PLEASE READ THE TOP NOTES! THIS IS KINDA IMPORTANT!
Hi! Sorry for the long wait, I've been swamped with schoolwork.
Anyway, before this chapter begins, I'd just like to reiterate that I have a pretty busy life outside of writing this Fanfiction, and I just write whenever I feel like it! I don't have much of a schedule.
I'm still open to suggestions for future episodes, and I am genuinely sorry for how long these chapters take to come out, but please, please, please don't spam my review sections with, "Please Update!1!1!1!" Or similar comments. Especially on my other fanfictions that are unrelated to this one!
Any and all future guest reviews telling me to, "Please update now!" Will be deleted. I understand your eagerness, and I'm really, really sorry for my slow writing, but it's becoming a bit much 😅.
Everyone else, you're awesome. Thanks for reading, and on to the story!
Original episode was written by Art Brown and Douglas Sloan, directed by David M. V. Jones and Jae Hong Kym.
As the Vikings went about with their chatting and gossip, Hiccup and Astrid had managed to find some time alone together. It was a relatively quiet part of the Great Hall; a quaint little table hidden in the corner behind one of the Hall's large, wooden pillars. Despite Stoick's earlier words, pretty much the entire Hairy Hooligan tribe was talking and spreading gossip about them. Nothing bad or mean-spirited, really, it was all mostly comments about how cute they were together, but it did get a little overwhelming.
And so, courtesy of Toothless' natural ability to camouflage in dark spaces because of his blackened scales, the couple had hidden themselves in the corner with the table, behind Toothless' wings.
"So.. that was something, right?" Hiccup began, referring to the adventure that they'd just watched. He sat cross-legged on the bench, leaning slightly against Toothless' scales while Astrid chuckled in response.
"Yeah, it's not exactly everyday you get to watch the time we actually became a thing," Astrid mused, brushing a strand of her hair to the side, "This is all still so weird."
"The watching-our-memories-on-a-magic-rectangle thing, or the everybody's-talking-about-us thing?" Hiccup asked, all three of them failing to keep a straight face as he said the sentence out loud.
"Please," Astrid rolled her eyes with an amused grin, "Everyone's been talking about us together since we were kids."
"True, true," conceded Hiccup, "All thanks to Gobber, and our families... mostly Dad."
Toothless watched with slightly smug satisfaction as the couple continued chatting, letting out rumbles of laughter as Hiccup launched into yet another impersonation of his father. He kept his tone low, so as to not reveal their little location. Say what the humans would about how cute he was, but to him, these two humans in particular were beyond adorable together. Talk about a massive ocean calling the sky blue.
"Hey, so.." Hiccup started, his tone shifting slightly to concern, "Are.. you okay? You looked pretty upset back there, what with the whole 'watching-yourself-become-blind' situation."
"Yeah," Astrid sighed, bringing up her knees, "It's just... Mom and Dad kinda.. freaked out, when they found out about the blind thing."
Hiccup grimaced, "Well, they did have a point."
Astrid resisted the urge to bite back with something like, "Like you tell anyone about your problems."
"I know," She moaned instead, before continuing, "And you're right, I'll talk to them about it later, it's just..."
"A mess?" Hiccup offered.
"Yep."
Gingerly, Hiccup's hand slid onto Astrid's as he gave her an encouraging smile. More often than not, things were the other way around when it came to cheering each other up. Even now, when Berk was at its most peaceful, Astrid's pride and desire to remain strong usually kept her from needing much comforting, but Hiccup knew more than anyone just how great it felt to have a supporting presence.
"So, are you two done smoochin', or-?" Ruffnut's muffled voice cut through the atmosphere, interrupting the moment. Toothless huffed in annoyance, and lowered his wings while the two Thorston Twins casually walked into area.
"We were not 'smooching', Ruff," Astrid answered, truthfully, "We're having a conversation."
"I mean, statistically," Tuffnut stated, "most of your conversations end with what can be scientifically described as 'Smooching', so.."
"I-," Hiccup lifted a finger to retort, before actually thinking about it and shrugging, "...Yeah, fair enough-"
"Wait, since when did this place have a smooch corner?" Snotlout asked, seemingly appearing out of nowhere with Fishlegs and a cocksure grin.
"It is not a 'smooch corner', Snotlout," Hiccup facepalmed, giggling slightly.
"Whatever you say, Hiccstrid," Snotlout smirked. Hiccup and Astrid rolled their eyes; Snotlout was never going to let go of that nickname.
"Anyway, the thing is starting again, so do you guys wanna-" Ruffnut whistled, pointing her thumb behind her towards the general direction of the screen, "-Or.."
"Yeah, why not." Astrid shrugged, before a different thought came to mind. She turned around, her gaze shifting towards her parents, who had gathered near Stormfly to scratch the dragon's chin.
"I'm gonna go do something first," And, true to the supposed statistics provided by Tuffnut, she pecked Hiccup's cheek and walked briskly towards her family. Explanations, apologies, and agreements were due.
"It'll be a quick talk, I'll be back later!" She called back to her friends. Hiccup watched dreamily as she went- Still star-struck by the quick cheek-kiss. He really should've gotten used to it by now, it happened so often; but every time still felt like a whole new experience.
Ruffnut leaned to his side with a smirk, bringing Hiccup out of his stupor, "Told ya'. It's a smooch corner."
"It is not a smooch corner."
The scene opens with a few exterior shots of Dragon's Edge, the sun rising. As dawn breaks over the stables, the view switches to the inside, revealing Toothless grunting discontentedly.
The Night Fury lifts his front legs up and down, the metal creaking as Hiccup adjusts something on Toothless' side. The dragon roars multiple times, lifting himself up before coming down and shaking everything off of him.
"Ah, come on, bud!" Hiccup sighs, shielding himself from the flying bits of metal, "Work with me here, please?"
Toothless growled his dissent.
"Oh, great." Hiccup muttered as Toothless snickered beside him, "It's this day."
The scene then switches, panning downwards as Hiccup walks backwards, leading a very disgruntled Toothless out of the stables.
"Shh!" Hiccup shushed as the Night Fury grumbled. The pair continued walking, passing Meatlug taking a loud nap in her stall.
"Gasping noise!" Tuffnut exclaimed out loud- yes, he literally said the words 'gasping noise,". He continued, "Hiccup Haddock, sneaking out and breaking the rules?"
"Without us, again?" Ruffnut placed a hand on her chest dramatically, "Such offence!"
"I didn't want to wake anyone," Hiccup explained, "This was way early in the morning."
"Psh," Tuffnut scoffed, "Sleep is for the weak."
"Hey!" Exclaimed an offended Snotlout, who valued his 'beauty naps' to an astonishing degree.
"Everyone, I do not advise taking Tuff's words as an actuality," Fishlegs piped up, procuring a book on the matter from one of his side pockets before the other vikings could protest, "Sleep's actually pretty important in building up strength."
"Yeah! What he said!"
"We're almost out of here," Hiccup whispered as he opened the door, carrying his dragon's Gronckle-Iron armour, "So-" Toothless pushed the door aside with his head, "Toothless," Hiccup put a placating hand on his snout, "just-"
...And, there's Astrid, standing just outside.
"Busted!" Ruffnut and Tuffnut chorused. Quiet laughter rippled through the hall.
The camera cuts to a shot of Astrid, hands on her hips, and looking unamused.
"D-j-uh, Astrid! H-H-H-hey, hey!" Hiccup starts. Toothless' eyes widen, his pupils darting away as Hiccup puts on a nervous grin, "S-So, what brings you here, so... early in the morning?"
Astrid stares, completely silent as he rambles on, but her expression speaks for itself.
"You just- going for a test flight with Stormfly?" Toothless looks away awkwardly as Hiccup speaks, "Yeah, well, same here with Toothless, though, of course, because Stormfly, that would be.. you know-"
"Welp, they're dead," Gobber stated, not even blinking.
"I don't believe this!" Astrid finally speaks up, rolling her eyes, "You're going for a recon flight, alone! With no support, no cover! We've talked about this!"
