A/N: Just as a warning, since this is the final battle, there's still battle/injury descriptions.
Seven
As the storm drew closer to Berk, the remaining inhabitants were attempting to keep things as together as possible. The Doctor had jumped onto Idris's saddle and was attempting to fight the Master, going every which way he could in an effort to catch up to her despite the fog and mist and smoke. Clara, on the other hand, was on the ground with Danny, attempting to find a way out of the grasp of the Master's dragon army that was wreaking havoc on most of the village.
"Miss, this is a lot weirder than anything that's ever happened," one of the students claimed. They were hiding behind a low paddock wall, one made of stone and mud that provided shelter from the flames as well as the light they gave off. "What's going on?"
"It's hard to explain," Clara said. "Long story short: I found the good guy with a dragon."
"With that face?" another student wondered incredulously. "Miss, he looks like a bogeyman."
"He just needs to eat regularly, I think," she replied. "The Doctor's a good guy though, trust me."
"...but the Master lady called him 'brother'," another student noted. "I don't fight with my brother like that."
"...and we hope you never do," Danny said. He turned towards the other adult and frowned severely. "Clara…"
"We don't have time for this," she claimed, not letting him continue. "We have to get the kids to Adrian."
"Those dragons are mad and will roast us alive," he said.
"Not mad, just not in their right minds."
"Isn't that usually a standard definition of 'mad'?"
"Not when they're being mind-controlled!"
"...and how do you propose she's doing that?!"
"Those harnesses, sir," Maebh piped up. Everyone looked at her and she seemed to shrink at the attention. She was the youngest and slightest of the group by far, making it all the more obvious when she could nearly stand straight and still not peek over the top of the wall on her toes. "When Miss Oswald and I were being attacked at first, the Doctor stopped the dragon from attacking us by taking off a collar it had on. I don't know how she does it, but it looks like that's it."
"The Doctor referred to it as 'the Old Style' when we found some on another island," Clara said. "I don't know what it is, but what I do know is that if we get those off of the dragons, they stop being controlled by her… at least, it's not as thorough."
Danny contemplated that, growing silent. There was so much that he had encountered the past few hours that it was clear by the look on his face—even in the fog that was turning into rain too light to extinguish the fires—that he wasn't entirely certain what to think anymore. He shook his head and shrugged in exasperation.
"This is ridiculous," he grunted.
"Ridiculous or not, this is what we're faced with right now!" Clara insisted. She stood, and he matched her, still hidden from the combatant dragons for the time being. "We have to get those harnesses off the dragons—the more the better—if we're going to have a chance at anything!"
"How do you know?!"
"I just do!"
"Clara, we have children to keep safe! How is attempting to do anything but run from these things an option!"
"...because the Doctor said…!"
"Oh, the Doctor said… Clara, he's the reason why the Master's even here! He's just some vagabond!"
"He's worth it, just as every half-drowned wretch who turns up on our shore is worth it," she said firmly. None of the students knew how pointed her words were, yet it made Danny breathe deeply in an effort to keep calm.
"You can't possibly mean that!" he argued.
"I can!"
"…and why is that?!"
"I love him, Danny, that's why!"
The students had become deathly quiet, everyone staring at their teachers as they had their row. A moment passed and Danny drew his sword with a grim expression.
"No! You can't be serious!" a student gasped.
"I am," he confirmed… though not in the way the teen expected. Danny pointed the sword towards the anti-dragon platforms and parapets. "We have to man the regular stations and take out the Master's dragons as they attack. Your parents aren't here now, so it's up to us."
"You mean it…?" Maebh wondered, scrunching her nose.
"I mean it," Danny replied. "We don't need to kill the dragons—if Miss Oswald is right, then we're past that. All of you have aim to make a hungry frog jealous. Just aim for those things they're wearing! Come on, team!" The kids all cheered and ran towards where what was left of the guard was attempting to save the anti-dragon weapons, leaving him and Clara behind.
"They're children, Danny," she stated.
"Whom I've trained," he reminded her. "I wouldn't do this if I didn't have every confidence in them… or in your choice."
"Thank you," she said. She popped up on her toes and kissed his cheek. "I'm sorry."
"Be sorry later; we've got an invasion to stop."
"Right."
