The Tale of Whoshadow

Chapter Thirteen: Return of the Deranged

After the voyage home, we met up with the human Toothless and a crowd of the Vikings who had stayed home while we were attending the wedding. While we were gone, Aric and Brünhild had constructed the fortifications with a complex system of tunnels within them for Berk with their icy breath. The fortification was for defense, while the tunnels were meant for dragons to lose pursuing enemies.

The Dragon Chief and Toothless barely had time to sit and chat because Toothless' mate, Sapphire, who'd been guarding Astrid's egg since it was laid, suddenly came out from their house and roared out in alarm!

Their egg was hatching!

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We didn't really find anything out until the next morning. That was when Hiccup announced the birth of Anora Storm Haddock! She was a beautiful baby with dragon eyes and a band of Stormcutter scales went around her neck like a necklace, so that was how she got her middle name; the name 'Anora' turned out to be the name of Toothless' mother, and to Toothless, it was a pretty name. So with that, Hiccup and Astrid came up with: Anora Storm Haddock.

However, today wasn't going to be all bananas and socks for Hiccup, no, no. He had lost a bet to my fair Claudette when they playfully guessed how Queen Celeste would react when she saw what had become of her Princess.

After they had announced the birth of Anora, Hiccup had gone over to the Smithy to help Gobber out, and we had a short chat with Toothless and Astrid. We caught up with Hiccup as he was finishing a saddle, Claudette stepped forward, and asked him: "Hey Chief, remember that bet you lost?"

"Yes, I take it that you came up with what I have to do for you now." He replied.

"Well, I was talking to Toothless, and he told me that he needed you to familiarize yourself with the ice tunnels. He already knows them like the back of his claws, so we agreed that since the Vikings have already worked themselves into a routine, we should have you turn into a dragon; and after you familiarize yourself with the tunnels, you, Toothless, Whoshadow, and I are going to race." Claudette told him.

"Come on, my daughter only just hatched. I want to be able to hold her, and who knows what Astrid would say about this!" Hiccup complained.

"Astrid told us that you should honor the bet. She'll take care of the baby, and Toothless will continue filling in for your position. You get today and tomorrow to stay human, but after that it's goodbye Chief Hiccup, hello Mr. Night Fury." Claudette replied. I nodded in confirmation. Hiccup turned away shaking his finger at them, but said nothing. He still used his time wisely and practiced flying through the icy maze within the fortifications.

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On the day of the race, we met up with the dragon Hiccup and the human Toothless astride him. Team Skrill regularly wore blue and white racing stripes, while team Alphas were wearing red stripes. The course to the race was a simple one, it was mainly a test of speed, and Claudette didn't want to see Hiccup in 'warrior mode' as she was quite fond of her nose and he'd already given her face a scar.

"I know we've done this once before with Snotlout and Hookfang, but this still feels really awkward!" Toothless told Hiccup.

"Hey, I'm trying to pass a Skrill here!" He snapped. Toothless won't deny that Hiccup made a good Night Fury, and he'll admit that he made a good human, but to put them in opposite bodies and to have them race, they'll do a good job, but it just felt weird to them.

At the beginning of the race, Claudette and I caught the first sheep, but Toothless intercepted it from us and later scored the first point. However, Claudette eventually stole the black sheep off of Toothless and won the game for us. Up until then it was a fairly even match.

"Hey Hiccup, you did nicely against a Skrill." I stated. I was being modest, I really wanted to say: "That's right, Dragon Chief, I just bested you! You are no match for a mighty Skrill!"

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Two weeks have passed, and Hiccup and Toothless had returned to their respective bodies; and with each passing day, the villagers of Berk feared the arrival of Dagur and his dragon army. He may be an insane cunt, but they knew that he wouldn't attack until he felt for sure that he was going to win.

Knowing that Dagur could attack any day now, and Hiccup knew that Dagur will be on his way soon, they requested that Alvin and the Outcasts come on over as reinforcements. They came to Berk heavily armed, and with more food.

Hiccup introduced the new routine that was now Berk's daily lifestyle. They were days of rigorous training and work to be done, with very little time for anything fun. Yeah, we were pretty miserable, there weren't any socks or bananas for me at all.

Alvin was shown the tunnel network, and spent several hours navigating his way through their complex network astride Blade. The one-eyed Chief took about an hour longer than Hiccup to familiarize himself with the tunnels.

However, the faithful day came all too fast for us, and this was going to be a day that will send me on the emotional roller coaster!

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I watched the following situation:

"Ow, OW! Chief, you got mail!" Snotlout called out.

"That's the dragon I send to Berserker Island." Hiccup told himself. The Terrible Terror unclamped its jaws from Snotlout's arm and gently perched on Hiccup's shoulder. Hiccup took one quick look at the message and the handwriting, and then ordered Helga: "Round up the people and their dragons into the Great Hall, I need them to hear this."

