Toothless hovered above the destroyed cave until the dust settled. When it did, he landed on the grass. The dragon carefully blasted the chains, freeing Dagur. No longer biting the sword, the Berserker caught it in his hand.

"Thanks, T," Dagur said. "You too," he added, looking at Hiccup.

The Berkian nodded, but he still was frowning. "Alvin's determined to get you."

Dagur paused, looking at the crumbling cave. "And you too. He was getting more annoyed with you before, but I know that bloodthirsty look in his eyes. It's there now."

"I know," Hiccup admitted.

"We should kill him."

"You've got to stop having that be your go-to with people."

"Al's hardly a person by this point. Besides, keeping him alive is what caused all those problems anyway."

The trainer turned to the redhead in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"He's an outcast from Berk," Dagur said plainly. "If Stoick had just killed him instead of exiling him, then he never would've been your enemy for so long."

Hiccup hesitated, thinking over this. "Technically, that's true, but they used to be friends."

"Ah, so Stoick can have a soft spot for someone outside of his family."

"He's not as rough as you think he is."

Dagur shrugged. "Should've been rougher this time. Do you know why he got exiled?"

"Alvin told me that everything went downhill after he disobeyed an order."

The Berserker lifted an eyebrow at him. "Vague."

"Yeah, but I just filled in the rest."

"Then, you know he's got to be taken out."

"No, that's not what I said."

Dagur rolled his eyes. "But it should've been. Who knows why he was exiled? Judging by what I've seen, he and his flunkies probably stalked someone and attacked them in their own home. Maybe after the fifth time, they finally got kicked off the island."

"I doubt he was doing stuff like that on Berk."

"Why? You don't just wake up one day and start torturing people. Had to begin somewhere. I bet it was always in him and Stoick didn't see it because he thought they were friends."

"You know people can change."

"I don't think it's by that much. You've either got it in you or not. Revenge might make you go further than you expected, but there are some lines you don't cross. I know that." Dagur looked at Hiccup and saw his thoughtful expression. "Fine, if you don't want to kill him, I…won't necessarily agree, but I won't push it. I just need to know that we're actually going to take Alvin down by doing more than sending him off to an island of his own."

"I wouldn't do that," Hiccup assured him. "Ultimately, I guess it would be my dad's choice to decide what to do with him, but I think he'd probably put him in prison."

Dagur made a face, making the Berkian sigh.

"What's wrong with this idea?"

"Berk's prison isn't secure. If I'm being honest, I could have escaped a little while ago if I wanted." The Berserker laughed a bit at Hiccup's widening eyes. "I told you before, Hiccup, Berk is small. It makes sense that your prison wouldn't be the most secure, but compare it to something like the Outcast Prison."

"We've caught Alvin before."

"Not according to what I've heard from the Outcasts," Dagur said with a knowing grin. "They said that Alvin talked about turning himself in."

Hiccup was about to disagree and stopped. "Okay, I'll admit that he did."

"See? If he really wants to break out, those little cells aren't going to hold him. He's a giant. He'll break out on the first day. It's like saying they'd hold your dad."

The Berkian pursed his lips as he looked between the cave and Dagur. "It's the only one we have. We could try to build another."

"Or…"

"We horribly maim him?"

"Yes!" Dagur said excitedly. "You can keep him alive in that cell, but if he's lost all his limbs, he won't be breaking out of anywhere."

The boy let out a wild laugh as he imagined the Outcast imprisoned that way. Hiccup just shook his head, making the Berserker's grin turn upside down.

"You're killing me, Hiccup. What do you want to do then?"

The trainer ran a hand through his hair. "I just wish that Oswald had agreed."

"But he didn't, so it's on Berk." Dagur paused. "And we still have those Vandals too. They could be chowing down on some poor kid as we speak."

"I know," Hiccup groaned and put a hand over his face. "There's got to be a way to solve everything."

When the Berkian's hand lowered, he looked back at Dagur. In the chaos, he had nearly missed the new blood on him.

"Let's head back to Berk," he suggested. "I can bring you to Gothi."

"Is she that tiny lady who's always hitting people with a stick? I think I've seen her from time to time."

Hiccup chuckled. "Yeah, that's her. Don't say anything that makes her upset and she probably won't do that."

Hopping on Toothless's back, the boy glanced at Dagur. He was looking at Alvin's sword unhappily.

