Setting: Frozen Wilderness

The land of Atlas was famously known as a barren tundra with endless snow and freezing winds that howled loudly. It was extremely different from Vacou, a quiet, scorching desert. The two kingdoms were natural opposites and it was very apparent to the five-man team trying to weather the arctic wasteland. The members of Team VRSZ along with Lily and Azura were trudging through the snow to their destination, the closest settlement to the port town called Zorin. Silver said he heard of this settlement when he used to live in Atlas. Zorin was a settlement that used to be where most of the kingdom's weapons were manufactured and refined, but that changed when the kingdom began to advance and provide its own weapons. Now the settlement had been forgotten, left to do whatever it could to survive, such was the fate of many settlements in Solitas.

Each member of the team had winter clothing to keep themselves warm, but it didn't make it any less difficult. A strong gust of wind was blowing in the direction they were walking and it wasn't a pleasant feeling. Everyone was doing their best to guard their faces and keep their bearings as they pressed forward. Though some were doing better than others.

"THIS SUUUUUCCCKKKKSSS!" Azura yelled loudly so the others could hear her. It was more difficult for her and Silver because they carried bags full of supplies for the trip.

The team trekked through the frosty plains in a straight line with Zelts taking the lead, Silver behind him, then Lily, Remus, and Azura. It was the best method to keep track of each other and keep and eye on their surroundings.

"Yes! It does!" Zelts shouted from the front, "But we knew that when we started! This was never going to be easy, but it was the best plan we had to avoid being found by the Atlesian Military!"

"Yeah, but the way to Zorin looked a lot shorter on the map… and easier," Silver commented.

"Maps don't do Atlas justice! All we have to do is weather this storm if we want to make it," Lily told everyone.

"Exactly, so let's keep going! We won't reach Violet if we keep complaining about the cold!" Remus stated to the others with some force in his voice. He really wanted to find Violet.

Zelts turned around to face his friend then said, "We will, Remus, but let's focus on the objective right in-"

Zelts stopped talking when he sensed the presence of something sinister behind him. The others looked up with surprise when they saw the figure of a large Grimm in front of him. The Grimm was a Beringel, and a very large one at that. It doubled Zelts in height and looked very different from the usual species. The large ape-like Grimm was covered in much more bone plating than the usual kind, wearing it like full body armor. Zelts didn't get a good look at the Grimm because when he tried to turn around to see it, the Beringel backhanded him, knocking him away and he landed in the snow.

The others scrambled to attack the monster while Zelts got his bearings. The first to strike was Remus. He ran past the others and leaped for the large Grimm. It tried to punch him, but Remus moved his body in a circular motion allowing him to narrowly dodge the Grimm's punch and massive arm as he made his way to its head. Remus already had Romulus split into dual swords and he slashed at the Beringel's throat, but bone plated armor was very durable. Romulus was only able to cut into it, but not through it. Silver fired rounds of fire dust bullets at the monster which served as a good way to harm it, but it didn't dissuade the Beringel from attacking Remus. Immediately after Remus failed to behead the Grimm, it twisted its body around to backhand Remus while he was still airborne. Normally, Remus would be able to easily dodge this, but the arm came from his blindside. Remus was struck in his right shoulder and knocked into the snow. Knowing he could've dodged such an attack if he had his other eye left Remus feeling frustrated.

The Beringel raised both its arms up, getting ready to crush Remus where he laid, but Azura intercepted by dashing forward and stood before Remus and below the monster that planned to kill him. Tigress used this time to separate the sections of her segmented spear and plant them in the ground while Silver jumped high in the air and Zelts ran towards the battle. The Beringel was about to pulverize the two Cobalts until Azura struck it using the fire dust in her wrists. She used them to conjure a fireball in her hand and hurled it at one of the only weak spots this armored Grimm had, the eyes. The Grimm's left eye was set ablaze and the Beringel howled in pain, stopping its attack to try to put out the flame in its face. Azura picked Remus up and got out of range from the battle. Tigress set each section of her weapon into the snow while facing the frantic Beringel. When Azura got Remus and herself out of the way, the Beringel roared in pain, too distracted by its burning eye to notice the two-sided attack coming his way.

