I'm baack~!

Yes, I'm back from vacation with a sunburn on my shoulder that huuuurts . . . :( and I have an inspiration for a new story! Hee hee, I'm a happy Mitti!

Oh yes, in case any of you are wondering this is NOT going to be a HiccupxOC story. Sure, Blizzard has a (small) crush on Hiccup, but honestly just about a MILLION girls have crushes in this world. So yeah, sorry if I'm disappointing anyone with that news, but I prefer people that have already been portrayed to be in a relationship to stay that way.

Sorry for the rant! The main thing is that I'm back!

Please review!

I don't own anything.

-Mitti

- - § - -

"Sorry if I can't help you fly," Blizzard apologized. "I hope you can run."

The last image of Toothless's mind flashed into Blizzard's; it was him, running through the forest with a racing mind, but in the present one thought appeared overall.

I'm a Night Fury! Of course I can!

- - § - -

Toothless panted with adrenaline as he dashed towards the Spirit Room. Every racing step he took made Blizzard's nervousness increase until she felt like a jumbled mess of fear. She remembered the words she had spoken to the Night Fury when she realized who had Hiccup and Dawny.

"W-we need to help them! You have no idea what Shadow will do!" what she hadn't added was 'to get to me' because in her mind it hadn't been necessary. That Shadow was a terrifying creature that acted as if his whole purpose was just to get to Blizzard.

And kill her.

Apprehension gnawed at Blizzard's stomach again when she remembered her injury. She had inspected her torso and to her relief she only had a bruise and a small scrape, so therefore her poorly-sewn tan shirt had a spot of blood where the cut had appeared. She was grateful that she wouldn't pass out from blood loss, but since she was still crippled from her hurt ribcage a question that caused most of this nervousness.

How the HECK was she supposed to help Hiccup and Dawny with this injury?!

With Toothless's fast and bumpy running pace, Blizzard's side kept getting throttled, shooting sharp pains up her side. Clutching her side with her right hand, she quickly took out the mirror shard from her pant pocket, a sense of reassurance washing over her.

At least she still had her "knife".

"I think we're almost there, Toothless," the redhead said in a relatively even tone, despite her erratic breathing. "When we get there we should stay low. I'd assume Shadow's waiting for us, especially if you just dashed outta there."

Toothless let out a low growl, and Blizzard placed her hand comfortingly on his forehead. "He'll be fine, and if you're even worrying about Dawny she's got a stubborn personality," she said, trying to joke and lighten the mood. "But Hiccup's gonna be fine. He defeated that monster of a dragon queen, didn't he?"

Even after her words Toothless's pace didn't stop or slow down, but even so he let out a sad-sounding throated noise, indicating that he was comforted.

"Awesome." Blizzard looked up at the long tunnel ahead. The glowing crystals had slowly been missing from the walls until the only light was at the end of this long tunnel.

The Spirit Room.

The Voice still haunted her, but this time Blizzard felt a small fire of pure determination alit within her still-throbbing chest. In a rare moment, she lost the nervousness and smirked.

"I'll beat you both," she said, before the unusual (for her, at least) expression turned serious.

"Shadow and Star." the last name was spit out like venom.

- - § - -

Hiccup's head was pounding. His whole body felt sore, and his heartbeat felt like it was going to shatter his ribcage. Every time he took a gasping breath in, pain racked both his lungs and his head, causing a dizzying headache.

The dilemma had passed in what felt like seconds. He had been awkwardly trying to wake up the out-cold Blizzard, who was still crying silent tears through closed eyes, when Dawny had suddenly been on edge and bolted down the tunnel.

Blizzard still looked like she was in pain, but Hiccup had decided it was best to investigate what had made Dawny so jumpy all of a sudden. Besides, it didn't sound as if the UnderIce dragon had dashed far; he could still hear her steps in a steady pattern, headed away.

Beckoning Toothless, the duo quickly caught up to Dawny, unfortunately the reason being that she was standing rigid, long claws dug into the stone ground, growling at the dreaded cloaked figure.

Shadow.

The threesome had not even stood a chance when the glowing crystals' flames died. Hiccup had felt Toothless crash into the wall, making him fall of the dragon and land on the cold floor. He heard Toothless's roar, Dawny's shriek, and a a hissing sound worthy of a horror movie.

