Some experiences in life were just inherently wrong. The cousins never thought that they would see the god of war look ill. He was flushed and despite doing his best to keep his eyes open, it was clear that he was fighting hard to not be unconscious.

"Let's get him inside," Hiccup suggested.

Nodding, Snotlout ignored the weak complaints and put his friend over his shoulder. They returned to their home and he set him down on a bed. Hiccup got some wet cloths to try to cool him down. As soon as the fabric touched skin, there was a sizzling sound and the steam almost burned Hiccup's hands.

"Won't work," Dagur muttered, finally closing his eyes to not see that awful light anymore.

"Then what will?" Snotlout asked, stress in his voice. "Who's even causing this?"

Hiccup's furrowed brows rose in realization. "Those kingdoms. What were they called again?"

The redhead just turned on the bed so that he was not facing them. "No…use. Just wait."

"If we can stop this, we have to try."

Snotlout thought hard, trying to recall. "Wasn't one Argos?"

"Yeah. And the other one was…Erythrae."

"If you go to Argos, I can go to Erythrae."

"Deal." Hiccup turned to Sleuther. "Stay here and make sure he's okay."

A determined look was in the chimera's eyes. There were some low grumbles from Dagur, but he was not able to stop anyone. The cousins hopped on their feathery friends' saddles and took off. They felt responsible. The boys both knew that the war god would not have gone to those kingdoms if it was not for them. How could they be expected to do nothing when they were the cause of his suffering? Once he smelled smoke, Hiccup knew they had flown into Argos. It was suffocating. Instinctively, Toothless landed so that they could get lower and further from the noxious air. When he did, he began galloping towards the source of the flames.

"What are you doing?!" Hiccup called out.

People had torches in their hands. Anyone who did not was using stones to break apart the material. They scowled at the newcomers.

"Get out of here, kid."

"Not until you put out those fires."

"Why do you care?"

"That temple belongs to Ares. You're hurting him."

"Good. This is the only way we can."

Hiccup began to frown at the group. "He doesn't deserve that."

"He made us start an idiotic war and lose half of our soldiers!"

"He didn't want to!"

One of the people regarded the boy suspiciously. "How do you know that?"

"He's my friend."

Their harsh gazes turned on him. They aggressively held out the torch.

"Get out of our city or we'll burn you in your 'friend's' temple."

Hiccup remained steadfast, but he became wary. Toothless stomped the ground in warning to anyone. Regardless, they still tried to attack. The Pegasus flew to avoid someone throwing a torch on him. Hiccup looked around for water. In his search, he spotted a couple buckets and a stream, but he wondered if they would even be helpful.

"We have to try," he said. "Toothless, over there."

Obliging with the request, Toothless flew towards the buckets. He grabbed one in his mouth and Hiccup caught another. The winged horse began flying towards the steam next. They filled up the buckets and returned to the temple as quickly as they could. It was difficult to do much when people were still holding torches, so they targeted these first. They got cursed at as the group was drenched.

"I'm really sorry for everyone you lost," Hiccup stated sincerely, "but if you want to blame someone, blame Hades. He's the one who wanted to collect their souls. Doing this won't change or fix anything. Ares didn't want to do it."

"Then he shouldn't have!"

"It's not that simple."

Unconvinced, the group glared at him. They began to smirk as they glanced at the building.

"Well, either way," one commented, "you're too late. Tell your pal that he'll never have another temple in Argos."

Hiccup turned to see and his eyes widened. The temple was practically in ruins. People from behind him began to cheer. They sounded so victorious that Hiccup struggled to connect their actions to their joy.

"Let's go, Bud," he muttered, defeated.

Snarling at the people first, Toothless started to fly away. Snotlout struggled to have more success. When he and Hoookfang arrived in Erythrae, people still dressed as soldiers were pushing down columns. Some had already been knocked over. Those which had been were laying in a burning pile. Before the soldiers could topple another, Snotlout hopped off Hookfang's back and went behind the column.

