Blake took a deep inhale of the sea air, letting the familiar scent fill her sinuses. The sound of the small boat cutting through the water was an ever-present hum that acted as a background of white noise to her thoughts, somehow making them come more easily. It was as though having trivial distractions actually helped her to focus on what was truly important and realize just what she needed to do.

In a matter of days, she would be seeing Sun again. In even less time, she would be able to call him and hear his voice. The very thought filled her with a warmth that no sea breeze could ever penetrate.

"Three more days, if even that," Blake said to herself. "Two days to Mistral, and another to Argus… and then we'll finally be back where we need to be."

"Yeah," Neptune agreed from his place sitting in the middle of the deck. The boy had his eyes closed tightly and his back up against a crate. "I just wish Kali could've gotten us a plane again."

"We talked about it," Blake said with a shrug as she turned to face her pale companion and put her back against the railing. "But at this point… it's better to keep a low profile. We don't know where Salem or her agents are, but we do know that they're probably keeping an eye on movement into and out of Mistral. Taking to the air isn't safe anymore. We've got a truck waiting for us at the edge of Anima. Why not go below deck?"

Neptune took a deep breath, trying his best to appreciate the scent of the sea. While it certainly struck him as unfamiliar, he also found it particularly unwelcome. The foreign nature of the aroma was unsettling more than anything and dredged up aquatic horrors within his imagination, no matter how unreasonable they might have been.

"Because… well, we have to cross the ocean to get to Atlas," Neptune explained. "Might as well try to build up a tolerance now, while it's not quite as bad. I mean, the sea out here has to be shallower… right?"

"Does that matter?" Blake asked, her feline ears twitching in the wind.

"Uh… less… giant grimm?" Neptune asked with a nervous grin. He let out a sigh and shook his head as he adjusted his sitting position. "I don't know. Is it a shorter journey, at least?"

"Not really, no," Blake clarified as she walked over and settled in beside Neptune. "The trip from Argus to Atlas is actually less distance. That should be a smoother ride… provided we don't meet resistance."

"And what are the odds we do?" Neptune asked, fearful of the answer.

"I… don't know," Blake admitted. "I'd like to think that they're low, but the way things have been going since Beacon? I'm half expecting Atlas to fire on us. Realistically, though… having Qrow with us and having Sun in Atlas should help our chances."

"Provided they didn't do something insanely stupid to get into Atlas, like stealing a plane or something," Neptune considered. "After all… we did leave Sun in charge."

Blake rolled her eyes. A mischievous grin crept onto her features as several scenarios ran through her mind from the utterly ridiculous to the frighteningly plausible.

"We did. I'm sure he figured it out... somehow. He's good at that. Making solutions out of nothing."

"Yeah, he is," Neptune agreed. "In all seriousness, I've got faith. I'd follow him anywhere."

"You and me both," Blake replied as she watched Qrow slowly come into view while he ascended the staircase from below deck. "Come to join us?"

"Better than twiddling my thumbs down there," Qrow muttered as he reached the top of the steps. "Daisuke's asleep, and I don't usually bother with boats, given the whole bird thing. The only times I have, it was to drink below deck. That's off the table now, so…"

"Understandable," Blake replied as Qrow moved to sit beside her. "I can't imagine it's been easy staying sober all this time, with everything going on…"

"Easy definitely isn't the word I would choose," Qrow agreed. "But it's because of everything going on that I let you convince me to give it up. Seems like our entire little crew here is in the middle of making some big personal changes out of necessity. We needed this little trip… and it's feeling more and more like we're all exactly where we need to be for this to all go off without a hitch."

"Please don't jinx it," Neptune warned. "Things have been going smooth… ish… but I don't want to tempt fate. Do you actually have a plan to get us to Atlas? Will calling Ironwood be enough?"

"It might be," Qrow considered. "And I do. Argus is overseen by an absolute shrew of a woman, Caroline Cordovin. I've had the displeasure of working with her once or twice, and I know what buttons to push and which parts of her ego to stroke to let us pass, if we need to go that route. She's our backup plan if we can't get a signal through."

"It's good that we have options," Blake nodded. "Still, our best case scenario of making a simple call should work…"

"The best case scenario would actually be Raven, Ruby, and her crew stepping through a portal right about…" Qrow began, holding out a hand. The man snapped his fingers dramatically, resulting in a harsh sound. "Now."

Nothing happened, and no portal opened. Qrow's efforts were met only with more sounds of shifting water and creaking metal as the boat sailed on.

"I tried."

"Still… it's a second backup plan, and something that may well pull us out of the fire," Blake reminded. "The only disadvantage is that we have absolutely no control over it. If Ruby couldn't find Raven… we may not see her for a very long time."

"I do miss having Sage around," Neptune admitted. "Even when he was being an asshole… he's a good guy. I wish you guys could see more of him when he's not spending every waking moment glaring at Sun."

"We'll find a way," Qrow reassured. "If it comes down to it, once you're all safely in Atlas, I might be able to fly over to Sanus and see what's going on… barring any sort of emergency, of course. I could get there and back in two weeks or so. Probably less."

