Hey everyone, I hope you had a happy DreadFall (Halloween!) Sorry for the long wait! Here's the next update to my story…enjoy!

This chapter takes place during an alternate version of "A view to a Skrill, Part 1 and Part 2."

Brothers

Chapter 36: Ride of the Outcasts, Part 1

Hiccup tried all he could to reform Dagur the Deranged…to try and help the Berserker see the error of his ways. That, unfortunately, is easier said than done.

We had to hurry, for the clock was ticking. It wouldn't be long until the Berserker would be sent before Stoick to meet his fate.

"Why would I help her carry the box!? In my tribe, the women are perfectly capable of carrying it themselves!" Dagur protested feebly.

"But she needs help, if somebody is in that position, typically doesn't hurt to help the person" Hiccup explained as Toothless and I sit idly across from the two humans. Dagur, of course, laughed it off; however, the Night Fury next to me made sure to keep him in check with a snarl, "okay, dragon…okay!" He slapped his arms against his sides. Finally, the tattooed male walked up to the rather large female Viking and asked, "uh…so um…" he looked over to Hiccup who mouthed the words but soon he's forced to say it, "Miss."

"Miss…let me…uh…help you…"

"Are you sure, laddie?" She raised an eyebrow, not seeming to have trouble carrying the box herself.

"No, no…let me…"

The woman shrugged before handing the box over to Dagur who takes it. It turned out to be MUCH heavier than expected and he is suddenly holding onto an object he can barely hold. Sure enough, the teen struggles greatly much to the amusement of Toothless (who is now positively beaming.) I couldn't help but hold my mouth with a paw at the scene playing out. Unlike both of us, Hiccup gave a nervous look, "oh boy…"

Not too long after, Hiccup has Dagur perform chores for some Berkians in the square. This time, we (HiccTooth and I) help him out. We clean the entirety of the area (sweeping it with brooms and picking up the trash.) Needless to say, the Berserker is less than THRILLED by the experience.

"You know…when I had to clean something, I usually got somebody else to do it…I was the Chieftain's son after all…"

"Here on Berk, we all share the work" Hiccup retorted.

Hiccup and Dagur stared at each other in response, "didn't your father, Oswald, make you do chores?"

"My father…pfft" Dagur gave a loud, sarcastic, laugh back, "I usually made HIM do the chores " Dagur retorted.

The Hairy Hooligan decided to let it be and tried to focus their attention on the trash in front of them. Above the duo is Toothless and I: we rest by the edge of the roof, overlooking them.

"I think Hiccup might be wasting his time…this one is a tough nut to crack…" Toothless warbled.

"Well, if he doesn't clean up his act…"

"Suppose we just throw him in the ring now…it'll save us a lot of trouble…and we'll have some entertainment for the day" the dragon suggested as I slowly looked toward him in slight shock. Man…Toothless can be sadistic sometimes. I know he's joking but jeez.

"I swear…sometimes I worry about you, bud" I said back as he chuckled.

Speaking of the Arena, we eventually made our way there and we helped the humans clean the entirety of the Dragon Academy. It had to be done, for it's something that needed to be done for a while now.

"Tell me something, Hiccup…why should WE do this? Why don't we just have some prisoners do it?"

"One, there aren't any other prisoners but you, and second…that's exactly what we're doing…" Hiccup said with some sass in his voice. That tone often came and went, though it was rare…the boy couldn't help but use it against Dagur. The Berserker didn't react negatively. He actually started laughing in response to Haddock's comment. Hiccup rested the broom against his shoulder as Tooth and I cleaned stuff in the background, "you crack me up, Hiccup…my RING still has old blood stains. We take PRIDE in leaving it on the walls. You Berkians sure are strange…"

"No, just ahead of the times" Haddock smiled back.

"You try to make peace now…throw away most of your weapons…yet you have that shield with you…"

Hiccup then brandished his signature shield, "Gronckle Iron" the boy smirked sheepishly. From the time I've seen it…the weapon had had a few upgrades and now it had many uses…truly ahead of its time if I may say so.

"What?" The other human raised an eyebrow.

"I'll explain later. Come on, let's grab something to eat" Hiccup suggested, lying the broom against the wall as Dagur throws his down on the floor. The boy, in response, rolls his eyes as they walk out of the arena. Me and Toothless (not wanting his best friend to end up alone with a dangerous Berserker) followed very shortly after.

