Chapter Nine

Ukiah found himself standing in shallow water next to the shore of an island with the sun barely rising over the sea behind him, hearing nothing but the waves roll onto the beach. The beach in front of him wasn't like the ones in Thariin, where it was sandy, with grass and trees on the upper plains. It was rocky; almost a rugged terrain, and hardly any vegetation.

Wondering where he was, he gazed around where he was standing. It looked deserted; nothing was there. It was peaceful. Taking a moment to soak in the feeling, he relished in it as it was something he never really felt before.

Beginning to walk to a canyon that seemed to have some kind of object there, he continued to look around to see if he could find anyone. Nothing showed any evidence that he was on an island with a village; until he looked down. He noticed that he was walking on an abandoned road, completely overgrown with grass and weeds that shot through the gaps between the stones.

Arriving to the object he spotted, he was surprised to see it was a statue. A broken, worn looking statue. He could make out carved armor and the hand holding a shield. Other than that, it looked like it had seen better years. Its head was missing, as was the other arm. Dead brush littered the area nearby. Then it hit him, he was standing in an abandoned village square. Instead of log buildings, the doorways were carved into the cliff walls. Stone steps led to the other floors up the canyon walls, which were sheer cliffs on both sides.

Interested in learning where he was, he walked inside one of the rooms; having pushed a collection of dead bushes out of the way. He didn't know why, but he felt something beckoning him to come inside. Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the abandoned room.

Walking into the center of the room, he paused for a second. He felt the peaceful feeling burn even more so. "Where am I?" He asked aloud, not really expecting an answer. After looking around in the single room, he turned around and froze at what he saw. A skeleton lying in the dirt, half buried and next to the doorway he walked through. A single, rusted sword lay by the skeleton, telling the story of what had happened.

Feeling a sense of sadness begin to wash over, he stepped closer to get a better look. But no matter how many steps he took, he seemed to get farther away from the skeleton. Noticing this, he then saw his surroundings were beginning to look twisted and compressed. Scared, he frantically looked around the room. The world was starting to go black again.

"No, not again!" Ukiah cried out desperately, falling to his knees with his hands over his head; as if trying to prevent himself from passing out. Regardless how hard he tried to fight it, the darkness overcame him and he fell back into another deep sleep.

Thunder crashed over Thariin Village, as another storm moved over the immense village. Up in the Keep, were Strogg and his two remaining champions, Ugo and Malke.

Malke was bandaged up, having suffered immensely at the claws and teeth of the dragon named Arrow. His face was scarred, and his right arm resting in a sling. He was lucky to be alive, having lost an immense amount of blood. Fortunately, he recovered enough to be able to walk, well, more of a hobble.

Limping behind Ugo, he watched his leader warily, not wanting to be close by. They had just finished a mourning ceremony in the court yard for Harze, the second champion of Thariin. The ceremony had put Strogg's mood to be...unfavorable, put nicely.

Walking in the dimly lit hallway towards his throne room, Strogg was looking for anything to kill. One guard earlier, had accidently tripped in front of him while on patrol. If it weren't for all the other guards and the champions calling out to stop Strogg, the guard would have met a miserable end.

Upon reaching the Throne Room, Ugo and Malke stayed near the doorway just in case. Strogg on the other hand walked up to a table littered with food, and flipped it in rage. Staring at the mess he had just made for a few seconds, which felt like an eternity for those watching, he finally turned and walked slowly to his throne, sitting down as he arrived to it. On cue, the servants in the room made short work of the flipped table. In no time at all, it was already cleaned up and a new table cloth was put on, ready to receive more food.

"Ugo, Malke, come here…" Strogg called out tiredly, but still had a hint of anger in his voice.

Walking up to Strogg, the two champions kneeled before him.

"Rise." Strogg instructed with a bored tone "I have a request to make for the two of you."

"Anything my chief" replied Ugo, relived that the pressure was beginning to leave the room.

