Sorry this took so long! I lose focus easily, and since chapters are getting longer, it's easier for me to stop with no progress. I'll try to focus more time on this and my other stories in the future.

"Speaking of witchy broads…"

The words echoed through the darkness that lasted behind the injured Ruby's eyes, sending her squirming as those same words brought a throbbing pain through her skull, as though it were caught in the tight grip of a vice. As she stared further into the black abyss, she swore she could still feel the hard impacts of her skull against the wooden floor of the house she hoped was abandoned. Suddenly, a light appeared at the end of the deep, dark tunnel, and she felt her body lurch as she was pulled towards it, and the abyss was replaced with a void.

As she slowly opened her eyes to the light, she saw it fade away into what looked like a tiled ceiling in some building, the white of her vision fading away to beige. Turning her head to the right, she saw the bed that Jaune had stayed in during their stay. Realization set in, as she tried to sit up, before a pounding pain in her skull caused her to lower herself back to her mattress. As she groaned in pain, her eyes closed from the agony, she held a hand up to her wounded forehead, only to feel her fingers and palm rub against cloth bandages. As Ruby opened her eyes, she also turned her gaze to the left. There, in the corner, was Cinder, who sat in a chair with her hands on her lap. "C-Cinder?" Ruby said, her eyes squinted as the pain, at least temporarily, ceased as she removed her hand.

Cinder's gaze turned downwards, her hands clutching her dress in shaking fists full of silk. Her left eye burned as her mind filled itself with thoughts of anger and pain. "Just kill her now!" Cinder thought, her conscience turning against her. "No one will miss her! Shoot her in the head, snap her neck, or just burn the bitch, I don't care. She deserves death for what happened! For what she did for me."

"T-Thank you for saving me," Ruby quietly said, slinking back down to the mattress. And like that, Cinder's tirade ceased. Ruby was showing gratitude, and if Cinder's wide open mouth and shocked gaze was any indication, it was gratitude undeserved. "But why d-did you save me?" Ruby asked, "I thought...well…"

Cinder thought back to the screams of murderous intent her inner voice brought forth just seconds earlier, and swiftly grew to regret every single word. "I-I...I want...to prove this…to you. To...everyone."

"Really?" Ruby asked, curiosity apparent in her tone.

Cinder pressed her fingers to her throat as she lowered her voice down in volume, speaking quietly enough that her smooth, seductive tones replaced the scratchy cry she had. "Yes," she began, quickly making sure Ruby could hear her. From the subtle look in her silver eyes, it seemed like she could. "I have my strength back. You all saw that. If I wanted to kill you, I would. Trust me, I have some very good reasons to," she continued. At those last few words, Ruby's eyes widened as her fingers held the top of her comforter and blanket. "But I want to change. I want to have my life back."

Ruby's features visibly relaxed as she let loose a sigh of relief, her breath shaky as she closed her eyes yet again. "That's...good," Ruby said, breathing in and out slowly as the pain once again began to subside. "That's a big jump, especially for you."

"D-Does that mean…" Cinder said, the weight of each word forcing her to trail off. That little voice in her head spoke again, a chilling reminder of who she once was speaking in the voice she used to have. "Of course not!" she thought, "You ruined everything! You killed her friends! Penny Polendina, Pyrrha Nikos, everyone you've made suffer because of your actions! Why-"

Her thoughts were interrupted by Ruby's somewhat slow response, as she laid on her bed and contemplated her words. "It's...too early to say," Ruby finally said. "This was only the first fight, and all you did was fight that guy, and save me…"

As Ruby paused, Cinder's breath slowed to a crawl as her gaze drew downward. "But," Ruby finally said, causing Cinder to snap her gaze back to Ruby's silver eyes. "You saved me. After all I did. I mean, you're missing an eye and your hand!"