"I can't keep this, can I?"

"Probably not. It would make the others a little uncomfortable if you had it."

"Can I still bring it with us at least?"

Hiccup nodded. "It would be safer than leaving it for Alvin to come back for."

This made the smile return to Dagur's face and he eagerly got on Toothless's saddle as well. The trio started to fly back to Berk as the older Viking looked around.

"Flying grows on you," he said. "It's not as bad this time."

"Yeah, it really is great."

Dagur's eyes lit up. "Which means I was right that I'd be able to fly after my second time!"

"You're not flying. You're riding," Hiccup corrected, chuckling a bit at the pouty frown he received.

"I'm still going to count it as a win." Dagur saw a few dragons flying in the distance. "Are you going to get more Berkians to ride on dragons?"

"I'd like them to, but it's a slow process. So far, my dad's the oldest Berkian I've managed to teach, but his dragon had to leave to take care of some younger Thunderdrums."

"Think you'll teach your friends' parents?"

Hiccup considered this, tapping his chin. "I could discuss it with them to see what they say."

As the group got closer to Berk, Dagur felt a little worried. "How many Vikings noticed I wasn't in the cell?"

"Just me and Fishlegs when I left, but I'd be surprised if he didn't tell anyone. So," he added, looking behind him, "this is probably the point where I should take that sword. If they see it with you, they'll just think you tried to take me hostage."

Dagur handed the weapon to Hiccup and they landed. In no time at all, the Berkians gathered around them. The heir sighed, realizing even more people had been told than he expected. He quickly addressed the group.

"It wasn't an escape," he explained. "It was a capture. Alvin's going to be our enemy again."

The Vikings got quiet before one spoke up. "It's because of that boy. The Outcasts were our allies again before that lunatic was brought here."

Other Berkians began to agree with him. Hiccup frowned at them and tried to raise his voice, but he could not be heard over the loud crowd. Stoick noticed the crowd and started heading over, but he stopped when he heard a dragon let out a roar. It got the Vikings' attention and made them stop yelling. Astrid petted Stormfly's head.

"Good girl," she said gently. She turned to the Berkians. "The Outcasts might have been our allies again, but maybe they shouldn't have been. If Hiccup believes helping Dagur is worth Alvin being an enemy, then I trust his decision."

"And we have dragons," Snotlout added. "So, what are the Outcasts really going to do anyway?"

Begrudgingly, some of the Berkians started dispersing. They grumbled as they left and Gobber approached the Riders.

"I'd suggest getting him to a cell before they come back," he advised.

"I will," Hiccup assured him. "I just was going to have Gothi take a look first."

Gobber glanced at the redhead and understood Hiccup's decision. "I'll go with you," he said. "Might keep some of the more testy Berkians from saying anything."

The blacksmith began leading the group to Gothi's home. Along the way, the other Riders joined them. Gobber looked at Dagur again.

"Astrid said you didn't escape," he commented.

The blonde's eyes widened. "I didn't say it like that."

"Yeah, you did!" Ruff argued.

"Yeah," Tuff added. "You even changed Fishlegs's mind."

Astrid frowned at them both, but they were proud of themselves for having been correct. Dagur grinned and the girl sighed heavily.

"It just would've been weird if you broke out now but not after I left the door open," she admitted.

"W-wait, you did what?" Hiccup asked, shocked.

Astrid pretended to not hear the question as Gobber knocked on Gothi's door.

"Gothi," he called. "We've got an injured Viking for you. Could you help?"

After a few moments, the door opened and the small woman squinted up at Gobber. Her eyes moved from him to the youths before landing on Dagur. She frowned at Hiccup who shrugged.

"I was telling you about him a little while ago," he said. "I don't think it's too surprising that I'd bring him here."

The healer frowned at him again, then exited the hut. She pointed her walking stick at a flat rock. Following the gesture, Dagur went and sat down. He felt odd as the Berkian began bringing her fingers through his hair and poking him. The boy started squirming and grimaced when the walking stick was brought down on his head.

"What was that for?!"

Gothi frowned at him and wrote in the dirt. Dagur blinked at her message, then looked at the Berkians expectantly.

"She said that it's because you won't keep still," Gobber explained. "She doesn't have a gentle touch, but she's our best healer."

