Hey friends. First and foremost, I must offer you my sincerest apologies. Life has a tendency to get in the way of things, and right now I've got a lot going on, as well as some serious writer's block. If I had the time, I'd just sit down for however long it took to make progress, but I unfortunately don't really have entire days to devote to FF at the moment. I AM NOT GIVING UP ON THE STORY. We are very close to the end, and part of the reason I'm having such a hard time writing is that I want it to be perfect for you. I have some news for you as well, and I'll share that soon.

I would like to acknowledge everyone who has reviewed since the last update!

ScarletRaven3

QuiteARandomFan (Talk about a torturous week. How about 6 weeks?)

Spartan10007

MoonbornWalker

Vvarden

Sag1ttar1us (Punnett squares, indeed. You're sort of on the right track.)

yesboss21

Phsyro

The Lightning Phoenix

LuniaWolfe

Harkonnen28

Tyten

Spirit of Fury

Random Person

Lilyflower135

jane and aro of the volturi (There's always going to be a balance of happy and not so happy with me, I'm afraid.)

BloodAndLollipops3

And... anonymous Guest!

Here's the first part of the next chapter, I figured a little bit is better than nothing at all.

If only they were all so happy.

Storm was listless, uninterested in anything or anyone. Lightning knew she was hurting from Sahko's exile, and figured she'd give her daughter some space before trying to talk about it. It was hard to see her like this, though. Storm had always been driven and independent, and very resilient in the face of change both positive and negative. Now, she didn't seem to have any energy at all, and everyone had noticed.

But if Storm was withdrawn, then Shade was completely isolated. He barely spoke, finding secluded corners and curling up alone or sitting by himself overlooking the sea, like he was right now. Coming up behind him, Lightning paused, unsure of how exactly to approach. All appearances indicated that he was mentally unstable as a result of recent events, which was worrisome at best. She and Toothless had hoped to talk to him about Ash's condition, but they both feared that he would not react well to the information. The question, though, was just how poorly he would take it.

"Hi, Mom."

He hadn't moved a muscle. His voice was soft, making her wonder whether or not he was happy about her presence. But being a mother rarely meant that everyone was happy all the time.

"Hi." She stayed where she was, trying to figure out if she should move closer or not.

"There's plenty of room on this ledge for the both of us." Well. That settled that. Sitting on her haunches next to him, she took in the ocean stretching to the horizon, meeting with the overcast sky. It might have been dull, but the water rolled and rippled, dark green capped with white, and the clouds were unusually defined, every shade of grey and oddly mesmerizing.

Then she turned her attention to her son. "How are you doing, Shade?"

For a moment, it seemed like he hadn't heard her, then he tilted his head and met her eyes. "Not very well. But I'm not doing as poorly as you probably think I am."

His gentle frankness surprised her. "Well, things have been kind of rough lately," she said cautiously. "It's okay if you're not fine with everything."

"I know. I'm not fine, I won't pretend to be. I'm not going to fall apart, though. At least, not anytime soon."

He sounded a little tired, but otherwise calm and collected. Lightning found herself beginning to hope that maybe things weren't as bad as she and Toothless might have thought. "That's… good."

"Yeah. Even if I was on the verge of losing it, I'm too worried about Aeri to let that happen. I think about everything, all the time, but no matter how I think about her, I can't figure out how she's going to ever be the same. The one person who would be able to help her through this, who could reverse the damage, is gone. She can live without him, but not completely. Part of her is dying. If I knew where they were, I would get them to come back, but not enough time has passed for the refugees to be okay with something like that. Maybe eventually, but even if I could find them, it might be too late to fix her. It seems hopeless."

Lightning loved Aeri as her own child. She'd known just by watching Shade that things were bad, but it was painful to be confronted by the ugly reality. And if it saddened her, she could only imagine how awful Shade must feel. His best friend, his partner-in-crime, the human he had chosen as his own the day she was born. "I'm sorry, Shade."

"So am I," he sighed. "And I'm sorry that I'm shutting everyone out. It's just the way things have been going… I find it easier to cope when I'm closed off. That will change, but other things will have to change first."

"You're waiting."

"There's nothing else I can do."

He was right. "Patience isn't something that comes easily, but we just have to hold onto hope, the promise of a better future."

