A/N: Ohmigosh, you guys must hate me! I'm really truly sorry. Life has just been getting in the way of my writing, between school (which ended a month ago), family stuff, my basement flooding, and preping for a convention in three days, I just haven't found a spare moment nor the inspiration to write.

So here's chapter eleven! We're nearly done! Hope you enjoy and I haven't lost all of you over the past two months.

Enjoy! And please review.

Chapter 11

Waiting is a terrible thing.

This was not the type of waiting one experiences whilst expecting a fresh cod or a mid-afternoon flight. No, this was a horrible, agonizing kind of waiting. The kind that only occurs when a life and death decision is being made, when someone's life is on the line.

And there's a very good chance that they may not come out of it alive.

Toothless lay quietly beside the human girl as they awaited the verdict of the council. No one had moved. Small murmurs of conversation floated down to the small group in the centre, but the three stayed deathly silent. The girl had sat on the ground, her face buried in her knees. Toothless had curled around her as the boy tried to approach, growling low in his chest.

You've hurt her enough today. Go away.

"Sakura?" he tried, speaking quietly. Toothless continued to growl, even going so far as to bare his teeth. He couldn't bite the boy, but the threat was there.

"What do you want, Artemis?" the girl snapped. She glared coldly at the boy.

He flinched. "What... what do you want me to do now?"

"Just go away. Please." Her voice was quiet as she buried her face in her knees once again. The dragon curled closer to her, pushing the boy away with his tail and a cold look. The boy stumbled momentarily before catching himself, turning around and heading back to the seating and jumping over the low wall.

"I wish they'd stop staring..." she murmured, glaring at the audience. "Two faced bastards. All of them. They can all burn in hell. They all but loved me a week ago. And now – ha! They think I'm evil for doing this. Wonder if that's a step up from crazy?" Sarcasm dripped off her words as she laid a hand on the dragon's head. "They won't kill me, Toothless. My dad doesn't have it in him. Life sentences are his thing. But he's soft. He won't do that to me. But I have a feeling I won't get off easy..."

The knot in his stomach didn't unclench. He believed her, yes, but just because they let her live didn't mean that they would let her perform the spell. They could do any number of things to her other than sentence her to death. Exile, for one, was a very real possibility. Perhaps they may even seal away her magic permanently. Prison time was also highly likely.

Each one did not allow her to do the spell, which in and of itself was devastating enough for Toothless. He had been such a fool to get his hopes up like this. There was no way this could work out. Not if the gods had any say in it.

For the second time in his life, the dragon found himself wishing he was human. If he was, he wouldn't be here right now. He would have died and joined his Hiccup in the afterlife. Or maybe he wouldn't have died; perhaps he would still be immortal, still be a tool for the gods to use at Ragnarok.

At the very least he would be able to see Hiccup. Flying be damned; even to just see his face, hear his voice, that would be enough. But unfortunately, dragons couldn't see ghosts.

But dragons could sense them. Hiccup was here, in the room. And he couldn't see him. The very thought made the dragon angry. Everyone else could see him! As far as most of the people in stands were probably concerned, he was perfectly alive, human, there.

The dragon's eyes fell on an empty space between the dark haired boy – Artemis, his conscience whispered – and his blonde brother.

Hiccup was there. And everyone could see him except Toothless.

Beryl eyes bored into Hiccup, acknowledging but not quite seeing. It broke his heart to see Toothless like this. He knew the dragon couldn't see him, but he still wanted to go and comfort him, tell him it would all work out. What was holding him back, anyways? He was a ghost right? Not everyone could see him. Right?

Hiccup made to stand up, to go and comfort his best friend. After all, how long had it been since he'd seen the dragon last? Three hundred years at least. Three hundred years since Toothless had been taken away from their home. Even longer since he'd actually been able to reach the dragon.

Beside him, Artemis shook his head. "If you're planning on going up there, I wouldn't recommend it," he mumbled glumly.

The Viking frowned. "Why not?"

"Because everyone in this room can see you, of course. Unless you want to get sent to Hel the hard way," the dark haired boy responded, watching as Hiccup flopped back into his seat.

"They can do that?" he asked in mild horror.

Artemis shrugged. "I think so. I've heard rumours. Besides, Toothless can't see you. You know that."

