"Adam!" Adam awoke with a groan toward the voice screaming his name. Blake glared at him from the foot of his cot. An irritable smile crossed his lips as he rose his body up.

"You freak'n kidding me Blake?"

"Ada-"

"Get out of my tent." He fell back into his pillow face first. He heard Blake's angry scowl as she grasped her hands under the cot.

"Jackass." She then flipped it sending Adam to the ground hard. He rolled over on his back, he was ticked. He kicked his legs in the air and landed swiftly to his feet.

"Bad move baby girl." He growled and Blake firmed her stance.

"Oh kiss my-"

"Blake, Adam...Enough." They both looked toward the direction of the voice. Cinder entered the tent and observed the objects that rested on a table in the corner. "Adam don't be so angry. Blake was just doing what she was told." She glanced to the two and gestured for Blake to leave. Blake sighed irritably and nodded. She looked at Adam one last time and walked out.

"What the hell Cinder?"

"Shh," She placed a her finger against his mouth and hovered her hand over his shoulder. "I looked at the journal and there is more in it than I realized." She took a moment to collect her thoughts and continued.

"In Taiyang's notes it speaks of a tree some may believe to be the tree of life. A young huntress was the keeper of the tree until she died in the battle of Mountain Glenn. Before she died it was decided that the tree be destroyed because many wanted to use it gifts for their own selfish reasons.

So she did as she was ordered but because this tree was so powerful it managed to keep itself from complete obliteration by surviving as a thick branch. Inside this branch is the heart of the tree. An ember that has burned through the ages as its core. Long story short I want the ember. Why? For now that is none of your concern. "

"But?" He asked. Cinder sighed almost over dramatically.

"Oh yes there is a "but"...I don't know the location. That's why I need you."

"What does this have to do-"

"This women was Ruby Rose's mother; Summer Rose." Adam smirked and grabbed a shirt from underneath the sheet of his bed.

"So that's why you want my help." She laughed playfully as he pulled the fabric of the shirt over his face.

"You told me Summer saw potential in you and you know Ruby."

"I was a just kid back then Cinder and Ruby was five." He adjusted wrinkles around his stomach and then reached for his black vest jacket on the ground.

"I need Ruby and I need you to help me."

"Her family ruined my life." Adam snarled which didn't faze her one bit. She was immune to fear.

"What if I promise it will be easy."

"How?" She smiled devilishly and turned toward the opening of the tent.

"Bring him in." In moments two men dragged in a wounded, limp man into his tent. His face concealed by a dirty cloth. Cinder snatched the fabric and ripped it away revealing the the man's features. Once Adam got a good look he smiled widely.

"Easy huh?"

" What did I tell you." She knelt down and grazed the man's battered face with her fingers. "Like my lead Mr. Arc?"

"It's not over here Ruby!" Rin shouted from underneath the piano in the bar corner. Nora looked too, as best she could with out bumping into chairs from her hang over. Ruby gave out a frustrated cry and plopped herself in a chair.

"Then Cowboy boots really did take it." She pouted. This was her father's journal, it was special, she wasn't allowed to look at it let alone take it with her. "Dad is going to kill me." Rin sighed sadly and patted her shoulder.

"Sorry Ruby."

"It's fine...It can't be helped, I'm just bummed because we had potential leads in there."

"We will get more leads." Nora assured as she sat across from her. "Oh God I need coffee."

"How about some orange juice." Rin walked toward the bar asking for a glass of juice ignoring all of Nora's moan and groans.

"Noooo." Ruby smiled and looked to the door. Jaune? He has been gone for awhile.

"Did Juane come in at all last night." Ruby asked. Nora gave Ruby a sinister smile.

"I thought he was with you." Ruby frowned and shook her head.

"Oh my go- Nora no. No. He was not with me."

"Weird. Rin! Where's Juane?" Rin shrugged as he placed a glass of orange juice in front of her.

"Dont know. The bar tender doesn't know either."

"Let's go." Ruby grabbed her hood from the table and waved it over her shoulders and walked out the door.

Blake watched the clouds hide the sun creating shade for the earth below and across the landscape in the distance. The tree gave her better viewing point for any danger. She gripped her arm from the sudden chill of the wind, huddling deeper into her cloak. She was really just hiding. Juane was below her in pain from gashes and bruises and she helped the White Fang find him.

She should have known they would treat him this way. Blake leaned against the trunk of the tree. If only her friends knew why she really left...Why she rejoined the White Fang...Why she had no choice.

"Blake!" She looked down from the tree she was in to see the sour expression on Adam's face. Making him look even more unpleasant with his mask on. She sighed annoyed and jumped from the branch to the ground below.

"What?"

"Get ready."

"For?"

"Our guests are just about here." As soon as the words left Adam's lips; Nora jumped from the air jamming her hammer to the ground.

