A/N-Last chapter for now, and the last fun one for a little while yet, we have some down time before the next major event. Only 14 chapters before Book 2, but there's a lot yet to cover!

As always, read and REVIEW! Your thoughts are appreciated.

Chapter 22

Shadow Racing

CREEEEEAAAAKKKK!

Ah, the unmistakable sound of my door being opened very slowly. I opened one eye in a slit, and thought I saw my mother standing there, looking in. I can't believe that I'm 17 and she still does that occasionally! Of course, barely opening your eye often leads to mistakes in determining what you're really seeing….

WHUMPFFF! "AAAAHHHH!"

I jolted up, completely awake now thanks to my little sister dive-bombing me on my bed. "Wake up Hawken!" she yelled. I sat up further and rubbed my eyes. "Why, Holly?" was all I could muster. "Did Hiccup put you up to this? Because this sounds like something he would do." She shook her head. "No, but he and Toothless are both standing outside the back door, waiting for you." I raised an eyebrow. "Okay, remind me of what I'm forgetting here today. What was I supposed to do?" She rolled her eyes and shrugged. "I don't know what you were supposed to do, but Hiccup mentioned something about races today."

I blinked. "Jeez, how could I forget that? Holly, out of my room, I need to get dressed!" She smiled, and painstakingly slowly meandered toward the door. I finally got fed up and just pushed her out, then grabbed a change of clothes.

After I got dressed, I grabbed a couple of bananas, pears and a breakfast burrito and stepped outside. Sure enough, Hiccup and Toothless were there, waiting. Hiccup was sitting in one of the deck chairs, as Toothless lay nearby in the grass, rolling around and having a good time as the dogs chased his tail. "I see you're using the invitation I gave to full advantage," I said. "You could say that," Hiccup replied, standing up. "Of course, when you don't show up at the time you said you would, I kind of feel the need to come find you. Come on, let's go, we're already a bit late." He turned and stumbled for a second. "Still getting used to the prosthesis?" I asked. He shook his head. "No, just can't feel anything down there, of course."

The sliding door opened again at that point, and we turned to find Holly stepping out, a pleading look on her face. "Oh, no," I muttered. "What, Holly? We're kind of in a hurry." "Can I come with today?" she asked. "I want to see the races, and I haven't been to Berk in a couple weeks." Hiccup and I exchanged glances of equal dread, and I turned back to Holly. "Look, I really think it's best if you stay home until the gathering is over," I answered. "I'm not exactly free to watch a little girl all the time and there's a lot of people there right now that I don't know well enough to trust around you, okay?" Holly just made a pouty face and crossed her arms. "I'm 10, okay? I can watch myself." I raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Oh really? Then how come you can't stop me from doing this?" I darted forward and picked her up, tickling her mercilessly. "Ha ha ha ha hahahahah! Stop, please, hahaahaha!" she screamed, wiggling and trying to squirm away. I set her down and she stood back up. "Come on, please? I'll stay right by you the whole time," she pleaded. I rubbed my forehead. "Holly, I said I can't stay with you constantly, and Hiccup and Toothless can't either because they'll be busy too." I turned and winked at Hiccup. In reality, due to their strong bond and natural speed, they had been cut from the dragon races just to give others a chance. I looked back at Holly, who smiled mischievously. "Mom said I could," she stated.

I glanced past her and into the open door, where my mom was sitting at the table, reading the newspaper and smiling. "Mom, really?!" I snapped. "This isn't really the best day for this, we're going to be all over the village today." She shrugged. "Can't let you have all of the fun, and besides, Holly hasn't gone in a little while. I think you need to let her go with you, as you two also need to spend more time together." I glared at her, then sighed, defeated. If there was one thing I would never do, it was win an argument with my mother. "Fine," I said, then turned to my sister, "but Holly?" "Yes?" "You will do exactly as I say, when I say it, so you don't get in the way, alright?" She looked at me quizzically. "I thought everyone trusted us." I shook my head. "There's more than just the Berkians here today, remember? And Vikings are people who like to enjoy a good fight, and act before they think. Plus, there are weapons everywhere. It is not a child-friendly place, so that's why I say listen, alright?"

Holly looked down at the ground. "Okay," she said. "Alright, then we need to go," I said. "We've wasted enough time already. How long before the races start?" I asked Hiccup. He stood thinking for a moment, then looked back at me. "About half an hour, give or take. Probably less with how long we've been yapping here." I sighed, and we raced across the yard and into the portal. On the other side, Hiccup mounted Toothless, and I focused on the image of a Monstrous Nightmare. When I looked back at my tail, I smirked. "I guess some things never change," I remarked sarcastically. Along my back were the usual Nightmare spines, but true to my form, were curved back more, and the tail-tip of the back sail was split in two and curved backward. "Well," Hiccup said, "at least we know now how not to confuse you with anyone else." I shook my head in amusement and looked at Holly. "You wanted to come, so get on already!" I said, motioning for her to climb up my shoulder. "We don't exactly have time to chat and mess around now." She nodded, and for once, did what she was told. Finally, the four of us lifted off.

"This is so cool!" Holly yelled, smiling like a maniac as the wind rushed past her. ::She never gets used to it, does she?:: I said to Toothless. ::Do you blame her?:: he replied. I laughed and grinned. ::Nope!:: Hiccup looked from me to Toothless and back again, confusion written across his face. I motioned toward Holly, and he smiled and nodded, knowing exactly what we were going on about.

A few minutes later, we landed down near the docks. The boat race was first, so there was no point flying to the village square and walking down through the whole village. Of course, we got a few irritated yells from a couple of Vikings who had to move so we could land, but the quickly shut up as Holly got off and I changed to my usual half-form, glaring at them.

"Hey, look! They're back!" Hiccup and I turned to see the rest of the gang strolling down the dock we were on. "Took you long enough, where have you guys been?" Cami asked. I shrugged. "Sorry, we had a short delay, pun intended, courtesy of the little girl here," I replied, giving Holly a sidelong glance. Holly glared at me, understanding the prod, but before Cami could ask anything, Holly's face brightened and she rushed past her. "Astrid!" she yelled, running up to the shield maiden. Astrid smiled and bent down, giving her a hug, then ruffled her hair. Hiccup and I glanced at each other. "Girls will be girls, I guess, huh?" I drawled. Hiccup nodded. "Though that's not something you see often from Astrid, you have to admit," he replied.

