Frost silently gazed out the cockpit window as the group flew in the direction of Menagerie. His arms were presently crossed over his chest as he turned back for a moment to look over the rest of the group. His eyes slowly scanned over the group as they all patiently waited for their arrival to Menagerie.

Weiss continued to sit at the helm of the ship, her eyes occasionally flicking over different instruments aboard the ships controls as they kept their course. Qrow was currently lounging in the co-pilots seat next to her with his feet rested on the console, much to Weiss' disdain given the sideways glare she gave anytime her line of sight passed in his general direction. The rest of the group were all in the back of the ship tending to their weapons and gear to make sure everything was up to par for what was likely to be another large-scale battle.

At the thought of weapons, his eyes turned to face one of his hands as he clenched and unclenched it a few times to ease the tension he could feel in his muscles. Frost sometimes wondered if his own body being the only weapon he had was a good thing and remembered the gauntlet infused with Dust that he had used back in Vale. Despite it being lost at some point during the attack on Beacon, he never felt too attached to it due to not having it for long. Maybe one day he would try using something again so that he wouldn't have to rely on his Semblance as much. That thought would have to wait however, as time was not on their side for him to attempt to master a brand new weapon.

His gaze then focused on his faded reflection in the glass rather than the view beyond as he looked at his own face. His eyes were their normal white and blue, however he could still imagine the one eye replaced with black and red as he felt a phantom pain in his hands from the burning sensation of Grimm whenever he had touched them at the village in Atlas. He knew that it had something to do with the Grimm essence in side of him, but the fact that it burned to the touch stilled confused him. Was it because of the human part of him that was still trying to reject the bestial nature of the Grimm, despite it being a slow war of attrition in favour of the Grimm? It made the most sense.

Meanwhile, the others were talking to each other in the rear of the ship to pass the time.

"…And you threw him into a dumpster?" Yang asked with a hint of a smirk on her face as she addressed Emerald.

"More like he fell into it to be honest," Emerald replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "I guess he wanted to get back to his roots or something."

The blonde let out a hearty laugh as closed her eyes with mirth for a brief instant. "Serves him right, I suppose. Keep that up and I think it'll be a hell of a lot easier to trust you. I'd say you're making progress at least."

"Wait, what?" Emerald's face showed clear surprise as she stared back. "It hasn't even been a full day since you wanted to pound me into the ground, how the hell can you even say that?"

"It's probably because you're actually being honest to both others and yourself for once, Emerald." Neo replied as she calmly sat to the side with a smile. "It's a lot easier to believe in someone when it doesn't feel like they're hiding something."

"Maybe…" Emerald turned silent as she looked towards the floor in thought, a small grin forming on her face as Yang and Neo's words sank in.

"…Is there anything I can do to be of assistance, friends?"

"Holy crap!" Yang jumped in her seat as Penny's voice came from one of the other occupied seats of the ship. Neo had been startled as well, however her reaction had been to simply whirl and stare wide-eyed at the android with her weapon slightly drawn before she calmed down with a deep breath.

"Penny, why didn't you say something when we took off in Patch?" The two-toned girl questioned while a hand rested on her chest as he slowly worked to calm her own racing heartbeat.

"It did not seem like the appropriate time given how quiet everyone was being. I thought that you had all needed some time to think before I asked." The red-haired girl stated with clear intent. "But now that people seem less tense I thought it was the best time to ask!"

"Maybe next time you could tap someone on the shoulder or something instead of scaring them half-to-death!" Yang snapped back as she gave the girl a half-hearted glare.

"I will take that into consideration!" The salute Penny gave made everyone deadpan for a moment before the conversation continued.

"Could you try and activate your emergency beacon again like when we were flying to Patch?" Weiss questioned from the front, apparently having been listening in to the exchange of words.

"Who would you like me to reach, Weiss?"

"See if you can reach Ruby again, we need to know where she is once this situation in Menagerie is dealt with so we know where to go next."

