Author's Note: Since this will be my final author's note for a time, I might as well make it a good one.

- The stats have been ticking up (at least as of 9/23/12). Several dozen people have read the entirety of this story, and I'm getting new traffic for Standing Against, Standing Between. It's still not at the first story's level of traffic, but it works for me. I suspected that many folk might not like my series veering away from Berk, or they just don't do sequels. Regardless, I'm just glad some people stuck around for the rest of the story.

Thank you all again for reading and reviewing, and I hope that you'll stick with me to the end.

- I'm keeping to my prediction of the next story (the shorter one) being out by the end of the year. As I've said before, you should probably Author Alert me if you want to keep track. The last story in the series should be out around summertime 2013 (not applicable in case of Mayan calendar prophecy fulfillment). As always, I'll be sticking to releasing chapters on Friday mornings (or late Thursday evenings - yeah, I cheat).

Life can intrude at any time and push my timeline back. Just take heart that no matter what, I'm going to finish this series. I'm too invested now.

- I'm tentatively thinking of naming the whole series Dragons: Champions (kind of a spin-off name). I don't know if that's cheesy or not, but it feels right. If anyone has any thoughts (or alternative name ideas), let me know. Otherwise, that'll be the name I'm going with.

- One final note: I'm sure there will be questions, thoughts, and concerns following the ending to this story. So let's be clear: I don't spoil (much). I know that spoilers have existed since the dawn of story telling (what else would you call those pamphlets they give out before an opera that literally describes the entire plot of the opera you're about to see). I know people like spoilers because either it prepares them for the heavy stuff or it reassures them that everything will turn out okay. But I believe that the best experiences for stories are where you don't know the destination ahead of time. Like life, you don't know what's going to happen, and that's part of the thrill (though it sucks a lot of the time, too).

You're just going to have to trust me.

I will say this: assume nothing.

Onwards.

Chapter Nineteen: Crashing Down

On any sailing ship across the world, sending a message to your crewmen below decks required human messengers and lag time between command and action. Delays of even seconds mattered a lot in combat.

Cervantes snapped his steel fingers and the signalman immediately touched his signal-stone, sending a bright message to the twenty sailors manning the siege cannons below deck. No delays, no lag.

Ah, technology.

Twenty lumps of ordinary igneous rock went blasting out of twenty separate holes, the air ringing with deafening echoes from the launches. They flew out like sparrows on fire, converging on the tower and smashing into it with extreme prejudice. The rocks disintegrated into clouds of dusty fragments, obscuring the impact point for several seconds until the cloud thinned and revealed the results of the attack.

Scrapes. Maybe a dent here and there. But the tower had resisted the assault.

Cervantes hadn't yet figured out how to make this body frown, so he didn't bother. The Repository was made of sterner stuff. It shouldn't have been a shock, as the tower was designed to hold back the merciless ocean's intrusion, but it did put a curve into his straightforward revenge plan.

Then again, maybe he was aiming at the wrong target.

Second volley, ordered Cervantes, followed by a new set of instructions. A messenger snapped to and went down to relay the command. Not everything was new and improved. The gunners had to be given new aiming instructions prior to preparing the cannons, so they knew where to shoot. Thankfully, precise coordinates weren't required, not for this plan.

The tower would be saved for last. True, it was the sole entrance in and out of the Repository, and destroying it would seal the fate of everyone inside the structure. But it was clearly built to withstand both siege and ocean pressure. The cannons would take a long time to topple it, and the resulting attacks would warn those within. But the cavern roof was not as protected.

Cragfist had gone off to sulk about his fortune. Not even the death of his enemies satisfied him now. Too many blows to the ego for one day. Not that Cervantes cared about the pathetic Viking, but he still wanted him alive for now. He'd let him crack the whip on someone's back – the cook, maybe.

The signal-stone in the signalman's hands glowed a brief pattern of two flashes, then three. The cannons were ready again.

Cervantes nodded and more rocks went airborne. The projectiles arced down into the maelstrom, colliding at a spot just below the base of the tower, geysers of saltwater and stone spraying everywhere. The whole of the maelstrom continued unabated, but the bottom of the whirlpool was no longer churning as regularly as before.

A short pause and one nod from Cervantes later, the next volley lit out, causing a massive fountain of destruction down below. The water shifted more, part of the current redirected down into the yawning cave below the tower. A few more blasts, and the current would become a ceaseless flood, destined to forever submerge the Repository.