"What do you think you're doing?" one of them questioned harshly.

Snotlout remained where he was, pushing the column back in place. "This wasn't Ares's fault. You should be mad at Hades."

"Hades isn't in charge of wars."

"But he ordered this one."

"I don't care."

"You should. You're punishing Ares for something he didn't even want to do."

They pushed harder, fighting against the warrior. In surprise, they realized that this was difficult.

"Let go!" one ordered.

"Not if you're going to destroy it." Guilt hit the boy. "Ares only did that because of me. It's my fault."

"It's not your fault for us going to war, kid. I'll only blame you if you don't move."

Snotlout stayed put, planting his feet. Unfortunately, he could not be everywhere. More soldiers went to a different column, pushing on it. Hookfang pecked at them, not wanting to add any more fire to the burning area.

"Our comrades are dead!" someone yelled. "Ares has to pay for what he did."

Ignoring the Phoenix's attacks and the young warrior's own strength, they pushed harder. They pushed the columns down. Snotlout and Hookfang darted out with the group before they could get crushed. Sadly, they stared at the rubble. The bird approached Snotlout, unhappily placing his head on his shoulder.

"Come on, Hooky," he said quietly.

Snotlout got on the creature's saddle and they started to return. Back in Berk, Sleuther was trying to care for Dagur, but it was not simple. The immortal did not ask for anything or give any other indication of what might help. To cool him off, Sleuther flapped his wings. It helped a little, but it was more of an internal fire. No amount of wind would fix that. Dagur did not tell the creature this. He felt it when the temples broke too. It was like his bones were cracking. He had not experienced this for a while. The immortal supposed that it was a benefit of not having many temples. Not many of them got destroyed. At least Dagur had high pain tolerance. He never yelled out or even grimaced much. Regardless, one temple was bad enough. Two were difficult to bear. He must have finally drifted off because when he opened his eyes again, he saw the worried faces of his friends hovering over him. It sounded like they had been discussing something.

"It's the least she can do," Snotlout said.

"Not if it wasn't her fault. We'd be better off with Athena."

"What about Apollo?"

"Maybe. They might both be willing."

Dagur tried to sit up, but Sleuther laid on top of him.

"Hey," he complained.

"Sleuther's right," Snotlout stated, arms crossed. "You have to rest. We're trying to figure out who can help. Dad's on lookout duty while we stay here with you."

"I don't need babysitters."

"We're not babysitting," Hiccup said.

"We're godsitting," Snotlout corrected, making Dagur frown at him.

"We're making sure you're okay," Hiccup offered.

An uncertain expression flashed across the immortal's eyes. The cousins wondered if anyone had ever said that to him before.

"It goes away in about a week. Normally anyway."

"Why wouldn't it this time?" Hiccup asked.

Dagur got quiet. When he spoke again, he sounded embarrassed.

"Argos and Erythrae were my last cities. No one else has any temples."

The cousins unhappily regarded one another.

"Could that make it take longer for you to heal?" Hiccup inquired gently.

The war god paused. "I don't know," he admitted. His voice sounded more sure. "But I'm fine. It just made me a little light-headed. Let's get out of here and work on taking down those giants. They'll be the easiest to defeat since they're mortal."

"We can work on that. First, we're going to ask Apollo to visit so that he'll help."

"He can't," Dagur grumbled. "It's not an injury. That's why I was trying to stop you from leaving. There's nothing you can do about this. It just has to go away with time."

It was clear that neither of his friends was going to accept that. They went outside to beseech, realizing that the war god was going to make it difficult if they did it in his presence. Before they even got to say much, they sensed someone new.

"Woah, you're good," Snotlout complimented, eyes wide.

Astrid was near him, brow raised. Hiccup offered an explanation.

"We were about to beseech either you or Apollo."

"I didn't know that, but I know that Athens was attacked recently. It seems like you two are the reason it's safe."

"We had a lot of help."

"But you're still the main reason." Astrid paused, smiling softly. "I'm impressed. I wanted to tell you personally."

