Welcome back!

First off, I'd like to apologize for the hiatus. It was never my intention to lose so much time at once, and I'll try to do better with time management so it doesn't happen again (also, doing one thing at a time to avoid a burnout would be a great idea, too.) I'm happy to say that now, I can put my full time into this story and see it to a very dramatic conclusion! Over the past few months I've had time to think about where I want to take this story, and I now know where to go, how to get there, and how to pace the story better than when I put it up on Hiatus.

So, without further delay, I give you the thirteenth chapter to Amnesia!

Enjoy!

Ruby stormed out of the dorm, trying to get as far away from everyone as fast as possible. Her trust had been betrayed. Blake, who Ruby thought she could trust, just went through her personal files, and who knows how long she was doing it for.

'How could she?' Ruby thought, 'And what kind of argument was that? How am I supposed to know about her secret? Why is being a faunus so much of a big deal, anyway? Ugh.' Ruby huffed as she exited the building, not exactly sure where she would be going.

Instead of thinking about it, she just started walking. All the while, thinking about how she reacted and how her team reacted. Was she in the right? Did she overreact? Was she the aggressor? All of these thoughts burned through her mind at lightning fast speed. While walking around campus, she saw a bench that overlooked Vale and decided to have a seat and think things through.

She sat down and sighed, slouching forward, burying her head into her hands. She looked out over the setting sun, watching how the sun's rays danced with the water. It was beautiful. A moment of solitude like this after a crazy day like today left her in better spirits then when she arrived.

She began going through that argument once again in her mind, trying to comprehend what had happened. She felt betrayed, violated even. She had kept that journal for years, since she started going to Signal, really. It had been a gift from her Uncle Qrow, one she had adored. Qrow always told her 'Journal's are your best friend. You can tell them anything and they won't judge you for your thoughts.' She took those words to heart. It was just as good as therapy, in her mind.

Ruby sighed at the memory. 'I can remember that but I can't remember anything from a month ago?' She joked, 'You're really doing well, aren't you Ruby?'

This week just was not ok to her... Unbelievably slow classes, annoying work and betrayal. She put her hands to her temples and slumped forward, her fingers keeping her bangs out of her face.

She didn't know what to do. This wasn't the first time she's felt such helplessness, such confusion even. She had tons of these moments back at Signal, even when she was well younger growing up on Patch, her home island. Apparently she's had a number of those moments at Beacon, but none that she could remember.

And that was the common denominator, wasn't it? Her memory. All of her confusion, all of her frustrations, they all came because of one thing: Her amnesia.

"Uhg." She sat back on the bench, "This isn't doing me any good." She knew she was talking to herself, which was a little odd. She thought for sure there would be a few students walking, right? "Whatever," She decided, "I need to go someplace else." Her hopes was that a change of scenery might change her attitude.

As she got up, she turned towards the main campus behind her. A few students were milling about. Most in pairs, paying no attention to anything but the person to their right or left. This was perfect to the young girl. If she could go to where she needs to go as quickly as possible while not attracting any attention, she'd be golden.

Her target was Beacon's Cross Continental Transit center. She could make the call at the library, but could also run the risk of being found there. The call she had to make wasn't to a far away place, but she didn't have her scroll with her, which meant she couldn't make the call anyway. Beacon's CCT center would allow that; though she'd have to do some fancy workings in order to get into the call center without her scroll.

Scroll's worked as many things at Beacon. Identification, a way to call or text others, perfect for notes, even tracking your teammates. It was the last one that made Ruby leave hers behind. If she had it, her team would find her in an instant. The one group she wanted to avoid as much as possible. She couldn't risk that.

She walked through the campus, the twilight sky turning black as the stars came out to dance. Ruby realized she didn't have much time until the tower closed down for the night. She put it into high gear and started running to the tower, considering activating her semblance just in case. Luckily, she didn't have to, as she made it to the tower just in time.

