Jaune strode through the halls of Atlas Academy with a renewed sense of purpose- the desire to keep things running smoothly, help both Yang and Ruby, and above all else- be useful gave him an adrenaline surge like no other. Rarely had there been a situation where he had been relied upon to pull everyone else out of the fire, and rarer still was the scenario where he was perhaps the only one capable of doing it. He understood why things had played out the way they did, and all of the pieces that would make up the ideal path forward clicked into place in his mind effortlessly. Jaune was ready to fight for what he knew was right, and ready to stand up to Ruby with conviction if he needed to.

Countless scenarios played out in his mind as he rounded another corner in the clinically clean hallway. Jaune was confident that he knew Ruby pretty well, especially after having spent months on the road with her on the way to Mistral. They had stayed up later than their traveling companions on several occasions, simply talking the night away. Sometimes they had shared totally nebulous information to keep the mood light. Sometimes the conversation steered to far darker places, giving Jaune an insight into Ruby's mind that he wasn't sure the others had. There were some nights where she legitimately surprised him, saying things that he knew he would have to keep to himself. Things that he couldn't believe were coming from the girl who, at times, was almost as lively as Nora.

Things that scared him.

As time went on and more discussions were had, Jaune saw less and less of that side of Ruby, and by the time they reached the safehouse just outside of Haven Academy, she seemed to have gotten her spirit back. Not long before they parted ways, she had pulled him aside on the porch to thank him for being there for her. Jaune had said much the same, knowing that he, too, had shared more of himself than he was comfortable letting the others see at the time. He had hoped to never see her in such a dark place again, but a sinking feeling in his stomach warned him that he might not be in for an argument so much as a long, meandering talk. That feeling was confirmed as he made it to a hallway just a few turns away from the infirmary.

Ruby Rose sat halfway down the hallway, her back to the wall and her legs hugged into her chest. The hood of the girl's red cloak was up, totally obscuring her face from view as she kept her forehead pressed into her knees. Jaune's fighting spirit deflated entirely as he slowed to a stop several feet away. He could see her trembling lightly within her cloak. The only thing he could think anymore was that he prayed he was the first one to get to her.

"…if you're looking for Sun, the infirmary's a little farther down that way," Jaune said in a small voice as he slowly approached his friend. "But if you are headed there… can we talk, first?"

Ruby was silent for several minutes except for the occasional muffled sniffle. Jaune lowered himself to sit beside her, though he kept a few feet between them as he did so. Not knowing exactly what he was dealing with, he decided to wait it out for what felt like an eternity.

"…it feels like nothing's going right," Ruby finally said in a voice that was barely audible. "And I'm just making it all worse."

"I know that feeling," Jaune agreed as he leaned his head back into the wall with a thump. "It's kinda felt that way since we got here."

"Really? It sounds like you're having a great time with my sister."

Jaune stiffened up, surprised by both the accusation as well as Ruby's scathing tone. Her voice almost carried a growl within it, though she kept her face hidden.

"She, uh… she told you?" Jaune asked, his nervousness clear in his voice. "I-I mean, it's not exactly like that…"

"Yes it is," Ruby deadpanned. "Trust me, I got too many details. Whatever. It's not like it matters, anyway. Nothing does anymore."

"Don't…" Jaune started, only to pause and reconsider his words. "…don't say that. A lot of things still matter, even if it looks like we're losing right now. We haven't lost yet, and we've been through this before. We saved a lot of people at Beacon. We'll save a lot of people here, too. As long as we make all the right moves, anyway..."

Ruby let out a heavy sigh, smushing her face against her knees and muffling her voice even further.

"Yeah, I guess. I don't know what to do. It seems like you guys were doing okay up here until we showed up, and now everything's just…"

"Hey, we were on a collision course with Salem even if you didn't show up," Jaune pointed out. "None of this is your fault. Not only that, but you helped protect Sun when things went south at the meeting. We have to keep working as a team. None of us can or should be doing anything alone right now."