"Right away!" Penny's eyes began to whirl and glow like before as a faded view screen appeared on the wall opposite of her, currently filled with static. "Calling friend Ruby!"

Everyone was silent as the sound of static filled the air as they patiently waited for a response from the other side. Their patience was rewarded moments later when the screen began to form a rough shape that seemed to be moving somewhat.

"What is…thing doing now…piece of junk…" A short-tempered voice crackled through as the picture began to form into a more coherent image as Ruby's face came into view.

"Ruby! Stop playing with your scroll again and just hold it steady!" Yang's voice sharply cut out as the picture suddenly stopped moving moments later. All of them were suddenly worried that they had lost the signal so soon after getting through before a high pitched squeal was magnified by the speakers built into Penny's system.

"Yang?! Is that you? How are you calling right now? I thought the CCT in Vale was down!" The energetic scythe-wielder practically squeaked with glee from the other side.

"Your pal Penny is helping with that. Something about the tech she has built into her system or something, I don't know." The older sister responded without flinching from the squeal like everyone else in the cabin had.

Qrow, meanwhile, continued to slouch with his feet aboard the console in the cockpit while Weiss had her head turned slightly to better hear the call.

"Wait, you're with Penny? That means you must be with the others! Wait, is dad okay?" Ruby's voice suddenly filled with worry as she mentioned her father.

Yang bristled somewhat before replying. "Yeah, he's fine. No thanks to you suddenly leaving though. Why would you do that without talking to him? You told me you were planning on leaving, why not him?"

"I…" The younger girl hesitated before responding, her expression strong and determined for those that could see it. "I knew that he would say no, and I couldn't just sit around and do nothing. Not after what happened to Beacon."

"Too much of a team leader to follow orders anymore, huh?" Qrow's voice came from off to the side as he got up from his seat and walked over to be able to see the screen of the conversation. "Getting a bit big for yourself, aren't you squirt? Though I guess it makes up for the height problem."

"I keep telling you, I'm not short for my age! Wait…Uncle Qrow?! You're there too?!"

"Yup, and kiddo, if you're short compared to me, you're short. No question about it."

"But why are all of you together? What's going on?"

"There's been word of trouble in Menagerie involving the White Fang and a bunch of Grimm, so we're going to check it out. Where are you?"

"We're on a boat to Menagerie right now! We saw a White Fang ship fly overhead the last time we talked to everyone and we followed the direction it was going until we reached a boating town on the edge of Anima! We should be there soon, too!"

"No, you're not. Turn around and head back to Mistral right now." Yang reprimanded from her seat as she got up with her fists clenched and a stern look on her face.

"I'm not running away, Yang! Especially now that I know that the faunus are in danger! It's not right!"

"You'll be outnumbered and outmatched against that many opponents with the four of you! How are you supposed to help when you'll likely end up in trouble as well?!" The blonde's eyes went red with rage as smoke seemed to come off of her form due to her Semblance starting to activate once again.

"…I don't care. We'll see you when you get here." Ruby's tone was like stone after glaring back at her sister for a few moments before she responded. The call then immediately shut off once she was done, however Yang wasn't finished by the look of things.

"Don't you dare hang up on me, young lady! Ruby! Ruby, get back on this call!" Her voice increased in volume as Weiss sighed and flipped a switch on the control board. A whirring sound filled the air briefly as the hatch for the ship opened and exposed the open air to them, the sound of rushing wind filling all of their ears.

Yang, meanwhile, immediately stepped over to the open hatchway and began pumping her fists back and forth as shots fired from Ember Celica and her robotic arm while she yelled out of frustration. This went over for a brief space of time before she stopped firing shots and simply took deep breaths while she glared out into the open air. Shortly after the shots were done firing, Weiss waited for a few seconds before returning the hatch to its original position while the others gave Yang slightly hesitant looks save for Qrow.

"You good?" Her uncle asked without an ounce of concern in his voice as he stood with his arms crossed from behind the blonde.

