A/N Just a little one-shot I thought up a while ago. What if in Episode 11 they fell over the ocean when the airship blew up, instead of over the Magical Library?

Everything had been going so well, the commander thought, as he heard rather than saw the Empire's cannons go off in the distance. What had gone wrong?

There was a loud bang as the airship exploded. Time seemed to slow down as everything around them shot either around them or away from them. Except for one large piece of wooden debris which the mage saw hit his friend in the head, knocking him unconscious.

They began to fall down through the air, the remaining debris coming down around them.

The mage saw his elf friend looking around in shock and terror, her blonde hair whipping around her face as they began to pick up speed. Gazing over at her, the mage could see quite clearly that she was completely terrified.

He couldn't blame her, really. He was just as scared. They were falling from who knew how high up straight down into the middle of the ocean.

If the impact didn't kill them, they would all drown.

The mage hated water.

Time started to speed up again as they continued to fall. The initial adrenaline was wearing off, too soon. But as it did so, the mage found that he could think more clearly.

He knew what he needed to do.

Bringing his hands together, the mage concentrated all of his energy into one, single magic spell which would protect them from the impact of hitting the water, and would then allow them to get back to dry land.

But only if the mage had sufficient energy to complete the spell. If he did not, casting the spell would consume all of his energy, including his life force, not just his mana.

The mage did not care in the slightest about this.

If it meant saving his friends... he would do it. He had to try.

The mage, uttering the words to complete the spell, spread his arms wide. They were about to hit the water.

The mage briefly closed and opened his eyes. He drew breath to yell.

"Protego Horribilis!"

A huge, transparent bubble erupted from the mage's fingertips. It quickly grew to surround the three falling beings and the debris around them. The commander woke up upon feeling the magical barrier pass through him. The elf's eyes widened.

The debris around them slowed.

The mage let out a sudden gasp at the energy taken from him.

They hit the water, and the mage's power broke. The bubble-shield disappeared. The debris made huge splashes around them.

The mage swallowed water upon impact, and he swam for the surface. He needed air, quickly.

The mage realised with sudden dismay at the fact that he could not move. The spell, although not fatal, had sapped a lot of his energy. He began to sink down through the murky waters, down into its dark, dark depths.

Exhaustion overcame him, and he passed out.

*

"Drake! DRAKE!"

The commander shouted the mage's name as he frantically looked about the floating wreckage for any sign of his friend. Of which there was none.

If he's not up here then that means... he must have gone down...!

Hurriedly, he commander took off his jacket and slung it over a floating piece of wreckage. Then, he plunged down into the darkness of the water, eyes squinting against the sting of the salt water for his friend.

For once in his life, luck was on the commander's side, as the sun came out from behind a cloud and illuminated the dark waters. The commander instantly saw his friend, who was floating unconscious several metres below him.

Diving down through the water, the commander gathered the unconscious mage in his arms and had to use all his strength to haul the unconscious mage to the surface. He was heavy.

Breaking the surface of the water, the commander took in a breath of air, and called out the elf's name.

"Mia!"

"Over here, Grayson!"

The commander swam over to where the she-elf was kneeling on a large floating piece of driftwood. She extended one hand for the commander to take, and he took it, lifting himself and the unconscious mage up onto the raft.

Blonde hair plastered to his face, the commander had to take a few seconds to get his breath back. Then, looking down at his friend, croaked, "Drake? Are you ok?"

The mage made no answer. The commander shook him roughly, determined to get him to wake up.

"Drake! Come on, buddy, wake up!"

The mage did not reply for a few moments. The elf looked downcast. The commander stopped shaking him, and gritted his teeth slightly.

Then the mage suddenly started coughing up the water that had been in his lungs, and he opened his eyes. Using his shaky arms to support himself, the mage sat up slightly and grinned at the other two as they engulfed him in an enormous hug.

"Drake!"

"Oh Notch, Drake, don't scare us like that! We thought you were dead!"

The mage smiled wearily at his two friends.

"Yeah, I missed you guys too."

The commander grinned, clearly pleased that his friend was alright.

"You saved our lives, Drake. We owe you now, more than ever, you know that?"

The mage shook his head modestly.

"No, Grayson, Mia, you owe me nothing. Both of you would have the same if you were in my situation. Besides, you saved my life, so we're even now, aren't we?"

The commander smiled, laughed, and clapped one hand around the mage's shoulder.

"Even."

A/N And as for how they get back to land and to the Magic Library, I have no idea. POTATOES FOR EVRYONE!