"Son," Stoick greeted as Hiccup approached the long table where many important Vikings sat. The other riders were close behind him. Stoick brought Hiccup into an unexpectantly emotional hug. "Thank Odin you're all safe."

Once Hiccup was released, he gave his father a look of genuine confusion. "Dad, what's going on?" He asked.

Stoick gestured for the dragon riders to sit. Now, he gave them a look of confusion. "Have you not noticed?" He questioned in disbelief.

Hiccup looked around to see if anything was different. To him, everything looked normal. Except for the obvious skittishness of the Vikings, which caught him off guard. "Uh, we've been a little tied up, actually," Hiccup explained, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, "but we can talk about that later."

"What happened here?" Astrid wondered, "why is everyone so...scared?"

Stoick took his seat at the head of the table and sighed in stress. "Many generations ago, something was brought into this world," he began, "something that never should have happened. And we fear...it's happened again."

Fishlegs was already just as terrified as the Vikings who actually knew what was going on. Even Snotlout was beginning to grow nervous. "A child, born of a human...and a god," Stoick explained gravely.

"A demigod?" Astrid asked for clarification, eyes going wide in shock.

"Aye," the chief confirmed in dread, "a demigod."

"Dad, I thought those were just myths?" Hiccup asked, "gods don't come to this world anymore, they haven't for centuries."

"Well, one did, boy," Spitelout shot him down, his tone much more intense than usual, "the signs are clear; the fish have vanished, our forests are dying."

"Wait, why is this a problem, again?" Snotlout questioned. "It's a god; we respect it, and it let's us live, right?"

"I'm afraid not," Stoick countered, "a demigod is said to be much more powerful than a full god. And if one is here, respect may not be enough to please it."

"So, what, you mean like sacrifices?" Tuffnut asked half jokingly. When no one else laughed, he frowned, "oh, come on, that was funny."

"Tuff, this is serious; more serious than anything we've ever dealt with before," Astrid scolded him, "the last demigod said to come to our world brought with it the Scourge of Odin." Tuffnut immediately shut his mouth and proceeded to listen.

Hiccup felt his stomach twist as he put the pieces of the puzzle together. He was surprised that none of the other rider seemed to be thinking the same as him. His voice quivered a bit as he suggested, "uh, dad? Maybe now actually is a good time to tell you where we've been for the past few weeks."

• • •

The air in the Great Hall felt thick and toxic by the time the dragon riders finished explaining their recent experience. "The Isle..of Loki?" Stoick repeated in a deadly serious tone.

Tuffnut looked down at his lap as he muttered quietly, "..eye..."

No one paid mind to this, however. "And you brought something back from it?" An enraged Viking demanded, "a monster?"

"What were you thinking?" Spitlout asked in disappointment.

"She was our only hope of escaping," Hiccup defended himself, "and Endeavor..wasn't like the other monsters."

Stoick shook his head, holding his temple as he took in what was going on. "Oh, son.." He murmured, "what you brought back...is much worse than a monster."

Tuffnut wasn't sure how to feel. Endeavor had been nothing but helpful with them on the island. Sure she was a little proud, and didn't seem to get along well with Hiccup, but she still helped them all. She saved them numerous times from death, and even opened up to him personally about her life before the island. As he thought about this, a lightbulb went off in his head. "Hey, wait a minute," he inturupted, "Endeavor told me about her life before getting stuck on the island."

The other dragon riders blinked in astonishment. There was a short pause before Hiccup encouraged him, "well, what did she say?"

"Uh..not much..." Tuff admitted awkwardly. "But she told me she never felt like she belonged here," he explained frowning as he recalled how broken Endeavor had sounded when telling him these things. "If she is the demigod...I don't think she even knows."

"Which just makes her more dangerous," Hiccup added with a sigh. He shook his head. "I knew there was something bigger going on," he huffed, angry at himself.

"We should never have let her escape with us," Astrid spoke sadly. It had seemed like Endeavor had a good heart, but just her existance was deadly.

Tuffnut frowned, his frustration growing into anger. "How can you say that?" He wondered in a hurt voice, "she's a good person!"

"We know, Tuff," Hiccup tried to diffuse him in a soothing tone. "And you're right," he agreed, "she probably has no idea what she is; otherwise she wouldn't have been stuck on The Isle of Loki for so long." He let his eyes graze the Vikings in the room before staring at his father. "But whatever the case is, we need to find her. Now."