Wednesday, September 2

POV: Ruby

"We have a few hours until class," Ruby said to Cerise. "You want to go flying for a bit?"

Cerise hummed and nodded. How long has it been since we flew just to fly?

Ruby laughed and smiled. "Have we ever besides that first time?"

"Hey, don't talk about flying in front of us," Yang called from where she sat by Halcyon. "We won't be able to get airborne for another month."

"We had to wait that long, so do you," Ruby shot back.

Nalia lifted her head on the other side of the Dragonhouse. Are you going out for other reasons? the eldest dragon asked. Yang looked at Ruby with a questioning gaze, evidently hearing Nalia's question. Ruby told the rest of the team the night before about what she was really up to.

"There's nothing going on right now", Ruby responded as she climbed into Cerise' saddle. "I'm not feeling anything out of the ordinary at all down there. We just want to spend some time together".

Nalia blinked and snorted. Then may the sun shine on your backs. If something does happen, please tell us.

"We will." Cerise walked toward the automated door as Ruby strapped herself in. "See you all later!" Ruby called as her dragon left the building. She grabbed onto the spike in front of her and waited for the intense G-forces of takeoff. Cerise ran forward a few steps and jumped into the air, snapping her wings open at the same time.

You have any preferences on where we go? Cerise asked her Rider.

Ruby smiled. Anywhere but restricted airspace or deep into the Emerald Forest. I don't want to see if we can take on a Nevermore by ourselves. She leaned forward in the saddle as Cerise flew, using the dragon's head as a windbreak. Even though she could now afford to get some actual eye protection for flying, Ruby couldn't decide if she wanted just goggles or to get a full helmet. Both had their own advantages. It would most likely come down to whether or not either matched her outfit.

The red dragon turned to look back at her Rider. Nalia told me about something I should be able to do up here. You willing to give it a shot?

The young Rider cocked her head and smiled. Why not?

Excitement flowed off Cerise. Just hold onto the spike in front of you and leave the rest to me. She faced forward again and Ruby tightened her grip on the spike in front of the saddle. Ruby felt her dragon tug at her mind, with such force the young Rider felt as though she was leaving her own body. She panicked for a second, then she felt reassuring thoughts roll off Cerise, and she surrendered herself. Ruby's vision blurred, then jumped forward a few feet.

Though from this new perspective, the colors were different. Reds and greens didn't stick out as much, though blues popped like never before. Ruby's new perspective turned around, and she gasped, or at least tried to. Cerise, what did you do? she thought, somewhere between terrified and awestruck. Ruby was staring back at herself. Her face was blank despite all attempts to change it.

Cerise hummed, though Ruby felt as if she was the one humming. I've drawn your mind into mine. This way you can see what I see, and feel what I feel. The perspective changed back front. Don't worry, I won't let you fall. Cerise roared, then flew toward open forest. The dragon's pure joy infected Ruby, and all negative thoughts disappeared.

Somewhere in the flight, Ruby couldn't tell where Cerise' body ended and where hers began. They might as well have been the same dragon. They roared in delight as the trees flew past beneath them. The air flowed smoothly past their wings as they climbed. Soon the forest gave way to ocean, but still they climbed.

When they reached about the same height as when they went skydiving, they folded their wings and dropped like a javelin through the air. They spun as they fell, the water taking the appearance of a whirlpool. Both minds screamed with joy at the feeling of the air rushing past them faster than ever before. At a respectable distance, they snapped their wings open and glided to just above the water. They dipped their claws into the cool ocean below, kicking up an impressive rooster tail.

Eventually, they angled back toward dry land, still moving incredibly fast from the nearly two mile dive. They rose above the cliffs and swung around Beacon before heading for a mountain in the Emerald Forest. Their speed slowly trickled off as they rose to the top of the mountain. Adrenaline still pumped through their veins, though at a much slower rate than during the dive.

They landed on top of the mountain and roared at the sky. Soon after that, Ruby felt her mind pulling away from Cerise. She blinked a few times as she adjusted back to the normal color range. Her body shook from the adrenaline rush of the past half-hour. "That was amazing!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "How can you stay on the ground so much?"

Cerise laughed. I don't get to fly as much as I want to. Then again, I'd spend my whole life in the sky if I could. The dragon turned to look at her Rider and started laughing again.

"What's so funny?"

