I spent the next week visiting Cinder everyday. Even though she didn't remember a thing about her life she still managed to have a sense of humor about her. She was smart too, much too clever to spend the rest of her life hunting grimm. As I got closer to her, and got to know her better I started to get worried. Why was it that I enjoyed spending time with her more than my actual teammates?

One day Cinder started to recall some vague details about what her life was like before. "You said before you had your own troupe of hunters. What are they like?" She said,

"They're alright, not the brightest bunch, but they're decent people," I said,

"You should bring them with you the next time you come to visit,"

"Oh, I don't know about that,"

"Why not?" Cinder asked and I hesitated. What was the best way to tell her that my team was falling apart at the seams and that I had utterly failed as a leader? There was no way I could admit to her my own shortcomings in that respect. So, of course, I went about dodging the question:

"They're a bunch of roustabouts! I couldn't bring them to a hospital, they'd make too much ruckus. Somebody might die," I said and she laughed.

"That's funny,"

"You think murder is funny, you git?" I joked.

"Well, no, but that's what we're here to do right? A hunter is a hunter and a hunter must hunt. We're killers, Rose, plain and simple," Cinder produced a dagger of glass from her palm and held it to the light, "It's sad isn't it? The only thing I can remember is how to use my semblance, I remember it better than my own mother's face,"

"Has anything else started to come back to you? Can you remember anything else about your past?"

"I think I fucked a lot of men, an absurd amount. I may have even fucked that grimm from before, who knows," She said. Cinder had this unfortunate quality about her where whenever she said something ridiculous like that around me I always happened to be drinking something. I had been sipping on a cup of coffee, brewed cold and drowned in sugar, so when she said what she said I couldn't help but spit out the drink.

"Dammit. I should change, put on something fresh,"

"Apologies,"

"It's not your fault don't worry," I started to make my way out of the room, but then Cinder said something.

"Hey! Wait! Can I ask you for a favor?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"There's one more thing I remember,"

"Another joke?"

"No, it's my teammates. I wasn't attending Beacon alone. I brought people here with me and we all enrolled together. I haven't been able to go anywhere so it's been a while since they've heard from me. From what I can recall they were a troubled bunch, I fear that they might begin to think that I've abandoned them if they don't get word from me soon. If you could find them for me and let them know that I'm alright that would mean the world to me,"

"That shouldn't be too hard. What are their names?"

"We were a three person team with me serving as leader. My two teammates were Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai. If you go here you should find them," Cinder said, scribbling down directions to some obscure location and handing it to me. The directions she gave me were the same as those given to me by Tyrian. Ostensibly, I was being led to some kind of hideout, that much was certain. Thank god! Tyrian was feeding me information that was reliable.

"I'll do my best. In the meantime you should get some rest. When are they letting you out of here?"

"The healers have said that I have a strong aura. I should be fully healed and ready to go by next week, but contacting my old teammates is something that can't wait. I don't know, I just have a bad feeling. If they do something crazy because I'm not there, the blame would still fall on me. You're a team leader too, you understand,"

"I'll find them, trust me," I said, closing the door behind me. I followed her directions and they led me to a mortuary. The building itself looked like it was dying with the way it slumped over, with broken windows and rats crawling in and out serving as the cherry on top. I was sure that I had the wrong place and almost walked away, but the fear of letting her down forced me to stay. Why would they be in a place like this? After a couple knocks on the large wooden doors someone finally answered. Some man with a swarthy complexion and long dark hair answered the door. His shirt and coat were neatly tailored and hugged his frame in a manner most flattering. As such, the sheer size of the man was apparent to anyone who looked. He was massive, stood at least six and a half feet tall and probably weighed almost 300 pounds, with the lion's share of that weight being lean muscle. I'd have to remember his address for Yang, she'd probably have fun with him. He was definitely her type, stoney face and all.

"What business do you have here?" He asked. Now that was direct. I didn't really know how to respond to that. Perhaps I'd have feared for my safety if the mortician wasn't such a dandy.