Tremors vibrated the earth under their feet. Blake and Adam jumped backward snatching their weapons to the front of them. Adam readied his stance with an excited grin across his face while Blake nervously tried to shield her face with her cloak. Her friends would find out sooner or later about her. She sucked in a breath when Ruby followed right behind twirling Crimson Rose aggressively in Adam's direction.

"Rin!"

"I'm on it!" Rin yelled to Ruby as he flipped to the front of the women in the cloak.

Rin and the mysterious women's blades clasped together with a loud clang while Nora fought off any other white Fang fighters. Once she knew they had everything under control. Ruby could focus on her opponent. He intimidated her with his eager smile and urge to use his weapon. And that mask made him look like a monster. Ruby gripped harder to the wilt of her weapon and raised it as confident as she could.

He struck first catching her off guard. He instantly scraped across her shoulder and the side of her stomach with a swift swing. She sucked in air at the sudden sting of pain. She swung her weapon with any open opportunity she got but failed every time. He was to fast, he dodged every attempt to get just one good shot at him.

She could of sworn he laughed at her. In a blink of an eye he was behind her shoving a foot into her back knocking her to the ground. He heard his steps walk up to her body. She gasped when he shoved his boot into her side.

"Oh. C'mon." He whined pacing back and forth in front of her. She slowing raised her battered body to a bowing position. "You got to have something better than this." With that Ruby gripped her fist and punched his groin.

He hobbled backward bending down in pain. Ruby swung her leg around knocking him down flat on his back. Within an instant she stood above him with the blade of Crimson Rose to his throat. She huffed a breath of exhaustion placing her weapon even more dangerously close to his chin. She felt blood drip from her cheek. How did he nick her with out her noticing.

"Enough!" Ruby didn't even look up to the voice. "Let the young man go." The masked man laughed raising a finger.

"You might want to listen." Only when he said that Ruby glanced up to see Nora and Rin on their knees in defeat with guns to their temple. And the women she had nightmares about standing right beside them. Cinder.

She took a deep breath and raised up her weapon allowing him to stand up unscathed. He taunted her with a wink and walked to Cinder's side as well did two men. Ruby watched as they brought out a bloody Juane with them. Ruby felt nauseous.

"Jaune- Oh my god." Juane was so beaten and bloody his eyes were glued shut from inflammation and blood. He was covered in cuts and red. Ruby was determined to return the favor.

"Put down your weapon Ruby." Cinder ordered. Ruby felt fire burn in her blood and raised her weapon. Cinder laughed. "Oh Really? Must we be so stubborn?"

"I'm just a sheep dog protecting my flock." Cinder smirked at Ruby.

"Is that so,"

"Touch my flock...I kill you."

"So you would go all the way to murder?"

"Only when threatened." Ruby didn't even hesitate to answer, which surprised Cinder and the masked man.

"My when it comes to your friends your quite Blood thirsty." Ruby didn't answer her. "You and Adam have something in common. Well being bloodthirsty that is; Adam doesn't care for life." She rubbed Adam's arm with a smooth gesture of her hand and continued. "Seems to me your more a wolf then a dog."

Ruby raised crimson rose in their direction. "Maybe, if that's what it takes to knock you off your High horse. If it means I have to kill that horse to get you on the same level as me...Then ill do it." Ruby glanced at Juane. He shook his head at her and looked to the ground. Was he ashamed of her now? Because she felt this way? Ruby gripped her weapon even tighter trying to hold back the sting of tears from eyes. Just because Juane over came his demons doesn't mean she did. She's only human after all.

"Let go of my friends Cinder!"

"No," She said it with no fear...So matter of fact it boiled her. Ruby licked her lips and tried again.

"You know what I'm capable of Cinder!"

"As do you of me Ruby. Except I can control it. That power. As for you...You are just a match with out of flame." Cinder lifted her hand and formed a sphere of fire to prove her point and it dispersed as she continued "You don't have it in you to...Spark."

"I'm not afraid of your power."

"Fine." Cinder hummed and looked to Ruby's friends as if hurt by what she said. "Then be afraid of the fact I will kill your friends with out hesitation." With that she grabbed a gun from her hip and shot Juane's leg. He Yelled aloud in pain and fell to the ground shocking Ruby so badly tears instantly began to fall from her eyes. "Now do we want a repeat of what happened to Pyhra?" Cinder shrugged and tossed the gun to the grass directly in front of Ruby.

Her hands began to shake and Ruby fell to her knees dropping her weapon in the process. Ruby closed her eyes from the heat of tears and raised her hands in the air. Adam walked up to her and hit her head with the wilt of his weapon. She fell to the dirt hard. Before she blacked out she watched as her friends were taken away. In the background behind Cinder, for a moment she thought she saw...

"Blake?..."