Finally, I've begun to write the sequal to "Hide and Seek"! I apologize to everyone who has been waiting for this. I hope it lives up to your expectations!

I took a break from fanfiction writing this past summer to work on some non-fanfiction related writing, and then I took a creative writing course in my fall semester, so all my writing time was devoted to that. Hopefully, my writing has improved, but I'll leave all of you to be the judge of that. I must say, it's nice to be back and have some time to get this fic up because it has been eatting away at all the free space in my mind the past little while ;)

If you haven't read "Hide and Seek," I advise you to before reading this fic because I pretty much just start off where I left off. Thankfully, "Hide and Seek" is not very long. You may even want to re-read "Hide and Seek" if you've read it before because it's been so long since I wrote it, I had to re-read it three times to make sure I didn't forget a detail or mess something up :S

This sequal will follow the same formate as its predecessor. The song lyrics show the change in character point of view, and often of time and place. The first half of this fic will take place before the show and the rest will be of scenes during the two sessions of Storm Hawks that connect what happenes in the past to the present day.

I am posting as I write, so I don't know how long it will take me to update, but I don't plan on keeping you all waiting too long. I do have this all planned out and I know this will run much longer than "Hide and Seek" (at least 15 chapters, give or take, depending on the lengths each section turns out to be).

If you're still reading this authors note, I apologize for its length (they'll be short from here on in). Also, I must warn you that this will be just as sad as the last one...

Disclaimer: I do not own the Storm Hawks, nor the song "Shattered" by Trading Yesterday.

Chapter 1: Fall Into Your Sunlight

Yesterday I died, tomorrow's bleeding

Finn sat a few feet from Grace's still form, caught between his want to be near her and his fear of ghostly her appearance. He continued to rock, his blanket wrapped snugly around his shoulders. The young boy was sweating in the heat of early summer, but the thought of removing the comforting cloth never occurred to him.

The blanket was the last thing Grace had touched—ripped from his bed as she rushed to hide her little brother. Grace had made it herself. Her nimble fingers had sewn each piece of fabric into a quilt of beautiful patchwork. Grace had given it to Finn for his birthday. They'd sat together on the sofa as she pointed to each cloth and told him the story behind it. One was from their mother's wedding gown, a denim patch had belonged to one of their father's old work overalls, another was cut from Finn's tattered blanket he'd had as a baby, a purple polka doted square from the dress Grace had worn on her brother's first birthday....

If he closed his eyes, Finn's blanket of memories turned into his sister's loving embrace. If he listened hard enough, he could hear her comforting whispers in his ears. And if he continued to move back and forth, he could feel the lulling movement that had so often put him to sleep.

He was back to the day of his parent's funeral. Grace sat in the rocking chair, he on her lap. Her arms held him close as she told him about the wonderful place Mommy and Daddy had gone to and that they would all see each other again one day. Grace had tried to hide her watery eyes, but Finn had felt her sobs shake her chest as she held his teary face against her. He'd wrapped his arms around her torso—too small to reach all the way around—and echoed all she said, both hoping that the repetition would help them to believe the seemingly empty words.

The moon had fled and the sun was well into its chase when Finn finally stood, hunger finally winning out over misery. His legs had fallen asleep long before and he gasped in pain as he put weight on them for the first time in hours. His knees cracked in protest to being straightened and he had to struggle to hold his quilt around his shoulders as his arms shock from exhaustion.

For a few more moments, Finn stood staring at his sister's limp body. She was hauntingly beautiful, even in death. Her hair pooled around her face in a halo of golden waves that shone in the light spilling through the open window. Her once glowing skin was turning pale and chalky, and though she wore a pleasant smile, it seemed out of place to the point of unnerving the young boy. Grace had always had a natural sprinkling of rouge upon her cheeks and lips, but the only crimson now lay in the crusting pool beneath her and along the many cuts that marred her once perfect skin. Of all this, the worse were the bruises. A sob caught in Finn's throat as he gazed upon the deep purple marks, their long fingers surrounding his sister's upper arms and one forever caressing her cheek.

Unable to look any longer, Finn turned from Grace's crumbled figure—his face distorted with innumerous, powerful emotions that his young mind could only half comprehend—and softly padded out the door.

Fall into your sunlight

Don't look back, Piper. Just keep going until you're sure it's safe. And don't ever come back, no matter what.

Her father's deep voice rang in her ears long after Piper had lost sight of her terra. If his words had died out sooner, she was sure she would have returned for him. But Papa had said not to go back, so she would do as she was told.

However, her father had not forbid her to cry, so Piper did so guiltlessly. Tears poured down her face as she bit her lower lip to muffle her sobs. She was still unwilling to make any noise, worried that a pursuiter might hear.