Zelts sprinted to the Grimm and Silver fell from the sky, both aiming to strike the Beringel with all they've got. Silver had Fenrir as escrima staffs and slammed them down hard on the back of the beast's neck, forcing it to fall to one knee. Zelts reeled his wingblade back and swung it against the Grimm's chest and chin, forcing it back on its feet with its head jolted upward. Silver used Gravity to remain on the Beringel's shoulder and fired several rounds of bullets with ice dust at the back of the neck and down the back which froze over and caused the Grimm to slow in its movements. He and Zelts backed away from the Grimm so Tigress could deliver the final blow. Tigress had the sections of Flying Eagle sticking up from the ground and aimed at the Beringel except for the spearhead in her hand. She pressed down on the middle of the spearhead to activate the fire dust in each section. The five sections fired small bursts of fire dust like cannon fire, blasting the Beringel in the back five times. Its armor may be durable, but Silver using ice to freeze it over made it more fragile. The first two cannon blasts were able to penetrate through the ice and armor and the remaining exploded against the Grimm's exposed backside. Those three shots were enough to kill the Beringel as it fell to the ground and disintegrated into black smoke.

"Glad that's over with," Zelts said while putting his wingblades behind his back. "Everyone alright?"

"I'm good," Silver said while waving his hand.

"Same," Azura said before getting up.

"…" Remus was silent as he sat up in the snow.

"Remus, are you hurt?" Lily asked him.

"…I'm fine," he said but it was partially true.

Remus was fine physically, but his pride was hurt. During that short bout, Remus was useless and a liability, having to be rescued by Azura while everyone else finished the job. Remus was grateful for his relative's concern, but it made Remus feel more like a burden to the team. He didn't want to let the others know so he kept it to himself, but that would prove to be a poor move for both himself and for the team.

The team continued going northeast, the direction where Zorin was supposed to be located, but they ran into some problems. Atlas was known for its harsh environment that was dangerous for anyone, including people and Grimm, but Grimm have been gradually adapting to the cold. That subspecies of Beringel was proof of that. Despite their adaptations, they were few in numbers in Atlas compared to the other continents, but that didn't help the team. Remus's frustrations were kept in his head, however the negative emotions he faintly emitted were drawing Grimm to their location.

Every now and then, small groups of Beowolves would come and attack them. They were easy to dispatch, though Zelts, Lily, and Azura noticed Remus fighting extremely hard during these skirmishes. His aggression to prove he wasn't a burden may have been helpful with eliminating the stray Grimm that came their way, but it was doing more harm than good. The battles did nothing to quell his feelings and the anger he expressed in battle only attracted more Grimm, creating a cycle of conflict. Additionally, Remus was going all-out on small time Grimm, burning excess energy and tiring himself out quickly which was dangerous since they're in a frozen wasteland with no civilization for miles. His recklessness was endangering his life.

Everyone continued with their journey which lasted a whole day. The sun was beginning to set and Zelts didn't want them to continue in the dark. It would be a dangerous choice to keep going, so he informed the team of what to do next.

"It's getting dark. We should stop and try to find a place to rest," Zelts said in a straightforward tone.

"Alright, I'll go look for a place to stay," Lily said before running on ahead to find shelter.

Everyone was fine with this plan except for one who voiced his concerns.

"We can't make it to Zorin if we keep going?" Remus asked.

"Not really," Silver added.

"Zorin may be the closest settlement to the port, but it's not like we know the exact distance. Not to mention the Grimm coming around to slow us down didn't help. We need rest more than anything else," Zelts explained.

"Shouldn't we be getting there as fast as possible? The closer we are to Zorin, the closer we are to finding Violet," Remus voiced his concern.

Zelts knew Remus really wanted to find Violet, probably more than anyone else here. He understood Remus's desire, but also knew Remus was being reckless, forgoing his own constitution to save a friend. Zelts never planned on losing one friend to save the other. Luckily Silver included his opinion to persuade the young Cobalt.

"Don't worry about it. Zorin's not going anywhere. And we knew this was trip was probably gonna last more than a day. That's why we bought those supplies back at the port before leaving. Might as well use them, right?" Silver said with his arm around Remus's shoulder.

Remus understood the importance of finding camp, but he figured they could make it to Zorin if they tried. He was about to ask if they could go a little further, but that was stop by Azura. She walked up next to him and Silver with her eyes on Remus.

