Panic coursed through Oswald as the Berserkers ran around him, but he realized something. They were not in chaos. They were heading to their stations. Vorg and his group were working the catapults, aiming them at the sky.
"Focus on the ships," Dagur instructed. "The Singetails won't be able to get too close to us because of whatever that weird thing in the air does."
Hearing the sound of more Vikings, the chief saw Herald had returned with Heather. The Rider had pinched brows and a determined look on her face.
"Herald, Heather and I are going to be dropping Flyers into the sea," Dagur told him. "When they hit, be ready to take them prisoner. We're separating them from their dragons as quickly as we can. They don't know that they need to fly higher in the clouds, so when the Singetails are dazed, that'll give us the advantage."
Accepting the order, the man got his team ready. Before Dagur followed Heather to the stables, he turned to Oswald.
"The only place right now that won't have many Vikings is the cave."
The father shook his head. "I'm not hiding. I'll stay here and fight. You and Heather just get to your dragons."
Nodding, Dagur ran after his sister. They got on the reptiles' backs and took off high above the island. The pair quickly drew the Flyers' attention. Krogan led his Vikings closer to them, but the dragons suddenly moved back, shaking their heads in disorientation. Taking this opportunity, Dagur hit several in their shoulders with knives and Heather had Windshear swipe the Vikings with her tail. Strykie used his tails to grab three more and throw them into other Flyers. Free, the Singetails flew away from the battle as their imprisoners fell towards the ocean. Berserkers caught the Vikings in nets, quickly attaching chains. The Flyers speedily got removed from their positions on the backs, but Krogan was able to maneuver around his subordinates. His dragon fought against the effects of disorientation faster. In the midst of the other reptiles fleeing, Krogan and the Singetail disappeared.
As the Flyer vanished, the ships continued to get closer, but they were countered with other vessels. Berserkers boarded their ships, readying bolas, nets, and harpoons. Blasting one of the Hunter ships, a hole was created large enough so that water quickly poured into the vessel. It started to sink as the other Hunters kept drawing into the Berserker harbor. Dagur and Heather flew towards the Hunters.
"We can't let them retreat," Heather said.
Dagur nodded in agreement. "They're not going to stop. They'll just regroup if they get the chance, so we need to end this today." The Berserker's eyes twinkled with an idea. "Stay in front of them until we can watch your back," he instructed.
"Okay, but where are you going?"
"To get something to let this battle go off with a bang."
A sinister chuckle came from the chief as he flew off with Sleuther. While they returned to the mainland, Windshear blasted the wenches on the Hunters' ships. Flying closer, the Razorwhip used her tail to slash the sails of one ship that had moved in front of the others. The dragon-Viking team dove down so that Heather could roll off the saddle and onto the deck. She ducked below the swing of one Hunter's ax, then kicked him. This caused him to fly over to Windshear who hit him with her tail, sending him over the edge and into the sea. Another Viking tried to slice the reptile with his sword, but Heather deflected it with her weapon. When more Hunters came up on her other side, a blast from Sleuther stopped them. Quickly, Heather jumped back onto Windshear's saddle and joined the other rider in the sky.
"Barrels?" she asked, seeing several in Sleuther's tails and claws.
"Barrels of blasting jelly to be exact," Dagur said, smiling in excitement. "I also told Vorg to start catapulting them onto the ships. Between this, dragon flames, and our flaming arrows…" The chief let out a wild laugh. "They're going to really regret this attack."
Sleuther dropped a barrel on the ship's deck so that Windshear could hit it with fire. As soon as she did, the deck went up in flames that spread outwards to the Vikings. Anyone who did not want to get burned jumped off into the water. The Berserkers continued with this and took the sound of splashing Vikings as an indication of their success. Oswald worked with Vorg's team to load and aim the barrels. They consistently hit the decks of the vessels. Before the Hunters could properly fire chains, the blasting jelly was set aflame. It covered the sides of the ships and destroyed the sails. The vessels that were not affected by the barrels had boulders blasted into them. When three boulders hit the left side of one vessel, it was knocked over. There was nowhere for the invaders to go. Ship after ship sunk, breaking into various pieces. Anyone who did not drown was being hauled onto the island with nets. The Berserkers celebrated their victory, but Oswald still felt on edge. So many Vikings were being brought onto the island. He was glad that they had protected their home, but he needed to get away from such a large group.
