Chapter One

A/N: I feel like I used alliteration a lot in this chapter... XD But anyway! Welcome to 'Deranged'. This fanfic is *kind of* a sequel to Needlemouth but not really. If you haven't read that one, it's perfectly fine to read this. You won't be confused at all. (Other than the existence of two OCs which only show up in a brief conversation.) Otherwise, you'll be fine. Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a review!

This is Berk. Since our war with the dragons, life here has been pretty peaceful. You know, besides the whole 'endangering our-lives-every-other-day-because-we're vikings' thing... But other than that, yeah! It's been great. Let's just hope it stays that way...

Stoick lays peacefully on his clapboard bed, listening to the sound of voices echoing through the walls of his house. His people are bustling about in the streets, heading home to get a good night's rest. Accompanying them, are the squawks and chirps of their dragon companions. Only a few months ago, those sounds would have disturbed Berk's chief to no end. Dragons and humans together? He used to think that idea was crazy. Of course, Hiccup and Toothless managed to convince him otherwise.

As if on que, he hears a slight thump upstairs from his son's room, accompanied by quiet laughter. What are those two doing at this hour? He can only imagine. Stoick chuckles and rolls over, closing his eyes. Just before he dozes off, he briefly wonders about his own dragon. Is Thornado asleep yet? He'll check on him first thing in the morning, as always.

Hiccup giggles silently at Toothless, his shoulders shaking with the effort of staying quiet. "Keep still, buddy!" He scolds in a light-hearted voice. "I'm trying to draw you." Hiccup looks back down at the page in his notebook. He trails the charcoal pencil in a smooth line, adding another bit of detail to Toothless's wings.

But as soon as that one line is done, the Night Fury moves again. He stands up and bounces over to Hiccup, craning his neck to see what his Rider is doing. The dragon's green eyes are shimmering with curiosity, his pupils wide as he tilts his head.

"Ah, come on." Hiccup grumbles. He stands up and steers his dragon back onto the stone slab in the corner of his room. "Stay." He says, firmly. He backs up and presses his back to the wall, sliding down to the floor and propping his notebook against his knees. "Just a little longer, bud." He assures the dragon.

Toothless drones and bobs his head, his ears perked. He turns his restless gaze to the window just in time to see a few bats fluttering around the roof of the next house. They make small chirping sounds to one another, stretch their wings and then flap away into the darkness. Toothless cocks his head, looking back at his own wings. They're itching to open up and take him on a flight...

"Okay...just about...done..." Hiccup says, catching his dragon's attention once more. His hand feverishly dashes around the paper, scribbling in shades of grey and black to shadow his sketch.

Toothless coos and wiggles slightly. Is it okay if he moves now?

As if he were able to hear the question in his friend's mind, Hiccup looks up and smiles at him. "Yeah, yeah you can move now." He flips the book around so Toothless can see it. "What do you think? Like looking in a mirror, huh?"

Toothless narrows his eyes as he inspects the page. The drawing does look like him... Regardless, he'll never understand why his Rider seems to get so much enjoyment out of drawing him over and over. At this point, the boy's room is littered with drawings of the Night Fury. He shakes his head and licks Hiccup's cheek. Silly human.

"Ughh..." Hiccup reaches up and wipes the dragon drool off his face. "Thanks, bud..." He grumbles, setting down his notebook on top of the bedside table. He pushes himself to his feet, wobbling slightly on his prosthetic leg. "Now, what do you say we get some rest? We've got training in the morning with Astrid and the others."

In response, Toothless whimpers, causing Hiccup to frown in confusion.

"What's the matter, buddy?" He asks, petting the Night Fury's neck. Toothless suddenly gets to his feet and turns around, unintentionally throwing Hiccup off balance. He stumbles but manages to remain on his feet. "Toothless...?" He asks, following his gaze to the open window.

A slight breeze blows inside, rattling the window's loose frame and gushing crisp, winter air into the boy's room. It carries the smell of snow and wet earth, the trademark scents of Berk. But beside that, Hiccup notices something else. Something that makes him bite his lip against the conflicted feelings that spring up inside him. It's a beautiful night. Not too cold, not too windy, not a cloud in sight... A perfect night to go flying...

Oh, now I get it. Hiccup looks down at his dragon, understanding why Toothless had been so restless before. Except now, the Rider is feeling the ache too. They're both hungry to be soaring through that dark sky, feeling its cool breath on their skin... "But...we have training early tomorrow...Astrid will kill us if we sleep in again..." He argues, weakly.

Toothless coos and goes around behind Hiccup, nudging him toward the window. Evidently, Toothless doesn't care if this causes their lives to be in potential danger at the hand of one, angry viking girl. He wants to go flying. And he knows Hiccup wants it too.

The teen sighs and combs his fingers through his hair. "You're a bad influence, you know that?" But even as he says this, he's digging under his bed for their riding gear...

They pause at the top of the stairs. Hiccup steals a look at Toothless, lifting a finger to his lips. With that, he gingerly lifts his foot and lowers it down onto the top step, grimacing at the squeak that follows. Instantly, he drops to his knees and peers around the corner of the staircase. Surely enough, Stoick is fast asleep on the bed in the next room. The door is open and Hiccup can see his father tossing and turning in his sleep.

