Events being overrated or underrated was truly a matter of perspective. Most of the gods were used to being beseeched, so it did not matter if mortals prayed to them every day. This was easy to take for granted. For Dagur, it was an entirely new and enjoyable experience. The team had decided to stay in Berk a little longer for Hiccup to finish teaching Gustav how to make weapons. In the meantime, Dagur was getting a lot of new people going to his temple. Rather than ask for their enemies to be cursed with endless wars in their lands, they had more noble requests. They asked for courage—the strength to fight when it was necessary. The immortal always visited the mortals after these trips were made to his temple. He doubted that was proper etiquette, but he did not mind. On his way out of the temple one day, he stopped, noticing a familiar face.

"Should I speak with you out here or would it be better to enter?"

Grinning, Dagur ran over. "Mala!"

The blonde smiled back. "I will take that as meaning that we can have our discussion here."

"Yeah!" Instantly, the immortal's smile fell, replaced by a look of worry. "The Amazons are okay, right?"

"Yes, they are fine."

Before the war god could relax, she continued.

"However, I am here on behalf of the people of Crete."

Dagur's brows furrowed. "Crete? What's going on there?"

"The lands have been relentlessly invaded by satyrs and other beasts." Her expression turned grim. "This has not been the only city that apparently has had trouble either. Delphi has also faced some challenges. I sent some of my warriors to help, but I would not feel right to send away too many when Themyscira could also be under attack at any moment."

"How did you find out about those attacks? We haven't heard anything."

"One of my subjects said that she learned it from a traveler."

Dagur thoughtfully tapped his chin. "Delphi and Crete…it sounds like Apollo and Demeter are being targeted now."

Mala's eyes widened in surprise. "Why would they be in danger?"

"We just brought them into our little investigation."

"Could that information have gotten revealed so soon?"

"I'm not sure."

Dagur turned, gesturing to be followed. They went to find the cousins. Hiccup was near the forge again, guiding Gustav on flattening steel properly. He grinned when he saw the queen.

"Otrera," he greeted, "good to see you again. Everything's okay back in Themyscira, isn't it?"

Dagur nodded. "She said there are problems with Crete and Delphi. She's already got the Delphi problem handled, but we're going to help out with Crete. Do you know where Snotlout is?"

"He's helping some younger Berkians with their combat training."

The redhead started walking away. "Get ready to leave then. Demeter's still keeping an eye on Medusa, so she's probably not expecting one of her areas to get attacked. If the people think she's abandoned them, one of her temples could get destroyed."

Agreeing, Hiccup started to gather some items. Before he could load up Toothless's saddle, Gustav approached.

"Can I go too?"

Hiccup looked unsure.

"I know you said that I can't necessarily go on all the missions, but you've been showing me a lot and if you need to make more weapons, I could make that faster!"

Hiccup and Toothless regarded one another. The boy thought that the winged horse was silently telling him to say no. Still, he did not. He had no way of knowing how large of an issue they were going to face in Crete. A couple extra hands building swords or helping him build other items could be useful. So, despite his better judgment, he nodded.

"Okay, you can go with us this time," he said.

Gustav grinned happily, trying to hop up on Toothless's saddle. It was a bit of a struggle for him, so Toothless used his wing to help. They flew after Dagur and Mala who had just reached the training grounds. When Snotlout saw the queen, he appeared concerned. Before he could ask, Dagur stopped him.

"Themyscira's fine."

Mala chuckled softly. "Well, I cannot say that you all are unconcerned with my people."

"Especially not after your kingdom had an infestation of Arae and harpies," Snotlout stated, shuddering.

"This time, we're going to Crete," Dagur informed him. "They've got a satyr problem."

Snotlout turned to the other warriors with him. "I've got to go. Keep training and make sure you keep an eye on things around here."

Nodding, they continued their work as the boy went to get on Hookfang's saddle. Once there, he noticed Gustav.

"Is he…"

"Going with us?" Hiccup finished. "Yeah, just this time."

Snotlout frowned, but he did not complain…aloud anyway. The group was about to leave, but Mala asked a question that she had been pondering over ever since finding the war god.

"Is this chimera part of your group now?"

Dagur beamed, nodding happily. "Yeah! This is Strykie. He's great. You can either ride on his back or mine if you're coming with us."

