While everyone slept, or almost everyone, something was moving beneath the ground. Whatever it was, it attacked animals that barely had a chance to react: all of them were suddenly dragged down and swallowed by the earth.
The creature seemed to glide easily through the soil and moved closer to Stoick's house.
Inside, Hiccup and Lua were trying to sleep while Toothless was awake, pacing back and forth, looking agitated and nervous.
"Ah, Toothless, go to sleep!" Hiccup said as he was briefly awakened by Toothless's growling.
Lua mumbled something unintelligible and rolled onto her side, trying to fall back asleep. Toothless stopped growling, but remained on alert.
o0o0o
Hiccup, Toothless, and Lua approached a group of Vikings, including Hiccup's father and Gobber, who were gathered around something. As they got closer, they could see a large hole.
Toothless went ahead and growled at the hole as if it were an enemy.
"Toothless?" Lua tilted her head to the side, confused.
Toothless refused to explain what was going on and remained tense and alert the entire time. Suddenly, the Night Fury reared up and roared. Hiccup went on alert and rushed to calm him.
"Easy, buddy! It's just a hole!" Hiccup said, looking at him in confusion, since Toothless had never acted like this before.
"It's not just a hole!" a female voice echoed from inside the hole. "It looks like a new network of tunnels has been created beneath the village! Incredible work, if you ask me!"
Hiccup raised an eyebrow at this new person who had appeared.
"Who is that, Dad?" Hiccup asked, looking at Stoick.
"That's Helga. We called her here to take a look at these holes that showed up," Stoick explained, crossing his arms.
"Helga the Mole! That girl knows the island's caves and tunnels like the back of her hand!" Gobber added.
"And look who I found down here!" Helga said, pulling someone toward the entrance.
"Helga's right! It's like an underground village!" Buckets said.
"Buckets?!" Mulch knelt at the edge of the hole. "Are you down there by any chance?" He rolled his eyes sarcastically. "I've been looking for you all night!"
"Sorry, Mulch! But I think I finally found my happy little place!" Buckets said, smiling.
"I agree. Exploring this place is so much fun!" Helga exclaimed excitedly.
(Since when is there someone named Helga in Berk? Is she important?) Lua thought, trying to remember anyone with that name, but nothing came to mind.
"Hm? What is that..." Helga's voice lowered as her attention shifted. "Oh no!"
Suddenly, Helga and Buckets were violently thrown out of the hole. Both screamed desperately and slammed hard into the ground. Helga groaned in pain as she got up.
The Vikings rushed over to check if they were okay, and Lua took the opportunity to analyze Helga's appearance:
She was short, perhaps around Hiccup's age, with strong shoulders and sturdy legs—likely the result of adventuring through tunnels and caves—marked with streaks of mud, stone dust, and fresh scratches. Her dark-blond hair was thick and unruly, tied into a low ponytail, with loose strands constantly escaping and mixing with the dirt.
She had grayish-blue eyes. Despite being blond and blue-eyed, she looked very different from Astrid. Helga also wore a kind of protective goggles on her head, made of leather and green-polished glass, which she had likely made herself to protect her eyes from dust and stone fragments while exploring caves.
Helga stood up and brushed some of the dust off her clothes, patting herself down.
Suddenly, something else caught Lua's attention: the ground began to shake. It almost felt like an earthquake, but Lua knew it wasn't one at all. She immediately went on alert and started to growl.
Suddenly, a terrifying dragon burst out of the ground. It had a massive head with several rows of sharp teeth in its mouth. The rest of its body was like a snake—a snake covered in long, sharp spines. It also had a pair of small wings, strong enough to carry it through the air.
"Look at the size of that thing!" Snotlout exclaimed, mouth wide open.
"Do I really have to look?!" Fishlegs asked, terrified by what had come out of the ground.
"Get the dragons!" Astrid said.
The riders ran to their dragons and mounted them. The dragons went on alert, staring at the creature that had emerged from the ground.
Lua went to Hiccup, since Toothless was nowhere to be seen. He had entered one of the holes and gone deeper into the tunnels.
The dragon began to look over each of the riders and their dragons, as if it were searching for something—or someone.
"I don't like the way that thing is looking at me!" Snotlout said, swallowing hard.
"Relax. It's not just you," Fishlegs said.
"By Hel! It's a Whispering Death!" Helga gasped, staring at the dragon in admiration.
Hiccup glanced at Helga when she said that, then turned his attention back to the dragon. The dragon didn't find what it was looking for and retreated back underground.
