All the teens stood frozen inside the arena. Their eyes were locked onto the last place they had seen Shadow as she ran out of the gate. Astrid was feeling the worst, having been pinned to the ground and helpless as the girl, no, the monster, was above her ready to rip her throat out with her fang like teeth.

None of them had any idea what had just happened. All they knew was Shadow had turned feral when Astrid had attacked her. Fishlegs was starting to see the connection between her and her dragon-like behavior. He didn't know what to think of it. He had never seen someone act like that, neither had anyone else, and he was frightened of it.

Who knew what she had been through in her life to make her act like that? Hiccup was wondering how it all went wrong so fast. They had such a great time earlier but it had all disappeared as soon as she fought with Astrid.

It seemed like he was back at square one. He desperately wanted to know more about her, as well as her connection to the Black Moon dragon. And what did she mean when she said 'I don't normally lose control at this time.'?

Things were getting stranger, and more dangerous.

"Okay then… what just happened?" asked Tuffnut.

"Uh, it seems that Shadow kind of went… feral." Answered Fishlegs. "I've never seen anything like that happen before."

"That was incredibly weird." Said Ruffnut. Snotlout spoke up and said, "Sure, if by weird you mean terrifying!" he cried.

Hiccup ran his hand through his hair. "I don't understand it. We had such a great time just hours ago, she was really starting to open up. I don't know what could have caused that reaction…" his voice trailed off as if he was considering something. Fishlegs noticed his thoughtful look. "Hiccup? Did you learn something from her, something that could explain this?" he asked curiously.

"Yea, I did. Yesterday, after you guys had shown us the scales, she ran off into the forest. I followed her to see where she went and when I finally caught up to her she said that she couldn't deny it any longer. That there is a connection between her and the dragon. She said 'where it goes, I follow', and that she is cursed to follow it for the rest of her life." He said.

The others looked confused. What did she mean? What sort of connection? Then Tuffnut had to go and open his mouth with a stupid suggestion. "Hey, what if she means that her and the dragon are connected through their brains. Like, how cool would that be? Imagine if she could see into the dragon's mind!"

Astrid facepalmed. Ruffnut whacked him in the head. "Idiot. How in Thor's name would that be possible?"

Surprisingly, Fishlegs butted in. "Maybe your right you guys. Perhaps both of you. I know this sounds incredibly crazy – just hear me out – but what if Shadow and the Black Moon dragon are connected mentally because of the God's interference?"

As crazy as it sounded, it sort of made sense. Although, Hiccup had a very hard time believing it. He wasn't one who believed in curses and godly interference's. In fact, even for a Viking, he wasn't overly religious.

"We should go out and find her." He said. "I'm starting to think that we may have to start forcing out some answers, otherwise we won't know what we are facing if this gets any worse. We need some more definite answers from her, now."

Hiccup felt conflicted. He was sure that Shadow was opening up to them, to him, but after that fight with Astrid, it seemed that there was so much more to her than she had told him. And whatever she was hiding, was dangerous to all of them.

He wanted answers. Hiccup gave the order for them to get their dragons and go out searching. They followed the command and saddled up, then went out to search for her.

…

Well, after all that time they spent searching, they found out that Shadow was just as shady and good at concealment as a phantom, and could hide incredibly well in her namesake.

It was past dinner time by now, and they still hadn't found her. They had even scoured the entire forest – they looked there first – but there wasn't hide nor hair of her. The sun had set an hour ago, and there was no sign of her, but they assumed that after their forest search yielded no results, that she must be hiding in the village. They all decided to split up and look for her on the ground.

Unbeknownst to them, Shadow had been hiding in the armory. She was certain now that after her little 'loss of control' that they would kick her out. Send her away. Punish her for attempting to harm one of their own. Or even try to execute her.

It had happened before, many times. She should have known better than to open herself up to humans. Tell them about the great black beast. Her connection to it.

She was truly a fool. Well, no more. She had to get away, before they did something to her. Just like all those others tried to do. She wouldn't let them try and hurt her, or put her head on the chopping block.

So there she crouched, behind one of the back walls inside the armory, trying to calm her mind.

She still didn't have an escape. There wasn't a way off the island that she could take. Dagur and his men were still at the docks – and frankly, she never wanted to see him again, or let him see her glowing silver eyes – and anyone that could find her would surely turn her over.

She needed the Black Moon dragon to come to her rescue. It had to. She knew of a technique, one far older than the elders of her kind, that could help her now. But she had never attempted it before. She was never strong enough before to even try. But now she might have a chance.

It had been hours since she ran off, and she was almost certain that the dragon riders had given up on finding her. So now she could have a good chance at attempting this.

She calmed her breathing and knelt on her hands and knees. She kept her mind clear of all thoughts and distractions, and evened out her heartbeat. Deep inside her conscious she could sense the dragon's presence. She clung onto it now and drew strength from it. Steeling herself, she forced it to take over her body.

The dragon inside her realized what she was doing and struggled to burst free. It sent massive jolts of pain through her body, and she clamped shut her fanged mouth to keep from crying out.

She had to be extremely careful with this procedure, or it could disfigure her for life. She focused on the parts that she needed the most. In her haste and longing for a quick escape, she only needed the wings and the tail. The huge claws and horns she could go without for now. And she already had scales to cover her.

Her body convulsed as the great beast fought to burst forth to the surface, and Shadow had to submit to the blinding pain she was experiencing. She couldn't afford to scream – it had given her away before – for fear that she would be discovered, and in this state, she would surely be killed.

She could feel new limbs growing and bones forming, and her mouth opened in a silent scream. Gods it was so painful. But she kept going. She could not stop.

Her head felt dizzy and her body felt heavy as she swayed on her hands and knees. She began to topple over as the process was nearly complete.

A rack of swords fell to the ground with a loud clatter that made her cringe. She had unknowingly bumped into it. She shook her head to clear it, she had to be ready to move fast. Just a few more moments and she would be ready.

"Hello? Shadow, are you in here?" called Snotlout.

Shit! Not now. Not while I'm so close.

There was too much light in the armoury, and he would surely see her and call for backup. She needed more shadows to hide. A torch was mounted on a wall right next to her, and she flicked her tail towards it to put the traitorous flame out. The room was cast into darkness, but Snotlout definitely noticed.

She ran for the closest window before he could react, running on four legs like an animal. He screamed in fear at the sudden movement, but he didn't see her. He ran outside to see where that strange thing went.

It had disappeared into the night.

hehehe, things are starting to get very interesting. this little escapade doesn't end here, in fact i got a big plan for all this. As she tries to escape, who will she find? will anyone see her? dun dun duuuuuun! hehehe. I really wana see some reviews, tell me what you think and where you recon this might go. come on people, the more reviews i get, the happier ill be and the faster I update. :)