A.N.: In lieu of the two-month gap between the updates, here is a short recap for those who have previously followed this story.

Despite the dragon riders reducing the Outcasts who reached the village, the Outcasts succeed in bringing down Berk from its rocky foundations by collapsing tunnels dug by Whispering Deaths. The Hooligans regroup at the Dragon Training Academy, and tend to their injured, including Astrid, who needed to be taken to Gothi. Elene intercepted and joined Stoick and Hiccup on their way to back to Berk. Upon their return, Stoick rallied and led the Hooligans against the Outcasts who have taken over the Great Hall while Hiccup came up with a plan to counterattack Alvin and his dragons. How will it all end?

Breathing in deeply the chilly night air of Berk was not the wisest thing Hiccup could have done at high altitude. The cold seeped in and stayed in his lungs, heartless and foreboding, like the darkness that enveloped him and Toothless. Hiccup could barely see, but he trusted Toothless. No other dragon could see and fly better in the dark, especially for this mission.

"Come on, bud!" Hiccup urged his Night Fury. Toothless' ear flaps twitched, as if sensing the other Night Furies, each forty feet away and marking their own flight pattern. Zeroing in on the hole below, Toothless dove. In those few seconds, the world shrank into just Hiccup and Toothless. All that mattered was that they get the right speed, the right firepower and the right position at the right time. Toothless didn't disappoint.

At the climax of the dive, all three Night Furies fired. They pulled out of the dive and up to safety just in time to witness the bright columns of light coming from the tunnels all over Berk, followed by the distressed shrieks of the worm-like dragons that slithered out of the ground.

The Whispering Death nearest Hiccup and Toothless had escaped from the net. Hiccup could hear the disgruntled cries of the Vikings below. Two Nadders joined Toothless up in the sky, with the riders holding a net aloft. By the light of Night Fury fire, Hiccup made out a Gronckle buzzing behind them, its rider twirling a rope with several metal helmets tied at the end.

When the Whispering Death saw them and attacked, Toothless and Hiccup led it to a short chase leading to the other Berk riders. The Night Fury swerved out of the way as the helmets zoomed past them and into the Whispering Death's mouth. The Nadder riders threw the net and tangled the wings of the Whispering Death. Disoriented by the brightness of Night Fury fire, and now more agonized by the metal caught in its rows of teeth, it thrashed about wildly as the three Berk riders flew back to the arena where the cages awaited the captive dragons.

"Good work, bud!" Hiccup cried out, patting his dragon's head. Toothless grunted.

They circled the forest once and landed on a cliff.

"Hiccup!" Hiccup turned about sharply. He felt the gust of wind and the light footfalls of a Night Fury landing on the ground. From his perch on Scathach's back, the Nottlander was visibly animated, and his dark hair almost crackled with excess energy. Hiccup wished he could feel the same way. "I should stay here awhile; I really never get this much fun at Nott!"

"Don't let Elene hear you say that," Hiccup said, allowing himself a small smile. "Where is she anyway?"

A second ago, all three Night Furies and their riders were together.

"With Khor," Evander answered, glancing around nervously as though his twin would pop out of the shadows. "They'll be staying under the cover of the dark until we can work this situation out."

Hiccup nodded. "We should probably get back and help those captured dragons settle in."

They all landed by the academy, where two captured dragons were waiting to be hauled inside by Ruff and Tuff's group. The young boys dismounted and walked over to help the dragon keepers with their charges. It was hard work handling the Whispering Deaths. Once a muzzle was clamped over the mouth, the keepers had to drag them over to their respective cages. More than once, Toothless and Scatty had to stun a Whispering Death before it was hauled into its cage.

Toothless and Hiccup were taking a moment to rest, or rather they should have. But Hiccup was restless. Somewhere on the other side of the village, his dad was leading the Hooligans to reclaim the Great Hall from the Outcasts that had taken in earlier. Hiccup wanted to help, but his mission wasn't done. Not yet. Even as he scanned the starry sky, Hiccup knew that Alvin was out there.

The cages were brimming with no less than ten Whispering Deaths by the time Fishlegs' and Snotlout's group brought in two more dragons.