You're soaked, and your hair is a mess. Cerise simply sent her Rider an image of how she appeared. Ruby looked down and started laughing herself. She was completely drenched in seawater, and she didn't even feel it until she saw it. Seeing her hair sticking out at all angles through her dragon's eyes cracked her up even more. She laughed even harder because she saw herself laughing through Cerise. Both dragon and Rider laughed with each other for a long time before finally settling down.

Cerise lay down on her belly. I know I just said I'd like to spend my whole life in the air, but that drop hurt my wings more than expected. I need a break.

Ruby unstrapped her legs from the saddle and slid down her dragon's side. She patted her bondmate on the cheek. "I'm fine with that. Don't want to push you too hard." The Rider sat down next to her dragon's head and looked out over the city below them. As great the view from above was, there's still something special about seeing the city from a more level angle.

Have you ever been outside of Vale? Cerise asked after a few minutes of silence.

The young Rider shook her head. "Other than Patch, no. Travel between kingdoms isn't exactly easy. There are Grimm practically everywhere. Lately, most civilian ships have to have a military escort to make it where they're going, even between here and Vacuo." Ruby turned to look Cerise in the eye. "I guess we'll have plenty of time to change that." She scratched behind one of her dragon's ears. Cerise leaned into it and hummed happily.

The two sat on top of the mountain for a long time, not talking about much, just happy to be in each other's company. No Grimm came to disturb the two. A light breeze blew by the mountain. The only reason Ruby didn't fall asleep by her dragon's side was because she had class coming up and she didn't want to miss it.

"I think we should be heading back now, Cerise." Ruby stood up and climbed into the saddle. Cerise stretched her wings before standing up herself. She lightly jumped off the mountaintop as soon as Ruby strapped herself in. The light breeze turned into a steady tailwind as they rose. Ruby looked to the city as they approached from the south. Given the past few days, she couldn't help but stretch her mind out to the city.

Unfortunately, it didn't take her too long to find what she hoped she wouldn't. On the outskirts of the residential district, another little girl was being kidnapped. Cerise immediately turned in that direction and increased her speed. Ruby stretched her mind out to the other dragons and Riders at Beacon. I've got another one, she called. Western side of the residential district.

Nalia didn't take long to respond. Be careful, I don't like how active they've been the past few days.

Probably trying to make up for lost profits, Aaron growled. Do what you can, then get back here. Yang just sent a wave of encouragement. Ruby mentally nodded then focused back on the source of the panic. Cerise flew high over the city to appear no larger than a bird. For what felt like the thousandth time, Ruby was glad Ozpin was able to get the dragons nearly free roam over the city.

The car was moving north toward the commercial district on a main road. Too many other people lined the sidewalks for her normal plan to work. Ruby scouted the roads ahead, looking for spots where foot traffic cleared up or where traffic was bumper to bumper and a fender bender would be acceptable. Unfortunately, neither of those looked to be options for the near future.

The young Rider decided to test something she'd only done with Yang while practicing. Ruby sent her mind out toward the kidnapper, and searched for his intended route and target. She found what she was looking for, and she didn't like it. While the route eventually made it to less populated roads in the commercial district, the kidnapper's intended target was outside the city, to meet up with more of the Nevermores and transport even more kids to another location. What was worse, the transport was to leave in a half hour.

Cerise flew ahead of the kidnapper toward an ideal ambush location. The area was filled mostly with small businesses, and very few people walked the sidewalks at that time. The red dragon stayed a few hundred feet in the air and Ruby unstrapped her legs from the saddle. Ruby slid off the side of her dragon and dropped to the roof. She lightened her landing with magic as not to disturb those inside. Cerise continued flying in the direction they came from to hopefully throw off the kidnapper.

Ruby waited for several minutes before the kidnapper's car to turn down the road. Luckily, the sidewalks were still relatively clear. The Rider kept her head down as the car approached the store she crouched on. She focused her attention on the driver and said, "Slytha." The driver's head fell onto the horn of his car. The car veered to the left and ran straight into a light post. Ruby winced at the impact. She didn't like damaging city property, but it was better than the alternative.

Several people along the sidewalk immediately dropped what they were doing and rushed to the crashed vehicle. A man reached through the broken driver's side window and checked on the driver. "Hey, this guy's asleep!" Ruby heard the man yell.

There was a second's pause before someone else yelled, "Check the trunk!" A couple of Faunus gathered around the rear of the vehicle. One of them placed one of their dog ears to the trunk.