"I.. I know," Hiccup holds the Gronckle-Iron closer, "I just didn't wanna awake anybody, it's no big deal, really!"
"Yes, it is!" Astrid exclaims, "It's way too risky!"
At that, Hiccup looks away, knowing that Astrid has a point. Astrid's gaze softens for a moment as she steps back, before hardening again.
"Argh!" Hiccup groaned as he watched, the embarrassment already taking its hold in advance for everything that everyone was about to see, "Do I really have to be here to see all this? I learned my lesson!"
"I mean, you could just hide out in the kitchen, or the bathrooms, until this ends," Tuffnut pointed out. Hiccup gave him a look.
"Thanks, but, no thanks," Hiccup sighed, "It's just-"
He glanced up at the screen, remembering just how easily-agitated, moody, and just, a wreck he was, "I don't want anyone to see me like that."
"I get it, man," Tuffnut replied, speaking in a more sympathetic tone, "On the bright side, though, all the adventures and stuff shown all last for like, less than half-an-hour each!"
"It'll be over before you know it," The Thorston reassured. Chicken gave her squawk of approval.
Hiccup gave a small smile, "Thanks, Tuff."
"Hiccup, he's not out there! It's been months since the Viggo.."
"Fiasco?" Hiccup utters, looking annoyed.
"I feel like we're missin' something?" Spitelout questioned in slight confusion, "Just a wee bit?"
"Yeah, it's kind of a long story," Astrid winced, "This is about when we first met Viggo, and he stole the Dragon Eye.."
"..Then there was this whole thing with Heather being a spy and almost dying," Ruffnut continued Astrid's sentence, "Plus, the Flightmare.."
"The Flightmare?" One of the Hoffersons asked.
"I-I-it was just a mess," Hiccup sighed, rubbing his temples as he remembered the events that had transpired that day. If he were to guess, that would probably end up showing on the screen at some point in the future. Great. His inner voice was being sarcastic, if you couldn't tell.
Hiccup stepped forwards slowly, while Astrid quickly shuffled behind him.
"...I was going to say 'episode,'," She said, gently. Hiccup placed the armour on the floor.
"You have to stop this," Astrid stated, concerned, "You're gonna wear yourself to the ground, looking for this guy, who doesn't want be found!"
"I'm fine, Astrid, really!" Hiccup insisted.
"Dude, you're like, never fine," Ruffnut smirked. Astrid then proceeded to thump the other girl with her elbow, "Hey- ow!"
"What? I'm right!"
"...Yeah, Ruff has a point," Fishlegs commented, "Sorry, Hiccup."
"Hilarious." Hiccup deadpanned, his expression making it seem like he'd somehow aged by a million years in the span of a second.
Meanwhile, Astrid crossed her arms, sharing a gaze with Toothless as Hiccup spoke, "Besides, maybe Viggo isn't out there, but his hunters are!"
"If I can find one to question..."
"They won't tell you a thing!"
"You don't know that!"
Astrid paused, thinking.
"Look, if you're going," Astrid said, finally, "..at least let me and Stormfly go with you."
Hiccup huffed, "Fine!"
Astrid smiles, satisfied, and nuzzles Toothless' snout on her way into the stables. Toothless looks back at Hiccup, pupils wide.
Oh, that hurt. Hiccup could feel his soul getting crushed at seeing the onscreen-Astrid's smile, knowing exactly what he'd ended up doing next.
"Okay bud. It's now, or never!"
"No way," The other Riders, as well as a couple of other Vikings, said in sync.
Hiccup walks towards Toothless, but Toothless just blasts the armour out of his hands, growling low as Hiccup looks on, stunned. Hiccup then puts a hand on his hip while the Night Fury turns away, pouting.
"What'd the armour do ta' him?" Stoick asked, amused. Toothless tilted his head up, making an indignant frowning face in response.
"It adds protection against the Dragon Root, but it's heavy and uncomfortable for the dragons to wear," Hiccup explained. He sighed, scratching the back of his head as he looked at Toothless, "Well, I guess it makes sense; he's built for speed and freedom, not being restricted."
"That makes two of you," Muttered Stoick, giving out a single chuckle.
The screen then cuts away to Hiccup and Toothless flying in the air, with Stormfly and Astrid nowhere in sight.
"No way!" Ruffnut and Tuffnut grinned, and some could swear that there were stars in their eyes. Whether in admiration, anticipation, or a mixture of both, none could tell.
"You actually ditched her, there!" Dagur guffawed. He clapped his hands once, "Holy Helheim, that takes guts!"
"What? No," Hiccup dismissed, laughing nervously as he saw Astrid's eyes narrow, "N-n-n-no, I just- We just left early!"
"I was so worried about you, you were gone for days!" Astrid all but hissed. Hiccup raised his arms in surrender, having heard this whole speech once before, when he'd come back to the Edge after befriending Dagur. There had been a search party, and everything. Of course, he was touched at everyone's concern at the time, but by Thor's beard, that was an earful.
"Y-yeah, I'm sorry about that, Astrid," Hiccup apologised, genuinely.
Astrid huffed, her fond eyes betraying her scowl, "Just leave a note or something next time you want to go missing, alright?"
"When Astrid finds out that you're not wearing your armour, I am not covering for you!"
Toothless responds by soaring high in the air, and the Rider whoops.
"Woo-hoo!" Hiccup cheers as they soar closer to the clouds, "But, with all that armor on, would we be able to do.. this?!"
He adjusts the tail, the tailfin flapping open as the two barrel-roll and dive towards the ocean.
"Yeah!" Hiccup shouts, whooping again, "Man, that new tail is awesome!"
Hiccup lets out a laugh as Toothless turns upside-down, dipping them in the ocean before coming up again, gliding and still upside-down.
Hiccup and Toothless both looked at each other, the sudden itch to go out for a flight growing stronger. It had been at the back of their minds for a while; neither of them had really been the type to stay indoors for more than an hour or so, and the urge to feel the adrenaline and wind rushing past their faces had only doubled with the reminder of their past selves' activities.
"Oh," The Rider exclaimed, refreshed and awake. Toothless turned right-side up with a chuckle.
"I owe you one! Okay."
"Gotcha!" Hiccup whispered to himself as he spotted a Dragon Hunter ship in the distance, "Hey bud, let's get in closer!"
The two fly downwards, only to find the ship looking wrecked, smoke piling out of it. After seeing what looked to be unconscious Hunters, they land on the ship.
"Woah.." The younger children breathed in awe, looking at the scene.
"Look like a dragon might've got the best of them," Hiccup comments, examining the scene. Toothless snarls, pupils narrowed into slits.
"Yeah, let's... get out of here."
Turns out, the Hunters were faking, and all suddenly stand up to attack.
"What the-" Both their eyes widened as a crossbow was held to their faces, "Sky, Toothless!"
"Oh, Odin's arse!" Spitelout shouted, "That's got ta' be cheatin'!"
"Clever bastards," Another Viking muttered under his breath, agreeing.
"Fire!" The Hunters shout, firing their arrows as the duo dodge.
But just as they start to get away, there's one more shot; and Toothless is hit by an arrow.
"Uh oh," The audience gasped in unison. That couldn't be good.
Screaming, Toothless falls, going faint.
"Toothless!" Hiccup shouts as they fall, Toothless straining to keep himself awake, "Come on, bud..."
The two spot a nearby island, "We can make that!"
Toothless groans, shaking his head as they fly further. They glide over a forest for a moment, before falling, fast.
"Woah!" Hiccup shouts again as they fall. Toothless gets snagged by a tree, causing them both to start rolling onto the forest floor.
"Ooh, ouch," Gustav flinched. Hiccup bit his lip at the memory, as he and Toothless tried not to remember the stinging pain. They were pretty lucky they didn't get any splinters.
Hiccup grunts as they crash-land, lying face-down on the ground.
Toothless groans in pain as Hiccup stands up, and the rider rushes to Toothless' side, looking him over.