"I've got this, Hiccup," Snotlout told him, failing to keep the sneer out of his face. He grabbed a muzzle from an approaching Viking.

"You sure?" Hiccup asked suspiciously.

"Of course, I'm sure, Hiccup!" Snotlout said, brandishing the muzzle. As he said it, the Whispering Death broke free of the net and set its spines ready. Toothless pounced upon its back, and Scatty sent a flare right at the captured dragon's eyes. Stunned, the Whispering Death fell to the ground. Evander snatched the muzzle from Snotlout and, with Hiccup's help, they quickly fastened it around the rogue dragon's mouth.

"You've got it, all right," Evander said scathingly.

"You took the muzzle out of my hands!" Snotlout protested. "How am I supposed to clamp its jaw shut when I don't have anything to clamp it with?"

Hiccup stepped between them. "Okay! Snotlout, why don't you put this dragon in its cage?"

But the cages were fully occupied. Snotlout and Fishlegs weren't happy about dragon-sitting again, but they set about the task when the Hooligans strapped down the two writhing dragons on the ground with ropes. Snotlout promptly left Fishlegs behind with some lame excuse about looking for a Fireworm friend of Hookfang's.

"What are you going to do with them?" Evander asked, leaning casually against Scatty. Hiccup, didn't answer and chose to stare pitifully at the restrained dragons.

Fishlegs, who was passing by in search for a Meatlug rock snack, chuckled. "Oh! Well, you know, there might be an eighty-seven percent chance of Hiccup wanting to let them stay on Berk to study them. And I'll add a forty-three percent chance of Hiccup wanting to train them."

Evander sprang up from his recline. "You're not that mad, are you, Hiccup?"

Again, Hiccup didn't answer. Instead, his green eyes brightened. What better way to turn the enemy's offense into something useful?

"Oh, I should have known. You are mad enough," Evander sighed, seeing the look on Hiccup's face.

"Yeah, mad enough to shoot down a Night Fury, befriend it and help it fly again!" Fishlegs chirped in. As he walked away, he called back, "No! Point ninety-six probability!"

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be watching over those— And once again, he doesn't listen to me. He'll be back." Shrugging, Hiccup turned back to Evander. "We haven't found Alvin yet. I feel like there's something I'm missing."

Truth be told, fatigue was catching up with Hiccup and Evander. The action was over for now, and Evander shook himself hard to rid himself of sleepiness. With Hiccup's second recovering with the healer and Hiccup turning to him, what else should Evander do?

"Let's do a recap. We're hunting an Outcast named Alvin, who has probably has nothing but a few weapons, and the clothes on his back."

"He has his dragon," Hiccup added. They both whistled. A dragon and its rider could do many unpredictable things.

"To hunt them down," Evander said, "we've got to think like Alvin."

Hiccup looked positively affronted. Evander snickered, but continued, "Alvin's done what I think he needs to do. I doubt he lacks the quality of leaving behind his men when they're of no use to him. He's crippled Berk already, what reason has he to stay?"

"He hasn't driven off my tribe with only the clothes on their backs. I won't allow him to," said the Viking who had, together with his dragon partner, defeated the Red Death.

"All right," Evander said, pleased with Hiccup's sudden drive. Hiccup was going in the right direction, and all Evander had to do was prod him to it. "Then I suggest we go look for him instead of letting him come to us. Alvin set up a forest camp, right? Why do you think they stayed there and didn't attack the village? Was there something, or rather, were there a few people of importance there?"

Hiccup's shoulders drooped. "You think Alvin's going for the children and elders as hostages?"

At that moment, the Zippleback that perched on top of the academy lit its gas. Scatty and Toothless both jumped up and tensed, and their riders leaped to their saddles. Hiccup scanned the skies as if Alvin might pop up any second, which the Outcast did.

Well, the spines of the Outcast's dragon showed up first. Toothless and Scatty both leapt aside as a volley of spines hit the ground where they stood mere seconds before. Then Hiccup saw him: Alvin hunched over his dragon, zooming towards them and away from a pursuer that Hiccup couldn't see in the dark.

