Rose's ship groaned ominously, shuddering more violently with each manuver through the imposing rocks. Biting her lip nervously, Rose dodged under another low outcopping of space matter. Her eyes were narrowed in concentration as she was forced to steer the ship with both hands. Rose's knuckes whitened as she yanked hard on the yolk. For some reason, the ship was now lilthing to the right. The ship moaned in protest, literally beginning to tear from the stress of the two opposing forces. Rose, sensing the danger, let go of the youlk and flew, screaming, into a worm hole. A few agonizing seconds passed before the ship came rocketing out of the other side of the intergalactic portal. Rose attempted to regain control of the beat up vessel, but the steeringwas shot. Luck was with her though, and the ship projected a tumbling, wobbly path to a planet that looked hospitable enough. It surged into the alien atmosphere, and Rose braced herself for the impact. The foreign gummi ship slammed into the first district of Traverse Town with a crash that shook the entire region. Almost immediately, the town's curious inhabitants crowded around the still smoking ship. Rose, miraculously uninjured, pressed her hands to the cockpit and concentrated. She knew that the door was likely wedged shut, so her only option was to attempt to blast the thing off. She cursed herself for her inability with magic, and breathed deeply, trying her best to mimic Raven's composed stance. To her surprise and delight, the metal began to glow a bright red. She might not be able to blast it off, but perhaps she could melt a hole large enough for her to squeeze through. Her concentration doubled with purpose and the heat spread, melting a sizeable region of the side of the ship.

"Pull back! Somethin's comin' out!"

Rose barely heard the commotion outside the ship, so great was her concentration, but the sound of human voices gave her hope, and she redoubled her efforts. With a final, searing groan, the overheated section of the ship fell away, gagging everyone withing two miles with billowing, acrid smelling smoke. Rose tumbled out of the hole unceremoniously, but was up on her feet in seconds, staring back at the gathered crowd with wide, crimson eyes.

"Are you alright, miss?" A man with a southern accent asked cautiously.

Rose nodded, turning to him, "Yes, I'm okay."

"Where did you come from?" You look like you're a noble of some kind..." Another voice prodded.

Rose blushed slightly, realizing that she was still dressed in the attire of someone way beyond her station. The dress was a shimmering red to compliment her eyes and hair, and a gold corset forced the stiffened bodice to behave, even in light of the chaos that had just taken place. Gold sequined patterns were embroidered liberally along the full, bustle skirt and lavishly cut neckline. A gold chain encrusted with rubies rested at her throat, and a band of similar making had once held her soft burgundy hair in an elegant fashion, though her hair was now disheveled. Sighing wearily, Rose reached up and pulled the gold band from about her head and shook out her hair. Already, she looked more like her usual roguish self. She shook her head at the questions, "I come froma world called The Rift. We were attacked by a strange and powerful darkness, but I was able to escape in this ship. I'm not a noble, the clothes and whatnot were gifts from my sister, who had planned for us to spend a few weeks in the lap of luxery for my birthday. I'm not sure what became of her." Her face fell, betraying her worry and her guilt for leaving her sister behind. The first man who had spoken stroke up to her and clapped a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Then you're here about the same way as most folks 'round here. Everyone's been displaced from home by forces similar to the one you described. Why don't ye come into my shop and tell me more," he jerked his thumb to a building labeled for accessories, then continued, "Every bit we know might help out in the end. Name's Cid, by the way," he added with a smile. Rose nodded, resolving to do whatever she could to helpt the people here until her sister returned for her.

Raven came to just in time to see the sandy floor that she was ona collision course with. Yelping in both shock and dismay, she thrust her hands out in front of her, creating a magic barrier that would absorb most of the impact. The sphere surrounded her, connecting with the ground in a furious gust of wind. Raven touched down lightly on her feet a few moments later, her wide eyes taking in her new surroundings. She seemed to be standing on slabs of sand-covered stone, perhaps a rough kind of marble, and there were about eight trees, two per corner of the gridded slab on which she stood. Not wanting to be caught unawares, and deeply curious about what had become of Rose, Raven strode off to learn more about this strange place she'd appeared in. She reached the edge of the slab and stopped suddenly, having walked right into a magical barrier that prevented her from leaving. She pressed her hands against the barrier, mumbling every disarming spell she knew of, but the magic wouldn't budge. She heared an odd, sudden sound behind her and turned to face the new occupants of this strange stage. There were about fifty of them, altogether. They were similar to each other, yet different. Their blackened skin and odd, pointed extremities reminded Raven vaguely of the monster she'd fought off back on The Rift. These were much smaller, but had an overwhelming number. Some were just rounded shadows of the creature on The Rift, some disguised as knights, some as cursed angels, and some were just globs of darkness that bounced erratically around the stage. Raven heard herself curse under her breath, whipping out her traditional four card hand. She threw several times, hitting a few, but missing most. She cursed a little more loudly this time, hating the confines of the dress and corset with a burning passion, but not having time to make proper adjustments. At this point, it was all she could do to keep the creatures from swarming her.

