A.N. Hello everyone, sorry for the delay in posting. I had something come up and was gone much longer than I initially intended to be. Anyway, since I was unable to post up a chapter last week you are getting two this week. Thank you to everyone who continues to read this story.

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Ruby woke with a start. Her head felt as if it was subjected to being Yang's punching bag. When she looked around, she noticed that she was no longer in Vale. Instead of towering buildings and the hustle and bustle of the city, there was instead the quiet lapping of waves against a sandy coast. The sun was low in the sky, seeming to sink into the ocean below.

"What happened? I don't remember how I got here?" Ruby asked herself. Hoping to have the ever-familiar droll tone of Tiamat's voice answer her question, she was sadly disappointed as only silence replied. Ruby then began trying to summon her equipment and discovered that she was still able to. Ruby breathed a sigh of relief, and tried to have her Crows go and scout, but as she tried, she felt nothing. Looking behind her, Ruby saw that all of her Crows were damaged.

'What the heck happened to me after that guy hit me? Why can't I remember anything after he hit me?'

With that thought in mind, Ruby began heading out on foot, deciding that she should look for landmarks to find out where she was.

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After walking long into the night, Ruby finally sat down with her tails splayed behind her and looked out at ocean. She knew she was on an island, but she wasn't sure which. She didn't have any problems seeing at night, despite the lack of the moon, but she couldn't seem to recognize where she was. However, just as she was preparing to fall asleep, she heard her voice again.

"Amaranth, are you there?"

"Tiamat, is that you? Where the heck were you all day?"

"I apologize Amaranth, but something forced all of my attention from you."

"And what was that?"

"Something you don't need to know of at this point in time. All you need to know is it was important enough to cause me to take my attention off you, my youngest child."

Ruby sighed, deciding to drop the issue. Tiamat, outside of her cold demeanor, hadn't given her too many reasons to not trust her.

"Alright, but do you know what happened to me, I don't remember anything after that guy with a chainsaw hit me."

"I can not exactly tell what you are doing at all times. I may be powerful, but I am not omniscient."

"Would you at least be able to tell me where I ended up at least? I don't recognize anything around me."

"I am surprised you don't recognize it, dear Amaranth, especially considering this is where you spent most of your old life."

At this Ruby stood ram rod straight.

"I am on Patch? I should have recognized something then, I have been all over the island."

"Perhaps your memory is growing faulty, especially considering that you can't even remember the events from the previous night."

Ruby clutched her head and began trembling. If she couldn't remember her own home, what else was she going to forget? Would she forget about Crescent Rose? Zwei? Dad? Yang? Mom? As she began to cry, she felt a calming presence wash over her.

"Do not worry my dear Amaranth, I won't let you forget anything else, so worry not."

Ruby continued to cry but felt comforted by the gesture. Ruby decided then that she would not forget her family, and that even if she forgot everything else, she would remember them.

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After a she finished crying and managed to collect herself, Ruby looked up and noticed that now the sun was beginning to rise.

"Tiamat, would you be able to tell me where I am on Patch? I wanted to go see someone."

"Of course, I will lead you there. But first, I think you should head into the water."

"Okay, but could I ask why? I can get there just as fast on land as I can by going over water."

"Sweetie, it is because the Oceans are my domain. If you step into it, it can strengthen and heal you, as you are my child."

"Well, why didn't you say anything earlier?"

"I thought you would have figured it out, considering it is where you were raised from."

Ruby, embarrassed, laughed at this and moved to scratch her hair when her hands felt something smooth in her hair. She moved closer to the water to see her reflection. When she parted her hair, she saw that two black nubs were beginning to grow from her scalp.

"Hey Tiamat, why am I growing horns?"

"It means you are growing into your body. Do not worry about it."

"Does this mean I am going through puberty again? I hated it the first time!"

Tiamat laughed at this. "I do believe that is the first time I have heard it described as such, but I suppose it is not entirely wrong. As you age and gain experience, you grow in power, and one of the signs of that are those horns. Your body will also change in other ways to become more efficient in handling that power. But I would worry about that later, for now I believe you would like to repair those Crows of yours?"

Ruby decided to go ahead and take care of the Crows and began walking into the water until she was entirely submerged. As soon as she was, she immediately felt refreshed and rested. As she continued to wait, she noticed that she didn't feel like she had to hold her breath. In fact, she continued to breathe as though she was breathing air. Filing it under as some more powers that Tiamat had, she decided now was a good of time as ever to ask.

"Hey Tiamat. Why did you decide to help me in the first place?"

"To be truthful, it was because as I felt you enter my water, I knew you had ended far before you should have. You had not lived a full life yet, and I knew I could do something, so I decided to help. Besides, I am always eager to have more children."

Ruby smiled at this before she fell asleep, comforted by the water around her.

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When Ruby next woke up, she immediately walked back out onto the shore. As the sun was still high in the sky, she determined that she hadn't been out for more than a few hours. After summoning and checking her equipment to make sure her Crows were prepared, Ruby mentally called to Tiamat.

"Alright dear." Tiamat called out "You are in the eastern corner of the island of Patch. Good luck. If you need me, just call to me, as I must go and handle other matters."

With a quick nod and a thank you, Ruby began heading northward.

"I am coming home."

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Post Script. Once again, I am terribly sorry for missing last week. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter. Please, leave a review.