Running after the students, Clara and Danny used their swords to beat back dragons that were attempting to snatch up them and their charges. A couple of the bigger students picked up some of the launchers, while the smaller ones began gathering the bolas and arrows from the wreckage of the platforms. A taller girl with a crossbow was the first to load and fire, snipping the leather harness off a dragon charging at them. It howled and rubbed its neck against the wet grass. The creature shivered, sat up, and looked at the gaggle of students.
"Whoa! That's cool!" a student marveled. He approached the dragon cautiously, only for the creature to close the distance and rub its snout against his arm, then shoulder, then back. "Miss! You were right! The dragon is nice!"
"Then let's go turn the other ones nice too," Clara grinned. She helped the kids find more ammo and helped Danny beat back the dragons who were getting through the line of fire. Some of the students were able to immobilize the creatures with the bolas, leaving them on the ground for her and Danny to cut off the harness with less risk to them. The ground was wet and the grass slippery—it was getting harder to see and maneuver, despite the fact the storm had yet to reach them and bring sizable rain.
"We've made a dent, but there's too many of them!" Danny said. He and Clara could see the Dragon Lords fighting in the distance, mostly shrouded by the mist and smoke. "What's taking him so long?!"
"I doubt she's making this easy for him!" she replied, shouting to be heard over the fighting. Something in the mist caught the corner of her eye and Clara had to double-take, nearly missing another controlled dragon's lunge. "Danny! Kids! The longships are back!"
"WHAT?!" Everyone looked in the direction of the harbor and saw that the ships were indeed back, every single one seemingly worse for wear. The adults all began to disembark the crafts the moment they could reach the piers, running to the small group.
"What's going on here?!" the chief marveled. Many of the others began to beat back dragons, though others were noticing the peculiar manning in which their children were manning the anti-dragon weaponry. "What are you doing?!"
"The kids are aiming for those collars on the dragons' necks," Clara explained, getting straight to the point. "Get rid of the collar and you have a curious-yet-benign creature. They can do it as long as the Master is distracted and they're attempting to act out, which she fully is at the moment."
"...and why is she distracted?"
"Well that's the bad news: we found the man that the Master was looking for," Danny chimed in. "Weird news is that he and the Master are siblings that hate one another, and we would have definitely all been long-dead by now if it wasn't for him."
"Is there any good news?"
"Thanks to Miss Oswald's new boyfriend, we don't have to fight the dragons, only knock their harnesses off." The chief looked at Clara and she shrugged—couldn't argue that. "Where are the other kids?"
"Most of them listened well and are either in the caves with Adrian or in the forest with the sheep," Clara stated. "Listen, Chief, about that map…"
"I know you made those changes, and I had a feeling it was all thanks to a dragon," he replied, cutting her off. "I don't appreciate being lied to, especially when it leads to us all almost dying at sea."
"…I did try to stop you…" She dodged as the Doctor and Idris nearly landed on her, both popping up after skidding along the damp grass. One look was all she needed to know that they both needed her. She turned back towards the chief momentarily before running. "Just get everyone to aim for the collars! No killing!" She then ran towards the Doctor and Idris, seeing that they were preparing to get back into the air.
"We have to finish this quickly," he said. "If the bulk of that storm passes over Berk, then we'll not only have winds and rain to deal with, but lightning as well."
"I've got the villagers trying their best to get the collars off the dragons," she informed him. "The longer you keep the Master distracted, the more we can free."
"Then let's hope that we're able to get the best of both worlds," he replied. The two shared a look before Clara grabbed his face and kissed him. He inhaled sharply at the action, which caught the attention of his opponent.
"Would you look at that," the Master chortled. Her dragon stayed in place in the air, flapping its wings with enough force to counter the winds that were beginning to pick up. "So that is why you said you found peace here; I didn't think it was because you were now a beloved member of a community. All you did was get a leg up."
"Get off it," Clara snapped. The Master simply grinned.
"I call them as I see them," she replied, "and what I see is a delusional, lonely old man and an equally-delusional girl who think themselves compatible enough for…"
"VELDA!" the Doctor bellowed, cutting her off. Idris jumped into the air and they went for a direct attack, dragon ready to slam into dragon. Just before they collided, Velda and her mount vanished, slipping into the smoke.
"You won't be able to catch up," she smirked playfully. "Look at you, Basil: foolishly thinking that you can defeat me, live in harmony with dedicated dragon killers, bed a young thing closer to your daughter's age than your own…"
"SHUT UP!" The Doctor and Idris bounded from rooftop to rooftop as they searched for their enemy. "YOU KNOW NOTHING!"
