Hiccup shoved the boat out into the bay, the gray water lapping against the barnacle-encrusted hull of the retired warship. The morning sun turned the fog into burning swirls of orange that rolled over one another as they rose from the surface of the sea. Hiccup sighed, and Toothless nudged him. The Night Fury wanted to come. He'd left his mate in the village just in case he'd leave with his master. Hiccup smiled weakly and rubbed the dragon's head. "No, Toothless, you can't come. You have to stay here with Paintsplash. She needs you." Toothless mewed sadly. Valka hugged her son.

"You come back," she ordered. "If you don't, I'm going to ground you after we save you."

Hiccup chuckled in spite of himself. "Mom, I'm almost 21;" he grinned, "there's no need to ground me." Valka smiled.

"Then make sure you bring Astrid back." Astrid's parents nodded from the middle of the crowd. Camicazi grinned excitedly at Hiccup.

"No fair," she laughed, "you get to go and fight Berserkers."

"Oh I feel sooooo lucky right now." Hiccup rolled his eyes.

Camicazi punched him. "Now you're just procrastinating," she said. "Go save your girlfriend."

Hiccup hopped into the boat and Toothless gave it a boost with a nudge from his head. Hiccup hoisted the sails and grabbed the tiller, speeding into the bay as his tribesmen waved him on.

----

It was only noon, but it was as dark as midnight. Hiccup had long since left the cheery sunlight of Berk's harbor, and now the wind was carrying him into the fog and clouds of a storm. Hiccup guessed that, at the speed he was moving, he was very close to the Meathead Isles. Sure enough, a subspecies of Terrible Terror native to said Isles flew past the mast of Hiccup's ship. That meant landfall was close.

Hiccup lowered the sail. He didn't like how fast he was going. He might overshoot the Berserker fleet, and then they'd arrive at Berk only to massacre the entire tribe because Hiccup hadn't shown up. A clap of thunder exploded in the sky and Hiccup jumped. He looked about nervously. How many Skrills might be in those clouds? Hiccup only had a FIRE sword, not a lightning one. A Skrill wouldn't calm to fire.

Then he heard the roar of a Skrill and suddenly he felt like he was being watched by a thousand eyes. Now he didn't like how slow he was going. He raised the sail only for an arrow to impale it with a zzziiiinnng! and a RIIIP! Hiccup drew his fire sword as a hundred Berserker warships emerged through the black fog, warriors lighting torches and flares. Dagur appeared on the lead ship and he smiled evilly at Hiccup.

"Why hello again, Hiccup!" he called cheerily. "Eager to get captured? That why you're here so early?"

"How did you--"

"Oh, I knew you'd leave early," Dagur shrugged. "Just not by yourself. A stupid decision really. Now. Shall we parlay?"

----

The guards threw Hiccup onto the deck of Dagur's ship, the chief's wrists shackled. The guards grabbed hold of each of Hiccup's arms and held him as he wriggled. He glared at Dagur as he strolled nonchalantly across the deck, swinging his axe.

"Heard about the, ah...incident with your father," Dagur mused. Hiccup flinched, narrowing his eyes. "Shame," Dagur continued. "I would have loved to, to tease you about your father being ashamed of such a scrawny, stringy, weak kid like yourself. But now we have a level playing field, your Wimpiness."

Hiccup struggled against the guards. "What do you want, Dagur?" he snapped.

"Oh, how nice of you to ask." Dagur strolled forward. "See, brother, I want revenge."

"For what?"

Dagur shrugged. "Oh, you know," he said, "destroying my fort on Outcast Island, tricking me, turning my good friend Alvin against me..."

"That was all your doing," Hiccup snarled.

"Was it now?" Dagur looked thoughtful. Then he got a maniacal sneer. "Boy, do I love it when prisoners argue. I get to give them quite a beating. Great entertainment, really. Savage, show the man what I mean."

Savage nodded. He disappeared for a moment, and then came back. He shoved someone forward.