"You got it, Chief!" Helga replied. She saluted him with her mace and set out to do her job, while Hiccup and his gang of riders headed for the Great Hall.

Hiccup watched as the Vikings and dragons filed into the hall, the letter was still in his grasp. He waited until he was sure that he had their undivided attention before reading the message for them:

My friends of Berk,

I assume that you from your alliance with the Outcasts that you know that Dagur had escaped from his prison, but please let me tell you something that you may not know. A while back he returned to Berserker Island with a massive grey dragon with black spines. I do not know what dragon it is, but I am certain that it is of the Strike class.

Upon arrival, he forced us to accept him as our Chief or he would use this Strike class monster to destroy our village. We had no choice but to surrender, and ever since he regained this title, we've been forced to train for a battle we want nothing to do with.

It doesn't matter whether or not we want to fight you and your fearsome dragons and your warriors, what does matter is that Dagur will be attacking you soon. By the time you receive this message, I am sure that the armada would have set sail with your island and with a horde of other dragons. I apologize for not sending you this note when it would've been more convenient to you, but I found the Terrible Terror at the last minute.

Goosefoot, Former Berserker Chief.

"Vikings, we're going to arms! Snotlout, Fishlegs, Gothi, you two take the children and your dragons to shelter and guard them. Snotlout, I don't want to hear any complaints from you. I need you and Hookfang to be the main muscle to protect them. Now dragon riders, I want you to station yourselves at the exterior of the inner wall around the island. Ground fighters, try to keep the killing to a minimum, the men you'll be fighting want no part of this war, and I want as many of them to go home as possible for that. Now, Claudette and Whoshadow, I want you to team up with Stoick and Shadowrath and bring down Dagur if you can. Now, TO ARMS!" Hiccup announced. He put on his flight mask and mounted Toothless.

Oh yeah, it's go time baby!

With the enemy dragons approaching Berk, Toothless signaled the solo dragons to take to the skies. After they got a head start, Hiccup gave us the order for the dragon riders to take flight… and let the battle begin.

Right now, the dragons weren't paying any mind to the armada, we needed to drive the dragons away from Berk, so with our attention on the dragons, the armada drew closer to the island without trouble, but they were not too thrilled to see the latest addition to Berk's guard.

Aric raised his head above the armada, and well into the sky as far as the Berserkers were concerned. To see a massive Bewilderbeast towering above you for the first time, and with a clear scowl on its face…

… Well I heard that some of the Berserkers shat or pissed their pants.

Aric blew a great stream of his icy breath in front of the ships, and several small ones to capture the Skrills in the air. Once the Skrills were turned into ice cubes, it was Brünhild's task to take them into the tunnels for their safety. Everyone on Berk now knew that Toothless hatched with these dragons; they were good dragons being commanded by one bad man. Yes, the only bad guy in this fight was Dagur the Deranged.

"What in the name of Loki is that?" Dagur asked himself as he looked down from the Thunder Queen's back and at the Bewilderbeast. He didn't see that coming.

After seeing what Aric had done to her beloved Skrills, the Thunder Queen raised her immense wings to full height and extension, and delivered a wing blast that sounded like a full thunderstorm down upon Aric. Waves of water crashed over Aric's head and the Bewilderbeast was knocked off his feet by the sheer force of the blast.

"Have I ever told you that I love you?" Dagur asked the Black Typhoon after seeing her display of strength. Ugh, what a disgusting beast!

Aric did get back on his feet in time, but he kept in mind that the dragons that came with the Berserkers nested with the Thunder Queen, and she was not going to tolerate him turning her dragons into ice.

Now after battling through the horde of Night Furies and Skrills, Shadowrath and I were finally close enough to the Thunder Queen to begin their attack. I recognized the bastard who stabbed my foot. Instantly, I went into full rage.

"And I shall smite the wicked and plunge them into a fiery pit!" I roared with inconceivable rage. This crazed, vengeful, Skrill barreled towards the Thunder Queen, lightning sparking all over my body. As I was about to fire to exact my revenge, the Thunder Queen had turned, saw me coming, and delivered a wing blast that would've made her the envy of all Black Typhoons! It sent Claudette and I well over one hundred meters away easily.

When the team decelerated to a halt, Claudette told my crazed self: "I know you want to exact your revenge on the bastard who had the audacity to stab your beautiful foot, but you still need to keep your wits girl. Now let's try it again. Stoick and Shadowrath can't take a Black Typhoon one-on-one."

So, I turned around and gave it another go, only to find that Stoick had called for Eret, Helga and Tuffnut, and Ruffnut for backup. Not to mention, Sapphire had joined them. So Claudette decided that it would be best to pursue them, and zapped any dragon that got to close to our friends.

