THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN REWRITTEN

I fly high above the battle, carefully analyzing the situation. The gang seems to be outnumbered, six to five. See, this wouldn't have been a problem if they had just brought me along. The two Thunderdrums are back, along with a Timberjack and a trio of Changewings. Not dragons that you would normally see around here.

The gang isn't doing so well, since they're not used to dealing with these kind of dragons. Narrowing my eyes, I pick out a Changewing and then fold my wings, diving towards it. The dragon is completely unaware of my attack until I slam into it, wrapping my wings around it so that it can't escape as we both fall towards the ground. I notice that we're heading towards the Cove and, before I hit the ground, let go of the Changewing and swoop up sharply from the dive.

Glancing down, I see the dragon lay motionlessly on the dirt, a groan escaping from its throat. Huffing, I land next to it and make sure that it's not dead. Suddenly, the ground beneath me rumbles and churns. I leap out of the way, just in time to see a Whispering Death burst out from the earth where I stood.

I recognize him as the same one that got away from the fight the other day. He snaps his jaws and whirls towards me. I raise my hackles and prepare to fight.

The Whispering Death lunges at me and I dodge, quickly taking flight. Diving towards him, I sink my teeth into his scruff and drag him fully out of the ground, my jaw straining in the effort. The crown of spikes around his head raise and attempt to scratch me so I let go. He snaps at me as I fly backwards and I rake my claws across his face.

He howls in pain and shoots multiple rings of fire towards me. I retaliate with a plasma blast that easily cuts through his fire and hits him in the face. He hisses and I dive, ducking underneath his head and biting his soft underbelly. The spikes on his flank try to scratch me, but can't get close enough to do more than graze my scales.

Letting go, I quickly lunge forward to bite his throat. The Whispering Death's chest suddenly jerks forward and the spines under his chin dig into my back.

I screech so loudly that I'm sure everybody in the fight above could hear me. I haven't been in a fight for so long that it surprises me how much it hurts. The Whispering Death seizes his advantage and whirls around, whipping me with his tail and knocking me to the ground.

I pant heavily, scrambling to my paws and dodging another bite. My sore leg causes me to falter a bit and he bites my tail.

I cry out in pain, struggling to get away from him. I turn and bat at his neck, trying to get him to let go, but he won't. Suddenly, I remember the move that I used on Hookfang a while ago. Unsheathing my claws, I aim and hit in between the Whispering Death's shoulder and neck, sinking my claws into his scales. That causes him to let go of my tail and I quickly launch myself into the air, using my downward wing stroke to connect the tips of his. His shoulder gives a painful jolt and he goes rigid before collapsing on the ground in a heap.

I land on top of him, pressing my paws onto the back of his neck and forcing his head into the dirt.

"Raven!" I look up at Toothless's call. The rogue dragons have fled and now the gang is flying down towards me. I sigh happily, glad that the fight is over.

Suddenly, pain explodes on the side of my neck as long spikes rip into me. I shriek in pain and fall over.

"NO!" Everybody yells at the same time as the Whispering Death gets up. He had jerked his head backwards and dug his crown of spikes deep into my neck.

There's a moment of silence in which everyone is frozen in shock. Then, the sound of the gang growling rumbles through the air and they launch an attack on the spiny dragon, pure rage driving them on.

Meanwhile, I lay on my side, paws flailing as I gasp for breath. I taste blood on my tongue and turn my head to spit it out. I think I black-out out for a moment, either from pain for bloodloss, but I blink my eyes open when I feel someone pressing cloth against my wounds. It's Hiccup. Next to him, Toothless gazes at me with worried eyes.

"What were you thinking?!" he cries, "I told you to stay behind!"

"I'm sorry." I wheeze, and then cough, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have- I just- I wanted to-"

"Shh, shh." the Night Fury shushes me, pressing his nose against my forehead, "Don't talk. Don't waste your energy."

My eyes flutter and I whisper, "I… I think you're going to be alone again… I'm so sorry-"

"No!" Toothless snaps sharply, "No! Never say that!" He gently shoves his head underneath me. It takes me a few moments to realize that he's trying to carry me on his back. Hiccup catches on and pushes my lower half on him.

Once I'm fully on his back, Toothless takes off, running out of the cove and into the forest. I didn't notice before, but Stormfly is now at my side, keeping up beside him and making sure I stay on. Hookfang soon appears, muttering words of encouragement as he pushes me up when I slide down.

"Come on, Raven. Stay with us."

I cling onto Toothless with whatever little energy I have left. My mind starts to become fuzzy and my eyelids droop. "Wake up!" Stormfly barks. I force myself to stay awake and realize that we've entered the village. The Vikings and other dragons pass by in a blur. I barely notice us running into the house and up the stairs.

When Toothless stops running, I feel a wave of nausea hit me. Sliding off of Toothless's back, I turn and immediately start vomiting.

"Oh, Raven." Hookfang whines and I look up to see his head peering through the window. He must've been too big to come inside.

Shaking with weakness, I stumble onto Toothless's bed and collapse. Completely drained of energy, I take shuddering breath and close my eyes. I feel Toothless's rough and moist tongue licking my wound before everything turns into a blur. I think Hiccup and the gang comes in, but black dots soon cloud my vision and I slip into unconsciousness.


I open my eyes to find myself standing in between light and darkness. Somehow, I know that light is death and darkness is life. Turning to the light side, I cautiously take a sniff. Instantly, the scents of all of my favorite foods and plants fill my nose. As well as another scent…. a scent that I haven't smelled in a long time. Peering closer, I see my mother running around and playing with all of my siblings. Catching my gaze, she stops and turns to me.

"Oh, my dear." she says, her voice full of love, "You've come so far. You're no longer the little hatchling I once knew. You're a big, strong dragon and you've have such a wonderful life. Come with me, dear. Come play with your siblings."

I purr and take a step towards her, but then hesitate. Glancing over my shoulder, I peek into the darkness. I see myself, laying on the bed, surrounded by my friends. Stormfly, Hookfang, Meatlug, Barf 'N Belch…. and Toothless.

I blink and glance back at my mother. She nods in understanding and murmurs, "There's one thing that I haven't taught you, nor can I ever. This is a lesson you have to learn by yourself." She takes a step back and jerks her head towards the darkness, "Go. Your wonderful life isn't over yet."

"Are you sure?" I ask, my voice quivering.

My mother nods and takes another step back, "It's fine, darling. I can wait. I'll always wait for you."

Letting out a long sigh, I finally tear my gaze away from her and walk into the darkness of life.