"I don't remember a thing, honest." Blake stated bluntly, staring into what was left of her steaming mug of coffee lest she lose her confidence. She laid all her cards on the table. "They said our memories would return eventually, but… Nothing. Just the simulation." Across from her, Klein sat straight in his seat, his brows furrowed and eyes staring straight at her, waiting for her to reveal this as some kind of joke. But no punchline could be found, just a trembling voice holding back almost two months' worth of emotional pressure.

"That's unfortunate Miss." Klein pulled his hands together, folding his fingers over each other as to capture his steel calmness and lock it away in his grip. "Even more unfortunate that it is not unexpected. Those dreadful simulations have always come with ridiculously lax safety protocols." He shook his head with a heavy sway, inklings of polite venom sprinkled in his voice. "If it wasn't for people's obsession with escaping into fantasy, I'm sure such facilities would have been made illegal."

"So, you didn't even know your own name?" Adam chimed in from the other side of the room, chewing cautiously on his piece of blue berry pie as he partly hid himself behind the counter, an element of paranoia still strong in his eyes. "That's why you keep insisting on 'Blake'?"

It had been a turbulent night as a whole, her confession and apology to Adam doing nothing to calm the tension that overpowered the room. After her sobbing had come to a close, Adam took to distancing himself from her; not leaving the room or her presence, but ensuring at least furniture was between them as he observed her from a distance – it was as if he were looking at a zoo animal and feared the cage wasn't strong enough to protect him. A wall had been broken between them, of that Blake was sure, but neither her nor Adam knew if it was enough to make up the difference. She was sure Adam wasn't entirely convinced this wasn't Wither setting him up to take a fall again.

She shook her head. "Didn't know who I was until we were rummaging through our suitcases."

It was partly why she called Klein in and expand upon the truth of her situation, to give Adam a fellow 'co-worker' to share their confusion, to assure each other their ears are working. Besides, after dead end after dead end, Blake needed all the support from inside the company she could get, and she felt as if she could no longer afford to pussy foot around it.

So, she opened herself up, sat down with Klein and gave him the 'highlights' of the story. From what she'd gathered, he was exactly as trustworthy and compassionate as his simulated counterpart, she didn't worry about him ratting her out or having any otherwise dangerous reactions. He took it far better than she'd imagined, doubts weighed on him, but he seemed to, at the very least, believe that she believed what she was saying. Perhaps he was simply humouring her for the sake of his job, or perhaps he was more perceptive than she gave him credit for. It wasn't until then that Blake considered that Klein was probably noticing Wither acting out of character since she'd returned. As he said, loss of identity was a common consequence with these risky simulation experiences, it wouldn't be far fetched for him to be on the look out for signs of characteristic oddities.

Klein sighed, leaning over to refill Blake's mug. "I'm afraid that, even with the SDC's vast wealth and technology; we've yet to hit upon any treatments for such a condition. If your memories have not returned by now, you'll never get them back."

Blake shifted uncomfortably in her seat, casting her gaze off to the side. "Honestly, with all I've heard about me so far… I don't think I want my memories back." She drew her face together tightly, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to parse her thoughts through the mental haze. Letting herself come undone like this was relieving in one way, but in another way, it left her insides aching. "I don't like who I used to be."

"The Master will not be pleased to hear that. No, not one bit." He stared back at Blake in deadpanned silence for a moment, watching her face fall into panic as she reconsidered every impression, she had of him. Only for Klein to then break into a warm smile. "Which is why, of course, we won't be troubling him with such trivial details, yes?"

Her lungs flooded out the air with a surge of relief, turning her into a deflated balloon as she sunk further into her seat. "Yes… Of course."

When she mustered up the energy to lightly glare at the man, Klein merely chuckled. "Forgive me, Miss. I find that ill-timed humour is perfect for relieving the tension in dreadful conversations such as this. It at least appears to have successfully knocked the air out of you before you started popping under all that stress."