"You need rest more than any of us, Remus. Don't think I didn't notice you burning yourself out in those fights. If you keep going in your condition, you'll keel over and die. Either from exhaustion or frostbite, but you will certainly die and that's something I- none of us want that to happen to you," Azura said with a caring tone no one expected. Zelts and Silver were honestly flabbergasted but said nothing so her message could get across to their friend.

Remus looked at Azura with his expression changing from stern to still. He looked at all three of them with soft eyes. He let out a sigh and nodded, agreeing with Azura and the others. They needed shelter so they could continue with their venture. Zelts mentally made a promise to himself and to Remus that they would start again at dawn. This change allowed Remus to let go of frustrations and negative emotions, prevent the team from being sought out from any nearby Grimm.

Lily returned from her search to let the team know she found a place they could reside in for the night. She led everyone to the place they could sleep, a deep cavern that could shield them from the winds and help them hide from roaming Grimm. Back in the port settlement, Lily and Silver were tasked with buying supplies for the trip. They packed food, thick blankets, fire wood, and other essentials in the bags they carried for just such an occasion.

Setting: Cavern

Everyone began setting up camp with Azura setting the fire wood in the center then using her fire dust to set it ablaze. Silver and Lily picked out what food everyone could eat. Silver could admit that he missed cooking in their old kitchen where he was the best chef in the house, but those days were gone. He also missed their amazing kitchen and the thought of how it was destroyed made Silver shed a tear which quickly froze into ice before it hit the ground. Lily saw this and thought it was rather comedic. Zelts and Remus set the blankets down around the fire. While they did their work, Zelts noticed a couple of nicks and cracks in the ice cavern. He didn't know what happened, but Zelts guessed that Lily ran into some Grimm and took them down before naming this place their camp. He chuckled to himself at how strong she was.

The resting place was set up. Everyone laid on the ground with their own thick blanket wrapped around them, though they still kept their winter attire on to help beat the cold. Besides the Grimm, it was their most persistent adversary. They all sat as close as they could to the fire in order feel its delightful warmth and eating their food at the same time. The situation may not have been perfect, but it was doable for all of them.

During this endeavor to rescue Violet, it has been an unspoken rule that Zelts was the leader. He was the best fit after Violet and she even named him the team's second-in-command when she was gone. So far, he has done a good job, but he isn't as the same kind of tactician Violet was. Zelts needed someone at his side to cover the parts of being a leader that he may have missed and that someone was Lily. After finishing her meal, Lily did what Zelts should've told the others and started being the lookout at the maw of the cavern. Everyone was going to take shifts throughout the night, giving everyone a fair amount of time to sleep while staying vigilant. The first was Lily then Silver, Remus, Azura, then Zelts. There were no incidents and they all got well deserved sleep.

It was the dawn of a new day, signaling it was time for the team to wake up. Zelts woke up and noticed that someone's arms were wrapped around his waist. He smiled, thinking it was Lily, and turned over to snuggle with her, but when he did he was shocked to see the person spooning him was Silver. Zelts looked on to see that everyone was sleeping together and he had no idea when this started. Silver was spooning Zelts, then Azura was spooning Silver, Remus to Azur, and Lily to Remus. Zelts was surprised but found it rather funny. He chuckled to himself before getting up which caused Silver to wake as well as the others.

"Um," Silver noticed that Azura had her arms around him, "why are you spooning me?" Silver asked.

Azura didn't respond verbally. She was just as shocked as Silver at their situation though she felt more embarrassed and as a result, she used the wind dust in her right wrist to conjure a small orb of compressed wind. She pressed it against Silver's chest and blasted it at him, launching him away and crashing him into a wall. Silver got up unharmed and learned that Azura doesn't like to be embarrassed. Lily got up, leaving Remus to be the last one asleep, still nuzzling with Azura. She looked down at him and scoffed. She didn't want to give him the same treatment she gave Silver because he was family and she was trying to turn a new leaf.

"Wake up, idiot," Azura said, nudging his head until he woke up.

Remus did and Silver complained, "You are so bias! You like him better, don't you?!"

"Obviously," Azura said before getting up.

"That's enough you two. It's time to pack everything up and head to Zorin. If we're lucky, we'll reach it before the end of the day," Zelts told everyone.