"Thanks!"

Her smile faded. "Why were you going to beseech me?"

"Ares's temples got destroyed today. Is there anything you can do to help?"

Astrid thought about this. It worried the cousins. Maybe there really was nothing that could be done.

"Give me a second and I'll be right back," she said.

Hopefully, the cousins nodded and the goddess vanished. She went to Mount Olympus, getting a cup of nectar. Someone noticed her there.

"Hey," Heather greeted. "I don't see you here often."

"You either. Is something wrong?"

"I was going to tell Zeus about a recent interaction with Poseidon…it probably wouldn't make a big difference. What are you doing?"

"I'm bringing this back to Ares. Someone destroyed his temples."

Heather cringed. "Do you know why?"

"I sensed a war with some soldiers from Argos recently."

The other goddess stopped, frowning.

"I'm as confused by it as you are," Astrid assured her. "Do you want to go to Athens with me?"

"Sure."

Heather could not shake an odd feeling. For some reason, she felt like she had played a part in this. The only way to know for certain if she was right was to go there herself. So, she and Astrid returned to Athens and the blonde entered the home. Dagur was shocked to see the war goddess, almost becoming defensive.

"Here to attack me? That's not very sporting."

Astrid sighed, holding up the cup. "I'm here to give you this. It should strengthen you faster."

"I didn't think about that."

"That's why I'm the strategic side of war."

Dagur was not sure if she was being mocking or not. Her expression was not harsh unlike how it usually was. She handed him the cup and he saw Heather enter.

"Did somebody tell Tuff to throw a party?"

"No, I'm here because I was confused by what Astrid told me. She said that the soldiers from Argos were in a war."

"Not only them," Dagur said, scornfully chuckling. "Erythrae too."

"Aren't they loyal to you?"

"Not anymore." Dagur gestured to the cousins. "Your pet wanted to say hi."

Immediately, the mortals turned to Heather in shock. They had merely assumed she was a minor goddess involved in war.

"You're Demeter?" Hiccup asked. "The Basilisk is yours?"

The immortal nodded, brows pinched together. "I didn't want Windshear to go anywhere." She looked back at Dagur. "If she visited them, how are they still alive?"

Astrid's eyes widened with the answer. "Because he went to Hades."

Dagur tapped his nose. "Got it."

"But he wouldn't have released any soul without getting something back in return."

"You're on a roll today."

In surprise, the war god saw sympathetic expressions cross the goddesses faces. They looked at the mortals.

"That's why we wanted to help," Hiccup said. "He risked a lot to help us when we could've been replaced."

Astrid smiled again at the inventor. "You went with him?"

"They're my friends. I wouldn't leave that for them to go through alone."

"It's dangerous for a mortal to enter the Underworld before dying."

"It was worth it."

The blonde appeared intrigued. "You're braver than I thought, Daedalus. You might have a warrior's spirit."

Hiccup's cheeks turned a little pink at the compliment and the goddess's smile. He looked at the cup of nectar to distract himself. Dagur drank it. Already, it felt like it was helping. He looked over at Heather.

"Was it because of Poseidon? I saw how much you were glaring at him."

"He said he'd kill Medusa if I didn't give him Windshear for the day." The goddess sighed heavily. "I don't get what's going on. Why would Poseidon want either of them dead and why would Hades want your temples to get destroyed? He doesn't like you, but that seems random. None of it makes sense."

"They'd do that because now, I don't have any temples."

"So?"

Dagur shrugged. "Makes them stronger. We still don't know what the whole plan is, but that's got to be part of it. As many temples as Poseidon has now, I'd never be able to take him down and those two definitely can't."

Astrid frowned thoughtfully. "There has to be something more than that."

"There probably is."

Hiccup approached the blonde. "It would be great to have an expert strategist on the team."

Astrid looked at his hopeful grin. Unable to explain why, she liked to see it. She caught a glimpse of Dagur's teasing grin and turned pink.