"The humour is appreciated, but all it's doing is distracting us from the subject at hand." She pulled her mug down to the tip of the table, too exhausted to pick it up and take a tip, instead opting to tip the cup over the edge and area drop that steady stream of dark, boiling goodness right down her throat. "Should I be worried about anything, Klein?"

"There's never a shortage of things to worry about, Mam." He rested his hands, freshly tipped with coal stains and dust particles, on the table. Oddly enough, Blake had little to no problem with how he addressed her, at least, she never tried to correct him. It just wasn't as uncomfortable as when Adam addressed her 'respectfully'. Adam did so because she was his superior, while she had the sneaking suspicion that Klein would show such respects to pretty much anyone he talked too, regardless of if he were their servant. "But there is nothing to fear from me, I assure you."

Maybe she was just desperate for more people to lean on, but she had no trouble believing the man at his word. "Then I would like to ask for your help. As much as you can offer without putting yourself in harm's way, of course." Blake hugged her mug close to her chest, feeding off the scolding warmth emanating from the liquid to keep her mind sharp. "I want to change. I want to do good. And the first step to that is exposing the SDC's crimes."

She couldn't help but feel a swell of pride while under his gaze, understanding eyes softening at her words. "I too would like to do good. I've been… Chained to this post, forced to wait hand and foot for less than upstanding people, for too long." There was a lax nature to his voice, one Blake recognised as intentional, no matter how heavy the topic was, Klein was keeping the air between them light and comforting. Plenty of space to breath, nothing pushing anyone to panic, just a safe space to talk about what needs to be done. "Though, I must confess, I doubt that a mere butler will have much information to give that you do not already possess. The Master hardly lets me sit in on the important meetings, now."

"Sometimes, all we need is the knowledge that we're not alone." They traded encouraging smiles, Blake allowing herself to show off her pearly whites. "Besides, while I technically have higher access than you, I'm sure my activities are being monitored or actively blocked. I'm not trusted yet. You, on the other hand, wouldn't have the same scrutinizing oversight." Leaning forward, she rested her elbows on the table, breathing deeply before continuing. "Can you tell me about the incident surrounding Robyn Hill and… Uh… I guess, 'my' brother? I know, or I confidently suspect anyhow, that he was working with her, looking for dirt on the company."

Klein's gaze fell, eyes cast downward as his warmth was replaced with heavy sadness. "We were all sure of that. That poor boy…" He shook his head. "I practically helped raise him, and I still stood there and nodded along when all those fabricated psychological analysis records had him sent away. Everyone who mattered suspected it was a PR stunt, that Jacques couldn't bare admitting that one of his own children had betrayed him."

"I'm honestly surprised Whitley is still alive." Blake paused, flinching as her mind caught up with her words, how grim and cold she sounded. "It would be easier to take a threat out of the picture entirely than risk them coming back."

"But Master Whitley wouldn't have been 'that' type of threat, right?" Adam's voice managed to make Blake jump in her seat, swerving her head around to see him now hanging onto the counter, awkwardly peering at her. "Uh… I mean… Ignore me."

Blake gestured him closer with a soft frown. "No, no, go on. What were you going to say?"

Cautiously, Adam crept closer, pulling his arms behind his back. "I-If you're right and he was working with Hill and getting information and all that stuff-" He coughed, eyes wildly darting between Blake and Klein, waiting for a signal to stop. "Well, he'd still have information that Mr. Schnee would want. Y-You did tell me everyone really wants something Hill left behind. So, they can't risk losing any of the lot who are in the know, yeah?"

Klein nodded, freeing Adam's face of the mental strain the boy underwent trying to keep his wording 'correct'. It was nice to see Adam relaxed. "It was clear that Robyn Hill had managed to find something critical, a smoking gun."