"Aye, tell us to get the ships ready and we'll be on our way to Berk by sunrise!" Malke chimed in.

"No Malke, You're staying here to help me prepare. And to recover. I want Ugo for my first task. And honestly, I can care less about Stoick and the others; they were only pawns really." Strogg answered, pondering on something "I want Ukiah. It was because of him that Harze is dead, you were almost killed, and the Berk Vikings took up arms against us. Not to mention that he was the only one to openly attack me."

Ugo had a question pop into his head as he listened to his chief. "Why did Stoick and his crew help Ukiah and the dragon escape in the first place?" He asked.

"A fair question, Ugo." Strogg replied thoughtfully, his hand stroking his beard. "I'll...answer it the best that I can. You see, Stoick and I have a history that we share; not a glamorous one by any means, but a necessary one. So we both decided to keep it in the dark, because we thought no one else would be…affected by it. However, Ukiah was directly affected by us, and we had no idea about him. My guess is that Stoick wanted to…" Strogg thought for a minute to think of a way to convey the message without openly conveying it. "Repay him."

Confused at his answer, Ugo decided to drop the subject.

"Very well my chief" Malke spoke up, limping to Strogg "What can I do? Prepare a small fleet to go directly to Berk?"

"No." Strogg replied quickly "You're going to rest. Recover. You're lucky to be alive, and we all know it. I'll prepare our fleet depending on what news Ugo brings, though I doubt we'll have to. Ugo. Take the Water Cutter, my personal ship; it's the fastest ship to sail these waters. Catch up to Stoick and give him my terms. Tell him that I'll forgive him of his, and his tribe's trespasses against me; if and only if, Ukiah is surrendered to me."

"Yes my chief, and if they say no?" Ugo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He's a man of reason; he'll see what's best." Strogg answered confidently "Now go! I know they're making great speed to get home."

Kneeling, Ugo turned and at a quick pace and exited the room. Malke also left the room, though a lot more slowly and tenderly.

Strogg turned to look out of a window, watching the rain fall, pondering the past few days. As well as what the future would bring.

Ukiah slowly opened his eyes, finding himself in a hammock. Looking around from where he was laying, he saw that he was in a small room, a closet almost. There was a small round window in the wall to his right, letting a blinding ray of light in. Even more confused than before, he rested his head in the hammock, closing his eyes while trying to piece together what happened. The stagnant air didn't help him wake up either. It was almost suffocating.

Last he recalled was that he was staring at Arrow, trying his best to rub his head. Astrid and Hiccup were helping him get his gear off and cleaning him up as best they could. Then he was on an island. Or a land. Somewhere. Thinking about that made his head spin again. Where did he go? Was it a dream? It had to be. Lightly shaking his head, if it was a dream, it was the most real one he had.

Realizing that he didn't have any of his gear on, he looked down at himself. His body was bruised all over, with evidence of dry blood on him. His arm was tightly bound with a white bandage. Good news was that he was had feeling in his hand return, and was able to open and close it at will. Someone had taken his hunting vest off, leaving him shirtless. He was wearing some type of shorts with a leather belt keeping them on. His leather pants and boots were next to the door, hanging by a peg.

Grunting, he slowly swung his legs from the hammock. Trying to get up onto his feet, he felt himself getting light headed just from that small effort to move. Forced to sit back down in the hammock, he took a moment to rest. The room wasn't helping either with it being stuffy and slightly moving up and down.

"Up and down? Why's it doing that?" Ukiah thought, thinking of the past for a bit, he finally had his mind register what had happened "That's right." He whispered to himself "I got dropped onto the ship! That's where I am..."

It all made sense. The hammock, the small room, the round window in the wall; Ukiah was on the Berk ship! At this thought, he reviewed the nightmare that he lived through, making him settle more into his hammock. Then there was that dream, at least what he thought was a dream. Why did he dream of a random place?