A day or two passes by and Hiccup tries having the other teen have his first pacifist interaction with a dragon (namely a wild one) in the wilderness. Stoick made sure Dagur wouldn't do anything, so he flew overhead with his dragon: Thornado.

Dagur looked above…having only found out recently that Stoick had his own dragon, "even the Chief of Berk has one…unbelievable!"

"And maybe someday, you might have one too" Hiccup said, leading us into a clearing. Toothless and I made sure to remain vigilant for any possible threat, Dagur included.

Sure enough, we come across a wild Gronckle…it's perfect! Gronckles aren't too fast or maneuverable, so they're one of the easier dragons to try and "tame."

"Now remember what I said, Dagur…there's much more to having a dragon and training them. It's about forming a close bond with them…forming a trust that can never be broken."

"Yeah, okay" the Berserker retorted, getting out of the bushes before Haddock stopped him, "remember…slowly approach them…let them know you're not there to be any danger to them!"

Dagur rolled his eyes as Tooth and I looked at each other at that moment…this won't end well, I thought.

Sure enough, the Berserker Leader moved forward, catching the attention of the resting Grocnkle flock, who narrow their reptilian eyes.

"Uh…hi…uh…dragon…I'm here to claim you…uh…are you a boy or a girl…I can't tell…"

Suddenly, the Gronckle across from him started getting annoyed as Hiccup slapped his forehead in response, "Dagur…" he walked up to help out the warrior, "just reach your hand out…slowly…like so…" the Viking boy demonstration, but sure enough, the former male groaned loudly. His impatience got to the Gronckle: it suddenly lunged forward and slammed into the two! Toothless sprang into action for the sake of his best friend. He unleashed a small plasma bolt to spook the Boulder-Class dragon. The Gronckle, in response, flies away.

I, meanwhile, went to help the two boys from the ground. Stoick, still above on Thornado, sighed softly to himself…petting his dragon right afterward, "I gotta give credit to Hiccup where credit is due…he sure is stubborn like his father…" the Chieftain muttered to himself.

That night, Dagur is taken back to jail to sleep for the day as the rest of us retire to the house. There, Hiccup is confronted by his father: Stoick the Vast.

"Son…about Dagur…"

"I know…nothing seems to be working, but I'm trying my best to help him…" Hiccup shook his head.

"And I understand that Hiccup, but some people may be unable to change, or unwilling…"

"Not this talk again, dad!" Haddock moved away, groaning.

"I know…I was wrong…twice…but I just want you to be prepared…be ready for the possibility that Dagur WON'T change."

On the stairs, Toothless and I eavesdropped, listening in intently. The bigger Night Fury turned to face me, his face dark with worry, "what do you think will happen?"

"I dunno…I only hope we're doing the right thing…I hope something good can come out of this…" I look away, thinking to myself.

"Flint…" I suddenly heard the dragon next to me warble, "why did you try to reform Dagur?" He asked.

I turned around, eyeing him carefully, "come on, you've known me long enough, you know why."

Toothless gave a light smirk back, "you know he can be changed."

"Gods willing" I finished, heading for the window in our bedroom, "I'll be back, Toothless." He nodded back before glancing over to Hiccup, who sighed softly at the possibility of Dagur's impending fate.

Some time passed by: I had caught a fish from a nearby pond and in the dead of night, I made it to the jail cell. I quickly cooked the scaly vertebrate and offered it to the human. I hovered by the window as the man took it through the bars.

"Uh…t-thanks…" he took a chunk clean out of the thing, feeling satisfied. I smiled at this, hoping it would help put his mind at ease. I continued hovering idly by the window, but he said nothing in return. He didn't need to, though…his face said it all…he's thankful. There is a minute of silence between the two of us…I stare into Dagur's eyes…he seems to…understand something. It's like he sees something different about everything as of late…then, he spoke.

"You're not like the other dragons…" he muttered that more as a statement than a question. I decided to shake my head at this.

"You write, you wear that medallion around your neck…you can understand EVERYTHING I say…how?" Dagur asked. I am surprised because he is the FIRST human (other than Hiccup) to ask these questions. The dragons all around me (especially HookFang) asked the same thing.

