The Boy in The Cage

Sten and Eruptor were fast asleep in the watch tower as they were on look out duty. Their sleep was cut short by the heavy banging of metal that emerged from Rune's house.

"Odin damn that guy" Sten mumbled as he turned over and tried to shut his ears from all the noise.

Minutes later an explosion went off and Sten had had enough. "Come on! Can't a guy get any sleep around here?!!" he yelled.

"Sorry about that!" Rune answered but then he realized something. "Wait aren't you supposed to be on the look out for threats?!"

Sten had a look of guilt on his face as his widened, he then motioned for Eruptor to follow him as the two moved to another watch tower.

Rune returned his attention to what was before him. He had constructed a shield, it was silver in color with the blue emblem of the tidal class on it. From the old plans he found and from the live one he saw back at Gobber's shop, he managed to recreate Hiccup's shield for his own use. He intended to modify it so that he could launch Z.E.Ps from it but after further brainstorming, he abandoned that idea and just built the classic shield.

"How does it look?" he asked his dragon.

Sandstorm snorted and gave a nodded, giving his seal of approval.

"Great, let's go test it out in the woods" Rune said with some excitement.

Before the two could depart Thyra came rushing in on the back of Rampage and looked a bit concerned.

"Rune, we need to talk. It's an emergency" Thyra said with her voice carrying a sense of urgency.

"What's the problem" Rune said as he hadn't heard Thyra like this.

"I and Rampage did some reconnaissance and we found a group of ships about ten miles from here"

"Yes?"

"And they had a hostage among them. He was locked up in a cage with a dragon"

"That doesn't sound good. I'll get Sten and Vyra right away" he said hastily as he hopped on Sandstorm's back.

"I'll get Forde"

"Good, meet me back at the Clubhouse ASAP. We don't have a moment to lose" he said as his dragon thrusted into the sky.

The team were soon on their way out of Dragon's Edge and were hot on the trail of the ships.

"If they have another Viking locked up in a cage with a dragon, does that mean he or she could be another rider?" Sten asked.

"It is possible they could be another rider. But there is a chance he could be a crew member that had a falling out with the others" Forde answered.

"But locking him in a cage with the dragons he had captured? There's no way he's leaving there in one piece" Vyra said.

"That's true. But we'll never know until we truly see what's going on until we get up close" Rune said.

"Over there, I see something" Thyra said as she pointed ahead.

As they looked over, they soon realized that they were the ships they were after.

"What ship did you see him on?" Rune asked.

"The big one in the middle" she answered.

"Alright team. We have a hostage situation on our hand so we can't be too trigger happy until he is extracted. Got that?"

"Roger" answered Forde as the others nodded.

"Alright then, Let's go, go, go!!!"

The five of raced down to the ships below, they came in from behind to keep an element of surprise. Once they were within range, they opened fire on the ships before anyone could sound the alarm and the raid was on. The sound of explosions caught the ear of the hostage sitting within his cage.

He had lush black hair that ran down to his neck, he had lovely brown eyes and a build similar to that of Rune's. He was covered in dirt and smoke and locked like he had been through hell with his tattered clothes.

"They're here. They've finally come to get me" he said with joy as he stood up. "We're finally busting out of here" he said to the dragon in the cage.

He walked up to the front of the cage and looked around trying to catch a glimpse of his saviors and what he saw was not what he expected.

"Wait, that isn't Dagur" he said seeing Rune on top of Sandstorm and blasting a part of a ship.

"I've never seen any of them before" he added seeing Vyra and Sten zoom past.

He then felt a gentle nudge on his back, he turned around and faced the red Dramillion before him.

"But I guess our freedom is more important right now" he said as the dragon rubbed it's head on his chest.

Sandstorm banked from left to right and then spun back to the left as he maneuvered his way past nets and bolas launched at him, before firing at his attackers. Spikethorn threw multiple spikes at archers which either dispossessed them of their weapons or pinned them to the wall.

"At a girl!" Forde praised his dragon.

Sten flew overhead releasing a stream of fire on their enemies which also set the ships on fire including the one the hostage was on. Vyra noticed this quickly and alerted Rune who was circling back to unleash another barrage of attacks.

"Rune, we might need to speed things up. Sten just set our hostage's boat on fire" She said as she pulled up alongside him.

Rune looked at the ship and saw that the flames had begun spreading.

"Okay, lead the others to start freeing the other dragons. I got the hostage" he said as he as they split up.

Sandstorm came in fast on the ship only to pull back at the last second with a powerful flap before he landed. Rune quickly unmounted his saddle and got out his axe ready to fight as the hunters began streaming in. He blocked one attack before headbutting the hunter on the nose and then kicked him in the gut. He parried another attack then elbowed him in the back as Sandstorm pushed him overboard.

Thyra smashed a cage open with her hammer as a hunter creeped up on her from behind. Before he could strike, Rampage bit him by the butt before flinging off the boat.

"Thanks, I owe you one"

Vyra swung from one boat to another with a rope from one of the masts taking out men below. She let go of the rope as she got to the apex of her swing as Stormbreaker caught her and they proceeded to free more dragons.