Phew. He lifts his hand and motions for Toothless to follow him. Hiccup creeps down a few more steps, silently cursing them every time they make a sound. Toothless is tense as well, his eyes are hard as stone while he focuses on being as quiet as possible.

A few seconds later, they both reach the bottom of the staircase. Hiccup slinks toward the door, slowly pulling it open. Once its wide enough for him to squeeze through, he sidesteps through the crack and pushes it the rest of the way open for Toothless, who follows him without hesitation. Another moment of suspense later, Hiccup closes the door and pauses, waiting to see if his father will have woken up.

Nothing.

He smirks at Toothless and expertly hops into the saddle, clicking his metal leg into the pedals and buckling himself in. He pats the dragon's side and whispers, "Let's go, bud."

From the shadows behind the Haddock house, a pair of dark eyes watch Hiccup and Toothless disappear into the sky. Their owner glares daggers at them, absently running his thumb across the sharp blade of a knife. Once he's sure they've gone and won't return for quite some time, he turns his attention to the window above him. With a sadistic little grin, he shakes his head.

"Oh, Hiccup...when are you ever going to learn...?"

Silver stars shimmer against the midnight sky, looking like glitter on black satin. The ivory moon is nearly full, illuminating the island of Berk in alabaster light and reflecting off the dark water below. A dash of dusty frost has settled over the forests, making the pine needles glimmer as well. A gentle breeze whispers through the forest, tussling branches and sprinkling snow onto the ground. Other than those slight movements, all is still. Somewhere in the distance, the sound of a snow bird trilling echos into the night.

Hiccup smiles down over his home, suddenly glad he went out tonight. It really is a beautiful night... He breathes in a lungful of icy air and shivers, closing his heavy eyelids. With a gentle pat on Toothless's side, he says, "We should get home, Toothless."

The Night Fury looks back at him, noticing the tired expression on his Rider's face, the way he's slumped further into the saddle than usual. Toothless purrs in agreeance and fans his wings open a little further, baking to the right. He feels a slight nudge on the foot pedal and his tail fin snaps open, allowing him to turn around. When he does, a big yawn escapes his throat as well. He hadn't even felt his tiredness until now.

Hiccup chuckles at the sight of Toothless yawning. "Maybe we overdid it, huh?" He asks, scratching the dragon's ear. "Yeah, Astrid is definitely gonna kill us..."

Toothless coos and lazily flaps his massive wings.

"I don't know about you, bud," Hiccup begins in an almost dreamy voice. "But I'm gonna miss being able to fly at night once it gets colder..." His green eyes admire the lovely scenery around him and he finds himself sighing. "Knowing how cold it gets on Berk, we'd both end up with frost bite or hypothermia...or both." He suddenly begins to giggle as a thought occurs to him. "I wonder what a dragon with cabin-fever is like...?"

Toothless offers him a confused look but Hiccup doesn't seem to notice. Suddenly, his eyes are locked on something far below them. He quickly presses down on the foot pedal, forcing Toothless to slow down. Moments ago, they reached the edge of the village and now Hiccup's brow is furrowed in thought.

"Who is that...?" He wonders, eyeing a shadowed figure as they sprint across the town square. "Why would anyone be up at this time of night...and running across town...?"

Toothless's ears fold back, a snarl rumbling through him.

"Toothless?" Hiccup asks, noting the anger on his dragon's face. "What's the matter, bu-uuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-!" He screams as Toothless suddenly whips around-taking advantage of Hiccup's pressure on the foot pedal-and rocketing in the opposite direction. "Stop! Stop!" He shouts, trying to regain control. But Toothless continues flapping his wings like mad, seeming desperate to get home and away from whoever that is.

In a matter of seconds, the Night Fury has them back at the Haddock house. He dives toward the ground, landing with ease. Hiccup, who's heart is still thundering in his chest from the terror of flying at a Night Fury's top speed, gasps for air as he slides off the saddle. He stumbles a few feet away from his dragon, struggling to catch his breath.

Toothless continues to glare into the dark, growling furiously. He dances back and forth, his eyes scanning their surroundings. He backs up until he reaches Hiccup, wrapping his tail around his Rider's body.

"Toothless...!" Hiccup gasps. "What's the matter with you?!"

The dragon roars at nothing and skitters closer to Hiccup. The young viking quickly hushes him and turns around, positive that his father must have heard that. But no lights come on in the windows, no one looks out the door to see what all the commotion is. Hiccup sighs in relief and grabs the lead on Toothless's saddle.

"Come on! Let's get inside before anyone notices us."

Toothless seems more than happy to get his Rider back inside the safety of his home. In fact, he bites down on the collar of Hiccup's tunic and drags him to the door, cooing against the boy's neck as if to hurry him. Once they get there, Hiccup struggles out of his grip.

He opens the door and hisses, "What's gotten into you?" The two enter their house, carefully shutting the door behind them. As soon as they're safely inside, Toothless calms down. He purrs and heads for the stairs, not even waiting for Hiccup to follow him. Said boy is standing by the front door, a bewildered expression on his freckled face. What was that all about?! He wonders. And who was that person we saw...?