Author's Note: Hey guys and welcome back to "Sleepless Nights on Dragon's Edge!" =D I don't really have much to say, so I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! X)
Chapter Eleven: The Fight for Freedom
"Well, it looks like you've found my dragon," said Viggo as he stalked toward Hiccup and Toothless. The two put themselves protectively in front of Midnight so Viggo wouldn't easily get to her. The Dreamcatcher growled, but Hiccup could tell by the way her feathers were twitching that even she was fearful. Hiccup turned back to Viggo, eyes narrowed. His hand clutched his shield tightly.
"Let her go, Viggo," said Hiccup sternly. "This dragon doesn't belong to you."
Viggo smirked. "It doesn't? Well, it is on my ship and my men captured it, so I'm quite sure that it is."
Hiccup frowned. "Midnight doesn't belong to anyone. She's her own dragon, and she lives freely."
"It doesn't seem like that at the moment though, does it?" said Viggo as he took another step forward. Hiccup shifted on his feet and Toothless growled in warning, although Vggo didn't seem at all fazed by the Night Fury's silent threat. Toothless wanted nothing more than to fire a plasma-blast at this cold-hearted man, but he knew that if he did, he would most likely alert the men above deck. Then he, Midnight, and Hiccup would be captured, defeating the entire purpose of the mission.
As Hiccup spoke to Viggo, Toothless fought the urge to blast him with a fireball.
"Midnight is coming with us," Hiccup said determinedly. "You have no right to take her; she hasn't done anything to you!"
"So?" said Viggo. He continued to walk toward Hiccup, and the young viking took a step back. "Dreamcatchers are very rare in the trading business. Their feathers, scales, and gemstones laced around their horns…They can make a fortune." Viggo stepped in front of Hiccup, towering over the boy like a mountain. "But it's people like you who get in the way of that," the Head of the Dragon Hunters spat. "Always coming in and freeing the dragons that we fought to capture."
Hiccup gritted his teeth. "These dragons…They deserve to live freely. You treat them as if they're nothing. Nothing but the thing that's giving you your profits. And if there's anything that I can do to stop that, I'll take my chances."
Viggo stepped back, a too calm expression on his face. "Very well, then. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree."
Hiccup blinked in bemusement. Was Viggo really letting him and the dragons go? That wasn't right…
Too late did he think that when Viggo suddenly pulled out his large sword and charged while Hiccup was distracted. The young viking quickly snapped out of his confusion and whipped out his sword, putting it in between himself and the sword that was coming down on him. Viggo's sword landed with a loud clank against the metal. Despite being able to block the violent attack, Hiccup was nearly pushed to the ground. Viggo growled as he pushed against Hiccup's shield with all of his might, and Hiccup could feel his feet beginning to slip. Hiccup grunted as he pushed against the Grimborn's strength, but he knew that it wouldn't be long until he fell. He needed to find a way out of there.
Toothless roared and he whacked Viggo away with his tail. The man was taken aback, and he stumbled a few feet away from Hiccup and the dragons, dazed for only a brief moment. He glared at Toothless and tightened his grip on his sword, anger flashing in his eyes. Viggo swiped and slashed at Toothless vigorously, but the Night Fury dodged every slice. Toothless fired a plasma blast in Viggo's direction, and he managed to knock the man to his feet. Viggo tumbled to the ground, but he quickly recovered regardless of his hard fall. Once again, he launched an attack on Hiccup, and the young viking blocked and deflected every blow.
Midnight assisted the best she could with her wounded leg. The Dreamcatcher used her large tail feathers to knock Viggo off his feet or block his line of vision. Hiccup rolled out of the way of another sword slash. His head wasn't agreeing with all of the strenuous activity he was doing, and Hiccup did his best to ignore the dizziness that was beginning to overtake him.
Viggo swiped at Hiccup again, but this time, he was too slow to block it. Viggo managed to knock Hiccup's shield out of his hand, and it clattered away across the floor, completely useless now that it was out of its owner's hand. Viggo kicked Hiccup to the ground, and the auburn-haired boy bit back a cry as he collapsed to the hard wooden floor. Toothless screeched and he fired at Viggo, but the man picked up Hiccup's shield and deflected the Night Fury's plasma blast. Toothless was hit by his own plasma blast, and the black dragon fell to the ground, stunned.
Viggo threw the shield to the side and aimed his sword at Hiccup's throat; the tip glistened malevolently as it neared. An expression harder than stone rested on Viggo's face. Hiccup didn't see any way of escape.
"You give me the Dreamcatcher," growled Viggo. "Or you and your dragon will die at my feet."