Rune finally came up on the cage holding the guy from earlier as Sandstorm used his tail to take out two guys in the background. Before Rune could say anything, he emerged from deep within the cage.

"Who are you?" he asked seeing Rune. "Are you from Beserker Island? Did Dagur send you?" he asked.

"No. I'm from Berk" he answered. "Why would Dagur ask me to get you?"

"Oh, so you don't know what's going on do you?"

"No. What exactly is going on?"

"I would love to tell you but you have to get me out of here first"

"Right"

Rune unlocked the cage and he stepped out and his Dramillion followed. Rune was surprised to see a Dramillion for the first time and loved the red color on it.

"Behind you!" he exclaimed as he quickly grabbed a spear from the ground and threw it at a hunter behind Rune.

Rune looked back and saw the fallen hunter then back at the mystery boy.

"Thank you"

Sandstorm ran in from behind and met up with Rune and was also surprised to see a Dramillion. The two exchanged looks before the wraith turned his attention to his rider.

"So I was right, it's a Sand Wraith after all"

"Yeah. Still not a good time. Let's go people" Rune said as he mounted his dragon.

He nodded and hopped on the back of the Dramillion and joined up with the gang as they headed back to the Edge. As they joined up one by one, they were not expecting to see a Dramillion among their ranks and that got him some stares on the way back.

They were all gathered in the Clubhouse as they were about to start questioning their new ally, but first, they needed something to eat. Vyra whipped up something quick for him while the Dramillion was served a good amount of fish. The two rushed their food after not eaten for days, Virgil ate like a brute using his hands and not the utensils to eat. The Dramillion finished a mountain of fish so fast that it caused Sandstorm to drop his mouth.

"Eww..." Thyra remarked as she got a nudge on the shoulder from Forde telling her to stop it.

"Thanks for the food" he said with his plate empty.

"You're welcome" Vyra answered with a suspicious tone.

They weren't in full support of Rune bringing an individual they didn't know back to their home since they didn't know of his origin and as far as they were concerned, it could be a trap.

"Okay, let's get straight to the point. Who are you, where do you come from and more importantly, what were you doing on that ship?" Sten questioned as he walked towards him.

"Take it easy Sten" Rune said.

"It's alright. I would do the same if I was in his position as well" he answered.

"For starters, my name is Virgil and I come from Beserker Island" he said.

"Beserker Island?" Thyra said.

"Wait isn't that where Dagur, one of our allies stays?" Vyra asked.

"Yes he is" Forde answered.

"If you're from Beserker Island, what are you doing out here? And more importantly, you can tame a dragon?" Rune asked.

"Yes I can tame dragons. You see, after the great war for the King of Dragons had subsided on our Island, Dagur decided to create a group of dragon riders to protect the Island if another threat like that arises. I so happen to be one of the people who joined that group"

"Awesome" Sten said.

"Yes, it was awesome until disaster struck"

"What happened?" Rune asked.

"Our entire Island was attacked. Our beloved village turned to ash. Lives were lost. People were taken hostage. My team alongside Dagur, Mala and his sister Heather fought against our attackers but ultimately lost"

"Dagur ordered us to retreat but I didn't make it out on time and that was when..." Virgil paused as he fought his emotions and tried to remain calm.

"... I got shot down by them. I was lucky enough to survive but my dragon... wasn't as lucky"

Thyra gasped as the others were left shocked. The entire room was in total silence.

"I'm sorry for your loss"

"Thank you" he said as he hurriedly cleaned a tear.

"I was captured and thrown in the same sell as him" he said motioning to the Dramillion.

"We were being sent to Hunter Island where I was supposed to become a trainer for the Warlocks"

"Warlocks?" Forde said confused.

"They are the head of the hunters and they are not to be messed with"

"So are they responsible for the destruction of your home?" asked Vyra.

"No. The one responsible for the destruction of my home is called Dane"

That was a name all five of them knew all too well.

"Dane? Dane did that?" Thyra asked again for confirmation.

"Yes" Virgil answered. "Wait, do you know him?"

"Unfortunately, we do" Rune answered.

"Do you know what happened to Dagur and your people?" Forde inquired.

"I never made it back in time to know. As far as I'm concerned they could all be captured, could have fled the island or even be dead" Virgil replied.

"Don't worry" Rune said placing a comforting arm on his shoulder. "We'll help you find you people"

Virgil nodded as a sign of gratitude.

"It seems the reason why we did leave in the first place has caught up to us" Sten said with a sigh.

"Where did you guys say you're from again?" Virgil asked.

"Berk, we're from Berk" Vyra responded.

"Berk? Dagur once said he was friends with the son of the Chief of Berk"

"Yes. Hiccup once mentioned his name too"

"That's great then" said Virgil.

"Okay people, make sure to get a good rest. There's no time to slack off anymore, we have to prepare to face the enemy and help Virgil find his people"

They all nodded as they all began to depart one by one. Forde offered his home to Virgil which he accepted (not like he had a choice anyway) as they would become roommates for the time being until he returned home.