"Tryian! I'm back!" Called out as she wrestled with the door, her hands loaded down with shopping bags and her coat. The words had hardly left her painted red lips when her weighted purchases were lifted from her tired arms. Her sky smile dropped into something sweeter as she turned into the waiting arms of her Soulmate, leaning into his chest with a rare show of feeling.

Like a sponge, too dried out from the desert Tyrian soaked in the rays of warmth and softness. Having ones mate so close was physically soothing even if the sincerity behind her actions was absent. Content in this embrace his tail went to wind itself round his mates waist but feeling the leathery scales broken this fragile moment and Cinder quickly stepped back and out of reach. "Thank you darling, whatever would I do without you."

Saddened the Faunus coiled his tail behind his back and carted the many bags through to their separate bedrooms. "You know I would never do without you my princess, even the flames of my soul rise and fall with you."

Cinder barely reacted to his humble words, too focused on spying out their shared home for imperfections, though she remained inwardly unimpressed. Who said having a Soul mate as all that fascinated obviously hadn't met Tyrian. While he wasn't ugly he certainly wasn't going today out many in attractiveness. He was smart, smarter then most realised but since becoming besotted with the amber eyed girl she thought he had dumbed himself down. Cinder knew he made good money as both an enforcer and huntsman he was rich enough to afford the lifestyle Cinder had always wanted. Some said she was only in it for the money, that she had let herself be bought. Cinder liked to correct them, she may have been bought but Tyrian was the one who was kept.

Like so many before her a younger and more naive Cinder had thought that she could make it as a dancer. She kept herself in shape, ate and drank the right kind of stuff and most importantly she had the confidence to rival ten people. She had been dancing in a club with some friends when a well dressed man approached her with just the offer she had been waiting for. Come to Vale with him and she would receive all the training necessary to make it big in dance. So in a move that left everyone shocked she packed her bags and ran from her home in Mistral after burning bridges with what family she had left.

Should she have been so surprised when upon arrival she had been treated to her first taste of the real world? Perhaps it would have been smarter not to sleep with the man who had convinced her to come with him. Apparently when one thought sleeping their way to the top was the best approach in the early days they got what they had coming to them. Soon all the promises of fame and money had been replaced with a game of pass around the human fleshlight. And drugs! So many drugs.

The drugs had made it barely tolerable but the cycle of sex and substance had taken a toll and one day Cinder found herself laying in a hospital bed after a particularly gruelling session that left her overdosing in the midst of being gangbanged. The people using her had quickly tossed her outside in the rain naked and fading when a innocent passerby saw her and called for help.

After months of therapy she couldn't afford, instead choosing a different form of payment Cinder had been discharged from the hospital. Wearing clothes several sizes too big from the charity box and a low grade Lein card in hand the dark haired woman picked herself up and headed towards the first club she could find. With some measure of luck her choice was a strip club and Cinder used her only card to buy the biggest glass of wine she could afford. Watching the women dance along the stage as men threw high valued cards and excited comments their way Cinder quickly got an idea.

It hadn't taken too long, between nursing her wine and chatting up the bartender for a woman dressed in a purple and blue wrap dress to approach them. Within minutes Cinder had gone from being homeless and without a Lein to her name to becoming 'Fall' the club's newest waitress. Months later she had gone from cleaning the toilets of 'questionable' fluids to dancing on the stage with the other girls, shaking her still impressive ass into customers faces and earning enough to afford the tiny one bed flat down the road. Unfortunately her time intoxicated by drugs had left her hands shaky and her moods swinging like a kids birthday party. Thankfully she found taking her choice of drug in more modest amounts stopped that and left her feeling like her life was on the up and up.

One night when Cinder was feeling particularly sly, toeing the line of club rules the door opened and with it the Faunus she lived with today. Tyrian was friends with the bartender she had initially met on her first night and after a few drinks the Faunus made his way over to the stage requesting a private dance. Suffice to say learning he was her Soul mate had been both wonderful and irritating. Since that first night Tyrain had become a regular at the club and though he kept to the rules, just enjoying Cinder dancing he also started to show his possessive side. When other men wanted a more private setting he would threaten them, growling close and low into their ears, the words she couldn't tell but the way their faces paled and the face that they never came back again said volumes for his intimidation skills.