A few students were leaving the building, leaving Ruby to worry. Was she too late? Was the building closed? She couldn't wait until morning to make this call, and the moment she turned her scroll on meant that it would be only moments until her team arrived. She needed more than a few minutes, too.

She hurried inside, finding only a light exodus of students. 'Maybe they aren't closed? Maybe these kids are just done with their calls?' She was tempted to ask one of the leaving students what time the building closed, but decided against it. She pushed her way through the small crowd and to the elevator, hitting the button to go to the top.

"Hello!" A voice called, "Welcome to the CCT! How can I help you?"

"Communications Room. I'd like to make a call to a professor at Signal Academy." Ruby replied. "Professor Qrow Branwen."

"Of course." The robotic voice called, "If you would please put your scroll onto our terminal device so we could confirm your identification?"

Ruby rubbed the back of her head and blushed, "I, uh... I don't have it with me..."

A small ping was heard as the elevator started up, "That's ok!" The voice assured, "We will have someone at the front desk to help you!"

"Thank you." Ruby's shoulders sank in relief. She really didn't want to go all the way back to her dorm, get her scroll, turn it on for only a moment, then turn it off again. She shook her head at the thought 'I'd probably be back when this place closes if I had to do that...'

The elevator kept climbing, eventually coming to a smooth stop. With a chime the doors in front of her opened, letting her walk out. There was a woman standing at the front counter, waiting. "Hello," The woman said, "I understand you don't have your scroll."

"Yeah... Here's the thing," Ruby's voice went to a low whisper, "I'm kinda flying under the radar right now..."

"In trouble?"

"No, no! Nothing like that. It's just I kinda need to be alone, you know? I don't want my team finding me."

The woman nodded in understanding, "It's ok. If I can just have your name I can look you up on Beacon's records and we can get you started on your call."

"Thank you. Ruby Rose." The woman began typing, searching for the young huntress in training. In a flash, she found everything she needed to know on the student.

"All right, I think I've got you right here." She showed a picture to Ruby, who nodded in confirmation. "Alright, I can set you up on-"

"Can I have a terminal that faces the doors?" Ruby interrupted, "You know, just in case?"

The woman nodded with a smile, "I've got ya. Over on Terminal three, I'll start patching you through."

Ruby nodded in thanks and began walking to the Terminal. She had to mentally prepare herself for what was about to happen. It felt like only a few days since she's last seen her Uncle, but it also felt like a lifetime. She could call her father, but knew that he would tell Yang as soon as possible where Ruby was or where she was going. Ruby could trust Qrow.

She sat in front of the screen and sighed. This call might be the most taxing thing she's ever done. Or maybe not... This day wasn't exactly the best to begin with.

The screen turned on and a man appeared on it. A gruff, groggy voice called, "Qrow Branwen, Signal Academy, who the hell is this?"

"Is that any way to talk to your youngest niece?" Ruby joked. Qrow rubbed his eyes and looked at the screen, panicked look on his face.

"Woah! Hun, I-uh..." He inevitably sighed in defeat, "Alright, it's late and you're calling while not one of your teammates are there... Not even Yang... Something's wrong." His statement was more accurate than he realized.

"I-uh... I need to talk. A-and I can't use my Scroll, or go to the library. I-I..."

"Ruby, sweets..." Qrow clapped, "Calm down. Deep breath. And explain."

The entirety of team RWBY sat back, shocked. Ruby never really got mad, ever. She never yelled. This mild mannered, young, bright girl not only gave them an earful, but also slammed the door on them all. Yang wanted to go after her, but was stopped by Weiss.

"She needs a few minutes." Weiss stated solemnly. Yang nodded in understanding. The heiress dealt with this before. She's done this before...

They both turned around to face Blake, who was currently fighting back tears at this point. "I'm the biggest hypocrite ever."

Both girls looked solemnly at the faunus, unsure of what to do. For a moment, anyway. Yang sat next to her, clapping and sighing, "Yeah, you are." She said bluntly, earning an angry glance from Weiss. "What? It's true, you know. Except she's not the only one. We're all guilty." Both Blake and Weiss gave Yang a surprised glance, "Whoa, hear me out, first.