"That's a call we'll have to make later," Blake deflected. "Let's… consider one thing at a time, right now. First we get to the coast, and then drive to Mistral."

"Step by step is good for me," Neptune replied. "Keep things simple."

"I like simple," Qrow said as he stretched out his legs. "Especially considering things are about to become anything but simple."

Ruby's eyes were getting heavy. The tree line ahead in the darkness all seemed to blur together into a massive glob of indistinct shadowy wood before her. The air was dead and still, and nothing ever seemed to change within her view. What should have been a serene landscape with the peaceful soundtrack of a crackling campfire was instead something disturbing in Ruby's mind. A single thought kept creeping in, no matter how much she wanted to force it away.

The world as it should be.

"Kid?"

Ruby let out a tiny scream before she clamped her hand over her mouth and whirled around. Before her stood Coco Adel like Ruby had never seen her before- the older huntress in training wore a crème-colored spaghetti strap top, boyshorts, and a pair of sandals. What really caught Ruby off guard was what Coco wasn't wearing- her beret and signature sunglasses. Coco's eyes were something that Ruby had seldom seen, and they were usually narrowed or otherwise suspicious when the darkened lenses over them did lower for a few seconds. For once, they were soft and apologetic, making Coco seem like an entirely different person.

"You scared me half to death," Ruby hissed as she tried to regain control of her breathing.

"Sorry," Coco offered as she brought her arms up to cross over her chest. For once, she genuinely sounded as though she meant it. "How's your watch going?"

Ruby looked back over her shoulder toward the forest, half expecting to see a pair of glittering yellow eyes peering back from the darkness. Instead, there was nothing.

"…fine," Ruby said as she turned her attention back to Coco. "Can't sleep?"

"Not really," Coco admitted as she settled down into the grass. "Listen, I wanted to apologize for being a bitch, earlier. Fox was right. You're fine, coping with things however you need to. I've got no right to police how you deal with things or what you say."

"It's no big deal," Ruby reassured as she began to pace. "I haven't exactly been great to my friends lately… or myself. We're all stressed out, barely getting any sleep, and dealing with a lot. It's all good."

"'All good' is a bit of a stretch," Coco considered. "I've got no right to be shitty to you, especially when you're coping better than I am. I've been self-medicating with coffee in ridiculous amounts, which, now that I think about it, might be part of why I can't sleep. I just… need to feel ready."

"What do you mean 'ready'?" Ruby asked. She fought off the urge to check her weapon's chamber, though the itch to do so was becoming overbearing. "Like… full of energy?"

"Yes and no," Coco answered while checking over her nails. "My semblance runs of caffeine. The more I have in my system, the more physically strong I am. Swinging around a minigun all day isn't easy."

"I've always kinda wondered about that," Ruby admitted sheepishly. "But that sounds like it would do a number on your health…"

"It does," Coco confirmed. "And going off it for any length of time makes me irritable. So does being caught up in all of this shit and no longer having a modeling career for a side gig. I just want life to be normal again, or as normal as it can be for a huntress."

"I hear you," Ruby agreed as she finally came to a stop and gave Coco her full attention. "I miss sleeping in, simple hunts… even the more boring classes. I'd give anything to have to sit through another Port lecture right now instead of being on the frontlines against Salem."

Coco took a moment to mull the proposition over before shaking her head.

"…nah. I'd rather be here. Most other professors, though, and I'd make the trade."

Ruby snorted at the thought and rolled her eyes. Suddenly, a snapping twig out in the forest caught her attention and caused her to whirl on the spot while extending Crescent Rose.

"You heard that, right?" Ruby asked in a low voice.

"Yeah," Coco whispered back as she got to her feet. "Give me a second to grab my gun."

Ruby narrowed her eyes as she peered into the darkness. She tried her best to tune out the noise of the rustling tent flaps behind her and picked up on what sounded like a bush being moved aside somewhere ahead and to her right. With careful, silent steps, Ruby began to approach the source of the noise. She stopped after making it just past the tree line and held her breath, listening once again. Another noise came from somewhere on her left.

"Anything?" Coco asked as she returned to the scene, the barrel of her massive gun already rotating slowly with a soft whirr.

"Two things," Ruby whispered back as she began to retreat. "I've got an idea. Back up, and be ready to open fire."

Coco followed Ruby's instructions and watched as the smaller girl moved to stand at her side. Without a word, Ruby took in a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"What are you doing?"

Ruby ignored the question. Something was interrupting the stillness of the forest.

Something that shouldn't be.

Without warning, Ruby opened her eyes. A blinding flash of silver spilled forth, illuminating the space between every tree ahead as though someone had turned on a stadium floodlight. Two figures, one on either side of her, recoiled in the distance, each shielding their eyes with their arms.

"Approach. Slowly," Coco ordered as she stepped forward, the barrel of her minigun beginning to rotate more quickly.

Ruby tried to calm her racing heart as she watched a figure emerge from the forest, only for the organ to miss several beats entirely as a familiar figure was illuminated by the light of the campfire.

"…Dad?"

Author's Note:

More Ruby next week.

-RD