"What was that?" Astrid asked, slightly out of breath.
"Whatever it was... I want one!" Tuffnut said excitedly.
"Helga, you called that dragon a—" Hiccup began.
"Whispering Death" Helga finished. "Yes, I know that dragon."
"Awesome name! Way better than Zippleback!" Ruffnut said.
"Hey!" Barf frowned, clearly displeased.
Suddenly, the Whispering Death emerged again, looking even more irritated.
"Where is he?!" the Whispering Death snarled.
"He who?!" Lua asked, alert.
The Whispering Death didn't answer, only growling as it searched for someone.
"Helga, Fishlegs!" Hiccup called out. "What do you know about the Whispering Death?"
"Boulder Class, sharp teeth, incredibly strong, and it hunts underground!" Fishlegs explained, gesturing to emphasize each trait.
"It has multiple rotating rows of teeth, breathes rings of fire, and is an incredible digger!" Helga added with a big smile. "I personally admire this dragon!"
"Fire rings?! Now I want one even more!" Fishlegs exclaimed, even more excited.
"So how do we stop this thing?!" Snotlout asked, gripping Hookfang's horns tighter.
"Everyone back! Thornado has something to say to this beast!" Stoick suddenly appeared, mounted on his dragon.
"Messy invaders are not welcome here!" Thornado roared, unleashing his powerful call.
It didn't seem to affect the Whispering Death much, only making it angrier.
"Go away! This is none of your business, Thunderdrum!" the Whispering Death snarled.
"Does he only know how to talk by growling?!" Lua asked.
"And he's really grumpy," Stormfly snorted.
"I don't like him!" Barf said, frowning.
"We don't like him!" Belch added.
"That's enough! Let's drive this thing out of here!" Astrid said, taking off with Stormfly and the others.
Hiccup mounted Lua, and she took to the air. Everyone joined Stoick in the sky to chase the other dragon away.
Suddenly, Toothless returned from his exploration underground and growled when he saw the Whispering Death.
"Stay back! He's mine to fight!" Toothless said, baring his teeth.
"Very well then," Stormfly said, backing away.
The other dragons also retreated—but Lua did not.
"What? Toothless, you won't be able to fight, at least not without flying!" Lua said as she approached.
"No! Not this time, Lua! This is between me and him!" Toothless snarled at her.
Lua stepped back in shock at how furious he looked.
The Whispering Death's spines stiffened, similar to what happens with a Deadly Nadder's tail spikes.
"So, you finally decided to show up," the Whispering Death narrowed its eyes.
"I wouldn't miss this fight for anything," Toothless growled.
"Toothless!" Hiccup called out, worried.
The two dragons began to fight fiercely. Even though Toothless was a powerful dragon, he couldn't fly, which made him an easier target for the Whispering Death. And the Whispering Death realized that—realized it had the advantage as long as Toothless couldn't take to the air.
Lua descended when she saw Thronado land as well.
"Toothless can't fly without me!" Hiccup said tensely, watching his dragon fight.
"Arm the catapults, and when that thing moves away from Toothless, fire!" Stoick ordered.
"Dad, wait!" Hiccup moved closer to Toothless, who was still distracted by the Whispering Death. "Let me help you!"
Hiccup tried to climb onto Toothless's saddle, but Toothless shoved him away abruptly. Lua didn't like what she saw.
"This ends now!" Lua took off.
Lua positioned herself between them, right in the middle of the two ferocious dragons. The crackling sound of electricity caught both of their attention for a brief moment.
"Don't interfere, Skrill!" the Whispering Death launched several spines in her direction.
Lua dodged and retaliated with her lightning, but the Whispering Death avoided it. Unfortunately, one of the Whispering Death's spines struck Toothless, the wound landing near his left wing.
"Lua! Don't interfere!" Toothless fired a warning shot near her.
Lua barely dodged and glared angrily at Toothless.
"I'm trying to help you!" Lua growled quietly.
While the dragons argued, the Vikings launched a rock directly at the Whispering Death's head, leaving it slightly dazed from the impact. Another rock quickly followed.
The Whispering Death roared, but retreated as soon as the first rays of sunlight touched its scales, burrowing back into the ground. Hiccup managed to approach Toothless to help him, since he had calmed down after the Whispering Death left.
However, as soon as Hiccup removed the spine, Toothless pulled away and climbed to a high vantage point, keeping watch and waiting for the Whispering Death's return. This left Hiccup worried, unsure of what to do.
Lua descended and landed beside him.