"I've gotcha, Toothless!" Hiccup puts a hand on Toothless' head, "I'm right here."
The Night Fury grumbles, the camera panning towards the arrow stuck in his tail. Hiccup runs towards it, and starts pulling it out. Toothless screeches in pain as Hiccup does so; Hiccup looking on, guiltily.
Everyone winced. Some looked horrified and shocked, while others simply sent the two their sympathetic looks. Hiccup looked away from the screen, as did Toothless. This.. was painful to watch. Literally.
With a final grunt, Hiccup pulls the arrow out, fully, "I know.. Dragon Root. We just gotta wait it out, bud."
The dragon snorts loudly, eyes closed.
"But who knows how long that's gonna take.." Hiccup says to himself, as Toothless lays his head on the floor. Hiccup hears something, and leaves his friend's side for a moment to scout. He looks out to the ocean; and lo' and behold, the Dragon Hunter's ship is approaching the shore.
"Well, scallops," Wartihog swore. The others watching shared the same thoughts.
Hiccup looks on before running back to Toothless' side, "Oh, come on..."
Straining, Hiccup lifts the dragon up by the head, moving slowly.
The scene fades away as the Dragon Hunters arrive at the island, jogging towards the forest, confidently.
Meanwhile, Hiccup and Toothless manage to make it to a cave, taking refuge.
"Oh, I am so sorry, bud!" Hiccup exclaims now that they're in the clear. Toothless lays his head down to sleep, "I'm so sorry I got us into this!"
Hiccup kneels down, holding the dragon's head gently. He re-positions himself to sit next to him, hand on Toothless' head, "I know, bud."
Toothless moans, before Hiccup gets up again, looking outside the cave. He spots two of the Hunters nearby.
"What's that by the big tree?" One of the Hunters ask. The other responds with, "I can't tell."
Hiccup retreats slightly into the cave, before turning back inside.
"Oh, why didn't I listen, why didn't I list-," Hiccup whispers, hitting himself in the head, "What is wrong with me?!"
Again, Hiccup bit his lip uncomfortably as he watched. He still blamed himself for that; he really should've listened. It wasn't safe, and he knew that. He had ignored Astrid's advice anyway.
The Night Fury in question nudged Hiccup by the side, gently, reminding the boy that he was here, and that he was fine.
Toothless was fine. They had gotten out alive in the end. They were both okay.
"I know, I know, bud," whispered Hiccup, returning the gentle nudge with an equally gentle pat to the head, "...Thanks."
Toothless starts screaming again, and Hiccup rushes to his side, trying to get the dragon to shush.
"Toothless, please!" The Night Fury groaned again. Hiccup held his head, thinking of a plan.
"Okay, you stay still," Hiccup steadied the dragon's head, pushing him slightly back, "..and keep quiet."
He stood, "I'm gonna buy us some time, I'll be back for you!"
Toothless roared in worried panic. Hiccup stands at the edge of the cave, looking back inside, "I promise!"
The human runs off, tossing bushes and leaves to cover up the cave's entrance. Toothless roars weakly, before succumbing to sleep.
"Oh, wait, now I remember this!" Dagur quietly remarked, before grinning madly, "This is from when we became friends, isn't it, Brother?"
"Yeah, it is," Hiccup replied, rubbing the back of his head, "Thanks for the help, by the way."
"Ha-ha!" Dagur chirped, turning to look back at the screen with renewed eagerness, "No problem!"
Quickly, Hiccup hides in a nearby bush, observing the scene.
"Perhaps, this way!" One of the Hunters shout.
"Alright," The second Hunter replies as they walk through the woods. They look at each other, and Hiccup ducks into the bush.
"Through there.."
"Where'd he go?" The Hunters grunt, stepping back as a rock flies past their faces. Hiccup sighs in relief as the Dragon Hunters walk away to investigate.
...And then he steps on a twig, snapping it loudly.
"Why does that always seem to happen, when anyone ever tries to sneak around outdoors?" Ruffnut wondered bemusedly, "It's always a stick, and sticks literally never crunch so loud when you step on them, unless it's inconvenient for you."
"Uh..." He shifts his gaze towards the Hunters, who turn around.
"There he is!" One points towards him, "Get him!"
"After him!"
"Ah!" Hiccup flees, panting as the Hunters give chase. Suddenly, the Rider hears a groan, and Hiccup looks behind him, to see one of the Hunters lying on the ground.
The young heir stops, "What the..."
Panting, the other Hunter steps near him with a growl. And, just as suddenly, Hiccup hears a snapping grunt, and the Hunter is down. As Hiccup looks around trying to locate the source of the noise, someone off-screen pulls the Hunter's unconscious body away from the area.
"I'm guessing that's your doing?" Hiccup asked Dagur. Dagur grinned, proudly, twiddling his fingers, "Yep!"
Panting, Hiccup runs towards the cave, but sees another group of Hunters, and hides.
"Keep your eyes peeled!" One of the Hunters mutter. Another turns around and shouts, "You two, go that way!"
"That guy could really use some water; Maybe a mint," Ruffnut commented, "Like, that voice is way too hoarse and raspy to be healthy."
"Ugh, yeah," Tuffnut agreed, "What, did the Hunters only drink mead, or something?"
"Actually, that would explain a lot."
"Aye!"
"Alright, let's go!"
Hiccup watches as the group breaks off towards the other direction. Sighing, he sits down for a bit. Just out of his sight's reach, one of the Hunters aims a crossbow at him, chuckling.
The guy with a crossbow then grunts, getting knocked out. Hiccup gasps, fleeing the scene once again.
"We think they got away, sir!" One of the Hunters report as they regroup.
"They didn't get away! I saw the dragon go down myself," The leading Hunter replies. Hiccup listens in on the conversation, panting frantically as he hides behind another bush.
"Gather more men, and double back." The Hunter continues as the others walk off, "..And check the caves!"
"We're not leaving until we find the Rider, and that Night Fury!"
Grunting as he stands up, Hiccup hurries back towards the cave. Meanwhile, the camera pans down towards the ground; Someone is sweeping it with a broom, covering Hiccup's tracks.
"Wait, that was you?" Heather questioned, recognising Dagur's boots. Dagur grinned, smugly, "Yep!"
"Oh!" She realised with a jolt, slamming her hand to her forehead as she finally remembered the request she'd asked of the Witch, a while earlier- To show the Vikings that her brother wasn't all that bad.
"Uh, you okay?" Dagur asked, in a mix of mild amusement and confusion at her sudden forehead-palm.
"Huh? Oh, yeah," Heather gave him a smile, "Yeah, I just remembered something."
The camera cuts to Hiccup, back in the cave.
"Hey, how you doing?" Hiccup whispers, hiding the panic in his voice as he ran to Toothless' side, "You think you can stand up, bud?"
"C'mon, let's try to get you up, what do you say, huh?" He pulls on Toothless' saddle, as the dragon stands up slowly.
"Come on! No, no, it's okay. I got you, Toothless, it's okay, bud!" The Night Fury lies down, too tired to continue, "Oh, come on.."
"Think, Hiccup. Think.."
A Dragon Hunter's voice echoes from outside, "Keep looking! The Night Fury went down somewhere around here!"
Hiccup scurries towards the cave's entrance, looking through the leaves as he sees the group approach.
"No, no, no, Toothless!" He rushed back to Toothless as the Night Fury groaned again, "No, you gotta be quiet, bud-" Toothless screeches again.
"Hey, over here!" One of the Hunters shout. Hiccup grabs a rock in preparation, "Okay.."
"If they want you, Toothless..." Hiccup raises the rock, "..They're gonna have to go through me!"
"Uh, what are you going to do with a tiny rock?" Asked someone in the crowd.
"Dude, have you not been watching?" Snotlout exclaimed, looking at the person incredulously. He gestured towards his missing teeth, "Hiccup is surprisingly strong, for such a skinny dude."
"Didn't you have the flaming sword?" Another viking asked. Hiccup shook his head, "No, this was before I made Inferno."