However, as luck would have it, I locked claws with a blue-black Night Fury. It took me a minute, but I recognized her! It may've been over twenty years, but I recognized her!

"Charmcast?"

"Whoshadow?"

At long last! I had found my lost companion! The only Time-Lordian dragon other than myself, and she hadn't regenerated after all this time! My one, my only, my precious Charmcast!

Time ceased for a moment as we hovered in the air with our claws linked together. We couldn't believe it; out of all the times and places we could've had our reunion, it had to be in the midst of this battle. I felt cracks forming in my hearts when I let go, but I told Charmcast: "I have to get back in the fight, I need to kill that putz on the Thunder Queen's back for stabbing my foot, but it's great to see you again, Charmcast!"

I released my hold on her and flew away roaring: "I AM LIGHTNING, I AM DEATH!"

Yet, unbeknownst to me, Toothless had made a similar reunion with his mother, Lady Anora, and his father, Zephyr.

Now The Berserkers made it past Aric and through the walls, and several of them were captured and imprisoned on the spot. They fought the people of Berk and the Outcasts, but it was mainly for show. Otherwise Dagur would've interfered with the Thunder Queen.

Speaking of the Black Typhoon. She was doing a wonderful job of keeping the other dragons and dragon riders away from her and her rider. She favored blasting them away with her wings, but at times she'd send them a spark of lightning or a plasma blast, especially if she found a dragon rider in pursuit of one of her beloved dragons.

The Thunder Queen also kept her eyes on the Bewilderbeast, he tried to control her, but as another Alpha species, she was immune to Aric's special ability. However, she could do very little as far as keeping Aric from breathing his icy breath at her.

In a way to help us out, Aric constructed a glacier, where dragons could fight on land without being on the island. It was a lot of work, but it went smoothly with the aid of another Dragonstone he had. Unfortunately, something went wrong with it; during the construction of the glacier, it got a large crack in the middle. The crack was only fifteen feet wide and fifty feet deep, but it could spell disaster for anyone unfortunate enough to fall through it.

However, the glacier worked. The dragons were using it to fight their opponents, and to rest their wings at the same time. Among those dragons were Barf and Belch, and Helga was showing who was the boss of the glacier by flailing her mace in every direction, sounding her own battle cry, and avoiding the large crack, as she struck dragon after dragon.

Gobber had also joined the Glacier Club on Grump's back. Grump was a bit of a mace menace himself, as he knocked dragon after dragon in their heads by using his tail and an occasional blast of fire.

So far the battle was all fun and games, but then Dagur caught sight of Hiccup and Toothless and now it was time for him to attack! The Thunder Queen began pursuit of them, and fired a plasma blast! It knocked the panel off of Hiccup's shoulder armor, and it revealed the Dragonstone he had stored inside it. Toothless turned around, Hiccup used the stone to conjure fire, and throw the flaming orbs at Dagur and the Thunder Queen. He struck her face a few times, but then another Skrill came around, and locked claws with Toothless.

Now with Toothless focused on not getting zapped by this other Skrill, Dagur ordered the Thunder Queen to fire at Hiccup again. This time he was knocked off of his saddle, and the Dragonstone was dislodged from his armor.

"TOOTHLESS!" Hiccup screamed as he was plummeting down to the glacier. He opened up his flying-squirrel suit and chased after the stone in hopes it would save him if no other dragon could.

Hearing his rider's scream, Toothless charged up a powerful plasma blast, and threw the Skrill off of him. He was flapping wildly to reach his rider, but Hiccup got a good head start.

After seeing Hiccup getting shot out of his saddle, Valka, Stoick, and Astrid were flying after him with Toothless, but Toothless was the closest one to him. In the meantime, the action enraged Claudette and myself. So we made for another approach to take Dagur down. I was nearing Dagur, ready to snatch the dirty bastard with my mighty talons; but once again, the Thunder Queen turned, saw our approach, and gave us a wing blast! This time she sent us into the outer ice wall, and upon collision, I lost consciousness.

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I awoke to the sound of a Night Fury's panicked roar, and I found most of Berk hanging out on one side of the glacier. When I got back up to my feet, Claudette took her place on my saddle again, and I flew over to the glacier where everyone was gathered.

To my horror, in the bottom of the crack, laid Hiccup in a twisted position, with the Dragonstone in his hand, but blood spilling from his head. He had fallen into the crack, and Toothless couldn't catch him once he entered the crack; and during his fall, Hiccup had collided into a beam of ice, and it killed him instantly.

Dagur had won.

We were forced to either leave Berk or die.

The Dragon Chief was no more.

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During my writing of The Dragonstone Tribe the death of Hiccup was my favorite part because it was such a bold move. Now, what do you guys think?