Blazblue: Ashes to Ashes

Sisters Part 1

After a few more days of staying with Bang, Ragna finally decided it was high time he left and headed to Ikaruga. With not just Tao and Noel, but also Jacky and Violet in tow, Ragna had quite a party. Things started out quiet and peaceful, but then Taokaka started dashing off on her own as she smelled food.
The group soon lost her through some woods and had to stop for a moment to rest.
"That damn cat is just impossible," Ragna moaned. The rest of the party couldn't help but agree in silence. "Anyone travelling with Tao better have a lot of patience a large capacity for tolerance," Jacky muttered, "Too bad none of us have any of that."
Eventually the group witnessed the sunset and prepared a camp. Thankfully, Violet came prepared with a pack of camping equipment. "You never know when you need it," she said. There was no sign of Taokaka anywhere. They might end up having to leave her behind, wherever she was.

Elsewhere…

Hazama passed Scarlet a couple of files on her targets, Violet Trove and Jacky Ray. "I understand that she is your sister, but she is clearly going against the will of the Imperator. We have no other choice but to arrest and possibly execute her. You have my sympathies." Scarlet bowed her head and stepped out of the room before taking a look at her sister's file. "'Last seen in Ronin-gai, heading for the 10th Hierarchical City of Akitsu-Otsu.' Why is she heading for Ikaruga, though?" She then shuffled through the other file and took a good look at it. "Let's see…Born in Shinatzu…Beastkin…wielding a Nox Nyctores, huh? I guess I should be cautious, but just to be sure, what's the bounty the NOL has placed on his head?" She shuffled through before finally coming upon the price on his head. "The NOL are willing to pay $8.7 million for some Beastkin's head?" Whoever Jacky was, he had to be a tough hurtle to leap if the NOL were going to pay that much for his capture and/or death. His bounty had to be the second or third largest bounty in the world. So he's an AAA-rank criminal then. He's almost as bad as the infamous Ragna the Bloodedge.
She picked up the pace, hurrying to the exit of the NOL branch. Wherever her sister and this 'Jacky' were, there were bound to be one or two vigilantes that have been following them around.

The Woods outside of Kagutsuchi…

That night, Jacky and Ragna had slept in one tent while Violet and Noel slept in another. Tao had never made it back to them, but she was still roaming around the woods. "Meow, where did everyone go, nyow? Did they get lost or something?" Tao felt something strange and smelled a scent she didn't like and quickly turned towards its direction, positioning herself into a battle stance.
"Who's out there?" She demanded. She heard a familiar voice speak to her. "The little replica is quite energetic as always, isn't she?" Relius Clover emerged from the woods and Tao backed up a little. "You're the guy that smelled like Shorty, but I don't smell Shorty on you! I don't like this nyu smell!"
Relius snapped his fingers and Ignis appeared with blood staining her robotic hands. Tao prepared for a battle, feeling pumped up to deliver some special 'Taokaka Justice'!
Meanwhile, back at the camp, there was a feeling of discomfort amongst everyone as they had to sleep in cramped tents with another individual. Violet finally got tired of it and teleported away for a short period of time to grab a couple of new tents. She teleported all the way to Kazamotsu and headed to the market district. After buying a few more tents, she thanked the shop owner and teleported back to her friends.
After setting up the additional tents, they all got comfortable, knowing that they wouldn't have to share their tent with anyone else. Not long afterwards, Ragna and Noel had fallen asleep. Jacky was ready to go to sleep himself when Violet tapped him on the shoulder. "What is it, Violet?"
"I forgot to get something while I was in the cities. I'll be back."
"Alright, just be careful."
Violet teleported back to Kazamotsu, where she waited until her sister came along. "I know you were watching me earlier, sis." Scarlet came out of hiding, with her scythe strapped to her back, ready for anything. "Do you know why I'm here?"
"I think I have the general idea."
"The Imperator has ordered me to find you and kill you."
"Yeah, I figured something like that would happen. Any other targets that I ought to know about?" Violet replied. "I'm also after your partner in crime. His name's Jacky, correct?" Violet drew Gemini from within her jacket. "Keep away from him or else!"
"I was hoping you'd say something else, but I guess I have no choice," Scarlet said as she drew her scythe from scythe from its straps. "Violet R. Trove, you are hereby under arrest for the act of rebelling against the NOL and the Imperator. Come quietly or I will be forced to execute you."
Violet saw the sorrow in her sister's eyes and returned her Gemini daggers to their place in her jacket.

Gravity Seed

Scarlet fell to her knees, unable to stand. Violet's gravity spell was weighing her down and she couldn't shake it. Violet approached her sister and kneeled down next to her, fully aware that she wouldn't be able to harm her. "Why are you chasing me down, sister?"
"Are you kidding me? You know the NOL just as well as I do! You know that any sign of rebellion gets people a one-way ticket to prison or worse! If I don't do this, our mom's life, as well as mine, will be at risk!"
"I'm sorry Scarlet, but I can't let myself be arrested just yet. I want to help you, but I can't at the moment." She dismissed the Gravity Seed and pulled her sister into a tight hug before saying goodbye and teleporting away.
"And where were you all this time, Violet?"
Jacky was standing outside his tent, waiting for her. "I had to take care of something. I wouldn't be gone so long if I didn't need to do it," she replied. Jacky narrowed his eyes angrily at her. "What happened, Violet?"
She remained silent for a moment before finally relenting. "My sister is being ordered by the Imperator to execute us. I fought with her during the time that I was gone. She was told to kill us and if she doesn't the NOL will execute her for going against the Imperator."
"God, I knew they would send someone after us, but I didn't expect them to do THIS," Jacky muttered. He placed his hands on her shoulders and she looked up at him. "They're going to pay for this, Violet and we're going to make sure that they do!"
Violet nodded her head sadly and headed off to her tent while Jacky did the same.
Deeper into the forest, Taokaka was starting to lose her battle against Relius, but it was still slow going. "You're not as bad as I thought you were, little replica," Relius said before Ignis struck her again. "MEOW, stop hitting Tao and fight me like a man, Weird Guy!"
Tao avoided another hit from Ignis by jumping over her mechanical hands and kicking off of her backside, rocketing towards Relius. "Taokaka PUNCH!" Before her punch could connect to his face, Tao got kicked from the side and sent flying into a tree. "I trust this girl didn't cause you too much trouble Colonel Relius?" Scarlet asked.
"Not at all, Lieutenant Trove, she merely helped pass the time," he replied with a sigh, showing how much he disliked it, "I see Phantom finally managed to teleport you."
"Yes sir. What do you wish to do with this girl?"
"Leave her; she is of no importance whatsoever. We must make haste and locate our targets immediately." The two of them headed off in a random direction as Ignis disappeared from sight, leaving Tao to bleed.