"I'm sorry," Cami announced, getting a little irritated, "but did I miss something? Who is that little girl anyway, friend of yours?" I shook my head. "Sorry, Cami, I forgot you haven't met her yet, since she's only been here when you weren't around," I apologized. "That is the most annoying being you will ever meet, also known as my little sister, Holly." Cami smirked and glanced at the twins, who were getting into another squabble. "Siblings, gotta love 'em. She doesn't seem so bad, though." I laughed. "That's because you're lucky to meet her on a good day. She just came off of a flight on dragon back and her newest best friend is right here." Camicazi nodded. "I see. Anyway, the boat race is about to start, so what say we find a more suitable place to watch, eh?" she asked loudly, turning to the rest of the gang. "How about the point?" Snotlout yelled back. Everyone nodded, and I leaned toward Hiccup. "Well whaddya know? Snotlout actually came up with a good idea," I whispered, and we both started snickering. Snotlout gave us the fisheye, but then just ignored us like he usually did.

We headed up toward the point, a rather flat bluff overlooking the harbor. To get there by foot, we had to traverse the Cliffside walkways, but luckily Hiccup didn't have any mishaps on the way up like the last time, and Astrid and Holly kept each other busy, so my sister wasn't in my hair the whole way up. It still scares me how well those two get along, though. Maybe Astrid could teach Holly a few things when she grows up.

When we got to the point, there was already a large gathering there, but a large space opened up when we arrived. I guess that's what you get for being the best fighters around (that's saying something, considering we were surrounded by people who fought for a living). Everyone was able to get settled down, and below, the boats lined up at the starting line by the eastern dock. From what I had gathered from Hiccup and Fishlegs (always helpful when you're trying to find the facts, of course), each boat had a crew of the 12 best seamen from that boat's tribe, and was decorated with the tribe's colors. The objective was to row across the half-mile harbor and through the sea stacks along the outer edge, then across the open harbor again to be the first to cross the natural finish line: a sandbar lining the western edge of the harbor. Rather simple in ideology, really, so naturally the entertainment for everyone was really to see which boat would veer off course or tip over first, which of course always led to loud verbal punches and sputtering or splashing, leading to more confusion and therefore, more entertainment. When I heard that part from Hiccup, I immediately decided that Vikings were a lot like high schoolers.

I looked to my left to see Holly and Astrid sitting together, discussing something about hairstyles, and to my right was Toothless and Hiccup. Lout, Legs, Thuggory, and the twins were further down, but I noticed something a little unnerving: someone was missing, a rather mischievous someone. "Hey, where did…" I began, but then I stopped. There were small footsteps approaching slowly, and even for my hearing, comparatively quietly, from behind me. I decided not to say anything, as that would ruin my upcoming fun, so instead I waited patiently as the footsteps got closer, until said person was right behind me, and stopped. I spun around.

"BOO!" I yelled. "AAAAAHHHH!" I swear Camicazi jumped five feet in the air and hovered for a few seconds before falling unceremoniously to the ground. I doubled over laughing. "Jeez, I was supposed to be the one scaring you!" she yelled. I just continued laughing, and I heard Hiccup and Holly joining in. Must have been a very humorous sight. "Ya gotta remember, Cami," I said, wiping the tears from my eyes, "that I hear a lot better than the rest of your friends do. You're never going to be able to sneak up on me," I continued with smirk. "I will find a way," Cami muttered. "I swear, I will find a way if it's the last thing I do."

"You two never lose your charm, do you?" I heard from behind me. I turned to see Astrid grinning. "Hey, that's my line," I pouted. "I know," she countered, "and that's why I used it. It fits the situation perfectly." "Ha ha, very funny," I retorted. "You and Cami are a lot more alike than I thought."

Just then, a horn sounded from below. "Hey, the race is starting!" Holly shouted. Cami and I edged forward to watch, and as it turns out, Vikings can actually be very fast, at least when in boats. In no time at all, three of the teams; the Bog Burglars, the Hooligans, and a tribe from a place the Vikings call Freezing to Death (now you know where that line at the beginning of the movie comes from) were a good 20 feet ahead of the rest, and nearly halfway across the harbor, and all three were tied. "Aww, come on," I heard Tuffnut complain, "we always come in third." Snotlout pushed him over. "We win sometimes, we're not losers." Tuff smirked. "Oh yeah? That was seven years ago. We haven't won since." "Well, if you'd quit complaining all the time, maybe there would be less drag from your mouth," his sister retorted, smacking him upside the head. "Look who's talking, dragon butt!" Tuffnut snapped back, throwing a punch at her. As a result, Ruffnut elbowed him in the side, and another fight began between them.

I sighed and stood up. "Be right back," I told Hiccup, gesturing toward the fight, and walked over to the equally matched, newly minted dirt wrestlers. I bent down, grabbing them by the back of their shirts, and yanked them apart. The looks on their faces, being held up by someone who should normally be shorter and weaker than either of them, was priceless. "Knock it off, would you two?" I hissed, banging their helmets together. "You two never quit!" I then unceremoniously dumped them back on the ground. "You know, I'll never get used to how strong you actually are," Tuffnut commented. "That's because you're as skinny as a twig," Ruffnut replied. Tuffnut, in reaction, restarted the fight, but a few seconds later, they both shut up, noticing they had slightly blacker helmets and that I had wisps of smoke escaping my lips. I shook my head and sat back down by Hiccup and Holly, and resumed watching the race.