"I tried going to Yang, but we had a fight," Ruby explained. "She just doesn't understand. It's like she's not even the same person anymore…"

"And then you started making your way down here to try to use the lamp," Jaune said to nudge her along. "Right?"

Jaune paled as Ruby finally lifted her head and gave him an angry glare with tear-stained cheeks.

"What?"

"What?" Jaune asked, feeling as though he had somehow made a huge mistake. "I thought that's what you and Yang were arguing about? Using the lamp to find Summer…?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't going to just storm into Sun's room and use it," Ruby seethed. "You really think I'd just walk right up and start asking it questions because I'm upset?"

"I… I don't know!" Jaune admitted.

"I'm not some spoiled kid!" Ruby said angrily as she pushed herself to stand up. "I know we can't just use the lamp for whatever! If I was going to take control of the situation without everyone agreeing on it, I wouldn't have gone to Yang to talk things out!"

"Okay, so maybe we shouldn't have assumed y-" Jaune began as he rose to follow Ruby.

"No, you shouldn't have!" Ruby interrupted as she turned away from him and balled her fists. "I'm not stupid, Jaune! I know the risks, better than you do!"

"Hey, let's not make this into a contest, alright?" Jaune requested as he held his open hands up to his chest in a gesture of surrender. "I shouldn't have implied that you would do something like that. I was just worried about the possibility, because if you did…"

"I know," Ruby insisted as she whirled to face Jaune and crossed her arms. "We can't always get what we want. Lately, we can't ever get what we want. I never should have gone to Sanus. None of this would've happened, I could have gone on not knowing that Mom might still be out there, and maybe I could've actually helped here instead of dragging everyone down making it all worse. So much of this never should've happened. Weiss was right- I never even should've been the leader of my team…"

"Or maybe you just need to learn to accept help instead of keeping it all in and losing your shit when you've had enough."

The odd familiarity of the voice coming from behind her squashed Ruby's inclination to lash out in protest as she wracked her brain to try to figure out who was speaking. She turned around to find the faunus who had defended Sun in the office that she couldn't remember the name of giving her both a glare and halfhearted wave.

"Hi. Ilia. I had a long ponytail back in Mistral, so if you've been confused about who the hell I am, that's why. You and I never really got to talk much, but it sounds like we should now," she insisted as she nodded toward Jaune. "What'd I miss? Is she going for the lamp or not?"

"I am not 'going for' the lamp," Ruby said in an annoyed tone as she rolled her eyes. "I want to, but I wouldn't do that to all of you, or all of Remnant, for that matter. Were you two seriously looking for me down here to stage some kind of intervention?"

"We didn't coordinate it like that, no," Jaune said truthfully.

"But it looks to me like you need one," Ilia added as she moved closer. "Take a seat. Not like we've got anything better to do until dawn, anyway. If you're not going anywhere, then hang out with us. At least you like one of us."

Ruby pulled a face and wiped at her cheeks with her forearm before sliding her back down the wall and pulling her knees in once again.

"…I like both of you, even if you don't believe me. Jaune's an old friend, and you stood up for Sun, and you're…" Ruby paused for a moment as she tried to think of the word she was looking for. "…confident? Everything I've seen you say and do, it seems like you're 100% behind it. I wish I could be like that."

"Not always a good thing," Ilia warned as she sat against the opposite wall, facing Ruby. Jaune returned to his spot next to Ruby, though closer than before. "I need sensible people to keep me in check so I don't end up like you are right now."

"Hey…" Jaune warned, giving Ilia a pleading look.

"No, I… think I want honesty, no matter how harsh it is," Ruby said with another sniffle. "I feel like I'm totally falling apart. I'm being pulled in so many directions by so many people and things, and everyone wants something different, and I'm supposed to be a leader but I have no idea what I'm doing, and then I look at Sun and h-"

"Do you have any idea how many times I've heard Sun say 'I have no idea what the hell I'm doing'?" Ilia asked. "If you think you're flying blind, you should see him when he's not in 'leader mode.'"

