Nightmare!

He soared through the air, black scales on black night sky, nearly invisible to the tiny two-legged angry beasts below, with their sharp blades and deadly rocks they hurled. He didn't really want to be here. Neither did the others of his kind, swooping in and grabbing food to be carried off to the Mountain. But they had to be here, or it would all end very badly. He had a duty and like it or not he had to be about it.

Turning in the air at break-neck speed, he began his attack run, still unseen. His wings screamed through the air, causing the two-legs to scream in response. Two words that sent them scattering. Two words that he understood to be a name given to him.

Night Fury!

He used those shouted words as his signal. He unleashed his bright blue fireballs at the wooden thing that throws rocks, obliterating it, and then changed course to do the same thing to the next one. The two-legs would rebuild them. But he was determined to use his superior speed and fire-breathing abilities to defend his friends, so their harvest could be completed with fewer wounds inflicted. He was very precise as he turned the next wooden thing that throws rocks into splinters. None of the two-legs were killed, and any cuts or bruises they might have gained would come from them throwing themselves to the ground or falling into things. He would do what he could to destroy the things the two-legs used to hurt his friends...

...He began to remember...

He was not a murderer, though he had killed two-legs before. They were hurting his friend and needed to be stopped. He had tried to warn them off, but his appearance at her side seemed to only infuriate the two-legs even more, if that were possible. They threw a sharp stick and it stuck in Graycloud's throat. Her scream faded into a frightened squeak. The two-legs laughed and pointed. Blood poured from the wound in her throat. She squealed again, unable to stand. He loved her. He was about to lose her. Anger welled up and as the two-legs began to charge at him with the metal teeth they held in their hands, he snarled at them and burned them to ash with his whitefire.

He retracted his teeth and pulled the sharp stick free from Graycloud's throat. The blood was coming slower now. Her breathing ragged. They looked at each other.

"I'll kill them all for this," He had said to her.

"No," she told him. "I did this. I went after one of their young... As a distraction... A skinny thing... They came to its defense... I should have known better... Don't blame them... Forgive them... We should be sorry for what we do... Maybe... One day... They will say they are sorry... For what they do... Hope for it... For me..."

She had fought to get those words out, and then her breathing stopped, the blood stopped. Greycloud, the one he loved, was gone. But he would honor her plea. For her sake he would not take revenge. She was right. If it was not for the thing that made them do what they had to do, none of this would have happened. He hated what the two-legs did to his dear friend. But he hated the thing that made them do all of this even more. It is what really needed killing. But after this day he would do what he could to destroy the things the two-legs used to hurt his friends...

Something snapped him back to the here-and-now. Something wasn't right. He thought he heard a distant SNAP! And he had a sense of... something... coming towards him in the sky... Coming fast! He tried to change course, but it was too late. The thing, metal balls tied together with ropes, struck him in the side and wrapped around him. He had seen things like this, thrown by the two-legs. But no two-leg was strong enough to throw one this high into the air, across that much distance at that speed. But that mystery didn't matter. He was going down, his wings unable to extend or flap. The forest was rushing up to meet him. There were few things that scared him, but this experience of total loss of control terrified him.

The Trees! They reached up like sharp claws. And they felt like them as well. His tail caught in the top of a particularly gnarled tree, and a pain like he had never felt ripped through him. He was rolled over and over before colliding with another tree, which bent under his weight, bringing him to the ground. He slid in the cold earth, cutting a deep crevice. He was slowing, but not fast enough. He hit a small rise which threw him into the air again, and he struck the ground again and was rolled over and over again, finally coming to rest on his back.

He lay there panting in shock from the ordeal, and from the pain. Every inch of his body hurt. Miraculously, he didn't think he had broken any bones. Except for the thin ones in his left tail fin, which were not just broken, but gone, like the fin itself.

"My tail!" he roared as he began to thrash about. He couldn't stay on his back. Even as strong and deadly as he was, he would have less of a chance of survival if he stayed in such a vulnerable position. It took great effort, but he managed to turn over onto his side. But the metal balls tied together with ropes had tightened their grip further, and he could no longer move.

It was no use. He could not free himself. He hurt too much. He was too tired. He knew it would only be a matter of time before one of the two-legs found him and killed him. Only a matter of time before it was over. Only a matter of time before he and Graycloud would fly together once more. With that thought, he surrendered to exhaustion and let darkness wrap him in her sweet, gentle embrace...

He opened his eyes at the sound of a sweet voice calling his name, A voice he had been longing to hear. Graycloud's voice. He opened his eyes, and there she was, standing before him, looking more vital than he had ever remembered. More beautiful than he could have imagined.

"This is not the end, my love," she said, stretching her wings out triumphantly. "This is a new beginning for you, though you face difficult times."

