Author's Note: Hello, hello, everyone and welcome back to another chapter of "Sleepless Nights on Dragon's Edge!" =D I don't really have much to say this time 'round, so I hope you guys enjoy chapter seven! =D (I can't believe this story is already almost done...I'm going to need a pillow to scream in X)).

Chapter Seven: Oncoming Danger

The Dragon Hunters just had to pick that day to attack, did they?

Hiccup's brow furrowed as he watched the ships below sail closer and closer to Dragon's Edge. He grunted and shook his head. No one was on patrol that night since the Dragon Riders were busy tending to Midnight. The Dragon Hunters had a window of opportunity, and they took it. Hiccup felt like slapping himself.

Astrid flew by Hiccup's side, her own expression reflecting worry when she noticed how anxious Hiccup appeared to be. "Hiccup, it's okay," she said in an attempt to calm him down. Hiccup's tight posture loosened, and Astrid continued. "We can drive these guys away in no time. Besides, they have no idea about Midnight and her eggs."

"I know," said Hiccup. "But if there are ships here, there has to be Hunters lurking around in the forests too. That's just how they work."

Astrid nodded, and the two flew back to the cave where the other Dragon Riders and Midnight were waiting. When they arrived, they found the Riders tending to both Midnight and her eggs. It seemed like Fishlegs had gone out and brought back some more wood and leaves to make the nest more comfortable, and Meatlug even lined it with some of her molten lava, which acted like a heater for the eggs. Snotlout examined Midnight's leg and discovered that it had stopped blending, and the twins were ready to head out for another roll of gauze, since the one that was wrapped around Midnight's leg needed to be changed out.

Hiccup and Astrid walked in, their dragons following behind them. Everyone in the room perked at the sight of them.

"So? What did you find?" asked Snotlout.

"Was somebody using the Thunder Ear? I told you that Ruff and I don't mess with it!" said Tuffnut.

Hiccup shook his head. "No, no one was at the Thunder Ear…" The young viking's face grew serious. "It's the Dragon Hunters. They have a small fleet of ships heading this way armed with weapons, so we need to act fast."

Midnight turned around and growled. Using her large, colorful tail she pulled her eggs closer to her. Hiccup chewed his lower lip; the Dreamcatcher still didn't want to move her eggs.

Thor why does this dragon have to be so stubborn… thought Hiccup. He turned back to the others. "We need to move Midnight and her eggs before the Dragon Hunters find them."

"Why all the fuss?" Snotlout asked impudently. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot. "We're hidden away in a cave with several tunnels…Heck, the Dragon Hunters don't even know where we are."

"Still, we don't want to risk anything," Hiccup said firmly. "Several times when the Dragon Hunters attacked, they sent men onto land to scout the area to either find one of us or capture some dragons. If we leave Midnight here, we risk the Dragon Hunters finding her and her eggs. And only Odin knows what Viggo and Ryker would do with a dragon that can not only eat dreams and nightmares, but start them too."

The Dragon Riders let that sink in, and they quickly realized that Hiccup was right. "Then, what are we going to do?" asked Fishlegs anxiously. "Midnight doesn't have anywhere else to go, and Freezing to Death is about a day's flight from here!"

Hiccup began to pace, which he usually did when he was deep in thought. He forced his brain to think of a plan that would not only allow Midnight and her eggs to get away safely, but make sure that the Edge was safe too. Hiccup's prosthetic clicked repeatedly against the stone ground as he walked back and forth. Hiccup turned to Midnight, who was staring at him with her round, amber eyes. The Dreamcatcher let out a low warble; she was still unsure about moving. Not only that, but her leg was still healing. She wasn't one-hundred percent healed, and she wouldn't be able to carry her eggs all the way to the Edge by herself…

Hiccup felt a hand being placed on his shoulder, and he turned to face Astrid, who was standing at his side. She nodded at him, a small smile on her face, giving the young viking silent encouragement. Hiccup smiled back, and he turned back to Midnight. A plan had grounded itself in his head, and Hiccup nodded with newfound courage.

"Ruff, Tuff, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Astrid…You guys are going to stay here and defend the Edge," Hiccup directed. He beckoned for Toothless to join him at his side, and the Night Fury walked up to him. Hiccup placed a hand on Toothless' scaly forehead and said determinedly, "I'm going to get Midnight and her eggs off of this island."

There was a brief bout of shocked silence, and Snotlout—with his usual snarkiness—was the first to break it.