Deciding not to worry about it at that point, Ukiah reviewed in his mind about those who helped him in the recent past. "I was saved; saved by people who didn't even know me." He whispered, turning his thoughts to Astrid saving his life from Harze, and then fighting alongside him. Then Hiccup who freed Arrow, and helped Ukiah run away from the guards, even when he was slowing him down. And then Stoick, the man who defied possibly the most powerful Viking chief in the known land, just to save a teenager who played no role in his life. Thinking of these three people made him realize how lucky he was. "And of course Arrow!" Ukiah said aloud to himself, slightly chuckling. "I'd be nowhere without him."

The noise of something being dragged on the floor above him caught his attention. Not sure what it was, Ukiah made another effort to the door, only able to make it to a crate next to it. Resting on it for another second, he began pulling his boots on one at a time. After succeeding at that task, he took a few deep breaths, while trying to muster what strength he had. Standing up slowly, he reached for the handle of the door.

Walking was harder than he expected, with hunger registering in his mind and his ability to cope with the constant moving up and down of the ship. He hobbled into a main room, laid out with hammocks all over. To his right were stairs that led to an opening. Limping slowly up the steps, bracing himself against the wall, he very slowly made way to outside of the ship.

The sun was blinding, as he stepped out onto the deck. After his eyes adjusted, he looked around and saw the crewmen busy with their tasks, seagulls flying in a clear blue sky around the ship, and an endless sea all around him. Walking slowly to the side of the ship, Ukiah leaned against the railing, breathing the salty air in. He was feeling better already with the fresh air.

"It's Ukiah! He's awake!" A voice called behind him.

A low mumble was heard as a crowd gathered around him. Astrid and Hiccup fought to get in front, slightly stumbling in front of him.

"Ukiah! How do you feel?" Hiccup asked anxiously.

"Eh honestly I feel tired, weak, hungry," Ukiah listed, and then with a mischievous grin added "alive." which caused a small chuckle throughout the group.

Almost immediately a plate of fresh, cooked fish was set on Ukiah's lap as he was forced to sit down on a crate. Bombarded with questions, Ukiah felt a little overwhelmed by the sudden change of attention, almost like the arena; making him a little uneasy.

"Everyone, Everyone!" A voice boomed behind the crowd. "Do you think the ship will sail itself? Get back to your posts! Leave the poor boy be, he's only been awake for a few minutes for the first time in days! Give him some room!" It was Stoick, pushing crew members aside.

"Looks like I have to thank you for few more things now." Ukiah began to say, looking up at Stoick with a weak smile "Helping me eat in peace, letting me sleep for who knows how long on your ship, taking me from Thariin anyways, and coming up with an armed crew to help me in the first place. Thank you."

"Just eat the food; who knows what will happen now with your luck." Stoick replied firmly, yet in a friendly way "You'll be a lot more help when you actually have strength."

"Yes sir!" Ukiah answered, turning his complete attention to the plate.

Last thing he remembered eating, was old rotten stew, in a pot that was probably used to water the dragons in the arena. The fish given to him was delicious, a complete contrast of the stew. Just the smell seemed to almost re-energize him.

Hiccup and Astrid each pulled a crate and sat with him as he ate.

"How long was I out?" Ukiah asked, while stuffing a mouthful of food in him.

"A long time, three days actually" Astrid answered, pulling out her axe and starting to sharpen it with a stone. "Honestly, we swore that you were dead a few times when we took off your gear and clothes to patch you up."

Recalling the feeling he had before he passed out, Ukiah acknowledged the comment, saying "I'm willing to bet that I did. It felt like it when I passed out."

Hiccup pulled something out of a pouch that was strapped to his side. "Here, we tried to save it the best we could, but it took quite a beating." Hiccup said handing Ukiah what was left of his quiver. Completely in tatters, it was torn down the side of it, rendered useless.

Holding the quiver in one hand, Ukiah stared at it. The leather was cracking as well. It was beyond repair. Sighing, Ukiah tossed it over the edge of the ship. "It's alright. It's no use to me anymore anyways. I left my crossbow back at Thariin, so none of my bolts will be good anymore." Saying it with a little pain in his voice, mixed by the sudden movement of tossing the quiver and the memory of leaving his crossbow.