Not long after, the boat belonging to the Meathead tribe began to veer off course, and just after re-entering the harbor as well, and the mayhem began between the crew members. Laughter went up around me like wildfire as they ended up overturning the boat, and God help me if I happened to join in as well. What can I say, seeing 12 burly Vikings trying to clamber back in their boat was funny! In the meantime, the three leading boats had all crossed halfway back across the harbor, each continuously gaining and losing 2 or 3 feet at a time. "Come on, faster, faster!" I heard Cami yell. "Don't let the boys beat you! Go, go!" I looked at her with amusement. "Enthusiastic much, are we?" I teased. She barely gave me the courtesy of a quick glare before fixating on her enthusiastic "encouragement" for her team again. Meanwhile, Ruff and Tuff were yelling such helpful things as "Go! Row Faster" and "Beat the other guys!" and the like. Fishlegs, at the other end of the spectrum, was sitting there analyzing mistakes and techniques and going on about stats and how they could improve their speed. He leaned toward Hiccup and said, "If they increased the rowing speed by one cycle per second, they could gain, like, plus five speed!" Hiccup, for once, wasn't really paying attention, and actually more interested in the race itself compared to the ideas Fishlegs was rambling on about. I threw Fishlegs a helpful comment as well: "Making sure the boat hulls are completely smooth would decrease drag as well," I said. Fishlegs' eyes brightened. "Good idea Hawken! We should take that to the ship builders, so that maybe we could guarantee our success!"

"Come on guys, who needs science when we've got power!" Snotlout butted in, giving us strange looks. "Our team just needs to get stronger and we'll be faster!" I just gave him a deadpan glare. "Congratulations, you did it again Lout," I snorted. He raised an eyebrow, confused. "Did what, prove my awesomeness? Of course I did!" I shook my head. "No, removed all doubt, that's all." Snotlout sat there, thinking, as I heard snorts of laughter from Toothless' direction. Finally his mind connected my remark to yesterday's show of ignorance, and he gave me a glare. "Hey! That's not funny!" I shrugged as I caught the smiles from the faces of Toothless, Hiccup, and Holly, who all had heard and understood my reference. "I guess it just depends on you point of view. Seems to me it's four against one here, so I guess I am just a little bit funny."

Snotlout shook his head. "Well maybe you are funny, whenever you look in a mirror, dragon butt!" he shot back. I gave him a bored stare. "Really? The oldest comeback in the book? Of course then again you wouldn't even know it's in the book since you don't read that often." I turned to look over my shoulder, where I was currently without a tail. "Plus, currently, at this point and time my rear end is about as draconic as your complexion, considering there seems to be such a close resemblance." At this Snotlout turned beet red and everyone within earshot started snickering. I shook my head and smirked at Snotlout's expression. "Maybe one day you'll learn. Then again, maybe not."

"Hey, look!" Tuffnut yelled, breaking the tension. "They're almost at the finish line!" We scrambled for a new viewpoint and spotted the three leading boats, still in about a tie, and were within a hundred feet of the finish line. As they drew closer, tension mounted in the competitive people around me. The Burglar's boat eased forward, then Freezing to Death's boat, then the Burglars again, then the Hooligans…. Twenty feet… ten…five… the Hooligan boat eased forward….

"WE WON!" the teens screamed. "The first time in seven years!" Astrid yelled. "High five!" She raised her hand and gave a five to Ruffnut. Holly hugged her, and Astrid hugged back, kind of breaking the air of excitement, but oh well. "Congratulations, I hope you win again next year," Holly said, smiling. Astrid laughed and ruffled her hair. "Thanks, we'll try," she said, then turned and gave Hiccup a hug. I shook my head. "Like peas in a pod, you guys are," I remarked, smiling, and turned to Hiccup, who was also caught up in the excitement. "We should work on designs for next year," he was saying. "Longer, faster, smoother…. We could guarantee winning!" I laughed and clapped him on the back. "Good to see you're not completely off your rocker today," I commented. "Do they get medals or something?" Hiccup smiled and nodded. "Not right now, at the end of the day once all the races are over," he said. I nodded. "How long before the next races?" "Oh, just a couple minutes. The next few are mainly for the teens: sheep lugging, obstacle courses, so on, so forth. I'm not competing, as I never win those anyway." I gave him a friendly push. "Oh, don't berate yourself like that," I said. "There's other things you're good at." He shrugged, and we turned to join the rest of the teens.

The next few competitions were actually really entertaining. Watching a bunch of teenagers carrying big fluffy sheep around or getting knocked over by the flying obstacles is rather comedic, but eventually, all I could think about was lunch. Luckily, that was right after the teen competitions (just a heads up, Snotlout won the sheep thing, and some kid I didn't know named Dogsbreath won the obstacle course). We all headed up to the Mead Hall for lunch, and on the way, I noticed Toothless looking a little disappointed. "Something wrong?" I asked him. He looked up. ::What? Oh, no, nothing.:: "I can tell something's on your mind by the look on your face. What's wrong, did you want Astrid to win?" He shook his head. ::No, that's not it. I don't get why Hiccup and I can't compete in the dragon race.:: I nodded and smirked. "Oh, come on Toothless really? You get to compete in the other competitions afterward. Everyone knows you and Hiccup are the best team, and you're the fastest species of dragon. Think of it as winning before you even have to try. They're just finding who's second place. Get the idea?"

Silence for a minute, and I caught Hiccup looking between the two of us, eyebrow raised. Toothless stood there thinking for a minute, and then perked up. ::Never thought of it that way before,:: he said. ::Yeah, I can understand that.:: I smiled. "Just don't let it go to your head."

"He's down about not being able to race, huh?" Hiccup asked. I nodded. "Good to see you're starting to catch on," I replied. "Yeah, so he seems to like the idea of winning without trying better." Hiccup nodded. "He's always been a bit of a pushover." ::Hey!:: he snapped. We laughed and headed into the Mead Hall, where the rest of the teens were already sitting at their usual table. "Come on," I said, "let's go get something to eat. I'm already a twig, and I don't want to get any skinnier."

The dish of the day, luckily, was roasted chicken, rather than the lamb or fish they always had, and Hiccup and I both grabbed plates and headed over toward the teen table. On the way, I watched Hiccup struggled to drag over a bag of fish for Toothless. I smiled and walked over. "Need some help?" I asked. Hiccup smiled. "Yeah, still can't do this one-handed." I chuckled and grabbed the handle, lifting it up and carrying it over to the table. Astrid looked over her shoulder and said, "Hey guys! What took you so long? Grab a seat before someone else does." She scooted over and Hiccup sat down next to her, while I took the seat next to Camicazi, who was nearer to the boys at the end of the table than Astrid, Holly, and Ruffnut. Mind you, I was sitting at the end of the table due to my occasional need for more space than most people. Of course, I'm not always the one taking up too much space.

