It was quite some time later when they separated. Shadow was looking over the broken prosthetics, seeing what could be salvaged, and how they could be improved, while Hiccup went out to grab some food. He pushed open the big mechanical door to his hut and casually strolled out as if he hadn't done anything with the female dragon.

"Hey." Hiccup froze and turned his head. There was Snotlout looking arrogant once more.

"Hey?" he replied.

Whack! Snotlout's fist came out of nowhere and punched him right on the face, knocking him to the ground. "What is wrong with you?!" he yelled.

"Hiccup Haddock, I'm calling you out. Defend yourself!" Snotlout challenged. He then rushed towards Hiccup, arms swinging wide with a crazed look on his face. Hiccup dodged him expertly, despite the throbbing pain in his leg from earlier.

Snotlout came at him with an axe, screaming like a madman, and got it lodged in the walkway right between Hiccup's knees where he lay startled on the ground. "Fight me." He whispered.

"Wait, what?" he said.

"I said, fight me. WHATS THAT HICCUP? You want to fight to the DEATH?!" he screamed. Hiccup's eyes widened, and he stood up to defend himself from the wide swinging axe.

Shadow ran out of the cabin when she heard crashing, and immediately she assessed the situation. Phantom too had run from where ever he was previously to find out what the commotion was. Shadow and Phantom were rewarded with the sight of the future chief and his cousin fighting each other, well, his cousin attacking him.

Hiccup just sighed when Snotlout's wide swings got the axe stuck in a wooden table, where it wouldn't budge. He turned away from Snotlout, intending to finish the task he started before this stupidity ensued, but the black haired teen came up behind him and flicked him on the ear.

"Ow! I'm not going to fight you Snotlout!" he cried. Then he turned around again and started walking off. "You see that, the future chief is a coward! Come on, hit me. You know you want too." He taunted.

Phantom's interest peaked. Such an open challenge like that couldn't be ignored, to do so would be a disgrace. More so, Snotlout referenced his title, meaning that the chiefdom to Berk was just thrown in as a prize for the victor.

Both Shadow and Phantom knew just how dire this situation had grown. And Hiccup wasn't known to fall for his cousin's taunts. He could very well lose his status as heir to the throne of Berk if he didn't make a move and win.

But Hiccup rounded on his challenger, rage flaring in his eyes, lips curled back in a snarl, and stood above Snotlout with his greater height.

"Fine." he snarled. "But remember, you wanted this…" Hiccup pulled his fist back, teeth bared in anger, and threw his arm forward with such speed and strength that it knocked Snotlout flat on his back. The shorter teen screamed in shock and pain.

Hiccup growled at his arrogant cousin as he stood, nose broken and bleeding, crying in pain. "What did you do that for?!" he spat, before he fell backwards again and was knocked out.

Phantom looked on from his vantage point, which was level with the twins in their perch. The humanoid dragon's eyes were wide at the defiance shown in that hit, and how Hiccup's eyes flashed with held back strength.

"That was incredible…" one of the twins said in absolute shock. "Who knew, that that scrawny little Viking had that in him." The other said in astonishment. "That's it, there's nothing left. But on the bright side, Snotlout did just get punched in the face."

Back down at Hiccup's cabin, Shadow grabbed him by the shoulder, holding him back somewhat as his eyes bore into the limp form of Snotlout lying on the floor.

Hiccup practically growled every time he took a breath, and he continuously bared his teeth at the knocked out body bleeding on the floor. "Get the twins to deal with him. I want everyone up at the Clubhouse, now." He growled to her in dragon-speak.

.

Not long later, everyone was seated in the Clubhouse nervously. Hiccup was up and pacing, often growling to himself, while the others sat around the place. Their leaders' new behaviour was concerning Shadow, she had never seen him act like this before, and didn't understand what was causing it.

Barf and Belch seemed happy, but that was because they had just offered the one legged teen a huge pile of fish. Continuously they crooned at him, trying to lick his face and hug him like he was a gift from the gods. Hiccup was having none of it, and snarled at them to stay away.

"Ok, I don't know what has gotten into you, but it's gone on long enough. Getting Snotlout to attack me was taking it way too far. One of us could have been killed. Do you ever think before acting?"

"That's the thing Hiccup, you my friend, are a really bad actor. We needed a real response so Barf and Belch would seriously believe that you were in danger and come to rescue you." Said Tuffnut.

"By almost getting Snotlout barbecued?" Hiccup said, deadpan. Ruffnut gestured to him as if saying 'well yeah…'

Hiccup snarled and bared his teeth at the two of them. He then rounded on them and walked out. "I need some time to clear my head, alone."

.

"What's the deal with the Viking chief's son?" asked Phantom. "I might have only been here for a few days, but that incident down at his cabin, it seemed like something that he normally wouldn't do."

Shadow turned to him and thought. They were back in Dragons Lair, sitting in the common area by a large fireplace. The smoke billowed out of the cave through a tunnel directly above, and the light from the flames made the whole room glow. Shadow was lying on a large pile of furs so she could extend her wings out flat behind her, and Phantom was seated on a stone chair, another fur was draped over that for comfort.

"I don't know what's gotten into him. That wasn't like him at all. He's usually the most level headed person here and never acts in anger. This was a first. It could be the stress from having to run this base, while at the same time keeping an eye out for Dagur and Grey." She said. Said hunters and maniacs were still on the loose unfortunately.

"I overheard him speaking in the dragons tongue. You must have taught him how to speak it, why?" he asked.