Let's see if you can resist the ocean itself, Archibald, mused Cervantes.

Hiccup felt a slight tremor move through the ground as he inspected Toothless's rudder for damage. It made him look up and check around the cavern for any signs of active-volcano shenanigans. But he relaxed again when the lava stayed down in its pits. Probably just your normal run-of-the-mill rumbling that occurred down in the Earth's crust.

It had taken a few minutes for Saga and Astrid to find a new cross-bridge that connected to Hiccup's walkway, but they were finally heading his direction, escorting Kong from behind. Nestor and Linebreaker were already back with Arc, guarding the Alchemist, Sheen, and Dark Star. The half-metal dragon was back on her feet, though the gems on her spine had only the faintest of glows. Hopefully that meant she was still out of death-ray juice.

Sheen's chain rested at her feet, the white-haired woman acting like she'd bite anyone who attempted to confiscate it. Arc parlayed with the Alchemist, and it wasn't going very well.

"What is this stone?" Arc demanded, holding up the diamond-like dodecahedron Hiccup had pilfered. "I don't recognize it."

"You will get no answers from me, Hyperion," said the Alchemist.

"If that's the case…" Arc casually tossed it over his shoulder, where a long drop into a lava pit awaited the special rock.

"No, you fool!" she screamed. Arc was way ahead of her, his tail batting the stone back up in the air before it could clear the walkway. He easily caught it again in a claw-hand.

"Must be important," said Arc. Qiao, still standing on a separate bridge with her bow at the ready, laughed at the fake-out.

Hiccup might have laughed as well had his inspection not yielded a problem with the rudder linkup. Hiccup groaned – Toothless landed too hard on his belly, jamming key sections of the saddle linkup. Toothless wouldn't be maneuvering until it was fixed. Thankfully, it was fixable given a few minutes of effort, less if Nestor helped him bend the right parts back into their proper shape…

The second tremor almost made Hiccup's fake leg slip out from under him. Alarm bells went off in his head, and the looks on everyone else's faces meant they were hearing the same bells. Astrid, Saga, and Kong stopped in their tracks, right before the last bridge between them and the rest of the group, understandably concerned that the bridge might not be safe any longer.

But before Hiccup could say something obvious like Volcano! or Earthquake! the cave starting tossing heavy rocks in spurts. Sandy pebbles pattered down from the ceiling as well, far more common than their bigger brothers, but the pebbles weren't splashing lava around or collapsing archways like the bigger rocks could… and did.

Arc looked up at the ceiling and fired off a blue electrical bolt at a sizeable chunk of ceiling coming toward the group, flinging it away. Qiao shot another rock in mid-fall, the rock filling up with blazing-white energy before shattering into harmless dust. Between the two of them, they kept the group from any rock-related injuries.

Then a horrendous crunching sound reverberated all around them, and the rain of rocks became actual rain.

No… an actual flood.

Arc abruptly found himself at ground zero of a deluge of saltwater, the dragon grunting as a minor waterfall pounded him, driving him to the stone. He struggled under the pressure, but he was effectively pinned in place, unable to crawl out from under it.

A second waterfall, a bigger one, opened up ten feet in front of him, splashing the walkway and transforming it into a rushing river in the time you could say Noah's Ark. The slight slope of the walkway made the water flow away from the beleaguered dragon. Good for Arc, bad for everyone else.

Hiccup watched helplessly as the walkway-turned-river crashed into Nestor and Linebreaker, Alchemist and Sheen and Dark Star, sweeping their legs out from under them. Only Dark Star held fast, her bulk and weight pitted against the raging current. Sheen collided with her, grabbing the dragon's tail purely on reflex, the dragon pulling Sheen in so she could climb onto the dragon's back.

The rest went whipping down the walkway at a dangerous pace, unable to find handholds on the smooth surface. Hiccup had seconds before the water got to him and Toothless. The dragon saw the same danger and got to his feet, growling in fear. They could fly away easily, but flying was the worse option when your rudder was damaged and lava pits dotted the landscape. Not to mention that Nestor and Linebreaker needed help… and maybe the Alchemist as well.

"Hold fast, buddy," Hiccup ordered, mounting the saddle. Toothless stoically faced the water and braced himself for the incoming flood.