Oswald thought of what Dagur had told him and began going towards the cave. Suddenly, he stopped. Someone was entering it before him. In fact, several Vikings were entering. Stealthily, the man followed them. As he did, the chief was also feeling uneasy. He frowned down at the island and the pieces of driftwood. He could have been happy that it was over and even thought he should have been, but that did not change the fact that he was not. Something was still wrong. Heather flew by his side, noticing his worried expression.
"What are you thinking about? The Hunters are all in the ocean or on their way to the prison," she said.
"It doesn't feel like it's over yet. We don't know why they were here. There's nowhere the King of Dragons could be. We'd notice him if he were on the island. The only place we don't have Vikings constantly walking around is…" Dagur trailed off as his eyes widened.
"Is where?"
"The cave! We lost track of Krogan. He's got to be there."
Speedily, the siblings returned to the stables, leaving the dragons there. They ran to the cave while Oswald continued following the Vikings. He recognized one of them. The father had seen Trader Johann in his travels.
"I knew I never liked that talker," he thought, scowling. "But what do they want from our home?"
Oswald stayed just far enough behind them to watch where they were headed without being spotted.
"With the King of Dragons," Johann said, "I'll be unstoppable."
Krogan shot him a look, but he did not say anything until reaching a tall stand of ice.
"This is it," he stated, looking at a white, spiky egg.
Johann tried to grab the item, but Oswald left his hiding place, pointing an ax at the group.
"That dragon is part of Berserker Island. You're not leaving with it."
Krogan lifted his eyebrow at the man, then chuckled. "I highly doubt one aging Viking will stop us. I could kill you myself, but I'd rather leave the grunt work to these Hunters." He gestured to the men behind him. "Make his death quick but painful."
The Hunters began stalking towards Oswald. They halted when knives pinned the roofs of their feet into the ground. Crying out, they went to their knees. Oswald's eyes widened as he turned behind him. Dagur and Heather stood in fighting stances.
"You're not leaving this island," Heather told the intruders.
Johann snarled at them. "Could you take care of that?" he asked Krogan.
The Flyer glared bitterly. "Can you do anything?"
"Fine, I can do this."
Johann threw daggers at the trio, causing them to roll out of the way. The Hunters painfully removed the knives from their feet to bring out their swords and axes. When Heather moved out of the way of a dagger, one of the Vikings tried to slash her throat. Metal clashed with metal as his sword met Dagur's ax. The Berserker put the ax's handle in one hand, using the other to knock out the Hunter. He fell into another Hunter, causing them both to fall to the ground. With the group busy, Krogan and Johann went for the egg. Oswald saw them and hurried over, but a Hunter tried to stab him in the back. Before this could happen, Heather got him with her ax. This let the father reach Johann in time, tackling him before he could grab the egg. Gripping the Viking by the head, Oswald slammed it into the ground and rendered him unconscious.
Krogan made the most of this by quickly taking the egg, then running out of the cave. Dagur saw him and chased after the Viking. He considered throwing a knife into the Flyer's back, but doing so could have made him drop and crack the egg. Therefore, Dagur waited until he got closer. They were headed upwards on the island. Picking up his pace, the Berserker got close enough to Krogan to swing his ax. It caused the Viking to loosen his grip on the egg, letting him catch it. With his hands free, the Flyer growled and drew his own ax. Dagur ducked in time to prevent from getting beheaded.
"We've never officially met," he said, chuckling, "Heard about you from the Riders." The chief narrowly avoided his throat getting slashed when Krogan speedily moved in front of him. "You know, you might actually be grumpier than Rykie. That's almost impressive."
"Ryker and I have an important difference between us. He did not understand how to survive in this line of work."
Dagur adjusted his hold on the egg so that he could grab a knife, but he paused when he heard Krogan make a whistling sound. He almost laughed at the futility of a dragon call until he heard a Singetail roar back. The Flyer's expression turned smug.
"It seems that we're far enough away from that bizarre location for dragons to think clearly again," he stated.
Emphasizing Krogan's point, the Singetail landed by his side, snarling at the Berserker. Dagur looked at the bloodlust in the dragon's eyes that was just slightly less prominent than what was in his rider's.