"I decided he was worthy of that knowledge. He learns quickly, and has good intentions. He has a thirst for knowledge unlike those who I have seen before, but all of that knowledge and desire to learn is reserved for how to make everyone's lives better."

She sat up out of the pile of furs and neatly tucked her wings behind her. Her tail wrapped itself around her, and she then started inspecting the blade for flaws.

"He has shown great promise, and his first thoughts are always for those around him, human or dragon, before himself. He helped the Night Fury fly again after he tore his tail fin off, without any real regard for what it would do to him, or what his people would think. He's managed to unite humans and dragons within a few short years, against all odds." She said. Phantom narrowed his eyes as he thought.

"Tell me, what has he done for you? How has he made you feel welcome in your little group?" He asked with interest.

"First time I met him was right after a transformation, he had no idea who I was or where I came from. He logically should have left me there in my own suffering, but he helped me, patched me up. He kept on checking if I was ok, since I was in a new place and knew nothing about them, and often stayed by my side."

Phantom listened with rapt attention, learning about the young man that barred his way. He wanted to learn all about him, to know whether or not he would be some kind of competition for him later. Phantom kept all his thoughts and emotions under lock and key, not letting his true intentions show though just yet. He needed to learn more about his possible opponent.

"Even after they started to suspect me of lying to them, he kept making me feel like a part of their ragtag bunch of teens. He even made me a set of armour, since I only had the clothes on my back."

So Hiccup had given her a gift hmm? He thought to himself. His nerves tingled in warning, that there could be more to their connection that he cannot see.

He shifted in his chair, wrapping his coat around him tighter. "How close were they to finding out what you were?"

"Not long after I arrived, probably a few days, they realised that something about me was amiss. To be honest it wasn't one of the best time I had assimilated, probably the worst actually. He soon found out about the Black Moon dragons, and tried to find out what connection I had to it, probably to find out if I posed a threat to his family and friends."

Another thing which Phantom learned, Hiccup was incredibly intelligent, although some of those factors may have been caused by Shadow herself, if he managed to find out about the Black Moon, then either he was very persuasive or very observant. This could cause a problem later, depending on the situation.

"How exactly did he react when he did discover what you were?" he asked. This time, instead of thinking of Hiccup in a friendly manner, of which he could see reflected in her eyes, her face fell.

"He actually saw me transform in front of him." Phantom's eyes snapped open in shock. "His entire village had been overrun while we were gone. I bound him into a contract to use when I needed him, and had him take me as far away from the village as he could on the black moon. But we had to race back, and we found these warriors called the Outcasts laying siege to the island. Hiccup ended up getting captured whilst I was hidden." Shadow gripped onto her tail harder while she relived the memory.

"I tried to assassinate the Outcast leader, but I too was captured, right before midnight too. Hiccup was tortured in front of me, and I just couldn't hold back… He saw me transform, he watched as my wings and tail grew, and I morphed into the great black beast… in that moment I saw so much fear in him. It is because of that moment that he fears me, he knows what I can do, what I am. But in that same moment, I saw what he was too." Shadow took a shuddering breath.

"He challenged me after I destroyed the Outcast army. He stood alone against me, and won. That scrawny little Viking managed to beat me even when an army couldn't, but then, he submitted to me and gave me the perfect opportunity to kill him."

Phantom could feel his heart racing at her words. The way her words pierced him with such raw emotion that she felt was mesmerising and terrifying. As she spoke, he imagined the young man standing on front of the black creature which they could transform into, his small form dwarfed by her massive body. How could someone so small defeat the great black beast? What possible trick could he have used to make Shadow bow down to him? It shouldn't have been possible.

Shadow lifted her gaze, and saw the confusion and anger in his eyes. He couldn't understand how he won, and it was driving him insane. "He placed his trust in me, despite being a deadly dragon that could eat him in one bite, and turned away and placed his arm out towards me. He placed his trust in me, even after watching me transform and destroy the army, he still trusted me… and I returned it."

Subconsciously Shadow rubbed the spot on her chest where Alvin's sword had struck her. Phantom saw the movement but didn't comment, he knew that when she had that particular look in her eyes that he should not ask about it. Shadow sat there, frozen in place as she remembered feeling the sharpened steel cut through her flesh just clear of her heart. Sure, she had been stabbed and injured many times before, most of which should have killed her, but that moment when Alvin's sword stabbed into her chest that was the one moment when she felt closest to death.

Phantom stood up and went over to where she sat on the pile of furs, being mindful of her wings, he sat down next to her and curled his body around hers in comfort. He just couldn't sit by while he watched the torment in her eyes threaten to spill tears. She didn't need to say a word about what happened after that, whatever it was that was causing her pain now, it wasn't Hiccup who caused it for her. In fact, perhaps the reason she stayed this whole time is because the young Viking helped her get past that pain.

Meaning he had some competition…

Suddenly, Astrid and the others burst into the room. "Is Hiccup with you?" asked Astrid desperately. Shadow shook her head. "I though he went out for a walk."

"He's been gone for hours and didn't take Toothless with him. He should have been back by now. We are starting to get worried."

Shadow stood up and took charge, directing the teens to their stations so they could find him. "Start at the walk in entrance from the base, Fishlegs. Follow any of his tracks you see and try and find him on the ground. Astrid, you and Stormfly circle over the forest expanding outwards and look for him from the sky. Snotlout, you fly around the edge of the island for any possible invaders. I hate to say it, but there could be the possibility that he was kidnapped, and I don't want to leave anything out. Phantom, you have exceptional eyesight, I want you to pair up with Astrid. I'll take care of the twins."