As the sky stretched out before her in an endless chasm of blue, Piper's thoughts drifted along with her skimmer. She remembered her friend, his eyes wide and fearful, the blue misted over like a clouded sky. Piper had never seen a dead person before, and for her first to be someone so close to her had been the most frightening thing she had ever experienced in her young life. Was that why Mama couldn't come with them? Was she....

Piper shock her head, refusing to believe this new truth that was flashing before her like a psychedelic, fluorescent sign. No. Mama was fine. Papa just wanted to let her sleep a little longer. He'd probably planned to have Piper go on ahead the entire time. Papa was going to take care of those mean old men and then he would go get Mama and they would come find her.

Piper held onto this hope, grasping the only thing she had left to hold—the crystal hanging from her neck.

The skimmer gave a jolt from beneath her. Looking down at the dials, Piper was surprised at how blurry the flashing warning light appeared. The little girl's eyes darted about, taking in the white haze that now surrounded her. Piper had been so caught up in her thoughts that a thick fog had risen around her without notice.

The flying machine bucked again. Piper held the handles tightly to keep from falling as she leaned over the dashboard to get a better look at the warning light. The skimmer tipped back and forth as it began to descend. She was low on crystal power. Piper was sure there were more crystals in the compartment behind her, or at least a parachute, but she was too scared to loosen her death-grip to turn around and check.

Then, she fell away from the low-lying clouds and saw a small terra getting closer with every frantic heartbeat. Piper could do nothing but hold on as the skimmer brushed the top branches of the terra's lone tree and she hurtled towards the grass below.

Letting out an ear-piercing shriek, Piper lifted her arms to shield her face mere seconds before impact. She felt a brief, weightless sensation before she lost all her senses completely.

The future's open wide beyond believing

Wiping sweat from his brow, Aerrow turned from his work at the sound of a friendly chirp. Radarr stood behind him, a hollowed rock held up to his companion. Seeing the water splashing from the makeshift bowl, Aerrow took it gratefully.

"Thanks Radarr!" the boy said before gulping the cool liquid down greedily.

Finishing his drink, Aerrow sat under the shade of the large willow and lay the bowl on a large root. Radarr plopped down beside him, just as happy to get out of the sun.

"I think we're doing pretty good," Aerrow commented as he lazily gazed towards the wall they were building.

The two friends had been on the terra for little over a week. They'd started building their fort almost immediately after Aerrow suggested it. At first, they had worked together to roll large rocks up the hill from the cave and outcropping. After to day of struggling that resulted in only three mini boulders making it to the top, the pair decided they needed a new method. The system they had now seemed to work fairly well. Aerrow spent his day lugging smaller rocks up to the tree's perch, while Radarr made muddy mortar using water from their secret pool to fill the gapes between the rocks.

Aerrow and Radarr now had a substantial section of wall built, of which they were both quite proud.

Having not heard his friend's usual chirp of agreement after his comment, Aerrow turned to see Radarr snoring softly from the grass beside him. Deciding the little blue creature had the right idea, Aerrow lay back to take a well-deserved nap.

Aerrow felt like he'd only just fallen asleep when he was awake once more. A light breeze wound its way through the willow's droopy branches and a few leaf tips brushed across Aerrow's nose. Rising a hand to sleepily swat away the tickling foliage, Aerrow turned to his side to avoid being disturbed again.

An annoying buzz reached the boy's ear and he waved his hand over his head to frighten away the hovering fly. However, this was of little use. In fact, the buzzing just got louder and louder. Drowsy mind unable to work properly, Aerrow sat up and rubbed his eyes. Radarr stirred beside him, raising his furry head as he blinked sleep away.

Boy and creature were both jolted into alertness at a sudden rumble and the sound of fast-moving air. Running out from under the curtain of leaves, Aerrow and Radarr caught sight of a falling skimmer just before it crashed near the bottom of the hill, as high-pitched scream accompanying its descent. A small body flew off the machine and rolled in the opposite direction in which the skimmer skid across the ground.

Aerrow and Radarr were almost halfway down the hill when the limp body stopped, resting lifelessly on the grass. The boy was the first to reach the petit form, his legs much longer than his friend's. Grabbing them by the shoulders, Aerrow carefully turned the child over. She was a pretty little girl, her skin and hair recognizably dark, even with the layer of dirt and dust that covered every inch of her. Her cloths were torn and tattered—much like Aerrow and Radarr's. Blood trickled from new cuts and bruises forming on her cheeks and arms. Giving the girl a quick lookover, Aerrow sighed in relief when this seemed to be an extent of her injuries, for nothing seemed to be out of place.

Hearing Radarr's tentative chirp, Aerrow looked up to meet his worried eyes and knew they were thinking the same thing: What do we do?

And there you have it, chapter #1! I hope it will keep you all satisfied until my next post.

Oh, and if you haven't heard the song "Shattered" by Trading Yesterday, you should!

If you have any comments, corrections or constructive criticism, feel free to review!