"Then how is he holding it together at all?" Ruby asked. "And why am I falling apart?"

"Because you've made the job of being a leader into something impossible to achieve in your head," Jaune said simply. "Leadership doesn't always look like what you might think it does. Not everyone is Ironwood leading with total conviction and a hard line, Kali with her adaptability and endless connections, or Adam Taurus with his ruthless approach immediate jumps to leading with violence and intimidation. Those might be the most obvious paths, but Sun's more like… all of us here in Atlas feel how you feel right now, Ruby. Sun's just brave enough to face it head on and represent us, while also being brave enough to allow himself to be totally vulnerable and lean into us for support. He's a great leader, yeah, but the 'Atlas crew'? We're almost more like a council with an elected representative than anything. It's not that he's 'in charge' of us, it's that we all look to him naturally because we know he cares and he's willing to put himself out there."

"Jaune's right," Ilia agreed. "And as much as I hate to admit it and throw around the fluffy feel-good friendship line… it really does matter. Sun's been on the verge of being where you are right now several times since we got here. The only reason he doesn't collapse and have a crying fit in the hallway every damned day is because one or more of us catches him when he's about to and we push him back up to standing."

"…Nora spent our entire trip trying to reach out to me and do that," Ruby replied. "And I just kept making excuses and pushing her away…"

"Why?" Jaune asked, sounding a little annoyed.

"Because…" Ruby answered. "Because I'm scared. Scared of letting people in and scared that my personal problems and how I feel are too small compared to everything else going on around me. It feels like I shouldn't complain, because who would even care about what I'm feeling in the middle of all this?"

"You already know the answer," Ilia said flatly. "That's an excuse to not confront how you really feel- not just with us, but to yourself."

"You're also not the only one that feels that way," Jaune chimed in with a grimace. "Elm- the Ace with the huge muscles and hammer? I've been partnered with her for a while now, and she shared a lot of the same sentiment with me. She doesn't believe her problems or opinion matter in the grand scheme of things."

"How did you get through to her?" Ruby asked.

"…I didn't," Jaune admitted as he rested a hand upon Ruby's shoulder. "And she's miserable. The past several weeks, we've all gotten to know Marrow pretty well, Clover's firm but pleasant toward all of us, and Harriet… she started out frosty, but the ice has been gradually falling away and there's a mutual respect between her and most of us, now… most of the time. Elm… she's still a bit of a mystery. Outwardly nice, but none of us know her on a personal level. She keeps to herself, and when she does speak up, it's usually against us. I'm not letting the same thing happen to you. We've been through too much together for me to just let you stew in this and feel like you don't matter. Let me- let us in. Please?"

"Yeah, I'll… it's about time I pay it forward," Ilia agreed. "I might barely know you, but I owe it to Sun to be someone's shoulder. Give me a chance, and I'll be blunt and real with you, if that's what you want."

"I do," Ruby said. "But I don't even know where to begin."

"Well… how about you take us through what happened after Haven?" Ilia suggested as she took out her scroll. "Just… talk and see what comes out. I'll record it. We've got the time."

"Why would you record it?" Ruby asked.

"Because listening back later, if you're just doing stream of consciousness and getting your thoughts out in the open, might help you figure some shit out," Ilia explained. "I've done it before when I couldn't get out of my own head. Trust me on this. Besides… we're all going to need the details on what the hell happened out in Sanus, anyway. Might as well only give a detailed account once."

"It's a sound idea," Jaune agreed. "Are you willing to give it a shot?"

Ruby stared at Ilia's scroll for a moment and took a deep breath.

"…yeah. Alright, let's do this…"

Author's Note:

There's more going on with the recording here.

With that, Sun and Ruby/Ilia/Jaune are set up for the meeting at dawn. That leaves Weiss/Marrow/Emerald/Ironwood, Yang/Corsac, and Qrow/Neo/Cinder with needed resolution before things kick off.

-RD