"I can be patient. I don't want to be, but I will. I don't know. Aeri's situation is one thing, but waiting for Ash is both frustrating and draining. I'd probably feel better if I just knew where she was, so I could make sure she was alright."

Should I tell him? He seemed like he could handle it, but what if it was too much? I have to tell him. It would be wrong to keep him from her. Even though it wasn't particularly happy, maybe it would at least be better than the current state of affairs…

Shade was staring at her, and she almost winced when she realized she hadn't responded.

"What aren't you telling me, Mom?"

Before she could think of something to say, someone else answered for her.

"We have news for you, Shade."

They both spun around to see Toothless standing behind them, expression inscrutable.

"You do?"

"Yes. We're sorry we haven't told you yet, but we thought you needed to focus on Aeri for a little while before tossing something else at you."

Shade was frowning slightly. "Is it about Ash?"

"Yes—"

"Did she leave?"

"No."

To their surprise, he seemed visibly relieved. "Thank goodness for that. Do you know where she is?"

"Yes."

They were further bewildered by his mildly triumphant chuckle. "Oh, good," he said. "Does that mean she'll be coming back soon?"

Lightning met her mate's eyes before answering slowly. "Actually, she's already back in the village."

"What? Really?" His eyes were wide. "Have you spoken to her? Is she going to stay?"

Toothless glanced at her, telling her he would do his best to handle this. "She hasn't really been very talkative."

"But I can talk to her when I get back?" The hopefulness in his expression was heartbreaking.

"Serious talking might have to wait."

"Why?" When Toothless didn't immediately respond, Shade frowned. "Dad, why?"

"Ash is sick, Shade."

"Sick? Like… a cold sick?"

"Not exactly."

"Then what's the matter with her?!" he demanded, clearly unhappy with the attempts at softening the news.

"We're not sure. Gobber seems to think it's because she wasn't eating. She's lost weight, but she can't keep solid food down, so he's been giving her tea. Since she's been back, she's been able to stay awake longer, and seems less confused, but her body is very weak. The hope is that it won't last, and that she'll recover fully in time, it's just that right now, she's not doing very well."

Shade was motionless, expression entirely indecipherable. Then: "But she will get better. Right?"

"She's been doing better," Lightning said quickly. "Progress is slow, but there is progress."

Apparently processing this, Shade took a deep breath. "Okay."

"Okay?" Lightning exchanged nervous glances with her mate.

"Okay. I'll go see her when we get back, and we'll figure things out when she's feeling better."

There was definitely worry in his eyes, but he seemed totally calm and rational. There was no meltdown, no anger, nothing.

"Well… alright then," Toothless said. "Things will be okay, son. And your mother and I are always here for you."

"Thanks, Dad. Well, that's one less thing to be horribly stressed out by. Now to find a way to bring Aeri back—" His jaw snapped shut and his ears shot up as his eyes widened.

"Shade? Are you—"

"Shh! Listen!"

Then she heard it. A distant shriek. "What is that?"

Shade narrowed his eyes. "Doesn't it sound familiar?"

"No?"

But Toothless had the exact same expression of confused recognition as their son. "That's a Skrill."

"A Skrill? They don't nest here…" Lightning wasn't worried about the presence of a normally unfriendly dragon. It wouldn't come close enough to cause trouble for the expecting mothers. Maybe it was just passing by—

A dark form emerged from the clouds a ways from the island. But it was moving fast, hurtling towards them with a definite intention.

Now she was worried. "What is it doing?"

"I don't know, it— wait a minute…" Shade's jaw dropped and without further explanation, he ran to the rock's edge and unfurled his wings, launching himself skyward.

Lightning stared after him, then turned to Toothless. "Where is he going?!"

"Obviously he knows something we don't. I'm not wearing my tailfin, so I can't go after him. I think we should go get Hiccup."

So they started running in the opposite direction, weaving through the crowd of dragons until they neared the docked ships, where the humans were gathered for a meal. Seeing their urgency, Hiccup stood. "Hey, guys. What's going on?" Toothless just looked back in the direction they had come from, fixing his gaze on the now-distant form of their son and the Skrill.