"Uh…are you nuts?" Snotlout exclaimed. "She can't walk!"

Midnight growled at Snotlout, and he gulped. The Jorgenson stepped a good foot away from the Dreamcatcher and placed himself next to Hookfang. The Monstrous Nightmare snorted in amusement.

"I know, I know," said Hiccup. "But with you guys attacking at the front, the Dragon Hunters will focus their fire on you. And if Toothless and I run into any out in the forest, then we'll just have to take care of them."

Toothless rumbled in agreement, and Astrid nodded.

"It is a pretty sound plan," she remarked. The blonde turned to Hiccup, her blue eyes glittering with worry. "But it's also dangerous. Are you sure you can handle it?"

Hiccup nodded. "I'm sure. Besides, you guys will be drawing the Hunter's attention away from the other side of the island, which is where Midnight, Toothless, the eggs, and I will be headed."

Astrid sighed and she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Hiccup was taking a huge risk putting himself out in the open; he would be completely and utterly exposed with no one but Toothless and Midnight to help defend the eggs. But there really was no other option…And Astrid was confident that things would see through.

"Alright," said Astrid. Hiccup smiled. "I guess we'll do it." She turned to the other Dragon Riders. "Everyone get ready. We need to launch our attack before the Hunters reach land."

Everyone went into action. The Dragon Riders got their dragons ready, and Hiccup helped Midnight collect her eggs. At first, the Dreamcatcher was still hesitant, but with a little convincing from Hiccup, she soon complied and allowed the young viking to place her eggs in his saddlebag. They were rather small, so they fit nicely. Hiccup strapped the bag onto Toothless' saddle and made sure it was nice and secure so it wouldn't fall off. They would be walking most of the way, but when they resorted to flying, the eggs would need to be kept safe in the bag.

The other Dragon Riders prepped their dragons for the upcoming battle. There was still some leftover fish, so the Riders gave each of their dragons and themselves a small serving for the extra energy. No one had slept that night, but with the food that was given, the Dragon Riders and their dragons felt ready to take on the Dragon Hunters.

Astrid reviewed the battle plan with the others while Hiccup prepared to venture out on his own. A part of him didn't want to leave his friends behind, but he squashed down his nerves like a viking squashed a bug and tightened one last belt on Toothless' saddle before going to examine Midnight's leg. She was able to stand on it with a little bit of strain, and walking didn't seem to be an issue either. She limped slightly, and Hiccup could tell that she was holding back as much pain as she could, but the Dreamcatcher managed to move around just fine. Perhaps it was the pressing situation that motivated her to walk.

Soon, everyone was set and ready to go their separate ways. Even though the Dragon Riders knew that they would see each other soon, the goodbyes were still hard to give. Astrid met up with Hiccup at the mouth of the cave before flying off with the others.

"Be careful out there, okay?" said Astrid. "I don't want you to come back half dead."

Hiccup laughed lightly. "I'll be careful, I promise." And with that, Hiccup leaned in and gave Astrid an affectionate kiss. Astrid brushed Hiccup's bangs out of his eyes; a habit that she knew would never cease, and squeezed his shoulder.

"Good luck, Dragon Boy," Astrid said. Then, she was off with the other Dragon Riders, headed toward the battle taking place on Dragon's Edge. Hiccup waved until they were out of sight.

Toothless crooned at Hiccup's side, and Hiccup looked over to see Midnight emerging from the cave. She squinted in the sunlight, but kept her body hidden in the stretching shadows from the trees surrounding them. Hiccup nodded.

"While this probably would've been better to do at night, we don't have much time," said Hiccup. He drew in a breath.

"Let's do this."

…

Astrid and the Dragon Riders had come in with bang. Quite literally in fact.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut were the first ones to launch a blow on the ships below, and it was that very explosion that triggered the entire battle. The Dragon Hunters—as predicted—had filled their ships with every weapon imaginable. Swords, maces, axes, and several bows were available on every inch of the ship. Dragon root soaked arrows poked out of barrels and baskets there were lined near the rims of the ships. The Hunters swarmed the decks like flies, and they aimed and fired at the Dragon Riders the first chance they got. Thankfully, they hadn't yet reached land, which gave Astrid and the others the upper advantage of sinking the ships.

"Stormfly, fire!" Astrid commanded. The Deadly Nadder obeyed immediately, and she fired a colorful blast of fire down at the ships. Wood burned and peeled away instantly, and two ships began to sink.

