A/N- Asher Chanukah! For those of you who don't speak Hebrew, Happy Hanukkah! The first night is tonight, so to celebrate, here's an extra chapter of the story! And perfect timing, literally as this is the eighth chapter ,and the first real confrontation begins now.

Chapter 8

Rising Problems

THUD! THUD! THUD!

I awoke with a start to the sound of something large banging against the sliding glass door. As quickly as I could, I got dressed and ran out to the kitchen as whoever it was continued to thud against the glass.

When I saw who it was, the alarm bells definitely went off. Shoving the doors open, I stepped out onto the patio. "Toothless, what's going on?" I asked quietly. "Where are Hiccup and the rest? You know how dangerous it is for you to be here on your own." Toothless nodded and glanced around again, making sure no one was watching. Luckily, no one was, if you don't count the dogs.

::Couldn't be helped,:: he replied. ::No one who knows about the portal is able to go anywhere at the moment.::

That froze my veins in an instant. I hurried down the steps of the deck and across the lawn, asking as I went, "What has Ingavar done now?" ::He put the whole village under house arrest,:: Toothless answered. ::I also overheard him say something about removing Stoick temporarily as chief.:: We burst through the portal, and I immediately donned a look to match the Fury next to me. ::Anything else I need to know?:: I asked. Toothless nodded as we took off, piercing the air. ::I didn't catch everything, I was outside, obviously, but Ingavar said that Stoick wasn't fit to lead, since everyone has come to listen to you too.:: I sighed. ::Of course.:: ::Also, before I came to get you this morning, I saw him taking Stoick, Gobber, and a bunch of his crew out of the bay on some of the ships.:: He glanced over at me. ::Also, not sure if this is a good thing or not, but Ingavar thinks you're dead now.::

I smirked, but still poured on the speed. ::It might very well help. Someone coming back from the dead tends to make people stop and think for a moment. I also think I know where they're going on the ships,:: I growled. ::This is not going to be a fun day. Are all of the teens still at home?:: Toothless nodded, and I frowned, turning to face the direction of Berk.

We reached the village in about two minutes flat. As we dove down toward Hiccup's home, I spotted Ingavar's crew members outside, most of them guarding the houses. A number were standing firmly in front of the house we were aiming for. As my wings folded in, I inadvertently created the whistling scream so famous for the dragon I was.

"Night Fury! Get down!"

Well, can't say it isn't a good method for getting everyone's attention. Of course we had no intention of blowing up Hiccup's house, as both he and Stoick would be very much less than pleased about that. As we approached, Toothless and I flared our wings simultaneously, slowing us down to drop lightly, and silently, in front of the five guards at the door. When they realized no explosions were going off, they slowly looked up, and aimed their weapons directly at us. Pricking my ears up, I heard more heading our way from behind us.

"Ingavar mentioned something about one Night Fury showing up," one of the guards whispered, "but not two." "Yeah, I know," another replied, "but I'm sure we can handle 'em. Though that one on the right is starting te give me the creeps." He gestured at me as I fixed him with a withering glare. ::Hawken, I think the guards behind us have a net,:: Toothless whispered. I nodded. ::Let them use it. Not like it'll be much good for long. Just walk toward the door.::

We did just that, and just as expected, the net Toothless had spotted suddenly came dropping down on us, followed by about 10 men grabbing the corners and holding them down, and the five guards attempting to jump on me and Toothless and weigh us down. Toothless gave me an incredulous look. ::How does this help us?:: he asked frantically. I grinned. ::Intimidation,:: I replied.

As the men attempted to force us to the ground, a new image formed in my mind. My tail began changing shape, losing the fins of a typical Night Fury, and growing something far more sinister.

"Hey! One o' the devils is changin' over here!" one of the guards yelled. "Whadaya mean, changing?" another asked, the one attempting to flatten Toothless' head (without much success, I should add). "Is it changin' color or something?" "Nae, it's growing a blade on its tail!"

Bingo, I thought, and put it into action. I whipped my tail up, twisting the stinger-shaped scythe so that it sliced straight through the mesh designed to hold rambunctious dragons, and at the same time, the sudden force threw one of the men off in the process. I turned my tail forward and opened the netting up along my left side and up to my head, creating all the room we needed to slip out. Once done, I looked to Toothless. ::Roll, now!::

We spun at the same time, me out of the net and out from under the rest of the men, and Toothless threw the guards still on top of him, though he stayed under the net. I reformed my tail into the fins again, but my wings morphed, gaining Timberjack blades along their edges as I advanced on the men still ignorant enough to try and keep holding the net down.

