Okay, so this is my first Dragon story. I'm pretty nervous jumping fantoms like this, since the last time I did it didn't go so well. But I have faith in this story-and more to come (whether you like it or not)!

Anyway, I don't really have a specific time spot to put this in, but a few elements put in here, as I reread it myself, suggest that it takes place some time in the cartoon series. So, let's give this a try. And even if you don't like it, who cares; it's here to stay.

Chapter 1: Strange Sounds

It was an unusually warm, cloudless night on the isle of Berk. Fifteen-year-old Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was sketching a drawing of his best friends and dragon, Toothless. The marvelous Night Fury slept peacefully on the bed that was provided for him. These were the moments that Hiccup found it easiest to sketch his friend, without the dragon moving or squirming around too much.

Just as the teenager looked down at his sketch to check and make sure that his proportions were correct, he heard a soft growl come from the black scaled creature before him. Hiccup looked up to see that Toothless' eyelids, nostrils, claws and tail tip were twitching, indicating that the Night Fury was dreaming. The redheaded teenager chuckled and shook his head. He could not stop himself from wondering what the dragon dreamt about.

Satisfied with his sketch, Hiccup decided that it was time for him to catch up to Toothless and get some sleep as well. He was about to climb into bed when a distant roar could be heard. It was so loud that it completely woke Toothless out of his deep sleep. Hiccup was too busy looking out the window to notice that Toothless had woken up until the black dragon stepped in front of him to look out the window as well, which startled the young Viking.

"Toothless? Are you okay?"

The dragon did not answer. He just continued to stare out of the window. Hiccup noticed that his dragon's expression began to damper as his staring continued. It was almost as if Toothless was in a trance and was afraid to break out of it. This worried the teenager.

"Toothless?"

Hiccup put his hand on Toothless' head, causing the dragon to flinch. This reaction was very strange for the normally brave beast.

Toothless was not a jumpy dragon at all. So the sudden change in his dragon's persona startled Hiccup to no end. He decided to try again.

"Are you okay, Bud?"

The black dragon took one last look out the window before giving Hiccup a soft lick on the cheek, his way of telling the boy not to worry. Toothless then went back to his bed and closed his eyes, trying to get back to sleep.

However Hiccup was not easily fooled; he could clearly see that Toothless was nowhere near as relaxed as he had been just moments prior. But he did pick up on his friend's message. Even though Toothless pretended that there was nothing on his mind, the human part of the duo could not help but worry. He had never seen Toothless act the way he had that night.

The next morning was just as strange. Toothless was eager to get going. So much so that Hiccup was actually forced to pack their breakfast and take it with them. However the dragon did not seem to want his portion.

It was typical for Hiccup and Toothless to arrive early to the academy in order to get things set up for the day, but they arrived even earlier than usual that particular day—due to Toothless' obvious anxiousness. As soon as they landed, and Hiccup was safely on the ground, Toothless began pacing as if he were waiting for something to happen. Hiccup could not take it anymore. The Night Fury's nervousness was rubbing off on the boy and it was beginning to annoy him.

"Toothless, c'mon and eat with me, Bud." Hiccup hoped that the invitation to eat would calm the dragon's nerves. The whole thing probably would not have been so bad if Hiccup had any clue as to why the dragon was so nervous in the first place.

Time passed and the redheaded teen noticed that Toothless as still pacing around the academy entrance. He let out an exasperated grunt.

"Bud, please let me know what's got you so on edge…"

Once again Hiccup's words were ignored. Sighing, he gave up trying to calm the black beast down. The others would be there soon and Hiccup still needed to get the academy set up for the day's lessons. So he decided to leave some fish out on a plate for his friend, just in case Toothless felt like coming to his senses to eat.

One by one the teenagers of Berk arrived at the academy. The first to arrive (much to Hiccup's dismay) was Snotlout. Of course the first thing out of his mouth was how superior he was to Hiccup, or some other kind of vain remark of some sort; Hiccup was not paying attention. However it was the other boy's dragon, a Monstrous Nightmare named Hookfang*, that really got Hiccup's attention.

It was well known throughout the gang that Hookfang and Toothless did not get along very well. Hookfang was a bit of a sore loser and hated that Toothless, though smaller in stature, was stronger and faster than him. It was a hard pill for the Monstrous Nightmare to swallow. However it was also known that the two respected each other on some levels; but every once in a while one would do something that would irk the other, causing a fight between the two. Hiccup swore that this was how the two dragons got their kicks.

Hookfang took it upon himself to rudely eat the fish that was left out on a plate earlier for Toothless. Hiccup saw this and instantly became annoyed. He was not in the mood for the two dragons to get into it today.

"Hookfang! That was for Toothless!" He turned to Snotlout, expecting the other teen to scald his dragon. The bigger boy just shrugged.

"Hey, finders keepers."

Hiccup groaned in annoyance. He was afraid that his black dragon was now going to challenge the larger orange dragon to a fight. He secretly thought that that was Hookfang's goal. He could see a smirk on Snotlout's face. He was looking forward to some kind of entertainment.

Both teenagers expected Toothless to attack at some point, as is the norm, but it never came. All three (Hookfang included) were startled by the lack of struggle. Three heads turned to find that Toothless was too lost in his own thoughts to pay Hookfang's efforts any mind. He seemed to be staring at the sky.

Snotlout rudely elbowed Hiccup's arm, which the smaller boy was forced to rub. "What's with your dragon?"

Hiccup shrugged. "I don't know; he's been acting strange all morning." Worry was really starting to eat at him.