"Jerk," Lua huffed.
o0o0o
During the night... Lua moved her bed away from Toothless's. She was still a bit upset with him. She snored softly while sleeping, but was suddenly awakened by something moving in the middle of the night.
She woke up and saw Toothless slipping out through the bedroom window. Carefully, so as not to wake Hiccup, Lua stuck her head out the window.
"Hey! Where are you going?!" she whispered a bit loudly. "Toothless!"
The Night Fury simply ignored her. Lua rolled her eyes and went back inside—she chose sleep over chasing Toothless.
o0o0o
The next day, all the riders met again in the arena to discuss the events of the previous day. They ended up inviting Helga, since she knew the underground and the Whispering Death.
"If we find the Whispering Death, we find Toothless," Hiccup said.
"And what happens if we find the Whispering Death first?" Fishlegs asked, fear clearly in his voice.
"Well? We train it," Hiccup said, stepping closer to Fishlegs.
"Train a Whispering Death?" Helga was surprised. "They're extremely aggressive. Can you really train one?"
"We won't know until we try," Hiccup said.
"You do understand the 'Death' part of its name, right?" Tuffnut asked.
"Fishlegs, is there anything in the Book of Dragons about the Whispering Death that might help?" Hiccup asked, completely ignoring Tuffnut.
While the riders and Helga talked among themselves, discussing the best way to deal with the Whispering Death, the dragons also had their own discussion about it—and about Toothless.
"He shoots sharp spines from any part of his body," Fishlegs said.
"And how does that help us?" Astrid asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It helps us know what to avoid when we're near it. Oh! And don't forget the rings of fire it breathes," Helga said with a smile.
"Wow, so helpful," Astrid rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.
"Or we could get close using Ruffnut as a human shield," Tuffnut said, making his sister stop smiling and glare at him.
Suddenly, Ruffnut kicked his knee hard, making him clutch it, double over, and cry out in pain.
"Ow! My knee!" Tuffnut said with a pained expression. "That's new—I liked it!" He quickly went back to smiling.
"That dragon has to have some weakness!" Hiccup said, looking at Fishlegs.
"Actually, no. It even says here: no known weaknesses," Fishlegs said, reading from the Book of Dragons.
"And you, Helga? Do you know of any weakness?" Hiccup turned to her.
"Hm, well..." Helga put a hand to her chin, thoughtful. "I don't remember any specific weakness. I know Whispering Deaths like to spend their lives underground, shoot sharp spines, and breathe rings of fire. Sorry, Hiccup—that's all I know."
"Did Toothless really have to be so rude?!" Lua vented to Stormfly. "We're friends! Friends help friends!"
"It's not that simple, Lua," Stormfly said. "We hold grudges and rivalries forever. That Whispering Death is Toothless's ancient archenemy—we have to respect that."
"But Toothless can't fly. He's at a disadvantage!" Lua said, narrowing her eyes.
"Unfortunately, that's how it works," Meatlug said with a sigh. "All we can do is protect our riders and make sure they're safe."
Hookfang approached the trio of female dragons.
"In my opinion, Toothless is weak! If it were me, I'd have already dealt with my archenemy!" he boasted, puffing out his chest.
Stormfly rolled her eyes and sneakily smacked her tail against his chest. Hookfang coughed a bit from the impact.
"Hey!" Hookfang glared at Stormfly.
"Don't get so full of yourself—I've seen you lose to a fish," Stormfly said, holding back a laugh at the memory.
"It wasn't just a fish! It was the fish! It was colossal! And you're a busybody!" Hookfang snarled.
"And you're annoying!" Stormfly snarled back.
"We hate..." Barf suddenly said.
"...that dragon!" Belch finished.
The Zippleback looked irritated and jealous because of the Whispering Death—especially Barf. Barf didn't like it at all that his rider had shown interest in getting another dragon.
But the conversation didn't last much longer, since the riders and Helga—who was riding Stormfly with Astrid—set off to search for Toothless.
o0o0o
After a few minutes of searching, they arrived at several large holes in the ground, clearly made by the Whispering Death.
The riders gathered around one of the holes to examine it and try calling for Toothless, but suddenly... the ground began to shake! All the dragons grew agitated at once.
"He's down here!" Stormfly said, jumping to the side.
"Wait, Stormfly—what is it?" Astrid asked, worried.
"Where is he?!" Barf growled, looking around.
"Let's breathe fire on him!" Belch huffed.
"What's gotten into you, dragon?" Tuffnut asked, confused, staring at the Zippleback.