Mala's back faced Snotlout, so she did not see him making teasing kissy faces. Dagur frowned at him, but the warrior only stopped when the blonde turned to see what was wrong.

"Perhaps we could both ride on Strykie if he does not mind," she said. "Depending on what all is happening, it could be nice if our enemies do not know that there's an immortal with us."

"I like that plan."

Excitedly, Sleuther used his tail to put the two on his back. He placed Mala behind Dagur and when she wrapped her arms around the war god, Dagur felt himself blushing. Deliberately ignoring Snotlout, he directed the chimera forward. It had been a while since he had gone to Crete, but he still remembered the way.

"Maybe the rest of us should fly on ahead," Snotlout said, a devious twinkle in his eyes. "You know, just if you two want some time alone."

Gustav seemed confused, scratching his head. "Why would they want that?"

"Well, young Gustav—"

"Yes, Snotlout, go away," Dagur interrupted. "If you start going the wrong way, I'll have Sleuther shoot fire at your head."

Snotlout's grin vanished and his eyes widened. He frowned at Hiccup when the other boy started chuckling.

"I thought you were on my side," he commented.

Hiccup raised his hands peacefully. "I never told you to start a fight with the god of war." He patted Toothless's head. "Come on, Bud, let's get out of range, so we aren't blasted too."

Letting out an amused chortle, Toothless picked up his pace. Snotlout gasped and had Hookfang fly after them.

"If I'm getting scorched, you are too!"

Dagur kept frowning after the dark-haired boy, but he glanced behind him when the next person to laugh was Mala.

"The three of you seem to get along well," she remarked.

"Yeah, we do." Dagur grinned again, looking ahead of them. "They made me that temple you saw earlier."

"That was kind of them."

"I think they felt bad."

"Why?"

"I'd gotten my last two temples destroyed after making a deal with Hades."

Mala's brows rose. "Why would you make a deal with Hades?"

"It was to save Snotlout. A creature had killed him and I wanted to get his soul back."

The queen got quiet, so Dagur glanced back at her again. She had a pensive expression.

"What?"

"By asking for a favor that directly conflicted with his domain, you could have been asked to do anything. I suppose that you must truly care for them." She began to chuckle. "I also suppose that you thought more about our previous conversation. Admittedly, I didn't expect your solution to having mortal friends would be to retrieve their departed souls."

Dagur let out a cackle. "It wasn't on my schedule either, but it just sort of happened." He looked out over the sea, spotting the two cousins. "They're my friends. I don't want anything happening to them."

"It seems like they feel the same about you."

This put a smile on Dagur's face. The duo spoke a bit more until the redhead had Sleuther fly up towards the others. He pointed downwards.

"We're here."

Almost as soon as he said this, he realized that it had been unnecessary. It was obvious that they were in Crete. Satyrs were everywhere. Not only them. Centaurs, minotaurs, and cyclopes were invading the island. Dagur even spotted the half-bird, half-women bodies of a few sirens approaching.

"Move back!" he instructed.

Instantly, Toothless and Hookfang stopped flying forward. They looked at the god curiously.

"What's wrong?" Hiccup asked.

"Those are sirens down there too. If you hear them sing, they'll make you try to drown yourself."

The inventor's brows furrowed, then a hopeful look crossed his face. "I have something we can use."

Reaching into the satchel connected to the saddle. He pulled out a small jar.

"What's that?" Snotlout asked.

"Beeswax."

"And we're going to pretend like that's a normal thing to carry around?"

Hiccup unscrewed the lid. "We're going to accept that it's a helpful thing to carry around. If we put this in our ears until the sirens are gone, that should block out the sound."

"Is that safe?"

"Is drowning?"

Seeing his point, Snotlout waited until he was handed the jar, then used the wax. He gave it to Mala next. Like this, they all felt a bit more vulnerable to the monsters despite technically being safer. Using hand signals, Hiccup suggested that Snotlout take the east side while Dagur and Mala went to the west and he went overtop. Somewhere, the beasts had an entrance. The trick was finding it. Snotlout found a satyr first. It was about to attack a couple youths. The warrior leapt down from Hookfang's back, drawing his ax.