Midday came around and the teens were showing off their battle skills. Astrid's Deadly Nadder, Stormfly faced off against Fishlegs' Gronkle, Meatlug. Hiccup decided to sit this one out, just in case Toothless was coming down with something. He settled for sitting and drawing in his sketchbook.

"Stormfly, shoot!" Astrid yelled from atop the bright blue dragon as she ducked so as not to get impaled by her dragon's special attack.

At the sound of Astrid's voice Stormfly shot her tail into the air and fired eight spikes out of it. Fishlegs shrieked like a girl.

"Meatlug!" Fear was in his voice, fearing for his dragon's safety.

The botchy brown dragon dodged the spikes and tackled Stormfly to the ground. The bird-like dragon seemed to think that this was a bit unfair. She began growling and hissing, which was reciprocated by the other dragon. Astrid tried to step between them.

"Girls, take it easy!"

Meatlug accidently sat a few embers at the blonde, which Stormfly reacted to. She spread her wings and screeched as if she was about ready to pounce. Hiccup and Fishlegs tried to get the two to calm down. Normally it was Toothless that settled the fight between the dragons, but he was too preoccupied at the moment. Once the two female dragons were calmed, peace returned to the academy.

"Okay, I think we're good for the day." Hiccup said. "I'll—"

"Hiccup!" A different voice called.

All of the teenagers looked up to see Stoic the Vast and Gobber walking into the arena. Gobber was carrying a basket over the shoulder of his good arm. Stoic had an annoyed look across his face.

"Dad, Gobber … what are you guys doing here?" The redhead asked a little unnerved by the unannounced visit to the academy. It was usually never a good sign. Most commonly it meant that Hiccup was going to get blamed for something.

"Do you know anything about a dragon fight?"

Hiccup raised a brow.

"No, what dragon fight?"

Stoic was about to answer when Gobber beat him to it.

"A Nadder standing outside the storage shed was attacked trying to defend it. It looked like it nearly lost its life." There was a bit of a tremble in the man's voice.

This story made Astrid unconsciously grab at Stormfly out of protectiveness. She was sensitive to anything that had to do with Nadders.

Hiccup was still confused. And frankly a little offended that his father would think that he would allow such a thing to happen. "Why would I know anything about that?" His voice held obvious annoyance.

"Because there were Night Fury prints all over the scene." Stoic answered.

Hiccup gasped and quickly looked over at Toothless, who was still pacing around the entrance. There was absolutely no way Toothless would attack another dragon … unless he was attacked first. Still, Hiccup refused to believe that his dragon would attack with no reason.

"No, it couldn't be Toothless—he wouldn't cause havoc and he's always with me."

If the black dragon had not been so antsy at the time Hiccup would have gone over to him to make his point. He heard his father sigh.

"I do' want to believe it either, Son … but Toothless is the only Night Fury around. It's the only explanation."

"No it's can't—"

Hiccup was suddenly cut off by a loud but distant roar. Everyone else, including the dragons, heard it and became silent as well. It happened again. All eyes looked off into the direction in which it was coming from.

"What in Thor's name is that?" Gobber whispered as another roar sounded.

Toothless focused very hard on the sound. He had not been very sure when he had heard it the previous night, but now he was certain that those roars were familiar. That last particular roar filled him with excitement and fear. The dragon knew that he had to answer that call; it was for him. Toothless took one last look at the humans, who all seemed to be entranced by the sounds, before suddenly dashing toward the academy entrance.

The black blur that passed through his vision seemed to wake Hiccup out of his trance. "Toothless?" He was able to see said dragon pause for a second then sprint out of the academy. "Toothless wait!" This yell regained the other humans' attentions.

Hiccup was intent on following his dragon, who turned and growled at him. This aggressive action made the redheaded teenager flinch, but was not enough to stop him. "Bud, what's going on?"

The Night Fury had a look in his eye that was filled with so many emotions. The ones that Hiccup could clearly see were anxiety, excitement and, the most dominant, fear. Toothless roared at both Hookfang and Stormfly, seeming to tell them to do something. He then ran out of sight.

"Toothless!"

Hiccup made a move to run after his best friend, surly with the other humans following him. However Hookfang and Stormfly both blocked their way. The skinny teenage Viking did not appreciate this

"What are you guys doing? Get out of the way!"

The two dragons growled and stood their ground, not at all intimidated.

"Stormfly, move!" Astrid yelled.

"You too, Hookfang!" Snotlout added.

Neither dragon moved. It was at this time that the two dragons were joined by Meatlug and Barf and Belch, making a reptilian barrier between Toothless' path and the humans. Hiccup was getting irritated at this behavior.

"Would you guys knock it off?! I need to find Toothless!"

The dragons all refused to budge, which was starting to tick Hiccup off. The longer he was kept held up like this, the further away Toothless got without him.

There was a sudden "splish" noise from behind him. Hiccup looked to see that the basket that Gobber had been carrying was now dumped over with fish littered on the ground.

"Oh no, all this fish is now wasted, what every are we going to do?" He practically called out, enunciating every word to show that he was putting on an act (as If it was not clear enough).

Without another thought, the dragons all forgot their task that was apparently given to them by Toothless and rushed over to start eating the exposed fish.

"Thanks, Gobber." Hiccup said. He took this opportunity to dash after his dragon.

Toothless' paws pounded the ground as he ran. He knew that those other (idiot) dragons would not be enough to keep Hiccup distracted for very long. But he figured that if they could buy him enough time, he could get to the beach quickly and his trail would fade to the point where his pet human could not track him down.

Of course Berk was still an island, so it would only be a matter of time before Hiccup and the other (stupid) humans found him; so the Night Fury knew that he had to make this encounter quick. He refused to put Hiccup in danger … just in case HE happened to come to the island looking for him with the rest of them.