Another pregnant pause filled the air as Cinder looked down at her left hand, only finding a void where it used to be in its place. She could still feel the sensation of squeezing her fingers, the phantom pain that filled her whole body on that day still ebbing away in her wrist. She didn't need to confirm that her eye was gone, as the void covered whatever vision she could salvage, as though the eye were simply closed. "Look," Ruby continued, "Like I said, it's far too early. I mean, maybe you're just waiting for a time when you can go and just kill all of us." Cinder nodded at this, her right hand clutching her dress as her lips pursed in thought. "But you're on the right track, and this a big step in the right direction."

"W-Why?" Cinder said, her yellow hued eye peering right into Ruby's silver ones, "Why...are you giving me...a chance?"

Ruby simply smiled warmly as she said "Well...no person's a monster. People just...do bad things." She felt more comfortable in the bed as the pain from her wound fully ebbed away, letting her sit up in her bed.

"That's...quite the optimistic worldview," Cinder noted, frowning as she once again turned her gaze away. "I...just can't...see it...at least for…me."

"Well," Ruby said, "That's why you're improving, right? So that you can be redeemed?"

Cinder simply shook her head and quietly said "I...guess…"

"Does, uh, everyone know you're here?" Ruby asked, shifting uncomfortably on the mattress. "If someone saw her carry me in...Oh crap!"

A sigh escaped Cinder's lips as she said "Only one of...them. I guess...the rest are...waiting...She was the...one with the orange...hair. Nora Valkyrie?"

"Oh crap, it was Nora?!" Ruby thought, her eyes quickly widening as she gasped out a nervous breath. "Did...anything happen?"

While the quick shake of Cinder's head answered the question already, there will still details missing. Breathing in a hard gasp of air, Cinder said "No...she looked at...me...she was angry….and concerned."

"Okay," Ruby said, "I'll call them in and we can talk about you...wait, where's Jaune?" Those last few words raised her voice slightly as she looked back to Jaune's empty back, worry growing in her heart as the possibilities raged through her mind.

"I...don't know," Cinder said, and Ruby instantly felt her heart sink into her chest as the mental images flashed before her eyes. Jaune laid there, bleeding, and the very thought crossing her mind sent a cold chill down her spine. "He told me to help you...and you were...right next to Ferris's flames...I just had to leave him there…"

Before anyone could say anything more, the door slammed open as Nora rushed in, Ren right behind her with a neutral expression. "Ruby!" the energetic girl shouted, sprinting forward with an unrivaled speed as she wrapped her arms around the younger Huntress, "Me and Renny heard you outside. I'm so glad to see that you're up!"

"H-Hey, Nora," Ruby gasped out, the girl's arms tight around her torso, "C-Can't breathe!"

"Oh, sorry," Nora replied, "I was just so...worried. Ooh, I'll come get Yang! She's been nervous, obviously, since you are her sister, though I heard that your mom isn't her mom from birth, making you half-sisters. Which begs the question of quarter-sisters and the like, I mean, do those exist? It would be co-"

During Nora's tirade as to the existence of "quarter-sisters", she whipped her head around the room in her excitement, only for her eyes to meet Cinder's own. Orange met turquoise as Nora's mood suddenly dropped, her smile quickly fading to a stunned frown as her eyebrows furrowed. Again, both anger and trepidation filled her features, as while Nora's overall expression seemed to burst with rage, her eyes showed off a cautiousness that Cinder could feel was expected. "What are you doing here?" she said, venom and anger dripping out of her voice as she stepped back, her hand instinctively reaching back to grab the idle Magnhild pinned to the back of her skirt.

"Wait!" Ruby cried out, "Don't attack her!"

"And why not?" Nora snapped, as she continued to wrap her hand around the disabled weapon. "After all she did-"

"That's what we need to talk about," Ruby explained, "I need everyone in here to talk about Cinder."

"Like hell we will!" Nora said, "Tell her, Ren!"

Ren, who had been silent and still as he looked at what was happening, walked towards Nora with calm, easy steps, as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Nora," he patiently said, "If Ruby doesn't want you hurting her, she must have a reason."

