Hey, guys! Here's chapter 7! It's a bit longer than the previous chapters...a little bit over 2,000 words, so yeah. I hope you guys like it. This is when the pieces really start coming together. ;) Love you guys! Stay awesome, fellow Dragonites! :D

"Dagur?" Astrid asked worriedly. It was evening now, the full moon hanging high in the quickly darkening sky. "Are you sure it's him, Hiccup? I don't know, maybe you read it wrong..."

Even as she said it, though, she knew that it wasn't the case. She knew it was Dagur; Dagur was the only person in the world who called Hiccup "brother." And Dagur was also the only person who would tie a note to Stormfly and send her back to Berk with a partial warning.

She was scared, though. She was worried for Hiccup's sake.

Hiccup packed his spyglass into Toothless' saddlebag, nodding. "It's Dagur, Astrid," he said. "There's no doubt about it. It's him, and he's probably on his way here."

Astrid looked back down at the ground and shuffled her feet, kicking up dirt and dust as she did so. She didn't know why, but she felt unnaturally terrified. Normally, she wouldn't be so worried, but now…

"But do you really have to go out and meet him, Hiccup?" Astrid asked. "I...I mean...Dagur's...he's dangerous, Hiccup. He could hurt you."

Hiccup turned his head in her direction briefly before strapping Toothless' saddlebag shut. He put his hand on Toothless' side and hoisted himself onto the dragon's back, clicking his prosthetic into the foot pedal. "I'll be careful," he said. "I promise."

Hiccup had been promising a lot lately, and although part of Astrid liked the reassurance, she knew that he was still only human. If Dagur somehow managed to hurt Hiccup, Hiccup's promise would break.

"Promises don't mean anything," Astrid shook her head. "Dagur doesn't care about promises, Hiccup. He could promise you one thing and do another. You could promise me things all you want, but...but if you're not able to keep the promises…"

"I'll do my best, Astrid," Hiccup said. "Dagur won't hurt me without a fight. But are you sure you don't want to come with us? We can always use the extra rider, you know."

Astrid had thought about tagging along, but decided not to. Going along would involve her bringing a weapon, and worse, it would involve her getting on Stormfly and charging into war, which was something she simply did not want to do.

She shook her head. "No, it's okay," she said. "Fighting isn't really my...thing, you know."

Hiccup's shoulders slumped in disappointment. "Alright," he said. "If you don't want to, I won't force you. Just...try to stay out of trouble, alright?"

Astrid nodded.

Hiccup turned towards Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins, who were sitting on top of their dragons a few feet away. "Alright, gang!" Hiccup called to them. "Let's go see if we can't stop Dagur before he reaches Berk!"

"Snotlout, Snotlout!" Snotlout cheered. "Oy, oy, oy! We're on FIRE! OW, HOOKFANG! NOT LITERALLY! YEOWCH!"

The dragons spread their wings and took to the sky, flying over the ocean. Astrid watched them until they were out of sight, and even then, she didn't move, standing, her eyes staring into the horizon.

The sun was setting. The skies were growing dark, and stars were beginning to show themselves.

Astrid didn't feel especially reassured, with Hiccup and the other riders rushing off in an attempt to stop (or at least slow down) Dagur the Deranged and his fleet of maniacs (not a large fleet, thank goodness, but a fleet was a fleet either way).

Astrid still couldn't believe how calm Stoick had acted when Astrid and Hiccup told him about the letter. Stoick had told Hiccup that he would begin to get Berk's soldiers together, and he also told his son to be careful, which Hiccup agreed to.

Astrid really hoped Hiccup kept that promise.

…

It didn't take long for Hiccup and the other riders to find Dagur's fleet. About fifteen ships sailed through the ocean, cutting through the water like knives through smooth butter. Hiccup looked; catapults, of course, although there weren't very many, which made him relieved.

"Alright, guys!" Hiccup called. "We're going to do this nice and easy! They have fifteen ships...Fishlegs, roughly how many people can fit on one Berserker ship?"

"If it's a tight squeeze, I'd say about twenty, maybe thirty if they try hard enough," Fishlegs said, "but generally, ten to fifteen soldiers can fit comfortably on a ship, plus all the weapons and catapults they're carrying."

Hiccup nodded and mentally calculated the numbers in his head: if there were ten soldiers each ship, that made one hundred and fifty soldiers total. Not a huge number, but still, the number was reasonably large. If there were fifteen men each ship, that bumped the number up a bit (two hundred twenty five), but still, not much more.

Hiccup knew that he and the other riders could handle it.

Or, at the very least, he hoped they could handle it.

"Okay!" he called. "Take out half the ships! We want them to retreat, and we can't do that if they don't have anything to retreat with! Use the same strategy we tried before! Snotlout and Fishlegs go from the back, and the twins and I will go for the front! GO!"

"Signal!" Tuffnut cheered. "Whoot, whoot! Yeah!" Barf and Belch rocketed towards the ships while Snotlout and Fishlegs turned their dragons around to bring up the rear. Toothless dove downwards, right after the twins.

"FIRE!" shouts came from the ships, followed by arrows from crossbows filling the air. Boulders from the catapults followed in close pursuit, and bolas followed the boulders and arrows.

