Hiccup had just realised that he had been tricked by Moria, and he couldn't believe that he had been fooled so easily.

"When did he even have time to switch places with his shadow," said Hiccup.

Moria's shadow smiled before shifting to slip out of Hiccup's grasp and took to the sky. Hiccup instantly flew upwards and grabbed it, but his hands went straight through it.

"Damn, all this time had been chasing his shadow, and he could be anywhere on the island by now," Hiccup cursed. "Everyone is counting on me to beat Moria and get their shadows back, and I've got a before sunrise. If not, we're all goners."

Hiccup remembered what Skull had said that when shadowless people came face-to-face with the sun, they would disintegrate instantly.

"I don't have much time before sunrise; I need to get moving quickly," he said. "I've already wasted enough time chasing that shadow. My only option is to follow his shadow and hope that it leads me back to him."

Hiccup then began following in the direction of Moria's shadow.

Oars were still causing havoc within the courtyard of the mansion, putting the Dragon Riders on the defensive, but Toothless decided it was time for them to go on the offensive.

"Toothless, we're just trying to buy some time for Hiccup to get our shadows back," Snotlout reminded him. "It's not like we need to defeat him."

"I'm just finishing the fight he started, and I've got this new sword," said Toothless as he stepped forwards. "I could imagine a better time to see what it is capable of."

"Oh, come on! Don't be stupid!"

"Oars!" Toothless yelled. "You want a real fight? Looks like you found one."

"Then let's see what you've got," said Oars.

"He's going to fight him on his own?" Snotlout stared.

Oars then raised his fist and swung it down towards Toothless, who quickly jumped out of the way. However, rubble began falling towards his direction he quickly responded by cutting it to pieces with his blades.

"Give it a rest; you're practically begging to get flattened!" Snotlout yelled.

"Can't you try that sword another time?" Eret asked.

Toothless looked at his blade. "Didn't notice note earlier, but Autumn's Fall has a lot lighter than my Blackest Heart. I've never used a black blade before, much less a katana."

Oars got ready for another swing.

"Toothless, get out of the way!" Snotlout yelled.

Toothless then quickly swung his blades, using the momentum to dodge the punch as well as strike Oars' arm. Then, to everyone's surprise, he managed to swerve Oars' arm away.

"Awesome, he deflected the post with his sword," said Chopper.

"He was able to do that before," said Ruffnut.

"You never had a blade like Autumn's Fall before," Tuffnut pointed out.

"Three-Sword Style: 108 Calibre Phoenix!" Toothless yelled, swinging his sword and unleashing his slashing attack, but this time it was bigger than before, surprising him. "It's enormous."

Oars quickly swirled out of the way just in time to avoid the attack, and it struck the mansion behind him.

"Damnit, he almost had him!" Snotlout cursed.

"I'm amazed he could dodge that," said Chopper.

"It was stronger than I expected," said Toothless. "The blade absorbs the slashes from the other two swords into one. As impressive, but it still moves a little too slowly for my liking. That just means I've got some work to do before I can fully master it."

He then looked down at Autumn's Fall. "The increase in power sure is nice, though. I just hope I can live long enough to bring it under control. He gave you one hell of a sword, samurai Ryuma."

Oars turned his gaze down upon Toothless. "You almost took out my eye with that, and you're going to pay for that! I'm going to grind you down into dust!"

Oars then slammed his foot at Toothless, who quickly jumped out of the way. However, he kept on slamming his foot on the ground forcing the other Dragon Riders to fall back.

"I'll crush you!" Oars roared as Toothless tried to avoid getting squashed by his giant feet.

"Toothless!" Chopper cried.

"Holy crap, is he all right?" Eret asked.

"Get back here!" Oars roared as he continued slamming his foot down at Toothless.

"I can't spend the entire fight dodging; why does he have to be so big?" said Toothless.

Oars then slammed his foot down at them once more, but Toothless, this time, jumped straight towards it. He swung his sword at his ankle just as he stepped onto the ground, causing him to trip.

"He's going down!" Snotlout stared.

"Three-Sword Style: 108—"

he then stopped when he realised that Oars had positioned himself so that he could fall straight down towards him. This forced them to break up his attack, and he immediately jumped back just before Oars hit the ground.