The water hit with the force of a breaking wave, drenching Hiccup in salty brine up to his knees. Sturdy Toothless took it in stride, raising his head above the water and grabbing Linebreaker's shirt with his teeth. Nestor found Hiccup's outstretched hand and used it to cling to the dragon's saddle. Toothless had become an island in the middle of a newly formed underground river. Unfortunately, it was only a stopgap idea. The water was only going to get stronger.

Up ahead, the walkway began to explode in a systematic fashion as arrow after arrow thundered into the retraining wall closest to Qiao, forming a hole that spewed surging water down the slope to a waiting lava pit. Water met molten rock and birthed a mushrooming cloud of steam. Each arrow widened the hole until the greater part of the torrent was diverted.

Seconds later, the merciless river had tapered off to a wimpy stream, allowing Nestor and Linebreaker to regain their footing. Nestor immediately took off running up the stream to his drowning dragon mentor, yelling for Linebreaker and Hiccup to help him. Linebreaker ran to assist, but it had suddenly occurred to Hiccup that they were forgetting somebody in all this.

He swiveled in his saddle and looked behind him. Yes, they'd forgotten about the Alchemist, still caught up in the initial sea surge and heading for the bridge Astrid had yet to cross.

Then a third tremor rocked the cave, and things got so much worse.

Kong had proven to be a model prisoner-of-war, giving Astrid and Saga no difficulty whatsoever as they marched back to the others. They had let him keep his swords due to the fact that he had refused to leave his swords behind and disarming someone as skilled as Kong was a risky prospect. Better for his swords to stay in their scabbards and get help on the matter.

Astrid wasn't too worried about Kong. He had a serious honor-before-reason side to him, which made him surprisingly trustworthy. If he hadn't been doing his best to kill her a few minutes ago, she might have even liked the guy.

When the earthquake began, he had wisely stayed with Astrid and Saga at the head of the next bridge. But once Kong saw the Alchemist in peril, Kong's first act of disobedience was to rush out to meet the incoming flood.

Saga was instantly on his tail, displaying that superbly reflexive nature of hers. Kong raced over the bridge as if he had wolves snapping at his heels, and considering that Saga was right behind him the imagery was fairly apt.

Astrid was only trailing by a few steps, but it was a few steps that made all the difference when the third tremor hit. The stone bridge vibrated for only a few seconds, but it made Astrid halt just the same. Kong and Saga ignored it and pressed on, clearing the bridge just as a new rain of ceiling chunks came crashing down. One came down in front of Astrid, smashing a hole straight through. Thank the Gods for small favors; it left connecting paths on the sides. She was forced to slow down as she carefully sidestepped the ugly hole, slinging her axe onto her back to keep her hands free. She made the mistake of looking down through the hole, and she yelped upon seeing what was below her – flowing lava that greedily swallowed everything that fell upon it.

A second killer rock grazed the walkway ahead of Kong and Saga, though its idea of grazing was to take the left half of the walkway with it. A narrow path remained for Kong and Saga, but now the water flow had found a new destination, spilling off into the new hole instead of the bridge. The Alchemist was about to go over with it.

Kong drew his swords without delay, causing Saga to draw her daggers in response. But when he ran straight into the path of the surge and drove the swords into the stone, Saga wisely backed off, uncertain of his intentions.

Kong braced himself against the flat of his swords, letting the waters collide with him. Not a shred of reservation contorted his face as he held firm his position and stretched out his hands. The Alchemist sputtered and flailed toward him, catching his hands just before the current took her into the waiting hole. She held onto the stoic swordsman, breathing hard and watching the ceiling with the angriest of eyes until the surge diminished.

"Siege cannons!" Astrid heard her yell over the din of the flood. "Those fools. When I get out of here…"

A peanut-sized rock up and fell onto Kong's head. Even that wasn't enough to make the swordsman change facial expressions as he let go of his mistress and fell silently into the muddy water.

Saga used the moment to approach the Alchemist, demanding her compliance as other waterfalls sprang into life across the canyon. "If we wish to live through this, we need to work…"

Steam was billowing all around them as more water met more lava, the air growing humid and misty. Thus, Astrid didn't see Dark Star until she was zooming in from above. Like a dragon-shaped battering ram, she head-butted Saga away, the Seer skidding across the wet stone a good ten feet, sprawled out and unmoving.

Astrid cried out for Saga as Sheen jumped from Dark Star's back and helped drape Kong's body onto the dragon. The Alchemist retrieved Kong's swords and gave them to Sheen, who was back on top of Dark Star and holding out her hand for her boss to take.

