A/N: Finally! It almost felt as though I'd never get this finished! We still have one more chapter after this, and then we'll be good! For now... :D :D :D :D

Another note: with this chapter update, I surpass two million words on FFN. It's only taken me seventeen years (most of it the past six or so lol), but hey! I did it!

Six

When Adrian came over and tapped Clara on the shoulder to relieve her for break, it did not feel as though much time had passed at all. She had all her thoughts on her house and the man still possibly in it. Never mind the cave full of children she was supposed to be in partial-charge of, and she sure as hell wasn't thinking about the coworkers who were her team helping her mind said cave full of children. She went back to bed despite the fact she was fully-awake, tossing and turning and staring at the ceiling of the cave before she had enough.

After telling Adrian that she couldn't sleep and needed to take a walk, Clara strapped her sword to her belt and quietly went out into the pre-dawn village. She had still been truthful, though not entirely as truthful as she knew she should have been under the circumstances. Moving amongst the eerily-silent buildings, all she had was early birdsong to accompany her as she crept back to her house, mist obscuring her surroundings and the sun not yet encroaching on the horizon.

Ah, yes, there it was—no smoke coming from the chimney and no sign that there was anyone inhabiting the building. At least he was taking that part seriously… then again, it was about all he could do, wasn't it? If he was even there…

"Basil…? Hello…?" she said as she entered her house. She glanced around and saw that there was no sign of him. The dinner that she had left on the table was gone and the entire building was silent.

That was it. He was gone.

"Shit…" She sank into a chair and rested her arms and head on the wooden tabletop. "Why couldn't you at least wait for me to say goodbye? You didn't have to prove me right…"

"Here I was thinking that you didn't do goodbyes."

Clara sat upright and looked around frantically—the Doctor still wasn't there. She stood, knocking the chair over, and tensed herself.

"Where are you?!" she demanded.

"Think about that for two seconds—I don't like you because you need everything explained." She looked around, then up, and found him; the Doctor and Idris were up in the rafters, hidden amongst the shadows. He grinned at her, pleased as he jumped down onto the floor. "You wanted me to be careful not to be seen, correct?"

"You idiot," she sighed. She went over and pulled him down into a kiss, at which he tensed awkwardly, unsure of how to properly reciprocate. "I wanted to apologize."

"Good, because I wanted to as well."

"So you're not cross?"

"After everything you've already done for Idris and me? It takes a bit more than that to betray my trust." He then reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out a spoon. "Please tell me you brought food."

Clara blinked. "You just randomly have a spoon in your pocket?"

"Who wouldn't?"

"Then why haven't you been eating with it?"

"You haven't brought porridge… or yogurt… by the gods do I miss yogurt…"

"Where do you get yogurt when you live mostly in caves?" She stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. "Wait, don't answer that. Just tell me what your plan is for stopp…"

"…Clara…?"

The sound of her name cut through her like a set of the sharpest claws. She turned and saw Danny standing there, his jaw slack as he took in the scene before him. When did he begin following her and how much had he seen?! His eyes flit from her to Basil and back in an attempt to process everything.

"Clara," he wondered, "who is this?"

"That is none of your business," the Doctor scowled.

"I was talking to her," Danny snapped back. "Do not talk for her! She can answer herself!" He then brought his attention back on his old friend and attempted to soften his expression. "I'm asking you: who is he?"

"He's Basil—erm—he's the Doctor… and… I found him."

"He's a man—you just don't find a man. What island are you from? Yeah, I'm talking to you now, mate."

Danny began to step forwards, only able to get two paces in before Idris dropped from the ceiling to the floor between them, growling protectively. Her scales shimmered as she crouched and readied to strike. Danny stumbled backwards into the ajar door, eyes wide as he was now completely stunned.

"What the hell?!" he gasped.

"I am a Dragon Lord," the Doctor stated. "Don't think you can threaten me."

"Who do you think is the one doing the threatening?!" Danny questioned. "Our village has been attacked by that," he pointed at Idris, "longer than anyone's been alive! I've just lost my leg to one of you lot, and now, as almost the entire adult population of the village is gone and we're virtually defenseless, I find you necking with one of the people I would expect the least! Are you here to break down our final defenses and truly make us vulnerable? What are you Dragon Lords going to do once you've wiped out Berk?!"