"I'm with Cinder's team," I lied, "just joined the other day. Thought it'd be a good idea to meet my teammates,"

"Ah, you're with the little cinder girl. How is she?"

"Oh, she's in bad sorts as of late. A grimm nearly killed her,"

"Is that so?"

"Indeed it is. I met her the night of the attack and we formed a pact. She recruited me on the spot and together we managed to escape,"

"I'm sure the others will be grateful. Next time you see her, tell her I'll waive the tenant payments until she gets better. What's your name, girl?" He said, gesturing for me to come in.

"My name is Ruby Rose," I said, "And don't 'girl' me I'm practically an adult!" The man smirked, almost like he was holding back a laugh, so annoying.

"Apologies," He said, "The name's Hazel by the way. If you're like the rest of them and don't make any trouble for me then I'm sure we'll get along just fine. Your friends are upstairs." I gave him a faux curtsey, as I was wearing trousers, and made my way upstairs. If the outside of the place looked like a dying man then the insides were basically a mummy. Covered in dust and grime and creaking at odd intervals, it felt like the building could collapse under my feet at any moment. How they lived here for what was ostensibly weeks on end was a complete mystery to me. In a way it was kind of worrying. I began to worry that Cinder's team might be filled with some unsavory characters if they could live in a place like this just as easily as the rats. It just didn't make any sense and that was the case for a number of reasons. Tyrian said that Cinder was attending Beacon and in order for her to have a team then that meant that her teammates would, likewise, have to be enrolled at Beacon. There were plenty of places for students to stay even if they didn't want to live on the main campus. So why would they ever choose a place like this? Questions like that began to fill my head as I made my way up the stairs and down the hall to where the team was staying. Perhaps I had gotten involved in something more sinister. Maybe, just maybe, I had put too much trust in someone I had just met.

I wanted to believe Cinder, to believe that she was a normal girl just like the rest of us. However, evidence to the contrary was mounting fast and I was alone in the lion's den. I managed to sneak in the hand ax that Glynda gave me without much trouble and I was prepared to use it in case anything went wrong. After I knocked on the door there was no turning back, a boy with silver-gray hair answered.

"Um… Hello?" He said.

"Hello, I'm Ruby. I'm one of Cinder's friends. May I come in?"

"Sure, why not. Not like things can get any worse. I'm Mercury, but my friends call me Merc,"

"Nice to meet you, Merc."

"I'll stop you right there. You're not one of my friends. Don't call me Merc. Anyways, come in and make yourself at home. That obnoxious little green thing over there is Emerald. Don't expect her to talk much, unless of course you're talking about Cinder,"

"Would you shut up! What do you think you're doing bringing some outsider in here?" Emerald asked, her green hair bobbing as she stood up to yell at us.

"Look, Greenie, we're lost, leaderless, and drowning in debt. Things cannot possibly get any worse,"

"Oh yeah? Things can't possibly get worse, eh? What if she's with the city watch? Or worse yet one of Oz's spies?"

"Then we're about as fucked as we were before. It was over for us either way so we may as well take a gamble."

"You're gambling with our lives, with our lives, you fool! Do you have any idea what's at stake?"

"Do you? Because I'm pretty sure she told you about as much as she told me,"

"L-L-Look Cinder couldn't tell us everything. She just couldn't! She had big plans, of course she couldn't tell us," She said, looking over to me and quickly correcting her tone, "There's a lot going on that we don't understand and if you're gonna get mad at Cinder for keeping us in the dark on some things then you're just stupid."

"So, in other words, you don't know anything either? You're just whinging,"

"Oh so I'm whinging now?" Emerald said, sneering at him and looking ready to fight. To be quite honest I don't think the building could bear the stress of a proper fight between two hunters. I interjected by clearing my throat in the loudest, most conspicuous, manner I could muster. When the two looked at me I said:

"I just wanted to let you know that Cinder's staying at the clinic on campus, you should visit her sometime."

"Is she alright?"