"Astrid!" Hiccup yelped. He struggled against the guards, but they yanked him back. Astrid had murder in her eyes and bloodstains in her hair. Dagur's men had previously removed her hood and shoulder pads, and at first glance she looked fine...but Hiccup knew otherwise. She had red scratches on her exposed shoulders. Savage forcefully turned Astrid around, and Hiccup's breath caught in his chest. Her shirt was ripped and torn, and bleeding cuts sliced across her back. Hiccup felt anger rising up inside him.

"What did you do to her?!" Hiccup growled.

Dagur's eyes gleamed. He sauntered up to Hiccup, running his fingers along the axe blade. He shrugged. "I guess you could say I broke her." Hiccup tried to take a step forward, and got pulled backwards by the guards. His eyes flicked to Savage's hand. Savage was holding a whip.

Hiccup looked back at Dagur, and his eyes blazed. "You took a whip to her?!" he demanded.

"Brilliant observation, Hiccup!" Dagur clapped with fake enthusiasm. "Yes I did! It's fun doing it myself, but even more so watching someone else do it! Oh, the joy of watching others suffer! Also, I set my Skrill on her. You haven't seen her electrical burns yet."

Hiccup lunged at Dagur, but the guards pulled him back.

Astrid looked up at Hiccup pleadingly. Hiccup glared at Dagur in turn. "Let her go," he ordered. "Or do you want me to personally overthrow you and your guards and take YOU prisoner?"

"I love the defiance!!!" Dagur said excitedly. "Sadly, I have to punish you for it. Take a look at your girlfriend. She did the same thing, and look where she ended up."

"Did I not make myself clear, or are you simply ignorant?" Hiccup hissed. "I said, let her go!"

Dagur grinned. "Oh, you were clear." He nodded at Savage, who nodded back and approached Hiccup. "Very clear."

The guards held Astrid back as she struggled and writhed in their grip. Dagur leaned against the mast calmly as Savage stalked around Hiccup, who kneeled shirtless on the deck. He had his head low, but he wasn't submitting. "See, Hiccup?" Dagur sighed. "You can't get away with defiance these days." Hiccup said nothing as Savage uncoiled the whip. "You end up in PAIN!" Dagur said, emphasizing the word "Pain" as the whip came in contact with Hiccup's back. He yelped and ground his teeth. "In AGONY!" Another strike. Another yelp. "And SHAME!" The whip struck again.

This went on for ten minutes, until Hiccup's back was red, raw, and bleeding. He had his jaw clenched, trying to shut out the pain. Savage raised the whip again, and Astrid shouted tearfully, "STOP!!!"

Dagur looked at her in surprise. Savage paused. Hiccup winced as he looked up at her. Astrid took a shaky breath and blinked back tears. "You heard me," she said bluntly, "I said, stop."

Dagur chuckled. "And why would we listen to you, hm?" he asked, strutting up to her. He looked Astrid over. "Mm...Astrid wasn't it? Divine Beauty...seems to suit you, in a violent, destructive way." Dagur circled her and Astrid went rigid, her chin tipped upward. She took short, shaky breaths, as if Dagur's inspection of her scared her.

Dagur ran his hand across Astrid's braid, and she inhaled sharply, tensing up even more. Dagur chuckled and shook his head, looking at Hiccup, who glared back at him.

"Don't...touch her," Hiccup growled through gritted teeth. Dagur ignored him.

"A little...territorial, are we? How'd you manage to win the heart of this young shieldmaiden, eh?" he asked. "I never knew you had it in you, runt. I mean, I kind of assumed you two were together the last time I saw you, but...I never knew you'd be this...serious about it."

Hiccup managed a resentful chuckle. "Eh, well," he said, "you wanna get a girlfriend, be the first Viking in the world to train and ride a dragon, and kidnap the girl you have a crush on. Should be easy enough...though it may be hard for maniacal, villainous, crazy people like you."

Dagur's mouth twitched, as he was unsure of whether to be amused or offended. "You're walking a fine line there, Hiccup," he said. He yanked on Astrid's braid and she yelped, her head having been pulled downward forcefully. Hiccup tried to get up, but he fell back to the deck, cringing. Dagur let go of Astrid's plaits. "Throw these two below deck," he ordered. "I'm tired of arguing with them."

----

Hiccup tightened the last strap on his armband as Savage tossed Astrid into the cell. Hiccup caught her and glared at Savage as he closed the door and strode off.