Unfortunately it was messing with business and the owner wasn't having it after the first few weeks. When the situation was explained about their Soulbond her boss who Cinder had thought was a fair and kind person gave her a choice. She could reject her bond with Tyrian and be free to work at the club for as long as she wished. Or she could quit and allow her newfound Soulmate to look after her needs. She couldn't come between their bond any more then she could had they been married and Tyrain jumped at the opportunity to get his mate to stop working at the club. He made promises of working hard so she didn't have to work anymore and her sore feet were begging her to take the deal.

In the end she sold her flat and moved into the two bed modest bungalow Tryain lived in after quitting her job and things went well for the first few weeks. When her Soulmate tried to complete their bond the first time she had pushed him away. When the Faunus asked for an explanation Cinder told him her life story, had she had come to be in Vale and that she wanted to complete their bond but was too afraid yet to sleep with him. She was lying of course, the idea of solidifying her bond to him left a vile taste in her mouth but the excuse was good enough for Tyrian and the two continued their shared lives without completing their bond.

Tyrian was a good provider, he let her change his home to make it appeal more to her, he worked hard as promised, gave her money to spend as she wished. Bought her presents and even cooked and cleaned their home. The few times he went for more then a peck on the lips or a caress down her neck Cinder pushed him away, mostly by faking a panic attack and it would send him scurrying away to give her space before returning with a gift as apologises.

Did she feel sorry for using Tyrian, HELL NO! He just made it so easy to manipulate him. She was still taking drugs as well but now she did it more subtly since she didn't want the Faunus to know.

Unfortunately keeping things from Tyrian never worked for too long as she found when the Faunus in question sat her down later that day with her stash in his hands.

"Cinder please. This isn't good for your health, these drugs are bad."

Furious that he had poked through her things Cinder threw her cup across the room bellowing. "Who the fuck do you think you are, stealing from ME!"

"You are using my money to buy DRUGS Cinder, are you trying to kill yourself?"

"GIVE IT TO ME!" With a snarl the amber eyed woman leapt up, slapping her mate across the face. "Fucking give it to me now!"

Tyrian took her blows holding her stash high and attempting to calm her down. "Please princess stop, your only going to make things worse. We can get through this I promise, I will help you."

"Like you helped me get fired! Like you help me everyday trying to be mister perfect so I would get into bed with you! News flash asshat I wouldn't fuck you in a million life times! Your disgusting." Still striking out at her mate Cinder was like a beast finally letting her true emotions through. "Self absorbed, worthless Soulmate and I hate YOU!"

Sorrow and anger hinted beneath Tyrain's calm exterior. "I love you Cinder. . . Watts was right, you are just using me, you never cared."

"Of course I don't care, I mean look at you! Out of all the people in the world to be my Soulmate and I get stuck with you." Standing on her toes she suddenly stopped her viscous attack and slowly said with venom. "I would rather go back to being fucked and drugged up by dozens of those filthy sleazy liars then let you make me cum." Without another words Cinder turned on her heel and headed towards the front door.

All a sudden Tyrian felt his heart wrenching and something cold struck at the nape of his neck. Fearful he desperately followed her, torn between exclaiming his love and crying, the pain sinking over his chest where his bond struggled to survive he pushed in front of her, blocking the doorway. "Please please, I'm sorry. Don't go! I promise I'll be good, I'll give it back, look!" He all but threw the bag of powder into her hands as he stared into those glowing amber orbs begging.

Cinder only stuffed the package into her pocket and sneered at the man before her. "I would say it's been fun Tyrian but really you're too pathetic. That's why I'm going to give you this one last gift." Cruelty she gripped his face in her hands, her nails digging into the redness where she struck him time and again. Leaning up she got in as close to his face as she could, their lips only a breath from touching,

"I reject you with all my being, Tyrian Callows." The words were almost like a whisper and for a moment Tyrian thought he had imagined them until the burning in his chest forced his eyes open. No longer where they the snake like yellow Cinder knew but a vibrant and toxic purple. Tyrian felt his bond wrench and gasped for breath furious. As black spots dotted his vision he lifted his tail and posed it to strike.

