Hi everyone and welcome back to the story. The little break I took was very productive and although there is still a lot of story to write, it is moving steadily towards the close.

Thanks for coming back, Marty.

Blue Sky Falling

Act 3

Chapter 31

Calla sat on a small hatch cover on the foredeck of the One and All, taking in the power and grace of the rolling green sea. On her lap sat one small dragon with another curled up by her side. Doom had been very upset at having to give up Azrail for the time being, but she really believed it would not be good for her dragon to be separated from all its friends for an extended period of time. Calla did feel Emerson and Doom would be better off to have one of these loyal creatures by their side, but she honoured their decision and took the dragon into her care. Ever since Daisy had tracked Calla through Gran's tunnels, she too had been hesitant to leave the young girls side. This meant Calla was well on the way to becoming the modern equivalent of a Cat Lady, only with dragons.

It felt good to be back on the ocean and to be amongst friends at last, although she already missed being with Abigail. With sea travel being so new to the girl from Mars, it was decided to put her on the Sea Tug Striker as it was a much larger vessel, being twice the length as the Brigantine One and All, plus it had more amenities and greater stability. Calla had thought they would all stay together but Blue had wanted to travel with the Professor, Captain Branson on the One and All, so she had decided to go with him.

"Hey kid, how ya doin'?"

Then there was Haley Robinson; she was an inspirational young woman and it did not take long for she and Calla to become good friends.

"High there Haley; I thought you were on the helm."

"My shift is done for now, so Blues taken over."

"What? Look I know he's smart but Blue doesn't know how to navigate a ship" Calla declared "Well... maybe a space ship, but not a Brigantine."

"Neither could I when we left America, but Jack and the crew soon taught me. I understand you've had some sailing experience though" Haley noted.

"Yeah that's my vessel over there" Calla pointed to the sea tug, where the yacht Star Runner sat securely in its cradle on the stern deck.

"Yours?" Haley looked doubtful.

"It does belong to my Mom and Dad, ergo it's mine."

"Fair enough; I'm just used to thinking of it as belonging to Emerson and Doom."

The mention of her brother and best friend made Calla a little melancholy.

"Hmm... I hope they're alright."

"I would say they are; they've been through a lot and know what they're doing" Haley reassured the young girl "and don't forget they've got the Bull Ant to live in so no dark tunnel for them."

"Yeah... I suppose" Calla resigned herself.

"Of all the people I've met since your Professor friend came to El Centro with this rag tag bunch, your brother and Doom were high up in my list of good people... it's such a shame I can't say that about everyone."

Haley's face dropped before she got up and went back to work. Calla knew who she was talking about and it was a sore point for the one legged young lady. Everyone had been a reasonably good mood when the Bull Ant had arrived back at the east coast trading town with Calla and Abigail on board, and preparations to leave were progressing well. The small nuclear thermal unit they had used for electrical power had just been removed from the Bull Ant and was ready to be reinstalled on the Striker, when Joe appeared on the dock with his two friends from the restaurant, and they pulled a large cart behind them. Haley had been pleased to see them at first, assuming they may be joining the crew, but then they pulled the tarp off their cart to reveal a number of steel cages; Terrible Terror sized cages.

"What the hell are these for?" she asked although she was already certain of their purpose.

"Those little dragons will fetch a good price as pets that will also protect their owners; we'll make a killing."

"Not if I have any say about it" Haley barked.

"Well it's not up to you, so just stay out of our way" Joe threatened.

Haley had certainly not stayed out of their way. She called on Blue, Reed Branson and Jack Sumner to back her up and they all agreed. Professor Adisa tried to explain to the men that the dragons would suffer in the small cages and needed to be able to move around. Blue pointed out that they were incredibly intelligent and loyal, so to trade in dragons would be an obvious betrayal of their trust; but in the end the men said the One and All crew had no right to stop them.

Branson then said he would not allow the cages onto either of the ships but by the time he said it, the point was rather moot. Acting rather rashly, Blue and Haley had pushed the cart off the side on the dock and into the sea, before giving each other a congratulatory fist bump.

"HEY! YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO..." Joe started, but Haley just tossed him another bag of coins.

"Now get your stuff off our ship and get lost" she ordered.