Suddenly, they hear the Hunters grunting and groaning outside the cave, as if they were being fought and defeated. Hiccup blinks, "What?"
Rusting is heard. Someone pushes the leaves out of the entrance's way, and Hiccup holds a hand in front of his face to block to incoming light. He steadies himself, and..
There stands Dagur the Deranged.
"Hello, Hiccup!" Dagur grins.
Hiccup blinks, "Dagur?!"
"Dagur?" Mala and Throk questioned curiously.
"Dagur!" Gustav cheered.
"Dagur?!" The rest of the Vikings exclaimed.
"Dagur-? Oh..!" The other Riders all said in unison, as they finally realised what specific day they were watching.
"Dagur." Hiccup nodded.
"Me!" Dagur cheered, "..Why are we all saying my name..?"
"Oh, this is when he saved you, isn't it?" Astrid asked. Hiccup nodded his head in confirmation, "Huh. Talk about a lucky island to crash-land on."
At this apparently new information, the Berkians looked to the screen with renewed curiosity. Dagur and the rest of the Berserker Tribe had been a big help in Berk's recovery after the war with the Dragon Hunters, but there had been suspicions and such still very-much abound; especially after seeing that his past self had attacked the Riders on what seemed to be a near-daily basis.
The irony of it all- most of them being dragon-riding Vikings after centuries of war, an oddly similar but still vastly different situation to what was going on in their heads now- was not lost on them. And so, they watched.
This was certainly going to be interesting.
The two stare at each other for a moment, unmoving. Hiccup blinks rapidly, taking multiple quick breaths. Dagur takes a step forward.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Hiccup warns, "Toothless!"
Toothless merely groans weakly, before dropping himself again. The two men watch as the dragon lies down, and Hiccup looks back at Dagur, who raises a hand slowly, "Easy, brother!"
With a shout, Hiccup launches himself towards the Berserker.
"Hiccup," Dagur continues as he dodges a swing, "I'm not here to hurt you!"
He dodges another swing, quickly grabbing Hiccup in his arms.
"I'm here to help!" Dagur says as Hiccup struggles against his grasp, "Seriously, you need to calm down."
"Hey, look- The boys are bonding," Heather remarked sarcastically, eliciting a few quiet laughs.
Dagur pulls Hiccup away from the cave, casually, as if this was just a regular Tuesday for him. Toothless watches, snarling protectively before collapsing back onto the ground.
Dagur lets go of the raging Hiccup, tossing him on the ground. Hiccup stands up, looking behind him, to see the Dragon Hunters all unconscious.
Hiccup pauses for a moment, not believing his own eyes, "..You?"
"No, the Changewings," Dagur answered, sarcastically.
"Plenty of time to answer all your Hiccup-y questions later!" Dagur giggles, "Right now, we need to move your dragon before these guys wake up!"
Hiccup gives him a look.
"Wow, his face!" Speedifist snickered from the crowd, "Yeah, I'd be like that, too!"
"Plenty more where that came from, I'm sure," Dagur replied, grinning, "The whole time we were there, he was just staring at me for being nice!"
"I mean, it wasn't that funny, when I was actually there," The Berserker noted to himself, "But now, it's hilarious!"
"..Or, you can.. handle them yourself," Dagur shrugs, "Hm?"
Hiccup looks at him, suspiciously. The scene then fades away to show the two, moving Toothless from the cave. Dagur pushing from the back, and Hiccup pulling from the front.
Toothless grumbled, slightly embarrassed. That had been an uncomfortable experience.
"Okay, keep it moving!" Dagur grunted, "Attaboy, Hiccup!"
"Don't need the- uh, encouragement!"
Toothless stops for a bit to growl at Dagur.
"Hi, there!" Dagur chirps back. Toothless snarls.
"Oh, come on!" Dagur says as they continue moving, "If I was gonna harm you, don't you think I would've done it by now?"
"I don't know!" Hiccup replies, "You're pretty crafty!"
"Hm, crafty!" The Berserker mused, chuckling, "Thank you, Hiccup! I appreciate the kind words!"
"They... were kind, right?"
"You are so weird!" Hiccup remarks.
"You're both weird," Snotlout teased.
Dagur frowns, and throws a dagger. Hiccup screams as the dagger brushes past him, landing into a snare-trap nearby. Hiccup looks back at him with gritted teeth, "...Thanks."
Dagur gives a thumbs-up, "You're welcome!"
Heather snorted, and Mala chuckled. Some things never change.
"Dragons are a little heavier than they look," Dagur comments as they move. The screen then fades as they move through another location.
"Come on, Hiccup! That's it!" They both strain, "Help me out here!"
They come to a stop.
"Wait here," Dagur says, walking in front of them to scout the scene. Hiccup and Toothless look on, still distrusting.
"We're good!" Dagur calls, "Come!"
"Huh?" Hiccup steps onwards, stopping as he gazes over a large waterfall, overlooking the rest of the island and leading into a small river.
"Oh, I knew it!" Hiccup facepalmed, "What was I thinking?"
"Hiccup, this isn't a trap," Dagur says, gently. He points towards something, "Look, there!"
"What? Wha- What are you..."
"HICCUP!" Dagur suddenly screams, "JUST LOOK!"
"My ears!" The Vikings complained, digging into them. Dagur laughed at their reactions; grateful for the heights his voice could reach. Ah, screaming was so fun.
"Please?" His voice softens immediately, "I'll stay right here."
"Freya, you've got range," Gobber grunted, seeming completely unphased by the sudden shift in tone.
Hiccup looks, skeptically, and moves around to spot a cave behind the waterfall.
The scene cuts again, to the two moving Toothless along the path towards the cave. This time, positions reversed, as Dagur pulls from the front and Hiccup pushes from the back.
"Be careful now," Dagur says as Hiccup nearly slips, "It can be a bit..."
One wrong step, and Hiccup starts falling off the cliff.
"Whoa- oof!" Hiccup groans as Dagur catches him by the hand. Dagur strains, using both of his hands to hold on as they both start slipping off.
The Vikings flinched, before giving a bit of a grimace.
"Toothless!" Shouts Hiccup, "C'mon bud!"
Dagur grimaced as they struggled to hold on, "You gotta help me, Toothless!"
Just as the two start to fall, Toothless rushes to them, biting Dagur's toes. They all strain to hold on, and Toothless pulls Dagur and Hiccup back on solid ground.
All three of them pant, Dagur sitting by the side.
"Sorry about that!" Dagur speaks up, "My fault! I should've warned you earlier; I'll try to do better."
Dagur stands up to walk, and Hiccup tilts his head to the side.
"..And I have officially stepped into an alternate archipelago."
"Ah, yes," Dagur giggled, replying wittily, "Welcome to the Gentlemanly Archipelago, where everything is opposite."
"Pleased to make your acquaintance," Hiccup responded, sarcastically, "What would that even look like?"
"Well, everything would be upside-down, obviously," Tuffnut added, "Like Ruff's brain."
"If I recall correctly, Mr. Nut," Ruffnut retorted, "It's your brain that's the upside-down one; that's just science."
"Brains can't be upside-down, can they?" Snotlout wondered out loud, while the Twins began to fight. Fishlegs shrugged helplessly, "Not that I know of."
"Okay, right over here!" Dagur continues as they enter the new cave, "Good job, Hiccup!"
Dagur lights a fire as they all sit down to rest. Hiccup looks at him cautiously as Dagur turns to walk away, spotting Dagur's stuff lying on the side.
"Yeah, I tend to have a lot of time on my hands these days," Dagur says, walking towards the Night Fury with a bucket of water.
"Huh," Dagur mused, "Now that I think about it, I should probably go back there at some point, and get all my stuff back."
"Allow me, my dear," Mala replied, "I believe you've had enough of that island for one lifetime."
"Oh, but where would be the courtesy in that, my Queen?" He flirted back, "It's not an island, nor a task, befitting of a royal lady, like you."
"Then, we shall conquer it together, my love," Mala stroked her husband's beard, and many of the audience turned to look away, faking coughs.