"You really believe that your sister could have survived such an encounter?" Cid asked once ROse had finished her tale. Rose nodded emphatically, "Yes. Raven has incredible powers... I'm sure that she survived. We have a strong bond as sisters. Surely I would feel it if..." She shook her head, a knowing smile forming on her painted lips, "She's probably on this crazy adventure as we speak... I just know it."

Had she only known how true her words were.

Raven snapped her fingers again, twenty cards exploding and driving the strange creatures back. The cards had long since stopped materializing in the pouch, and now hung about Raven's head and shoulders, waiting for the command to fly forth. It was rare that one would hit a mark- the shadowy creatures had a bad habit of slipping into the ground and becoming invulnerable. Raven, on the other hand, was beginning to get tired. The dress and corset was too dificult to move in, and her arms were getting stiff due to the heavily starched material of the sleaves.

"Need a hand?"

Before Raven quite new what was happening, a blond man in a white trench coat had jumped down, grapling with a few of the monsters. As he could move without such ridiculous restrictions, he was able to dispose of the creatures Raven had missed without much difficulty. Once they were gone, he turned to Raven, "There. All better."
Raven quirked an eyebrow at him, "Thanks."

"That's what heroes do!" The man stated, accentuating the word heroes, "So what's a lady like yourself doing in the collesium?"

"Collesium?" Raven repeated under her breath, her eyes sweeping the arena again, "Hmph. That's a good question. What were those things."

"They're called the heartless," Another voice answered her.

Raven turned to face the new occupant, but saw no one. Her brow furrowed as she wondered if she hadn't been hit in the head by some debris on the way here.

"Down here, toots," They heavy brookland accented voice prodded.

Raven glanced down, "Oh," She replied to the half-man-half-goat before her, "Sorry. So where do they come from."

"Darkness," The first man replied, "At least that's what we've been told. I'm Snow," he added, offering his hand to shake.

Raven obliged delicately, "Raven."

"Phil," The satyr added, not bothering with a hand shake, "So what's a dame like you doin' in a place like this?"

Raven shook her head and related her story as the trio walked out of the arena and into the lobby.

"Geeze, toots. I hope your sister survived all that."

Raven nodded, "Please. Hard as her head is, she' s fine."

"Brave thing to say. The truth is, I'm looking for someone too," Snow replied.

"Who?" Raven asked, guessing that there was something this guy needed to talk about.

"My fiancee's sister, Lightning. I know Sarah would be devestated if something happened to her big sister."

"Where's Sarah, then?" Raven asked, finding it odd that Snow would search for his fiancee's sister before his fiancee.

Snow just shook his head, choosing to remain silent on the subject.

Raven smiled at him, finishing the adjustments to her clothes, "That's alright, I didn't mean to pry."

She was much more comfortable now that she'd bought and changed into pants. She decided to keep the dress, but had had a hard time reisisting the urge to burn the corset. Now she took her blade to the skirt of the dress, leaving it to hang in graceful tatters about her hips. She slung the pink chain that held her cards over her hips at an angle, and returned her blade to it's card form and back into the pouch. Snow nodded, "Thanks. I have a ship that you can use to go look for your sister- just promise to bring it back once you find her."

"You would do that?" Raven asked, surprised.

Snow shrugged, "It's family. I kinda know how that goes."

"Alright, it's a deal."

"Mm. Wait here while I go and tune it up. I'll come get you when it's ready."

Raven nodded and watched him go. Once you got past the oversized ego and the whole "hero" thing, Snow was actually a pretty decent guy.

Movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention.

"Who's that?"

"Hmm? Oh... That's... Trouble."