"If you're as smart as I think you are, you ought to NOT trust me…yet you do…"

I gave a neutral expression back towards him, but I soon scoffed in my slightly deeper voice (that usually happens when you get older, heh.)

I make a gurgled warble to say "goodnight" to Dagur before I finally leave. The Berserker leader turned away from the window and slumped against the cold stone wall, moving down until he was on the floor. The teen clutched his head, finally removing the helmet he usually wears when with others: his bright auburn hair was finally revealed. He rubs his hand over it to try and comfort himself.

He glances at the fish I gave him…thinking to himself, I don't believe this…I'm being fed by a dragon like I'm its pet! I'm getting pushed around by these Berkians…why am I letting them do it, though? Desperation…maybe? No…I want to settle things…I can't leave this realm without doing that first. I have unfinished business.

He had to do what Hiccup says…as much as he'd like to die in battle for glory. After all, he's still SOUR from losing to Berk…being bested by the Night Furies. He hasn't forgotten…but he's at the point where none of that ought to matter at the moment…Dagur just needs to survive…he always has…always will…

A day passes by. From the village square, Hiccup continued trying to reform Dagur as Toothless and I was not too far away in an adjacent forest. Why were the two of us here? Well, I kind of wanted to continue learning how to hunt under Toothless while I still can. I figured today we could do just that.

And so, just before midday, he and I found a small hog separated from its kind…and well…it went about as well as you'd expect…

"Alright, just remember what I taught you. You don't want to end up in a chase or end up hurting yourself." Toothless whispered very quickly in my black dragon ear as I nodded, "gotcha."

"Alright, go for it, Flint!" He finished as I arched my back and slowly made my way to my meal. My paws allowed me to remain silent and the shade from the trees above cast a shadow around me. I silently stalked the pig across from me as it wandered through the forest in search of its pack.

Unknown to it, I'm only a few feet away…before it can even turn around: I'm on it! It screeched in pain as my talons dug into its tough hide. I thought I could end its pain quickly but unfortunately, it managed to speed ahead, and I'm taken along with it. It directs its body toward a tree, and I am consequently hit against the trunk. Toothless jumps at this, surprised by what happened but he expected a fight from the pig. The Night Fury felt confident that I could end this by myself…I had to…this was the point of everything. Yet, unlike the deer and how easy it was to take it down…this pig is A LOT harder, especially since it's robust and quite aggressive.

And so, amidst the violent clamoring, I extended my neck and bit into their own neck. With as much force as I can muster, my teeth dug deep, and I snapped their neck…ending their suffering. Toothless came out of cover to see me moving back, blood falling down my snout.

"You alright, Flint?" He asked worryingly as I wipe the blood off with an arm. I simply nodded back to him.

"That settles it, you know how to hunt" he said, walking over to me. I nodded, "I appreciate the lessons, Toothless."

He nodded back, "I don't suppose you'll be doing it often, but it's a skill to have regardless."

"Right" I finished before I started eating the carcass.

"Flint…" Toothless warbled to me before I pull my head away from my meal.

"I'm not sure what else I could teach you beyond this point…heh" he said embarrassingly, putting his arm behind his back and smiling sheepishly.

"I'm sure we'll find something…oh! Maybe we can continue practicing my swimming later?"

"Hmm…you're pretty good at that now, though?"

"But diving and swimming underwater?"

"I guess you got a point, we could do that, later" he smiled before I gestured for him to join me for lunch.

Later that same day, Toothless and I decided to check up on Hiccup and Dagur…it seems as though everything was alright with them. Stoick is watching them still, so I suppose the other dragon and I can continue our little adventure for the time being. And so, we go down toward the beach for more swimming lessons!

It made sense…after all: after almost drowning in that river of algae during our confrontation with the Flightmare, it would help to learn more. I mean, we HAD done lessons after what happened on Dragon Island, but we didn't really continue all that much either.

And so, the Night Fury and I swam out to deeper water, where the current is weak and the waves are calm, and we began the lesson.

"Alrighty…I suppose it's common sense…take a deep breath before you go under. Make sure your arms and legs are against your body as much as possible. You'll be moving sideways as you do on the surface, like a snake."

"Got it, Toothless" I nodded.

"Alright, I'll be watching you just in case, go ahead and start."