"Something bad enough it could take the SDC down a few notches?" Blake leaned back, trying her best not to sound too hopeful about this knowledge. This whole complex web of corruption and conspiracy could be so much simpler if it really was just the matter of finding one weapon to take it all down. What could Hill have possibly found?

Adam's face scrunched up again, squeezing his chin between two fingers as he collected himself. "But… But… If it's, you know, dirt, wouldn't Robin or one of her friends have just released it to the public already? That's what they'd do right?"

Blake shrugged "Maybe Jacques only thinks she got the information?"

"Now that you mention it-" Klein's eyes suddenly widened, slamming his hands on the table and jumping to his feet. "Ah, yes! I remember!" He clapped his hands together, completely unblinking in the face of Adam and Blake's shocked expressions. "When I'd drive you around to your various responsibilities, I'd sometimes hear you and Kuriyuri talking in the back of the car. You'd always have a loose tongue whenever you were just about to close the book on a case. Underestimate my hearing."

He pulled stern face, idly stroking his moustache as he tried to get a read on the memory. "You were bragging about finding something, that Hill wouldn't even realize you took it."

"Wait, are you saying…" Blake's brows furrowed, voice cracking under the pressure "I took her 'silver bullet'?!" She let herself fall against the table, holding herself up by her palms pressed flat on the surface. "But then Jacques would already have it, wouldn't he?"

"Unless…" Klein clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, eyes looking over Blake as if he were suddenly seeing her in a new light. "You never intended to give it to him."

Her entire body stiffened, the realization like a stream of ice-cold water hitting her hard. "Wither and Kuriyuri were going to double-cross Jacques."

She never got the opportunity to use the information, Blake thought, and ended up in the simulation somehow. But the real question is; was the simulation her chosen hiding spot or Jacques chosen prison?

"You did what!?" Jaune and Ruby perfectly matched each other's shrill screech, nearly blasting out Blake's ears from across the table.

"I told Klein and Adam everything." Blake replied bluntly, as if there was nothing that could possibly sound more sensible than that. By her friends' expressions, she could tell they didn't agree. "And from this I managed to get some new information-"

"No, no, no." Ruby's leg might have been feeble, but her arms still maintained the power and energy to furiously wave in front of her to fully express her disagreement. "You can't just drop that on us and move on!"

"Yeah, that's one of the most basic rules of investigating a conspiracy." Jaune extended his hand, tapping his finger tips as he counted down. "You act natural."

Ruby piped up, "Assume any authority figures have been compromised."

Jaune nodded, "Don't talk to whistle blowers beside windows or on sniper-friendly rooftops."

And then the two, with the perfect timing you'd expect from two lovesick dorks, said in unison, "And don't tell the conspirators' underlings that you're investigating them!"

"It's fine, Guys." Blake did not expect to suddenly feel so defensive, holding her hands up in mock surrender as she was verbally and physically flanked from both sides. "I trust them." When she left the SDC building for their weekly diner meet-up/debrief, all she could think about is how they'd react to such a possibly major break through in the investigation. Not only could this entire case be blown wide open with finding whatever data Robyn had, but it was possible that Wither herself was actually the one hiding it; who knows, it could be hidden right under their noses.

It should have been an exciting meeting, some actual progress for all their efforts. But no one was in the mood it seemed, Jaune huddling himself into a corner while picking at his cold fries, Ruby's usual energy exhausted from her long work shifts and Ren… Well, Ren had decided to opt out of the meeting. Still keen on keeping that 'distance'. And god did having a missing member really make the table feel empty and cold.

"We don't." The man looked as if he was about to cough up a hairball with the way his lips stretched out, his skin tone deepened, and his throat contracted. "I've never met them and Ruby's barely met Klein. You were just about ready to shit yourself at the prospect of meeting Adam, how do you know they've not just playing nice for now?"

"At the very least you could have ran it by us first!" While Jaune was grumbling and annoyed, he found himself as caught-off-guard as Blake by how exasperated Ruby managed to sound. Her words accompanied by a small wheeze escaping her sweat-laden throat.