When he did, Hiccup snorted in disbelief. It seemed almost comical that a bulky man astride a worm-like dragon was trying to escape from a Night Fury and a young girl screaming bloody murder.

Hiccup would have taken a moment to laugh, but the sound died from his throat. The Whispering Death changed course and plunged down towards him and Toothless. Underneath Hiccup, Toothless went rigid. Hiccup's head snapped back when Toothless launched himself on Alvin's dragon.

Evander and Scatty would have followed had they not found another Night Fury blocking their path.

"That treacherous Outcast decided to go for the refugees," Elene said contemptuously, wiping sweat from her brow. Her lips twisted in a lopsided grimace. "A Nadder and a couple of Terrors held them off until Khor and I arrived. We saw a Night Fury bite mark on that dragon. This is an old vengeance. Stay out of it."

They watched as the Whispering Death knocked Toothless and Hiccup into the wall of the academy. Scatty growled and grew more agitated.

"You're right, Scatty. Come on," Evander said, bracing himself.

"I ordered you to stay out of this fight!" Elene repeated, moving Khor to block Scatty's path. The Night Furies snarled at one another, lips curled up to show their sharp teeth. Elene glowered at her twin, as if daring him to argue. Their staring match was broken when Alvin's dragon sent a volley of spines that released two of its kin from detainment. Hookfang and Meatlug flew off in alarm.

"You're telling me we're leaving Hiccup and Toothless alone? Against them?" Evander balled his fists. Above them, Toothless was doing crazy aerial stunts trying to shake off the other two Whispering Deaths and to fend off Alvin's attacks. Toothless wasn't winning. Elene sighed and put a hand on Khor's head. Khor stood aside and rumbled, but the young boy just grinned. "We'll be back in no time. Trust me."

Elene reached out and grabbed Evander's forearm. "That's what you said before we got separated."

Hiccup and Toothless crash landed in a heap twenty feet away, digging a five-feet long grove in earth.

Finally, Elene straightened up on Khor's reassuring back and she watched her brother lead his Night Fury to cover Hiccup and Toothless.

…

Toothless and Hiccup were recovering from a daze. Hiccup barely registered Alvin's dragon readying to shoot at them, and Toothless was in worse shape, having taken the brunt of the impact to protect his rider. Three Whispering Deaths had surrounded them.

From behind the assailants, Khor fired a warning shot that shooed one Whispering Death away and throw off the other's aim. But Alvin's dragon followed its rider's order: "Fire!"

The Whispering Death opened its mouth—

A dark blur collided roughly with Alvin's dragon, throwing the Outcast off its back. The stray shot charred the wall five feet away from Hiccup and Toothless.

"Thanks," Hiccup yelled when he saw Evander and Scatty standing over them. The Nottlanders answered by leaping over the other Whispering Death when it lunged. Scatty tackled it to the ground. Evander ducked as the spiked body of the Whispering Death swept past where his head had been.

The distraction allowed Alvin to resume his mount. Hiccup saw Alvin's dragon readying another volley upon its master's orders. "Look out!"

Yet another dark blur lashed out. Khor pounced and pushed down on the Whispering Death's head as the Night Fury took off. Toothless and Scatty followed Khor's lead once more. They flew away from the island, past the sea stacks and out to sea. Alvin and the Whispering Deaths followed them.

Hiccup flicked his left foot, as Toothless followed Khor in a tight vertical helical climb, confusing the Whispering Deaths below. Every slip in flight path or tilt of the nose was done by the three Night Furies in perfect synchronization.

Hiccup was beside himself in awe. "Whoa, Toothless, wha—how are you guys doing that?" But Toothless concentrated on flying. Hiccup turned towards the Nottlanders and met Elene's gaze.

She yelled, "Now!" Elene pulled on her saddle, and both Hiccup and Evander mimicked her.

Khor started to break the helix. A good twenty feet away, Toothless and Scatty did the same, widening the gap between the three of them. Three night Furies simultaneously arched back and allowed gravity to claim them in a controlled nose dive right into the threesome below.

Flanked by two of its brethren, Alvin's dragon came to meet them. Alvin ordered it to fire a shot. When it did, two of the Night Furies pulled sharply out of the steep dive. The air currents dispelled the shot, showering the dragons and rider below with specks of lava.