We haven't really done so much of a damn thing. Think about it, We keep telling Ruby 'We're here for you, we're here for you', But in reality, we haven't done anything. This amnesia, it's not something therapy will help with. We actually have to take action and not just talk about it! This is Ruby we're talking about! She's not just my sister, but she's yours too! She's our leader, our friend! We need to put our money where our mouth is and do something to help her!"

Weiss and Blake looked at each other, then to Yang, then back to each other and nodded. "You're right, Yang." Blake said, wiping away her tears. "We need to find her."

Weiss nodded and stood up, "Well? Let's put our money where our mouths are and go get her!"

All of them exited the room and began to scour the campus. They even knocked on team JNPR's dorm, asking them to join the search. Looking both high and low, they took to the night, turning the campus upside down. At every corner, having no luck.

They took to the night, trying to find any trace of their friend. They decided to split up and cover more ground, taking to areas that the reaper frequented when she sought peace and quiet.

Blake took Ren and Nora to examine the library. Out of the many students within, they hoped to find the missing leader. The trio checked the sections of the library in which the girl frequented; fantasy, fiction. They checked every corner of the building, every computer, earning a few glances from others. Maybe she would have gone to escape the world?

Alas, they failed. They did, however, go about to other students, asking if they had seen the caped girl. No one said they saw a girl with a red cape, let alone one fitting the general description of the young leader. Defeated, the trio left and went to the statue to regroup with the others.

Yang took Pyrrha, Jaune and Weiss to the landing pad and the quad. They knew how much the younger leader enjoyed the scenery of the twilight sky over Vale. Even after the sun had set, the sky above the city was truly beautiful. The four found no trace of the young leader and decided to head back to the statue.

When they arrived, they saw Blake, Nora and Ren, sitting on a bench near the statue. No sign of Ruby. "No luck?" Yang called, gradually getting closer. Blake was the one to shake her head in defeat, causing the brawler to curse under her breath. "Alright, we've checked areas that she likes to go to when she wants to chill out. Did we check them all?" Both teams shrugged. JNPR, admittedly, didn't really know much about their friend. She was a mystery to most, for sure.

Yang's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Alright, fine." Her frustration was mounting. Mainly at herself, but it could also go to the situation in general. She didn't dare admit it was her teams' fault, "Let's just split up into our respective teams and cover as much ground as possible. If you see her call us." JNPR all nodded and left, deciding on starting to search the general education areas of Beacon's Campus.

"Yang," Blake called, "We haven't checked any of the sparring areas? Maybe she's there?"

It was a start, "Alright." The blonde agreed, "Let's go." The trio left the courtyard, on their way to one of Beacon's many sparring and practicing areas. As they began getting ever closer, the futility of the search began to rear its ugly head. Beacon's campus was huge, and there was no way to search the whole place in one night for one girl.

Plus, there was always the slim chance that Ruby ran to the city.

As they walked through the quad, Yang felt a hand grasp her shoulder. Turning back, she met her partners amber eyes. "Slow down, Yang." Blake said, "I want to find her too, but you're going too far ahead of us..." Weiss finally caught up to them, her high heels clicking with every step.

Yang took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. "Sorry, you're right." She said, "I'm just worried is all."

"We all are, but we need to do it together. As a team."

"I get it," Yang balled her hands into fists, clearly growing impatient, "Listen, I don't care how we do it, I just want to find her and bring her back safe, alright?"

Weiss and Blake shared a glance, one of worry, whilst the other held slightly faltered determination. "It's not like she's out on a dangerous mission or something," Weiss insisted, "She's throwing a fit. I'm sure once she calms down she'll come home."

Yang's eyes flickered from lilac to red as she tried to control herself, "What if she doesn't?!" She shouted, "What if she does something rash?! Something stupid?! We can't take that risk, Weiss! Besides, let me remind you why she's 'throwing a fit'!"