The team were packed and ready to continue their journey northwest through the frozen wilderness until they reached Zorin.

Setting: Frozen Wilderness

The team's travel took most of the day once again. The sun was close to setting and they have yet to reach their destination. All they could guess was that they had to be close. Luckily, Grimm weren't a problem because they didn't run into any all day, but the situation was less than ideal thanks to the cold winds that violently blew through the land. They were strong and carried snow and frost, partially blinding the team and they pressed forward. In order to remain on course, Zelts had everyone pull out their scrolls and use the compass app so the team knew which way was northwest. He also told everyone to stay together. Getting lost in this blizzard would be horrifying. This was one of the most perilous things they've ever done. Unknown to everyone present, there was something else in the snowstorm. Something big, dangerous, and had its red eyes on the team.

"IS EVERYONE ALRIGHT?!" Zelts shouted as loud as he could.

"YEAH… I THINK?!" Silver screamed while doing his best to look forward, but the harsh winds forced him to keep his head down.

"How are you holding up, Remus?" Azura asked Remus who followed behind everyone.

"I…can't…see," Remus struggled to say.

He was having the most difficulty walking through the snowstorm. With only one eye, Remus had to keep it open just to see and the bits of frost that bombarded his face made it very hard to do. He had to close his eye most of the time, forcing him to walk blind.

"Hang on," Lily told him as she walked over to stand next to him. "Give me your hand. I'll help you through this."

Lily held Remus's hand and guided him through the blizzard. He was glad, but the feeling of being a burden resurfaced once again. The situation was bad, but Zelts wondered if there was a way to make it better. One idea came to mind.

"Azura! Can you shine a light for us?" he asked.

Azura removed her gloves so she could use her dust circlets without burning her clothes. She activated the fire dust to spawn fire on her hands. It served as a light to brighten the area as the sun set and the sky darkened, and it also seemed like they weren't going to find a safe haven this time. With the light from the fire, the team moved in to regroup at Azura's position. As everyone got together, Azura noticed something none of them noticed before; a large shadowy figure with red eyes lurking about in the blizzard. The light from her flames helped her see it and she responded aggressively.

Azura hurled a fireball at the figure which swiftly moved away. Unfortunately, Silver and Zelts were in the line of fire and the two ducked into the snow to avoid getting burned by the flaming projectile.

"Dammit! Why do you hate me, woman?!" Silver shouted in anger.

"I wasn't aiming for you! There's something here! Something big and it's following us!" Azura alerted.

None of them hesitated or doubted Azura's words. They immediately regrouped to Azura and stood back to back, ready to face whatever was lurking in the snow. The first to get a glimpse of the large shadow was Lily. She kept her eyes on it as it circles around them like a predator playing with its food. She alerted the others to the thing's position and a foolhardy move was initiated. When he had a lock on where the thing was, Remus activated the energy in Romulus, used Checkpoint to teleport above the target, then landed on top of it, impaling it with one of blades of doubled-bladed staff. Now that he stood on top of his enemy, Remus got a good look at the Grimm he was attacking and realized it was much bigger than he expected.

The Grimm was massive, even bigger than the Beringel they faced yesterday. It stood over forty feet tall and looked like some kind of subspecies of Beowolf. The appearance was that of a giant Beowolf with some varying differences. The bone plating on its torso stuck out like ribs, it's hands and feet were completely covered in bone plates including the head which looked like a massive canine skull with a few blood red eyes. The arms were long and lanky, giving the Grimm a very long reach, longer legs, and its tail was much shorter than an average Beowolf. Besides its appearance, the Grimm looked dangerous and feral, ready to fight anything or anyone in its path.

And if what people said about a Grimm's size was true, then this one has been around for a long time, learning from its experiences in its lifespan.


The Beringel subspecies is based on the abominable snowman. With the setting of this volume being Atlas, I thought it was best to use ice and winter themed Grimm that have adapted to the environment.

Zorin is derived from Solingen, a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is also known as the City of Blades because it has been renowned for the manufacturing of swords, knives, and other blades. It's where I got the idea to make Zorin an old weapon-smith settlement.

Azura has a soft side for Remus because he is a relative and he has been nice to her. She has a good relationship with Zelts and Lily because they are nice as well, and her relationship with Silver is getting better, gradually.