Dodging was remarkably easy. Toothless fired a plasma blast at one of the ships, and the blast met its mark, leaving a giant, menacing hole in the wooden deck of the vessel. Soldiers shrieked and dove overboard, swimming towards the other ships.

Plasma blasts. Hookfang's fire. Meatlug's lava. The twins' explosive gas. So far, they were doing a remarkably good job at sinking ships and leaving men to scramble for what ships they had left.

Unfortunately, they were still missing an important part in their fleet.

Astrid.

Normally, Astrid would help Hiccup defend himself, and he would do likewise for her. Between him and Astrid, they worked to protect the other riders while Snotlout, the twins and Fishlegs worked to do the real damage.

But now, Hiccup didn't have Astrid.

And he didn't see the arrow coming towards his chest until it was too late.

…

Astrid paced back and forth in front of Stormfly, jumping whenever the dragon growled or cooed.

"I'm getting worked up for nothing," Astrid told herself, wringing her hands together so harshly her knuckles were white and her skin was rubbed raw. She bit her nails, which had become blunt over the past few hours while Hiccup and the other riders were away. "Hiccup said he would be careful. He promised, and he doesn't break his promises...right, Stormfly?"

Stormfly shrugged and growled.

Astrid sighed. "You're right," she said. "He'll be back."

A large hand squeezed Astrid's shoulder, and although she flinched and jumped, she didn't squeal or screech and run to hide. She knew in a heartbeat that the hand belonged to Stoick, and she trusted Hiccup's father very much.

"Any sign of 'em?" Stoick asked.

Astrid shook her head. "I'm worried, Stoick," she said, concern practically dumping into her words. "Wh...what if something happened? What if they need help?"

Stoick squeezed his shoulder tighter. "I'm sure they're fine, Astrid," he said. "Hiccup is a bright lad, and he certainly isn't stupid. He knows how to keep a level head. They'll be back before you know it." Stoick lowered his gaze. "Why don't you come inside, Astrid?" he offered.

Astrid sighed, but nodded, accepting the man's invitation. She stepped through the threshold of the Haddock residence, Stoick coming in behind her and shutting the door.

"Can I get you anything, Astrid?" Stoick asked.

Astrid shook her head. She was far, far too worried and scared for Hiccup's sake to actually think of eating or drinking anything. "No, thank you," she said.

Stoick gestured to a chair. "You can sit down if you like."

Another shake of her head. "No, I'd...I'd really rather stand, please," she said. "But thank you for offering."

Hiccup and the others had left hours ago. Astrid thought that they would be back by now, but so far, of course, they hadn't seen any sign of Hiccup, the other riders, or the Berserkers.

Where were they?

Suddenly, as if answering her unasked question, the door was kicked open so quickly and harshly Astrid was sure she'd heard one of the hinges snap. To her shock, horror, and terror, Snotlout and Fishlegs stood in the doorway, a barely-conscious Hiccup supported between them.

"Hiccup!" Stoick gasped as soon as he saw his son's state. He jumped to his feet and raced forward, pursued by Astrid.

No. No, no, no, what happened to Hiccup? He promised her he would be careful. He promised.

"Stoick, he's hurt," Fishlegs panted. Snotlout stumbled, and Stoick caught Hiccup so that the injured dragon rider was now being held by three protective holds, two of his friends and his father as well. "He's hurt...bad."

Hiccup's knees buckled, and he was lowered to the ground. "Go," Stoick ordered, speaking to Snotlout and Fishlegs although his eyes were on Hiccup. "Go get Gothi."

"The twins are already on it," Fishlegs answered, "but...but I'll go get water." He turned and raced outside instantly.

Astrid ran to Hiccup's side and collapsed by him. It was then she noticed, with sickening horror, an arrow sinking into Hiccup's skin in his left chest. The arrow was either buried somewhere in his ribs, or it was just barely missed his ribs.

"Hiccup?" Astrid whispered. She smoothed her hands over his face. His skin was cold, and it had taken on a waxy, unhealthy tinge that made her wince. "No," she whispered, shaking her head. "No, Hiccup, please…"

She was so scared for him, she feared she would faint.

Stoick shot to his feet, leaving his son with Astrid and Snotlout while he collected thick cloths and returned afterwards. He wrapped them around the arrow and pressed them against Hiccup's skin, trying to stem the bloodflow without jostling the arrow. Hiccup moaned, and Astrid's heart broke for him. She stroked his dark hair out of his face, trying to keep from crying.

"What happened!?" Stoick demanded.

"Dagur," Snotlout breathed. "Hiccup wasn't properly defended…" He stopped right there, and then looked at Astrid sharply. "This is your fault," he said. "We really could have used your help out there, Astrid! We needed your help! Hiccup needed your help! He's not used to not having you there to fight by his side, and when he needs you the most, you're not there to help him! You did this! This is all your fault!"

Astrid sat, shocked at what she had heard, although she didn't deny any of it. Deep down, she knew (or some part of her did) that it was her fault. If she had only swallowed her fear and got on Stormfly's back to help Hiccup and the others, he probably wouldn't have gotten so wounded.

But...unfortunately, she knew that she hadn't been there. She hadn't been there when she was needed the most.

She'd failed the riders.

And now, Hiccup was the one suffering because of it.