"Yang!" Blake called, trying to quell her partners rage, "We get it, alright! No one wants to find her more than you, but that doesn't mean you can go ripping our heads off for it!"

"Oh really?" Her hair began to light up as her eyes stayed blood red, "And why can't I?"

Both girls faltered in their own defense, unable to find a counter-argument. At least, until Weiss finally shrunk a little. "Because we're a bunch of hypocrites."

Yang recoiled a bit, being taken off guard. She saw how melancholy her team had become, all by her own tirade. "I... I-I'm... Oh." She sat on a stone bench, her eyes returning to their lilac color, her hair losing its flame. "I didn't mean it guys. Really." Her voice was sincere, almost a whisper, "She's done this before. When... When we lost Summer, she ran away. She didn't know where to go, so she went to our Uncle Qrow's house..." She chuckled at the memory. "He agreed to hide here there, even knowing that dad and I were worried sick about her. Eventually he told us where she was at. Dad and I were so relieved, but still scared."

Blake and Weiss both realized what had happened. Their teammate and their leader had been through this before. "I was so worried when she was gone, and was worried that she'd do it again. Now she has, only this time we don't have the luxury of our Uncle to help. Yes, I'm worried for my sister, especially now. Yes, I understand that she's not really in any danger. And no, Weiss, she's not throwing a fit. Throwing a fit would imply that she has nothing to be mad about."

Weiss awkwardly rubbed the back of her head as Blake stepped in, "I uh... Don't mean to be the one to break up an intimate moment or anything, but every minute we wait she gets further and further from us. We don't need Qrow for our search, all we need to do is find her and apologize to her. Plus, we know why she's mad and what she does when she's mad, so that makes her a bit more predictable. Now," She grabbed her partner and lifted the brawler from the bench, "If we can please-" She grabbed a still-deflated Weiss by the shoulder, "Stop with the sappy and make with the search-y so we can find her before sunrise, that would be great!"

Yang and Weiss looked at each other and nodded, a fire being rekindled within them. "I'm up for it!" Yang declared.

"Let's get our dolt back!"

With Weiss' declaration, the team returned to their search, moving towards the sparring arena's. Beacon roped off an area strictly so they could host sparring matches for students. Of course, these buildings were by the schools general workout area, which were also near the Infirmary. Though, no one knew why the two buildings would be so close together...

The team approached the first of many buildings and prepared to enter, until a small ping sound rose from Yang's scroll. The blonde pulled it out quickly, hoping it was her sister. Hoping it was anyone involved in the search. Her hopes were dashed, though, when she saw the name "Professor Goodwitch" on the screen. Her muscles stiffened; what could the instructor want? Was she doing a check in? Was there something wrong?

Yang sighed as she gave in, 'Might as well find out...' She thought. She clicked the 'accept' button and brought the device to her ears. "Hello?" Her words caught the attention of her team, who was a few feet ahead of them.

"Miss Xiao Long," Goodwitch said, "Finally. I tried calling your sister but she won't answer her phone. Could you please put her on the phone for me? I have something here."

Yang made a face, knowing that her choice of words may be her last. "Well, uh... That might be difficult, now..." She prepared herself for a merciless yelling.

Goodwitch paused before continuing, "And... Why is that?"

"We, uh... Can't really find her?" Yang shrugged, begging her team for help. Both Weiss and Blake shook their heads and shrugged, horror written on their faces. "We may have upset her, and-"

"Please tell me she didn't run off..." The instructor sighed. Yang knew the mage was pinching the bridge of her nose under her glasses. She didn't have to see it to know it.

"Uh... Ok, I won't!"

Another pause. The instructor tried, and failed, to formulate words. She took a deep breath, trying not to let her blood pressure get too high. "Alright. Three questions." Yang threw the scroll into speaker so her teammates could hear, "What happened? When? What are you doing about it?"

Blake took the device from her partner, "Professor... This might take a few minutes..." She began retelling the events from the start of the day. Goodwitch staying mostly silent, either trying to comprehend the issue the team had gotten themselves in, or trying to figure out what their next step should be.