"She's making a speedy recovery for the most part,"

"That's wonderful!" Emerald said, her excitement at the news soon drowned out by concern. As happy as the thought of Cinder being safe made her, it was clear that Emerald was suspicious of me. After a brief pause she said, "I'm glad to hear that she's alright and would really like to believe that that was the case, but how can we trust you? We've never met you before and, it's just, it's hard."

Her trepidation was contrasted by Merc's bravado. "It's actually really easy. Just tell us something only Cinder would know. That way Emerald can stop doubting you and we can get on with this," He said.

"That's not going to be easy," I said, unsure of how to explain the scope of the problem.

"But why though? You do know her don't you?"

"I do, but, well, at the moment she doesn't know herself," I said, hesitant. Emerald jumped at the thought and asked me what I meant by that. I told them Cinder had contracted a case of amnesia after our fight with the grimm. Even Mercury had to take a moment to collect his thoughts and process what I'd just told them. The pain in his eyes and the immediate stroke of suspicion in Emerald's showed me that these two really did care for Cinder. "I know it's hard, but you have to believe me. Cinder is sick right now, she's hurt, and we need to stand by here until she gets better. Look if you just come with me to the clinic you'll see she's there and you'll see she's fine!"

"Alright, but only if you come as our hostage," Said Emerald, her face deathly serious.

"Pardon?"

"You heard me. Come here tomorrow unarmed. From there, guide us to the clinic. If you are one of Ozpin's spies then we'll use you as leverage to negotiate a clean escape. Sound good?"

"There isn't a single part of that plan that I like. Deal," I said, shaking Emerald's hand and giving Merc a hardy pat on the shoulder as I walked out the door. While I walked the streets of Beacon in the evening light I became suspicious of Emerald's motives. At first I was just eager to have made it out of there in one piece. However, after some time had passed and I was given the time and space to collect my thoughts, I began to realize something. If they really wanted to use me as a hostage then why would they let me go? Was I going to be assassinated in the streets? In broad daylight? I had hoped not, but with how my semester was going it wasn't outside of the realm of possibility. Things had gotten so crazy that I did not discount the possibility that some strange mercenary from a far off land would make an attempt on my life. Weiss would probably be the one to hire them too.

Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury were living bizarre lives all things considered. They lived above a mortuary in a building that looked like it was in need of an embalming itself. Mind you the building was looked after by a giant of a man, a mad mortician with a sour disposition. God only knows what kind of bizarre experiments he got into behind closed doors, my heart shuddered at the thought. And what of this plan they talked so much about? If I had to guess they probably weren't from Vale or any of the surrounding regions. It wasn't unusual for teams of licensed hunters to be composed of peoples from all around the globe. Although, it should be noted that this was highly unusual for hunters in training like ourselves.

The first thing Emerald did was accuse me of being a spy, for no reason I might add! If they were that worried about being found by spies then they were probably up to no good. Were they scouting the talent of Beacon's young hunters and planning to relay that information to the other schools? Perhaps they had their eyes on the money of some wealthy merchant and were planning some kind of heist. Reuniting Cinder with her friends seemed like the right thing to do at first, and regardless of how it would turn out I still felt good about doing it, but things were quickly getting more complicated.

For a brief moment a thought struck me; shocking, I know. Anyways, the thought was this: what if I just abandoned this bizarre sidequest? Would anyone fault me? What at first appeared to be a straightforward rescue mission had spiraled completely out of control. Turns out the girl in need of saving might have been a serious problem and saving her might have been a mistake.

I liked Cinder a lot though. If she had really lost her memories then maybe there was still hope for her yet, and perhaps even the rest of her team as well. However was it really my place to guide her through that redemption? Or, perhaps more importantly, was it my right to hide the presence of three dangerous hunters from the Ozpin and the city watch?