And then he blacked out.

The strange thing was that Hiccup specifically did not remember him being injured whatsoever, though just as his mind slipped past consciousness he remembered one of the dragons breathing angry fire directed at, most presumably, Shadow, but he had not stayed awake long enough to find out.

Why was he injured?

Where was he?

Struggling with his eyes to open, the freckled boy also tried to hone in his hearing for a sound. When no success answered his ears, he finally put enough effort into opening his eyes, and as they did so in an exhausted manner, his mouth dropped open and he realized that this may possibly be the strangest situation he had ever woken up in.

Some sort of dark, floating magic was keeping him plastered to the wall in an unceremonious sitting position, surrounding his wrists like shackles, keeping his hands right at the cobblestone-like wall. It also kept his feet in a loose chain-like string of the wavering magic, which had an origin somewhere through the wall.

The cave's wall.

Odin's beard, this cave was huge!

Eyes wide with a still-slack mouth, Hiccup's eyes trailed the hugh arching walls that had the same look as the Depth Island tunnels, crystals and all, but seemed more grand when creating this flawless dome. The floor seemed almost clay-like, due to its pale bluish color and dried feel, while small cracks were dashed around, making the green-eyed boy assume that this room was very old.

On the edge of the magnificent cave was a raised area, reached by smooth, rectangular stairs. An altar sat alone, not too far away from where the stairs reached. Two heavy stone slabs supported the wide table that seemed to have one of the glowing jewels on it. When Hiccup arched his neck up high enough, he could see small stones on the table as well.

Despite the mesmerizingly simple design of the place, his vision quickly snagged on a something moving in his peripheral vision.

He gasped.

"Dawny?"

Two surprises here; his rough, tired-sounding voice that was painful to use, and the UnderIce dragon lying limp on the other side of the cave, the same scary yet mystique magic around her. Since her face's width was hidden because of her position, her head looked almost identical to Toothless's - minus the color and her stiffer ears. Her wings were still tucked against her body like the first time the two had met.

In response to his raspy call, Dawny lifted her head and squeaked in surprise when she saw it was him - or rather, him awake. She clicked once, twice, three times, before throating a high-pitched, quickly-paced noise that almost sounded like the call of a bird.

"Where are we?"

Dawny blinked, and with a jolt of surprise Hiccup realized that her big silver eyes had lost a bit of that classic sharpness and beauty. Her eyelids were hanging just ever so slightly over her eyes, making her look very sleepy.

"Where's Toothless?" with a squirm of worry inside his gut, the brunette boy quickly looked around the room once again. Nothing had changed; there was the raised level with the altar on it, the walls, the floor, the entrance . . .

The entrance!

At least there was a way out of here.

Struggling against the dark magic, Hiccup narrowed his eyes at the mysterious floating presence. It reminded him of shadowy water.

Shadow.

The name once again became the top thought of the boy's mind, and his eyes widened further when he realized this was that . . . creature's doing.

"Dawny!" a rather loud call made Dawny tilt her head. Her gaze had not left him, so why would he sound so panicked?

"Dawny, it's -"

"You've discovered me, boy."

- - § - -

Dawny snapped her head towards Shadow, who was appearing from behind the stone altar. Hatred radiated off of her skin, making her feel very hot and uncomfortable, but still overall irate. She did not like this man.

No, she did not like this thing.

She had felt his mind and his very simple thoughts, and she was positive that he was the enemy. The cloaked figure plotted to use them as bait to get to Blizzard, the snappy yet caring young teen. Why he was so obsessed with finding the girl, Dawny did not know, but she did know that Blizzard had an important part in the story of this world.

From what she had picked up from the girl herself, she was connected to the Ocean Spirit because she was supposed to save it. Perhaps that was why the silver-eyed dragon had been drawn to her in the first place, when she rested in that small wicker basket.

Of course, that was not the reason why Dawny had grown so attached to this girl. The true reason for their friendship was because Dawny trusted her. She seemed to have this wary but strong and kind aura around her. She would occasionally snap at the boy that lay bound by the dark magic as well, but it was just a part of her.

And she cherished the little redhead for it.