"I don't want to wipe out Berk."

"Then explain how in the hell you're conveniently here while everyone else is gone!" His eyes grew wide as his brain connected dots. "You planted that map in Clara's firebox…"

"Danny, stop," Clara ordered. She left Basil's side and went around Idris, holding her friend by his forearm. "The Doctor did not plant that map, he did not trick me into anything, and he definitely is not working with the Master."

"Then is he the one on the run from her?" he asked. The Doctor shrugged. "Why take your feud here?"

"It was an accident," the Doctor replied. "I doubt she even knew I was alive until recently. Crashing on Berk was an accident, meeting Clara was an accident, getting the attention of the Master was an accident, but don't think that because it was all an accident, that I am here for the same reasons as the one your fellow villagers have foolishly sailed out to meet."

"Then what reason are you here?!"

"I had just been planning on passing through—sleep in a cave, nick just enough to survive yet not get caught, leave under the cover of night—but if it was just that then I would have left a long time ago."

Danny looked at the Doctor and cocked an eyebrow. "Then why risk your life to stay? You're not…" He looked at Clara and his face fell. "How long have you known him? A few days?"

"Months," she corrected, feeling her face grow hot. "It's been multiple months. He was here before my dad left."

"That long?!"

"Listen, Danny; I know it sounds nutty but you have to trust me on this one," she insisted. "I would have thought much the same way as you if you'd told me six months ago we were being attacked by a Dragon Lord directly and suddenly another shows up in my friend's house." She placed a hand on Idris's head and petted the dragon between the ears. "Idris here is the key to defeating Velda."

"She has a proper, normal-sounding name?" he frowned.

"Most people do," the Doctor replied. Clara and Danny both shot him a glare, which caused him to scowl.

"Hush," Clara ordered before turning back to Danny. "If Velda comes here, then Basil and Idris can face her head-on in an environment where they can do the least amount of irreversible damage. You can rebuild a house, but you can't rebuild a villager."

"What makes you so worthy of taking down the Master, then?" Danny asked. The Doctor shrugged.

"She's my kid sister."

Danny's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. "That's your sister?!"

"She's tried to kill me once already, but this time, I'm the one with the element of surprise." Danny's jaw dropped, which caused the Doctor to bristle. "What…?"

"Do you hear yourself?" the younger man asked. "Your sister has already tried to kill you, you've successfully endangered an entire village with your presence, and you think that you somehow have an advantage? What could that possibly be…?"

"A dragon that won't listen to her."

"One dragon; great." Danny looked the Doctor directly in the eyes and stepped forward, approaching the older man with his head held high despite his limp. "Do you see my leg?"

"Singular, yes."

"That is what happened when that sister of yours showed up, I'll have you know," Danny stated. "If you have a plan that will completely avoid the risk of this happening to anyone else, I'll listen."

"The world doesn't work that simply and you know it," the Doctor replied. He narrowed his glare at Danny and Idris let out another low, rumbling growl. "Clara, tell this pudding-brain to leave us be." He glanced over at Clara, only to see her frowning at him with her arms folded across her chest. "Clara…?"

"I'm not telling Danny to bugger off," she said. "He has a point: what's your plan?"

"You don't just plan when it comes to Velda," he claimed.

"Still," Danny said, "you have to know what you want to do when she shows up. There has to be something."

The Doctor pondered for a moment before nodding. "You two work on getting the children from their current cave into one in the forest. I'll use the opportunity to take Idris off to find Velda."

"Why that?" Danny wondered. "The cave they're in now is behind a waterfall. Why would we go and move them now?"

"...because the Master is clever enough to recognize that as a potential place for them to hide," the Doctor stated. "Wake up the other man there, the three of you get the children out into the forest, and stay there. I'll try to figure out where the Master is, as well of the rest of Berk, and report back."

"You better return," Clara warned. "You'll meet us out there?"

"The cave you found me in," he affirmed. They shared a momentary look—one where they both silently told one another their intentions upon being reunited and alone—and he turned on his heel for the door. "Come on, Idris; Clara can handle it from here."