With a sigh, Hiccup kneaded at his forehead with the heels of his palms. "This is so messed up..."

With a nod, Artemis agreed. "Completely. I never should have opened my mouth... I just... ugh."

"You meant well, though. You just... did something stupid, thinking it would work out. Only it didn't work out so well," said the Viking. "I think she'll be fine though."

"You think?" Artemis gave him a hopeful glance.

"For sure! I mean, anything's possible, right?" He flashed a lopsided grin.

A silence fell between the two as they watched their friends in the middle. From where they sat, Sakura was completely obscured by the dragon, who watched them back. What Hiccup wouldn't give to comfort him. But he couldn't. He lacked something quite important.

A body. But, if this spell worked, he was supposed to get one.

The idea was positively mad. But at the same time, it made sense. A body made from Mother Earth, which is where bodies come from and go back to, animated by an already existing soul. It sounded simple enough.

Obviously it wasn't, because they were in court waiting for a verdict on the spell. Something about it included dark magic. But what?

"What's so bad about this spell, anyways?" he asked out loud.

Artemis looked at him. "It's dark magic, Hiccup."

"I know that. But what part of it is dark? I mean, the idea itself is simple..." His thirst for knowledge was getting the better of him, as it often did.

The other boy thought for a moment. "Well, the energy required to get the spell going comes straight from the person casting it. It would take a few days, maybe even weeks, off of her life. It's potentially lethal. Not to mention that raising the dead, in any way, shape or form, is highly illegal. It wasn't until about ten years ago, but that changed when Leon came to be the head of the council."

"What's his problem with that? If someone wants to risk their life, that's their problem," said Hiccup, matter-of-factly.

"Well, I think it was more of a personal thing of his," responded Artemis. "A friend of his was killed trying to bring back his wife, using this spell. Leon actually created this spell himself, along with Gabriel, to help out their friend. But it didn't end well at all..."

"So this could potentially kill her?" Hiccup felt a wave of panic wash over him. He wouldn't be able to live – for lack of a better term – with himself if that happened.

Artemis nodded. "Pretty much. That was the only time it failed though, according to the book. But there's always that risk..."

Apollo swivelled his head around to look at the pair. "You're forgetting that this is Sakura we're talking about. The girl's got some serious magical oomf. She can do it. I know she can. Don't you worry Hiccup; you'll be in the air on Toothless by the weekend. Just you wait." He flashed a toothy grin at the translucent boy, who returned the gesture uneasily.

He hoped that Apollo was right.

The wait was excruciating. To start with, Sakura was not a patient person, so being cold, hungry and exhausted really did not help her patience much.

The swish of the council members' cloaks was music to her ears, as was the silence that followed not long afterwords.

Leon sat in his chair, looking much older and worn than before. The crowd dared not utter a word as he opened his mouth to speak. "After much deliberation, we the council see it fit that Sakura Ross be allowed to perform this spell."

The crowd roared, discontent evident among the masses. Leon held up a hand, shushing them. "She has made the alterations necessary to make this spell no longer fall under "Black Magic." I see her reasons as just and fair. This does not mean that she will not get off without punishment. She will serve five-hundred hours of community service, and someone must supervise the ritual. I believe that is fair. Sakura, what do you have to say?"

The girl blinked for a moment, willing her brain to kick back in. Had she heard him right? Only five hundred hours? That could be done easily. "Uh, I think I can live with that," she said quietly.

Her father nodded, a trace of a smile on his face. "Then you are free to go. Yami will handle you from here."

Normally she might have bristled at the term "handle" but she was so excited, she could barely speak. Turning to Toothless, she threw her arms around his maw as he gave a happy rumble.

He was excited too. Just that fact alone was enough to make her laugh hysterically out of joy. "I did it, we did it, Toothless! You're going to see Hiccup again!" Another happy rumble.

Yami approached from seemingly nowhere and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on; let's get you out of here."

Glancing at the dragon, they both nodded. "Yeah. That sounds good."

The Flynn sanctuary was a welcome sight for Toothless. For him, it meant freedom and a very real possibility for happiness. The mid-afternoon sun was warm and bright with hardly a cloud in the sky, setting a cheery backdrop for their arrival.

