Breaking Point

The point at which something loses force or validity

The point at which a situation becomes critical

The point at which a person gives way under stress

"So she didn't take it well huh?" Jaune asked with sympathy looking at WBY.

They relocated themselves to the cafeteria after Ruby had failed to return to their dorm after about an hour and a half. However they were not hungry, instead they were pushing their food around their plates. Jaune, Nora, Ren, and Oscar had joined them, but just like the three young women, they weren't feeling like dinner either, "Nope." Yang commented. They had told their sister team about Ruby's reaction to having to go to therapy, "She stormed off again. We waited for her to come back, but she hadn't returned."

"I am sure she'll be back soon." Nora said more confidently than she felt, "It's not like she could have gotten far without someone knowing."

They saw through her words and bravado however, "It's Ruby." Weiss said softly, recalling her friend's betrayed and angry expression, "I am sure she has thought of an escape if need be."

Blake was fed up with the pretenses and pushed her plate away, "It's precisely the problem. It is Ruby."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yang asked slowly and almost dangerously.

Blake cocked an eyebrow at this, not at all phased by her partner's deadly glare, "Easy Yang. I know how protective you are, however I would appreciate it if you would not jump down my throat."

Yang's eyes flashed red before she let out a sigh and deflated, "Right I'm sorry. Continue."

Blake gave her a look of sympathy, "It's alright. Anyway Ruby has always shown to be a formidable leader and strategist, but Ruby is not really thinking right now which makes this an overall problem. She's desperate to escape whatever is going through her head, so who knows what she might end up doing."

"Point taken." Yang mumbled out pushing her plate aside.

"Should I try talking to her?" Oscar asked cautiously, "To further show there are no hard feelings or something?"

Ren shook his head, "I don't think that is a good idea. As well intentioned as it may be, I think antagonizing her further would make things worse."

Weiss shook her head and pulled her scroll out, "I think I am going to head back to the room, maybe Ruby will be back now."

"I'll come with you. I am not hungry anyway." Yang said as she got up.

Blake followed suit, "Same."

"Want us to come with? For support?" Nora asked softly feeling sorry for the seemingly broken team.

"Eh the less people the better. Thanks anyway though." Yang responded.

Jaune nodded and placed a hand on Nora's shoulder when she went to protest, "We understand. We are here if you need us though." WBY waved at them and walked back to the room.

In the meantime, Ruby was indeed back at the room. She had gotten back after her session with Dr. Stevens to find it empty, but welcomed the emptiness. Part of her found it unbelievable that she really did go to the therapy session that she was vehemently against. It did help though, she finished her report fairly quickly, but now was focusing on the black leather bound book in front of her, "I want you to write about how you felt when your mother didn't come home."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Not knowing if she was trying to call upon those dormant feelings, or bury them further down as she heard his instructions, "In fact I want you to write it in this journal. Any feelings you have-positive or negative-I want you to write down."

She reopens her eyes and stares at the book, "You think this will really help?" She echoed her question.

As if the book was speaking back at her, she heard the answer, "It can't hurt can it?"

She had answered in his office that she had supposed not; but now the moment had come and she was unsure of that response. There were a lot of ways that this could hurt, but it was something she needed to do. Swallowing she opened the cover and wrote on the first page her name.

Ok good start, she nodded in satisfaction, and then she deflated. She was procrastinating and she knew it. Turning to the next blank page, she sighed and thought back to that night, "Tai! Tai we gotta talk!" Her uncle's frantic voice came to her mind.

"No! I'm going to find her! She-"

"Daddy? Daddy what happened? Where's mommy?" Yang. That had been Yang, she had been shielding her. Tears started to form and without much thought, she picked up her pen a started to write:

I couldn't take it, couldn't stand another minute. Couldn't bear another day without you in it. All of the joy that I had known for all my life, was stripped away from me the minute that you died. To have you in my life was all I ever wanted, but now without you, I'm a soul forever haunted. Can't help but feel that I had taken you for granted. No way in hell that I can ever comprehend this.