A sigh from Blake beckoned her to rub her temples, grimacing as she looked between the two in front of her. Ren's absence rung louder than ever, she knew he'd at least recognise the importance of what she found; he wouldn't be looking at her like she was crazy. "I think you guys are missing the big picture here. I had a hunch; I took a risk and the risk worked out. We have a solid foothold."

Ruby's jaw stiffened as she stared at Blake, her eyes overshadowed by her tightened eyebrows, leaving her with a dim shadow cast over her usual expressions. All over, it just read as silent disappointment. Her lips quaked, just begging to have a say, but the rest of her decided it wasn't worth it and pulled back, looking away from Blake. "Alright, so what did you find?"

"We already know the SDC was looking for something in Robyn's possession that they thought she might have handed off too… Cardin." Blake paused, briefly looking over at Jaune who didn't dare meet her gaze. Ruby's face broke out into confusion, looking between them as Blake realized Jaune hadn't kept her up-to-date'. "Who is an ex-cop that was acting as her bodyguard in this world." Blake's eyes clamped shut, needing a break from all the awkward looks. "What we didn't know was how important this thing was to the SDC, or even if we cared about them getting it."

"Now, I've found out that it's not only important, but it… Well, it could be something that'll help us take the SDC down. They don't just want it, they're utterly panicking that they don't have it. It's something incriminating, something dangerous." She pulled her hands together, her shoulders loosening, the knowledge itself like a build up of pressure she was finally getting to air out. "Something Wither was going to us against Jacques."

Jaune leaned forward, suddenly revitalized. "Wait, Wither's working against the SDC?"

"At the very least, she's not on Jacques' side. Her and Kuriyuri found Robyn's little data stash and were keeping it for themselves."

"And you were told this by either Jacques' creepy servant or his personal butt wiper?" Ruby neither sounded nor looked half as enthused, leaning back and peering at Blake through narrowed eyes.

"I trust them." Blake caught herself glaring back at Ruby, feeling particularly offended as she added on "And Adam isn't creepy, he's-" She just managed to stop herself from saying 'adorable'. "Polite. And Klein is a sweetheart."

Jaune slid himself close enough to lean between them, breaking their gazes as he cleared his throat. "That means Torchwick and Mercury have been chasing the wrong lead this entire time? They'll be busy trying to look into Robin's people while we get a head start and look into Wither's."

"Exactly." Blake gasped a little too loudly, throwing her hands up and relishing in someone finally giving her the reaction she wanted. Was it too much to ask that Ruby be her energetic perky self and show her some encouragement? What, was work really that bad today? "Wither probably kept it somewhere close, she had to know the risk of us losing our memories when we went into the simulation, so it has to be somewhere an amnesiac could figure out. We just need to figure out what we're looking for and we'll be golden."

Silence passed over them, all three of them, even Ruby, putting on their most strenuous game faces as they pondered the question. Maybe she left it in her office. Maybe in Kuriyuri's home. Maybe it was hidden in one of her belongings from the bag they got from the Merlot Center. What shape would it take? Would they even know what the data or whatever would look like if they found it? So many questions, but ones that didn't seem as steeped in danger or impossible anymore.

The race to a conclusion was ended, along with the silence, by Jaune snapping his fingers. "I've got it! God, why didn't we think of this before?" His face practically beamed as all eyes turned on him, which both Blake and Ruby could agree was a relieving sight after his previous and most prevalent demeanour. "Everything in the simulation that isn't directly related to Salem is based on our experiences, right?"

"As far as we know."

"Then it's obvious, isn't it? If we want to understand what happened with Wither and Jacques, we just have to look at what went down with Jacques in the simulation and frame it from the perspective of Wither's experience with Jacques!"