"Yeah, it does…unfortunately." He glared at the pair. "I'm still not giving you this egg and I doubt a fried one will be helpful for whatever world-dominating plans you've got."
"Helpful? No, but it would also not be harmful," Krogan said. "If this egg cannot be retrieved, it will be destroyed along with whoever prevented us from claiming it."
"Oh," Dagur said, feeling his heart sink. "Well, don't you just have an answer for everything."
Gills on the dragon's underbelly opened, revealing a bright orange color waiting to be fired. No place existed to hide. Using the ax to deflect the attack only would have been useful with two hands. Even if Dagur had managed to position the egg in between himself and the weapon, the heat would have damaged the unborn reptile. The Singetail's mouth opened and fire poured from it and his stomach. Dagur turned and held the egg closer, hoping he still might be able to provide it with some protection. When he did not feel flames scorching his skin, he looked back at the dragon in surprise. It had fired, but Oswald's ax was deflecting the attack. The Berserker had surprised Krogan and he did not notice as Heather moved to strike him with the flat of her own ax.
The Flyer hit the ground and she tied his wrists together. To protect his rider, the Singetail was about to turn his flame to the brunette, but he was hit on both sides by blasts. He barely dodged Windshear's tail slice and accidentally moved into one of Sleuther's stingers. The venom filled him and he blacked out. For a moment, the three Berserkers paused.
"Is that it now?" Oswald asked hopefully. "Did we win?"
"Maybe," Dagur said unsurely. He started to laugh. "I think we did. Nice going!"
"And I see you've made a new friend," Heather said, gesturing to the egg.
The redhead smiled as he hugged it close. "Think we'll be buddies when it's hatched too?"
"You might. We should probably tell Hiccup and the others so that they can find another home for it, though."
The chief's mouth curved downwards. "Aw, it would've been fun to have a baby dragon buddy. Maybe Windshear or Strykie will become parents soon. Ooh, maybe they could be parents together! Razor Strykes has a nice ring to it."
Heather put a hand over her face, chuckling. "Keep your dragon away from my girl."
Dagur laughed again and started taking the dragon egg back to the cave when he heard wings flapping.
"Well, they're a little late to the party, but at least we don't have to go tell them now."
Following his gaze, the other Berserkers saw the Dragon Riders flying towards the stables. The Berkians dismounted and hurriedly found the group.
"We found out about the King of Dragons being here," Hiccup told them. "We were going to try to help, but it looks like you didn't need us."
"Always love some Hiccupy help, but you know there's nothing Berserkers can't handle," Dagur said, grinning at his family.
The chief turned to Fishlegs when he squealed in delight.
"Is that the baby King of Dragons?"
Tuffnut shook his head. "I'm pretty sure that would be a Prince of Dragons."
"Or a princess," Ruffnut added.
"But definitely not a king."
Fishlegs squinted at them. Heather just chuckled at the siblings.
"It is," she said. "We were going to tell you so that you could find a new home for it. I don't know if we have what it would need to stay safe. Especially since the Hunters know it's here now, they could send out more Vikings. It just would be asking for trouble if it stays."
"I can ask Atali and her Wingmaidens," Hiccup said. "They might be able to take care of it until it gets old enough to protect itself."
Fishlegs eagerly outstretched his arms to accept the egg. Dagur's expression turned pouty, but Heather crossed her arms.
"Brother," she said, a slightly scolding tone to her voice.
"Fine," he said, sighing. "Can you ask Atali to draw a picture of what it looks like when it hatches?"
"Deal," Fishlegs told him, snuggling up with the egg as soon as it was in his arms. "I'll bring it to her now just in case some more Hunters try to show up."
The Berkian began heading to the stables to get to Meatlug. When he was gone, Dagur went over to Snotlout.
"Two words," he said. "Razor Strykes."
The Rider's jaw dropped. "Yes! Why aren't those a thing already? I say we put some musicians near the stables to set the mood and just let nature run its course."
"That's what I was thinking too!"
"You two, stop plotting on how to get dragon babies," Heather told them.
The Vikings frowned for a moment before continuing to come up with ideas.
"Triple Whips also sounds good," Tuffnut added.
Snotlout was going to argue when he stopped himself. "Actually, I do like that."