She stopped her pen and swallowed hard. She had been a small girl at the time and like the doctor pointed out, how could anyone have expected her to understand? "She is gone Ruby. She isn't coming home." Her father had said. She didn't want to believe it. She couldn't believe it. This was her mother. She promised she'd be home. She'd promised she would stay.

It wasn't until they visited the gravesite that it had hit. The cold white stone sitting as a silent memorial to a memory. Her breathing quickened and her hand moved on her own accord:

I wasn't dreaming when they told me you were gone. I was wide awake and feeling that they had to be wrong. How could you leave me when you swore that you would stay? Now I'm trapped inside a nightmare every single f'ing day. It's like a movie, but there's not a happy ending. Every scene fades black, and there's no pretending. This little fairy tale doesn't seem to end well. There's no knight in shining armor who will wake me from the spell.

She stopped writing for a moment and slammed her right fist on the desk, "She isn't talking. It's like she's shut down." It was a faint memory, however it was easily Yang's voice she recognized.

She recalled the service and what was called a 'wake'. These words though were spoken by her sister a week or so afterwards. Her father had shut down, and her sister had started to take care of her. Their uncle had stayed with them that next weekend. In the meantime Ruby couldn't bring herself to speak. What was there to say? Her father had already told her that her mother wasn't coming home, so what had been the point? She already cried and screamed when that confirmation was made, saying that her father and uncle were liars; but the headstone told a different story.

"Yang…" Her young voice echoed in her head, and subconsciously she looked towards her sister's bed in their room. How could she have not understood…? Re-reading the words she had written, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath…pen once more flying across the page.

I know you didn't plan this. You tried to do what's right, but in the middle of this madness: I'm the one you left to win this fight. Red like roses, fills my head with dreams and finds me. Always closer, to the emptiness and sadness that has come to take the place of you.

She heard footsteps from outside and immediately recognized them as her teammates. She slammed the book shut and jumped on her bed, hiding the book underneath the pillow just as the door open, "So if she isn't back in here then we'll-Ruby!" Yang exclaimed in mid-sentence seeing her sister on the bed.

"Yang!" She exclaimed back jumping off. She wanted to run to her sister, but stopped herself. She looked into her sister's wide lilac eyes and a brief flash of a memory came to her, younger eyes full of sadness and hurt each time her sister looked at her. She hadn't been the only one that her mother had left, and a bitter sense of dread filled her stomach; her sister had been just as hurt too.

Blake coughed tactfully and pushed the brawler and the former heiress inside the room and closed the door behind them, "Glad to see that you are here." She said softly, hoping to end the eerie and awkward silence.

Ruby didn't respond right away she kept her eyes adverted and took a deep breath, "Yang." Her voice was a strangled mess, but she coughed and took a few shaky breaths, "Yang, I'm sorry."

"Ruby-"

"No! It was uncalled for. Especially after everything you did for me. I'm sorry!" She blurted out. Then looking at Blake and Weiss she says, "I'm so sorry guys. I really am."

"Hey it's ok. We are just glad you are here." Blake says softly.

Weiss took a step forward, "We've all said things that we have not meant when under a lot of emotional stress."

"It's still no excuse." Ruby muttered out stepping away from her team.

The girls rolled their eyes, "Look are you going to do it again?" Yang asked arms crossed.

"No but-"

"Are you going to at least try and listen to us without the attitude?" Blake asked allowing a small smirk to grace her features.

"Yes but-"

"Then stop with the pity." Weiss stated in what she hoped was her former 'ice queen' attitude, "Honestly we know that you wouldn't have reacted under normal circumstances so please stop apologizing." In a softer tone she adds, "We just want to help you."

Ruby took a deep breath and nodded, "Ok."

"Ok." Yang repeated, "Now can you tell us where you've been? You had us worried."

She looked at them and saw their soft and worried features, some part of her didn't want their worry nor did she believe that she deserved it, but swallowing the lump in her throat she thought back to her session with Dr. Stevens and says, "I went to the gym and started to hit the heavy bag this time. Some guy came up to me and we started talking. One thing led to another-"

"You went off to rendezvous with some stranger?!" Yang yelled out, "What the hell were you thinking?!"