"Now that's just-" Blake stopped. Ruby stopped. Time seemed to stop. "Son of a Grimm, that might be it." It hit them so blatantly, a little factoid that suddenly seemed so obvious to the three of them. And Jaune was the one to catch it. "Jac… Jac was dealing with worker mistreatment allegations… The White Fang attacking his company."

Ruby tilted her head, tapping the end of her straw against her forehead. "That's technically an important thing, but it wasn't really the 'focus' of our interactions with him, right? It was like… Like… Side content, while we're looking for the main content. Anything to do with Wither's prize would be the main drive, right? The White Fang would be more about Wither's issues with Adam."

"It has to be his plan in Atlas, then." Quiet thumps filled the air as Jaune idly rasped his knuckles against the table, a simple outlet for his sudden newfound energy.

"The election?" Blake tipped her head back, pursing her lips, bouncing the idea back and forth in her head. "He won that."

Jaune let out a small 'aha', wagging his finger. "Until he was revealed to have rigged it with Watts' help."

"So, what, we're looking for an Election Fraud program?" Ruby snorted, the image in her head being an amusing one of Jacques having a computer write over voting ballets with a big red marker. However, the image did touch upon a relevant memory, prompting Ruby to roll her straw down into her pinky where it now slapped her lips. "You did mention that Jacques was complaining about current laws and Ironwood blocking a lot of his company's activities. Getting a council seat would go a long way in getting those laws changed and expanding the SDC's reach."

Blake grinned as the back-and-forth bounced from person to person. There was a new energy in the room, one lively and palpable, driving out the squabbling and doubts and replacing it with a busy beat that kept the gears in their heads turning. The only thing that was missing was Ren's input. It made her feel almost giddy, just to bounce conclusions off of each other. "There's no upcoming elections in Atlas. When I was reading up on Robyn Hill, I found out that all the council seats were filled."

That information resulted in a disappointed groan form Jaune, he thought they were on the right track for sure. "Jacques wouldn't be able to get a seat unless one of the council members died or got kicked out."

Ruby was so deep in thought that she pulled out all the stops, now chewing on her straw. And just like that, it hit her like a flash of lightning. And the taste of milk shake remains still splattering the tip. "Wait! What did he give Watts in return for helping him?"

Both Jaune and Blake found themselves unable to answer for a moment, softly blowing their incomplete thoughts out of their lips like air. The whole election debacle had ended on such a hectic night. There was Jacques's arrest, the Grimm attack, the city's vital heating grid going down- Ah, Blake realized, that's it. "…Atlas' Security Codes." She perched her chin between her thumb and forefinger, clasping it as if the tightness would keep the blood flowing to her brain. "Watts got direct access to all of Atlas' defences, power plants, the heating; everything."

Jaune gaped at the implication, eyes slowly widening. "You don't think what Wither actually found was the security codes, do you?"

Blake, assuming a pose Ruby didn't recognise but knew she probably took from a detective movie, leaned back, tapping a confident finger against her forehead, a satisfied smile spread across her face. "With those, Jac could cause some serious damage. Sabotage rivals, make the governing bodies look like fools, induce paranoia; perfect stage to get Council members thrown out and a convenient substitute to step in."

Ruby's face screwed up, just taking a minute to simply process all the information and put it together. She left the straw hanging between her teeth, putting her fingertips to the table and 'drawing' an air illustration of a recap in her head. She muttered out loud, "So, Whitley found the codes, tried to give them to Robyn, Wither intercepts or already got them for her own ends. Whitley gets sold up river, they're convinced Robyn knows where they are and Wither goes on vacation while she plans what to do with her new game changer."

"Larry has Torchwick's ear and trust, Wither gets him to clean up the trail, mislead Torchwick and keep her updated on the criminal underbelly's side of the investigation. And Audrey gets involved somehow." Jaune stared down at his hands, a single finger from each hand wiggling about, somehow the simple sporadic movement kept his brain focused. "Damn, you weren't kidding. This really was a breakthrough session."