"Trouble?"

"His name's Sephiroth. He was a hero once, but, for some reason he turned. He's a villain now."

"Never would have guessed, "Raven replied sarcastically, looking the man named Sephiroth over. He was dressed head to toe in black leather, most notably a long trench coat with armored shoulders. His silver hair was long, reaching to about his knees, and he carried a sword that may well have been the worlds largest skewer or needle. His eyes met her's for a brief moment, vivid green clashing violently with darkest violet, before he turned to face another man.

"And him?"

"Cloud. Apparently he and Sephiroth know each other."

"I'm guessing it's not a friendly relationship," Raven ventured, looking over the new man, Cloud. He weas dressed, if it was possible, even more strangely than Sephiroth. A dark blue uniform with metal rings going partially down the left leg, brown boots, a deep red cape, and a gold grappling claw on one hand. He also wore armor on his shoulder, but his seemed more worn, with bolts sticking out and resembling spikes. His sword was not as long as Sephiroth's but was quite wide. Raven figured it would hurt just as much to get hit with the flat of the blade as it would the edge. The sword appeared to be wrapped in bandages, but Raven didn't have half a guess as to why. Cloud himself was not very tall, but well built all the same. He had blond hair that stuck out at odd angles and blue eyes that had a vivid glow similar to Sephiroths.

"This doesn't look so good," Raven pointed out as the two men faced off.

"Ah! Hey! Hey, guys! Get an arena or somethin', you're disturbin' the peace of the- hooo boy..."

Midway through Phil's angry ranting, a large foot made completely of ice crashed down between the two men, who had jumped back to a safe distance.

"What the heck is that?" Raven asked critically, looking upward.

"Ice Titan... Herc... I gotta get Herc!" Phil stammered before running off.

The Ice Titan kicked out, sending Cloud flying. Sephiroth had dodged nimbly out of the way. Raven ran forward, casting a cure spell on Cloud, "I'll help out!"

She pulled her blade card out of the pouch and summoned her weapon to her. It was a dual ended spear, with blades that resembled cruel crab claws. The middle could be separated into two individual blades with adjustable lengths. Before she headed into the fray, Raven drew out the majority of her cards, preparing to make a charge for the head. She ran quickly to avoid the chunks of ice that fell from the Titan has Cloud and Sephiroth hacked away, her cards following her in an arrowhead formation. Raven used her teleport skill to get up to the head, scoring a few hits has her cards burried themselves deep into the ice.

"Get back," She commanded the other two, who were quick to obey, partially because of the sweeping motion the Titan made with it's arm. Raven reappeared back down on the ground, giving her fingers a quick snap and allowing the cards to explode in a myriad of fire and ice. She had reduced the Ice Titan to a mere pile of frost.

"Holy..." Cloud muttered, blinking a few times. Sephiroth just looked strangely at her.

"What happened here? Where's the Ice Titan?" Hercules asked, running onto the scene.

Sephiroth pointed with his sword to the pile of frost, then at Raven, "Ask her," he said simply before walking away.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud shouted, running after him.

Raven shook her head, "Just thought I'd help out."

"Uh... Thanks."

Phil stared at her, opened mouthed, "Toots, that's gotta be a record."

"Eh."

"Hey Raven... Is it cold or is it just me?" Snow asked, reappearing.

"She just decimated the Ice Titan, pretty boy. That's why it's cold."

"Wow... So much for the damsel in distress thing, huh? Anyway, your ship's ready and waiting."

"Thanks, Snow."

"Hey, toots- if you're not sure where to go, you oughtta try lookin' around Traverse Town. Word is that there's a lotta displaced people like you that end up there."

"Thanks. I'll head for the town. See you around, Snow, Phil, Hercules," Raven waved farewell, heading for the ship.

Rose supported her head in her hand, stirring her hot chocolate dismally. Many other cups of hot chocolate- most of them full- surrounded her. Apparently Cid thought the teen could go through hot chocolate at the same rate he went through beer.

"Did I ever tell you the story of how my precious ship saved my life once?"