"Oh no, I'm sorry!" Hiccup stated, looking like he might have offended Ukiah.

"Heh, it's all good. If that's the only casualty we have, I'll be fine." Ukiah replied with a shrug, trying to hide the disappointment in his voice.

"Couldn't you make him one Hiccup?" Astrid asked, turning to look at him with confusion "I mean the crossbow. Have you done one before?"

This caught Ukiah's attention real quick.

"Uh, well…yes and no, I can make the arms and the mechanism for one, but I can't really form the actual body of it, or set it the pieces in place." Hiccup stated, a little embarrassed at this sudden change of attention and his answer.

"Oh, well, maybe I can help. You know, to set it in. I don't have any experience with making weapons, but I can tell when they're set right." Ukiah suggested, a little dejected.

"I bet that would work, but honestly Gobber would be better to go to. He's the one that taught me how to smith." Hiccup said also a little disappointed that he couldn't do what Ukiah needed.

Ukiah relaxed a little bit at this news. He lost his old crossbow, but there was a chance that he would be able to get another one. At least he hoped he could get another one.

A roar suddenly sounded. Looking up, Ukiah gave a whoop of happiness and surprise as he saw Arrow almost dive right into the ship, pulling up at the last second.

"Arrow! It's so good to see you alive and well!" Ukiah cried out, relieved to see his friend. Seeing Arrow seemed to boost his health.

Arrow pushed his head into Ukiah's chest and then laid it down on his lap, happy to see his friend as well. Seeing the plate, he then snuck a fish off of it.

Laughing, Ukiah said "Alright, you can have that one." Patting his head softly "Just don't give it back, ok?"

"He's one smart dragon." Hiccup said admirably "Reminds me of Toothless."

Ukiah forgot about that, that Hiccup had a Night Fury as well. "Oh yeah! You said that you were friends with a Night Fury! Is he like Arrow?" He quizzed excitedly.

"Well…" Hiccup began to say, being a little hesitant "Not really. No. I don't think Arrow is a Night Fury. He's different from Toothless."

"How so?" Ukiah quizzed, looking down at Arrow, who had successfully snuck another piece of fish.

"Well, to begin with, Toothless is black all around. He has no other color like Arrow, with black and brown. Also, Arrow has spikes everywhere on him. Toothless is sleek and smooth." Hiccup explained "Also, Toothless can retract his teeth, which is why I called him Toothless. I honestly thought that he was when I first got close to him!"

Ukiah stared at Arrow, taking in the information. All this time, he thought Arrow was a Night Fury. But, if Hiccup was saying he wasn't, what was he?

"However." Hiccup announced loudly "They're similar in ways too."

"You're starting lose me Hiccup." Ukiah replied, confused at what he meant.

"He's built just like Toothless." Hiccup explained "Four legs, the wings, the stabilizing wings at the base of his tail, and even their size. They're about the same in regards to that. The tails are similar, but Toothless has bigger fins at the end." Smiling, he then observed "Honestly, that's probably why he was mistaken for a Night Fury in the first place. He's built just like one; and when he dives, the air screams around him. He is essentially a Night Fury. Maybe a subspecies?"

"Maybe…" Ukiah noted, looking down at Arrow. Grabbing Arrow's head, he then asked "What are you friend?"

Arrow just smiled at him, letting a trickle of sand pile on his lap.

"Ugh, one thing Toothless doesn't do is leave sand everywhere!" Astrid groaned, shaking her head at the pile of sand "I'm still dumping that stuff out of my boots when he stole them from me one morning!"

"Arrow!" Ukiah cried out, glaring at the dragon "Really? That's how you repay our friends?"

"Does he like sand?" Hiccup asked, looking at Arrow with curiosity.