Ruby returned to her cup, frowning as she realized it was now dryer than a dessert. Seeing her distress, Jaune shot her a supportive smile. "I think this calls for another round of drinks!"

Her face lit up and it still made his heart melt. "Thanks Jaune, you're the best!"

'What can I say? I always know what my girl needs.' Was what he wanted to say, but not only was that line too crummy, even for him, he simply couldn't muster more than a squeak accompanied by a blush as he stumbled up from his chair and back up to the counter.

Blake sighed as they watched after him. "You two are like human whiplash. One moment you'll be moping-" She snapped her fingers. "and then like that, you're all lovey-dovey and sunshine again. I'm really starting to think it's a literal switch on your back or something."

She expected Ruby to bite back with denial or devolve into blushes and stutters. Ruby didn't reply, Blake caught her gaze for a moment, one dim and distant, before Ruby turned away from Blake and attended to her abandoned meal. It didn't take long, watching as Ruby aggressively and loudly devoured her burger like she had a vendetta against it, to realize Ruby was actively ignoring her.

The energy was gone, the room cold once more and Ruby was stuck trying to stop her returning tension from showing.

"Ruby, what is it?" Blake called out, worry shaking her tone. A quiet Ruby Rose was never a good sign. "Talk to me."

"You know what it's about, Blake." Ruby huffed, chewing thoughtfully on her food. "There's no point talking about it."

Blake narrowed her eyes "Is this still about me telling Adam and Klein? Can't you let it go? It wasn't the best decision, but it worked out in the end." The pleading was followed by another long quiet filled with the sounds of gnashing teeth. "Look, I promise to ask you first next time."

Ruby's eyes were cast downward, her voice quiet and rough. "You said that last time."

"Last time?"

The girl took a sharp intake of breath, steadying herself at the audacity of the question, that emotion, that tension finally bubbling into view. "Back in Atlas, just after the election. You know, when you and Yang decided to go behind my back and give the top-secret information Ironwood trusted us with to one of his biggest enemies?" Her eyes gazed at Blake through fire, a pent-up frustration pushing her hand to smack down on the table. "The thing I only found out when Ironwood was chewing me out for it because 'we' breached his trust. The thing that almost destroyed our entire relationship with Ironwood." She pointed at Blake, a sarcastic drawl following. "Does that ring any bells?"

If Blake's jaw dropped any lower, it would never come back up. Her eyes threatened to bulge out of their sockets, offense and subtle shame swelling so much and so fast in that instant that it threatened to make her pop right there. "Robyn Hill was on our side."

Ruby's hand shook, as if it were itching to make a grand gesture but held back by the rest of her body. "We didn't know that back then. She could have been a Salem Agent for all we knew."

Blake scoffed, pushing herself up off the table to stare down at Ruby. "That's ridiculous! She was the hero of Mantel."

Ruby rolled her eyes. Ruby may not be the most well versed in political groups, but her dad and Uncle Qrow set her straight on how to treat politicians as a whole. "She was a politician with a good campaign slogan."

"Every leader has their own agenda," Qrow would say over his fifth bottle, "you're just hoping to back the one who'll benefit from help yours."

Instead of rising or sinking to match Blake's new height, Ruby merely threw her legs over Jaune's chair, propping herself up against the window. "All we ever saw her do was ambush Ironwood's supply lines, pat herself on the back and belittle us just for being there. The only thing about her that wasn't sketchy was that Weiss's dad was so much worse in every way."

Blake sighed. She didn't want to fight, not now, not ever, she needed to try and diffuse this. "Okay, okay, maybe it was a mistake. I'm sorry."

"It's not about whether or not it was smart or if it turned out well. You didn't just violate Ironwood's trust, you violated mine too. And when the consequences came, I had to take responsibility for your decisions because I'm the leader." Ruby pulled her knees up to her chest, strain evident on her face as she tried to find the right words. "We're supposed to be a team, we're supposed to be considering each other every step of the way. How can we trust each other if we keep going behind each other's backs?" Her lips formed a tight line, watery eyes looking over at Blake. "Don't you trust me?"