Rose groaned in response. Cid had told no less than fifty stories thus far- and they had all been the same one. Cid placed yet another mug of hot chocolate before the teen and began the story again, his words slurred by the alcohol he'd consumed. Rose found her mind wandering, not caring about what the man had to say in the least- she'd heard the story in it's entirety more times than she knew, why should this one be any different?
"An' I said, 'Oh, Lady Luck! Don't fail me now!'" Cid recounted emphatically, "An' then, with a migh'y crash-"

On cue, a crash resounded outside the First District. Rose jumped, then looked suspiciously at her mug of hot chocolate, wondering if Cid had somehow spiked it. But the former pilot had jumped too, and looked curiously out the window of the shop.

"Unless my ears are mistaken, that sounded like a ship..."

Rose jumped up and sprinted, dress, heels and all out of the shop.

"I ne'er said i'was yer sister's!" Cid called after her, finding it difficult to get up in his drunken stupor.

The dark haired woman that walked cautiously into First District was a welcome sight to the redheaded teen.

"Raven!" Rose cried in disbelief, rushing to embrace her sister in a tackle that sent them both to the ground. Raven laughed and returned the hug, "I'm glad you made it outof danger safely, Rose," she said quietly, her sultry voice breaking with relief.

Rose dragged her sister up, "I'm just glado to see you again. I wasn't sure if you'd made it out of that mess back home."

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire. I ended up in a place called the Collesium. I was attacked by these things- Heartless, I think they were called. Thought I was a goner."

"Yeah right," Rose laughed nervously, the idea of anything defeating her sister making her tense.

"If anything could it would be those things. I wish I knew what they were- where they came from. It's like... I felt a connection with them. I think they may have something to do with our parents..."

"They come from the darkness in people's hearts," Cid said, finally making his way out of the shop, "But I'm no expert. If you want to know more, ask Leon. He and Aerith should be in the hotel in Second District. Be careful though, First District's the only safe place I know of. Damn heartless've run rampant everywhere else. Leon and Yuffie have been trying to drive 'em back but..."

"I'll handle it," Raven said smoothly, eager to finally get some answers, "Thank you for watching Rose while I was away," She added graciously, remembering her manners

"No problem. Name's Cid."

"Cid then. Thanks again. Come on Rose."

Rose sighed her relief, fearing that Raven was going to leave her in Cid's "Hot Chocolate Care" again.

"I'm glad you're letting me come along. I'm curious about what happened to mom and dad too," She said as they approached the door to the Second District.

"That's the only reason," Raven replied quickly, "and I'm still uneasy, with you being unarmed."

"Bah!" Rose scoffed, "I'm just as good with my fists as I am with my swords."

Raven sighed, "We'll need to get you some new ones. But DON'T think you're coming with me on this journey."

"What?" Rose yelped, "What do you mean?"

"Who else is going to hold down the fort while I'm away? From the sounds of it, they need an expert swordsman here, and there's no one better than my little sister," Raven added lightly. A sudden image of a man with silver hair and vivid green eyes flashed into her mind, but she dismissed it with a shake of her head. That was a match she'd ensure would never happen.

"Except you."

"What?" Raven asked, her sister's voice snapping her back into reality.

Rose rolled her eyes, "I said: No one's better than me, exept you."

"Oh. Yes. Right. Exept me. But since I'll be off finding us answers, you'll "just have" to do."

"You're hillarious. Now, you gonna open that door, or are we gonna stare at it some more?"

Raven smirked at her headstrong sibling, "I'll open the door once you fix your attire. I don't imagine you'll be much help in a fight wearing that."

Rose looked down at herself, her eyes wide, "Gods damn it, Ray! Why didn't you say something sooner!"

Raven smiled after her sister as she ran awkwardly to the Items Shop. She returned moments later in an outfit more suitable for a fight. She had done like her sister and kept the dress, but had cut the sleaves off completely, leaving only the sweetheart neckline of the stiff bodice that zipped in back. The skirt was almost completely gone as well, only a few long pieces hung in the front and back, allowing the young warrior to show off her toned legs- now donning black short-shorts and knee high leather boots. It was Raven's turn to roll her eyes, "Alright then. Let's go."

"I'm pumped!" Rose giggled, darting in through the door the moment it was opened.

"Wheew... There sure are a lot of them, aren't there?"

Raven stepped in after her sister, nodding grimly, "Yeah... Well, let's get to it. I've got your back if you've got mine?"

"You bet. Let's clean house!"

A/N: Sorry if the break is abrupt. There was no better place to put it, since the next chapter isn't finished yet. Reviews ALWAYS appreciated.