"Wonder how many more combinations we could get," Ruffnut mentioned, tapping her chin.
The other Berkians just shook their heads at the Vikings. Then, they noticed Oswald. He was observing the group, a few steps away from them. Heather followed her friends' gazes.
"He knows now," she told them.
Their eyes widened. Hiccup and Astrid looked at one another before the blonde turned back to Heather.
"Is everything okay?"
"It's…different. We fought alongside each other just now, so it's not as bad as it could be." She glanced at the man. "I'm glad that the truth is out now. It feels better to not keep the secret from him anymore."
Heather frowned slightly as she noticed Oswald backing away from something. More of the Berserkers were approaching. They saw the unconscious Flyer and started taking him to the prison.
"What do we do with the dragon?" Herald asked.
"There's an island with Singetails," Hiccup said. "If you've got some extra nets, we could transport him there on our way out."
The Vikings went to get the net, going past Oswald as he tensed more. From his peripheral vision, Dagur saw him.
"I'll be right back," he told the Berkians.
Nodding, they kept going on about dragon combinations, the latest one being a Hideous Gronckle. While they did, Dagur went over to Oswald.
"Could we tell Heather?" he asked. "She's pretty understanding about stuff like this."
After a moment, the father nodded. "We can." He took a deep breath. "There just were a lot of people here today."
The chief had a sympathetic expression, then turned to the visitors.
"Would you mind if we spent some time dealing with the aftermath of the attack?" he inquired. "Some huts got hit, so we'll have to repair them."
Not entirely knowing why, but knowing that it was time to leave, the Berkians agreed. They said goodbye to their friends and went up to the stables. When they were gone, Oswald sent the redhead an appreciative smile.
"Heather," he said gravely.
The brunette turned to him, hearing the seriousness in his voice. "What's wrong?"
"I wanted you to know that unique minds run in our family. Before, when you saw me unable to properly answer the questions that all of the Berserkers had for me, that was why. I don't handle crowds well. They make me not think clearly. "
Heather blinked in shock. "Dad, you could've told me that. I wouldn't have thought any differently about you."
Dagur smiled. "Told ya she'd be fine with it." His eyes lit up. "Hey, maybe meditation would help you. It works wonders whenever I'm frustrated or angry…or anything else really. We could be meditation partners."
Oswald chuckled softly. "I'd like that." The man's smile faded and he sighed. "There's something else. I want to apologize to the two of you. If I hadn't been so consumed by my grief, I could have been the father you both needed me to be." He turned to Dagur, a hurt look in his eyes. "I'm also sorry about how I responded to learning the truth about our pasts. I said horrible things and shouldn't have become violent. I don't think you're evil. There are things we all have to work through, but I don't want that to make you think that I would want you to be someone else. I love you, Son."
Unable to contain his joy, the redhead hugged his father. "Love you too, Dad!"
Dagur grinned and used his right arm to bring Heather in the group hug as well. She smiled in the embrace.
"This can work," the brunette said, certain. "Our family is berserk in every sense of the word, but it's ours."
The chief smiled hopefully. "If there are any Vikings stubborn enough to figure out how to do this, I'd say they're right here."
Oswald felt some uncertainty. "Do we start over with a fully clean slate?"
After thinking about it, Heather shook her head. "I don't want to if it's okay with you two. Our pasts made us who we are. They made this family what it is. Pretending like nothing happened would just be like keeping another secret. Besides, we can't forget about Mom."
"Never," Dagur agreed. "We don't go back to the start of our relationship. We just move forward. What happened, happened. Can't change the past and can't predict the future, but we can control the present pretty well."
"Then, that's what we'll do," the father said. Oswald put his hands on the Vikings' shoulders, smiling. "The first thing I'm going to do in the present is acknowledge how lucky I am. I've been given a great family. I'm not letting anything make me take this for granted again."
The Vikings hugged once more before going to help clear away debris from the attacks. This battle had not destroyed them. Neither would anything else. They had power over what would affect their relationship. They had given power to fear, grief, and anger, and those had nearly won. From that day forward, they would stop hiding parts of themselves from each other. When problems arose, they resolved them. When disagreements came up, they spoke. When anything tried to rip them apart, the Berserkers took them on head first. It was the Berserker way. All out, all the time. There was no better way to be a family.