Clara and Danny both followed the Doctor and his Dragon outside and watched as he secured himself in the saddle before taking off, vanishing into the early morning fog. There was no warning the scant guard—they were likely asleep themselves and weren't going to do much else.

"Alright, Adrian and the kids first, then we worry about anyone else," Clara decided.

"Are you sure about him?" Danny asked cautiously. She saw the look on his face and knew his worry was born from the best of places.

"He's perfectly fine, if a little rough around the edges," she said. "I mean, he's not talked to very many people for a number of years. You would seem a bit weird as well."

"I still don't know about him, but moving the kids doesn't sound like a bad idea," he replied. They then sprinted off towards the cave where their charges were all being held, with Adrian waiting for them by the entrance.

"What took the two of you so long?" he wondered. "I thought you were going on a walk, unless…" His eyes flit from one coworker to the other and his face scrunched in confusion. "I haven't missed anything, have I?"

"No, but we do need to move the kids, and now," Danny said. "The Master will recognize this cave for what it is and will seek to destroy it if she gets here before the longships return. We have to evacuate to the forest if the children are going to have a chance of surviving."

"Where'd this come from?" Adrian asked, completely baffled. "Do you have reason to think she might return before the others?"

"Let's just say a disturbingly-informed owl gave us some intel on the matter," Clara said. She and Danny went into the cave and started clapping, raising their voices to make sure everyone heard them.

"Alright, team! It's early, but it's time to move!"

Slowly but surely, the rest of the cave's inhabitants woke despite their lack of desire or the lack of the outside sun. They all grumbled about their teachers' cruelty and their own irritability, whining as they packed up their possessions and younger siblings and cousins alike. There was little room for dawdling, as Clara, Danny, and Adrian all kept them going.

"It's time to head further into the forest!" Danny announced as the children all got into a line. "The ships still aren't back, and we don't want this to mean that the Master is coming back to destroy everything in her path!"

"...but Mister Pink," a student whined. "She won't see us behind the waterfall!"

"We don't want to take the chance that she does," he replied gravely. "Now Mister Davies is going to lead us all towards another cave in the forest—one that is far enough away from the village where it would be a stretch to think everyone was there—and that's where we're going to stay until your parents come back. We'll have breakfast when we get there."

"What if they return and don't find us?" a child asked.

"Your parents know better than to think that you're anything but safe with us," Clara said. "If they find this cave empty, of course they'll come looking for us. They played in caves as kids too—they'll know where to go."

With the children temporarily placated, the three adults began to usher them past the waterfall and out into the open. The sky was beginning to brighten with the dawn, painting the clouds and sky splendidly warm colors before they were to take on their more typical grey and blue hues. They began a headcount, making sure that everyone was there, only getting partway through when they heard it:

The warning bells tolled, hurried peals emerging from the fog, telling their chilling message: Dragons were coming.

Screaming, the kids began to panic. What were they supposed to do? The adults were almost all gone—they all knew they were nearly defenseless. Some rushed back into the cave, some bolted for the woods, and others found it was too much and just collapsed right then and there. Adrian ran off in the direction of those who disappeared into the trees, hoping that they did not get too far without him. Danny tried rounding up the ones who were panicking in front of the waterfall, while Clara dashed after a young girl who ran back into Berk proper, crying for her grandfather in the guard.

"Maebh! Get back here!" she shouted. She ran after the girl, getting halfway through the village before being able to grab her. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"I want to help my granddad!" the child snapped.

"You can help him by staying out of harm's way in the forest!"

"I don't want to! I want to help!"

"Maebh! I'm warning you!"

It was then as a burst of light illuminated the town, filling it with an unnatural warmth that Clara and Maebh knew the source of, yet did not want to see just yet. They looked to see dragons attacking the guard stations—it was useless to attempt to intervene.

"No!" Maebh gasped. She took one step towards the guard stations and squeaked as she was cut off by a large dragon slamming the entire weight of its body onto the ground in front of her. It let out a deafening roar, eyes glinting in the firelight, and set its sights on the small child in front of it. Clara acted immediately and drew her sword as she placed herself between her student and the dragon.