I was almost back at the dormitory when I heard a noise. It was faint and almost inaudible, but I heard it. It sounded like footsteps, quick and wet. Someone had stepped in a puddle somewhere, that was probably what was causing it. On any other day I would have ignored it, but too much had happened for me to write it off as a coincidence. Even if it behooved me to pay it no mind there was no way I was going to do that. I followed the sound. It led me down an alley. A dead end, oh joy. As I began to turn around Weiss called out to me,

"Leaving so soon?" She said, descending from the rooftops in a flurry of ice and snow. Frost trailed from her feet as came down, perhaps those feet of hers were never truly meant to touch the same soil as the rest of us mere mortals. Where she learned to float like that was beyond me, but if anyone was gonna learn how to fly just to make more dramatic entrances it was Weiss Schnee. She made contact with the ground, slipping a bit on her own ice as she landed but quickly corrected her footing.

"I've been looking everywhere for you! Where have you been?" I said, shouting, annoyed at her ostentatious display.

"You'll have to excuse my leave of absence, I was busy cutting the weakness from my heart,"

"Well what does that have to do with me?"

"God, you're dim. I won't bother explaining it to you because you wouldn't understand my logic. So, instead I'll just tell you what I want. Starting today team RWBY becomes an indissoluble entity, such to the extent that not even the willing agreement of its members can disband it. Understand?"

"No, I don't. Look, Weiss, you're acting really strange and it's scaring me. I know we haven't always been on the best of terms but I would like it if you and I could talk this out. Surely we aren't that far gone yet, right? Just come back home with me. We'll see Blake and Yang and we'll talk about this,"

"That's another thing, I won't be coming back to our dorm for quite some time. You probably won't see me back there for the rest of the semester as there are still a lot of things I must tend to. That being said I have no intention of leaving team RWBY. In fact, the four of us staying together offers me a number of benefits. Chief among them being access to you and that odd power of yours," She said, as her lips curled into a sinister smile.

"Is this because you feel sorry for the poor human girl who's trying to make something of herself? Because if that's the case I'm not interested in your pity,"

"Who said any of that? I never said anything of the sort. On that snowy day before your duel with Cardin you and I fought. And even though I won I felt so weak, especially after I saw your fight with him,"

"You were there for that! I didn't see you in the crowd that's impossible-"

"Oh, I was there. I saw all of it and the results of that bout made you so much more interesting. At first I was only interested in keeping you around so that you can bark orders at the rest of the monkeys, but now you're a valuable commodity, now you have worth. Show it to me, if you would be so kind. Show me the light of your eyes." She said, pleading, almost demanding. Having Weiss's loyalty, nominally speaking, was a boon for me and the rest of the team, provided she didn't plan on acting like this for too much longer. The power she offered was an amazing asset for the team, but I worried about how sustainable a long term partnership with her would be.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, as Weiss grabbed me by the arm.

"How long do you plan on lying to me? Why are you playing games? If you think I'll fall for your tricks then you're sorely mistaken," Her grip tightened, "Run as far as you like, hide as long as you can, that won't do you any good. I will fucking find you. You're my white whale, Ruby. I'm never gonna let you go. Understand?" She said, once she was done she finally let me go and I could practically feel the bruises beginning to form where she grabbed me. I used my semblance to fly away.

Once I felt I was safe, that I was far enough away, I leaned against a wall. My stomach was in knots and my mind was racing, my heart as well. It was like something had reached into my chest and started to churn my insides with its bare hands. Weiss appearing out of nowhere like that was shocking to say the least, it hurt me on a level beyond that of the physical. No, the pain I felt then was something that came from a spiritual level. Indeed it seemed that Weiss Schnee held my very spirit in the clutches of her cold little fingers. How had she been following me? By what means had she been scrying? I was confused and scared and hurting. Soon I began vomiting. There was no stopping it, the contents of my stomach flooded out in a messy torrent. Each retching volley only dredged up more and more bile. It hurt, it burned, and I desperately wanted it to stop, but it just kept coming.

When I had finally gotten a grip it felt like an eternity had passed. I had to run, I had to tell someone. Weiss was out there and she had lost her mind.