"Of course, I trust you." Blake sat back down, reaching over to grab Ruby's hand. It would have been a comforting gesture if it was for the aggressive and frustrated energy to her movements and voice. "It's just… This is important."

"But not important enough to wait for a second opinion?"

"Why wait?" Blake's frown deepened as she took in Ruby's expression, the girl not looking the least bit impressed with that answer. "The faster we get this done, the faster we take the SDC down, the faster everything gets better… The faster we get better." She just didn't understand what Ruby was missing. Breaking open this case as fast as possible, through any means necessary, was a net positive. When this ordeal was done with, they could move on, they could leave this behind, Blake could be Blake and never think about Wither again. That's when they'll heal. God, Blake didn't want to come off as mean, but Ruby's questions were really getting on her nerves.

Another breath before Ruby's strained void continued "You know I want to help you."

"And if you could, things would be different." The words shot out with expert precision, as if Blake had put them in the chamber long ago and had been waiting to fire since the conversation started.

They hit hard judging by how Ruby's eyes widened and how horrible Blake felt. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Stubbornly, Blake's exterior stayed the course while her insides screamed at her to stop. "Look, let's be honest here Ruby, and don't get it twisted, this is nothing to be ashamed about."

"Blake-"

Honestly, Blake could not quite parse what came over her. There was just a sudden sentiment repeating in her head, a need to make Ruby understand, a defensive front to throw away any talking point Ruby made. She just had to win the argument, get Ruby off her back, no matter what it cost. Then things would be better. Somehow.

"You're not exactly in the best position to contribute much to the investigation. You don't have any of our connections, you're not… Fit to take into any dangerous encounters, you're not social enough to effectively interview anyone and you have no time to actually help because you're now stuck at that crappy retail job."

Ruby was speechless.

Blake wasn't being rude, she was just telling Ruby what she needed to know.

Ruby couldn't stop the tears from welling up in her eyes.

Blake had made so much progress, done so much good, and Ruby was just going to ignore that so she could throw that old incident in her face.

Ruby silently removed herself from the table, keeping her head down just so no one caught a glimpse of the tears streaming down her cheeks.

Really, when you think about it, Ruby was being the unreasonable and rude one.

Ruby pushed through the door and disappeared into the night.

Adam was supportive. Klein was supportive. Why couldn't Ruby be supportive, like them? Why did she have to make this all complicated and needlessly pessimistic?

"What the hell has gotten into you!?" Her eyes lazily turned to the side, finding Jaune standing agape in front of the table, milkshakes in hand; Ruby hadn't even noticed him during her escape. "How could you say that to Ruby?"

"Oh, come on, I just said-"

"That she's practically worthless to you because she's not important and has a dodgy leg, that the gist of it?" Jaune stared her down, disheartened and livid, fighting between his instinct to chew Blake out and to chase after Ruby.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." Blake spoke forcefully, meeting Jaune's gaze with her own, steeled with a ruthless need to 'win' the argument. "I just want to get this over with as fast as possible, there's nothing wrong with that." She cast her hand out, uncoiling her fingers to gesture towards him. "You should understand me better than anyone. You said it yourself, we… We can't walk away from what we've done in the past until we've confronted it and made things better."

Jaune's lips parted, a soft 'ah' announcing his realization. "Is that what's causing this? Guilt? Adam revealed Wither's sin, huh? And now you feel you have to keep pushing ahead until it stops hurting."

Blake's fingers curled back into a tightly wound fist. "Don't."

