Shadow heard the call from about a kilometre away, and knew that Hiccup was in trouble. With a roar of her own, she called to the dragons wherever they were hiding that their riders were in danger, then she sped off at top speed towards the origin of the call. Her wings pumped as fast as she could make them, and she sped through the air at top speed. The riders were in danger. It took Shadow a few minutes to reach the Reaper, the origin of Hiccup's call, but Hiccup wasn't there, and the ship was sinking.
The riders instantly saw her due to her pitch black scales, and screamed at her for help. Trapped in a dragon-proof cage, on a boat slowly going under, with no way to escape. Shadow reacted on instinct, and shot towards the cage. Her claws sunk deeply into the deck, rooting her to the spot under the cage, while it tipped over at a sharp angle. It felt like she clinging to the side of a cliff. Looking down, Shadow saw those disgusting giant eels, waiting for their pray to come within reach for them to feast.
Shadow's fireblast sent them retreating, for now. Turing her head hack to the problem at hand, she could see that the cage was strongly made from a material she had only seen once before. Igniting the fire in her lungs and building a swell of flammable gas, Shadow's chest grew hotter and hotter, while the gaps between her scales glowed a midnight blue. The dragon riders got as far away from the lock as they could, before she blasted it with white hot and blue fire. The riders screamed at the close proximity to the flames, which burned and blistered exposed skin. Shadow stopped immediately. She needed a new plan.
With a growl, she chomped her powerful jaws over the lock and bars and pulled. Only some heat remained in the metal now, but it was warped from the heat. This time, she held the fire in her mouth while the cage bars were trapped in her teeth. After a few powerful tugs, the lock broke off. Shadow spat out the lock and used her head to gesture to her back. One by one, the riders climbed on. Astrid up the front, sitting on her neck. Ruffnut behind her, on her strong shoulders. Fishlegs held onto whatever he could as he sat behind the female twin, right next to the wing joints. Snotlout and Tuffnut jumped on behind him and held onto each other.
Straining with the weight, Shadow struggled to take flight and escape the needle teeth of the giant eels. She was not meant to carry this many people, in fact, she had never carried anyone on her back before. She wasn't used to carrying any weight. She needed the other dragons now, then she could find out what happened to Hiccup. Shadow let out an echoing roar, calling the dragons to her aid, as she slowly began to descend despite her restless flapping.
Finally, the dragons arrived, and one by one, they flew in a straight line below her while their riders jumped off onto their respective saddles. Finally free from the overbearing weight of the teens, Shadow could search for the duo. Toothless' loud fearful screeches filled the air some way away, and Shadow sped off without a second thought. As soon as she came within range, her powerful eyes picked up movement from the water.
Toothless was struggling to stay above the water, while being attacked by those nightmarish eels. Hiccup was nowhere in sight. Thinking quickly, Shadow built up an electrical charge in her mouth, and suddenly, a burst of lightning burst forth from her jaws at the sea serpents, sending them scuttling away in terror, or making them twitch while death came upon them. The rest of the dragons came over to help, and together, they lifted the waterlogged Night Fury out of the freezing depths, and away from the eels. The saddle was empty. Hiccup was gone.
With complete disregard for his weight, Shadow immediately picked up Toothless and made him lay on her back mid-flight. His scales were freezing. "Where is Hiccup?" she roared in the dragon's tongue.
"Captured, by Dagur. He's on board their ship." Came Toothless' saddened reply.
When Shadow turned her horned head to where the boat was swiftly disappearing, she could indeed see Hiccup. He was being held by two large men with a knife to his throat, covered in bruises, and blood dripping from a split lip. Shadow knew there wasn't any hope for a rescue now. Her instincts told her to run, regroup, and fix injuries. Unfortunately, Hiccup had to wait. She was the leader of the group now by default, and her duty to the entirety of the group came first. Swiftly, Shadow reviewed what happened in her mind.
Hiccup was in the hands of the enemy, and would surely be killed if they attacked now. He was in a high danger zone, and his life was on the line. Toothless had survived a near drowning and if he didn't get help soon, he would get sick. A downed Night Fury was something they couldn't have. Toothless came first in this situation, Hiccup had to wait to be rescued. She only hoped he could hold out that long and forgive her for making him second place.
"We need to get Toothless back to Berk and get him fixed up. He wont be any good to us if he gets sick. But we cant leave Hiccup in Dagur's clutches for long. I fly back to Berk, you follow that ship from a safe distance, track it to their next stop and wait for my return. Do not engage unless you want to put Hiccup's life at risk." She ordered with absolute command to the dragons and their riders.
"We don't know if Hiccup can last that long in the hands of Dagur, and it will take you hours to get there and back. Twelve hours there and twelve hours back, ten if you fly fast. That's twenty hours of suffering the wrath of that madman. He cant wait that long." Cried Astrid, the new second in command.
Shadow growled in challenge. "It will take me ten hours or less to get there even with Toothless, and six hours back at my top speed. Follow that ship and wait for my return. I'll be back within sixteen hours."