"Hey, Hawken, you're taking up my seat! Scoot over!" This was coming from the mouth of Tuffnut, who was currently lying across the bench seat, taking up as much of the seating space as he possibly could. I just sighed and spread my wings, shoving him completely off the bench and onto the stone floor. "Ow! I am hurt, I am very much hurt!" he complained, as I just sent him a deadpan glare. "Watch who you're talking to before you make a comment like that, hypocrite," I snapped, and then turned to Cami. "You'd think they would learn," I said. "Eh, you have to remember, that is Tuffnut we're talking about," she replied. "Good point."

It only took a few minutes to finish up lunch, and most of the other teens grabbed mugs of mead as we stepped out of the hall. Hiccup, Astrid and I declined, wanting to stay alert for the competitions, and of course Holly is too young even by Berk standards. We wandered down toward where the race would begin, and sat down, much to the chagrin of all the dragons. There were still like 40 minutes before the race, but apparently the reptiles could be extremely competitive, especially when it came to speed, and they were all overly eager to start, some more than others.

"Thorn, would you cut it out?" Astrid complained. "There's still more than half an hour before the thing begins! We've got a while to wait." Thorn ignored her and continue nearly pushing her over. ::Why wait, we can just race now! Come on, I want to fly!:: Thorn complained. Astrid looked at me for help, silently asking me to shut up the overenthusiastic dragon. I obliged, standing up and striding over to the Nadder and smacking her across the snout. ::Ow! Hey, what gives?:: she yelled, glaring at me and raising her tail spikes. ::Quit being so selfish,:: I hissed back. ::You're not the only one here, and you need to understand other's needs to a break every once in a while. Calm down and have some patience, or I might just take your place for Astrid.::

Thorn stood there, shocked, for a couple of seconds, then shook her head and replied. :Sorry, I was getting worked up. I'll wait,:: she said sulkily, then went to go lie down next to a nearby tree. Astrid gave me a look of thanks, but asked a question completely off the subject. "Since when did you learn how to speak Dragonese?" she asked. I laughed. "Oh, since about three days ago. I'm surprised Hiccup didn't tell you yet." At this, she turned to Hiccup, looking for an explanation. "You knew?" she asked. Hiccup just turned red and held up his hands. "Hey, I only found out yesterday, and it's easy to forget something like that, especially where Hawken is concerned." Nonetheless, Astrid punched him in the shoulder. "Agh! Always with the hitting! Why-" "That's for not telling me," Astrid said, scooting closer to him. "But I-" Hiccup was cut off again as Astrid grabbed him and gave him a long, hard smooch. "That was for being honest," Astrid said, smiling. "Get a room!" Cami yelled playfully, and we started laughing. Astrid gave her a glare, but couldn't keep the smile off of her face. ::They do that way too often,:: Toothless commented. ::Jealous?:: I asked, smirking, which just elicited a glare from said dragon. I smirked again. ::Just kidding. I agree.::

After a little bit, we settled down again, and just sat relaxing on the hill above the starting line. Of course, with a group like ours, silence never lasts long.

"Hey, Dragon Boy!" I sighed, and looked up at the source of the voice. "Yeah, Cami?" The asker wasn't surprising, but the mildly serious look on her face was. She got up and sat down next to me, a questioning look on her features. "I was just wondering about the abilities you have," she said. "I know you're able to turn into a lot of different kinds of dragons, but do you think there's actually a limit to the types you can become?"

Hiccup turned around, obviously interested in the answer. Fishlegs also turned, seeing a chance to learn something new, as always. "I'm surprised that question hasn't come up until now," I chuckled. "And to tell you the truth, I don't really know if there is." "Do-do you think you could turn into, like, imaginary dragons as well," Fishlegs asked, "like, make one up and turn into that?" "That would actually be pretty cool," Hiccup commented. "There wouldn't really be a limit as to what you could do!"

I sat there for a minute, thinking. Then an idea popped into my head. "You know, I think I have a way to test that question," I said, standing up. "First of all, how much time before the race?" "About twenty minutes," Astrid replied. I nodded. Alright, follow me," I said. We headed down the hill toward a currently unused home below, and went in. Toothless also slid in with us, but the other dragons had to stay outside, and they watched through the windows.

"Why are we in here? It's dark," Holly said, grabbing Astrid's hand. I smiled. "If my idea is correct, it's the perfect place to test out becoming a dragon unlike any other," I said. "You remember what I told you about the Shadow Dragon?" Holly's eyes immediately lit up. "Yeah! Do it, do it!" I laughed, and looked around at the other teens, confusion written across their faces. "If you don't mind me asking," Thuggory said, standing near the corner, "What in the world is a Shadow Dragon?" I grinned mischievously. "There's a story I like to read back home, a made up one about the island of Berk, and the author came up with an enemy called the Shadow dragon. It's solid black, with red eyes, and spines along its back." "Sounds awesome," Tuffnut commented. "You don't know the half of it," I replied. "It's even blacker than Toothless, and even has black fire, which actually takes away light rather than makes it." "You should terrorize my brother with that," Ruffnut commented, grinning. "He hates the dark." "Who says? You're the one afraid of the dark," Tuff shot back. "Guys, we get it, and I don't even know if it will work," I said. "Anyway, there's a reason for the strange fire, and that's because of this dragon's most unique ability." "Which would be…" Astrid asked, getting tired of my long speech. "The Shadow dragon can literally dissolve into and travel through darkness, through shadows, hence its name. Therefore black fire creates more places for the dragon to travel unseen. Plus," I added, drumming my fingers together ominously, "it can control the shadows, making them physical elements. And last of all: you can't kill the absence of light, you can't kill something not there. So how would you kill a Shadow Dragon? Only with another Shadow Dragon."

"So, If you can become it, you… can't be killed?" Fishlegs asked, eyes wide as saucers. I nodded. "Something like that." "Well, what are you waiting for?" Cami snapped impatiently. "Try it out already, see if you can or not. We're wasting time just blabbing away." I snickered and nodded. "Very well, here goes." I focused on the description I had read, thinking first about the pitch black scales.