"Let him up, or you'll be finding a new meaning for the word "flying," I growled lowly. The reaction was immediate, every single one of the men jerking in surprise and letting the net drop from their hands. I'll give them some credit, they did move away from my friend. ::All that for a show of strength?:: Toothless remarked as he shook the net off and then burnt it. I nodded. ::Does wonders for reducing morale,:: I replied. Then, so everyone could hear me, I said, "Go get Hiccup."

The guards clustered in front of the door, apparently still not getting the hint. "I don't know what you are," one of them muttered, pointing his mace at me, "but we have strict orders from Ingavar to keep-" "I have news for all of you," I snapped, letting myself melt slowly back to my normal body. "Ingavar is old-fashioned and putting himself in a heap of danger because of it. He thought he watched me die yesterday, and is probably on his way to getting his butt removed from his position at the very least, possibly even removed from this earth." I advanced on the guard, mostly human again, but still with a pair of jet black wings flared out. "What I say right now goes for the safety of this entire village, so unless you want to deal with a shape-shifting, ticked off dragon boy who is in the mood for a little less ignorance, I would suggest you get the hell out of the way!"

I don't curse often, so it was a good thing they obliged and left the path to the door open. Toothless quickly disappeared from sight inside the house, and I faced the guards again. At this point I let the wings fade away, and one of the guard's eyes widened. "Say, aren't you that-that-" he began. I chuckled, cutting him off slightly. "The strange boy with clothes that don't fit this village, the one who Ingavar has control of the villagers, the one all of you know nothing about?" The Viking nodded. "Well, uh, y-I guess so," he stuttered. I shrugged and leaned against the house. "Well, then, yes, that's who I am."

Another Viking stepped forward slightly. "But Ingavar said you'd roasted yerself alive yesterday!" he pointed out. I snorted. "Like I said earlier, he thought he saw the last of me." I smirked again. "So, poor him, about to find me 'back from the dead' and just as fine as ever. He's walking into a trap as we speak, so if you know what's good for you, you'd quit hanging around here and go tell the rest of your tribe to let the Hooligans out of their houses already!"

Toothless reappeared, with Hiccup on the saddle, rubbing the raw skin around his wrists. The guards backed up again at the sight of the heir riding the most mysterious dragon they knew of. Hiccup glanced at me and smiled slightly. "Good to see you're alright," he said, "though a little sooner would have been nice." "Even a Night Fury can't be two places at once," I replied. He nodded. "Have you gone to get the others yet?" he asked. I shook my head and looked at the guards, who were still standing there looking dumbfounded. "Well, what are you waiting for?" I asked dangerously. "Go let everyone out!" They nodded quickly and scrambled toward the village, not wanting to tick the three of us off any further. I glanced at Hiccup. "I'm going to get Astrid," he said.

Within 15 minutes, all of the teens were gathered together, and after another 20, most of Ingavar's men had been given a good, well-rounded Hawken-and-Hiccup style reeducation. Those that were still stubborn and didn't comply got to rethink their decisions in the village jail.

"Hiccup, what exactly did Ingavar say he was going to do?" I asked as we left the Great Hall where we'd done the "education." "He didn't," Hiccup replied. "But I know he's going after our dragons, and quite possibly the Shadow Lord at the same time." I sighed and turned to the rest of the teens, morphing to Timberjack again and bending down. Astrid was already on Toothless with Hiccup, but the other four were still a lot of weight. "Everyone get on," I said. "We need to go get the dragons." Fishlegs looked at me pointedly. "What about me though?" he asked. "Meatlug still has the injured wing!" "We'll deal with that when we get there," I replied. "Come on, we don't have any time to waste. Let's go!"

Ingavar was feeling a mixed number of emotions. He was finally on his way to kill some dragons, and he had a pretty good idea of where the Shadow Lord was now, too, but he still had to deal with the "dysfunctional" chief and his village. On top of all that, Wolfblood had disappeared sometime the night before, and was still missing the whole morning! He turned to Stoick.

"So, the brainwashing gone out o' yer head yet?" he asked. "I already told you, every word I've said is the truth!" Stoick muttered back. "There's no brainwashing going on at all." Gobber hobbled up next to his friend. "And why exactly did ye bring the both of us with ye?" he asked. "I mean, ye need Stoick te find where yer plannin' on going, but there's no need for me." Ingavar turned to face him. "Te make sure neither o' ye try anything," he replied sourly. "I know yer feelings about what I'm doing too, blacksmith. Plus, if we happen te find the Shadow Lord along the way, ye can help capture and kill it te prove ye allegiance to the Viking traditions."

Stoick glared at the other chief. "Ye'll be finding out soon enough our 'Viking Ways' are wrong, and most o' the other tribes have already changed now too." Ingavar pursed his lips and was about to reply, before a sudden commotion from the front of the boat interrupted him.