"OZ!" Ruby's eyes flew open as she sputtered awake, panicked breathing. Those silver pools widened as her mouth dropped open in horror causing her to slam her two shaking hands over her mouth. Shutting her eyes tightly she tried to calm down enough to seek out her bond with Ozpin her heart thundering against her ribcage. She found the wisps of gold but now they felt cold and empty. Ruby's anguish seeped out in choked sobs and tears, her face hot with them as she cried. No, how could this be happening?! Something in the distance chimed and forced Ruby out of her sobbing and she felt her heart drop on fear for the things she saw.

The first thing she noticed was that she must be in some sort of basement. The floor that she could see was concrete but thick rugs of different colours had been draped over the ground. It was also very dark and the only light in the room came from a hanging bulb in the centre of the ceiling, though it was dim and glowy giving her only limited sight. The rest of the room was minimally furnished, a large couch sat in one corner, it's faded green colour looked sickly and unclean. A few tables sat in the other corner with a pair of stools and from Ruby could see there were a number of tools lay upon them. Slowly so as to make as little noise as possible she shifted into a kneeling position and reached out a hand, the warmth coming into contact with something cold and hard.

That's when she noticed the cage .

Probably about five feet in height and another eight or so feet each way the cage against the far wall and bolted she could tell into the concrete. The bars we're an inch or so in thickness and ran from the top of the the cage to the bottom with a fists thickness between each pole. Underneath her feet was a thick blanket protecting her from the cold metal floor and above her a thick plated roof holding her inside.

Against her better judgment Ruby felt her head swim and she pounded at the ceiling. "No no nonnononono No! Let me out! Let me out of here!" Her shouts were met with silence as she rattled the poles attempting to pull them free. "Someone let me out of here!"

She pulled, shouted, cried out and slapped at the roof until her hands hurt and her throat ached, slowly sliding back down in a puddle on the floor of the cage and cried some more.

The smell of something yummy woke her, not even realising that she had fallen asleep Ruby carefully opened her eyes and was met with a pair of familiar yellow orbs staring back at her. He had an angler face, thin and pale features that were sharp and still. His thin brown eyebrows rose with a smile that was too familiar and sent sent shivers down her spine. Ruby eyed the long ponytail as it rested over one shoulder and lay against his hip. Something twitched behind the man and as her gazed locked on to it in the semi darkness she noticed it was a tail. Blood left her face as she remembered that tail, the squelching sound it made as it tore through Oz's torso, blood dripping from the sharp appendage and whimpers left Ruby's lips.

At the sound the Faunus giggled, it was high and reminded her of over ripened cherries, bitter and sickly. The sound of a plate being pushed drew her eyes down as he very gently placed it as close to the cage as possible. "You should eat."

Ruby was about to decline but the smell of the grilled cheese and chicken sandwich sent her stomach into roaring rumbles. A dusting of embarrassment coated her cheeks as she peered back up to see if the Faunus had noticed. From the way he smiled at her she guessed he had and not knowing when her last meal was her thin pale hands reached between the bars taking half of the sandwich.

Ruby sat up slightly still not speaking as she looked down the meal. Unsure if it was safe she pulled the top half off to glare at the food, half expecting to see something toxic inside when the voice besides her sighed. "Don't worry, I have not poisoned it. If I wanted you dead you would have been found in the belly of a Grimm by now."

"You might have drugged it." Her voice was still horse from her crying but it was stronger then even she realized.

A frown took over that smiling face. "I have a 'disdain' for those kind of chemicals."

"And yet you used them on me." Not wanting to wait to see if he would take the food away Ruby quickly took a large bite and another. Her body was obviously hungry as it took only moments for her to finish the sandwich.

Tyrian watched with vivid amusement as the small woman all but demolished the meal, his glee that she enjoyed his food left him with a warm glow. Realising that he hadn't answered her yet he choose his words carefully. "A necessity but rest assured if things go well I shall have no need to use them again."

Slowly the appetite that had grown sunk deeper and deeper until the food in her mouth tasted like she had ate bricks and they now rested in her stomach. Without eyeing the other half of her sandwich Ruby turned accusing eyes on her captor. "A necessity? Like killing Oz . . . You've taken me from my soulmates and k-killed one of t-them." She stuttered.

