Hey guys! Here's the eighth chapter. Such an opportunity to join this community story and and I can't wait to see where it goes next. Thank you all for your support, and to Dawn! Keep reading and Enjoy!

Hiccup's breath caught in his throat at the sight. The room was charred, with a burned section of the floor still smoldering away. Astrid stepped up behind him and gasped.

Without waiting for an answer, Hiccup jumped back down the stairs and fled his home, hoping his dragon was just outside and fighting whatever had attacked him. Astrid was quick on his heels as he flung open the front door, but a different sight made his heart sink with dread.

Vikings screaming and fleeing… and Hiccup was too stunned to focus on the reality of it all. It was like his nightmares had come to life. Astrid grabbed his arm for support, though she had clearly spotted something and dragged him closer towards the docks.

But that was the problem… there were no docks.

Vikings fled in the opposite direction as he could see the ocean roiling and smashing against the cliff just a few meters from the top. The docks and ships had been obliterated and only their few wooden planks remained on the waves as they tossed the debris against the cliff-side and sent loud cracking noises hurtling through the town. The fear and tension in the air felt like enough to strangle a man, and Hiccup could barely carry his legs any farther as he stood in disbelief.

In the panic, he finally snapped out of his trance and spotted his father and raced over. "What is going on!?" He screamed.

Stoick was frantic, trying to calm people down. "Everyone get to the Great Hall! We will figure this out!" His frightened eyes, or as confused and scared as any chief trying to be brave could be, rested on him. "Son… the moon's too big," he gestured up to the bright orb in the sky, though it was dimmer because of the sunlight. "The tide's so high, half of Berk is flooded." It took another breath to gather his courage, and Hiccup was afraid of what he would say next. "Gildy and Heath are dead."

The air was sucked from Hiccup's lungs. Dead? They were perfect civilians… lost to the ocean. And now his anger flared. "Dad, Toothless is gone!"

"Son I'm sorry," he rubbed his temple, "but I need to help these people. You should come with us."

"I can't! I need to find Toothless! What if those crazy hood people took him again?!"

"Hiccup…" Astrid rested her hand on his shoulder. "I'll help you look, but we need to go... now." She looked up at Stoick, who exchanged a glance of uncertainty with her, but nodded.

"Be safe," was all his father could muster before running off up to the hall.

Hiccup turned to her, and was suddenly glad for her support, though he knew she was just as worried as he was. He felt a surge of warmth grow in him- maybe it was hope, or maybe it was just because she still had her hand on his arm.

"We'll find him. And I know where to start." She said with a bit more confidence. He loved that fiery look of confidence in her eyes.

"Where?"

"When I was running over to see you… I saw him fly out of the window. No one was with him."

Hiccup felt some relief at least knowing his dragon had not been kidnapped. "Then where did he go?"

"I saw him heading to the top of the mountain, near Gothi's place. I didn't think anything of it until now. But I was coming to get you after the waves started to get higher."

"But why was my bedroom all scorched? It looked like he was fighting something."

"I don't know Hiccup, but… maybe the moon suddenly being closer… the waves… and everything's changing… maybe he is changing too. Like he's a part of it."

"Do you think Gothi would know? Did he fly up there?"

"There's only one way to find out," she shrugged.

Hiccup could barely make sense of it all and his mind still reeled from the commotion beforehand. His adrenaline levels were through the roof and he had more energy than ever as he promised himself something: he would find his friend.

He found himself gazing up at the tall mountain peak and shielding his eyes from the sunlight.

Hiccup reached for her hand and took it in his, and received a squeeze of reassurance, sending a bolt of emotion through him. Maybe, he wondered, Toothless wasn't the thing that was most precious to him… but he shoved the thought away, thinking that he would never compare relationships between his girlfriend and dragon. He would defend both, at all costs.

The atmosphere grew eerily quiet, except for the crashing waves just below the cliff. With a sharp intake of breath, he turned to Astrid.

"Where's Stormfly? I think we need to go see Gothi."

Dawnbreaker note: Thank you so much Angelwriter for this chapter! I (and probably most of the others) hadn't thought of the moon affecting the tides! Well thought! It appears to be that Hiccup is in a hurry with all of this... The moon goddess is already starting to take effect on the world, Toothless just ran away, the hooded figures are still out there and the only place he can get any information is from an unknown place in Ireland AND his own dreams!

I'm more and more impressed by the skills of this community by every chapter! I mean, this is already pretty dang complicated story and you're holding it up! Seriously, I never thought this story would be like this... Just look at my prologue, it was all peaceful and stuff but now it's a friggan' battlefield of the gods, Ragnarök! You guys are truly amazing, I appreciate all your efforts on this story SO MUCH!

By the way, If you think you have some friends on FF who you think might just want to write a chapter for this, send them a challenge! Challenge them to come write a chapter for this! We need more writers! We need more EPICNESS!

-Dawnbreaker

hmm.. I've been thinking of adding 'someone else' in my author's notes, what do you think? Think about it, Dawnbreaker and...

R&R!