Dagur felt frozen. His mind raced, looking for possibilities of what he could do, but nothing seemed to be a good choice. Alvin's hand was not even close enough to his mouth for him to bite the Outcast. Trying to kick, the Berserker realized that his ankles had been shackled as well. The smirk on Alvin's face enraged the boy as much as it horrified him.

"I'm trapped," he thought, devastated.

Pain around his throat increased as Alvin's grip tightened. The man's expression turned to a scowl.

"Just in case you try to call for help," he said.

The lack of air made black dots appear in Dagur's vision. As this continued, everything became dark. Alvin put the unconscious Berserker over his shoulder and exited the prison. With it being so late, anyone who might have stopped him was asleep. The Viking strode towards the docks and threw his prisoner on the deck before going to the helm himself. Giving Berk one last, smug grin, he set sail.

In the morning, Hiccup and Toothless went down to greet the traders. The area was crowded as it usually was, but the Berkian enjoyed seeing the Vikings so excited about what the world had to offer. A regular there was Fishlegs. The blond was looking through several scrolls and trying to find an object the supplier would trade it for when he saw his friend.

"Hey, Hiccup," he greeted.

"Hey, how's the scroll search going?"

"Pretty well! I found some information about different types of ferns. This scroll even has illustrations in it. Look."

Hiccup peeked over his shoulder. "It's really detailed," he commented. "I'm looking for some new books to bring Dagur. You didn't happen to see any you think he'd like, did you?"

Fishlegs paused, tapping his chin. "I saw some books about weapons from different cultures. They were two ships down from here. He'd probably like those."

"He'd love them. Thanks." The trainer started to head that way when he stopped. "You could come with me if you want. I really do think you'd enjoy talking to him about books."

The other Viking looked thoughtful. "I might actually. Yesterday wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. I'm going to look around here for a little longer, then I'll join you two."

Hiccup smiled and went with Toothless to the other trader. It did not take him long to find the books the blond had mentioned. Content, he made the trade and began heading to the prison.

"All right," the boy said, reaching into a bag to pull out one of the items. "We can thank Fishlegs for telling me about these. He'll be heading here soon–"

The Berkian was cut off as he felt Toothless nudge his side. Looking up, he saw the empty cell. Hiccup stood there for a moment in a state of shock. Toothless let out a little noise and his friend sadly regarded the prison.

"This can't be right," Hiccup said. "I don't think he'd break out."

The Berkian looked around, inspecting the area. By the bars, the lock was broken. Hiccup frowned at it, then looked at the ground. There was no blood anywhere. From first glances, it appeared like the prisoner had broken out and left. Still, Hiccup was unconvinced. He turned to the entryway as he heard Fishlegs.

"I found everything I was looking for, so I decided to come by earli–" The boy's jaw dropped and his face turned ashen as he gasped. "He escaped?"

"No," Hiccup said, almost surprising himself by how sure he sounded.

Fishlegs looked shocked. "What do you mean? Th-the lock's broken. There aren't any signs of a struggle. He must have just waited long enough to get to see the Skrill and then broke out last night."

"No," Hiccup repeated. "Where's he going? Even if he finds the Skrill again and convinces him to attack us, we'd win. We won before and didn't even have all of our dragons that time. Going somewhere else isn't an option either. There's nowhere for Dagur to go, so why would he leave?"

The blond lifted an eyebrow at him. "Because he's deranged."

Frustrated, Hiccup and Toothless left the prison. He got on the dragon's saddle and took off. The first place he wanted to check was Outcast Island.

"We've got to find him, Bud," he said, a pit forming in his stomach. "If Alvin's got him…"

Understanding his concern, Toothless hurried to the island. When it came into view, he landed. Several of the Outcasts blocked the duo's path, but they lost some of their nerve when they saw Toothless's snarl.

"You're not supposed to be here," one said. "Alvin doesn't want you visiting anymore."

"Then, maybe he shouldn't have crept onto Berk and captured Dagur," Hiccup retorted.

The Outcasts still did not move, but Toothless brushed them aside with his wings. A growl from him kept them from trying to retaliate. Reluctantly, the Vikings stayed back as the pair entered the prison. One of the inmates eyed them, chuckling.

"You and your friend made Alvin real angry," he said. "Lucky for you that you're Stoick's lad. If you weren't…"

The man brought a finger to his throat and took it from left to right. This made some of the other inmates laugh as well. Their laughter annoyed the Berkian more with each passing second.

"Did Alvin say where he was taking him?"

"You really think he tells us anything?" one of the Vikings asked.

"I think you'd all hate Alvin and would want to take any chance you can get to ruin something for him. Well, you're right. He hates me and he hates Dagur too. If you help me stop him, that'll be a good way to get some revenge."

The prison got silent after he said this. It was quiet enough to hear the Vikings breathing. Finally, one spoke.

"I do hate Alvin," he admitted, scowling. "Before that Berserker showed up, I was the one he'd target. If it'll hurt Alvin, I'll help." The prisoner went closer to the bars. "There's an island just south of here. It's where he used to take the extra troublesome prisoners. They'd either come back, a shell of who they used to be, or they wouldn't come back at all."

Hiccup nodded his head. "Thanks. Alvin won't get away with everything he's done."

The Berkian hopped on Toothless's saddle and took off again for the new location. On this island, the Outcast was sharpening his sword. He was in a cave, looking at a fire he had lit. A pot was over the flames. His gaze alternated between the fire and the redhead. Dagur was lying in a pool of blood from his head. He tried to roll away from it, but Alvin sighed and stood. The Outcast slashed his side with the sword.