Watching those eyes fill with tears almost had Tyrian doing the same. She didn't understand? How could he make her understand, that what he had done was necessary for them to be together. The man with the grey hair would never have let her go, he would have fought or at least that's what Tyrian would have done in the same situation. Still he couldn't come up with the words to console his rose and instead of comforting her he only growled in response. It had to be done, it was just that simple, she was safe now, with him and they would be together just as they should have always been.

Ruby watched the emotions play over her captors face, he went from looking at her softly to a near panic and now he was growling under his breath as though frustration. Well good! He deserved it. The despair of seeing Oz falter and fall by this man's hands was cruel and she wasn't sure if her heart could take it. There was something familiar about the Faunus but she just couldn't remember what. A lump settled on her chest, she wanted Oz, she wanted James and mostly she wanted her Qrow.

A surge of anger forced her forward as she glared through the bars, her shaking hand gripping the metal as she shook them. "Let me out! I don't want to be here! Let me go home!"

The swift change in behaviour seemed to flip a switch for the scorpion, his face dropped any hint of emotion and he leaned in close enough to the cage that Ruby felt his hot breath on her face. "You are home Ruby, this is home now and you are never EVER leaving me again. Can you see it?" Seeing the way his cheeks dusted with blush as he obviously let his mind wander and imagine."You and me, together always. I will show you how much I love you, that is my promise to you. We will live and be together for years to come," His thin coarse hand fished between the bars and pressed against the young woman's stomach. "and when I rest my hand against your swollen tummy as you carry our babies, oh how happy we will be."

The hand rolling over her belly was the final straw as Ruby's lost all colour and shook in fear. Desperate and frightened she grabbed at the hand and leaned her head down biting Tyrain's hand as hard as she could.

The resounding yelp was her only warning before his other hand shot through the bars and wrapped itself around the thin column of her neck. With the bitter taste of blood in her hand Ruby was wretched away as the Faunus slammed her into the back of the cage, her breath leaving in a pained sob when her back met the metal bars. Ruby felt his hand squeeze on her throat and she tried to breathe, slapping at whatever she could reach.

Faint black dots danced around her vision as Tyrian choked her, his flashing eyes stuck on her silver ones. Ruby tried to claw at his arm frightened that he was about to kill her. It was those eyes! She knew those eyes. They haunted her but why? Tyrain's voice grated her ears though she couldn't see the faint tracks of tears roll down his cheeks. "No, you're not like her. You have to be different, please don't do this to me again!"

Once his Aura kicked in Tyrian finally realised what he was doing to his loved one and dropped her. For a moment he thought he had killed her until the trapped woman gasped and sputtered, trying to pull in as much oxygen as possible. His hand still hurt and the blood now stained his white shirt. Angry that she had been so against his devotion he stooped lower to the ground so he could watch as Ruby struggle for breath on the floor of the cage. When her eyes locked on his he nearly laughed. "I'm not going to kill you my little flower but another incident like this," he said showing the still bloody hand his voice infinitely lower. "and you may wish I had."

Leaving The woman defeated in her prison Tyrian climbed back up the steps to the rest of the house, closing and locking the basement door behind him.

Ruby for her part let the tears come back, sobbing quietly as she felt the bruised skin of her neck. It was those eyes, she did know them and now she remembered how.

The sound of vegetables being chopped did nothing but aggravate Qrow as he sat at the table listening to Penny prepare dinner while James had disappeared a short time ago complaining of pain. He eyed the little android and pulled out his Scroll. Still no message from Ruby or Ozpin since they had gone out that afternoon. He assumed the pair had simply lost track of time maybe having a meal together or out walking but something didn't feel right.

James finally returned to the kitchen taking his now cool mug of tea from the table and took a sip. He made a face at the bitter taste but reluctantly downed it and washed the mug. He saw Qrow's eyes drift back down to his scroll. "Still nothing?"

"Nope. I mean they're out together, Ruby promised she wouldn't go anywhere alone but . . ."

"You feel like something's not right?" James pressed down on the mark on his wrist, the copper wisps felt a little cold to him.

Qrow nodded and was about to toss it on the table when it began ringing. Seeing Tai's name on the screen Qrow frowned and accepted the call. "Hey Tai, what you calling for?"

"Qrow! Oh thank Gods, I need help. Ruby's soulmate Ozpin . . . He's dead."