"I'll think about it," she muttered, starting to leave. "I'll let you know if I can come up with any ideas for what they're trying to do."

"Thanks!" Snotlout said, grinning.

The goddesses exited the hut as the friends continued trying to think over their enemies' plans.

"I guess Hades might want to kill more heroes so that he'll get paid extra," Snotlout mentioned.

"True, but I don't know how that helps Poseidon," Hiccup said. He paused unsurely. "Maybe we should start telling more of the gods what we think."

Dagur's expression showed his doubt. "That's risky. They might run and tell those two. We don't even know if they're the only gods working on this."

"But if the others can help us, that's what we need." An apologetic look crossed Hiccup's face. "If what you said was right, we'll need more help to take down Poseidon anyway. The Underworld won't be easy to fight against either if they all defend their king. That Charon guy looked like he wouldn't be easy to fight."

As much as the war god hated to admit it, he knew that the inventor was right. Alvin was a major problem. Winning against him and all of the Underworld without any aid from mortals' support might not even have been possible. They would have to build more alliances. It simply was nothing that he enjoyed to think of.

"It could be okay," Snotlout commented. "Athena and Demeter seemed nice. We already indirectly helped Artemis and we know that Apollo's on our side. Considering how no gods used to know we exist, we're doing pretty well."

"But it's one thing for them to not mind us and another for them to fight against the other gods with us," Dagur pointed out. "If you'd been there at the meeting, you would've seen how tense it got when I brought that up. No one wants to act like they're accusing someone of treachery. It's the fastest way to put a target on your back."

"Then why did you bring it up?"

The redhead laughed. "Because it was boring. Nothing spices up a conversation like accusations."

Dagur's laughter died down when he heard a thunderous voice. It shook the walls of the home.

"You brought chaos into my meeting because you were bored?"

Even from where they were, the team could tell that it had gotten dark outside. Dagur stiffly got up, moving Sleuther in the process. He went out first and the mortals followed close behind. They covered their faces with their arms, protecting themselves from the dirt and sticks blown up in the windy thunderstorm. Toothless and Hookfang stood with the cousins, blocking them with their wings. The animals kept their eyes closed, not looking into the bright lightning that kept flashing. Sleuther stood by Dagur, growling at the sky as if he would attack it.

"Easy, Strykie," Dagur said softly. "That's not a fight you want to be in."

He was the only one who looked directly into the storm. A lightning bolt shot down, landing right in front of him. He did not move back, craning his neck to look into the god king's eyes when he materialized.

"I'm going to give you a chance to explain yourself, Ares," Stoick stated, a warning in his voice. "I'd suggest you take this seriously."

Demeter info time! She is the goddess of agriculture, harvest, and fertility. One of the most famous myths about her is how her daughter, Persephone, was kidnapped and then forced to stay in the Underworld after eating a pomegranate aril. Enraged by this and equally devastated, Demeter caused winter and fall months to be cold and barren, only allowing proper farming during the spring and summer when she can be around her daughter again (all of humanity was going to die if Persephone wasn't released, so her plan worked). Out of everybody, she's the immortal I feel the worst for. Every story she's involved in seems to be so sad. Not only did she have her daughter kidnapped, but she was also assaulted by Poseidon, leading to the birth of Arion. That would be bad enough, but it even happened while she was in the middle of searching for Persephone. It's like the saddest version of a drama where a child gets abducted and somehow isn't even the one to experience the most trauma. This should be it, right? Nope. Demeter finally found someone she loved, Iasion, but this personally offended her other creep of a brother, Zeus (who, mind you, is both the father of Persephone and the one who sometimes suggested to Hades that he abduct her). He then killed the poor guy. Moral of the story, if you can help it, don't be Demeter. It. Sucks. I figured that I'd have her be Heather since they both have sucky lives and it works with Alvin and her naturally having a volatile relationship. On a brighter note, Argos and Erythrae were actual places that had temples for Ares, so that wasn't made up.