"Does a fish like water?" He quickly replied, smiling at Hiccup "That's how I met him. He buried himself under the sand at a beach. Right under where I was sitting." Smiling, he pushed the plate with the remaining fish on it towards Arrow, who swallowed them promptly "He had an arrow in his side, which I pulled out of him. Heh, part of the reason why I call him Arrow."

"He burrows?" Hiccup asked, staring at Ukiah with an excited look.

"Yeah, a bit." He answered, looking at Hiccup with a little confusion at the sudden interest "Usually softer dirt, like on a beach; but I've seen him dig into hard dirt too. He also swims. He loves the water. Pretty sure that's why his wound never got infected. He was swimming in salt water all the time."

"Toothless doesn't do anything like that…" Looking at Astrid, Hiccup exclaimed "He might be a Tidal Class dragon! A new one!"

"I think you're right." Astrid acknowledged, smiling as Hiccup got excited at the thought.

"This is huge! He's probably a dragon we haven't discovered yet!" He cried out, almost shouting.

"Tidal class? What are you talking about?" Ukiah asked, staring at the two with a confused expression. Arrow, at this point stood up and sat on his haunches, next to Ukiah. He sat there looking down at the three as if he was part of the conversation.

"It's a type of dragon. A sea dragon specifically." Hiccup began to explain "I think Arrow here, is a dragon that we don't have recorded! I mean, it makes sense! No one knows what kind of dragon he is, and he loves sand, plus he can swim in water! He's not a Night Fury, but looks like one!" Taking a moment to soak in the new information, he whispered "He's unique…"

"So you're a new kind of dragon then, huh?" Ukiah asked, looking up at Arrow with a smile.

Arrow growled, almost smiling back at Ukiah.

"I'll have to make sure that nothing like him is in the Book of Dragons, but..." Hiccup ranted excitedly, a hundred ideas running in his head "I'm pretty sure we don't have anything like him written down."

"I'm guessing this Book of Dragons is your record of all the dragons you know about?" Ukiah asked, raising an eyebrow at Hiccup.

"Yup. Nailed it." Astrid replied, shaking her head as Hiccup began to scribble something in a notebook that seemed to have miraculously appeared in his hand.

"Do you have a dragon…" Ukiah began to say, his voice trailing off. Stopping for second, he realized he didn't really know the girls name. Other than when she pulled him up off the arena floor. Sheepishly, he asked "Its Astrid right? I can't really remember, since the only introduction I had from you was when we were fighting for our lives."

Laughing, Astrid nodded as she answered "Hey, you don't have such a bad memory after all. Astrid Hofferson is my full name."

"Heh, well thanks Astrid. For fighting with me and saving Arrow's life." Ukiah smiled, spying the headband he made, holding her hair out of her eyes. She was beautiful, and he was lucky enough to be able to be with her.

"Any time. It's not often we get to help a fellow dragon rider." She replied back, this time her smile widening "And I was itching for a fight anyways. Thariin was too calm for me."

Ukiah laughed at the joke, nodding in agreement. "Agreed! That was one of the reasons why I didn't go there very often!"

Astrid blushed a little bit, realizing that he actually had some commonalities with her. And she made him laugh. Good thing the sun burned her face a little bit since resuming the trip back home, hiding the giveaway.

Finally stopping the laughter, Ukiah took a deep breath and looked at Hiccup "So…going back to Arrow. If he is a new dragon, what should we call him? I don't want anything like Gronckle, or Zippleback. He's sleek and quick."

Thinking for a moment, Hiccup then suggested "I think sand needs to be in the title. As he can't stop spilling it!"

Arrow smiled wider with his razor teeth glistening in the sun. Sand was dripping out of the corner of his mouth as he did so. Dropping to all fours, he then launched into the air, doing a roll as he did so. Diving, he crashed into the water; disappearing from their sight.

"I'll agree with that." Ukiah acknowledged, pulling his attention away from where Arrow disappeared "But sand what?" Looking at Hiccup, he then asked "What about Fury? A Sand Fury?"

