Chapter One- A New Day

"Is this the glorious amphibian dawn, dad?"

"Anything for you, my little man."

It had been fifteen years since those words had come close to fruition, fifteen years since the floodgates had been opened and almost unleashed devastation onto Ratropolis. Fifteen years since two unlikely heroes had teamed up forever.

Fifteen years since the almost victory for a toad.

But soon, so very soon, his rule would rise again to complete the dream that had eluded the Great Great Toad those many years ago.

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Truly, a new dawn had come upon Ratropolis since the Floodgate incident. Mobsters had fleetingly come and gone, each less terrifying and cunning than the previous. Safety measures had been set up so thoroughly that no one would even dream of flooding the whole city again. The tiny community flourished with business and opportunity, never ceasing to provide help to even the lowest of individuals. And to those who needed help, they turned to the old heroes of the city: Roddy and Rita St. James...

Rita snapped her short ponytail tight, the rubber band wound against her clay red hair. A light smell of breakfast laced about the air, whispering long eaten tales of eggs and toast.

"Save anything for me?" She rounded the corner, meeting Roddy, who just placed the final washed dish into the cupboard.

"Ah, good morning to you too." He smiled.

"That wasn't what I asked, Helen Keller, but alright." Sitting at the table, she noticed a few pieces of toast left. "Ruthie eat all the eggs now?" Roddy laughed, letting Rita claim the final ounces of breakfast.

"She takes after her mother." He plopped into the chair across from her, earning a grin from his comments.

"Mum!" A voice rung through the walls of the house, vibrating against the thin wood. "MUM!!"

Roddy rushed to the stairs, but Rita took her sweet ole' time, holding a piece of toast in her hand.

"Wut!?" Rita called back, "I'm right down the stairs..."

The tiny rat slid down the banister, Roddy holding his breath as she prepared for dismount. Landing perfectly at the end of the stairs, she grinned to her mother.

"I just wanted to be ready when you left. I got things to do." The brunette let Rita ruffle the top of her hair, her mother finishing the toast in her hand.

"Ruthie, you gonna get yourself killed comin' down the stairs like that." Rita said after catching Roddy's previous heart attack. "So keep practicin'." Roddy frowned as Ruthie beamed.

"Before Ruthie attempts to break her leg again," Roddy put in, Ruthie sheepishly remembering her fall two summers back, "We should make sure we have everything on board."

"Oh really?" Rita crossed her arms and coked an eyebrow, "Coming from the rat who forget our maps three weeks ago and nearly led us down another water treatment plant?"

"That wasn't my fault, captain." Ruthie smirked as her dad floundered for a smart answer."You're supposed to know these drains."

"I do. But unfortunately, I need a first mate who does too. Maybe Ruthie could apply for your job." Rita nodded her head to the eleven year old, who giggled. Roddy sighed, throwing up his hands in defeat.

"Come on mum, I wanna git a move on!" Ruthie already bounded out the door, leaping over the porch railing to the docks. "The Dundee can't wait forever!"

"The Dundee can't wait, or you?" Roddy added, Ruthie rolling her eyes at him.

"Just be back for supper. You know how your dad gets when you're late." Rita hopped onto the Jammy Dodger II, shooting her husband a wry smirk. The brown haired rat huffed in good nature.

"I just want her to be grateful I actually make something. But I'll be buggered if I ever make rice again." He said, the two sharing an old joke that was long lost to their daughter.

"Alright, mum! Bye, dad!" Ruthie waved from the deck of her small boat as the Jammy chugged off through the olive green water, sun from storm drains above making the old red paint gleam.

"Don't go to the north side, Ruthie!" Rita once again warned, her green eyes set on her daughter who had mouthed the repeated phrase.

"I know!" Ruthie called back, hands hooked on her brown belt.

"I swear Rita," Roddy commented as the Jammy turned around the brick lined corner, watching Ruthie disappear. "She acts more and more like you every day."

"Come on Roddy..." Rita rolled her head back in disbelief, sliding her hands from the top of the steering wheel. "She looks just like you." He joined her in the sunny cockpit.

"How? I can't see through the inherited sass." Roddy smirked.

"It's been so long..." He drummed his long fingers together, the slimy digits tinted in the firelight. "Too long."

"Almost fifteen years in the making, right?" She figured, standing beside the half broken red chair.

"It's quite a good thing we never forgot this place, huh?" Another male joined them with a wry smile, handing the female a map.

"How could we..." Her bitter sigh echoed into the storage house, the three's shadows rearing back on the grey walls.

"We won't live here much longer, I can guarantee that." The first male rose from the chair, then snuffed out the fire for the last time. "Our era will rise, dear sister, just when another falls."

"A new dawn." Said the second male, turning to the peak of sun in a distant drain.

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This chapter is far too short, I do realize: forgive me. EVERY chapter afterwards will be much, much longer, but somehow first chapters are downright impossible. Ah well, we're over this obstacle now! R&R please...