"We've been needing a more common space, since our tribes have merged, after all," She pointed out, "Think of the item retrieval as another quest-"
"Oh, my Thor-" Tuffnut groaned, making a face, "Get a room, you two!"
"They're almost as bad as Hiccstrid," Snotlout whispered in silent horror, watching as the two continued flirting.
"Here you go, little buddy, there you go!" Dagur coos to the dragon. He turns his head back to Hiccup, "It's important to keep the mind sharp!"
Dagur laughed maniacally. Hiccup stares at him. After an awkward pause, Dagur changes course.
"Yes, answers!" He realises out loud, "I did tell you those were en-route."
Stoick huffed as he watched, resting his head on his large hand, "This should be interesting."
Awkwardly, Hiccup sits down on a nearby log.
"Well, after I came to the unfortunate realization that I was completely expendable while part of the Dragon Hunters," He turned around, "..and under the command of.." His tone turns to an angry hiss, "Viggo Grimborn..."
Hiccup coughed uncomfortably at the reminder of Viggo's misdeeds, remembering the whole incident that had happened months later. Idly, he wondered about whatever had happened to the Skrill. If Viggo was really dead, then surely the Skrill must've survived and ended up somewhere. Dragons were generally more hardy than humans, after all. If both of them had survived, then that was a whole 'nother can of worms.
He growls, pumping his fists, "Oh, how I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO HAVE SEEN THE LOOK ON HIS FACE AS I DROVE A-"
Stopping himself, Dagur took a deep breath, exhaling deeply.
"Have you ever tried that? It's cathartic," Dagur remarks, "I used to think that the only deep breaths were the last ones."
"Always so clever, my dear," Mala giggled, "Your bloodlust is oh-so charming."
"Not as charming as watching you decapitate all those training dummies when you practice with your sword!" Dagur flirted back.
Meanwhile, Fishlegs slowly leaned towards Hiccup, staring as the royal couple continued flirting about how deadly the other were.
"Uh, should we be worried about the fact that those two are married?" Fishlegs whispered, concerned and only half-joking.
"Eh..." Hiccup shrugged, "It'll be fine... maybe."
He laughed loudly at his own joke, before shifting the conversation, "How's Heather?"
Hiccup paused, awkwardly, now that he knew that Dagur wasn't with the Hunters.
"Yeah, you know," He started, "Heather. She's... okay."
"Good, good. And her dragon? What was it- Windshower?"
Heather and Windshear snorted.
"It's- uh, Windshear."
"Right, sorry!"
Dagur whispered to Toothless, a rag covering the Night Fury's head, "Here you go, little buddy!"
"Anyway, after that... learning experience," Dagur continued, picking up a large stick, "I drifted at sea for quite some time."
He snapped the stick in two, "..Then shipwrecked here."
"I've been alone on this island for months," He tossed the two sticks into the fire, "You know, it's amazing what a near-death experience, and hours upon hours,"
He continued for a bit, facial expression growing more vicious with every word, "..upon hours, upon hours, upon hours, upon hours,"
Hiccup stared, wincing slightly.
"..upon hours of alone time will do to the mind, body and soul, Hiccup!"
"There's, like, a ton of trees on that island," Snotlout pointed out, "Couldn't you just build a boat?"
"Not necessarily, Snotlout," Fishlegs replied, though not unkindly, before Dagur himself could respond, "Good question, though. From what I'm seeing, any boats made out of wood from those trees are almost guaranteed to sink."
"Yeah, what he said, Snotty-pants," Dagur said, confirming Fishlegs' hypothesis, "Believe me, I tried. The wood's great for fires, not-so-great for boats. Too heavy and fragile."
"Not only tha', boyo," Spitelout added, "First step when gettin' stranded on an island's ta' find clean water, and food. Everythin' else's all secondary."
"Ye' only know that because you used to get shipwrecked so often," Muttered Gobber, quietly.
Spitelout scoffed, and sent him a look, "...And who's fault is that?"
"...Fair point," Gobber conceded.
"I mean, you should try it sometime!" Dagur finished. Hiccup lets out a weak chuckle, and Dagur cocks his head, "What's so funny?"
"You... this..." Hiccup looked around, "I-I mean, yeah, I knew you were crazy, but.. this takes the cake!"
"I AM NOT-" Dagur shouted threateningly, before calming down, "...crazy. But I do understand your skepticism."
"Dagur, why in the name of Thor should I believe a word you say?"
"You shouldn't," Dagur snapped another stick in two, "I don't deserve the benefit of the doubt."
"You do now," Hiccup assured, turning from the screen to look at Dagur.
He tossed the stick's remains into the fire, walking back to Toothless as Hiccup stands.
"Oh, you take that little water, yes, you good boy!" Dagur placed the water bucket closer to Toothless, "He's not looking good."
Hiccup puts a hand on Toothless' tail, examining the red cut.
Somewhere in a hidden part of the Great Hall, the Witch spit out her drink.
"Woah, I don't remember this," She whispered quietly to herself, "That's, like- actual, onscreen blood!"
Meanwhile, the occupants of the Hall flinched at the sight. Youch; that looked bad. The cut looked like it went in deep.
"He's never been hit with one of these.." Hiccup stated, "I don't know, maybe.. maybe Night Furies react differently?"
"I never liked those Dragon Root arrows," Commented Dagur, "Seemed like cheating to me."
"..I hate cheaters!" He snarled. Hiccup looked up at him as Dagur continued, "There is an antidote for this, you know."
Quite a few drinks were spit out, as multiple voices echoed, "There is?!"
"Yeah, it's not that hard to make, either," Dagur nodded, "Only thing, though..."
He exchanged glances with Hiccup, who grimaced in return as he finished the Berserker's sentence, "I-It works, but it's still not the most.. pleasant experience for dragons; At least, if they're taking the antidote for the first time."
"It's like-" Hiccup habitually fiddled with his fingers as he tried thinking of an analogy, "All the pain that's normally experienced by just waiting it out, i-i-it gets condensed into less than half-an-hour; So it heals faster and better, but it's a lot more painful, too."
"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up," Dagur remarked. Toothless nodded as well, verifying the explanation.
"Yikes," Gustav commented from nearby, "That must've sucked."
"Oh, it did."
"Although," Fishlegs added, "Theoretically, you could probably reduce the pain by a lot, if the antidote's mixed with the right herbs."
"I saw Ryker and his men make it," Dagur took a glance at Hiccup-
"Wait, hold on," Astrid blinked, holding out a hand, "Why would the Dragon Hunters want to make Dragon-Root antidote?"
"Oh yeah!" Heather realised, "This was way before Krogan and the Flyers got involved, and it doesn't affect humans all that much- unless it's used as a gas."
"What about my old Grumpy, then?" Gobber asked, "That goateed-gull mentioned that they kept Grump around to eat scrap-metal. Ah' wouldn't be surprised if they kept other dragons around for similar reasons."
"That does make sense," Hiccup noted, "And even if Krogan and the Flyers weren't directly involved, Johann certainly was from the very beginning-"
"And Johann probably knew the Flyers!" Tuffnut added. Several eyes stared back at him, "What? I can connect the dots too, you know."
"-I can give you the ingredients, and together, make the antidote to save your glorious Night Fury!"
Dagur stood, grabbing a sword from the wall, "Unless, you want to take the chance of him surviving this on his own."
The Berserker threw the sword to Hiccup, who examined it skeptically.
"You may need that," Dagur said, seriously, "They're still out there."
The camera pans outwards, away from the waterfall. It then cuts to Dagur, hands on the ground, sniffing a green flower.
"Bitterweed!" He starts, "That's the first ingredient."
He continued sniffing, "Looks just like this, but darker."
"So," Hiccup begins, casually, as Dagur stands, "What caused this... new Dagur?"
"I told you!" Dagur replies as Hiccup bent down to pick one of the plants, "Near-death experience, and a lot of time to think."