"Barf, calm down!" Ruffnut stepped closer, trying to soothe him.
Lua found it strange how she could hear and feel the tremors in the underground more clearly than the others.
"It feels like..." Lua lowered her head toward the ground. "He's close!" she growled, ready to take off.
"Wait! Listen!" Hiccup said, making everyone stop and fall silent—everyone except...
"Listen? Listen to what?" Tuffnut asked.
"What are we listening for?" Ruffnut added.
Astrid sighed and looked at the twins.
"Quiet!" she ordered sternly.
The tremors grew stronger. Helga took a step back.
"He's here," Helga said tensely.
"Looks like we got here before Toothless," Snotlout swallowed hard.
"Yeah, we win," Astrid said, staring at the hole.
The Whispering Death burst from the ground right behind Fishlegs, who froze in place.
"I don't feel like a winner," he murmured, slowly turning as the Whispering Death approached him. "H-hi... sir... I love what you've done with your teeth!" Fishlegs swallowed hard.
The Whispering Death soon lost interest in Fishlegs—he wasn't its target. The other dragons snarled and roared at it, forcing it to dig back into the underground tunnels.
Hiccup tried to gain the dragon's trust, and for a moment it seemed like it might work, but the Whispering Death retreated once more into its tunnels. Hiccup decided to follow it underground.
"I'm going with you, Hiccup," Helga said immediately as she climbed down. "You'll need a mole who really knows the underground," she laughed at her own nickname.
Lua growled and moved to follow them, determined to protect Hiccup and Helga if needed.
"No! Lua, you stay here," Hiccup said, stopping her. "It's way too narrow down there for you."
"...Did he just call me fat?" Lua tilted her head, indignant.
o0o0o
Lua paced back and forth, impatient with how long Hiccup and Helga were taking underground. Astrid looked just as uneasy, clearly worried.
"They've been down there a long time. Hiccup! Helga!" Astrid called out.
Speak of the devil—Hiccup and Helga came running back, slightly out of breath.
"Down here!" Hiccup shouted, looking up.
"Did you see the Whispering Death?" Tuffnut asked.
"Did you touch it?!" Ruffnut asked.
"How about we answer that later? We need help getting out of here," Helga said, glancing at the tunnels.
Astrid noticed a trail of shifting dirt rapidly approaching them—clear evidence that the Whispering Death was digging straight toward them.
"Yeah. You really do," Astrid said.
"Go first, Helga," Hiccup said, helping her climb.
Astrid reached down and grabbed Helga's hand, pulling her up quickly—but Hiccup wasn't as lucky. Seeing that Hiccup wouldn't make it out in time, Lua immediately jumped into the hole to rescue him.
Hiccup didn't hesitate for a second before climbing onto Lua's back. Lua saw the cloud of dirt and dust racing toward them and didn't hesitate—she spread her wings and leapt skyward. She could feel the Whispering Death almost snapping at her tail! It was a close call.
Lua circled and landed near the others. Hiccup slid off her back, breathing hard, his heart pounding. The Whispering Death stared at them, and Lua growled, coiling protectively around Hiccup.
"I think he didn't like you going into his hole," Tuffnut said, staring at the furious dragon.
"Yeah... I noticed," Hiccup muttered.
"Can we leave now?! Please?!" Snotlout's voice even cracked at the end.
"No! I know I can tame this thing. Does anyone have dragon nip?" Hiccup was suddenly showered with dragon nip from the others. "Don't be afraid—I'm a friend." He slowly approached the Whispering Death. "Here, you'll love this! Every dragon loves it."
The Whispering Death seemed interested and leaned in to sniff it—but then suddenly sneezed, sending the dragon nip flying and hitting the other dragons.
All the dragons—even Lua—were affected, slipping into a groggy, mellow state before collapsing onto the ground, completely relaxed.
Snotlout watched Hookfang drop with his claws on his hips.
"Oh, great! Now we're done for!" Snotlout groaned.
The Whispering Death growled as it moved closer.
"Any ideas? I'm open to literally anything," Hiccup said, backing away.
"Uhh... offer rocks?" Helga suggested. Everyone stared at her. "He digs underground! He's Rock Class! Maybe he eats rocks like Meatlug!"
"I've got a better idea... RUN!" Snotlout shouted, taking off with his hands in the air.
Everyone ran, the Whispering Death chasing them and nearly catching Hiccup—until Toothless appeared at the last second and clashed with the Whispering Death once more.