But when she felt the thoughts of this Shadow creature again, she was instantly more horrified than before. Feelings could flow through minds as easily as a breeze, but actual images were harder to decipher. However when one felt strongly about something, an image was a very common occurrence.

Although now Dawny wished it wasn't.

She pushed the picture out of her head, because it wouldn't do good to dwell on such. Besides, Blizzard was not dead with Shadow's blade in her chest.

. . .

Right?

Feeling weak with worry gave her a new fire as she arched her sore back and hissed at Shadow, who turned his "face" to her.

"Ah, dragon," he said, his voice holding a mocking tone. "You must be worried about your precious girl. And I would assume your special Night Fury friend as well."

"Where are they?" the boy, Hiccup, spoke up, his eyes narrowed with pure dislike, but Dawny could pick up a trace of fear in his mind.

Fear not for himself.

Fear for them.

Obviously, she chastised herself. He's closer to that dragon than anyone else.

"Somewhere close," Shadow replied in his rather freaky voice, waving the question off nonchalantly. "I would most likely assume that she would not leave her precious friends."

Dawny growled deep in her throat. He seemed to only talk of Blizzard! Did he purposefully let Toothless go from that chaotic darkness to assist the injured girl to come quicker?

Actually that seemed like clever planning on his part.

Dawny cursed him to the depths.

"The girl shall come," Shadow said, before cackling in a low and scary tone. "And she shall die, before the rest of you."

Dawny felt the magic restricting her, including her fire. She had no intention of trying to blow him to smithereens, despite how appealing it sounded, until she saw a flash of red and black near the entrance of the cave.

Toothless.

Blizzard.

She did not risk another glance. Whether Shadow could read her thoughts or not, another look - no matter how discreet - would seem suspicious. If they were smart in any means, Dawny prayed, then they would try to take that vermin by surprise, and not just charge in there. That was almost suicide.

Still, she knew they needed Shadow to be distracted. To help, she arched her neck until she had mustered enough strength to blast a blue-rimmed fire ball that exploded into ice upon impact.

Hurry, B, Dawny thought desperately as she recoiled to fire again. Her energy drained her body quicker than she anticipated, but she was willing to fire again and again if it meet freedom for her and the boy. His thoughts had been clouded with feelings of guilt and loneliness, and she had caught images of people she had never seen before. Most specifically was a very big man and a blonde girl.

Hurry and get us outta here.

- - § - -

I gave an inaudible gasp when I saw Hiccup and Dawny, imprisoned by this creepy black magic. Toothless didn't seem any more relaxed than I was, but my blood boiled when I saw Shadow address the two of them.

"Ah, dragon." his voice filled with smugness, and I had the urge to stab him with my mirror shard, but I settled with slipping it into my hand as he continued talking to Dawny, my best friend.

"You must be worried about your precious girl. And I would assume your special Night Fury friend as well," he said, and I saw Toothless shift his weight beside me. I rested my hand on his forehead, since I was still settled on the leather saddle on his back. Had we not been in this situation, I would've praised Hiccup for his craftsmanship.

"Where are they?" Hiccup piped up, and my heart twisted with pity at the sight of him. His clothes were bedraggled and his eyes were glazed with tiredness, but were narrowed at the cloaked figure standing near the altar with the Spirit Stones.

I shuddered.

"Somewhere close. I would most likely assume that she would not leave her precious friends." Oh, so now it was about me? How great. But still, it seemed like he either knew me better than I thought, or he just went off on a guess, knowing that humans could grow special connections with other humans and not want to let them die.

Shadow wasn't human, but sometimes he thought like one. A very devious and evil one, but still.

I cursed him to the depths.

My eyes caught a very subtle movement next to Shadow; his withered sleeve or hand or whatever it was had carefully reached out to the altar and where the stones were resting. I inhaled sharply, and Toothless seemed to notice my panic. I could not explain it, though, so I simply prayed he was not grabbing a certain stone as he spoke again.

"The girl shall come." his cackling reached my ears as he retracted his arm back to his side, taking something with it.

"And she shall die, before the rest of you."

That set Toothless off. He tensed up and shook himself roughly, forgetting that I was on his back. With my lurching stomach, I hurtled off of him, but realized that I was vulnerable to being spotted and quickly retreated with Toothless by my side, silently giving me an apology.