"I know enough to say with confidence that I know my brother, and you've always been one to dig in your heels and pout," she said. "This is your last chance: come back to Gallifrey with me and we can still start our separate dynasties, and bring our people to their former glory. Our family can be whole again…"
"You ruined that a long time ago," he snarled.
"Pity."
Using the crack of thunder as cover, Velda and her dragon charged at Basil, snapping the harness straps and knocking him off Idris's saddle. He fell off his mount, onto the wet roof, and tumbled down until he landed firmly on the ground below. It felt as though his entire body connected with the stone pavers in front of the doorway, from his head on down. Everything was static and pain as he struggled to get up.
"BASIL!" Clara rushed towards his side, helping him up. Idris joined them, clearly agitated by the fact her rider was not in his saddle. Basil held his head as he tried to stand, pain coursing through like nothing he'd ever felt before. His head was oddly warm as well as wet—blood was coming from a cut somewhere past his hairline.
"Clara, there you are," he said in relief. He looked at her for a moment before blinking in a panic. "No… no… no, no, no!"
"What's the matter…?"
"…everything's going dark…" he realized quietly. Terror swept over his face as her own faded into nothingness and his vision left him. "Did I hit my head that hard…?"
"Back on your dragon, brother!" the Master commanded. He did not, ignoring her in his panic, and she sneered. "Fight me! Show me those ideals you hold so dearly!"
Clara glared at the Master, sitting atop her dragon much like an usurper might sit upon a throne, and her blood began to truly boil.
"Stay here," she said. The Doctor tried to cling to her, keep her at his side.
"Please," he begged. She placed a hand on his face and looked up at him, seeing how terrified he was.
"Let me be brave," she requested gently. He licked his lips, hesitating, and nodded, eyes full of confusion and red with tears. She slipped easily from his grip as she stepped away—it was time to act.
"…and what do you think you are going to do?" the Master smirked. Clara picked up the Doctor's sword and sat on Idris's saddle, not even bothering strapping herself into the harness. "You don't seriously think that you can go up against a Dragon Lord, now do you?"
"I know I can go up against another woman… a human being of flesh and bone like myself, who is leading the charge to destroy my village and the only place I've known to call home." She snapped the reins with one hand and the dragon flapped its wings, lifting off the ground. "You and your dragons will never terrorize anyone ever again."
"Cute." The Master clucked her tongue and her dragon roared. "You do not know how to wield power like I do."
"You're right, I don't," Clara replied, "I know how to use it better. Idris!"
As they climbed higher and higher, Idris's scales shimmered as she camouflaged herself, the protection extending to Clara. The Master narrowed her eyes as she watched the other woman and dragon disappear—she did not like this.
"You can't hide from me," she announced. The Master clucked her tongue again and her dragon began to slink along the rooftops. "It takes an entire life to become a Dragon Lord, to be as competent as I am, and it's something you shall never achieve under Basil's auspices no matter how much you pretend otherwise. What did my rascal older brother do to you? What did he say across the pillow in the dark of night? What did he whisper in your ear between sweet nothings? What did he promise that was so grand and lofty that you were fool enough to actually believe it?"
"He promised his name," Clara replied. The Master had her dragon send a blast of flames in the direction of her voice, only to hit decorative eaves instead. "His name is the Doctor… his promise is to help people. What was your promise?"
"...to become the best, the one that would bring the Dragon Lords back to prominence," she declared. "Dragon Lords used to rule these waters, but you wouldn't know that based on how everyone acts. They've forgotten. All I need is a plucky young heir and enough dragonpower to bring down even the most formidable fleets." A grin crept across her lips and she tried to figure where the voice was amongst the mist and smoke. "That plucky young heir could be you; all the world at your command."
"What if I don't want it?" The Master's dragon let loose another puff of flames and missed again.
"Then you're an even bigger fool than I thought," the Dragon Lord sneered. "Then again, my brother was always a fool himself—you wouldn't be the first time he slept with an enemy, lustfully crawling into bed with some pretty thing. Did you know that?"
"I did, which is why you won't be invited to holiday dinners. I'd like to keep familial murders to a minimum."
The Master saw her chance and struck, thrusting her sword forward as she attempted to impale the shadowy figure before her. Instead, she realized that her sword was buried deep within another decorative wooden figure, this time, her weapon being stuck. A rope quickly swung about and tangled with her limbs, keeping her semi-attached to the figure as she attempted to escape.