Alvin somehow got through using his now scorched shield. The dragon to his right got a handful of the hot fluid on the eyes and fell towards the sea writhing and screeching in pain.

As Hiccup and Toothless circled back, Hiccup watched the injured dragon fall and felt his own spirits do the same.

'One down,' he thought darkly. In his mind's eye swam a vivid memory of Toothless shrieking his shock and pain to Valhalla. That same dragon slapped his rider with an ear flap to wrench Hiccup's attention back to reality. Hiccup flicked Toothless' fin, and they put on a burst of speed to deal with the two other adversaries.

Hiccup made out Elene's form flattened on Khor's back. Her Night Fury hurtled straight towards Alvin and his dragon; a bold but risky move. Hiccup thought Khor and Alvin's dragon were going to crash into each other but at the last second, Khor tilted his nose and reached out to snatch the Outcast.

Alvin was saved from the Night Fury's claws when the other Whispering Death tackled the Nottlanders head on. Khor ended up knocking Alvin off the Whispering Death's back with his tail while he and the offending dragon fought mid-air. The wrestling pair disappeared in the night soon after.

"No!" Evander cried out somewhere on Hiccup's left. An eye blink later, they too were lost in the dark.

This left Hiccup and Toothless against Alvin and his Whispering Death. The burly figure of Alvin hung on to the dragon for dear life. The Whispering Death was not used to being grabbed by the tail. It roared and flailed madly in an attempt to rid itself of the unwelcome attachment, but Alvin refused to let go.

"We've got to get Alvin off that dragon," Hiccup urged Toothless to complete Khor's unfinished business. Toothless narrowed his eyes, deciding on a flight pattern. Hiccup, on instinct, tilted the prosthetic fin as they entered a tight turn. Toothless fired a warning shot, momentarily freezing the Whispering Death. Hiccup leaned forward as Toothless homed in and turned sharply to fly away.

"HICCUP! I demand that you let me go!" Alvin roared from somewhere behind Hiccup.

"You got him!" Hiccup leaned over the side to see Alvin dangling off Toothless' hind leg by his belt. Could it be? Alvin was within their clutches and very much at Hiccup's mercy! Hiccup had to fight off the strong desire to have Toothless drop Alvin to the icy waters below and let the Outcast responsible for the destruction drown.

Toothless rumbled, distracting Hiccup. The Night Fury flapped hard to stay in the air with an extra four hundred pounds. He climbed upward and levelled off as a round of fire passed harmlessly below, or rather, harmfully for Alvin, who was streaming a bunch of colorful swear words aimed for dragons. Now it wasn't only Hiccup who wanted to drop the Outcast.

"Okay, we've got more company!" Hiccup yelled. "Let's get back to the academy!"

And then another shot passed above Hiccup's head as Toothless dove towards the sea. Hiccup pulled out of the dive and let Toothless zoom over the sea, through the sea stacks and into the harbor. They ignored the indignant and colorful swearing from their unwilling, and now drenched passenger.

"Did we lose it?" Hiccup wondered out loud when they flapped over the ruins of the village, past the Great Hall, and onto the academy. No Whispering Death pursued them, much to Hiccup's relief. They were safe for now.

Hiccup and Toothless were welcomed with tumultuous applause and war cries from the villagers. A band of furious Hooligans closed in on their newest captive and dragged Alvin away none too gently.

"Wait!" Hiccup yelled, leaping down from his mount and attempting to catch up to his fellow Hooligans. "Where are you taking him?"

Gobber made his way to Hiccup and patted the boy's shoulder. "Off to yer father, o' course!"

All traces of fatigue vanished. Hiccup's face was lit up with the first big smile he's had for this dismal week. "They—they won?"

"Yeah," a voice agreed. Toothless warbled, and joyfully bounded towards Scatty, who welcomed him with equal enthusiasm. A few feet away, Evander stood at the entrance of the academy, glowering at the Outcast that had disappeared within the throng of Hooligans who were carting the prisoner off. When Hiccup noticed the Nottlander's expression, Evander rearranged his features and smiled. "We all did."