Then Hiccup and Toothless were right there, the Night Fury grabbing the Alchemist with his front legs and jump-gliding away, angling for the bridge that Astrid had just gotten off. The garbled snarl from Dark Star was horrific, rage and denial combined in one utterance, and she nearly tossed Sheen overboard as she leapt to pursue.

All this crazy back-and-forth was quickly forgotten with the arrival of the newest earth-shattering crack, the biggest one of them all. Astrid had the horrifying honor of watching the cavern's ceiling split in two, a great wall of frothing water pouring down to snuff out everything below it.

"You're not getting away from us that easily," yelled down Hiccup at the struggling woman in Toothless's grip.

Actually, that's what he would have said had the ceiling not chosen to crack apart right before Toothless landed on the damaged bridge. Instead, he was looking up and regretting that hadn't built air bladders into his armor, because it sure looked like he was going to need them.

A volley of minor waterfalls burst into existence, one of which hit Toothless's right wing, shoving him down into the bridge for another belly-first crash landing. The Alchemist fell free and half-rolled, half-skidded along with them as Toothless came to a halt, groaning with fresh pain delivered to old bruises.

Soaked and half-blinded from the water blast, Hiccup saw one Astrid-shaped blur running back onto the bridge, barely a step ahead of the mother of all waterfalls as it found the weakened section of the bridge and took it down into the flash-fry pits below. The sea was now coming in to claim the Repository, and at the rate of volume flooding in they had minutes before the cavern was officially underwater.

His vision cleared as he dismounted from Toothless, feeling the compulsion to run back towards Astrid as she sprinted away from the growing waterfall and the crumbling bridge. He didn't know what he was going to accomplish when he got to Astrid outside of hugging her and escorting her back to Toothless, but he just couldn't stand around and watch her outrun the death waters.

Toothless made movements to stand and follow him, wobbly movements with little energy in them. The poor dragon had suffered two crashes in short order, sapping his strength and undoubtedly further damaging the artificial rudder. Hiccup told him to wait where he was, the dragon uttering a sad growl as his legs gave out again.

Above them, Dark Star was trying her hardest to get around the waterfalls spilling out of the growing fissures and cracks in the ceiling. Every time she made for the Alchemist, a new spurt of seawater would form and block her path, forcing her to veer off again and again to avoid getting pummeled.

The Alchemist had just gotten back on her feet when Astrid ran by her. One frantic scan of the disaster scene later, she was running after Astrid. Hiccup already knew he was going to give her a hand when the time came, his good-guy mentality kicking in, but Astrid still came first.

"Astrid, hurry up!" he yelled. Yes, it was an unnecessarily obvious thing to yell, but she couldn't see what he was seeing. The wall of water was expanding by the second, filling up the gaps separating them from Nestor and the others… and the tower entrance. If the wall became total…

Even as freaked as she was, Astrid still managed an irritated glare. "What do you think I'm trying to EEEE!"

The bridge lurched, a support underneath giving out from all the seawater or falling rock or agitated lava. Hiccup tripped on his false leg and bashed his knee on the stone as he stumbled, the now-unsupported section of the bridge ahead of him promptly giving up the fight and falling away.

Taking Astrid and the Alchemist with it.

A warrior's instinct saved Astrid as she screeched in panic, leaping as the ground fell out from under her, her hands snagging a jagged point of bridge. There she dangled out in the open, a secure bridge section less than two feet away. It shouldn't have been a problem for someone as physically fit as Astrid to shimmy her way over, but she had accumulated a hitchhiker.

The Alchemist had dove for the bridge, but found Astrid's legs instead. She gripped them tightly to prevent Astrid from kicking her off, as well as to avoid the falling-to-your-death scenario underway. There were no ledges or handholds at arm's length. It was a long drop, a steam-shrouded pit of hot oblivion below them.

For the first time in so many years, the Alchemist felt completely at a loss. The plan had looked so good on paper. She had even compensated for unknown variables, taken precautions, over-prepared and over-thought everything. She had set out more than ready to deal with the barbarian hordes and the so-called civilizations of this time period. She was ready for dragons and Guardians and every other contingency that existed.

A fool's dream. Life was just too unpredictable for any plan to survive. Even the best plans died of a thousand careless cuts.