I did what he requested: I began to sink, but it's harder than I thought because I'm being forced back to the surface. I try wiggling or moving my arms out to move deeper, but it's easier said than done. I gave up, letting my body break the surface to meet the dragon across from me.

"Not exactly what I expected" Toothless said cheerfully as I grumbled, "you got to work on your strokes…here, watch me" the Fury said, going underwater. Sure enough, I examine his form and see how easy it is for him to descend with the way he is moving. Once he resurfaced, Tooth motioned me to follow through, "now you try."

"Alright…" I sighed before taking a deep breath again. I once more dive underwater as he eyes me carefully…the clear water giving him a good view from where he is. I kept my arms and legs close enough to my body and folded my wings (which was a big reason I had failed.) Sure enough, I started making strides as he'd done. I managed to swim several meters before deciding to head back up.

Once I reemerged, his face is filled with delight, "there you go! Your form is a bit clumsy, but we can work on it" he chuffed, happily nudging me in congratulation.

I just had to smile back at him, "thanks, bud. We outta head back, it's getting dark" I suggested as he nodded, "yeah, let's go, Flint."

That night, dark clouds covered the sky, and what followed were strong electrical charges…a powerful thunderstorm formed just above Berk…of the likes it had not seen in recent memory. It ended up being an ominous sign to us all…

I wake up to the sound of shouting outside. I jolted my head up: barely catching sight of Toothless and Hiccup waking up to the same noise. Something's wrong. We rush downstairs and once we are out the door we are suddenly caught in a powerful gust of wind!

To our left is a fire that is consuming several buildings in Berk! Above us the lightning and thunder are instantaneous. Chaos and confusion dominate the air and space around us, but sure enough, the three of us sprang into action!

"Come on, buds!" Hiccup shouted as Toothless, and I followed behind him. Like we normally did whenever there's a fire in the village, we gathered the Dragon Riders and filled buckets with water and dirt: it's a far cry from the time the BoneKnapper attacked; however, this fire is MUCH bigger, and it headed for the jail!

Strangely enough, there is no rain at all falling!

Nevertheless, we get to work…doing our best to slow and stop the raging fire. Stoick and the other adult Vikings worked from the ground, being sure to move precious commodities away from the path of destruction. It's pretty rough, though, because of all the lightning strikes hitting all around us!

I decided to branch off and head to the jail where Dagur is located. From the window there's no sign of the guard and fire is consuming the inside. I catch sight of the Berserker, who's frantically trying to find a way out. I cry out to him, warning the human to step back as my mouth lights up purple. He sees what I'm about to do and jumps back for cover. I unleash my signature plasma blast at the wooden wall: shattering it to pieces.

As the smoke cleared, I gestured with my head for Dagur the Deranged to come out. The man quickly exits the burning wreck right afterward, coughing. Toothless, after helping the teens put out a fire in a house, rushed over to us, "Flint…you guys okay!?"

"Yeah, I had to get Dagur out…otherwise…"

The dragon nodded, looking over his shoulder to see Haddock moving toward us, "Dagur?"

The Berserker walked toward him, his helmet is nowhere to be seen…so this is the first time we see his hair and all its glory. Tooth raised a scaly brow at this, but had no time to think about it: Hiccup walked up to the teen Berserker with a beckoning look running down his face, "you mind helping us with this, Dagur?" The boy gestured to the chaotic scene behind him.

The other male placed a finger to his chin. Comedically, he said, "I have nothing else to do right now, Hiccup."

"Come on, then!" The latter smiled.

Soon, the four of us make the effort to put out the rest of the inferno alongside Stoick and the others.

For a brief moment, the Chieftain looks at the auburn-haired teen. He seemed confused and unwilling to trust the "Outcast."

Despite this, Vast would allow ANY help needed to end the disaster in Berk, at least for the moment. Dagur and I went in with buckets of water: I carried mine with my teeth. As we are all saving what's left of the square, Toothless sensed something in the sky…it's a force that made him feel dread. Whatever is causing this storm…it's not natural.

He nudged Hicc's side, getting his attention.

"What is it, bud?"

The Night Fury pointed his snout up toward the violent sky…

By now Hiccup noticed just how ODD this storm truly is. Not only that, but Stormfly squawked at us from the sky, and then we saw it, "look, everyone!"