…

After what seemed like an eternity, the sun rose, and with it rose the spirits of the Hooligans still shouting their victory and praising Thor for favoring them in a dismal situation. As their chieftain put it, "The village is destroyed, the wild dragons have gone and left us, but Berk looks great!" Yes, their village was in ruins but their Viking spirit remained intact and very much alive. Unbeknownst to the celebrating Vikings, a lonely soul wandered among them.

Elene found her twin among the other Berk teens. They were listening to a burly Viking teen talking animatedly and miming what he supposedly did to an Outcast he'd defeated, while the red Nightmare looked on with vague interest. One of the Berk twins asked a question. It must have been funny, because the girl leaning against Hiccup started to laugh, and so did everyone else, including Evander.

They were laughing! Why were they laughing so hard, like the Outcast attack never happened?

From this perspective, good relations with these Outlanders weren't so bad. The idea seemed nice, compared to what had been drilled into Nott toddlers since their schooling days. These Outlanders weren't as vindictive and as power-hungry as she was taught to believe. And they even treated other species of dragons well! She really had been wrong to leave her twin behind without even seeing the other side of the coin. And she felt horrible about doing it.

What was with her today? She was thinking blasphemous thoughts that wouldn't have crossed her mind a week ago, when they planned out the patrol schedule. She even walked in broad daylight in an Outlander village! Perhaps she should wait until Evander wanted to find her?

Elene started to walk away. But Hiccup saw her and tapped Evander's shoulder. Her twin turned slowly, and locked eyes with her. Suddenly, Elene felt like she was plunged into a storm with Khor again. Would he hate her for leaving him behind? Did he still consider her as his twin, or even family? Would he set these battle-ready Berk teens against her?

Her twin faced her squarely, and sprinted towards her. Elene braced herself, ready for the plunge.

It took several eye blinks for Elene to realize that her brother embraced her tightly. They heard the burly one and the other set of twins make retching noises. The other three laughed quietly. But as for Evander and Elene, they couldn't care less. They had each other, and their family. That was more than enough.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have pushed you away back at Outcast Island, I shouldn't have judged you," she muttered into her brother's shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

"Thanks for coming for me, sis," Evander said, tightening his embrace. Then as suddenly as they hugged, Evander let his twin go. He held her at arms' length. "Don't disappear like that again."

A radiant smile spread across Elene's face. She couldn't have hoped for a better reunion.

"Maybe I will," she answered. When Evander glared at her, she rubbed his hair and added, "once in a while."

"You are hopeless." Evander sighed in relief. He had his sister back, and they had helped defend Berk against the Outcasts. He couldn't ask for a better outcome. But there was something that nagged him still. "What made you come here?"

Elene's eyes wandered to the ruins of the village. "I caused all this. When I was shot down at Outcast Island, Alvin thought I was a spy for Berk, and decided that it was high time to eliminate this village. Khor and I decided we didn't want that hanging on our conscience."

Evander ruffled his twin's singed hair affectionately, to Elene's displeasure. "I knew you had it in you! Go on, I know there's something else."

Elene scowled at him. "And I… I wanted to make sure my second-in command is alive."

A thoughtful look crossed Evander's tired face. "That's… uh, nice to hear."

"Don't be flattered. As opposed to facing a bunch of Whispering Deaths, the thought of Augustus taking your place is frightening in itself."

The first semblance of laughter escaped the two Nottlanders in the midst of the weary but relieved Hooligans around them. Elene gasped sharply, clutching her side. She waved off her brother's concern.

"Not a wound, just a bruise," she assured him. Her eyes wandered over to the forest where she came from. "But…"

Evander waited. When Elene remained silent, Evander decided to ask the hundred-denarii question. "Where's Khor?"

This time, Elene fidgeted uncomfortably.

"You see," she tried to say, but her voice cracked. She turned and distanced herself from the Berk teens. She didn't want to break down in front of them. Evander rubbed his twin's back to relax her and whistled calming tunes that Alva taught him.

After several deep breaths, she said in the tiniest voice only Evander could hear, "Khor… he… he broke his wing."