The girl that had become her lifeline was trying to move them to the bridge, and she was being kind in not trying to kick her off, but the Alchemist's added weight was making this almost impossible. She could be nice and save the girl by letting go, but the Alchemist was rather miffed at the Dragon Rider and his allies. Taking one of them with her was the least she could do.

She could salvage the situation, though not much of it.

While most of the cavern was quickly becoming one big waterfall, she did spy Dark Star flying close to the ceiling, a dark spot amongst the churning white, carrying Kong and Sheen and desperately trying to get to her master. Getting rescued that way would be ideal, but there was no way. The entrance was nearly cut off by pounding waters, the aerial corridors shrinking rapidly as the ceiling gave way.

Time to cut losses.

While hugging Astrid's legs, she brought her communication armband close enough to her other hand and touched the signal stone corresponding to Dark Star. She promptly felt the deep anxiety of her winged friend, the dragon raging inconsolably. Left to her own devices, Dark Star would never stop trying to save her until the waters dragged her down to her doom.

Leave.

The dragon heard her. She had no choice but to hear her. But she didn't respond or change course. Too shocked by the command.

Go, Dark Star. Leave this place.

A response this time. Deep denial. The dragon would find a way to her. It promised her that.

No, Dark Star. Your duty to me comes first. You must save Kong and Sheen. You must take what you have away from here. You must survive… and seek out those who have betrayed us this day.

The dragon still fought with her. The enormity of what she was asking – it was too much. By the time she could convince the dragon to willingly go, escape would be a non-option.

No choice, then.

Expeditious fallback.

The dragon's mind cut out as the irresistible command was given. The flying spot banked hard and fled toward a break between waterfalls, vanishing behind the frothing ocean surge.

She hated doing it as much as she relished Dark Star's all-but-certain survival. A final command built into Dark Star's bio-steel, causing the dragon's body to literally disobey the dragon's brain. In this case, the body would automatically head back to the Safe House instead of the Zenith. Just as well, as there were traitors aboard that ship. She had tried Norom's signal-stone, but no connection could be achieved. Not a good development.

Poor, dear Norom. He deserved better.

So did she.

Saga missed the part where the ocean started its full migration into the cavern, still reeling from Dark Star's attack. Then two strong arms lifted her back to her feet and she became well aware of the mountain of water standing before her, sweeping away millennia-old archways and bridges like there were made of parchment and mud.

The Gods had been kind to her once again. Even though she was less than fifty yards from the greatest waterfall in history, the section of it near her had fallen onto the bridge instead of the walkway, collapsing most of it. The water flowed into the deep lava pits, which would take time to fill. Had the water come down a few feet closer, it would have spilled onto the walkway and swept her to her death.

"Can you run?" Nestor asked her, every part of his body sopping and streaked with mud.

"Which way?" she tiredly replied. "We are out of directions to go."

"The entrance is untouched. I'd start there."

Captain Linebreaker waved at her near the archway to the stairs. They were unblemished by water or broken stone, though that would change quickly. One blessing in their favor. Then she began a headcount. Linebreaker accounted for already. Nestor, obviously. She could see Arc had been freed of his water torture and was in the process of rescuing Qiao from another bridge, one that was perilously close to becoming underwater. That left…

Astrid! The Dragon Rider!

"Astrid…"

"Other side." Nestor showed her a thin gap in the waterfall between them and the bridge Saga had crossed over previously. A very thin gap existed, perhaps adequate for a human to squeeze through, where she could see the state of the bridge and those on it.

The state was dire, and getting more dire by the second.

"They cannot get back," she stated, her water-chilled face growing chillier. "There is no way."

"Saga, get going," demanded Nestor. "I'll take it from here."

"What?"

"I can get over there if I go now."

"Suicide."

"I'm the one with the barrier field. I like my odds."

"No, I meant your leaping prowess. The bridge is half-gone. You cannot leap that far."

"Not without assistance," said Arc, flying in with Qiao on his back. Qiao looked as distressed as Saga felt. She slid off Arc's back as she watched the disaster unfold around her. Then, curiously, she found something of interest lying in the muddy water coursing down the walkway and went to retrieve it. A thief's priories were always on valuables, apparently.

"You can't make the jump on your own," said Arc to Nestor. "And I'm not helping."

"Old Man!"

"What can you do over there, Nestor? Wait to drown with the others?"