Swiftly, he cut down the monster. Unable to hear the ones coming up behind him, he received help from the phoenix. Hookfang blasted two more satyrs, burning them to a crisp. New satyrs tried to avenge them, charging at the bird and boy. Snotlout lopped off one's leg and grabbed another by the horns, slamming it into a different beast. Regardless, there were more that approached. Snotlout got on Hookfang's back to fly above them. No matter where they looked, the heroes could not find an entrance to the island. There was only the sea, but it was merely a pathway for the sirens. Everyone else required more land.

"It's got to be Poseidon," Snotlout thought. "Maybe he has a portal or something that he's using or another one of those orbs. If he does, we might never be able to stop the monsters from getting in."

It was a disconcerting thought and one that Snotlout did not accept. There had to be a solution. Hiccup was realizing a similar problem. He also saw the effect that the monsters were having on the people. A small group was walking towards the coast, faces blank like they were in a trance. One of them was picked up by a cyclops. Toothless kicked the monster in the eye, causing him to cry out in pain. He dropped the person and Hiccup and Gustav caught her. This seemed to snap her back to reality. Quickly, Hiccup put beeswax in her ears before the sirens could do their work again.

"Wh-what's going on?" she asked, confused.

Hiccup pointed towards the monsters and she turned ashen. Not knowing where else to take her yet, the inventor set her in a tall tree. At least for the time being, no one should have been able to find her. He returned to the entranced group. Toothless blocked their path, getting close enough for the boys to bring people onto the horse's back and then further away.

"We can't do this forever," Hiccup thought. "We can keep stopping monsters, but if they're going to enter from some unknown place, nothing we do is going to change anything."

Dagur and Mala found no more success on the west side of Crete. A young man was trying to hide from the monsters, but they found him. Sleuther shot a line of fire down at the group, scaring them off. The saved mortal grinned up at the newcomers.

"Thanks," he said.

"No problem." Dagur's brow raised curiously. "How come you aren't affected by the sirens?"

The mortal pointed to his ears. "I can't hear. I just read lips."

"In that case, has this been going on for a while?"

"About a week. Almost two."

Dagur frowned deeply. "Then it's definitely not because the traitorous gods are onto us," he thought. "Demeter wasn't even part of this plan two weeks ago."

He put the mortal on Sleuther's back.

"Keep him here," he instructed. "I'm going to tell the others that this has been going on for a while."

Before Mala could figure out what he was doing, he had Sleuther start flying upwards. He would scorch the ground near any monsters, but until something more was done, this was it. Dagur went to find the cousins. They ran into the problem of communication and again, the war god wished that his domain let him enter minds. Hiccup took out a small scroll, writing on it.

"We can't stop them from getting in," he wrote. "And we can't stay here forever."

Dagur's eyes lit up with an idea and he grabbed the scroll. "Then we should make it so they can't kill anyone after they're here."

The inventor nodded, mind racing for a solution. After a few moments, he resumed writing and showed it to the others. They had a plan. Dagur and Snotlout returned to Mala, showing the message on the scroll to tell her what they would do. The group began to hold off the monsters as Hiccup and Gustav worked. They needed a way to prevent the monsters from being an issue once they got onto the island—some sort of way to trap them. They needed a labyrinth.

Hiccup, Toothless, and Gustav worked together in building the structure. The older Berkian had designed the labyrinth easily, but that would be the last word used to describe what it was like to escape. This structure was nothing short of a prison to anyone unfortunate enough to be stuck inside. The Cretan that had been riding with Mala joined the builders, helping make the process go faster. They toiled away under the hot sun and into the cool night, but they knew they could not afford to delay. Every minute, new monsters were approaching. The beeswax in their ears helped the Berkians focus. Without hearing the sounds around them, they could direct all their attention on their task. Finally, the job was done. Hiccup tapped Gustav and the Cretan on the arm, getting them to hop on Toothless's back with him.

They flew up over the maze. Waving his arms, Hiccup gestured to the others that it was complete. The mortals were tired, but they had fought all this time to give the others the chance to finish. Swiftly, Dagur and Mala began knocking monsters into the labyrinth. Snotlout ran in as well, making beasts enter further to chase him. Just as he got far enough into the maze, Hookfang flew overhead and let him hop onto his back. Not realizing that the boy had flown away, more monsters ran into the trap after him. The sound of sirens singing became muffled by the tall walls of the labyrinth. More and more, people were returned to their senses. Cautiously, the heroes removed the beeswax from their ears.