"Toothless!" Chopper yelled as dust covered the area.

"That was close," said Toothless as he skidded across the ground and then jumped into the dust.

"Now, let's see if there's anything left," said Oars as he rose to his feet. When he looked down, he saw that there was nothing except a crater with his body print. "I didn't crash him? How do you manage to get away? And now I can't see because of all the dust."

Toothless used the dust to his advantage. "Three-Sword Style: 108 Calibre Phoenix!"

He then swung his sword and, this time struck Oars right in the face, but sadly he was able to lean back in time to avoid getting skewered.

"That was close," he said.

"Damnit, he dodged me again," Toothless cursed. "You're a real pain."

"And you don't know when to quit," said Oars.

"Come on, Toothless, don't push it," said Snotlout. "You're just making things worse, even if you do somehow miraculously taken down; what's the point? Hiccup's shadow is the only one we'll get back from him. We don't even have the slightest idea where yours and Ragnar's are; if we really want to get our shadows back, we just need to wait here until Hiccup takes care of it. There's no point in killing yourself and taking down an undead giant. All we've got to do is believe in Hiccup and try to keep this guy busy for a while."

"I've got plenty of faith in Hiccup, but I'm also aware of our enemy's strongest quality," said Toothless, and everyone looked at him confused. "It's trickery. They've got an invisible man, a girl who controls ghosts and a shadow master. Trickery is the name of the game on this island, and they are all professionals at it. It's safe to say that none of them is planning on giving Hiccup a fair fight."

"I'm afraid I must agree," said Heather.

"Yeah," Eret nodded.

All of them were very much aware that they had all been tricked by Moria's goons more than once. They could also make the assumption that Moria himself was the master of deception.

"If they managed to stall Hiccup and the sun rises, then we're screwed," Toothless continued. "Him, me and Ragnar, we'll melt before when nothing but ash. Maybe we can't save ourselves, but if we can get Hiccup his shadow back, he can lay this damn island to waste."

"Looks like we may have 30 minutes before sunrise," Eret calculated. "On the plus side, that is something fog; the sun is going to have a hard time getting through that."

"So we're that close to dawn; we should count our blessings that we've got this wrong," said Ragnar. "Can't take much comfort, though; the reality of melting is starting to sink in for me."

"You don't talk because I'm starting to get bored," said Oars.

Then suddenly, the entire island shook.

"What is this an earthquake?" Toothless asked.

The zombies themselves were confused by this sudden shaking.

"What's going on?"

"This ship is not anchored, remember! We're caught in another bad current like the last one!"

"Hey, the sky! Look up!"

The zombies looked up, and they could see that the sun was beginning to ride and that the fog was starting to disappear.

"The sun is coming out!"

"And the fog! Why is the fog clearing up? What is happening?"

"Please tell me I'm wrong, but you think we could have left the Florian Triangle?"

"We have, and it's all because Oars was going around with the helm earlier."

"Argh, you're right. It's all his fault!"

"Why the hell did he have to go and do that?"

The shadowless people in the forest were panicking as well.

"I'm telling you something is wrong here! Just look at the sky; it is completely clear now!"

"Oh no, we're doomed!" said one of them as he fell to his hands and knees. "It's all over; why does it get to end this way?"

"Hey, you can't just give up," said his partner. Do you want to die on your hands and knees? I'm not going out without a fight. Hey, what's that?"

They looked up and saw Moria's shadow flying back towards the mansion.

"It's Moria's shadow, and it's heading towards the mansion!"

"Is that supposed to mean something?"

"Idiot, think about it. Dragon is not with him anywhere, and his shadow is still trapped inside that big guy. Meaning he's got are wandering around here somewhere around on his own."

"Ah, now I get you."

"All right, let's go until the captain and his crew. We'll do everything we can to help Dragon before dawn."

"Right, good idea!"

The two of them then ran off.

Meanwhile, Moria's shadow had returned to the mansion and returned to its master. At the same time, the zombie trio were dashing towards him frantically.

"Master Moria! We've got some serious trouble!" Nep cried.

"Breakneck Bog is exiting the fog, and soon it will be morning!" Nip panicked.

"And it's all Oars' fault!" Nap yelled.

"Master Moria!" they cried.