I get off the ground to investigate and sure enough, I see them…a small fleet that is entering the vicinity. They look so familiar…I get HiccTooth to follow quickly. It's not long before we see them from the cliff we're standing on: it's the Outcasts!

The three of us then realize why all of this is happening…we're under attack!

With great alacrity, Hiccup runs back to his father and delivers the bad news. Stoick the Vast couldn't believe it, but once he saw the armada, he gathered everyone.

"Outcasts are attacking!" The Chief of Berk began directing resources and warriors for the inevitable fight. Little did he know that the battle started when the first lightning struck…

Speaking of lightning, a particularly strong thunderbolt came down and destroyed another building…causing it to explode violently. Toothless right off the bat knew that the bolt was too precise! Soon enough, he warbled to Hiccup…begging the human to mount him.

"Hiccup…what is going on!?" Dagur grabbed the boy's shoulder.

"Nothing good…" Hicc slightly quipped, "Outcasts are attacking Berk!"

He gets on the black dragon and the duo takes off for the skies above.

"Outcasts…" Dagur growled to himself. At one point he considered taking them in as allies, but he had a particular distaste for Alvin the Treacherous. He looked down at me. For some reason , I knew what he wanted…

Heck no…no way, forget it!

Suddenly, the Berserker hopped on my back!

By this point in time, I'm almost half Tooth's size, so having a heavier person ride me shouldn't cause any problems; however, I still HATED having people ride me. Hiccup is the ONLY exception...maybe Astrid if it's a good day...but still! Dagur felt as though the whole fire thing down below is boring him to death, so he figured more action can be found where Hiccup and his dragon are going.

I just sighed, rolling my eyes quickly. I wanted to catch up to Toothless, making sure he and his rider aren't getting into trouble…trying to get this man off me would only waste time. And so, I launched into the sky with Dagur the Deranged on my back…holding me tightly so as not to fall…

The teen suddenly found himself immersed in the feeling of flight, never experiencing it before. Consequently, he started howling as he always does when excited. I sighed again: if you told me not even an hour ago that Dagur would be riding a dragon…let alone ME…I probably would have laughed hysterically at the idea…but I digress.

We join Hiccup and Toothless inside the storm above Berk: both are searching for something, but what?

That's when I squinted my green reptilian eyes and spotted something flying through the dark clouds not too far away from us. Sure enough, its silhouette is revealed by lightning…it's a dragon! Quickly, Hiccup instructs Toothless to fly in to follow the strange beast.

"Well…what are you waiting for? Let's go!" Dagur the Deranged rudely shouted at me. I growled back at him, but it had no effect on the seasoned warrior. I sighed, making my way to the infamous duo…and NOT because Dagur told me to!

Haddock looks behind him to see the Berserker riding me on my back and couldn't help but cover his laughter a bit, "how are you doing back there, Dagur?"

"I suppose you were right, Haddock…this is faster than traveling on a boat."

The Berkian couldn't help but laugh back at this. The mood soon changed once Toothless alerted us to the beast that we were approaching. Sure enough, we see it: a bright flash of lightning reveals what the dragon looks like.

Dagur's eyes immediately widened upon seeing the reptile. The dragon is unlike anything the Archipelago has ever seen…it's on the same level as a Night Fury in terms of rarity…almost anyways. It has long intimidating spikes running down their backs and undersides. Its wings are also like a Fury…maybe they're related? A spiky "crown" exists on its narrow head along with a bent horn. Its teeth are sharp…very sharp…probably one of the sharpest I've ever seen during my time in this world. Its bloodshot eyes finally focus on us…it doesn't exactly look very friendly. Most striking, however, is not the dragon itself…but who's riding on its back…

"Been a long time…Hiccup!"

The man smirked…and we all gasped at the sight and revelation placed on us…there's no mistaking it. That's an Outcast that is riding the beast…and not just any Outcast…but Alvin the Treacherous!

I hope you all enjoyed! I'm sorry for the delayed update…I picked up so many projects in Q3 2022 that it feels like weekly updates on this story won't be a thing again for the time being.

Unfortunately, because the holiday season is inching closer and closer…updates on all my stories (including this one) will be much slower than usual. Probably by the end of the year I might decide to take a "break" until next year (resume updates Jan, Feb, or March) to try and get some ideas flowing and such.

But yeah, just wanted to let you all know. Either way, I'll see you guys in the next update, peace!