Holding my breath and clutching my side, I leaned back closer to the stone "doorway" where I saw that Hiccup was oblivious by my stumble, and thank the world (there, I like that better than thanking the spirits) that Shadow also missed it. Dawny seemed unfazed, but in a split second I knew she had spotted me.

Oops.

I turned to Toothless with a look of how can we get them out of there?! before a dangerously low humming reached my ears, sounding almost like a deadly melody ringing throughout the world. A shiver ran down my spine, but my eyes widened with utmost relief when Dawny stretched up, opening her mouth and showing her teeth for the smallest moment before fire flew from her throat.

A direct hit on Shadow.

The fire shattered into ice as soon as it hit him and the altar, making the air steam with the intense turn of hot-to-cold. I instantly noticed the opening, and looked to Toothless. His gaze answered mine.

In a rather graceful moment for myself, I was able to swing my leg over the Night Fury just as he took off running. The room was big enough for us to take a few steps before we had to decide who to head for first.

"Dawny," I whispered to Toothless's ear, which twitched in response. She had fired several more times, but I could see the effort it was costing her. I directed the dragon to veer to the right, which he complied to within a second. I prepared myself to jump off and cut that evil magic restricting Dawny when I heard Shadow's dark, evil, knowing cackle.

"Your plan to escape is futile, girl," Shadow said, and I gnashed my teeth in anger. I mean, HELLO, Toothless is right here!

But then again I doubt he cares.

My gaze didn't waver as I hopped off Toothless, before shouting to him, "Stop Shadow, and if ya can get Hiccup!" he roared, before moving out of my vision. I wasn't sure if he would be able to break the dark magic, and in all honestly I wondered if I could either.

Maybe I was just being reckless.

I shook my head briefly before approaching Dawny's side. It was too late for regret, after all. "Hey, Dawny," I said breathlessly, bringing my mirror shard to one of the magic wisps along the dragon's back. "Tell me if this hurts."

I struck it.

For a second, nothing happened and the glinting shard just rested against the magic. I blinked in surprise, before the magic shot out at me and I was blown backwards, Dawny shrieking in surprise.

When I hit the ground I had the breath knocked out of me. My vision blacked for a second, but I quickly sat up despite my harsh breathing. With Shadow, you couldn't dare rest a moment too long, because a moment is all he needs to execute his plan.

I heard his cackling as Toothless bounded over to me, nudging my shoulder and urging me to get up. "Give it up, dragon," Shadow mocked, and I saw him move towards us, almost floating over the stone stairs. "You can not win against me."

I slowly tried to stand up, but when my foot staggered underneath me the creature near me saw my blunder and swiftly brought out his knife.

"TOOTHLESS, RUN!" The words escaped my lips too late, and before the poor dragon could fire at or attack Shadow that demonic creature had already wrapped him up in the same dark magic with a whip of his hand. It spread from his tail to his head, making his body tighten until he was throating a weak, pain-filled sound. He tumbled to the ground, his eyes clouded and glazed.

"Toothless!" the cry came from Hiccup, who I had forgotten was still there. His gaze was desperate as he tried to fight the impossible restricting magic. He looked terrified at the whole ordeal, and I could not imagine how he must be feeling, watching his friends in this hopeless battle that was sure to kill us all.

In that split-second when I spotted my green-eyed friend Shadow had reached me. His frighteningly cold hand closed around my throat, creating the hugely painful feeling of being choked. I opened my mouth and let out a strangled, weak cry, but he just cackled darkly and raised his knife. My heart skipped a beat.

"You should not be alive any longer," Shadow hissed. "But I shall allow you to say last words to your friends before you and they are killed. It will be fun to hear them, after all."

I glared at him with all the hatred I could put into my eyes. He mockingly glanced at Dawny, who had been imprisoned by more dark magic, almost engulfing her entire being. Her silver eyes looked at me with a desperate look.

His grip loosened ever so slightly on my throat, but I knew that wouldn't last long. "Dawny," I croaked. "I'm sorry."

Dawny gave out a small sound that could be compared to the whimpering of a baby wolf. Tears welled in my eyes when I saw how helpless I was to protect her.