"You don't have the authority" Joe sneered.

"But I do" Jack Sumner declared.

All three men left with curses on their lips and hatred in their hearts. Haley knew she and her friends would still be welcome by most people in the little coastal town high on the cliff, but it was such a shame to know they now had enemies there too.

Day after day the two ships sailed on across the North Atlantic. Calla spent much of her time either taking shifts on the helm, or teaching Blue the ins and outs of operating a sailing vessel. She taught him the difference between a sail and a sheet, a cleat and a cam, and explained that the poop had nothing to do with the number of Gulls overhead. He was eager to learn and she was willing to teach, and it also gave them opportunity to spend more time together.

After another extended time at sea, it was safe to say everyone was happy to arrive back to the island of Berk, but none more so than Maximilian DeGroot. The dragon historian assumed he would have a lot of trouble trying to convince his shipmates to return the original home of the Dragon Riders, but he need not have worried. They could not return to Sumatra till Sage and his army had left and now that the existence of dragons had been confirmed, Blue, Calla and especially Professor Adisa wanted to do some more exploration and study.

Upon landing, the old underground Dragon Stable was the first place they gathered because it took care of a number of the groups requirements; the biggest of these being instant shelter. In the time they had been gone, a few members of the islands Terrible Terror population had also moved into the stables, but they were quite pleased the see the return of the humans. These friendly two legged creatures who would sometimes provided fish and tummy rubs, were definitely welcome as far as these dragons were concerned.

Late in the evening, after she had set up her sleeping bag in a corner near Abigail, Calla casually drifted on over to the far end near the cliffside opening, where Blue was stowing his own gear.

"Hey Babe, whatcha got planned for tomorrow?" she asked him.

"Ah, good evening M'lady" he smiled "The first thing I want to do is explore the far side of the island. If any other species of dragon have settled here, I want to find them before they find us."

"Could they be dangerous?"

Could be is the right way to put it" Blue nodded "I think we could handle few Nadders or Gronckles, but Razorwhips may be a handful. Of course if we come across anything like a Changewing, best we just stay on our side of the island."

"Didn't I hear DeGroot saying something about a cave?" Calla remembered.

Yeah but I'd rather know the island first; and besides, DeGroot said something about it being a place of magic, and I for one do not believe in magic."

"Yeah it's nothing but superstition and legend... like dragons" Calla smirked.

Blue gave her a stare that said he was not impressed; it made her chuckle.

"Excuse me miss!" one of the Strikers crew called out "I was asked to bring this gear to you."

With limited space on the One and All, Calla and Blue had only taken what they needed with them, while the rest of their gear had been stored onboard the sea tug. Along with a backpack full of clothes and supplies, was something Calla was overjoyed to have back in her possession.

"Ah my axe; I was so pleased to find it was still on the Bull Ant" Calla squealed with glee.

Blue thought she looked so cute as she hugged the fire axe as if it were a puppy. In a strange way, it meant a lot to him too. Calla had found it on an abandoned fire truck back at Edwards Air Force Base when they first arrived back on Earth. As they travelled across the North American continent, she carried it almost everywhere but had not been given the opportunity to retrieve it when Gran's forces had kidnapped the three youngest members of the Bull Ant team. Seeing it again reminded him of the stripped down, half cooked Dream Chaser shuttle he had abandoned at Edwards.

"Are you gonna sleep with it under your pillow?" Blue smiled.

"I don't think it would fit" she replied honestly "Well, it's getting late."

Getting up on her toes, Calla gave Blue a goodnight kiss before giving him a mischievous look.

"Are you gonna kiss Axie goodnight?"

"No I am not going to kiss your axe goodnight" he sighed.

"He's called Axie" Calla insisted.

"Considering your usual naming method, I'm surprised you didn't call it the Star Axe" Blue smirked.

"Nah, I'm saving that name for a battleaxe made of titanium" she said quite seriously.

'

'

As I said before, the last six weeks have been very productive with a total of 58 chapters completed. Now that I've reached the end of Act 3 I figured it would be safe to start publishing again while doing the re-writes and proof reading, then I can start on chapter 59. I'll try and put up two per week, so see you all again in a few days time.

Marty :)