There was a sharp intake of breath beside her. A broken wing meant faulty flying, meaning immediate dismissal from service. Evander would know, would understand, more than anyone on Berk, even on Nott.

"He… can't fly anymore, Evander."

"Elene," Evander murmured gently. He supported her when her knees buckled and she cried hard into his shoulder. For that one moment, it was just the two of them. In other circumstances, he would have let her sob for as long as she wanted, but it was not the time for that. There would be time for tears later. Khor needed medical attention, and to do that, Evander needed to coax a few details from his sister.

"Listen," Evander said, "Khor is your Night Fury. He's irreplaceable. You're bonded to him as much as he is to you. That hasn't changed, and it never will. I know what our village tradition says, but those traditions are just that! Traditions!"

"I know that! Just… it's hard to accept. We'll be dismissed from the legion, at the very least. Khor and I are grounded forever. Here on this Outlander village! Augustus will get his wish after all."

Evander was about to say that he wouldn't mind staying on Berk to help the newbie riders. But he stopped himself when an idea popped inside his head. Evander prayed to all the gods he knew that this would work. "Where is Khor staying?"

"He's moping in a cave. Why do you ask?"

Evander glanced at Hiccup, who stood respectfully out of earshot with the other teens. "I think you might need a little Outlander help."

…

"Are you ready, Toothless? The other Night Fury you freed is just inside that cave."

Hiccup and his dragon followed Elene inside, leaving Evander and Scatty just outside with the others. Elene called for Khor steadily. It took several tries, but slowly, Khor edged into the light. The Night Fury looked droopy. It dragged itself towards Elene with its head hung low and its tail trailed on the sooty ground. The left wing hung loosely on its side, while its torn right wing was bent at an odd angle.

Elene heard the boy behind her gasp, and Toothless rumbled in surprise. She wanted to cry so badly, but Evander had made her promise not to. She had to be strong for Khor. So she tried small talk and forced a smile on her face. "Khor... I haven't seen you like this since Zeph stole your breakfast. But you're looking much better!"

Khor shot her an incredulous look. Nevertheless, he let Elene rub his head and soothe him. He moaned, and it was one of the saddest things Hiccup ever heard. Khor kept dragging himself back into the shadows, trying not to be in view of the others who were there.

"It's like… he's ashamed," Hiccup realized. Toothless caught his drift immediately. The dragon nudged Hiccup gently, as if asking for permission. Hiccup nodded. "Toothless, show him your tail!"

Elene hadn't noticed it before, Toothless' prosthetic tail fin AND Hiccup's metal leg. All she saw was the Night Fury and the Outlander. She hadn't realized this partnership was not just strengthened by friendship between dragon and rider, but also by that unspoken truth that neither can fly as high without the other. But it was, and still is. She breathed out, "A matching impairment."

Hiccup shrugged. "I don't see it as an impairment anymore."

Toothless visibly agreed. He inched tentatively towards Khor, who hissed. Toothless purred softly and brought his tail up. Khor sniffed it, and eyed Toothless warily. Toothless glanced at his prosthetic fin, then at Hiccup. Khor followed Toothless' gaze, and sniffed Hiccup.

"What do you say, Khor?" Hiccup asked. "Think you'd be up for a wing brace?"

…

Entry 52

By the three heads of Cerberus!

I ended up spending a long week for Berk with the Hooligans, who have surprisingly trained dragons, helped me find my sister, and successfully defended against an Outcast attack— even if the whole village got destroyed. But hey, the baddies are defeated and we're all alive. That's more than enough of a blessing, don't you think?

…

This was Berk.

No, it still is, only now it also boasts of a magnificent maze of dragon tunnels where most of the village used to be.

Seeing your home wiped out by misguided dragons felt like the time I lost my tribe, my father and my best friend in one go, or like the time I woke up to find a wood and metal contraption where my lower left leg should be: really horrible. Rather than blaming others and saying "should have's," we Hooligans chose to fight together and rebuild Berk. MUCH better than whining. And oh, we don't whine. Why should we? We're Vikings.

A.N.: Beta work by Cke1st. Aaaaaaand that's a wrap. This chapter officially ends the first story arc. Finally! The next chapter will be both a filler and a prologue for the second story arc.