"I can… I can do something…"

"Think this through, my boy. Neither I nor Toothless nor any other dragon…"

Right at that moment, one of those "any other dragons" barreled by them at an insane clip. Dark Star with two passengers, darting right past a very surprised Linebreaker and into the tower entrance. She made a quick stop to align herself and then shot straight up the tower.

"You were saying?" said Nestor.

"I was saying that I refuse to send you to your death," Arc declared.

"Well, I am saying that I refuse to leave them to their deaths," countered Nestor.

Saga saw the situation all too clearly. Her heart was almost as drowned as the cavern, her Gunnarr heritage rising to compensate. She could not abandon Astrid or Hiccup or Toothless... yet she had to. A true warrior knew when it was hopeless to risk your life, when all you could do was add to the death count.

Astrid – a true sister. Saga would sacrifice her life for her, if such a sacrifice would suffice.

She was about to speak up, tell Nestor that she agreed with the Hyperion for once, but Qiao got in front of her and held up an odd-looking pyramid as if it was the most amazing thing in the world.

"We have an option," said Qiao. "Not a great option, but it's here."

She explained what the pyramid did, how it worked and the risks involved. The great risks involved. It did little to mollify Arc, but Nestor indicated he was done arguing as he grabbed the artifact and used the rope dangling from it to tie it to his back.

"Nestor, this is only slightly less stupid than your original plan," said Arc.

"It's still a better plan," replied Nestor.

"You don't know where you'll end up… or if you'll end up anywhere."

"Can't be worse than where we are now."

"Nestor…"

"Old Man, if it was me over there, wouldn't you be just as stupid?"

Nestor's question had the right effect. Arc stared at him, knowing what his answer was and refusing to say it. He looked away, defeated, and said, "On your mark."

With little time to spare, Nestor finished securing the T-Node and moved under Arc's chest. He mustered up as comforting a smile as he could manage to Saga, who suddenly looked certain she was never going to see him again. It was a look Nestor could've done without, this being Saga and her foretelling ways, but even a stern warning about the future wouldn't have changed Nestor's mind now.

"Bring them back, Outlander," Saga told him.

"What she said," concurred Qiao.

Nestor gave the word and Arc gripped him with his arms, taking them into the air together. Arc flapped upwards several dozen feet, flying away from the narrowing gap in the waterfall wall so that he had the space required for this move. The air was choked with steam and flying droplets, but Arc's keen vision had no problem zeroing in on his target. It was a long toss, a tactic they had done together several times before, but never when missing the target carried with it such fatal consequences.

"Have I mentioned how much of a pain in my scaly backside you are?" remarked Arc.

"Not lately," said Nestor.

"Well… I really should mention it more than I do."

Nestor felt Arc's grip tighten, transforming into a hug for a brief moment. Nestor reciprocated as best he could from his awkward position.

"It's okay, Old Man," he replied, feeling a little extra moisture cloud his vision. "I'm right there with you."

There was a high-pitched scream sounding out from somewhere close. It took Hiccup a moment to realize that it was his own voice.

He was able to choke off his panicked, out-of-control voice when he saw Astrid hanging from a slender piece of bridge, the Alchemist clinging to her like a hairball on a wet towel. He cruelly hoped the Alchemist would lose her grip and fall off, but she held fast and Astrid wasn't doing much to shake her off.

"Astrid, Astrid, Astrid!" He was now in the endless-name-repeating state of panic, rushing over to the beginning of the slender ledge and testing it with his good foot. It crackled under his weight, his foot jerking back. A tightrope walker might feel at home walking the length of the ledge, but not a boy with a metal foot.

Toothless stumbled into motion again, but he was still too weak to move fast. He hadn't recovered from his newest crash and while the dragon shoved and dragged himself toward Hiccup with stubborn resolution, he wasn't going to be much help for a least a minute.

Hiccup got down on his belly and crawled out as far as he dared, which was a foot insufficient to save Astrid. Roiling stream clouds gathered below her, mixing with the roaring seawater to create a formless, disorienting scene.

She stared back at him with fear-laden eyes. "Hiccup, don't come out here. It's not stable."

"I'm aware." He held out his right hand while using his left to find a hold to brace with. He didn't find one that worked. This would have to be a straight lift… and he wasn't adequate for the job.

"You have to climb over to me," he instructed, trying to keep the blossoming panic within him out of his voice. "One hand over the other."

"I'm barely holding on as is," she replied. "Too much weight."

Hiccup looked down at the Alchemist again, who was fiddling around with the armband on her left arm. She had gems on the thing. What was so important about gems at a time like this?