"Did it work?" Gustav asked, glancing around.

Dagur regarded the group curiously. "Do you feel like jumping into the water without swimming?"

"No."

"Then it worked!"

Gustav grinned, proud of the work they had done. Hiccup smiled as well.

"This should be able to help," he said, looking at his drawing of the labyrinth. "There are openings on each side of the island. All we need to do is make sure the Cretans know how to escape. That way, they'll be able to go in there to escape in case anything chases them."

Reading his lips, the Cretan nodded. "I can make sure that happens. Thank you all for what you did."

"No problem!" Snotlout told him, beaming.

Hiccup handed over the design and the heroes started heading towards the coast. Gustav's eyes lit up.

"I can make a bunch more of those maps," he offered.

"Let's not make too many," Hiccup advised. "We don't want the monsters to find one and use it."

"But maybe if I just make a couple dozen…"

"Gustav, we're really okay. Thanks for helping out, though."

Smiling again, the boy nodded. Mala was smiling as well. Her eyes rested on the enormous structure.

"I have never seen something like this be built," she admitted. "If you are trying to enlist the aid of more gods, I think you should reach out to Hephaestus."

Instantly, Hiccup looked uncertain. "I've tried that before."

"Yes, before you began all this mission."

The queen could tell that his insecurity was going to get the best of him. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Just try, Daedalus. At worst, he will not answer your call, but I do think you have demonstrated much skill in craftsmanship. The god over such a domain should be proud."

Dagur nodded. "And I really don't think he's part of any group with Poseidon. Those two can't stand each other."

"It's worth a shot," Snotlout added. "Couldn't hurt to ask him, Hiccup."

The group really seemed to believe in this. Hiccup thought that maybe he should believe in it as well. Taking a breath, the boy nodded. Much had changed since he last called to the immortal. He decided to go to one of the temples in Crete. A statue of the god was outside. Hiccup entered the temple and knelt down.

"Hephaestus," he said, "my friends and I are hoping to keep Greece safe…from anyone who might be trying to endanger it. We could really use some more allies on our side. If it's not too much of an issue, could you help us please?"

Silence discouraged the Berkian. He sighed softly, getting up to walk towards the exit.

"Leaving already?"

Hiccup stopped, eyes widening. He turned around and saw the god of blacksmithing. Immediately, the boy bowed his head. A hook dismissed the gesture.

"I don't need all that, lad," the immortal said. "I've heard about your work. I think your group and I know that something isn't right with Poseidon."

Hiccup nodded quickly. "We think he was even involved in what happened here today. Monsters kept appearing. They could've only entered through the sea, but they weren't even sea monsters. There was no way to keep them off of Crete. That's why we had to make the labyrinth."

A curious expression crossed the blond's face. "I've never seen one of those used as a solution."

He began leaving the temple, getting closely followed by Hiccup. The crafter god approached the maze, brows rising as he saw its complexity.

"You built this?"

"I had help."

"But you designed this?"

Hiccup nodded and Hephaestus chuckled.

"Those monsters aren't getting out before the next millennia. I guess I've underestimated you all these years."

The others approached the duo. Gustav looked like he was about to burst with excitement.

"Finally going to join us, Gobber?" Dagur asked, grinning.

The larger god was still facing the maze, but he nodded. "Aye. Zeus is my friend. It's hard seeing him trust someone who's only trying to use him. Poseidon's had too much power for too long. If we're going to stop him, we'll need a large team."

"It's not just him," Snotlout said. "Hades is probably part of it too. We're not sure if anyone else is."

"Do you have any allies?"

Dagur nodded and listed them off for the other immortal.

"All right," Gobber said, taking it all in. "Daedalus, I'll help you hone your skills as a blacksmith. With everyone you'll be facing, you'll need those. I'll see what weapons I can make for those gods you mentioned too."

"Thanks!"

Gobber smiled at the enthusiasm. "After you're back in Athens, I'll visit and get you started."

Speedily, the group thanked the immortal again and started heading back. Their spirits felt high as they thought of the future. Up in the air, Dagur came to a disappointing realization.

"You have to head back now, don't you?" he asked.

"I do," Mala admitted, "but I am glad that I was able to see you again."

"I'm glad too. I hope we can see each other again soon. Maybe I'll make another visit out your way next time."

Mala smiled brightly. "I'd like that a lot, Dagur."