"So what?! Stop screaming!" he snapped angrily. "Who cares? It's not the end of the world, you idiots! We're pirates, aren't we? The whole ocean is our home no matter where our ship ends up."

"Yeah, but…" said Nep.

"Time to shut your mouths," Moria snapped impatiently. "I have the unexpected pleasure of an important guest, and you're rudely interrupting it."

It was then that they realised that he wasn't alone as standing before him was Kuma, and the two of them were roughly the same height.

"So, Tyrant Kuma, what can I do for the only member of the Seven Warlords who chooses to obey the Government like a dog?" Moria asked. "The Government considers you a veiled weapon in its arsenal of goons, but I can't say I share their admiration. I don't know what you're plotting, but I'm sure that I won't like it."

"If you were to take a vacation, where would you want to go?" Kuma asked.

"Come now, do I look like a fool? I am fully cognizant of the powers you possess, all right," said Moria as he made his way to the balcony. "Get to the point. Did you come here to fight me or what?"

The three zombies just stood there silently and utterly terrified. They'll be having problems enough with Oars and the Dragon Riders. The last thing they needed was two Warlords battling it out on the island.

"Speak your business," Moria continued. "Why did you come to all the trouble of seeking me out?"

"I'm here to deliver a report," said Kuma.

"Well, let's hear it."

"As you know, Viggo has been removed from his post as one of the Seven Warlords; it's been decided who shall replace him."

Moria laughed. "Why did you say so? And who have they chosen as his successor? There are hordes of pirates that would kill for the job."

"You might not have even heard of him. His name is Drago D Bludvist."

"You're right. I don't know him."

"He was a member of Stoick the Vast's fleet Second Division. He's only recently proven his abilities, which led him to his appointment. I suppose the news hasn't reached these foggy waters yet, but his powers have raised a great deal of commotion around the world."

"Have they?" said Moria looking intrigued. "What was the original bounty on his head?"

"Zero."

"How impressive. A total unknown. I'm surprised that the Government approved of the job. They're probably happy that they managed to find someone to fill the spot so quickly. I expect that this is supposed to restore the balance of power or whatever, right?"

"Perhaps, but if I was to place a bet, I would say that it is the exact opposite. Never mind that, though; there is an issue we must discuss, something that the World Government is anxious about. After the catastrophic events of Enies Lobby, they are more concerned than ever about the movement of the Dragon Rider pirate crew. If they are following the log from Water 7 heading towards Fishman Island, there is a high probability that they will find their way here. If that is the case, then I'm sure you can understand what the World Government is worried about."

Moria merely narrowed his eyes, not sure what he was getting at.

"It's the balance of power," Kuma explained. "The Government is concerned that the Dragon Riders will take out yet another one of the Seven Warlords. That would be most unfortunate."

Moria then furiously grabbed the helm of his shirt and looked at him enraged. "You better be joking! Do they think I'm not up to the job?!"

Kuma remained perfectly calm while the zombie trio became even more terrified.

"I have never been so insulted in my life!" Moria spat. "They sent you here to protect me against those pathetic nobodies?!"

"If you think my assistance can benefit you, I would be happy to help if you all but ask," said Kuma calmly.

This infuriated Moria even more. "Just who the hell do you think you're talking to, you bastard?! Have you ever seen their crew? A bunch of crackpots led by a delusional runt, and you honestly don't think I can handle them?"

"No battle is 100% guaranteed," said Kuma plainly. "You know what transpired at Enies Lobby? No one expected Lael Robson to lose, and I'm sure he wasn't expecting it either."

"Let me see if I get this straight; the Government is so scared of the Dragon Riders that they want two of the Seven Warlords against them?"

"They only sent me here to warn you. I was given no specific orders to offer you any assistance," said Kuma objectively.

"Then I recommend that you stay out of my damn way, buddy," Moria advised. "And if they want some kind report, you can tell them this… That this Dragon the Government soiling their breaches, I've already dealt with him. That means I've stolen his shadow and made a part of my zombie army."

The Dragon Riders now saw the cloudless sky above them.

"The fog…" Eret cursed. "Could it get any worse?"

"It will now when you said that," said Tuffnut.

"Yeah, you never say those kinds of things in these kinds of situations," said Ruffnut.