Shake her off, he thought. Shake her off, Astrid. It's not like she doesn't deserve it.

He didn't say it. It would be a cold-blooded thing to do, but it would save Astrid's life. Yet he didn't say it.

"Toothless is coming," he said, keeping his hand outstretched on the hope that she would magically elongate her arms and take it. "Just keep hanging on."

"Why do people say things like that?" she remarked angrily. "Do people really think someone hanging from a ledge is debating whether or not to let go?"

Good, anger. That should make her arms hold out longer. "Okay, also, don't look down."

"Again, why do people say that?"

"I didn't read the rulebook on ledge emergencies, Astrid. Cut me some slack."

"Actually, Hiccup, looking up is the problem."

Taking her hint, Hiccup reluctantly looked up and saw what she meant. It was hard to sense any further tremors through all the pounding water impacting the cavern floor, but the ceiling was continuing to crack open. One juicy crack was spreading out above the bridge, sprinkles of liquid squeezing through.

They didn't have a minute. They didn't even have half-a-minute.

"Shake her off!" he cried out, no longer caring how freaked out his voice was now. "Whatever it takes, but take my hand."

"You can't lift me." There was a deadly calm about how she said it, and it made Hiccup's heart seize up.

A human-shaped projectile suddenly materialized from a gap in the waterfall, shooting out like a seagull in a windstorm and hitting the bridge several dozen feet behind Hiccup. The projectile rolled and flailed, orange light blazing all the time, until the figure came to a skidding halt. He then proceeded to rise to his feet, though far from quickly. But he was closer and in better shape than Toothless.

"Nestor!" Hiccup's heart started again. "He's here, Astrid."

"The ceiling's giving, Hiccup," she said, her tone pleading. "Get clear."

He looked at her as if she had just told him to chop off his good foot. "Astrid…"

The stream of droplets pattering down on his head became a torrent, doubling in intensity every second. A new waterfall was only seconds away.

"Hiccup, go!" she cried. "Get on Toothless and…"

"SHUT UP!" Forgetting how unstable the ledge was now, he inched out further and further. He could feel the stone crumbling under him, the mini-waterfall around him picking up speed and power, but he was no longer thinking, no longer aware of his surroundings.

"Hiccup, no!" The demand in her voice stopped him cold, as did the tears in her eyes. "You have to keep fighting, Hiccup. You can't come with me."

"This is not happening! This is absolutely…"

"Hiccup…"

Through the sheer anger and terror encompassing his soul, the roar of the incoming waterfall, through the dashing of every dream and hope that had armored him through the misery that had been his young life, the way she said his name cut through it all and made him stop and listen for one terrible, final second.

"I would've said yes."

Then she let go.

For Hiccup, everything just stopped at that moment.

Not that the world stopped, far from it. Astrid fell free of the Alchemist, the brown-haired woman more surprised than terrified at the sudden sensation of freefall, as the two of them rapidly descended into the steam clouds, Astrid locking eyes with Hiccup for the three seconds they had before the mist swallowed her up, any last words or scream obliterated by the titanic overture of the incoming sea.

The ceiling caved in and sent a gigantic river onto Hiccup's head, or would have had Nestor not arrived and yanked him back, dragging the lifeless boy away from the edge as the flood tore into the bridge, taking the last remnants of the bridge with it.

Hiccup was barely aware of any of it. He felt Nestor pulling him away, smelt the old musk of his dragon buddy, and was dimly aware of a very odd sensation that enveloped him. He knew he was still alive, for what good that did him.

Because for Hiccup, none of it mattered. For Hiccup, the world had just come to an end.

Two seconds too late.

Nestor watched Astrid fall into the abyss, the Alchemist with her. For all his power, for all of Arc's training and his unfailing accuracy, for all his so-called expert timing…

Two seconds.

Nestor stopped himself from thinking. This was instinct time. If he thought about what just happened, it would wreck him.

Get Hiccup and Toothless out of here. Get them out.

Hiccup froze up right as she let go, and he almost went over the side with her, helped along by the emerging waterfall right above him. Nestor reached him before he could do so, grabbing him under the armpits and pulling him back from the edge. He backpedaled furiously to get clear of the newest disaster, the bridge disappearing under the torrent.

Seconds to go.