They split off from the group, arriving in Themyscira while the others went back to Berk. Mala leapt off Sleuther, landing gracefully. She offered a small wave and bid farewell to him. Dagur waved back and had Sleuther start to fly. The chimera let out a chuckling noise when his friend sighed dreamily. Dagur poked his head.

"Don't you start now. I get enough of that from those cousins."

A snake tail was placed on Dagur's shoulder, but he was unsure if this was meant as assurance that Sleuther would not misbehave or confirmation that he would. He supposed he would find out. As he continued to fly back to Athens, Stoick and Valka were on the outskirts of Nemea, spending time with Skullcrusher. They had been discussing the state of affairs in Greece, but they stopped when the lion started to growl. Someone new had arrived. Stoick's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Hades? I don't see you leave the Underworld often."

"I normally would not, but this is of the utmost urgency."

"What's going on?" Valka asked.

"I've had a sudden influx of newly departed souls. They have come from Crete and Delphi."

Stoick frowned. "Were Demeter and Apollo angered by someone?"

"As far as I know, they were not. Given their past commitment to those regions, I'd be hesitant to suspect them of becoming so hostile."

"But you clearly suspect someone. Who?"

The lord of the Underworld was silent. He raised a hand to his goatee, looking pensive.

"I don't want to unjustly make accusations. Easily, my perception of this individual could be marred by our last interaction."

Stoick's eyes narrowed. "Ares."

Hades looked up at him. "Perhaps, but I don't have any proof of that yet. I just know that he tried to remove a soul from the Underworld and caused a senseless war between Ephyra and Argos. Considering those lands had been loyal to him, it isn't out of the question that he would also target lands which are loyal to other gods."

"I just spoke with Ares recently. He seemed…"

Stoick trailed off. Maybe he had let the warmongering immortal deceive him. Valka looked between the two gods.

"You said that you aren't sure, Hades. Maybe this is because of someone else."

"It truly might be," he conceded. "Nonetheless, I can't help but be suspicious. We all have areas that are connected in our domains. Ares's main role might be to cause war, but in the process, he is a god of chaos. I don't know a better way to cause chaos than to pit the immortals and mortals against each other." The lord bowed his head politely. "But I could be misjudging him. Either way, I appreciate you taking the time to listen to my concerns."

Stoick nodded his head, worry consuming the king. "Viggo," he said, needing a break from the constraints of formality for a moment, "do you really think he'd do this?"

"I think there's a reason that he has been opposed by mortals and immortals alike, Stoick. Whatever he's planning, it's dangerous. I only hope for Greece and Mount Olympus that we'll be ready."

Time for Hephaestus! He is the god of blacksmithing, craftsmanship, volcanoes, and fire. I think these last two are very cool and underrated aspects honestly. Like Gobber, Hephaestus is portrayed as having a disability, but the origins of that depend on the story. Sometimes, he's trying to stop a fight between Hera and Zeus, leading to the king knocking him off Mount Olympus and causing him to get injured. Other times, he's born like that. Unfortunately, Zeus and/or Hera, also depending on the version, is quite judgmental and decides that no son of theirs is going to be anything besides the textbook definition of perfect. So, baby Hephaestus gets tossed off Mount Olympus and raised by the sea goddess Thetis and an Oceanid (nymph) by the name of Eurynome. Like Gobber, Hephaestus makes EVERYTHING. He even got his own palace on Mount Olympus with golden handmaidens who talk, 20 anvils, and automatons that he made. A more common myth for him specifically is when he decided that he didn't want to be the family outcast anymore. So, he created a trap throne that caught Hera. The price for her freedom was Aphrodite's hand in marriage. Now, say it again with me, depending on the version, she was already in love with Ares, so kind of a jerk brother move on Hephaestus's part. When they, unsurprisingly, weren't magically not in love with each other, Helios told Hephaestus and he created the infamous "net" which caught the couple in a highly embarrassing moment. Afterwards, Hephaestus had all the gods of Olympus come to mock them, then he divorced Aphrodite, sometimes marrying Aglaia, another goddess of beauty. (Also, Delphi really was an important place for Apollo and there were historical traditions for Demeter in Crete. The labyrinth that Daedalus built was also in Crete, so that's all myth-accurate. Daedalus even used beeswax afterwards to create his famous wax wings.)