"That fog was our last hope," said Snotlout. "There's nothing left to block the sun now."

"Perfect, the fog cleared up at the worst time possible," said Ragnar. "I'm not really looking forward to having the sun melt off my face."

"Damnit, well, this change of the situation," said Snotlout. "At this point, we've got no choice but to try and stop Oars—" Snotlout then stopped and stared in horror as his eyes laid upon Moria.

"I didn't know it was such a beautiful night out," said Moria as he sat on a chair while pair of curtains opened.

"It's Moria! It's Moria!" Snotlout yelled.

"Moria? Where?" Chopper panicked.

"What? You're kidding, right?" said Ragnar as he looked around.

"Dawn is just around the corner; you think this is the best time for you to be standing around?" Moria asked.

"Wait, how are you here?" Snotlout asked. "What happened to Hiccup?"

"I hear Master, but I can't see him," said Oars as he looked around.

"Care to explain, Snotlout? Just where the hell are you seeing Moria?" Ragnar asked.

"Look up; he's right there!" Snotlout pointed. "In the belly! Inside of Oars' belly!"

"Inside his belly?" Eret blinked.

"H-he is!" Chopper gasped.

Sure enough, Moria was riding inside Oars' stomach, riding in some sort of cockpit. Clearly, Hogback hollowed Oars' insides and put a command centre for Moria.

"That twisted Hogback, he's got to be behind this," said Chopper angrily.

"What exactly is he doing inside him?" Heather asked.

"The bigger question is, where is Hiccup?" said Ragnar. "Don't tell me he gave him the slip."

"Or he's done for," said Eret.

Chopper glared at him. "Don't you ever say that Hiccup is done for!"

"Uh, sure," said Eret quickly.

Oars looked at his stomach and saw the cockpit. "Is that some sort of cockpit or something?"

Moria smiled down at the Dragon Riders. "All right, you pathetic Dragon Riders, here I am. You want the chance to fight me; you've got one. And if you prove yourself skilled enough to defeat me, I will release all the shadows. Go ahead and come at me all you at once, but you will have to take down Oars too. That is the only chance you've got to pull me out of this cockpit."

"Now that's cheating," said Tuffnut.

"Come out in phases yourself!" Ruffnut yelled.

"The only way to defeat Oars is to defeat Moria first," said Chopper. "But how the heck can we do that with him inside his stomach?"

"It still now is our target down to one, so I wouldn't complain," said Ragnar.

"We can't get cold feet now," said Toothless and turned to the twins. "Ruff, Tuff, that little pinch of salt didn't work. It will take this guy down with a massive amount of salt. Our only chance of survival is to purify that monster or try to weaken him as much as we can until the two of you get back."

"Yeah, that's a plan I can get behind," said Eret as he swung his nunchucks.

All the others took up fighting stances as well.

"Let's do this," said Ragnar.

"Leave it to us," said Ruffnut.

"One order of massive amount of salt coming right up," said Tuffnut.

"This should be a kitchen in front of the mansion; there should be a lot of salt there," Ragnar instructed.

"Got it!" said the twins as they dashed off.

"I should have figured as much," said Moria. "The first thing they're trying to do is to get some hands on some salt. Oars, you hear that? Better make sure those dimwitted twins don't make their way to the kitchen. You might as well take out the entrance of the mansion."

"Right, I'll get them," said Oars.

Everyone gasped.

"Ruff! Tuff!" Toothless yelled.

It was too late; Oars was already launching his attack at the twins and the entrance to the mansion. A split second later, Oars punched the entrance of the mansion, causing it to cave in.

"Did he get them?" Ragnar asked.

"Guys!" Snotlout yelled.

Chopper quickly galloped to the entrance. "Guys!"

"This is bad," said Ragnar. "With Moria inside of Oars, he's now a lot more focused."

"Ruff! Tuff! Answer me!" Chopper called. "Where are you?"

"They're perfectly fine," said a voice.

Then suddenly landing in front of them was Skull with Tuffnut resting on his shoulder, Ruffnut cradled in his right arm and a large bag of salt in his other hand.

"I thought we might need a hefty quantity of salt, so I rounded some up," he said.

"Skull?" everyone stared.