Snotlout and Hookfang burned away several of the boats. Hookfang was not only able to launch large blasts of fire, but he could set himself on fire. He perched on some of the masts just briefly, setting them alight. The burning trails of fire skittered down the masts and ate away the shields, and the two would finish the job by sending a blast of fire down at the center of the ship. With this tactic, Snotlout and Hookfang sank several ships.

When fire blasts weren't enough, Fishlegs and Meatlug would finish things off by sending a blast of burning, hot magma to create large holes in the ships. The molten lava bore through the wood as if it was paper, and the large boats sank into the ocean, never to be sailed again.

The twins were having the time of their lives as they flew amongst the chaos of the battle, gassing and sparking any ship that came into view. The Dragon Hunters didn't have time to process their next move for Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Barf and Belch were always upon them before they had the chance to think. Large clouds of billowing, green gas filled the air, and even the tiniest sparks caused an explosion so huge, that Astrid was sure that Hiccup would be able to hear it from the other side of the island.

Astrid told Stormfly to fire at another ship, and she smiled when she realized that she and the Riders were winning. They currently had the lead in this battle!

There was no sign of Viggo or Ryker (thank Thor), so Astrid and the other Dragon Riders simply fired and attacked, dragons blazing as they usually did, without any worry of the Grmborn brothers having a second plan up their sleeves. Regardless, Astrid still hoped that Hiccup would be extra careful in the woods. The Dragon Hunters were like vicious predators, and the scariest part was that no one ever knew when they would strike next.

…

Other than the sounds of battle from the distance, it was quiet. Too quiet.

Hiccup, Midnight, and Toothless were trudging through the forest. All of them were on high alert, and they could faintly hear and feel the battle that was taking place on Dragon's Edge The ground shook with every explosion that sounded in the distance. Midnight's feathers stood on end, and Toothless teeth were bared and his ears were straight up. Hiccup could feel the tension poking at each of them like a sharp needle, but he still led his dragon friends through the woods, keeping a close eye on the glimmering dragon eggs, which were tucked away in the saddlebag.

No one had discovered when the Dreamcatcher eggs were due to hatch, so Hiccup deeply hoped that the eggs would stay…well, eggs until he and Toothless were able to bring them to safety. Hiccup's plan was to bring Midnight and her eggs to a nearby island that he knew of. It had multiple caves that Midnight could rest in, and the young viking hadn't seen any other dragons roaming there either. Once the eggs hatched, Midnight would be able to care for them and take them on the long flight back to Freezing to Death when the baby dragons were ready to fly.

Hiccup and the dragons continued to trek through the woods, keeping a close eye out for any Dragon Hunters in the process. There had been no sign of the Dragon Hunters since they had left the cave, and Hiccup didn't know whether to feel relieved or suspicious. Perhaps the Hunters didn't send any men in the woods. Or perhaps they did, and they were waiting for the right moment to strike…

The atmosphere seemed tighter than before.

Hiccup didn't bring a weapon with him, so if he and the dragons found themselves in trouble, he would do more of the dodging than defending. Hiccup sighed, profoundly hoping that he, Toothless, Midnight, and the eggs wouldn't run into any trouble—

Crack.

Hiccup, Toothless, and Midnight stopped in their tracks. The Dreamcatcher growled, the Night Fury's eyes narrowed, and Hiccup tensed. Someone was watching them.

Or…some people.

Out from the bushes came the Dragon Hunters. There weren't many, but they were still armed with dragon root arrows, swords, and maces. Hiccup, Midnight, and Toothless circled together, looking around at their enemies that surrounded them. Hiccup leapt onto Toothless and gripped the saddle, and he sent a quick glance toward the eggs that were still inside of the saddlebag beside him. Hiccup drew in a breath and he leaned toward Toothless' ear.

"Show 'em what you got, Bud," he whispered.

Toothless let out a mighty roar and then, he attacked. Midnight followed close behind.

Author's Note: Annnnnnd, the battle's officially begun! =D Ah, I can't wait to find out what happens next...

...Oh, wait. I do know what happens next...but I ain't going to spoil anything. X) I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you in the next one! =D

(And don't forget to vote on my poll, pretty please! =D This story is almost over, meaning that the poll will be closing soon. Vote while ya still have the chance! =D)

Until the next chapter!

~BeyondTheMoon1203