A crew member approached the chief. "Sir, I think ye might want te come and see this," he said urgently, confusion and concern masked in his voice. "What is it?" Ingavar snapped back, moving toward the bow. The crewman shrugged. "That's the problem sir," he replied meekly, "we, uh, we have nae the faintest clue." The whole group moved toward the bow, Gobber and Stoick prodded forward by a couple of guards.

What greeted them was something perfectly baffling. In the distance, they could see a small speck, seemingly floating in the air. Even from a distance, dragons are recognizable, but this certainly didn't look like a dragon. Whatever it was, it alarmed Ingavar by rapidly approaching them. "What is that?" he muttered. Stoick peered forward, used to watching for incoming flying objects, but at first, he could not identify it. As the speck came closer though, his eyes widened in shock.

"It-it's a man!" he exclaimed. Gobber glanced at him funnily. "But he's jus' floating in air! How can a human fly without being held up by anything?" Stoick shrugged in confusion. "I don't know, but that's what he's doing," he said, gesturing at the "floating person." Two possibilities were forming in his mind, one of them very good for him and Gobber, and the other, very, very bad for everyone.

The worse side of the coin presented itself. As the man came closer, within easy viewing range of the entire ship, gasps of shock and surprise erupted everywhere. Ingavar was the most surprised. "Wolfblood!" he yelled. "What in Thor's name is going on here?" Wolfblood smiled, uncrossing his arms and seeming to levitate over the ship. "I'm changing a few things around here," he yelled down. Ingavar ignored this and yelled back up, "How in Helheim are ye able to do that?"

Wolfblood laughed in reply. "Remember your petty argument you had last night?" "What about it?" Ingavar growled. "Stoick's right to an extent," Wolfblood replied. "Dragons are certainly wonderful as allies. They're stronger, larger, more adaptable and flexible than we are. And, of course, they breathe fire, a wonderful power!"

Ingavar was fuming again. "So you've abandoned me too, have ye?" he spat. "Ye've become a traitor te the Viking ways, like the rest of these Hooligans!" "The Viking ways are far past due for change," Wolfblood spat back, still smirking. "Like I said, dragons may be good allies, but most of them are far better as slaves or work animals, to do my bidding. Control them, and I can control empires! Plus," he grinned evilly, "with my one new true ally, we can make sure they stay under control as well." "And just WHO is this new ally of yours?" Ingavar practically screamed.

Wolfblood chuckled and patted the air in front of him. The air began to shimmer and shift, a solid shape taking form under him. A massive body and jet black, pumping wings appeared, spread wide above the crew. Legs and fins formed, and the horrid head appeared last. There was no mistaking the monster that had appeared out of nothing: Wolfblood was riding none other than the Shadow Lord, and both of them seemed perfectly fine with dealing with the other too.

"Now, without further ado, my new ally and I will gladly take charge of this island starting with this ship," Wolfblood announced. "Oh, and Ingavar, I made sure to tell him how much you were looking forward to killing him. I have to say, Shadow Lords have quite the vindictive streak!" One maniacal laugh later, he gestured upward, and the Shadow Lord shot upward, flipped over, and turned back, taking aim at the ship, right at the spot where Ingavar now stood.

"MOOOVVEEE!" Stoick yelled, barreling into Ingavar and shoving the both of them against the far railing, just as a blinding bluish blast streamed toward the ship,, ripping through the deck and exploding on impact. The crew watched in horror as internal explosions rattled the ship beneath the deck, and two massive fissures cracked open and raced out from the blast point. Almost immediately, the ship began to sink.

The crew didn't even have time to think before another stream of fire collided with the side of the ship. The resulting explosion lifted it onto its side, and catapulted everyone into the freezing water. Ingavar quickly burst to the surface spluttering and spitting, watching in shock as his ship sank in pieces from the one-dragon attack. He looked around to see only remnants of his vessel, now used as floatation devices for those who could reach them. Nearby, one large piece found Stoick and Gobber holding onto it. As Ingavar turned to swim toward the two, Stoick pointed behind him and yelled, "LOOK OUT INGAVAR!"

Ingavar turned to see the Shadow Lord diving through the air, powering his way directly toward him, Wolfblood sitting on his neck with a satisfied smile on his face. The chief didn't have any way to immediately defend himself, and he knew perfectly well the dragon wouldn't have an issue diving through the water after him if he submerged either. There was no way out, this was the end for him, he knew. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see his death hit.

A sudden, high-pitched whistling sound erupted through the air. Ingavar opened his eyes again, knowing such a sound did not belong to the monster barreling toward him. Indeed, as he looked up again, he did so just in time to see a speeding white blur slam into the Shadow Lord, sending him and Wolfblood careening off course to skip across the ocean surface. The white object turned to face him, and Ingavar nearly forgot to keep swimming as he recognized the shape of a Fury, though a color and shape he'd never seen before, and piercing eyes with a look he thought he had seen the last of only the day before.