"Speaking of- whatever happened to the Berserker tribe while you were gone?" Heather asked. Being without its Chief for so long, a tribe couldn't exactly function that well. And, well, Berserkers in general weren't really known for their stability. Dagur only shrugged in response, playing with Sleuther as he spoke.
"I've been gone from home for way longer on trips before," He explained, petting Sleuther's head, "I usually just leave, like, a council in charge whenever I do. That's what happened when I was in prison for three years."
"I think I remember them fighting each other for power when I got back? It was kind of pathetic," The Berserker chuckled, remembering the fearful looks on their faces when he returned, "Ah, good times."
"About what?"
"Well, when you only care about yourself, life is simple." Dagur responds, "Your actions are clear. Consequences?" He laughs, "Who cares? But when that changes..."
Hiccup answered quietly, "...Heather?"
"She's blood, Hiccup," Dagur turned around towards him, "..Which makes her even closer than you and me."
Heather blushed, a small smile forming as she heard her brother's words.
"We were not that close," Hiccup deadpanned, "At least, not back then."
"Of course we were!" Dagur replied, "You just, uh, didn't know it yet!"
Hiccup blinks at that. Dagur turns around, spotting the bitterweed. But as he bends down to pick it up, he falls back as a lone Changewing makes itself known.
"Woah!"
"Changewing!" Hiccup exclaimed. The dragon growls, knocking Dagur down as it turns to look at Hiccup.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Dagur clamps his hands together, moving them as he does some kind of whistle-call. The Changewing appears entranced, before it shakes its head and disappears from sight.
"What?" Hiccup says in confusion.
Dagur stops whistling, resting his hands on the ground and leaning back, "A little something I picked up along the way."
"Okay, that is cool," Heather remarked. She looked at her brother, who was currently in the midst of guffawing at all the slack-jawed Vikings, "You've got to teach me how to do that- does it work on other dragons, or just Changewings?"
"Don't know, actually," Dagur grinned, "Never had to use it much, after I got off that island."
"Fascinating!" Fishlegs exclaimed, furiously taking down notes, "Maybe it's got something to do with dragon class? The pitch or frequency? Or, it's possibly a warning call made by Changewings to protect their territory!"
"I actually learned about it from a bird who made the call, but I don't think a Changewing would be so scared of a little bird. There's gotta be something else. Dragon class, huh?" Dagur mused, "What class are Changewings, again? Mystery, right?"
"Yep, same class as Hideous Zipplebacks," Fishlegs pointed out, "Though, we're in an enclosed space, so I don't think they'd have anywhere to retreat if the whistle did work on them, and none of them seemed to react to you whistling on the rectangle."
"Maybe it's a different reaction because it was on the screen," Hiccup hypothesised, "Then again, the Witch did warn us about the Death Song's call beforehand.."
They scene fades as they continue their quest, walking through the forest.
"Okay, now we need the branch of a Fire Fern," Dagur leads as Hiccup stops, spotting it, "It's the long, red plant underneath the big elm tree."
"The island has Fire Ferns?" Phelgma the Fierce stared at the screen in disbelief, "I thought that was only native to the Caribbean?"
"Okay, you guys-" Fishlegs pointed at Hiccup and Dagur with his charcoal pen, "You have got to show me that island sometime."
"Just make sure you don't-"
Dagur is interrupted by Hiccup's scream, evidently having tried to pick it up.
"-touch it with your bare hands!"
Hiccup growls in pain, dropping the Fire Fern and holding up his own hand, "..Thanks for the early warning!" He grumbled sarcastically.
"Well, that was stupid of me," Hiccup grumbled to himself, "I really was a wreck, huh?"
"Hey, you've grown since then," Astrid consoled, "If you're acknowledging and cringing at your past mistakes, that just means you've learned not to do it again."
"Yeah, thanks," he sighed, "It's just- so much worse when you're actually seeing it happen, instead of just remembering it in your head."
"Then we'll deal with it, together," she affirmed, "All of us."
"Argh," Dagur whispers to himself, "I gotta work on that!"
"G-Give it here!" He grabs Hiccup's hand, pulling him away, "Get, c'mon!"
"Can't take you anywhere!" He dips Hiccup's hand into a pool of water, letting it submerge, "Keep it in the water."
Stoick and Gobber chuckled. At least that hadn't changed.
"Hey!" Dagur pulls out a jar, "Next ingredient: fresh water!"
Dagur laughs to himself, scooping up the water and filling the jar.
"So," He looks back at Hiccup, "You wanna tell me why you're out there on your own?"
"Not really," Hiccup shrugs, keeping his head low, "Let's just say you weren't the only one who changed after Viggo Grimborn."
Dagur nods, "That stuff can kill you from the inside, Hiccup."
"Finally," Astrid nodded, "Someone said it!"
"Revenge, anger, obsession," The shot changes as Dagur looks down at his reflection in the lake, "Trust me, I know! It can make you do things you never thought you were capable of! Cause you to take chances, make mistakes-"
The shot pans towards Hiccup's reflection, "If that doesn't end you, it'll eat away at you, slowly."
"Didn't I give you this exact speech about revenge, sometime durin' the Midnight Sun?" Stoick questioned in concern, "If I'm gettin' the timeline of events right, this was months earlier."
"...Yes..?" Hiccup replied, meekly. In his defence, he was running on adrenaline from running from the Hunters and worry for his closest friend in one instance, and sleep deprivation on the second. Actually, it was probably sleep deprivation on both.
"You two switch personalities when you're tired, I swear," Gobber chided, pointing to both of them with his hook.
Dagur stands up, bottling the jar while Hiccup stares at him in disbelief.
"You'll live," Dagur smirks.
The scene fades to a close-up of a purple flower, panning out to reveal its location, high atop a large rock.
"Purple Oleander?!" Fishlegs exclaimed enthusiastically, "Seriously, you two. Show me that island."
"Are you sure?" Hiccup asks.
"Yes, I'm sure! Purple Oleander! You always nag like this?"
"Yes. Yes he does," Snotlout deadpanned, without skipping a beat.
"Kidding!" Dagur laughed, while Hiccup moved forwards, "Sense of humor? No? Sense of humor, hm?"
"Blue Oleander can kill a dragon," Hiccup paused, "How- how is purple any different?"
Tuffnut raised a finger, opening his mouth, ready to respond.
"Well," Dagur starts, "For one thing-"
"Please don't say, 'It's purple.'"
Tuffnut then proceeded to lower his finger, closing his mouth.
"I was going to say nature! It's always a great mystery, Hiccup! Think Heather and I! We're brother and sister and yet we are very different!"
"I must be out of my mind to go along with any of this," Hiccup deadpans, climbing up with surprisingly fast speed.
"You've always been out of your mind," Toothless crooned, pulling Hiccup beneath his wings closer, as though his little Rider could understand the Dragonese coming out of his mouth, "That's what makes you so great."
Meanwhile, as Dagur watches, a Hunter tries to sneak behind Dagur, is punched squarely in the face.
"Ooh, that feels good!" Dagur grins as the Hunter groaned, charging forwards. Hiccup looks down from his climb, watching in shock as Dagur battles the Dragon Hunters and wins.
"Dagur!" Hiccup warns as another sneaks behind the Berserker. Dagur dodges expertly, disarming his opponent and knocking him unconscious.
He lifts the mace up high with a shout, ready to kill, before he stops, letting the weapon drop while Hiccup holds up the flower.
"I told you, I've changed."
Suddenly, arrows launch and Dagur pushes Hiccup to the ground.
"Agh!" Hiccup groans, "What was that for?!"
Dagur drops to his knees, as an arrow is impaled through his left shoulder.
"Eugh," Gustav winced.
"Agreed," Throk replied, speaking for the first time in quite a while, and as formally as ever, "To put it simply, 'Eugh'."
"Huh. Stuck right in there, look at the way it's... I got a little- in..." Dagur sinks lower, while another Dragon Hunter tries to attack. Quickly, Hiccup holds up one of the maces, braces for impact, and... knocks the Hunter unconscious.