…
Astrid and the Dragon Riders above were fighting with everything they had. When they destroyed ships, none came to replace them, but the Dragon Hunters were using large catapults, sharper arrows, bigger nets, and thicker chains…It grew more and more difficult to dodge them as the battle wore on. While the Dragon Riders were able to dodge the projectiles that came their way, Astrid knew that they would need to leave soon before their luck ran out.
Hiccup had gone far below the deck of the ships that was farthest from the battle. Astrid had watched with her own two eyes as Hiccup and Toothless battled and fought the Dragon Hunters on deck and made their way down below into the inner depths of the ship. Midnight was most likely down there, but Astrid hadn't seen any sign of the two since then, and she was beginning to grow worried. Did Hiccup and Toothless run into any trouble? Astrid hoped not, especially since the situation was already precarious enough.
Astrid and Stormfly weaved through the ships, blasting and firing at the weak wooden spots that they were able to see on the ships. Since the Dragon Hunters didn't have any more reinforcements around, it was much easier to take down their boats. It was clear who was winning the battle, but even though Astrid and the Dragon Riders had the upper hand, Astrid still wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
The battle continued to go on and the Dragon Riders fought bravely, but there was still no sign of Hiccup. Astrid had had enough of worrying, and decided to venture below deck herself to find Hiccup and Toothless.
"Cover me, okay?!" Astrid called over her shoulder as she dived down toward the ships below, not knowing if the Riders had heard her or not. Astrid and Stormfly flew between the ships and eventually reached the one they had seen Hiccup and Toothless land on. Upon arriving, Astrid found the Dragon Hunters that Hiccup and Toothless had previously fought. They lay unconscious on the ground; a rather creepy sight to see, but Astrid ignored that feeling as she and Stormfly ran to the other side of the ship where the door that led below deck was located. Astrid opened it, and a long, extended creak squealed in the air afterwards. Astrid heard no sound from down below…It was eerily silent, and Astrid whipped out her axe just in case any unwanted surprises decided to show themselves.
"Remember, we have to be quiet, girl," Astrid told Stormfly. The Nadder chirped quietly, and the two stepped down the stairs. They did so slowly, not wanting to make a sound to alert anything down below.
After a few moments, Astrid and Stormfly reached the bottom of the stairs. They both tensed at the sound of Viggo's voice, and Astrid's grip on her axe tightened. So he was a part of all of this! Just not in the way the Dragon Riders were expecting. Unlike Ryker, Viggo preferred to stay in the background of things, so it was a bit surprising that he was visibly in the midst of everything instead of his brother.
Hiccup's voice sounded after Viggo's, and Astrid felt relieved to know that he was okay. By the tone of his voice, Astrid could tell that he was just as unhappy to see him as she was.
Using what she knew, Astrid predicted that Hiccup must have found Midnight, but Viggo had stopped them before they could escape. Astrid peeked into the room ever so slowly, spotting Viggo holding a sword up to Hiccup's throat and pressing him to the floor with his boot. Toothless laid on the other side of the room, seemingly unconscious. Midnight backed up against the wall, growled as Viggo made a move to approach her. He didn't seem to care that the Dreamcatcher could pounce on him at any moment.
Hiccup wouldn't be able to get out of there himself, so after many tries, Astrid managed to get his attention. The young viking seemed beyond relieved to see the Hofferson,and Astrid raised her axe and pointed to Viggo, silently telling Hiccup her plan. Hiccup seemed wary, but he nodded imperceptibly, knowing that this was perhaps the only way to escape.
Astrid looked around twice and then began to creep into the room. Out of all the Dragon Riders, Astrid was the most skilled when it came to stealth. The many days and nights she spent outside training in the woods really came to her aid. Astrid was as furtive as a wolf as she slowly approached Viggo, keeping her axe ready in her hand. The man was so busy gloating to Hiccup, that he didn't notice Astrid's presence. Hiccup chewed his lower lip as Astrid grew closer, but he fought to allow his gaze to rest on her for so long. Astrid stopped, directly in front of Viggo's back, and she was just about to knock the man out with the butt of her axe when Viggo suddenly turned around. He knocked his foot into Astrid's legs and the blonde fell to the ground. She quickly lifted her axe and swiped at Viggo, but he easily deflected the blow. Viggo smirked.
"Did you really think I couldn't hear you from here?" asked Viggo. Astrid growled and at that moment, the Dragon Hunters from the deck above marched into the room, each of them holding up their weapons. Astrid's eyes widened when she spotted Stormfly amongst them. The Deadly Nadder squawked in agitation, but she moved where the Dragon Hunters wanted her to so she could avoid getting hurt.
The Hunters circled Hiccup, Astrid, and the dragons, completely outnumbering them. Hiccup glared at Viggo.
