A bit of an angsty and longer chapter this one, it has been rewritten ever so slightly to incorporate small details from the Volume 9 clip released. So there's a very small spoiler warning!

Blake knew this would be the final straw for Ruby. She just prayed the pain she felt would lessen soon.

After they'd fallen through the void, Blake had woken to find herself separated from Ruby. Panic had set in immediately at losing her friend after falling with her. Wandering lonely and hopelessly, she'd been beyond relieved to discover Yang in a cave. Their reunion was tearful but full of love, having run into each other's arms and grasping each other desperately. After a few moments alone to grieve, to just exist with each other, they set out in searching for Ruby, Yang growing increasingly desperate as they ventured aimlessly into the unknown.

They'd then found Jaune, his sword broken and mangled and with blood smeared on its blade. When pressed, he'd eventually revealed who's blood it was. Blake couldn't help the cry emanating from her lips. The three of them took another moment to breathe, holding each other through it.

They'd then found Weiss, lying on the ground exhausted from her fighting. She'd burst into tears seeing the three of them. Blake and Yang immediately hugged her for as long as she wanted, eventually she relaxed and stood on her own two feet. Although, the rest of the party could tell Weiss was drained both physically and emotionally.

The group trudged onto the shoreline, the weather fluctuating wildly from the earlier burning sun to a now oppressive coldness of night. The four were silent in their search, aside from Jaune's remark about how strange it was to see stars in the night sky. Picking up their speed, they searched for the wayward leader, despite their own trepidation. Jaune couldn't bear to tell Ruby about Penny. Yang didn't want to see her sister in the state she was probably in. Blake knew the mental state of her friend before all of this had happened to the team. Weiss couldn't lose her best friend again. Together though, they had to find her.

Eventually, they spotted a sliver in their vision of a red cape fluttering in the subtle breeze. Running on their weary legs, they got to Ruby who was unevenly staggering away from them. When they kept calling out, she eventually turned and assumed a fighting stance, despite her fatigued and defeated posture. Yang cautiously approached.

"Ruby, it's me. Yang. Your sister." Yang's voice was watery and light. Her heart ached further as she approached the silver-eyed girl, who's gaze was unfocused and her breathing exceedingly heavy. Yang's caution was futile as Ruby threw a sloppy punch and stumbled. Yang caught her, brought her into her arms and shushed her cries. The younger sibling eventually stopped fighting her sister's grasp when she realised that it couldn't have been Neo. Soon, Ruby began repeating a single word.

"Sorry."

The night was eerily still, allowing the words to float into the air for them all to hear. Blake couldn't hold back her own silent tears, nor the surprised relief at feeling Weiss hold her hand as Yang tried to comfort Ruby.

Ruby eventually looked up, saw Jaune's sword and instantly looked at him. He had to just tell her. He explained slowly the whole story. That Penny was dying, how she had chosen to pass on the powers and her sacrifice. When he finally finished, Ruby broke from her sister's grasp and leapt onto him, an unrestrained fury in her flickering silver eyes. She pathetically flailed at him with exhausted strikes. In truth, they knew the rational part of her would never lash out. Yet it hit them that this wasn't any rational Ruby. Her three teammates pulled her off of Jaune before she screamed and flailed and cried in between them, her eyes even shining briefly, seemingly uncaring to anything or anyone around her before passing out from pure exhaustion in their arms. Solemnly, the four agreed to take her back to the cave Yang had found, get a fire going and rest.

That's how Blake found herself here. Finally seeing Ruby. Not as her fearless leader or as a legendary silver-eyed warrior, but as the girl and friend she loved who had the entire weight of the world on her shoulders. Ruby, even in her slumbering state, looked in pure anguish. Heavy bags had formed under her eyes, somehow worse than all of theirs. Her cape, laid over her as a blanket, was torn and ripped in places. Crescent Rose was missing. Some of the straps on her boots had become randomly unbuckled. Her hair, totally unkempt. Shallow breaths emerged from her and their leader's smaller height felt painfully apparent. Yang hadn't left her sister's side since they'd got to the cave, holding onto her hand tightly and not looking up even as Jaune tended a fire. She hadn't said a word since the beach, and that worried the faunus immensely. Weiss stood at a distance, completely stunned at seeing what Blake was as well.

"We should get some sleep. I can keep watch for a bit." Jaune offered suddenly, drawing Weiss and Blake back into the real world. Or whatever world they were in.

"No Jaune. I'll do it, you can get some sleep." Weiss immediately returned. The faunus couldn't help but notice the obvious edge in her voice.

"Weiss, you need to rest. I'll keep watch." Blake tiredly offered. Weiss turned to her with a scowl.

