Frost knew the moment he opened his eyes that he was no longer the one in control. His head turned, unbidden to his own thoughts or desires, as it watched one of his restrained hands clench and unclench in an almost experimental fashion. Then he turned to watch as his other hand did the same. As his vision returned to looking directly ahead of him, he could see the pleased expression on Dr. Asrani's face. From the moment he had heard the man utter his own name, Frost had wanted, more than anything, to make some sort of derogatory joke at the man's expense given the circumstances. Unfortunately, those very same circumstances had been what had prevented him from doing just that. It was likely for the best, as who knows what kind of tortures Frost might have been subjected to before the supposed experiment was completed.

And there it was; the first sign that his will had begun to break. Even in the face of danger, he had always liked to at least TRY to make some sort of crappy joke to try and lighten the atmosphere before getting into trouble. This monster inside of him really had done exactly as it wanted in demoralizing him and turning him into a husk of his former self. He only prayed that Neo and the others wouldn't see him like this.

That thought alone brought along a new rush of guilt and heartache as he recalled the last moments he had with the people he called friends and allies. The gentleness of Neo's kiss as she pulled him back from the brink of destruction only to be snatched away at the last instance by the Nevermore that had deposited him into Asrani's clutches. The sudden surge of hope he'd felt when he saw that she was still alive not long after he saw, and felt, the life drain out of her due to Adam Taurus. Normally thinking about the man caused him to feel nothing but rage at the thoughts of what he had done, both as the leader of the White Fang that attacked Vale and for what he had done to Neo. But at this moment, he couldn't feel like he even COULD feel hatred anymore. It was likely another side effect of the Grimm now controlling his body. It had already stripped him of his anger and rage, and was using the vestiges that remained of him to slowly drain him of all the hope and joy he had left by submitting him to despair by forcing him to watch as his own body did things against his wishes.

He could tell by the way that his mouth was moving as well as seeing the Doctor's mouth move as well that the two were likely having a conversation involving the transfer of control. But he barely cared to properly tune into it as the man reached over to flip a switch on the nearby console, releasing Frost's body from its prison as the creature inside him massage its new wrists from the uncomfortable pinching that the harness had done over time. Being suspended almost continuously for nearly an entire week was bound to be uncomfortable for anyone, after all.

As Frost felt his feet calmly carry his body out of the holding chamber, he had his doubts that in the moment to come he would even have a chance to try and break free of the control now exerted over himself. He knew that the moment he tried to do something the Grimm would realize it and try to counteract him.

And so, he waited. And hoped with what little strength he had left.

Tensions were high for nearly all of those on board as they waited for the airship to reach their next destination. They knew where they were going following Ozpin inputting the directions into the auto-navigation system built into the ships controls, but that wouldn't speed up the fact that it would take time to arrive. And so it was, that everyone prepared in their own way for what was likely to be another high stakes battle, much like Vale or the fight they had just left behind in the now ruined Atlesian village.

"Do you think they'll be alright?" Ruby's gentle voice asked aloud to no one in particular.

"Who, the villagers?" Yang turned to face her younger sister with a confused look to which the redhead responded and Yang's face took on a more saddened look. "I'm…not sure. I hope they will."

"There's no telling what kind of procedure might be necessary to extract the Grimm from their bodies. It's impossible to tell whether or not the creatures are even able to be removed in the first place." Ozpin spoke from the front end of the ship. A gentle smile came upon his face as he looked at Ruby before continuing. "Rest assured, Miss Rose, that the scientists at Atlas will not rest until they can discern whether or not such a task will be able to be accomplished."

"But what if they can't be removed?" Ruby's look of genuine worry continued as she asked the former headmaster another question that was on many of their minds. "What happens then?"

"…You've all seen it first-hand already, but not everything has a fairy tale ending. Sometimes good people pass as we strive for a better future. I wish that weren't the case, but it is a sad fact of life."

"Yeah, well, life can go jump off a cliff for all I care." A few heads turned with looks of surprise to face Emerald as she finished speaking with venom lacing her voice. "I grew up on the streets and had to steal to be able to feed myself for a long time. I don't even remember my parents; I was alone for that long. Then I got roped up with Cinder and all of that crap before realizing just how bad things had gotten. If that's how life is, then I choose to ignore it and do my own thing. I'm not going to bend over and let life beat me up just because it says that's necessary."