Gothi put a cream on her hand and slapped it on the Berserker's back. He gritted his teeth and tried to not frown at her.

"Maybe this is the real reason there are so few Berkians," he grumbled.

The twins chuckled and stopped when Gothi glared at them as well. They pointed at each other accusingly, then started to wrestle. After a few more heavy-handed applications of cream, Gothi tightly bandaged the Berserker's side. She stepped back and swung the stick again. Dagur dodged, mouth curving downwards.

"What did I do this time?!"

"Nothing," Hiccup told him. "That's just her telling you that you can leave now. Otherwise, she would've hit you instead of swung."

"Oh, don't need to tell me twice."

Dagur quickly stood up and went over to the others. "Thanks for…the care," he said to the healer, unsure if he could call it that or not.

The Berkian just nodded her head and sent a look to Gobber.

"I know," he said. "I'll make you some of that soup this week."

This made the woman smile and she went back inside. When she was gone, Snotlout noticed the new weapon Hiccup had.

"You got Alvin's sword?" he asked.

"We couldn't get him, but we got this at least," Hiccup said, handing it over to the larger boy.

Snotlout awed over the weapon and sliced the air. "He won't be so scary without this." His smile faded as he thought about what his friend had said. "But he'll come back if he's out there."

"We know," Hiccup admitted. "We're trying to think of a way to get rid of him that doesn't have to involve killing him."

"There might not be one," Gobber mentioned.

"That's not really what I was hoping to hear."

"Probably not, but sometimes, you can't be merciful."

With a slight frown, Hiccup kept walking with the others. He stopped when they reached the prison. Dagur went back into the cell, but when Hiccup started to close the door, Snotlout blocked him with his hand. Both the heir and redhead regarded him in surprise, prompting him to explain his actions.

"With Alvin out there, it might help to have as many Vikings fighting as we can get."

Hiccup turned to his other friends to see what they thought. "Are you sure you don't want him in the cell?"

"Well," Fishlegs said unsurely, "maybe the cell just shouldn't be locked. The other Berkians are a little tense now. If they see him walking around, they might attack him themselves."

Dagur turned to look at the cell. "I'm cool staying in there unless I need to help out."

When Hiccup saw his friends give nods of agreement, he pushed the cell door open. "All right then. You won't be stuck in here, but you'll stay unless something happens."

The Berserker nodded his head and the others started to leave. Hiccup paused when he noticed Fishlegs's hesitation.

"I was thinking that we could pick up where we left off this morning," the blond said.

Dagur looked a little confused, but Hiccup smiled, knowing what his friend meant. He gestured to the chair.

"Have fun. I'm going to talk with my dad about what we can do with Alvin."

As Hiccup left, Fishlegs went over and sat down.

"I heard you did a lot of reading."

This got Dagur's attention and his eyes twinkled. "Heard right. What do you want to talk about?"

The Berkian began smiling. "Well, I just so happen to have a love of learning about anything. I'm not partial to what the topic is."

Dagur laughed in excitement. "Nice! Let's start with some of the most surprising customs I've found from different islands."

Fishlegs got a notebook ready and eagerly wrote down what the older boy told him. As they conversed, the day made its way to night. When it did, Oswald started hauling a bag down to the docks. He was keeping his island from being destroyed. He was being a wonderful chief by doing this. The other Berserkers were safe, sound, and thankfully asleep. They would have come to speak with him otherwise. The Vikings seemed incapable of leaving him alone for even a moment. It was all Oswald could do to keep from yelling at them and banishing them all from the island. It was just easier to remove himself. The man went to the mast and hoisted the sail. As the wind caught the fabric, Oswald moved to the helm and steered the ship away from the island. He had been there for too long. He never should have been forced to return in the first place. This time, he would stay gone.

Oswald was not the only Viking sailing. Out on the seas, Alvin was also on a ship. He was following a storm. If he wanted to go against Berk, he needed more than just some Outcasts and weapons. He needed to match them with their best and their best included dragons. The man did not have an interest in going after small dragons. They would have been too easy for the Berkians to defeat. What was needed was a truly powerful reptile. To his satisfaction, Alvin saw a blast of lightning. The man was getting closer. Those blasts were unnatural. When he saw a figure flying through the clouds, he continued following close behind. Eventually, the dragon would have to land and when it did, Alvin would have a new ally–even if it was not a willing one.