"There's definitely someone in here," he said. A few people at the front of the car forced the driver's side door open and one of them pressed the hatch release. The trunk clicked open and the Faunus at the back opened it the rest of the way. Both of them took a step back at what they saw. The female of the couple covered her mouth with a hand.

A police cruiser turned down the street, lights flashing and sirens blaring. Those at the car waved at the waved at the car as it approached as if it was just passing through. It came to a stop just behind the crashed vehicle. The officer inside side stepped out and called, "Another Faunus?" Those near the wreck all said their own confirmations, and the officer reached back inside and pulled out a large first aid kit. He grabbed his radio and said something into it, most likely calling for backup.

Ruby sighed and slowly moved away from the edge of the roof. Cerise, she called, I'm ready for pickup.

I'll meet you three blocks down, the dragon responded. There's a large enough park there for me to land. Ruby nodded externally, then started running across rooftops away from the crime scene. Two blocks down, she dropped into an alley, then blended in with the crowd on the street, occasionally looking back at the crash like everyone else.

Ruby entered the small park just as Cerise landed in the center. The people close by yelled in surprise and ran for cover. Ruby, however, ran full steam toward her dragon and leaped from the ground directly into the saddle. Cerise didn't wait for her Rider to strap in and took off immediately.

Once in the air, Cerise turned back to Ruby and said, I've told Aaron and Nalia about that transport. Nalia is meeting us just outside the city.

What about Aaron? Ruby asked.

He's in class right now, and he thinks the three of us can handle it. Cerise turned back front and sped toward the forest of Forever Fall due north of the city. Out of the corner of her eye, Ruby saw Nalia flying in the same direction. The two dragons met up and hovered in place for a few seconds.

Lead the way, Rider, Nalia said. Ruby nodded then sent Cerise a clearer image of where to go and what to look for. The red dragon took off toward the drop off location, as fast as her wings could carry her. Nalia flew at their four o'clock and kept pace nicely. Still, at their speed, they would barely make it to the drop off in time.

After a few minutes of flying, Ruby heard the distinctive sound of a Bullhead's engines behind her. She turned around and sure enough, a black and gray VTOL was catching up, fast. Nalia looked back as well and growled. They aren't friendly, she said. I'll deal with them, you two go ahead. The green dragon turned around and roared a challenge at the Bullhead.

Ruby and Cerise kept flying toward the drop off. They heard the unmistakable sound of chain gun fire behind them. Even though she knew Nalia could take care of herself, Ruby knew what kind of damage a weapon like that can deliver. Also, she didn't know how dragon scales hold up to sustained fire.

After flying over a hill, Ruby saw another two Bullheads resting on the beach. She scowled, grabbed Crescent Rose and extended the weapon to rifle mode. She looked through the scope at those on the ground. Several men walked around carrying rifles and other assorted weapons. Others were hauling Faunus children from the backs of white and black windowless vans. One man looked directly at Ruby and scowled. He took out a scroll and pressed a button on it.

Shortly after that, the sky lit up around Ruby and Cerise. Dust rounds exploded all around them and against Cerise' rather exposed belly. Ruby felt her energy draining from the wards fast. After only a few seconds, the wards fell and the rounds started actually hitting Cerise. Dozens tore through her wings and through the scales on her underside. The red dragon roared in pain, and Ruby did as well. Cerise tried to turn back, but a Lightning Dust round impacted a joint where wing met body. Both dragon and Rider fell from the sky.

Cerise landed hard on the beach, throwing Ruby from the saddle. Somewhere in the crash, Ruby lost her grip on Crescent Rose and it flew across the sand. She weakly looked up and saw Cerise being surrounded by armed guards and robots, far more than could be seen from the air. Ruby panicked and stretched her mind out toward Nalia and the rest of her team at Beacon. I need backup, now!

A sudden electrical shock ran through Ruby and she screamed. The current flowed through her for what seemed like minutes. When it stopped, someone kicked Ruby over and held a gun to her face. The man Ruby saw scowl entered her vision range. "So you're the one who's been interfering with our operation," he growled, looking down at the defenseless Rider.

"Boss," someone Ruby could not see said, "Big Green took down Condor. What do we do now?"