Hiccup sat Astrid up, wincing as the whiplashes on his back rubbed against his shirt and armor. Astrid bit her lip as she moved, the pain causing her eyes to water. Hiccup inspected the gashes. "Astrid, why'd you let them do this to you?" he said.

She smiled weakly. "Same thing I was gonna ask you." Hiccup returned the smile.

"Ugh, I'm so sorry," he said after a moment. "This was my fault. I should have kept a closer eye on your ship!" He sat back and ran his fingers through his hair, finally burying his face in his hands. "What kind of chief am I?"

"The best one the world has ever seen," Astrid reassured, putting a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "Don't worry; we all make mistakes. Even the gods make mistakes."

Thunder rumbled outside. Hiccup chuckled. "Either Thor's agreeing with you, or he's warning you to shut up. Either way, I'd be careful." Astrid smiled.

"He's probably warning me," she said. She leaned against the wall and yelped in pain as the cuts came in contact with the rough surface. Hiccup frowned.

"If only they had the decency to provide medical help," he muttered.

"Not all of us are exactly hospitable," a voice echoed down the corridor.

Hiccup jumped, startled. "Dagur," he snarled.

"Of course," Dagur sighed, "I could take you down to the sickbay, but...ha ha, I'm deranged, you see..."

"Yes, we're quite aware of that, Dagur," Hiccup called back, rolling his eyes. "Hey, I thought you locked us down here so you wouldn't have to argue with us."

"Did I now? Hmph." Dagur stopped in front of the door. "Well, I've changed my mind. Deranged men tend to be indecisive. Quite unlike my ridiculously lame father, Oswald the Agreeable. Settled on decisions too quickly, agreed with too many people. I, Dagur the Deranged--"

"Yes, we know who you are, Dagur," Hiccup interrupted.

"--intend to bring glory, and vicious honor back to the Berserker Tribe!"

"Mm," Astrid mumbled, nodding politely.

Hiccup cocked his head. "How often do you say that? Do you EVER get tired of saying that?"

Astrid squinted in thought and mused, "Don't think so. That, or he's too stupid to come up with anything different."

Hiccup nodded. "Probably," he agreed. "He's never been smarter than a lump of dragon dung."

"He is a lump of dragon dung," Astrid muttered, giggling.

Dagur frowned. "This lump of dragon dung has ears, you know," he huffed indignantly.

Hiccup grinned, shrugging. "Well," he said with fake sorrow, "that's too bad. For you, anyway. Astrid has a lot of bad names and insults up her sleeve, and she can sure as heck use 'em on you."

Astrid nodded, a malicious glint in her eyes. She began firing off one insult after another, most of which were of the most foul, rude, unladylike (even for a Viking), obscene language you could possibly imagine. Dagur eventually left, but Astrid kept shouting insults at him as he stalked down the hall. Hiccup felt like, when they got home, he'd need to wash his ears out.

He looked at Astrid, who looked pretty proud of herself. "Astrid," he said, "I swear, I'm gonna rinse your mouth out with soap when we get home." She simply grinned at him.

"To be honest, I don't even know where those came from," she said.

Hiccup shrugged. "Eh, probably your dad's side of the family. They've been the Berkian Cursing Festival champions for generations."

Astrid narrowed her eyes and shook a finger at Hiccup in thought. "Remind me," she said slowly. "If Camicazi sticks around, remind me to challenge her to this year's Festival. She's a master at insults, but I wanna see how well she holds up against me." Hiccup chuckled and shook his head.

"Sometimes I wonder why we as a people take pride in such things," he mused. "But then I remember that we're Vikings." Astrid laughed, and Hiccup wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. He kissed her on the forehead and put his other arm around her as he leaned against the hull of the ship. Hiccup looked through a small gap in the wood and out across the sea, a gloomy mass of foggy grey depression. He sighed and glanced at Astrid. She was beginning to look tired. Hiccup leaned down and whispered in her ear, "It's okay...you can go to sleep." She closed her eyes and drifted off, leaving Hiccup holding her and listening to the creak of the ship's wood, the lap of the sea against the hull.