Luckily, that bought enough time for the other dragons to recover from the dragon nip, and soon they all joined the fight to defend their riders.
Seeing that it stood no chance against all of them together, the Whispering Death retreated back underground. Hiccup tried to mount Toothless, but the dragon refused.
"Hey! Easy, buddy! It's me!" Hiccup said, trying to calm him. "I know what's going on between you and that dragon. Let me help you."
Before Hiccup could touch him, Toothless pulled away quickly. Lua stepped closer, letting out a soft, sad purring sound (or something close to it), nudging Hiccup gently.
"Toothless!" Hiccup ignored Lua and ran after him.
Toothless noticed and fired a warning shot. Lua simply watched and sighed softly. Hiccup stopped chasing him.
"Pathetic," Tuffnut commented as he walked up. Hiccup shot him an angry look.
o0o0o
Helga ended up being left behind, since from that point on things could become very dangerous, and she didn't have a dragon to protect her. Helga didn't mind and stayed behind, cheering for the riders from a distance.
"Well... I guess I should go back to planning," Helga said with a small smirk as she headed back to the village on foot.
The riders managed to find Toothless again, but the Night Fury still wouldn't allow Hiccup to ride him. The Whispering Death also returned, and the two dragons immediately clashed once more.
The other dragons tried to get closer, but with a single roar from Toothless, they stopped, choosing not to interfere in a fight that wasn't theirs.
Lua, however, didn't follow dragon laws. Hiccup was riding on her back, trying to get closer to the two dragons locked in combat.
The fight stretched all the way to a cliff, where Toothless ended up cornered after part of the edge collapsed. Unable to fly, Toothless was trapped.
Lua tried to approach carefully, but Hiccup pulled back on her horns, signaling for her to stay back.
"Hiccup?" Lua turned her head, trying to look at him over her shoulder. "What are you going to do?"
Time seemed to stop when Hiccup suddenly jumped from Lua's back toward the abyss. Toothless saw it and his eyes went wide—Hiccup was more important to him than any grudge.
Without hesitation, Toothless leapt after Hiccup. The scene felt painfully familiar... Lua was extremely worried, but Toothless managed to reach Hiccup in time.
"That's it! But never give me a heart attack like that again!" Lua growled, glaring at both of them.
Now that Toothless could fly again, the balance of the fight tipped in his favor. The Whispering Death was defeated, and Toothless stood with one paw raised, ready to finish him—but Hiccup stopped him.
Toothless hesitated, thought it through, and made his decision.
"Leave and never come back!" Toothless roared at the Whispering Death as he stepped off him.
The Whispering Death immediately fled back underground without looking back. With that, everything ended well, and Toothless realized that some grudges aren't worth carrying in your heart.
"Hey," Lua called to get Toothless's attention.
Toothless blinked, then understood.
"I'm sorry about earlier, Lua... My resentment blinded me..." Toothless lowered his head.
"It's fine—but later you're going to tell me why you hold that grudge," Lua sighed as she turned to leave.
Toothless lifted his head and followed her. Later on, the riders sealed every hole the Whispering Death had made, hoping that dragon would never return.
Lua forgave Toothless, and he tried to make up for what he'd done by bringing her gifts—fish, flowers, or bits of metal. It worked. Lua was quite happy with her growing metal collection.
BONUS:
The silence of the cave was almost comforting.
Helga walked carefully, her steady footsteps echoing softly between the stone walls. In her right hand, she carried a simple but heavy basket, packed with fresh meat—boar, fish, and even some fattier cuts she had saved on purpose. The smell was strong, intentionally so.
"Alright..." she murmured to herself, adjusting the protective goggles on her forehead. "If I were a grumpy, hungry Whispering Death kicked off the surface... where would I be?"
The cave opened into wide tunnels, with deep marks along the walls and floor. Long grooves, spikes embedded in the rock, freshly turned earth.
Helga smiled. "Yeah... You definitely came through here."
She pushed the basket a few steps forward and took two steps back, sitting down on a rock.
"I didn't come to fight. Or to hunt you. Just... talk. Maybe make a deal?" Helga glanced around.
Silence answered.
Helga frowned, confused, when she felt a warm wind pass behind her. A heavy wind. The smell of earth and fire filled her nose. A gigantic shadow was cast on the wall in front of her.
A deep sound echoed through the cave—a low growl. Helga slowly closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and forced a nervous smile.
"Hi..." she said without turning around. "I brought food."
Behind her, glowing eyes opened in the darkness.