"NO! I went to therapy!" Ruby yelled angrily. Silence. Blazing silver eyes stared at disbelieving lilac, amber, and blue ones. The three girls turned their gazes away once they saw that Ruby was not joking. Closing her eyes, Ruby sighed deeply and restarted, "I met Dr. Stevens while I was…maiming the heavy bag in the gym. He took me to his office where I found out who he was. He…got me to open up…"

"You probably should have just said that in the beginning…" Blake stated slowly while Yang held a hand over her heart muttering something about 'innocence'.

"Well now I didn't think my older sister would think so little of me." Ruby stated arms crossed and eyebrow cocked, "Rendezvous? Seriously?" Weiss shook her head and hid a snort, "What?" Ruby asked.

"You accidently ended up in therapy. Something you were so…violently…against." This brought about another snort, "Irony."

Ruby allowed herself a small yet sad chuckle on how she ended up there, "At its finest I'd say."

"So…" Yang trailed off having recovered from her initial shock.

"What?"

"What did you think?"

Ruby hesitated, not sure what to divulge or keep to her chest. For now she just said, "It was alright. There are some things that I…need to work out and come to terms with…"

"Ok we can respect that." Weiss said gently seeing Ruby's discomfort. The three of them shared a look before she continued with, "Are you going to keep going or…?"

Ruby sighed and climbed on her bed while the others did the same, "I'll try it for a bit sure. As I said, I've acknowledge certain issues that I need to learn how to handle properly; and he seems…decent enough."

Blake nodded, "Would you consider joining us?" Ruby looked at her curiously, so Blake continued, "We had said that we do this as a group, as does Jaune, Nora, Ren, and Oscar. You don't have to do this alone."

Yang looked hopefully at her, "Yea Rubes. It'll be like a team trust exercise. Communication and all that jazz like we did in Beacon."

"Uhm…" Ruby trailed off, the sudden weight of the book that was hiding under her pillow being brought to the forefront of her mind.

Sensing this Weiss stepped in, not wanting to push Ruby any further, "You don't have to decide now." She then looked at Yang and gave the blonde a look to not argue or press the matter, "If you want to take this step by step that is more than fine. I am just glad you are giving this a chance."

"Thank you Weiss." Ruby whispered. Then looking at Yang she said, "I'll think about it, but for right now I think it is best I do this by myself."

"Sure Rubes. Anytime." Yang got up and grabbed her toiletries, "I think I am going to get ready for bed now."

"It has been an emotional day for us all." Blake agreed as she too gathered her things.

Weiss nodded as she grabbed her things as well, "You coming Ruby?"

Ruby smiled, "I'm already done. I figured I take care of everything before getting back to writing my report." The girls gave her a smile as she jumped back down from her bed, "I'm just going to get changed quick and turn in." They nodded as they left. She watched them leave the room, and once the door was closed she allowed her smile to fall. Lifting her pillow up, she sees the black book sitting there.

Sighing she took it and re-read what she wrote. She shook her head. She hated how she laid out all her feelings, even though Dr. Stevens told her it was alright to feel this way. However despite the pain she was feeling, she couldn't help but to defend her mother's actions. Taking the pen she was using, she writes one last thing: I know you're broken down by anger and by sadness. You feel I left you in a world that's full of madness; wish I could talk to you, if only for a minute, make you understand the reasons why I did it.

She threw the pen down in frustration. Does it really matter at this point? She left. She isn't coming back. With a growl, she stuffed her book back under her pillow and got ready for bed. By the time she was under the covers, the girls were back in the room. Minimal words were said and Ruby sank into the pillows, staring up at the ceiling, "The petals scatter now, every nightmare just discloses it's your blood that's red like roses…and no matter what I do, nothing ever takes the place of you." She muttered darkly.

"Ruby?" Weiss called up having heard the last part. Yang and Blake looked over just as Yang was going to flip the switch, "You ok?"

Ruby hummed and looked down, her mind slow to process the question, "Sorry Weiss, yea I am good. Just tired." The three girls shared an uneasy look, but not wanting to push, let it go as Ruby turned to face the wall just as the lights had gone out. When Ruby closed her eyes though, she didn't see darkness- instead the color was red.