Nothing happened. I focused harder on the same image, and still it didn't work. I tried focusing on other details, but no, nothing. "Uh, Hawken? I don't think it's working," Astrid commented. I sighed. "I guess there is a pretty narrow limit as to what I can do. Or maybe it's only dragons that have pictures to go with." I turned to the door. "Well, that was a waste of….." I trailed off as a new idea formed. Every time I focused on any other image, it had always been of the dragon as it normally was. The author had stated Shadow Dragons almost never fully solidify themselves, and stayed in their element. Maybe that was the trick: it was a shadow, so I had to focus on it as a shadow. I turned back and focused again, this time not on a solid image, but a ghostly mist of an image instead.

There was a slight tingle across my arms, and they began to turn black from my fingers to my shoulders. It was a black unlike anything I had ever seen in real life, as deep as the bottom of the sea, dark as the depths of a cave. Already I felt as if the light in the room was diminishing, and the scales were only barely forming. Soon I was coated head to toe in anthracite scales, and focused on the wings and tail. My body elongated as the tail whipped out like a hyperactive vine, and the wings sprouted out and flared behind me, much like a Night Fury's wings, but more elongate and almost tattered looking, the edges dangling down like shadowy tendrils. The tail and my back were lined with rearward curved spiny crests, and my tail tip ended with a pair of swept back fins, though shaped more like scythes than fins. My neck elongated and my arms and feet formed talon-like claws. To complete the picture, my head elongated much like a typical western dragon's, but with sickle-like horns at the back and sharp ridges running the length of my head. My eyes, when I caught my reflection in a mirror, had changed to a deep, almost glowing scarlet, with coal black all around.

There was silence in the room as everyone, including myself, stared in shock at this new form. I even heard the dragons outside go silent. "That is…. So freaky," Astrid stammered, an awestruck smile crossing her features. From behind me I heard, "Hey Hawken, that would be perfect to scare Dad with." I had nearly forgotten my sister was also in here too, as she was being really quiet. She commented again. "You look like something out of a bad dream." "Thanks," I replied, "that makes me feel so much better." "Hey, who said the good guys can't be frightening as well?" Hiccup asked. I shrugged. "Good point." "Can you make the black fire too?" Ruffnut asked. I raised an eye ridge, and then turned toward the empty fireplace, aiming for the center.

FOOOOSSHHH!

The room instantly darkened, and in the fireplace, practically outlined in what looked like deep ultraviolet purple, were anthracite black flames dancing in eerie silence, sending flickering shadows all around the room. "Now THAT is cool," Cami commented. "Yeah, and it's a whole new fire color!" Fishlegs said, getting excited. "We should document it somehow!" I smiled, and another idea popped into my head. "One last thing to try out guys," I said, grinning mischievously. "Nobody leave the room, alright?" At hearing this, I saw Hiccup get a really anxious face on. "What are you going to do, Hawken?" he queried. I laughed darkly. "Oh, nothing much, just see how well this dragon's abilities work."

I directed my focus on the shadows dancing around my feet, and watched as the edges of my wings and tail began to shift and dissolve, turning into a black smoke screen. Soon I was completely a cloud, intangible, with the glowing red eyes. This ought to be useful if we ever have any problems again, I thought, then began to sink into the shadow at my "feet," letting my eyes be the last thing to disappear.

Suddenly, I felt connected to the entire room, able to reach into every darkened corner or crevice as the black fire dimmed the room. I heard Snotlout say, "That was freakishly cool!" but then Astrid brought some sense into the group. "You guys realize that considering everything else Hawken said about this dragon is true so far, he can do anything with the shadows in here?" Hiccup nodded and gulped. "Yeah, and we all know his love for scaring the heebie-jeebies out of people."

They all went silent with this realization, and Toothless began searching the room. ::Hawken, where are you?:: he whispered. I shifted myself next to him. ::Just about everywhere,:: I whispered back. He jerked to the side and looked around. ::Seems to work just fine,:: he said. Please don't scare me. I chuckled quietly. ::Don't worry; you and Hiccup are out of this game. Everyone else, however….:: Toothless grinned in expectation.

Just then, I noticed Snotlout starting to shuffle over to the door. "Uh, you know guys, I think I'll, uh, wait outside, it's uh, starting to get stuffy in, uh, here," he stammered and reached for the handle. I reached down into the door's shadow and slammed the door completely shut, locking it as well. Everyone jumped back, Snotlout falling on his rear. "Did you see that?" Tuffnut asked, eyes wide. They all nodded, and I decided to make sure they knew I was still here.

"I'm surprised the 'big, tough Viking' was the first one to try to leave," I sniggered, my voice echoing from all around the room. "Come on, Snotlout, you're really scared of me?" He stood up and crossed his arms. "No way, I, uh, just need some, uh, fresh air," he stuttered. Everyone chuckled nervously, and started looking around the room again. "Seriously, Hawken, where are you?" Hiccup asked. I solidified a shadow rope at Snotlout's feet and wrapped it around his leg before dissolving it. Snotlout squealed like my sister and leapt in the air while everyone looked down at the ground where he was standing, as the shadow repositioned itself properly. "Looks like you're not so tough after all," Cami teased, but I couldn't leave thee score uneven. I positioned myself around her and poked her in the back of the leg, sending her squealing across the room. "You don't seem to be one to talk either," I joked lightly, then focused on Hiccup, speaking right in his ear. "Don't worry, I scare you enough," I said, watching him flinch away for a second. "You're exempt from this fun." Hiccup smiled in relief, then whispered, "Astrid."

The fun lasted for a few minutes as I got better at controlling such an unorthodox ability, all of the teens getting their fair share of squeals and screams, including my own sister, of course, but eventually I decided that it was time to quit. The race would start soon, and I didn't want to be accountable for the forfeit of the teens.

"Hey everyone," I said, "look up." They did, and stepped back very quickly as I rematerialized from the shadows on the ceiling, becoming a solid creature again and dropping silently to the floor. As I slowly changed back, Astrid commented, "That was... pretty cool, I'll admit. Funny too," she said, smirking and sending a glance over to Cami, who just crossed her arms in reply, trying to hide her own smile. I nodded. "I think we've got a pretty solid new tactic in case anything happens again, huh?" Everyone nodded. "Yeah, it's perfect for sneak attacks," Fishlegs said. "You seem to have, like, plus 30 stealth in that form!"