But there was no rest for the wicked. They weren't back five minutes and the girl was already in Toothless' enclosure and hauling out the circle. Her magic had been restored – once again the dark man's handiwork – and she was itching to finish. However, her exhaustion got the better of her and she ultimately ended up snoozing under the dragon's tree. The thought of waking her crossed Toothless' mind, but he thought better of it. The girl needed sleep if she was to be of any use.

Dark had fallen before the dark-haired boy came looking. Looking somewhat frantic, he breathed a sigh of relief and crouched down next to her. Toothless shook his head at the human boy. There was no need to worry.

The girl stirred as the boy approached. "Art," she mumbled sleepily, "what's up? Something wrong?" In her sleep-induced haze, she seemed to have forgotten her qualms with the boy, and fixed him with a loving look.

"We were just wondering where you had gotten off to, is all. I guess you're fine, so I'll just leave now..." He turned to leave, but the girl caught up to him and grabbed his arm before he could get to far.

She sighed. "Look. I need your help for something." The boy looked at her cautiously through black bangs. "Come on, be my guinea pig?" She asked.

"Should I be worried?" he asked.

The girl shrugged. "Not really."

Toothless didn't really think much of just why this girl needed a guinea pig, – the boy didn't resemble one in the slightest – but when the girl started to move towards him, he felt his stomach drop. There was no why he'd be part of this girl's experiments! Frightfully, he began to shuffle backwards.

"Hey, Toothless, calm down! It won't hurt, I swear. Now come back here," she spoke calmly. He snorted and shook his head.

"And why should I believe you? How am I supposed to know? I know you can't kill me, but severe physical damage is indeed possible-"

Getting closer, she bopped him on the nose. "Oh hush, you big baby."

Without a moments' hesitation, she placed her thumb between his eyes, doing the same thing on the boy. She had to reach up quite a bit farther for the dragon's nose as it was eye-level with her. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and slowly exhaled. There was a small tingle that spread from her thumb and seemed to penetrate his very brain, causing him to shiver from head to tail.

"What was that for?" Toothless asked, tensing.

The boy's resounding gasp was enough of an answer. "Sakura... did he... did Toohless just talk?"

She shrugged. "In a manner of speaking," she said nonchalantly. "He's not talking so much as thinking. Dragons do communicate verbally, but it's quite a bit less complex than this way of communication. Normally it's only the older dragons, or dragons who have lived together for long periods of time that talk like this."

His mouth flapped uselessly as Toothless nodded. The dragon had to admit, he was impressed with the girl's knowledge.

"I had no idea... Sakura do you realize the things you could do with this talent? And the ablity to pass it on? Vets everywhere and sanctuary owners would pay through the nose!"

The girl shrugged. "It's not a big deal. I do it between people all the time. Like with Temp and Hiccup. I've never tried between humans and animals though. But still. Not a big deal. And besides, it's only temporary. It'll wear off in about a week, unlike the human spell that's permanent until removed. And the only dragon you can "talk" to is Toothless. He's a little different than the other dragons." She patted him on the nose as he puffed up a little with pride.

"Well at least I can converse with someone intelligent now..." He joked.

"Hey!" She exclaimed. "That's not funny." She whacked him on the nose again. "Anyways, I'm turning in. Night, Toothless."

"You're staying here tonight are you?" asked the boy as he stepped forward to pet the dragon's nose.

"Well yeah," she responded. "I don't much like the idea of walking all the way back home tonight. You know what that road is like." She continued on her path to the house.

After one last pat on the nose, the boy followed suit, leaving Toothless in peace.

Tomorrow, thought the dragon. Tomorrow...

After a restless night's sleep on an air matress on Apollo's floor (they wouldn't let her sleep on the couch) Sakura was awake and ready to go. Waking Apollo after she ate, she dragged her groggy friend out to the forge. Hiccup tagged merrily behind.

"What are we doing that could possibly require me to be up this early?" he whined as Sakura pushed the key into the padlock on the back door. Apollo's hair was unkempt and his hoodie was wrinkled.

"You're going to partake in a little project, and Hiccup here is going to help you," she stated after opening the door.

It was a small forge, used mostly for small repairs on saddles and various other equipment. While magic could fix certain things, nothing worked better than a good old forge. And old it was. Almost two-hundred years old, in fact. On rare occasions it would be used for making full saddles, which was the twins' father's favourite pastime.