"Toothless?" two big green eyes met mine and I smiled sadly. "Thank you." he didn't respond, only shifted his eyes to land on Hiccup, and my eyes did the same.

"Hiccup," I said, tears threatening to blur my vision. "I know I shouldn't have gotten you caught up in anything, and I shouldn't have entered your mind that one night, even though it was accidental . . ." I trailed off as his brow furrowed with confusion. I was about to continue but something stopped me.

For a moment I felt the smallest notion of a ghost of a hand land on my cheek comfortingly, somehow making the world slow and the pain relax. I felt breath near my ear as I heard a small whisper come from thin air.

"Remember the light."

It was a spirit.

A true spirit.

- - § - -

The fragile, soft-spoken spirit reached out her hand towards the young girl's cheek. She knew she should not be here, for this was against the rules that the leader one had surely instructed her.

But how were they to fix this all? This girl was connected to them, she would have heard from the other spirits sooner or later.

She brought her delicate face towards the girl's ear, and felt the girl relax with her presence. Shadow could not see this spirit; since she was new, he did not know to acknowledge her presence. Besides, she was not in her true form.

"Remember the light," the spirit whispered into her ear. The girl had an astonishingly good memory, and for sure she would not forget the night when she entered the boy's dream of his life. She would not forget about the light that had radiated from her and settled down inside him.

"You have not had a dream that is not unreal, yes?"

- - § - -

The spirit left me.

And everything clicked.

On the night when the four of us had slept in the tunnels, I had been taken back to the story of Hiccup's, well, life. Near the end, just before I woke up, I had seen him sitting on a ledge that dropped away to the choppy ocean below. I was standing behind him, but I could not move and was shocked to silence when a glowing light had exited from either my forehead or my eyes - I had been blinded for a moment so it was impossible to tell.

When the glowing orb of light had stripped itself from me, I felt strangely vulnerable, as if I was lost without a weapon. I did not understand it as it floated amicably over to Hiccup's backside, soon melting into him and disappearing from view. I barely had time to think before Hiccup was waking me, and we were back in the tunnels. I had been to weirded out to question if something had ever happened to him, or if he dreamed it too.

Now I understood what the light was. That feeling of security it gave me? The way it had gone into Hiccup now made me understand the seriousness of it all.

I opened my mouth, and four pairs of eyes laid on me, expecting another "I'm sorry".

They wouldn't get that.

"HICCUP! YOU CAN GET FREE!"

Shadow noticed that I was telling my friend something important, so he tightened his grip on my throat and raised me until my feet were dangling off the ground.

"PUSH OFF THE WALL! USE THE LIGHT!"

With that one more sentence leaving me breathless, I wasn't able to see the realization dawning on Hiccup's face as black crept across my vision and made me go limp.

- - § - -

"That was clever on your part."

The newest spirit, the soft-spoken one, blinked in surprise at the elder spirit. "It was against your wishes," she murmured quietly, glancing at the havoc that wreaked in the Spirit Room. "But if the girl is not to die of the Shadowed One's hands, she needed the guidance."

The leader glanced over to the boy, who looked as if a million thoughts were racing through his head. "And you trust that the boy will be able to carry out this knowledge and break free?"

"If not, then all hope is lost unless we interfere more."

The spirit sighed. "Interference is not wise," he said, voice lowered. "It leads to too much conflict. The boy should not know of our presence."

"He already does, however," the quiet spirit pointed out. "The girl told him about us."

"But he does not and should not know that we are able to prevent things in the mortal world," the spirit countered in a strong voice. "However, if it will help him defeat the Shadowed One, then perhaps we should give him insight on the Light that the girl speaks of."

The fragile one nodded slowly in understanding. "Why do we not address her as her mortal name?" she queried as the elder spirit turned away to leave. "It would be easier to decipher who we speak of."

He gave her half a smile. "Mortality is not among us. Names are of no importance." two black eyes shifted to the situation in the cave. "Go advise him," he said, his voice full of wisdom as he turned away. "You have proven yourself."

The new one smiled softly. "Thank you, Star."

"You are most welcome, Leaf."

- - § - -

The story's finally coming to a close.

-Mitti