I smiled and shook my head as I regained my original half form, and looked at Holly. "Keep this one a secret for now, though, okay Holly?" She crossed her arms, but nodded. "Fine. I still think you should scare dad though." "Hey Hawken?" I turned to face Astrid. "Yeah?" "Remind me not to tick you off, alright?" I smiled. "Don't worry, you're in my good book." We laughed, then turned to head out the door.

As I guessed, the competitors were lining up at the starting line, and seeing this, all of the teens ran over to their respective dragons. I noticed, however, that Camicazi still didn't have her dragon with her yet. I turned to her, grinning knowingly. "So, mind if I ask when Stormfly will be joining us?" I asked. Cami stopped walking and turned, spluttering, to face me. "Bu… how…. How did you know about…" she stammered. "I… I haven't said a thing about-" I raised my hand, cutting her off. "Ya gotta remember I'm not from around here. I know a lot about things here I normally shouldn't." Cami crossed her arms and pouted. "Gee, fine, go ahead and ruin the surprise. I guess I should call her out then?" She sighed and turned to face the mountains above Berk, and gave out a high pitched, almost screaming whistle that echoed off the cliffs.

Up above, a happy roar sounded: ::FINALLY! I've been waiting two days now!:: A bright flash of gold appeared at the peak, floating toward us in an almost twisting, serpentine fashion. When it landed, there was a collective gasp of awe from everyone save me and Cami.

::She's so... beautiful,:: Toothless whispered. I was close to him so I reached over and smacked him upside the head. ::Ow!:: he yelped, turning to face me. "Get a hold of yourself and maybe I won't do that," I replied curtly. He growled a bit, but stayed quiet.

"Everyone," Camicazi began, "meet my dragon, Stormfly." Everyone issued a collective "Hello," and then Stormfly did something in reply that shocked the socks off of everyone else. "Pleased to meet you," she said perfectly, turning a slight shade of pink as she bowed her head. Everyone jumped in shock and stepped back in surprise. Cami and I exchanged a quick glance, and burst out laughing. "What in the world?" Hiccup squeaked. "I taught Stormfly how to speak our language," Cami explained simply. "Her species is one of the few able to do so." As she explained this, I saw Stormfly shoot Toothless a flirty grin, and I snapped back to reality. "You realize I can see you," I announced, crossing my arms and giving her a glare. Stormfly jerked, flushing pink, then her scales quickly transformed to a deep shade of purple. "I wasn't doing-" "Your scales are purple," I deadpanned. Stormfly stopped talking, blinked a couple times, then looked at Cami, scales flashing a number of colors. "Who is this guy?" she asked. "I thought only your tribe knew about my kind." Cami smiled innocently and shrugged. "Remember the boy I said wasn't exactly from around here?" Stormfly nodded, still confused. "Well, Hawken here is from another world, so he knows a lot, almost as much as we know." She gave me a sidelong glance. "And, there's one more thing," she added, nodding to me. Everyone smiled now, waiting for the reaction we would get from Stormfly, who was now flame red in exasperation and confusion, not having a clue where her rider was going.

I whistled to get Stormfly's undivided attention, then began changing, spreading a pair of golden wings. This was enough to give the moody dragon a start, but then I became covered in gold scales, my body elongating to match Stormfly almost perfectly. "Wha… what the?" Stormfly exclaimed, falling backward and turning bright white. The rest of us fell back too, but laughing instead. The reaction is always the same, but never gets old. As I change back, Stormfly stepped slowly up to me, eyes wide.

::So… you're the successor to the Mystique?:: she asked quietly. I nodded, and a large smile crossed her face, or at least her best imitation of one. ::Well, this is definitely a change of pace. I got to meet her once, but never thought a human would be the next in line.:: I shrugged. ::Things work in strange ways, I guess,:: I replied. Stormfly turned a happy shade of gold again, and sat back, looking around at the rest of the teens. "You are so lucky to be friends with him," she commented. I shook my head. "Alright, that's enough gushing, it's not that big of a deal." "Ummmm, pardon the interruption, but what is all of that about?" Astrid asked. I sighed, rubbing my forehead. "Do I really have to explain this again? Fine. The little gift I have is a big deal to some dragons, apparently." Astrid nodded and gave a glance to Stormfly, who just turned pink again, then to Cami.

"Alright, new question: what kind of dragon is Stormfly?" she asked, "And why do her scales change color?" Cami just laughed. "Oh, she's a mood dragon. Different colors mean different emotions. The ones I've seen so far have been gold for happiness or excitement, pink for flirting…" at this Stormfly blushed pinkish red, "… or embarrassment," everyone laughed at this, making Stormfly blush even more, "red is irritation, white is fear or surprise, as you saw, and what I would say is the most useful is that when she's lying," Cami gave Stormfly a hard glare, "she turns deep purple." "Yes, fine, make fun of me," Stormfly snapped. "I came here to have fun, so could we-"

Suddenly a horn sounded behind us. "Well, it looks like you're going to get your wish," Cami commented, walking over to Stormfly and hoisting herself up. Astrid followed next, then the rest of the group, and Hiccup and I shared a glance. "Should we get some front row seats?" I asked. He nodded and smiled, mounting Toothless as I changed and waited for my sister to follow his lead. When she was slow to comply, I looked at her and asked, "You coming or not?" She shook her head in realization and ran over and climbed on. I smiled. "Good idea, because it won't be much of a view form down here." Holly just gave me a dirty look. "Mom wouldn't be very happy if you left me alone, either," she snapped back. I laughed and replied, "Then stop looking and acting like a two year old and hold on tight!"

We lifted up into the air and watched as the contestants lined up. "So exactly where does the race go?" I asked. "I mean, what's the path it's supposed to follow?" Hiccup pointed down at the starting line. "Well it starts there, then loops out down past the path to the docks and over the harbor, then back up the main road of the village and across the forest there, and we decided it would go through the edge of the rock maze Toothless and I like. Then, it comes up between the two outer catapults and end in the village square," he pointed to the white banner above the square. I nodded, then began flying over to about the middle of where the race would be. "I'll stay here so that Holly doesn't fall off, since she doesn't exactly have a saddle to keep her attached to me," I commented. Hiccup nodded, and he had Toothless join me.