"Don't you dare!" she snapped. She held her ground and gripped her sword firmly, making it clear it was not going to get Maebh without a fight. The dragon growled as it glared at Clara, wanting its prey without fuss. It swiped at her, knocking the sword from her hand, and roared in warning.

Move away from my feast.

Clara stepped backwards, still keeping herself between the dragon and child, not wanting to turn her back to the creature. She could see the collar sitting on it and knew that if she was able to undo it, then she had a chance—however slim—of getting it to go away of her own accord. Maebh behind her began to cry… it wasn't looking good.

Then, just as the dragon was about to pounce, there was a great wind, accompanied by the sound and feeling of something landing between the humans and dragon. A rumbling roar came from seemingly nowhere, though Clara knew better.

"It's about time, Doctor!" Dragon and rider both shimmered into existence, like a mirage on the edge of the water. Maebh gasped and clutched her teacher's arm.

"Who is that?!" the girl wondered.

"That is someone who is here to help," Clara said. She watched as the Doctor activated the flames on his sword and swung it about in an effort to intimidate the dragon. The creature lunged at him—he parried long enough for Idris to reach the enemy's neck and rip off the collar. As the dragonsblood stones came out of the creature's neck, it howled in pain, though instead of attacking the ones before it, it rolled around in the dirt and attempted to soothe its wounds. It sat up and the dragon's pupils were wide and alert—it was free. The dragon grunted and took off, flying away from the fray and off to skies unknown.

"It… it went away!" Maebh marveled. She shrank back when Idris looked at her, though furrowed her brow in thought when she saw the Doctor pet the dragon on the head. "Are you the one the mean lady's looking for?"

"I am, and I'm sorry it's caused you so much trouble," he replied gently. He looked at the sky and squinted, attempting to see where his sister was in the mess. "There."

"Where?" Clara asked.

"There." After dousing his sword, the Doctor picked up a stick from the ground and threw it, the object hitting something mid-air. The Master and her dragon came into view and he grinned.

Gotcha.

"Stop this, Velda!" the Doctor bellowed. "Your fight was never with these people!" All the surrounding dragons stopped and looked at him—if his goal was attention, then he succeeded.

"Aren't you cute," the Master smirked. She allowed her dragon to perch itself on the edge of a roof, the other end of the building on fire. Clara caught the sight of Danny and some of the older students in her peripheral vision—she wasn't going to be the only witness, and they were just out of the Master's sight. "Out of all the places I thought I'd find you, I never expected it to be here."

"I never thought I'd see you again, not after you murdered my family, fed them to your pets, and laughed the entire time! You would do the same to this village, wouldn't you?!"

"I would, if they'd behave and let me hunt them down instead of trying to turn the tables on me," she shrugged. "That was a very rude thing you did, not allowing me to hunt my prey."

"They're people, Velda! That's what they always have been! People!"

"...and why do you fight for these people?!" the Master sneered. Her brother relit his sword in warning, light from it cutting through the fog and smoke unlike anything else.

"I have a duty of care," he declared. "I have found peace here when before I've had none. It's been a long time since I've felt like I've belonged somewhere, Velda, not as though you'd understand."

"What I understand is that you could have been powerful with me—we could have reigned supreme, as is our birthright." The Master's dragon shivered on its perch, clearly preparing itself to jump back into action. Golden dawn light crept up the building and illuminated her figure, showing the glint in her eyes all the stronger. "We could have forged twin dynasties to last the ages! Instead you turned the prospect down and now, all these years later…" Her lip curled in disgust. "Look at us."

"Murders and vagabonds both, but at least I'm not the one who is clinging to the very traditions that killed our people… killed my family!"

"They were weak," the Master said plainly. "You always had a weakness for the unworthy. I was hoping you would eventually open your eyes to that… though I see not… even with all these years. The fact you are here, with these people, only proves your attraction for the undeserving. All you do is run."

"I'm done running."

"Then come back home and take your rightful place, brother! Gallifrey and all her dragons awaits!"

"Gallifrey has nothing for me."

A chill went down the Doctor and Clara's spines as the sun went behind a cloud, shrouding the Master in darkness once again as the low rumble of a storm reached their ears.

"Then it is time for you to die."