"So basically, Miss Belladonna... Let me see if I have an understanding of this," Goodwitch's annoyance showed in her voice, "You, and I mean all of you, because you three are guilty of this, violated your leaders privacy on multiple occasions without letting her know, she got upset and left."

The team looked at each other, knowing they were in for a harsh yelling. Weiss stepped in, being the first and only to speak, "Yes, Professor Goodwitch."

"AND YOU JUST LET HER WALK OUT OF THE DOOR?!" There it is. "I can't even- I... WHY?! Are you all mad?! No, don't answer that, you aren't. You're leader is."

"What should we-"

"Hold it Miss Schnee!" Goodwitch called, "Where are you all now?"

The team looked at each other, unsure of what she was asking. "Ma'am?"

"Where. Are. You. Now."

"Sparring arena's." Yang said. "Why?"

"Meet me at the statue. I'm going to join your search." With that, she hung up. Each member sighed, whether in relief or worry. They prepared themselves for another verbal beat down, only this time it'll be in person.

The trio walked back, trying to decide if they wanted to recall JNPR and do a full regroup. Blake decided against it though. "They're probably doing a lot better than we are." She said. Yang and Weiss agreed as they approached a waiting, albeit, none-too-pleased looking, Glynda Goodwitch.

Before any of them could greet their professor, she spoke one simple sentence. "We need to rethink this search."

"Alright, sweets." Qrow said, "Deep breath." Ruby followed her instructors advice, taking a deep breath before beginning. "Now, what's up?"

"Okay." Ruby began, "Uncle Qrow... Do you know-?"

"That you have amnesia? Yes." The older man interrupted. "Yang called your father and he told me. I'm sorry we couldn't come see you in the hospital, or any time after the fact. He and I have been busy with exams here."

Ruby held up a lone hand, "It's alright, really." She assured, "I'm not concerned with that."

"So what's on your mind, squirt?"

Ruby's face slowly fell. She tried to think of a way to explain her reason for calling without sounding too childish. "It's kind of a long story..."

Qrow leaned back in his leather seat, a small, audible creak was heard as he did so. "I've got all night for you."

Ruby nodded as she began, "I- uh... I don't feel like I can trust my team." Qrow raised an eyebrow, "You remember my personal journal?"

"The one you nearly ripped my head off for looking at when we started your training?" The instructor laughed, "How could I for-" He made a terrible realization, "They didn't..." Ruby nodded, causing Qrow's shoulders to drop. "You need an alibi, don't you?"

"Wha- No!" The young girl cried, "Why does everyone think I'm in trouble right now!? They're all fine, I'm just..." She failed to find a way to finish her sentence, finding the right word seemed difficult.

"Hurt, betrayed, angry?"

"All of the above." She buried her face into her hands. This whole situation was just bad, and she knew she wasn't making it any better. "I got angry at them all and I left, but now I feel like I should apologize, but I'm just so angry and afraid that I hurt them and-"

"Ruby!" Her mentor clapped, "Rambling."

The young reaper stopped and took a deep breath. "Sorry."

"Don't be." Qrow said, "So let me get this straight: You're team went through your private journal-"

"Willingly! On more than one occasion!"

"Noted. They went through it, assuming they're helping you with your amnesia?" Ruby nodded, "Alright well that's out of the way. You found out, got mad that they stabbed you in the back, and now you feel like you should apologize?" Ruby sat for a moment, not saying anything. "Listen here, sweets. The only people who should apologize is your team; Yang included. If they went as far as to invade personal space, then they are in the wrong, no matter what their reasoning."

"However," He continued, "You should probably get back to them. I'm sure they're worried."

"I- I guess so..."

"There's something else you're not telling me, is there?"

Tears swelled in her eyes as she thought about her next few statements. She peered around the room, making sure that she had still gone relatively unnoticed. "I... Uncle Qrow... I'm scared." The old mentor held a stoic expression, though his eyes showed worry, "They're saying... They're saying they're going to do some hypnosis, go inside my head. They want me to relive the very event that made me lose my memory in the first place..."