A few minutes later, everyone was ready, and a Viking named Mulch stood up on top of a platform nearby and held up a large horn, and sounded off, starting the race.

And they were off! Surprisingly, the first one out was actually Fishlegs and Horrorcow (his Gronkle), but it wasn't exactly long before some of the others were passing him and some of the other slower riders. At the front of the race, I could see Astrid, Snotlout, and Camicazi edging in and out of a three-way battle for first place, with the twins right behind on their Zippleback. Everyone else began to group together in a big column behind as they raced down the dock path. As I watched and Holly cheered Astrid on, they continued over the harbor and it became clear where the real battle was. Nightmares are fast, but so are Nadders and, due to their streamlined shape, Mood dragons, so Snotlout slowly began to fall behind, joining up with the twins. Cami and Astrid continued to edge past each other, trying to get just a little further ahead of the other as the race began to pass over the forest and head for the maze.

As everyone entered the sea stacks that formed the maze, I saw Astrid get ahead of Cami and Cami was forced over, taking a slightly longer route. However, Astrid happened to hit a temporary dead end, so they both came out the other side of the maze at the same time. They turned down the last stretch, and Stormfly edged forward. Astrid saw this, and urged Thorn onward. It was Nadder, then Mood dragon, Nadder, Mood, Astrid, Cami, Astrid Cami….

The final quarter mile stretched ahead, and Cami eased in front. Astrid spotted her, and leaned down against Thorn, making them more streamlined, and they rocketed forward, right under Camicazi's nose. It wasn't until Astrid and Thorn were completely ahead of them before Cami copied Astrid, but by then it was too late for her. Astrid and Thorn were only a hundred feet from the end, and the banner that marked it.

WHOOOOOSH!

Thorn blasted the banner, lighting it up as they passed it first, signaling their win. Cami was right behind her, followed a few second later by the first of the rest of the group. "Yay Astrid!" Holly screamed, making me wince from the high pitch. I couldn't blame her, though. That's just the kind of thing she does when she's excited, so I joined her in the cheering. I looked over to see Hiccup cheering as well, and down below the crowd was boisterous as could be again, which was frighteningly exuberant.

Astrid and Cami circled around and landed in the village square next to Stoick, and Astrid jumped off of Thorn. Toothless and I landed, and both Holly and Hiccup jumped off and ran up to Astrid, though Holly got there first. "Astrid!" she cried, giving her a hug. "You won!" "Yeah, I guess I did," Astrid said, laughing. "Thank you. Maybe you can race with me next time." I shot Astrid a look of 'don't encourage her,' but she ignored it. I called Holly back over to me, and Hiccup walked up to Astrid, where they embraced. "Congratulations," Hiccup said. "I see my lessons paid off." Astrid smiled and nodded. "Along with a few secrets of my own," she said mischievously." Then, they shared a long, hard kiss. You know, sometimes having superhuman hearing is a very bad thing.

After they were done, and all of the other riders had landed, Stoick spoke. "We will now present the winner with her trophy!" Hiccup came and stood next to me, now back to my human form, with Holly next to me and Toothless behind us. Astrid stepped up on the platform next to Stoick, who moved back to reveal a small procession of Vikings, spearheaded by a young woman I didn't recognize. She placed a beautiful wreath of flowers and silky leaves on Astrid's head, and then stepped back. The flowers seemed to really fit Astrid's look, though don't tell her I said that, because she likes looking tough rather than pretty.

Next, a small group of Vikings stepped forward, holding a small wooden box, and held it out to Astrid. She took it, and very slowly opened it. When she looked inside, she gasped and smiled wide. "What is it?" I asked, curious. She reached in and slowly pulled out a shining, blue silk neckband, and dangling from the bottom was a perfect replica, in gold and ornate gems, of a Night Fury in a dive. There was a collective "OOOOOOHHHHHH!" from the crowd, even the men, as they were all partial to valuable objects (though I'm sure they weren't dumb enough to try and take it from Astrid, lest they lose their head), and I had to admit, it was beautiful. Hiccup leaned over to me and whispered, "I thought she'd win, so I made it myself." I looked at him in surprise, and was about to ask how he made such a thing, when Stoick bellowed. "Congratulations Astrid, on winning the Dragon Race!" a collective cheer went up and I was forced to lose my dragon hearing level in exchange for my original, but even then I was sure I'd lose my hearing for a while. Astrid was given many high fives and back slaps, and then was hoisted up and paraded down the street toward the next challenge.

Over the next couple hours, Holly and I watched as the teens took part in the rest of the challenges, including a dragon obstacle course (Hiccup was competing there, and he won that), a best trick contest (also won by Hiccup, using his and Toothless' flying prowess to their advantage), a target shooting contest (won by Camicazi, believe it or not; Hiccup and Toothless were out of that one too), and another contest which I cannot recall at this point, won by Snotlout. When the challenges were over, all of the winners were hoisted up like Astrid was before, and paraded toward the Mead Hall. I thought that it was just for winners of that day's contests, but I was wrong.

Suddenly, I found myself up in the air too, and I spun around real quick. "Holly!" I yelled, looking for my sister. "It's alright, I've got her!" I heard Stormfly yell over the noise of the crowd. I turned again to see Holly sitting on Stormfly's back, laughing at my predicament. I sent her a look that said, 'You'll pay for that laughing later,' but she ignored me, and Stormfly lifted off and flew toward the hall. I looked back down the parade to see even Toothless being carried along too, which was also a comical sight.

Once we reached the Mead Hall, we were carried inside and placed on the stone fire ring. After the rest of the Vikings had crowded in, Stoick stepped up next to all of us. "Now for the final celebration," he boomed. "In honor of this festival's winners, and our Vikings of honor, let's give them a grand cheer!"

"Oh, no," I muttered, and practically shut down my hearing. Good thing too, because a split second later I could hear the air vibrating from the Vikings yelling at the top of their lungs, the hall practically shaking. I turned to see Toothless cringing, with his own ears pressed flat against his head. ::I hate these cheers,:: he complained ::Don't they ever do anything quietly?:: I laughed, though more out of understanding than amusement. ::Just tough it out. See? They're quieting down already.:: As it were, the cheer was in fact dying off as the Vikings grabbed mugs of mead for a number of toasts. Toothless just snorted and shook his head. ::Jeez, that hurt. I'll never get used to that as long as I live.:: ::Too bad,:: I said in mock pity. ::You'll have to put up with it for just as long.:: He shot me a murderous look, but I just smirked and shrugged it off, turning my attention back to the crowd.