"I'm not going to argue with you Blake. I'll keep watch. I need to do something." Weiss raised her voice with a hard edge. Jaune stood from the fire and turned to them only to see Blake fire back.

"No, you're not in any condition to…" Blake retorted quickly.

"I'm in perfectly fine condition!" Weiss shouted.

"Guys, calm down." Jaune sternly mediated.

"Weiss, you literally spent the most time of all of us fighting up there and you even fought Cinder alone! You need to sleep!" Blake shouted back with a sudden raised strength.

Before Weiss could retort, an explosion of flame burned from the hair of the silent blonde. "All of you just shut up!" Yang yelled, rising to face them with fury in her crimson eyes. The three stared at her in shock. Yang gasped at herself, before looking at her flesh hand which displayed a subtle shake. Suddenly, she broke into a sprint out of the cave.

The three were silent, just wishing for this day to end. Luckily, Ruby was still in deep slumber.

"I'll get her. I'm sorry Weiss." Blake muttered.

"I'm sorry too. I'll stay with Ruby." Weiss mumbled back.

With that, Blake followed the blonde's path. The footprints in the mud led her to the beach, where she saw Yang sitting in the sand hugging her knees, looking out to the waves despite the freezing temperatures around her. Blake approached cautiously and sat next to her to find the blonde with tears falling from her eyes. Slowly, she placed an arm around her shoulders and eased Yang towards her, who quietly sobbed and swiped at her eyes.

"It's OK to be scared. I get it." The faunus whispered, staring out to the oncoming calm waves.

"No, you don't." Yang responded despondently.

"Talk to me then. We can't hold out on each other now. If it's about your semblance, it's fine. You just got frustrated and..." She encouraged gently.

"Blake, it's not about my semblance!" Yang shouted, interrupting the faunus, her volume fading as Blake held her closer. "I'm sorry." Yang muttered.

"Yang, just talk. We're not going back until we talk. You know you can tell me anything." Blake uttered wearily, the exhaustion everyone felt starting to hit her as she edged closer to her blonde partner. The pause was palpable but the faunus rubbed her friend's prosthetic tenderly. After a time, Yang eventually spoke shakily.

"How do I help her? This isn't like when we were kids and we could play to get over some small sadness. This isn't like Beacon where we could just hang out in Vale to get over a bad test, or even after Haven where we were back together and could heal. This is rock bottom Blake. How… How am I supposed to help her? I'm not as good as… as mom."

Blake wished desperately she had an answer.

Instead, she settled for pulling Yang into a full embrace, both shedding silent tears. "I wish I knew. I tried to help her at the Manor, but everything's fallen apart since. You don't have to help her alone. We all need to. For her sake." She responded.

It didn't settle Yang. Not one bit. She pulled back from the hug and looked at her partner. "But what do we do Blake?" She pleaded, her voice uneven and her arms unsteady.

"Be there. Maybe we try to figure out the plan for once. We always trust Ruby to come up with something. But with Jaune here, let's figure out something together. Then, we can let her step back."

Blake stopped briefly, considering something. "Yang, do you know if Ruby ever talked to you about Beacon?" She asked forthrightly. It was shaky ground to cover given everything the four of them went through at the school and the ensuing months, but Blake had a suspicion.

Yang got over her initial shock at the question, but carried on quietly. "Not really. We'd talked briefly when she left for Haven, but I was a mess and I guess she was too nervous to bring it up. What a great big sister." Yang mocked herself forlornly and withdrew her gaze to look down. That was until a hand raised her head.

"Yang. You needed to heal. You needed to pause. To acknowledge what happened and begin to move on. I did the same in a different way." Blake reasoned, and continued confidently. "Even if it took us both time, we moved on by first stopping. That's the point. Ruby hasn't stopped. She's just kept going. Everyday since Beacon she's studied, fought, trained, led us, and never stopped. For now, that's what we do. Tell her it's fine to just stop for once." Blake finished, a slight smile gracing her face as Yang looked at her with less anguish on her own face.

"Yeah, that's right. Thanks, Blake."

"No problem. I'm always here." The faunus responded.

The pair took a moment, then headed back to the cave to find Jaune at its entrance, standing watch and telling them to rest. As the faunus set down her coat at a nearby wall as a blanket and laid against a large prismatic rock near Weiss who had fallen deep asleep, she heard shuffling followed by a few sounds. They sent her to sleep content that they could face tomorrow together.

"Yang… I'm so sorry, I… I got it all wrong… I..." Ruby whispered shakily.

"It's alright, sis. Just rest with me. We're all here, nothing's going to harm you. I love you so so much." Yang whispered back, her voice full of affection. Jaune was content to stand guard over Team RWBY, all falling into slumber in a cave, with the humming of a childhood tune emanating peacefully from the eldest sibling.