"Idris! Now!"
Just then, the Master looked and saw a ball of fire hurtling towards her. It hit her directly, burning the ropes and knocking her off her dragon and to the ground. She laid still as others began to gather, seeing for themselves if the scorched, fallen figure still clung to life. When she did not move, one of the villagers attempted to get closer, only for her dragon to swoop down and carry her off.
No matter what, it was done.
Much of the village cheered as they watched the dragon fly off into the distance, navigating through the maze of lighting strikes. The dragons that remained of the Master's army began to roar in solidarity with the Berkians, those with their harnesses still on scratching at and scorching them off. The winds began to pick up and the rain come down harder.
"To the Great Hall!" the village chief ordered. "Before the storm hits!"
As usual, the Great Hall was one of the few buildings remaining, into which they crammed everyone, human and dragon, in against the force of coming storm. The only ones who did not come in were those who were tasked with finding the children, making sure they and the flocks of sheep made it into the caves.
"Now," the chief said once the doors were shut and they were safe from the elements. All the humans save for two were on one side of the hall, warily looking at the side filled with dragons. "Clara Oswald, you need to explain yourself. What is going on here that you conveniently forgot to tell us all until just now?"
"A few months ago," she said, head held high and backed by dragons, "I found a man and a dragon in the woods on the island. The dragon had fallen from the sky with the man on it and, instead of coming to destroy us, I found they were only there to survive. I saw the man care for the dragon unlike I ever thought possible for a human. Seeing the bond they shared, it made me wonder about the war we find ourselves locked in with dragons, and if it was really the way we needed to travel." She eased Basil from his seat on Idris's back and presented him to the Hall. "Without him, the Master would have destroyed us all."
"Just as a human village follows a chief, a dragon den follows its alpha," the Doctor said, an undertone of sadness to his voice. He kept blinking in vain, hoping it would help him see, yet he was still enveloped in darkness. "With Idris here as our mount, Clara and I fought and won against the previous alpha who held dominion over these dragons. We are the new alphas, a hybrid of sorts, and these dragons will not willingly hurt you as long as we are around."
"You mean for us to become a haven for dragons, after years of fighting them?!" a villager asked. "What do you possibly take us for?!"
"People who, until now, have been very scared," Clara said. "You don't have to be any longer."
For a long while, no one moved. It was Clara, the Doctor, and the dragons on one side, and the rest of Berk staring at them from the other. Neither side was sure what the other would do until Danny stepped forward, hobbling in pain. Adrenaline was fading as his amputated leg began to throb and he winced with every step. He stopped in front of Idris and knelt down on his good leg, looking the dragon in the eyes. Placing a hand on her snout, he stroked her scales as she purred in contentment.
"That means she likes you," Basil said. "I can hear her from here."
"I kind of figured as much, you idiot." Danny stood with Idris's help, and the rest of the hall gaped in awe.
There were dragons in Berk, and they were here to stay.
Nothing really happens here, on the island and in the village where I grew up.
Berk is nothing special, really. My parents came here when I was a little girl, before I could clearly remember, searching for a different sort of life. For the most part, people are born here, live here, die here, and there's not much else that goes on. We farm sheep, and fish, and there's some crops that we're able to cultivate despite the rocky terrain. Traders go through every now and then, buying our Berkish wool and metalworks while being our lifeline to the rest of the world. One can live a good life on Berk, which I guess is why Mum and Dad came here all those years ago.
Did I mention there are dragons? Oh, yeah, because there are.
We exist peacefully with them thanks to Berk's newest human resident. Basil might have grown up thinking he was going to be the last person to be friends with a dragon, but now he's one of the favorite instructors at the school, passing on the art of dragonkeeping to new generations despite barely being here a year. He's great with the students—they gobble up his stories and wisdom like a warm meal—and it makes me feel all the easier for the late winter when we are going to become three. He will never see our child's face thanks to his injuries, but that doesn't matter… not as long as we are together.
All in all, it's still not a terrible place to live. We take care of one another, the community is strong, and no one goes hungry or cold. Everything seems to fit into place…
…here, in Berk, where we are the Last of the Dragon Lords.
A/N: …and that's it for this leg of the story! "What? This leg?" you ask? Well, keep tuning in and you'll find out soon enough! ;D