"Let us go, Viggo!" demanded Hiccup. "We'll just take Midnight and leave. You don't know what you're doing!"
"Of course I know," snapped Viggo. "It's you who doesn't know, Hiccup Haddock. Sometimes, you have to let these things go and accept your defeat. I'll let you free, but only if you agree to leave the dragon behind."
Hiccup's mind raced to come up with a plan, but he frankly couldn't think of anything as he and Astrid laid there on the floor. Toothless was still stunned, Midnight was terrified, Stormfly was being held captive, and Hiccup's brain had seemingly gone drier than a desert. Hiccup looked around the room, mind racing as he assessed the situation. He and Astrid were currently at Viggo and the Dragon Hunters' hands. If they made one move, they would instantly be overwhelmed.
Toothless on the other side of the room shifted and one of his eyes cracked open. He made eye contact with Hiccup and the young viking looked back. Like a light, an idea flickered into Hiccup's mind. He subtly made the hand motion for plasma blast, but silently told Toothless to wait until he gave the signal. The Night Fury nodded imperceptibly.
Hiccup slowly got to his feet, helping Astrid up as he did so. The two made no sudden movements. Viggo watched them with stone hard eyes.
"No, Viggo. It's really you who doesn't understand," said Hiccup. "Dragons…they're amazing creatures who mean no harm. They're of great value, but they shouldn't be sold. They deserve to live as they are, not beaten and abused. Which is why…Midnight's coming with us."
At that moment, Toothless suddenly stood up and roared, shaking the entire room. He whacked his tail against Hiccup's shield, which skittered across the ground and right into Hiccup's open hand. The young viking quickly knocked it against Viggo's head before he could react, and the Dragon Hunter fell to the ground. Astrid let out a battle cry and charged the group of Dragon Hunters. Stormfly broke through the mob and knocked over several Hunters with her wings, and she joined Astrid's side as the two fought the remaining Hunters off. Stormfly shot several of her spine shots toward the Dragon Hunters, forcing many of them to retreat above deck. Toothless used his tail to whack into his enemies, and fired plasma blasts at the Dragon Hunters while Midnight used her tail to knock Dragon Hunters unconscious. Viggo stood up to fight again, but Toothless quickly smacked him across the head with his tail, knocking the Grimborn unconscious.
"Nice job, Bud," Hiccup said. Toothless warbled, and he continued to fight. Hiccup, Astrid, and the dragons managed to fight their way through the Dragon Hunters, and they reached the stairs that lead back up into the open. Hiccup and Astrid mounted Toothless and Stormfly. Hiccup beckoned for Midnight to follow them. The Dreamcatcher managed to follow Hiccup and Astrid despite her injured leg, and once they all made it out onto the deck, Midnight unfurled her wings and took to the air. She looked as elegant as a bird as she swerved through the air, but her expression was one of pure rage.
"We should follow her," said Hiccup. "We don't want the Dragon Hunters to focus their fire on Midnight."
"Good idea," Astrid concurred. And the two took to the skies, following Midnight as she circled the fleet of ships below, blasting them away. The Dreamcatcher roared as she fired down at the many Dragon Hunter ships below, forcing them to retreat due to the damage she had brought upon them. She was angry, Hiccup noticed. And perhaps that was because these men had caused her more trouble than she would've liked.
Hiccup and Astrid rejoined the Dragon Riders in the air, glad to see that they had managed to last so long in battle. "Well, I see you found Midnight!" remarked Snotlout as he watched the Dreamcatcher destroy another ship.
"She's like a fire-throwing machine!" exclaimed Ruffnut.
"Yeah, but we aren't going to let her destroy all those ships by herself," said Astrid. "Let's finish this guys!"
The Dragon Riders continued to fire down on the ships, and the Dragon Hunters fought back, but not as strongly as they had been before. The Dragon Riders destroyed half of their ships, and after a few more blows, the Dragon Hunters finally decided to retreat. The remaining ships sailed away, smoke billowing from them all as they traveled toward the horizon. Midnight rejoined the Dragon Riders and they cheered, happy to have finally gotten rid of the Dragon Hunters…At least, for that specific moment.
"Finally!" shouted Snotlout. He leaned over Hookfang's horns toward the ships. "And you better not come back anytime soon!"
"We reign victorious once again!" Tuffnut yelled triumphantly, a huge smile on his face. Ruffnut gave him a high five, and the dragons roared and crooned happily.
Hiccup laughed. "We may have won for now, but there's still one more thing we have to do…" The young viking turned to Midnight, and the Dreamcatcher cocked her head at him. "Let's get your eggs and take you home."
Midnight warbled with joy.