'Boss' simply nodded. "Pack these two up. Use the stronger stuff on both of them." The guard with a riffle aimed at Ruby's head turned the gun around and smashed it into her face. Stars danced in her vision, and she felt blood start trickling down her nose. Something sharp pressed itself through the side of Ruby's neck. Soon everything but the pain dulled. Her vision became distorted and she could no longer feel Cerise in her head, even though she was staring right into her panic filled eyes.

"Cer…Ceerreeee…" Ruby attempted to say her dragon's name, but that's all that came out. Something struck her hard on the side of the head again, and everything went black.

POV: Nalia

Nalia roared at the large-metal-Bull-bird that approached from the impossible-built-two-leg-city. Inside, those fighting for the black-monster-bird slave organization wanted to shoot the green dragon out of the sky. Little did they know they were attacking the fastest dragon alive and the strongest on Remnant. The fools would learn soon enough.

The large-metal-Bull-bird fired its small-but-strong arrows at Nalia at an alarming rate. They impacted the dragon's wards and started draining her energy at impossible speed. She dove out of the way of the onslaught and swiped at the underside of the beast as it sped past. A few metal-feathers were torn off by her claws, but the large-metal-Bull-bird stayed in the air.

Nalia growled as the metal-bird turned its wind-makers toward the ground as the rest of the beast faced the dragon. She charged at the metal-bird and aimed a swing at the beast's right wing. The metal-bird evaded and fired more small-metal-arrows at the dragon. Ignoring the drain in energy, Nalia used her momentum to swing her tail at one of the wind-makers. That blow connected and the wind-maker started spewing smoke.

The large-metal-Bull-bird turned and flew away from Nalia, wind-makers turning back to their original position. Cowards! Nalia mentally shouted and rushed after the whitelivers. The beast originally flew much faster than Nalia, but with the damaged wind-maker, the fastest dragon alive could keep up with it.

The smoke-spewing-wind-maker huffed out a large smoke cloud then stopped making noise. The large-metal-Bull-bird lost speed and angled toward the ground. Nalia flew up behind it and grabbed the injured wing with her front claws. With a decent amount of effort, she ripped the wing off the beast. The green dragon let go and the large-metal-Bull-bird fell into the forest, sending out a great ball of fire as it crashed.

Nalia admired her handiwork for a second before she felt Ruby's panicked consciousness press against her mind. I need backup, now! she yelled, then the connection was abruptly cut off.

The green dragon turned back in the direction long-tailed-Cerise flew in. Nalia flapped her wings as hard as she could to get to the new-pair as fast as possible. Still, she wasn't fast enough. Another two of the large-metal-Bull-birds were flying away from a blood stained the beach at too-fast-for-a-dragon speeds. She stretched her mind out to find little-Ruby and young-Cerise. Nalia could feel their minds, but they were distant, unfocused. Her partner-of-her-heart-and-mind-Aaron quickly contacted her to find out what was going on. She sent him the memories of the previous minutes, then concentrated on speed.

Nalia doubled her efforts to catch up to the beasts, but they never got closer. Miles separated the dragon and metal-birds. After several minutes of chasing over open ocean, Nalia lost sight of the transports, and the feeling of the minds in them. Once more the dragon roared, but this time in sorrow. She failed to protect her students, and now they were heading to some far-off place in the hands of the black-monster-bird slavers.

Head hung in defeat, Nalia turned around and flew back toward the beach. She couldn't believe she was out flown by a pack of two-legs. On the flight back, she saw something colored in the water. The green dragon flew down for a closer look, in case whatever it was came from the slavers. When she got closer, she saw it was little-Ruby's hood. She carefully grabbed the body-cover out of the water and once again flew toward the bloody beach.

POV: Yang

"Take care of my sister out there, okay," Yang told Nalia. "I only have one, and they don't grow on trees."

Nalia huffed her amusement. I shall do my best, she responded. I can't say they won't return unharmed. I may have to give them both a mental lashing when we're done. The green dragon took off and angled north. Yang watched her fly away from just outside the Dragonhouse.

She looked down at Halcyon who stood practically on top of her feet. "That's going to be us in a few weeks." Halcyon looked up at his Rider and chirped. He ran forward a few steps and shook his back in invitation. Yang couldn't help but laugh. "I like the enthusiasm, but I think I'm still a little too big for you." Halcyon's shoulders slumped and his head drooped.