The rest of the day was filed with toasts of Mead in celebration, which I of course opted out of, never having been a fan of any alcohol, along with Holly, Hiccup and Astrid, and later in the evening, here was much simple fun and telling of stories and legends. Everyone enjoyed the stories I had learned back home, as of course they had never heard of them before. Eventually, though, and Holly and I said our goodbyes and flew back to the portal. "That was fun!" Holly exclaimed as we walked into our house. "I'm glad you let me come along." "See? Told you," my mom commented from somewhere in back of the house. I just smirked and took it, saying goodnight to everyone before going to bed. I still had to return the next day, as that was when all of the other tribes would be leaving, so I needed a good rest even though the festivities were done.

As promised, I returned the next morning, though a little bit later, admittedly, than I had expected. Astrid was quick to point this out.

"You're late," she stated obviously as I landed and walked up to my circle of friends in the village square. "Yeah, I know," I retorted. "Sorry for not having everlasting energy and a free pass from home. Yesterday wiped me out." "Uh huh. Well, at least you're here to say goodbye. Cami, when does your boat leave?" We all turned to Cami, who quickly replied, "About one hour." "You do have everything, right?" Hiccup asked. She checked herself over. "Well, let's see. All of my clothes and big belongings are already on the ship. I have my daggers, hatchet, short sword, long sword, bolas…" she kept rattling different hidden weapons off the top of her head. I swear, she's like a walking armory herself! "… that about covers it," she finished. As I listened, though , I realized she'd left something out. "What about the other sword?" I asked. Camicazi put on a guilty look. "Oh, um, that sword? About that…" she stuttered, before reaching behind her and pulling it out, grinning. "It's right here." That's when I noticed the third scabbard across her back. I shook her head as she grinned, holding up the sword where it gleamed from the recent polishing it had been given. I looked at the other two teens and the dragon in our special group. "Ready?" I asked, pulling my own sword out as the others did the same. "Ready!" they said in unison. The four of us raised our carved swords up and touched the tips together. "To friends forever!" we yelled, and Toothless shot off a bolt of fire. We all grinned and slid our swords back in place, and turned to Cami to say our final goodbyes before she went down to her ship in the harbor. To my surprise, she ran up and hugged me. Or, at least, she tried to squeeze the life out of me. "Bye Hawken, I expect to see you soon!" she said. In response, I gasped, "You're… a little.. tight… urgh!"

She released me, and to my relief I wasn't alone. Cami ran up to Hiccup next, squeezing him even closer to passing out, and even making him squeal from it (not a manly noise, that's for sure). That got a giggle from everyone. Last of all, she walked up to Astrid, and put her hands on her hips. "Normally I wouldn't care and I'd hug you anyway," she said, "but I don't want to end my visit with a fight." "Since when?" Hiccup asked, smirking. Astrid laughed and shook her head in amusement. "Alright, I'll allow it just this once," she replied, to Hiccup's and my own amazement. The two girls grabbed each other and shared an embrace like the sisters they almost were.

"Well," Camicazi began, "I guess this is goodbye for a while! I promise I'll make it back at least once before the freeze sets in this winter!" With that, she turned and headed down to her ship.

The process was repeated with Thuggory, though thankfully this time around hugs were replaced by the manlier handshake and back slap. Then, he too headed off to his ship with his father, who along with Bertha was saying goodbye to Stoick. Lastly, everyone in the village stood on the docks and the cliffs around the harbor, while the teens and I flew to the sea stacks around the harbor to say final farewells. "GOODBYE EVERYONE! SEE YOU SOON!"

Not long after, the ships were all out of hearing range, and soon out of sight as well, and we turned to face each other. "Well," I said, jerking everyone out of their thoughts about the past few days, "what say we head over to the cove for a while before I leave?" The answer was a unanimous "Yes!" Big surprise, as this was the last day any of us teens would have off before they had to return to doing their chores, and I would be busy myself and unable to visit for a little while. The rest of the teens mounted on their dragons, as I morphed to match Toothless, and we headed off to the cove.

There's something very relaxing about just sitting around in the rare Berk sunshine, swapping stories and jokes (even if I was stuck with the job of Dragonese translator), and having fun in the lake. The middle of the day, actually, was punctuated with Toothless and I dropping everyone in the middle of the pool. Hiccup got off scot free, of course, since he couldn't really swim with his prosthetic and would have sunk, but the rest of the teens got dunked. But of course, dragon wings are plenty large enough to soak him head to toe with, so everyone got wet.

Every good thing has to come to an end, though, and around six o' clock in the evening we were interrupted in our horsing around.

"HAWKEN!" We all jumped and looked up. At the top of the cove ridge, near the portal, was none other than my sister, Holly, again. "Man, how the heck does she get to be so loud?" Tuffnut complained. I shrugged and looked back up at my younger sibling. "What do you want Holly?" "It's not what I want," she replied. "Mom wants you to come back home, it's getting late and she said she wanted to talk about something." I sighed, thinking I knew what was coming. "Alright, I'll be there in a few minutes," I said, and turned to face the gang. "I'm guessing I'll be busy for the next few days, but I'll see if I can't arrange a time for all of you to come over. What do you say?" I asked. Everyone got excited as no one except for Hiccup and Toothless had ever actually been to my house, though on one short occasion during the festival when I had to grab something, Astrid had almost come along. I nodded. "Well then, I guess that settles it. I'll catch you guys later!" "BYE!" they all yelled, and I turned and flew up through the portal.

Luckily, the "discussion" wasn't what I'd expected, as it was only about a few details for my family's next campout, and even better, I was able to convince my mom to let everyone come over about a week and a half from then, on a weekend. So I went to sleep in a good mood, but I still had a nagging feeling I was missing something. When I woke up the next morning, it dawned on me, excuse the pun. I only had about a half of a month or so before I would have to get back into real life: school was coming soon.