That'll just make him angrier. We're trying to calm him down."
Snotlout heaved a sigh. "We've been doing this all day! I say we just let the Skrill keep the Academy. We can build a new one."
"That's not an option either," Astrid pointed out. "He's stuck in that pin. Starving him to death is even worse than keeping him frozen."
"Then, I don't know what you want from me," he pouted. "I'm certainly not going to be the one who gets sent in to feed him."
"I vote that Tuffnut goes," Ruffnut called out, putting her brother in a headlock.
Fishlegs shuddered. "It doesn't help that the Skrill can probably sense our fear too."
"I'm not scared," Snotlout told him, crossing his arms.
"He's right," Astrid said, looking at the other blond. "We're all a little agitated by being around the Skrill since we've got bad history with him."
Ruffnut nodded, smiling as Tuffnut struggled to breathe. "Yeah, the only one who isn't is Dagur. Too bad we can't just have him deal with it."
The group became silent as the idea settled in their minds. Ruffnut noticed and let go of her brother.
"We can?"
Hiccup hesitantly looked at the others. "We could. Would you all be okay with that?"
"'Okay' might be an overstatement," Astrid admitted, "but I don't know what else we could do. Besides, unlike if it happened to one of us, I won't lose any sleep over Dagur getting mauled."
"It could work," Fishlegs agreed. "We could follow behind with our dragons so that he doesn't try to escape. If he can calm down the Skrill, then we can bring him back to the cell and the island will be safer."
The trainer nodded his head. "In that case, I'll let him know in the morning."
Yawning loudly, the twins got up from the table. "If we're done being geniuses, we're going to bed before we get stuck to these seats," Tuffnut said.
The other friends began getting up to go when Hiccup stopped them. "I think this worked pretty well."
"What?" Astrid asked.
"Us coming up with ways to solve our problems together."
"Isn't that what we've been doing?" Snotlout inquired, eyebrow lifting.
"Yes, but what if this was something that didn't change when I became chief?"
The stockier boy's eyes widened. "Seriously?"
"I don't see why not."
"Count me in! I'll take any chance to not just get bossed around by you."
Hiccup shook his head. "That's not really the motivation I was hoping for, but I'll take it."
Fishlegs smiled. "I'd be happy to help with that too."
Astrid seemed intrigued by the idea. "Same here. We do make a great team. It would be a shame to have that end."
"Good to know you came to your senses," Tuffnut commented. "I don't know where Berk would be without our guidance."
The friends rolled their eyes as they left the Great Hall. They went to their homes, but Hiccup was too excited to sleep. For the first time in his life, he did not mind the idea of leading because he would have the support and aid of the people he trusted most.
"Who knew a Skrill and Berserker could lead to this," he thought.
As a few more hours passed, each one without anything besides shuffling in bed, the Berkian decided to go for a walk. Toothless sleepily blinked at him and he regarded the dragon with an apologetic look.
"Sorry, bud. Didn't mean to wake you up. I'm just going to walk. Go back to sleep."
Obediently, Toothless lowered his head again and returned to the land of dreams. Hiccup changed his clothes and left the hut. He did a leisurely walk around the village as he considered what else he and his friends might change in adulthood. The boy stopped as he neared the prison. He heard a lot of shuffling and thuds.
"I guess Dagur's up," the Berkian considered. "If he is, I can just tell him."
Hiccup entered the prison as the sounds got louder. He was surprised when he saw the redhead still asleep. His surprise only increased when he watched him punch a wall several times. It seemed like each punch had more force behind it, drawing a bit of blood on the boy's knuckles. Dagur suddenly stopped and grimaced, curling inwards as he let out a quiet whimper. Hiccup used his prosthetic leg to tap on the cell bars. As it clanged on the metal, he tried to get the Berserker's attention.
"Dagur, wake up," he told him.
His voice seemed to have no impact on the prisoner. The redhead just started to growl and mumble something too low for Hiccup to hear.
"Dagur!"
This got the boy's attention and he jolted awake. He looked around the cell before his eyes landed on Hiccup. As soon as they did, embarrassment washed over his face.
"How long were you standing there?"
"Long enough to see that you were having a pretty bad nightmare."
Dagur ran a hand through his hair. His first impulse was to dismiss this or to pretend like it was just something that was common for Berserkers. Hiccup's sympathetic expression made it more difficult. He also knew that the other Viking was aware of everything that haunted him. There really were no more secrets to keep.
"It's pretty pathetic," Dagur said. "I was trying to stay up to prevent that, but I just passed out, I guess." He started frowning deeply. "Alvin and his Outcasts aren't here anymore. I've even killed half of the people I'm dreaming about, but it's like they're still in the cell." He got pale and pointed to a corner. "They like to crawl out from over there. I'll hear their threats and promises." His breath quickened slightly. "I can even feel them."
Hiccup sadly looked at the corner, then sat down in the chair Toothless had brought earlier. "They did a lot," he said. "Maybe this is just how Vikings deal with bad times in their lives and move on. I know I used to get a lot of nightmares when the dragon raids were at their worst. The first time I saw one of our own get burned alive, I couldn't sleep for a month."
Dagur turned away from the corner and to the Berkian. "What changed?"
"I told my dad."
The Berserker looked worried. "You told him what you were dreaming about? I don't want to talk about the specifics."
"You don't have to," Hiccup assured him. "I didn't have to tell him all the details of what I was dreaming about. He just said to take charge of the dreams and fight back."
Dagur laughed. "Leave it to Stoick to want you to punch a dream's lights out."
Hiccup laughed as well and nodded. "Yeah, I really shouldn't have been shocked. It helped, though. When I reminded myself that what I was dreaming of wasn't real, it didn't seem as bad anymore. Sometimes, I could even change what was happening."
"Really?" the Berserker asked hopefully.
"Really. Once, I was able to imagine that the Viking had a shield right before the Monstrous Nightmare got to him, so he didn't get burned."
Dagur became contemplative as he considered this. "I'll have to try that. Thanks."
"No problem. I've also come with good news actually, so that might help make tonight better." Hiccup began to smile. "We freed the Skrill."
"Cool! Skrilly's here?"
"Yes, and he hates us."
The redhead cackled. "Well, I can't say I don't relate to a bit of that. That dragon and I really are perfect for each other."
"About that…we realized something."
Dagur stopped laughing to turn curious. "Did something else happen?"
"The Skrill won't let us train him. He won't even let us get close enough to feed him, so he could starve if we don't do anything. That's why we were talking and decided that it could work if you calmed him down for us."
The other Viking looked completely shocked. "I get to be around the Skrill?" A wide smile spread over his face. "About time."