Yang walked over to her dragon and rubbed his head like she would do to mess up Ruby's hair. "Come on, drama queen, let's get back to the room." The two walked across campus, attracting quite a few stares. Halcyon walked with an air of royalty and superiority, kind of like Weiss at the beginning of the school year. Yang rolled her eyes and chuckled at the sight. Somewhere down the road she'd have to break him out of that.

Yang entered the dorm through the main entrance while Halcyon took a short flight to their window. At three days old, he was getting big. He couldn't simply stand on Yang's shoulder anymore; he couldn't hold on without digging claws into her skin. Both of them were very disappointed at the discovery, but accepted it. They knew it wouldn't last long.

The blonde Rider opened the door to her room and saw Weiss already rubbing Halcyon's belly. "Spoiling him, are we?" Yang asked as she closed the door behind her.

"Well, when he rolls over like that, how can't I?" Weiss responded, never taking her eyes off the dragon.

"You never had a pet growing up, did you?" Blake asked, looking over her book.

"No, none that I could call my own anyway."

"Halcyon isn't a pet either," Yang said, a bit more forcefully than intended. "That's what we thought Cerise was at first, but now look at her. She is her own person and has no master."

Weiss shrugged. "Point taken." She looked at the clock on the wall and straightened up. "I suppose we should get ready for class now. We have fifteen minutes."

Yang sighed. "Well looks like Ruby's going to be late then."

Blake set down her book at sent Yang a questioning look. "Why would she be late?"

"Ruby, Cerise, and Nalia are going after a Nervermores transport. Nalia left to give the other two back up when I left the Dragonhouse. They shouldn't be much-"

Yang was cut off by Ruby's mind suddenly burst into her own. I need backup, now! Just as sudden as she was there, she was gone.

The blonde Rider froze in place as she tried to reconnect to Ruby's mind. Try as she might, her mental range just wasn't far enough. The panic Ruby felt…she was scared for her life. Weiss and Blake stared at Yang, equally horrified. Yang shook herself out of her trance, grabbed Ember Celica, and bolted out the door.

Aaron's mind then pressed itself against Yang's. Main courtyard, now! Bring your weapons. He didn't have to tell Yang twice. She sprinted through the residence hall, not caring who she ran through along the way. Luckily, the doors outside were open, otherwise she would have smashed right through the glass.

Yang kept running across campus until she reached the courtyard. She skidded to a stop and immediately searched around for Aaron. It took her a few seconds, but she saw him running full tilt toward the courtyard from one of the class buildings.

"What's going on?" Yang demanded when Aaron came to a stop in front of her.

After a few seconds of panting, Aaron said, "They have her. Nalia's in pursuit, but they're too fast." Yang froze in place again and her eyes widened. She imagined all the color drained from her face.

"What happened?" Weiss asked making Yang jump. She didn't realize her the rest of her team caught up. Halcyon landed close by and quickly made his way over to Yang. Then team Gray arrived in full armor, confusing her for a second before she decided that it didn't matter. More help was always appreciated.

"Nalia said an armed Bullhead ambushed them over Forever Fall. She fought it off while Ruby and Cerise continued to a Nevermores transport. Nalia took down the Bullhead, and that's when Ruby called for help. By the time she got to the beach, it was too late." Aaron looked sadly at Yang. "She saw a lot of blood on the beach, she believes it belongs to Ruby and Cerise."

Yang clenched both her fists and clenched her eyes as tight as she could. Beside her, Halcyon growled. Even though the golden dragon was only a few days old and didn't even come up to Yang's knees, that growl could have scared the life out of many people. The pure rage his mind put out even scared his Rider.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Blake asked, furious herself. "Let's go find her!"

"I'm with Blake on this, let's move." Percy said.

"I'm not saying we shouldn't do anything," Weiss started, "but how are we going to get anywhere fast enough?"

"Leave that to me." Zach said. Instantly, a strange olive-green vehicle that looked like a giant brick with wings appeared, and team Gray was already climbing in.

"You guys coming or what?" Sakura asked as the vehicle's engine started.

Weiss lead the group aboard, Aaron and Yang close behind. The blonde Rider looked down at her side to see Halcyon walking beside her, radiating fury and growling the whole way. Yang stopped and Halcyon shot his Rider a questioning glare. "Halcyon," Yang said, "I don't think you should come with." The rage in the hatchling's eyes vanished immediately, and his light growl turned into a whimper. "It's not that I don't want you by my side, but you're too small, too young. You're more likely to get hurt out there than any of us."