"I didn't tell you that you could move, boy."

Dagur grimaced, but he kept his eyes on Alvin. When the Viking's legs were close enough, he kicked with both of his feet. This brought Alvin to the ground with a loud thud. The Berserker got up and started to hop for the exit. He cursed the shackles. If his hands were free, he would have taken Alvin's sword or he would have been able to run better without manacles on his legs. Dagur almost doubted that he would get away, but he refused to stay put and not at least try. He made it past the entrance of the cave when pain covered his back. Letting out a yell, the Berserker went forward. Alvin stormed over to him, holding the newly emptied pot of water from the fire.

The pain did not seem to fade with time. Dagur's breathing was fast and he felt like he could not get up again to continue his escape attempt. Alvin grabbed his foot and dragged him back to the cave. He stopped walking when he got to the fire. Roughly, he held the back of Dagur's neck and forced him to be close to the flames. The Berserker barely had enough energy to push against him. Using what little he did have, Dagur suddenly moved forward. He did not touch the fire, but he got close enough and moved with enough speed to affect Alvin's hold on him. As soon as it loosened, Dagur moved and kicked the rocks under the fire. The fire spread out on the stony ground, sizzling down until smoke was the only proof it had existed. Dagur laughed at that and Alvin's angered expression.

"I'm not going out that easily, Al," he told him. "You might kill me, but I'm not just accepting that. You're gonna have to work for it."

Alvin walked over to him, sword drawn. "I don't think you understand how this is going to go. I'll give you two choices, Dagur: beg me for your life or for mercy."

"Beg, huh? Not my style. Definitely not for you. You want it too much. I like to play hard to get."

The Outcast slammed the prisoner into the wall, trapping him there. "But you're not hard to get, are you? You weren't for me or my guards."

Dagur snarled at him. "Because you cheated. If I could fight, things would've been different. You're still cheating. You really need the shackles? Is big bad Alvin the Treacherous so worried about what some injured prisoner will do without restraints?"

For a moment, the man's eyes flashed with anger, then he calmed down. "You're not baiting me. The point is killing you."

"Then, what's taking so long?"

"The fun is breaking you."

"You're wasting your time. If I didn't break by now, I'm not going to."

Alvin backed up and pointed at the floor. Dagur just glared at him.

"I'll attack Berserker Island otherwise."

Dagur shook his head. "Berk knows about you. Hiccup will make sure they stay safe. You can't use them against me anymore."

The Outcast snarled and grabbed his head, nearly crushing it in his hands. "Do you really think I needed to threaten you before? I've always been able to do whatever I wanted. I just enjoyed seeing you too terrified to fight back." He paused, a curious look appearing in his eyes. "Maybe this is how I finally break you. You can't convince yourself that you're being noble. You're not losing because you're protecting your island. You're losing because I'm stronger than you. Now," Alvin said, grip tightening more as the blade of his sword pressed into the boy's neck, "beg me for mercy."

Dagur stared into the Outcast's eyes. Then, he started to chuckle. It became a louder laugh. For a moment, Alvin felt uneasy, but this did not last long. He flipped the weapon around, pressing the hilt of the sword into his throat. It kept Dagur from breathing; however, his smile remained the same. Alvin grabbed the boy's hair and forced him onto his knees. Dagur kept pushing against him. A hand reached up to his neck, but the boy moved in time to bite him. He bit down and made Alvin's finger badly bleed. The Outcast cursed and punched him, but the shock of the pain was enough to distract Alvin. Smirking, the Berserker wasted no time in turning and headbutting his other wrist. This loosened Alvin's grip on the weapon and Dagur caught the handle of the sword in his mouth.

"Not how I'd prefer to fight," he thought, "but it's better than nothing."

Dagur stayed cognizant of how he needed to step to not trip himself with the chains. Doing this, he adjusted his grip on the weapon so that it stayed in place. He doubted he would be able to get a good stab in like this, but he could at least slash the Outcast. Alvin almost laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation. His laughter stopped when his left arm was sliced, making blood run down his bicep. A glare covered the man's face. His hands balled into fists and he lunged at the smaller Viking. Abruptly, Alvin ducked once a plasma blast fired over his head.

"Stay back, Alvin," Hiccup warned.

The Outcast's eyes narrowed at him. "I don't know how many times I need to tell you, Hiccup, but this doesn't involve you."

"You went against your own decision of having Dagur as a prisoner when you sent him to the Vandals. So, it was a decision I made and my dad–the chief–allowed to have him go to Berk. You know that bringing Dagur here goes against that because you wouldn't have snuck onto our island otherwise."

Alvin continued to glare at the boys and Night Fury. "You don't want me as an enemy. Dagur knows what that can mean."

"I'm willing to risk it."

The man's glare became more murderous. He looked like he was about to charge at them, but he suddenly turned and hit the wall of the cave several times. The area started shaking as pieces of the walls and ceiling broke.

"This cave's unstable!" Hiccup realized, horrified.

Alvin ran deeper into the cave, vanishing in the dust caused by the destruction. Hiccup considered going after him, but the area was falling apart more and more. He felt Dagur ram into him and saw a chunk of the ceiling where he had once been standing. Toothless grabbed both Vikings in his claws and flew out, maneuvering around the debris. He escaped through the opening just as the last of the cave collapsed. Glaring, the heir looked for any sign of the Outcast, but there was none. He seemed to have completely vanished.

"He's still out there," Hiccup said quietly. "He won't stop coming after either of us."