Hiccup watches as the Hunter falls, taking a moment to breathe.
The scene fades to back at the cave, as Hiccup pours the ingredients into a pot above the fire. Dagur rolls around on a mat nearby, before finally waking up.
"Ugh, woah!" Dagur sits up, his arm stuck in a sling, "Woo, those were some crazy dreams!"
Hiccup sits down in front of him, "You'll live!"
"Knew it," Astrid mused, "Parrot."
"You... did this, for me?" Dagur cradled his cast, sniffing, "I- I don't know what to say! Nobody has never... uh-"
"Dagur, it was the last I could do," Hiccup says, "Think of it as a payback for... well, everything!"
The two share a moment, smiling at each other while Dagur sniffs. Dagur then stands up, as the two walk over to the brewing antidote.
"Was just about to give it to him," Hiccup informs. Dagur kneels down in front of it with a hum, "Needs more purple, definitely."
Dagur adds another dose of Purple Orleander, letting the solution bubble from dark and transparent blue, to a muddy purple.
"There. That should do it!" Dagur declares. Hiccup hefts the pot of antidote up, moving it towards Toothless, who awakes with a croon before growling in disgust at the liquid. Hiccup looks back, unsure.
Toothless crooned shyly, upon seeing his past self's actions, while the other dragons in the hall gave him unamused looks. He wasn't being picky! It just smelled disgusting, is all.
"Hey, we can always wait for the effect of the arrows to wear off, and hope they don't find us before then," Dagur says, walking up to them, "But, that could take quite a while!"
"It's up to you, Hiccup! But I would suggest you lose your paranoia- It's a terrible existence," Hiccup looks up at Dagur, who pauses for a moment, before finishing, "And it's not you."
With a resigned sigh, Hiccup tilts the pot, pouring the antidote into Toothless' mouth.
"Here you go, bud. It's okay, it's okay."
"Wait, didn't you say something about the antidote being super painful?" Gustav asked, turning his head towards the three involved. They winced in remembrance, nodding.
"Yeah, uh," Hiccup warned, facing the others in the Hall, "I'm.. not proud of what happens next."
All of the sudden, Toothless starts roaring manically, "Toothless, are you okay?"
"Toothless!" Hiccup shouts as Toothless drops back down. He turns around, facing Dagur.
"What did you do?!" Hiccup questions. Dagur takes a step back, expression neutral as the screen cuts to black.
"Oh, come on, come on-" Hiccup panics, as the camera cuts to the waterfall, and back to the cave, "Stay with me, Bud!"
Toothless roars in his agony as Dagur approaches, and Hiccup stands, pointing an accusatory finger at the Berserker.
"YOU STAY AWAY FROM HIM!"
"Oh, no," The Riders whispered.
"Hiccup, I didn't know!" Dagur backed away, "You have to believe me!"
Hiccup screamed as he tackled Dagur, causing both of them to fall off the waterfall, and into the river. The nearly hit a rock, but dodge, ending up washed up at a small lake.
Dagur stands, catching his breath and apparently with his arm fully healed, until Hiccup ambushes from behind.
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"
Hiccup grimaced at his words and actions, as did many of the other vikings and dragons, the audience falling into a stunned silence. That.. definitely wasn't his proudest moment, especially considering Dagur's innocence. He was just.. so worried about Toothless, he could barely think. He wasn't thinking.
"Holy Seadragonus, dude," One of the younger vikings commented. The others around them nodded in agreement, though none could really fault the lad. Had it been them and their own dragons, all of them would've likely done the same thing.
Still, it was nearly uncanny to the Berkians, to see the normally gentle young heir so absolutely furious and volatile.
Toothless let out a low purring growl, nudging his rider in concern. A part of him was touched at just how protective his little Hiccup could be, but the rest of him knew, all too well, of the turmoil that the Rider had been through at the time. Thinking that his best friend was about to die.. Toothless couldn't imagine the grief it would cause.
"Augh, no, Dagur-" Hiccup started, "I-I-I'm really sorry, I just-"
"Hey, hey, hey, don't worry about it, Brother!" Dagur responded, cutting off Hiccup's apology, "I totally get it! I'd do the same thing if it was Sleuther or Shattermaster."
"I didn't hurt your-"
They're soon both met with swords and crossbows pointed at them, as the Dragon Hunters have them cornered and Dagur raises his arms in surrender.
"Wow, that arm healed fast," Ruffnut joked, trying to ease the tension.
"It'd been about a day," Hiccup explained.
Soon enough, Hiccup and Dagur find themselves kneeling. Heads low, and hands tied.
"We're going to find that dragon. It's only a matter of time," The leading Hunter speaks, "So, why don't you make it easier, on everyone?"
The Hunters snicker, but both of them maintain their silence.
"Maybe this, will burn a hole in your memory," The leader signals, as another Hunter drags a struggling Hiccup towards a campfire. Sitting inside the fire is a group of metallic sticks.
The Hunter grabs one of these sticks, revealing a sizzling brand at the end of it. He takes it towards a nearby barrel, burning a mark onto it.
Stoick froze. His blood ran cold. He'd seen that insignia before, in those early days after the incident and trying to find out anything he could about that madman. Memories of a burning hall, dying chieftains and armoured dragons punched its way into his mind; having happened all those years ago, but still so vivid.
"Then see how well you do, without me!"
Now, he knew exactly who the Dragon Hunters were truly serving.
Now, he was burning with white, hot, rage.
Hiccup stares, wide-eyed, as the Dragon Hunter holds the brand closer towards Hiccup's cheek.
"Now, you'll be part of the Dragon Hunters, forever!"
Toothless outright roared in fury. The vikings stared, horrified as the Hunters nearly branded Hiccup. Some were furious, quickly shaking out of their stupor and gripping their weapons with renewed hatred for these cruel Dragon Hunters. How dare they try and defile the Pride of Berk? How dare they?!
"I- Uh," Hiccup stuttered, looking at the angry mob of vikings and dragons. If looks could kill, that screen would've been dead thrice over.
"Uh, guys, I'm fine!" He finally spoke up, waving his hands around, "They didn't manage to touch me with that... thing."
"But they nearly did," Stoick all but growled, his expression not nearly as calm as the tone of his voice, "..I am going to split their skulls in two!"
"I can think of something even worse than that," Snarled Astrid. Toothless snarled as well, seemingly sharing the same thoughts.
"You know," Hiccup sighed as he pointed out, "If you're all going to get mad everytime something remotely bad happens to me, you're gonna be mad for pretty much the entire time we're here."
"Wow," His brows rose slightly, "That actually sounds.. concerning, now that I say it out loud."
"No kidding..?"
Snotlout snorted, "Not exactly helping your case-"
"-I know!" The heir replied, a little indignantly, "But my point still stands."
Toothless gurgled with laughter as his rider crossed his arms, feigning annoyance. The Night Fury saw the truth in his human's words, but in his opinion? Let the anger remain. At least by the end of it, perhaps his rider would be less inclined to find himself in dangerous situations all by himself. Friends protected friends, it was just their duty.
"Okay- Enough, enough!" Dagur pleads as the Hunters turn around, "I'll take you to the Night Fury."
"No, Dagur!" Hiccup shouts back, straining away from the brand. The Hunters' leader calls it off, accepting the deal.
"Take a few more men with you," Their leader orders as Hiccup is pushed to the ground, "Just in case!"
Worried, Dagur runs over to Hiccup's side, before freeing himself by burning his ropes. The Hunters notice, and start pointing their crossbows alertly.
Finally, Dagur is freed from his ropes, and he charges sideways into them, knocking them out and grabbing one of their swords with a laugh.
"Come on, come on, come on," Hiccup sits up, indicating for Dagur to free him, "Hurry, hurry, hurry!"
Dagur nearly does, before he hears more of the Hunters approaching, and turning towards Hiccup with a smirk.
"Sorry, brother," Dagur says as Hiccup's eyes widen, "You'd just slow me down!"
A few of the Vikings glanced back at Dagur, giving him hardened glares.