The blonde regarded Hiccup tiredly. "How's a ghost going to help me in here? And what are we making, anyways?"

Sakura appraoched the drawing board gleefully and spread some paper out over it. "You and Hiccup here are going to be making a saddle for Toothless."

"But he can't fly," protested Apollo. "What good is a saddle?" He paused for a moment. "Unless... we're going to make him a prosthetic, aren't we?" He looked suddenly excited.

Hiccup nodded enthusiastically as he approached the drawing board. "I can't make the whole thing while I'm... like this, but together I think we can pull this off."

Apollo grinned widely. "This is going to be the best saddle ever made."

Leaving them to do their thing, Sakura made a swift exit and headed for Toothless' enclosure, stopping on her way there to grab his breakfast. The dragon was still asleep under his tree, but lifted his head as she opened the door. She smiled happily as she walked over and presented the fish.

"You excited for today?" she asked as she pulled out the tarp.

The dragon glanced at her for a moment. "Maybe a little," he said before returning to his fish.

Sakura rolled her eyes. The stupid dragon is hiding it, she thought. If he wasn't excited, I'd be more than a little concerned.

She worked in silence for the entire morning and into the afternoon, pausing only to eat lunch when Artemis brought it out to her. He hung around for a while as she inhaled her tuna sandwich.

"You remembered the pickles," she noted aloud.

"Bread and butter pickles, as always. How could I forget? You ate this all the time when we were kids," he replied.

A small silence passed as the two watched Toothless gulp down his own fish.

"Are you sure this is still such a good idea?" Artemis asked quietly.

"You're not going to stop me, if that's what you're getting at. I want to help them and I'm going to do it," she stated, polishing off the first half.

"But how's this going to help them exactly? You may be able to bring Hiccup back for three days, but what about Toothless? He's still going to live until the end of the Earth. It was decreed by -"

"By Thor, I know. He is to stay on in Midgard until Ragnarok comes and fight alongside those in Valhalla," Sakura interrupted. "I know this. But at least I'm bringing him some happiness, Artemis."

"But did you ever stop to think that he might just end up more miserable?" he questioned. "Maybe you're just making things worse..."

Sakura sighed and stared down at what was left of her sandwich. "I've got a good feeling about this. This is going to work out, I can feel it."

With a shake of his head, Artemis replied, "I really don't see how, but alright. I'll trust you."

"Good, because I need you to do something for me," she said abruptly.

"And what would that be?" he asked, his tone flat.

"I'm going to need a storm. Or a bolt of lightning, to be exact. I figure that would be easier than sucking energy out of the Earth's crust," she stated.

With a sigh, he nodded his head. "What would you do if I wasn't able to conjure up storms? Or make you sandwiches? Honestly, some days I think you'd be totally lost without me," he said with a small smile.

She punched him lightly in the arm. "Will you do it or not?"

He planted a small kiss on the top of her head, smiling at the bright blush that had spread across her face. "Of course. Apollo will probably have to help, though."

Sakura shrugged. "Sure. Not a problem."

A few minutes later, Artemis left, leaving Sakura to finish the circle.

It was done. Finally, after week upon week of painstaking research and planning and every obstacle possible, it was done. The black tarp was spread out in the middle of a wide, empty field that was normally used for training younger dragons. Darkness had fallen and clouds had gathered. A full moon managed to peak out between clouds every so often, shedding light on the surrounding mountains.

Sakura looked around critically, Toothless at her side. Both peered up at the moon as a cluster of clouds moved to give them a clear view. She inhaled deeply as she closed her eyes. "That," she said, "is some awesome power."

Toothless fixed her with a questioning look. "What are you talking about"

"Wizards draw their power from the heavenly body that they were born under. I was born under the moon. Also, my power is strongest on a full moon, so I guess it was a good thing we were set back a few days," she said thoughtfully as she sat cross-legged in the centre of the circle.

"How... fortuitous," Toothless replied as he settled down on the ground. He gazed at the moon for a moment. Sakura watched out of the corner of her eye.

"Soon, Toothless," she murmured as her eyes slipped shut.

"Yes. Soon..."

AN: This is not good enough for a two-month wait. Please forgive me...

Review? Maybe?

~Hanyou