"But-" Nora tried to interrupt, but Ren simply kept speaking.

"Let's, at the very least, hear her out," Ren explained, "It must be important if she can go from "I don't trust her at all" to "Let's talk about her" in about a day, right?"

After a second of thought, Nora's features relaxed as she released her grip of her weapon, her gaze peering down to the floor as she said "Alright…" Pointing to Cinder, she looked up and said "Don't you dare try anything!", before her left hand went towards her back pocket. Pulling out her Scroll, she went to the "Local Messages" section before firing off a message to Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Jaune. As she typed in Jaune's name to include him, Nora's eyes widened as she turned back to the injured Ruby, who was sitting up in the bed.

Silver eyes met worried turquoise ones as Ruby said "What is it?"

"Where's Jaune?" Nora said, looking back around the room, as if he were simply hiding from sight.

"He's...he's still not back," Ruby said, sliding onto her feet as she stood from the bed. "I hope he's okay," she continued, frowning as worry danced across her eyes.

Nora looked back towards the room's door, and in a flash of a second, made up her mind. "We'll go look for him," Nora said, raising an excited fist in the air, "Right, Renny?" The stoic Huntsmen merely nodded, and thus the pair made their way back to the door. Before passing through the still opened threshold, the excitable girl turned back to Cinder with narrowed eyes and said "If anything's happened to her by the time we get back, your legs won't be the only bones I break."

"If anything happens, I can break your spine." Cinder thought, though she refrained from pointing that fact out as that might only ruin things further. Instead, she nodded and leaned back in her chair, placing her remaining hand upon her lap as Nora and Ren walked out, the door shutting behind them.

Blood dripped onto the asphalt as Jaune numbly sat in the alley, so close to the hotel before the pain weighing on both his heart and the gruesome gash in his face forced him to sit. Every time he closed his eyes, he could still see the moment left The Gambler's eyes, which left his hands shaking. A chime on his Scroll brought him back to cold reality, and as he pulled it out, he could see nothing but static and a "Play" button on the screen. Clicking the arrow, Jaune was brought back to the reading room of one Victor "The Narrator" Briar, who was on his couch with a coffee mug in his hands. The sounds of the crowd cheering were much louder this time, showing just how popular he really was. Looking up, color faded in on the previously black and white visual, and he smiled at the camera, seeming to stare right into Jaune's eyes. His smile faded as he looked, his gaze obviously crossing his wounds. "Wow," he said, "You look like hammered shit."

"You know, that's bugged me for a bit," Jaune noted, his voice cracking as he distracted himself from his trauma, "Didn't you say this was a kid's show? Like "Hello, kiddies" or something like that. So…"

"That," The Narrator began to explain, "Is because my show films in Vacuo, and due to planetary...garbage, it means that Mistral is usually airing their primetime stuff when my actual show airs. I'm off the air right now, which is why only you are noticing this."

Jaune nodded, before looking down to the pavement so as to keep trying to forget. "You killed him, didn't ya?" Vic said, which tore down that plan rather quickly. "I guess it makes sense. You do want to protect your friends, so-"

"It was an accident," Jaune sharply replied, "A-And besides, you said I didn't have to!"

"And you don't," Vic calmly said, "But that doesn't mean they stop, Jaune. If they want, then they can recover, train up, and slaughter you the next time you meet. So, yeah, you can save 'em, but if they're vengeful pricks, it won't do much."

Jaune gulped down a breath, the blood still uncomfortably running down his face as he sat. Victor noticed this, and said "Listen, bud. I'll just leave you alone. I can tell this hurts ya. Just be with your friends, and I'll call you when the next Guardian shows up. Buh-bye."