He became aware that he was still bound.

"Even now, in this seemingly dark deed, The Creator of All has a great plan. Even now a Chosen One draws near. You must remember my words when we were parted. Remember. Keep them in your heart, and a glorious future awaits. Hope for it... For me..."

Graycloud reached forward with her right front paw and placed it on his shoulder. He closed his eyes. When he opened them, she was gone. But he still felt something pressing against his shoulder. And he heard the unmistakable noise of two-leg speech. The words didn't make much sense on their own, but there was something basic and understandable in the tone and even the mind of the speaker. It was talking about something fixing everything. Then it was going on about bringing down a mighty beast.

He tried to stand, but his bonds were too tight, so the best he could do was shift. The two-leg leaped back holding a tiny metal tooth in his hand. But it was shaking with fear.

That's right, little one, he thought. Be very afraid!

He fixed the two-leg with a piercing stare. The truth was he was afraid, too. Earlier he was ready to give up, but his beloved Graycloud had come to him in what was clearly a dream. And she told him about a great and glorious future. Hope was rekindled, only to be facing a two-leg with a metal tooth, and unable to do anything about it. All he could do was stare into eyes filled with terror.

The two-leg stepped forward again, and raised its metal tooth above its head and spoke again. Something about killing him and taking his heart to its father. That it was a Viking. There was determination as well as fear in the two-leg's eyes. And now he, the magnificent creature the two-legs called a Night Fury succumbed to terror. Not now... Not like this. Please Please not like this.

The two-leg faltered, staring into his eye. Was that pitty he saw in its eyes now? Sadness mixed with fear. Dare he hope for mercy from this skinny thing?

This skinny young two-leg... Was this the young thing that Graycloud went after before her death?

The determination in the two-leg's eyes was back, and it raised its metal tooth again, ready to plunge it into his heart. No... There was no hope. He was going to die. He closed his eyes, moaned and let his head sink to the ground, surrendering to the inevitable...

"I did this..."

He heard the words from the two-leg, and understood their meaning. Graycloud had spoken them as well to convince him that he should forgive the two-legs. Then he became aware of the two-leg's metal tooth biting not into his flesh, but into the bonds that held him. He felt them loosen. Felt them fall away from his legs and wings...

The tension of the moment had him running on pure adrenaline. As soon as he was free, instinct took over and he was on top of the two-leg in the blink of an eye, penning it against a boulder with his paw on its throat, staring angrily into its eyes. Eyes that seemed to scream "Not now... Not like this..."

"Hope for it... For me"

Graycloud's words seemed to echo in his mind...

NO! he roard into the two-leg's face. Then he lunged forward, and with a snap of his jaw, took the terrified two-leg's head off, blood gushing from its neck...

...And he jerked awake in the familiar darkness of the room he shared with Hiccup, his two-legged friend who had spared his life. His friend who was now sleeping peacefully in his bed. Toothless panted for a moment, the memory of his nightmare still fresh. Then he hopped over to the bedside and looked down at Hiccup to make sure he was okay. He laid his head down on the bed and crooned to the boy, who slowly opened his eyes.

"Hey, buddy," Said Hiccup in his usual gentle way. "Can't sleep?"

Toothless cocked his head to the side. He never understood this two-leg obsession with asking questions that were obviously self explanatory. But he was beginning to accept it.

Hiccup sat up, took his helmet off the bedpost and put it on...

"That's alright, buddy," Hiccup said, reaching over to pat his Night Fury friend on the nose. "I can't really sleep tonight, either."

Hiccup got up and walked over to the table and picked up Toothless' saddle.

"What do you think, bud?" He asked... "The stars are out. The moon is full. Let's fly..."

A few moments later, Dragon and Viking had taken to the air, soaring over Berk and looking down on the houses where the people slept in their beds, and their dragon friends slept nearby, at peace with each other and the world around them, with no fear and plenty of hope.

This was the future that Graycloud spoke of in the dream Toothless had the day he met Hiccup.

And it was, indeed, glorious...

I had this idea about Toothless dreaming that he kills Hiccup. I'm sure anyone who reads this has at some point had a dream where everything is going along relatively fine, and then some random thing happens that causes you to wake up in a cold sweat, praying that it wasn't true, and then sighing with relief when you realized that your subconscious mind had been playing tricks on you. I once dreamed I did something, I don't recall what, and it inadvertently killed my cat. I jerked awake, horrified, only to realize he was curled up at the end of the bed sleeping peacefully. I hate random dreams like that.

This is intended as a one-shot story. It is also sort of a prequel to my story series, "Jarin and the Riders of Berk". I have no idea where that is going to end up going. I'm just sort of writing it all as I go.

Thanks for reading... God bless...