"Bud, who is that? I can't see that far…" The two dragons were circling each other, tiny silhouettes against the clouds. Suddenly they both banked towards the island, wings beating hard. Lightning couldn't tell what they were doing, or if Shade was trying to stop the Skrill. They could very clearly hear both roaring, catching the attention of more and more dragons on the island. At this point, the rest of the humans were on their feet, murmuring to one another. "Toothless, is that Shade? Who's the other one? What are they doing?"

But Toothless wasn't moving, still staring skyward with a contemplative frown. "Toothless, what should we do?" Lightning asked. "What if it's a threat? What if—"

Finally he turned to look at her, simultaneously appearing concerned and amused. "Love, if it was a danger to us, do you really believe Shade would allow it to approach without so much as a single warning shot? If it meant any of us harm, I have no doubt that he'd put a quick stop to it. Compared to some of the other dragons he's faced, one Skrill wouldn't pose much of a challenge. Besides, I don't think he's planning on hurting anyone."

"I know, but— wait, did you say he?"

Before he could answer, they were interrupted. "Mom, Dad, what's going on? Is that Shade up there? Who's he with?" Storm was frowning, staring at the approaching dragons. "That's… that's a…" Her eyes widened and she gasped.

Lightning was bewildered for another moment, then she realized that the Skrill had something on its back. "Skies above, is that…?"

Toothless nodded. "What are they doing here?" she asked, no less confused.

"I imagine we're about to find out," he replied calmly. "Storm. Storm."

Her expression was one of shock, but she slowly turned to look at her father. "What?"

"I know you want to talk to him," he said, voice surprisingly gentle. "But until we know why they're here, I need you to stay back. I promise, I'll make sure you have a moment to speak with him, so please just be patient for now."

Although it seemed to pain her, she swallowed and nodded, before padding over to Erik's side. The humans were just figuring it out, and Hiccup was busy ordering them all to remain quiet and calm. "I'm sure there's a good explanation for this," he said reasonably. "So let's hear what he has to say."

Shade and Sahko touched down and immediately James slid to the ground, pulling down his mask before raising his hands cautiously.

"Chief, I'm sorry, I know my punishment, but I wouldn't be here if it weren't dire, I will leave again as soon as possible, I swear-"

"Slow down, James. It's alright. We aren't going to chop your head off," Hiccup reassured him. "What's going on?"

"Surmata! She's making her move-"

"What?!" Immediately everyone began shouting questions, and Hiccup had to hold up a hand to get them to quiet down. "James, how do you know this?"

"I was visiting some old acquaintances-" he said with some distaste. "-and heard from an unfortunately reliable source that she was heading to Berk, intent on striking while both Chief, Alpha, and the majority of the dragons aren't there to defend it."

"Hiccup, we have to go back!" Astrid cried out.

"Wait!" James shouted. "You can't all go back! Thank the gods Shade and Aeri are here, out of her reach, but they have to remain here until we can defeat her. It would be far too dangerous for them to be anywhere near her while she still lives." When he was met by silent, horrified stares, he seemed momentarily confused, until... "Wait... where's Aeri?"

"Shade, no!" Lightning and Toothless yelled, but he was already gone, buffeting them with a powerful gust of wind as he blasted away.

James didn't hesitate, leaping into the saddle as Sahko spread his wings and took off after Shade.

Lightning's chest tightened with a terrible dread. "Toothless, we have to go after him!"

"Go. I have to wait for Hiccup to put my tailfin on anyways. I'll make sure the kids are taken care of." He was grim as he surveyed the group of near-frantic humans. She unfurled her wings, but before she could leap skyward, Toothless stopped her. "My love... Please, please be safe. You are strong and fierce but you will do no one any good if you are injured or captured."

"I love you," she said simply, softly touching her nose to his cheek, and then she was airborne, a dark blur tearing through the sky and vanishing into the clouds.

Maybe some of you will figure out what I have planned for the ending. Brownie points to whoever makes a correct guess :) and as I'm sure you can tell, there are plenty of things that can be speculated on.

From the bottom of my heart I want to thank you all for all your patience and support. You are all so lovely and the last year (and then some) has been made so much brighter by your kindness and willingness to put up with my horribly frustrating style of writing ;) I promise I'll keep trying to finish this, hopefully sooner rather than later. Hang in there, you've stuck with me for this long, and I hope that the resolution won't disappoint you.

Until next time, cheers, and to my friends in the US, have a happy Thanksgiving :)