As the picture faded to static, Jaune could hear footsteps approaching, followed by a loud cry of "JAUNE!" before a blur of pink suddenly tackled him. Looking up, he could see Nora's smiling face instantly fade as she leaned away from her friend. "Jaune...what happened?" she asked, while holding her hand out for him to grab. Gripping her hand tightly, Jaune stood up, which let Nora see the slash better. From the bridge of his nose to the end of his left cheek, a deep gash was cut through, blood dripping out like someone had scratched a tank of water.

"Remember what he told us?" Ren said, holding his Scroll up to text Ruby and the rest, "He was off fighting Salem's Guardian."

"Oh, Jaune," Nora said, concern etched onto her features as her hand instinctively caressed his cheek. "What happened?"

Stumbling away from her, Jaune said "I'll tell you...back at the hotel," his voice cracking as though the very thought was too painful. The distinctive ping of a text being sent told Nora that Ren had given a status report, and so the three walked to the hotel, both Ren and Nora trying their best to help him on the way.

*bing*

"Jaune is injured, presumably by that Guardian. He seems fine, but he is wounded. We're on our way now."

Once that text reached the Scrolls of Team RWBY, they all seemed concerned in some way. Blake, though still calm, raised her eyebrows upon seeing the message, Yang, who had already set down a glass of tea that she fixed for Ruby, had obvious concern in her eyes as she sympathetically looked at her younger sister, even Weiss was concerned in some way, as she brought a hand to her mouth and her breathing slowed. Ruby had the worst reaction, though. Finally standing on her own two feet, she stared at the message as her eyes widened and all the color seemed to drain from her features. She found it difficult to swallow as her breathing quickened, and her blood ran colder.

"Ruby," Yang said, her flesh hand reaching up to grasp her sister's shoulder, "Ren said he's fine, so let's just see what's going on."

"B-But-" Ruby said.

"It's not healthy to worry when we don't know what's happening," Weiss interrupted, "Your sister's right. Ren said that he seemed fine, so let's see how hurt he is before we start freaking out. Just take a deep breath and wait."

Ruby slowly sat back down on her bed and breathed in deeply, her eyes closed as she slowly calmed down. As a cold breath left Ruby's mouth, Blake said "If it was anything serious, either Ren or Nora would have called by now."

Out in the hallway, listening intently as she stood by the door, Cinder's arms were crossed as she thought about what the injury they were referring to could be. The visual of the redheaded champion flashed through her mind again, recalling her last moments upon that tower with stunning clarity. She could still see the exact moment the arrow pierced her opponent's flesh, and the formerly satisfying victory slowly whittled itself away until she could only see it as a cruel reminder of her sins. Looking to her left, she could already see the mess of blond hair down the hall, and once she saw the slash across his features, any thought of the past faded away.

Back in the room, Ruby calmly said "Yeah, you're right...I just can't help but be worried, y'know?" Carefully sipping a glass of tea graciously fixed by her older sister and her partner, she continued with "I-I mean, we were going against someone strong, so it's-"

Interrupting her was Cinder opening the door, before moving to her right to get out of the way. Nora walked in first, her face worried as she lead Ren and Jaune in. Ren had his arm around Jaune's shoulders, leading the scarred boy into the room. As soon as Ruby saw the bloody gash across his nose and cheek, her heart sank as the injured boy was walked to his bed, shuffling to it like a mindless zombie. Blake looked at the wounded young man with a stunned expression, her amber eyes taking in every centimeter of the gash, while Yang looked more at the brutality, the amount of blood that had spilled to his chin having caught her off guard. Even Weiss seemed disturbed, quickly getting up from her seat and retrieving a spare tissue she had from her pocket, before sitting on the bed next to him and quickly wiping his face clean as the tissue quickly stained red. "We're going to need to get him to a hospital," Ren calmly said, "It looks like he may need stitches."

"Then why did you just bring him here?" Blake asked, her tone quiet, yet incredulous.

"He said he'd talk to us about what happened here," Nora said, "And he walked himself here instead of the hospital. And when Ren started helping him, he just kept trying to walk here."