"…I see that the time you've spent with your friends has taught you a valuable lesson, Emerald." Ozpin stated after regarding the girl for a few moments with an appraising smile. "After all, just because I said that life sometimes takes good things from us doesn't mean we should lie down and accept that fact. Even people such as those we presently face have chosen to defy life in favour of their own plans. It is simply a matter of what side you choose to be on that determines how things end for each of us. Regardless, those of you sitting here today are part of those that choose to defy fate and carve a path of their own for others to follow. You have each shown an immense amount of courage and mental fortitude for ones so young despite everything you have been forced to face." Ozpin's eyes began to scan the room as he regarded each person there. "Loved ones lost. Home's destroyed. Live's thrown into turmoil, each of you has forced your way through the struggles and become a better for it. That is what it means to be Huntsman. Even without finishing your proper studies all of you are, in your own ways, one step closer to being the protectors of humans and Faunus alike."

"Oz…we're here." Qrow's voice carried from the cockpit as the older man finished speaking to those currently residing in the main hold of the airship.

A sigh left Ozpin's mouth as he nodded in understanding. "Though there is still one last thing I must ask of all of you before we get ourselves into another battle." His eyes filled with a steely look as his voice took on a more authoritative stance. "You won't just be forced to fight Grimm once we enter this facility. There will likely be people altered by the Grimm much like those we encountered in the village. To what extent the control has manifested will vary from person to person, but even should some attempt to run they are all to be considered our enemies." He raised a hand in protest to silence the multiple voices that were about to speak. "I am not asking you to kill everyone inside the facility. But should the need arise, you must be willing to do whatever it takes to stop those inside from getting out. We cannot afford to have even one corrupted individual escape into the outside world. There's no telling what kind of damage they could cause should they be left unchecked and lose control or be able to continue their research and experiments." His head turned to face Neo and Emerald specifically. "That includes Mister Frost."

Emerald stood with her fists clenched, her mouth opening to give a piece of her mind to Ozpin once more, though she was stopped as she felt a sudden grip on her wrist closest to Neo as the girl held tightly onto her with her hair covering her face as she looked slightly down towards the floor.

"We understand. Whatever it takes."

Emerald's face fell as she looked at the girl beside her. "Neo…"

"I'm sorry, I truly am. But it is as I said. Sometimes we lose good people because of the harshness of reality. I wish it were not the case, but sometimes life is still able to take its toll despite our best efforts."

As the airship touched down gently in the middle of a large clearing of trees, everyone started to shuffle off the ship, leaving Emerald and Neo as the last ones aboard as the green-haired girl started walking towards the open hatch. She was stopped by the grip on her wrist not relenting despite the conversation with Ozpin having finished moments ago before they had started to land.

"Neo, you can let go. I won't go after him like a rabid hound."

"That's not why I held you back, Em." Neo's voice was calm as she turned her face up to look at the girl with a determined look in her eyes. "I wasn't lying when I said we'd do whatever it takes."

"You can't be serious! We both know how much he means to you! You honestly expect me to believe you'll be able to kill him if it co-"

"Who said anything about killing him?"

The way she said it froze Emerald on the spot as she began to recognize the mischievous look in Neo's dual-coloured eyes. Then, a smirk came to her own face as she used the smaller girl's grip to pull her up into a standing position next to her.

"Guess some things never change, huh? We're both just terrible at following orders given to us, huh?"

"Only when there's a better way to do things."

"Well then…let's go rescue our third musketeer then."

I know, I know. This chapter doesn't exactly scream action or length, but I figured it better to have them arrive this chapter THEN have them deal with stuff next. That and the fact that I didn't feel as creative when I wrote this chapter, so that's likely part of the reason as well for this one not being as flashy. I can promise this though - there won't be any short exposition chapters like this for the remainder of the story as we are now in the final pass. I'm thankful to everyone that has been with me so far through this journey that I started back in 2015, and I hope you all enjoy the final confrontations as we approach the end. Until the next update, I wish you all well.