"Yeah…I'll be fine." Yang replied back with a slight strain to her voice.

"This isn't just about her, is it?" He asked as he stepped forward to rest a hand on her shoulder. His expression softened as he did so, something that went unnoticed by the others as his back was facing them as well. "…How long has this been bottled up?"

"…Ever since Beacon fell."

A few sets of eyes widened at that admission as Yang's shoulders slumped and she slowly moved over to take a seat once again. Frost, Neo, and Penny all immediately moved to start talking to or comforting Yang, with Emerald joining after a slight pause to make sure the blonde was alright. Qrow returned to his seat in the front after seeing that Yang would be aright given those that showed to care about her well-being. His feet returned to the top of the console, his eyes turning to face Weiss who seemed uncaring about him doing so for once.

"What? Not going to try and tell me to put my feet down again? Or just given up trying?"

The white-haired girl was silent as Qrow waited for a response, his shoulders shrugging with indifference as he turned to face forward again.

It was a while later that the white-haired girl finally answered the older man's question.

"…You're not as uncaring as I was informed."

Qrow coughed a few times to clear the liquid that had accidentally run down the wrong pipe before turning to give Weiss a questioning look before scoffing and facing forward.

"And who told you that, your sister?"

"Yes, actually. When you came up as we talked about what had happened in Vale, she commented on your lack of care for procedure and your lack of decorum, such as your tattered cape and your…drinking problem."

"Yeah, well, you can't please everyone so why bother trying." The man huffed back as he smirked to himself while continuing to look ahead.

"Except you do actually care. And it shows especially when you talk to someone like Yang or Ruby or even their father. You may be dismissive, but you at least let people say their piece before letting your judgment fall. And if they actually show something promising, you let them know in your own way."

"…Well someone's perceptive. How long did that take you to figure out?"

"…Longer than I would have liked."

The older man laughed heartily from his seat, much to the confusion of those in the back as they all looked over for a moment before shaking it off as Qrow being himself and returning to talking amongst themselves.

"That must have been hard to admit given how prim and proper your family seems to be."

Weiss was silent this time as his words sank in. Her thoughts turned back to Winter and Atlas for a bit as she was reminded in part as to why she had decided to try and break free of her father's control.

"You two are pretty alike, you know that?" The veteran Huntsman's voice interrupted her thoughts as she glanced over, slightly caught off-guard. "Always trying to follow the rules and do things the way they should. But then you realize how ridiculous those rules can be sometimes and you decide to make your own decisions regardless of what the rules around you may dictate."

"How is Winter like that?" The older man deadpanned at her statement before responding.

"Seriously? After what you and her did to get you out of Atlas, you still ask that question?" His hand reached for his flask as he took another deep swig before continuing. "She went against what would have been considered proper protocol to have your father arrested and let you leave Atlas despite what it could have done had her plan not worked. I think, now more than ever, that she's actually starting to understand things better now that she's looking beyond the bubble of Atlas that the two of you have been stuck inside for so long."

"Maybe…" Weiss whispered mostly to herself as she thought once more of her similarities with her sister and of how she had changed since seeing things from a different point of view.

"Hang on, how do you even know about what happened in Atlas?!" Weiss head whirled to face Qrow with a wide-eyed look after realizing what he had said in full.

"…Let's just say that a little birdy told me."

Qrow never said more than that, unfortunately for Weiss despite the pointed stare she gave him for an extended amount of time following his few words. After finally giving up on the hope of getting a clear answer, she turned back to face outside with a huff as a large landmass started to come into view over the horizon. Her eyes widened in shock as details began to come into view about the area ahead of them.

They had arrived at Menagerie…and it looked a lot worse than what the video had shown them.

Thankfully this should be the last bit of exposition for a while, sorry that took a while for those that may have been starting to lose interest. I can promise that from this point things will definitely be picking up once again for our group as they wade into battle once more. I'll see you all again in another couple weeks for the first of the battle on Menagerie. It's gonna be a bit of wild ride.