"Jaune..." Ruby said, her words trailing off as concern washed away any other inflection in her voice, as she looked at her injured friend. Jaune's eyes seemed distant, and it seemed like silence would continue to envelop the room.

And envelop the room it did, until Jaune muttered something under his breath that no one could hear correctly. "Hey, Jaune?" Yang asked, "Could you speak up a little?"

Again, he muttered something under his breath, though the word "killed" audibly rang through. "Jaune?" Weiss asked, her delicate hands reaching for his shoulder in comfort. When he leaned away from her touch, she said "I know I haven't been...the kindest person, but that doesn't mean you can't tell us what happened."

As he finally looked into Weiss's blue eyes, he peered around the room and saw his friends' concerned glances. With that, the dam he had built up to protect himself from his actions finally collapsed, and tears began pouring out as his hands covered his eyes, sobs leaving him as nothing could hold back his sheer outpour of emotions. Without even thinking, Ruby got up and walked over to his bed, before wrapping her arms around Jaune and holding him close. Despite his own thoughts screaming at him not to, he first said "P-Please don't be mad...I'm so sorry…"

"I don't know what I can be mad about if you don't tell me what happened," Ruby pointed out, rubbing comforting circles over his back in an attempt to calm him down.

"I-I…" Jaune nervously sobbed out, before he gained the resolve to finally say it. "I...I killed him."

And like that, the air seemed to be sucked out of the room. No one reacted, and Jaune could only guess it was out of disgust. Anger. Vile hatred for the act. And all he could then is let out more tears, the crushing weight of his actions finally being made clear.

"...W-What?" Ruby said, leaning away from the hug as she tried to look into Jaune's eyes, to no avail as he shied away from her silver gaze.

"I-It was just an accident! I-I didn't m-mean to-" Jaune cried out, refusing to finish the sentence as Ferris's blood entered his mind again. He expected to be kicked out. He expected the same treatment he had given Cinder, the same treatment everyone gave Cinder. Instead, Ruby went back into the hug, holding him tighter as her head rested on his shoulder. He finally allowed himself to return the hug, holding her close as his sniffling sobs slowed. Ruby felt a warmth build in her chest at the action, and she blushed slightly.

"Jaune," Ruby said in a comforting tone, "Please...tell us what happened."

Jaune leaned away from Ruby and cleared his throat. "Well, after you left, we kept...we kept fighting. He used this card that froze me-"

"He uses cards?" Weiss asked, dropping the tissue into a nearby trash bin.

"He used cards," Jaune corrected, to which Weiss's reaction was to clear her throat and nod. "He froze me and ran upstairs to the building we were in. When I thawed out, I chased after him, and he broke my Aura, which caused…" Jaune continued, interrupting to gesture to the slashed flesh, which, as close as it was, made Ruby feel nauseous upon looking at it.

"He caused it with Crocea Mors, and he tried to kill me with it. I blocked with my shield...and I pushed back at the wrong time." Jaune finished, his last words indicating what happened.

"That must have been terrible," Blake sympathetically said.

Yang raised her hand up and said "So, where is his...his body?", clearly uncomfortable with the words leaving her lips.

"Probably still in the building we fought in," Jaune replied, "It's on fire, so…"

"You guys lit a building on fire?!" Nora cried out, clearly surprised to hear that such a thing had transpired.

Ruby looked back at Jaune, and got a familiar glint in her eyes. The kind of spark she had whenever she would lead her team at Beacon. "How about we go the hospital, get you patched up, and we can talk from there? I've wanted to talk to everyone about Cinder, so it might be a good spot."

Jaune looked into her eyes and nodded, and was immediately hoisted up to his unsteady feet, Ren helping Ruby as he was lead to the door, with footsteps behind him. As he left the room, Cinder was right there, her eye wide as she had heard everything. As she began walking with them, Jaune closed his eyes and simply walked with everyone, already able to see the white, sterile hospital rooms in the town in his mind.