"Eh…" Astrid began to say, pulling a face at the thought "Doesn't really flow."

Hiccup stroked his chin, thinking of words that seemed to flow with Fury. It needed to be like Night Fury, as Arrow was like Toothless in being sleek and fast; minus the angled spikes that just made him look more like a fighter.

"What about…wraith?" Astrid whispered, looking up at Ukiah and Hiccup.

"Sand Wraith…" Ukiah whispered, nodding slowly at the suggestion. A large smile began to form on his face as he kept on thinking about it. It was a smooth name, and one that was unique. "I like it. Arrow the Sand Wraith."

"I like it too!" Hiccup replied, smiling at the unanimous decision "The Sand Wraith. Oh boy, Fishlegs is going to have a hay day when he learns about this!"

"Fish. Legs?" Ukiah chopped up, not sure he heard right "Who is…Fishlegs?"

"A friend of ours. Probably the most knowledgeable about dragons." Astrid answered, smiling at the confused expression on Ukiah's face.

"That's a name?" He asked aloud.

"Oh? And Hiccup is a name?" Hiccup replied, raising an eyebrow.

"I…uh…I was a little confused when I heard the great dragon slayer was named Hiccup." Ukiah admitted, scratching the back of his head.

"Hah! Boy that's a lie." Hiccup laughed, shaking his head "I'm not a dragon slayer. If anything, I'm a dragon trainer."

"Trainer? As in…" Ukiah began to ask, only to be cut off.

"He rides them. At least Toothless." Astrid answered "He's the one that discovered that dragon's aren't killers."

"Kind of like you." Hiccup added, gesturing to Ukiah "We're all dragon trainers at Berk though. Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut."

Ukiah stared at Hiccup with wide eyes, digesting the names. Finally, he just shrugged them off. "Guess I'll get to meet them when we get there."

"You know Hiccup, I bet we could get Ukiah to fly Arrow during the trip back." Astrid suggested, smiling at him "Shouldn't be too hard, would it?"

"Wait, you fly on your dragon?" Ukiah gasped, staring at Hiccup in shock. Turning to Astrid, he asked "You too?"

"Oh yeah, in fact all of us do!" Hiccup replied with a wide smile.

"Yeah, Stormfly is my dragon! She's a Deadly Nadder, and will put Arrow to shame in a race!" Astrid added confidently, if not arrogantly.

Ukiah sat there amazed. All this time he never even considered riding Arrow, let alone fly on him! "How do you stay on with…that?" Ukiah trailed off, looking at Hiccup's leg.

"Ha! It actually helps me! It connects to part of the saddle I made for him; you see, I shot down Toothless and damaged his tail." Then a little embarrassed, explained "This was when I wanted to kill a dragon. After I found him, I made a prosthetic for him and my foot lets me be able to steer him while flying." Hiccup answered with a slight smirk on his face.

"You even have a saddle for him?" Ukiah cried out, dumbfounded.

Splash! A torrent of water splashed the three as Arrow shot out of the water and landed near them again. Shaking the excess water off, he stood there smiling at the soaked group. "Thanks friend." Ukiah huffed sarcastically, glaring at Arrow; who promptly laid down on the deck, looking at him with a begging look. Then looking back at Hiccup with a smile, he said "I think we should give it a try sometime eh? What do you think Arrow? Mind if I ride with you while you fly?"

Jumping up, almost hitting Ukiah in the face with his head, Arrow began moving around excitedly at the idea.

"I'd take that as a yes!" Astrid commented, laughing as she watched Arrow spin in a circle.

"I'd say the same thing" Hiccup agreed, shaking his head at the happy dragon.

"I think we'll start tomorrow, I'm still just a little…uh, well weak and bleeding" Ukiah said turning his head to the bandage around his arm which was starting to leak blood from the bottom of it. Excited with the possibility to see the world the way the dragons do, made him very anxious for tomorrow.

For the first time in his life, he was surrounded by people that cared about him.