Activity in the kitchen screeched to a halt. Qrow jumped from his seat his heart pummeling, James went white as a sheet, his hand all but ripping his coat off to see his mark and Penny, she calmly turned off the stove and stood closer to Qrow listening to the man on the Scroll.

Qrow's voice was heavy with fear. "T-Tai, please tell me Ruby is with you." Tai was silent on the other end but the red eyed man heard what sounded like a thump on the other end.

". . . She's not here."

"I understand. We're on our way, call the authorities, we're be there soon but Tai. We 'will' find her."

"Hurry Qrow, please."

Qrow went into his Huntsman mode, he couldn't afford for his emotions to get in the way, even when his heart was racing and his thoughts rolling with despair he schooled his face and reached over for James. "We need to go now."

A blur of orange zoomed into his path as Penny blocked his way. "I'm coming too!"

"Not a chance, Oz is dead but that doesn't mean you should see him, just in case he's . . ."

Penny struggled with the urge to roll her robotic eyes. "Father isn't dead but he is going to need me very soon. We are wasting time, I'll drive and explain."

Oz wasn't dead? What did she mean? The three jumped into James' car, Penny proved to be a superb driver as she weaved in and out of traffic at an alarming speed but she did it all with a cool grace that was evident to her being. Qrow sat in the passenger seat, his eyes drifting from street to street as his mind raced. How would they find Ruby? Going over everything he knew to find out what they missed. James was almost curled on the backseat, his head in his hands and he tried and failed to control the tears running rivers down his cheeks.

His mark to Ruby was still warm but whenever he tried to push through, to hear her all he got back was frightened sensations and darkness. As for Oz . . . he was so cold. His bond to Oz had never been complete even as they had grown a little closer. The pain he felt not so long ago must have been when Oz . . . No! He had to believe in him. Penny had been Oz's companion for longer then he knew. If she said he was still alive he needed to believe her. His mark hadn't become grey and lifeless yet but it was cold. He couldn't detect the faintest of warmth or a heartbeat coming from it. Please be alive!

Despite her promise to explain how her father wasn't dead Penny was silent during the trip. She just barely made the ferry to patch before she turned off the engine and turned to the two men in the car. Ozpin had never told her she couldn't tell his Soulmates but Qrow wasn't one of them and no matter how fond her father and his mates were of the other man she didn't want to go against her father's orders. That said Ruby was in danger and missing, he would be able to help find the young woman if he knew and understood. Deciding it was the better of the options available she nodded.

"Father is much older then anyone knows. He 'can't' die like a normal person. He never fully explained it to me but consider that everytime he dies his body goes into a state when he appears dead but isn't. Sometimes it can last hours, other times days or even months but eventually he wakes up again. His body heals even when he is dead, his Aura lives despite him not breathing and his heart not beating." Penny watched the growing confusion on both men's faces. "You MUST keep this a secret, if the world finds out he is in a sense immortal there will be consequences. Father helped build me and then he gave me free will to choose. I decided to be his companion, so that even when everyone dies around him he would always have someone. Every time he 'dies' it is my duty to bring him home, protect him and care for him until he wakes and thereafter."

"Why did he not tell me?" James questioned, both angry and saddened. Did this mean after James and Ruby died Oz would continue to live, alone again? If so it made so much sense, Oz's feelings towards him and his acceptance of everything that was happening. His life must feel like such a short span of time and when he was gone Oz would remain.

"He wanted to but he wasn't sure how you would react. Father is a bit of a scaredicat but I have never seen him as happy in all of his lives then he was when he was with you and Miss Ruby." The gentle smile spoke volumes and James felt both guilty and relieved that Oz cared about him so much. How stupid he had been to push away the man who so sincerely wanted to be with him.

Qrow tapped the little android. "How did he come to be this way? I mean surely someone would have noticed."

"He doesn't know, Ozpin has always been this way and he knows not why he doesn't die. I have seen him in such states, where he has been desperate to end it all but something . . . keeps pulling him back. He doesn't like to talk about it but maybe when he wakes and after Ruby is found he'll tell you all that he knows"

"Then let's make that our priority for right now. Getting Oz safe and finding Ruby." James nodded, schooling his face as the ferry reached the Patch docks and they deployed onto the island. He prayed Ruby would hang on and that they wouldn't be too late.