"You're not concerned with what they've seen, or are going to see..." Qrow said, calmly, "You're afraid of what you're going to see..." Ruby nodded, fighting back tears. Sure, she was hurt. Her team went against her trust, but they also seemed to be all talk. They hadn't really tried to help. Yet all she hears is 'We're going to hypnotize you, we're going to get to the bottom of this...' It seemed more like a cruel joke to her.

But that wasn't it though. Not entirely, anyway. He main fear was what's in her mind. Sheer nightmare fuel that haunted her, taunting her, letting her know every day of the mistake she made. "Honey..." Qrow called, "Look at me."

Ruby raised her head to the screen, facing the older man, "You know why they're doing this, right?" She nodded, "Fear is your greatest enemy here, not your team. They're doing their best to help, but they just don't know how."

"I... I understand..."

"Do you?"

She looked at the screen again, more determined, "Yes."

"They're your teammates and they want to help. You'd do the same for them, right? Then let them."

Doubt once again filled her mind, "What if they're upset with me? What if I hurt them?"

"We won't know until we find out, now won't we?" He gave a soft smile. "Go. Find your team."

Ruby nodded. "I will... Thanks Uncle Qrow."

"H-hey! What would I do with myself if you didn't have an issue every five seconds!" He joked, earning a stern smile from his niece, "-And you're going to smack me the next time we see each other, aren't you?" All Ruby had to do was raise a single eyebrow, "Right. Good luck, sweets. Qrow, signing off."

The screen cut black as Ruby sighed. She got exactly what she needed out of that call. The only problem was finding her team, explaining herself and apologizing for making them worry. She got up and walked towards the elevator, giving a nod in thanks to the lady at the desk who had helped her make that call. She entered, pressed the 'Bottom Floor' button and watched as the doors closed.

Her elevator went down, but the worker noticed one of the other elevators coming up. In it, the terminal had read 'Glynda Goodwitch. "Oh great," The woman sighed, "What could she want?"

A chime was heard and the door opened, revealing Glynda and three other girls. "Professor Goodwitch."

"Hello. We're looking for a student and I understand she signed in here a few moments ago." The woman gave a confused look, "Right, be more specific Glynda. Here." She showed a picture of Ruby, "Is she here now?"

"Oh, yeah! She literally just left. The moment her elevator closed, yours opened."

Glynda and the three girls whom accompanied her looked like they were about to have heart attacks. "Back in the elevator!" The girl in white declared, "We may be able to catch her!"

All four ran back to the far left elevator that they came in on, nearly beating the console to death trying to get back downstairs. Eventually the door closed, and they began their decent. The woman at the desk noticed that the elevator Ruby was on had reached the bottom. 'She's probably going to be long gone by the time they get to her...' She thought.

'I knew she was in trouble.'

Well, she isn't exactly wrong, now isn't she?

I'll be honest, I had no intention of taking this chapter this route. In fact, the original way I was going to go I felt didn't really make sense, and was too difficult t expound on. In fact, I'm way happier with how this chapter turned out than the original.

So what did you all think? I'd really like to hear your opinions as I start work on the next chapter.

Speaking of which, I want to get a point across: Currently, I am working on a Kitchen remodel, I have a job and college classes, with a plethora of other things going on that is taking up a lot of time. I understand a Hiatus can wear down, especially if you are expecting a chapter, but please, please, have some patience with me. I don't have as much time as I hope to have, and if I miss a deadline (which I'm going to avoid making those, because I probably will miss them) don't go all ape-shit on me. I need time to myself, too.

So, with that I leave you all again. The story is back in full swing and taking a totally new route! I'll bring the next chapter, and any after, the moment it's ready.

Big thanks to Karmahhhhh, the absolute baller of a collab writer, for helping me decide where to take this story and going over this chapter with me!

As always,

Until Next Time.