He backed into Toothless, the dragon growling and whirling his head in utter distress. Nestor had to shout at him to get him to hold still so he could place the practically catatonic Hiccup onto the dragon's saddle and secure the harness. Whatever happened next, Hiccup would have Toothless. Limping and hurt, the dragon would nonetheless take care of him.

With the floodwaters bearing down on him, Nestor tugged the T-Node off his body and held it in both hands, touching it to Toothless so that its power would affect him as well. He placed one hand on the top of the artifact and twisted. The upper section proved to be a rotatable component, and he turned it one hundred and eighty degrees so that a few of the twisty symbols on the surface matched up with other twisty symbols.

"Fate's Luck, don't fail me now," he muttered.

At once, all of those twisty symbols filled up with murky yellow light, growing in intensity for several insanely-long moments before the light practically leapt out of the symbols and danced around Nestor, Toothless, and Hiccup. More and more bands of dark yellow energy joined the crazy dance, spinning around faster and faster like moths on a sugar high. Nestor might have found the dancing lights almost beautiful given better circumstances.

Then the lights converged, dazzling Nestor and covering him in a scintillating cloak of energy. His body grew translucent, almost numb, as the world faded into an all-encompassing curtain of sparkles and streamers. Just before the waters found him, he had lost touch with the physical plane, the dancing lights pulling him along someplace far away…

To outside eyes, the effect was less dramatic. The lights turned inward and disappeared, taking the three hapless travelers with them. The T-Node hovered for a split-second before the bridge-destroying wave found it and smashed it against a hundred hard surfaces, breaking it into unsalvageable rubble.

The powercore within it did rupture and explode eventually, collapsing several caves within the dying Repository, but amidst the grand destruction already underway, it did little to make things worse.

Most entities that have over a thousand years of life have the tendency to become pragmatic. Arc had pragmatism down to an art form, and right now he was thankful for it. Trying to think his way through the next minute would only end in misery for all.

He didn't think about Nestor as he swooped down to grab Saga, the woman transfixed in shock after witnessing her best friend fall to a watery grave. He didn't think about Hiccup as he curved to pick up Qiao, tears running down her cheeks as she held her new, and very ancient, bow to her chest. He didn't think about Toothless as he skidded to a halt in front of Linebreaker, the captain easily choosing a nauseous gut over a lung full of seawater as he climbed onto Arc's back.

He absolutely didn't think about Astrid as he shoved himself through the cracking archway into the tower, didn't fret about what kind of reception he was about to receive as he lifted the survivors upward through the gloom-filled tower. He ignored the horrifying thuds and shudders from projectile impacts as the one who had ordered the Repository sunk now shifted to the tower.

He didn't consider the implications of the tower's sudden change in orientation as he closed in on the tower roof, how it was beginning to lean more and more as the bombardment continued.

He didn't question why the ceiling opened as he neared it, for that answer didn't need any thought. He had read the symbols on the roof, after all – a lock to keep people out, but not to bar those already inside from leaving.

His first real conscious act occurred as his reptilian frame met welcomed sunshine, when he realized how much of an angle he was at as he emerged into the fresh air. With the painful groan an old man might make when sitting down from his long morning walk, the tower finished its toppling, the top crashing into the rapidly-dying maelstrom and snapping in two.

The whirlpool was in a full state of collapse, the current warping and disintegrating as the ocean rushed back into the vacant space it had once occupied. The once-mighty tower became submerged in rolling primal forces, the sea flattening out the disturbance.

The Zenith moved away as fast as its bulk could go, which was impressively fast for such a large ship. Its weapons had fallen silent, its grim work accomplished. Arc maneuvered higher into the air, clearing the returning waters while getting a final look at the fleeing ship. He wanted to see who was responsible, to know the one who had betrayed his or her leader and who had caused Arc and his friends so much approaching grief.

The universe granted his request, for on the deck, staring back at him with eyes of fire and hate, was a metal abomination. The thing could not disguise its disgust, nor could he hide his true identify. Arc knew him in any form, and now he had to add horror to the list of emotions he was going to be dealing with in short order.

Cervantes.

Some things never stay dead, do they? he thought, forcing himself to turn away and concentrate on catching enough thermals to get him and what remanded of their group far, far away from this place.

Behind him, the whirlpool had finished its regression into a calm, featureless land of liquid. The sea currents returned to normal, the schools of agitated fish that made this spot of ocean their home racing back to their favorite foraging grounds, satisfied that everything was back where it was supposed to be.

Lucky fish.