"Guys, remember," Heather reminded the glarers, "It's the past."
Dagur flees from the scene, arrows being shot in his direction while Hiccup looks down in disbelief, before shouting, "YOU'RE A FAKE, DAGUR! A FAKE!"
"I HATE YOU!" Hiccup's voice still rings as Dagur slashes foliage out of his way, "YOU HEAR ME?!"
"Flippin' Thor, dude," Gustav stared up at the screen.
"Never thought I'd hear Hiccup say that," Another Viking agreed.
"Eugh," Hiccup groaned, "I was stranded on an island, with my dragon who got shot down by dragon-root, and got kidnapped by Dragon Hunters while a guy I'd known as an enemy for a long time presumably betrayed my trust, twice in a row."
"Forgive me, for being a little mad," He deadpanned. That shut the vikings up.
"I HATE YOU!" Dagur looks back for a moment, regret in his eyes, before he shakes his head and runs towards a certain waterfall, coming up with a plan.
"Don't apologise," Dagur pressed a finger on Hiccup's face, before he could open his mouth, "I deserved that."
"Forget him!" The Hunters' leader commands, "He's worthless."
"This one," He turns towards Hiccup, "..will take us to the Night Fury."
"We'll come for Dagur later, put an end to his..." He grins, "..miserable life!"
The Dragon Hunters lead Hiccup away, to the island's beach, where the Hunters' ship stands proud and tall.
"Last chance!" The Hunter offers, "You wanna help that dragon? Help yourself?"
Hiccup looks up, "I'll die before I talk."
Stoick wanted to scream. To somehow walk into the screen and shake Hiccup's past self, every inch of his parental instincts begging for his son to save himself first, worry about the dragon later. Especially now that he knew more about the Dragon Hunters than even the Riders knew. He would never let Drago touch any of them; not if he could help it. He would die before he'd let that happen.
But, another part of him knew, they're inseparable. Hiccup and that Night Fury could never let the other be hurt, in any way.
"Then die, you shall." The Hunter retorts primly, "Viggo will see to that."
"I almost forgot how much I hated that man," Spitelout hissed, "Almost."
His little Snotty boy was one of the Dragon Riders, and though he still wanted his boy to toughen up, even he knew of the lines that had been crossed. And if the anecdotes he'd heard were true, and if that coward was willing to go to such lengths to harm his skinny little nephew, then when it came to his own son, well...
"Take him," He orders, as the Hunters push Hiccup towards the ship.
Hiccup turns his head slightly, and hears the familiar shriek of the Night Fury.
"He didn't," Gobber stared.
"Oh, yes, he did!" Tuffnut grinned. He'd heard this tale before, and now, he was going to see it!
Toothless screeches, prepping his blast. Somehow, the Hunters don't notice- They must have really bad hearing, and order Hiccup to move, before...
BLAST! The Dragon Hunters are blasted away one-by-one as Hiccup ducks, a smile forming on his face before he looks up, to see Dagur riding Toothless high into the sky.
Hiccup laughs at the unlikely sight, "Whaaaat?"
"Sweet, sweet victory," Snotlout grinned as well, "That's what!"
The camera zooms in on Toothless, flying upside-down, as Dagur panics, hanging on for dear life.
The Vikings laughed at the sight, the atmosphere in the Great Hall losing much of its tension, becoming far more light.
Something shifted in their attitudes, and now, the Vikings knew that they could trust the odd Berserker chief.
Toothless rolls around in the air, spreading his wings and diving, dodging the Hunters' arrows expertly.
The two stop, as Dagur catches one of the arrows before it can hit the dragon, and the two look at each other, a bond formed. Dagur starts laughing, while the Night Fury looks back down at the Hunters with extreme contempt.
The Hunters' leader, upon seeing this, pushes Hiccup down to a crouching position, hold a blade to his head.
"Bad idea!" The Twins almost sang.
At this, Toothless soars higher, growling.
"Easy, dragon!" Dagur says, before screaming as Toothless dives downward... and nearly barfing.
The Vikings and Dragons all laughed at this, most especially Sleuther.
"Sleuther," Dagur scolds lightly as the Triple Stryke gives his rider a mischievous look, "..Don't you dare-!"
Oh, but Sleuther did, most certainly, dare. Dagur may have been far more accustomed to flying on a dragon, but Sleuther still knew a few fun tricks up his scales that he was so going to use on their flight home.
Toothless blasts the remaining Hunters with ease, landing in front of their leader with a fearsome roar while Dagur falls off.
The leader of none backs away, arms raised, before running for dear life.
Now that the situation is over, Toothless runs headfirst towards Hiccup, who giggles as the Night Fury nuzzles his chest.
"Bud! It's good to see you, too!" Hiccup remarks, rubbing his still-tied hands on his best friend's scales.
"I have.." Dagur approaches, voice shaking a little, "..no idea, how you stomach that!"
"I still don't," Gobber chuckled, petting his own dragon, "Ma' Grump flies so slow, it's almost worse than walkin'!"
"You'll get used to it," Fishlegs smirked, putting a hand on Dagur's shoulder with mocking sympathy.
"Oh, shut up," Dagur giggled, pushing the younger's hand off with ease.
"Now, you see why I paired you up with Shattermaster the first time around?" Hiccup said, raising an amused eyebrow. Gronckles were, generally speaking, easier on the new riders.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Dagur replied, grumbling.
With a short grunt, Dagur cuts Hiccup free, and the two shake hands.
"Oh, Toothless!" Hiccup coos, hugging his dragon's head as Toothless lifts him up, "It's good to have you back!"
"Now," Hiccup mounts the saddle, "..What do you say we show him how it's done?"
Toothless replies with an eager roar, and Hiccup smiles, setting his foot into the stirrup and spreading the dragon's tail-fin.
The two soar high into the sky, leaving Dagur on the beach as they go after the fleeing Hunters.
"Toothless, barrel roll! Multiple blasts!"
The round back to the beach, as Toothless blasts down the Dragon Hunters' ships, causing some of them to jump overboard. The duo chase a hunter into the forest, while Dagur watches. He turns around, his eyes set on the abandoned Hunters' ship, and his ticket off the island.
"Dude, nice!" One of the younger vikings shouted, while others nodded in agreement, "Leaving the island in style!"
Meanwhile, Hiccup and Toothless stop as the Hunters' leader flees, "They're so much tougher when they have you chained up. Huh, Bud?"
Toothless growls in agreement, before they head back to the beach. The Hunter looks on, thinking the coast is clear, until he hears the growls of a Changewing, right in front of him.
Dagur snickered, "Oh my Thor, YES!"
The Hunter whimpers, and screams as the Changewing attacks.
"YES!" Dagur shouted with delight, "Karma, baby!"
"That's so morbid," Heather chuckled at the screen, "Wow."
"He deserved it."
Meanwhile, Hiccup and Toothless land on the beach, but no Dagur in sight.
"Wait, where'd he go?"
The two scan the beach, before Hiccup spots something in the distant waters beyond. The two fly up, and into the sea. They search for Dagur, but find nothing in the vast waters. Toothless looks back at Hiccup.
"Yeah, we owe him one." Hiccup looks down, "Besides, maybe he'll get to Viggo before we do."
And the two are off, presumably flying to Dragon's Edge. But the camera lingers for a moment, panning upwards from a cloud, revealing Dagur on the stolen Hunters' ship.
"Hiccup!" Dagur calls, as the ship sails into the fog, "Tell Heather I'm coming for her!"
The camera cuts to Hiccup and Toothless flying over the island, and it cuts to black.
"...You didn't tell her, did you?" Dagur deadpanned, remembering the less-than-friendly reception he got, the next time he visited Dragon's Edge.
"Yeah, sorry. My bad," Hiccup replied with a blush. In hindsight, he probably should have explained the situation earlier.
Wowza, that was a long one. Next episode is The Longest Day, because that episode's just hilarious. Happy Pride Month, get your vaccines if you're not allergic, and stay safe, everyone! 💖