"This is ridiculous." Jaune turned around, shaking his head. "Whatever Adam told you, it's none of my business, I know, but it can't justify this, right? You know Ruby's struggling with her situation as much as all of us." He swung back around, reaching out a hand for Blake. "The Blake I know would be appalled to ever see Ruby like that, let alone be the one to cause it. Keeping secrets, going off on your own without telling anyone, lashing out at us like this; what good is it gonna do? We already lost teammates, families and friends when we came here, we can't lose each other too."

"Did you tell Ruby about Cardin yet?" Blake regretted it as soon as she said it, her feelings perfectly reflected in how Jaune stiffened with that horrified, truly hurt look in his wide eyes. But she didn't stop. "Didn't think so. By this point, I'm not really surprised by your hypocrisy."

Jaune squeezed his eyes shut. "I know you don't mean that. I know you're just out of sorts. Blake isn't capable of being that cruel."

Blake shook her head. "I'm heading back to the tower; I'll try to update Ren on all of this."

Seconds stretched to minutes in silence. Not a tense silence, just an empty one, where neither of them could do anything other than lament it all.

"Jaune?"

He sighed. "It's like the ship is sinking, we've jumped on the only lifeboat left… And all we can do is keep pushing each other overboard." He turned to walk away, leaving Blake feeling the emptiness creep in further. "I can't keep losing you guys. Please, Blake, we can't let this group fall apart."

She remained in place long after he left, an internal battle raging like an inferno in her heart, ripping her struggles apart, burning her rational thought, leaving nothing but a barren, hollow bitterness in it's wake. She wasn't there to argue, she just wanted her friends to support her, to cheer on her accomplishments to help however they could. How come Adam and Klein, people Wither had treated so lowly, accommodated her so much more than her own friends?

It was their fault. For sure it was their fault. She was blameless here, she was just doing her best, the voice inside told her, they were just getting in her way because they couldn't understand her predicament. She… She…

There was no reason for her to feel like such an asshole.

This is another chapter being split into two, so the other 'half' should be up in a day or two.

No real changes to the plot plan this time except Ren not being present as, originally, Cardin's death played out a little differently and Ren wouldn't have been trying to distance himself from Jaune.

One thing I'm gonna be honest about it that I found it surprisingly difficult to write inter-group conflict, because in the show when it comes to the main characters, they don't really 'fight' in that way. Like, they'll trade some disagreements and maybe cast some blame on one another, but nothing that really sticks.

So, I have this point where I want some nasty, regretful words/sentiments to be traded, things that legit get under the characters' skins, not just because of the words, but because they're comming from their friends. But since the characters don't usually fight that much, despite having been through a lot of shit in the show already, there's a lot standing in the way of getting them to have these exchanges without feeling forced. Ren and Jaune's issues at least had the catalyst of a good old fashioned murder at the forefront (though, as we'll explore in Ren's segment next, that's not all that's bothering him), while getting Blake to directly further Ruby's insecurities and come off as almost cold doesn't have as obvious a route.

The jumping off point I used for Blake is that, throughout the show, she could easily get wrapped up in her own stuff, like very laser-focused 'nothing else exists' kind of wrapped up. And I don't think she ever stopped doing that, it's just that what she was wrapped up in was either already in the group's way or rushing to get in the group's way. I thought I could use that here as Blake (and to a lesser degree Ren) is now laser focused on seperating herself from Wither's identity, nothing else matters until she wraps the SDC buissness up and she can make up for all the havoc they've wreaked. Adam and Klein are very supportive of that, blindly and almost to an idealised degree. Ruby and Jaune are also supportive, but they actually want to stop, breathe and maybe ask more questions that, in Blake's world, is only complciating everything and stopping them from reaching her goal.

The more they keep 'ignoring' (in her view) the obvious good they should be focusing on, and even worst, not entirely giving her the support Adam and Klein were giving her, the more she starts seeing them as obsticles and just wants to shut them down. She snaps at them, defending herself in a way she'd probably witnessed the more extreme White Fang members defended themselves from such questions; questioning their legitimacy to ask questions at all.