Halcyon whimpered again and nuzzled Yang's leg. She bent down to look her dragon in the eyes. "I swear, I will bring our sisters back. The monsters that hurt them will regret ever stepping outside." Halcyon rubbed his face against Yang's and flew back toward team RWBY's dorm room.

Yang stood back up and made her way aboard the green brick of a vehicle just as its engines were warming up. Almost as soon as she got on, the hatch closed, and it lifted up off the ground. Soon enough, they were hurtling through the sky at nearly Mach 1.

While Aaron entered the cockpit's doorway, Yang watched the city and then trees roll by beneath them. While she tried to stay solid on the outside, she was falling apart on the inside. She was supposed to just be out for a flight. It was just another criminal in Vale. How did it turn out like this? She couldn't help obsessing over what could have gone differently so that everyone would be in class instead of out searching for her sister.

Yang was so busy in her dejection she didn't notice the craft going in for a landing, the hatch opening in the process, on a blood-soaked beach. She saw Nalia looking up at the Bullhead with big sad eyes. Crescent Rose sat fully extended in front of the green dragon.

The blonde Rider dropped to the ground while the transport was still a dozen feet off the ground and slowly walked over to her sister's beloved weapon. She grabbed it with both hands and held it close. Tears slowly escaped her eyes. Nalia hummed sadly and stretched out one of her large paws, toes up. She opened her 'fist' and Yang's spirits dropped even more. Nalia held Ruby's hood. The green dragon lowered her head to look the blonde in the eyes. Yang, I am so sorry.

Yang grew angry again. She let go of Crescent Rose with her right hand and threw a strong right hook at Nalia's head. It connected and her head smashed into the beach five feet away from where it started. "You were supposed to protect her! Where the hell were you?"

Nalia lifted her head out of the sand and growled at Yang. I followed the Nevermores transports miles out to sea. When they get up to speed, there's not a dragon alive can catch them. Anyway, if I didn't escort Ruby and Cerise, they would most likely be dead from that ambush.

"How do you know they aren't?"

I know Ruby well enough that if she had died, I would have felt it even if it happened on the other side of the bloody planet. Ponda replied. I haven't felt her die. Not yet anyways.

Nalia then quickly looked at Aaron. Yang followed her gaze and saw the other Rider kneeling by a white and gray part of the ocean. The blonde Rider walked over to the spot, gasped and dropped Crescent Rose. It was Ruby. Her arms and legs were bound together, and something was stuffed in her mouth. Her nose sat at an unnatural angle and a large red mark sat on the right side of her face. Blood, dried and fresh, covered her lower face, as well as one spot on her neck.

The image in the water switched over to Cerise. She wasn't in any better condition. Her legs were shackled and her shredded wings bound to her body. Bullet holes and scorch marks covered her once beautiful scales. Unlike Ruby, Cerise was bandaged heavily across her belly.

"If they were dead," Aaron said, "we wouldn't be seeing anything." Yang took a few involuntary steps back and covered her mouth with both hands. Now the tears flowed freely down her face.

A light hand fell on Yang's shoulder. She turned to see an equally distressed Weiss. Still, there was steel in the heiress' gaze. "Yang, they're alive," she said. "We will find them, and we will make these bastards pay."

"Those mother fucking, gods damned, sons of bitches are gonna wish they were never born." Maliki said, his deeper and demonic sounding voice being the indicators.

"Indeed. They have managed to piss off the wrong group. Not only have they pissed off a dragon, two riders, and two huntresses-in-training, but they have also pissed off eight SPARTAN IIs, three of whom are gods." Sephiroth agreed. "And you know that someone has fucked up when they have me and Maliki agreeing on making them pay."

I'll even make sure that my dad gives their leader eternal punishment in the Fields. Ponda added.

Yang nodded then wiped her eyes. She walked back over to Nalia, who still had Ruby's hood in her paw. The blonde Rider grabbed her sister's favorite piece of clothing and carefully folded it. Then she looked out over the ocean, to wherever those bastards took her sister. I'm coming for you Ruby, she thought. I'm bringing you and Cerise home.

And here's where things really start to diverge from A Rose's Scales. It will start out small, and slowly but surely branch off from there. There will still be similarities between the two, but how events play out and such will be very much different. You'll see what I mean soon enough.