Setting: Snowy Plains
Despite all the dangers the Atlesian terrain had to offer, the landscape was still beautiful. The sun was at the perfect angle for the sunlight to make the snow gleam. It was very serene, showing that even this barren, frozen wasteland had some beauty to it. The stunning landscape was so quiet and peaceful that it could soften even the hardest of hearts, but that changed instantly with the roaring of two engines.
"WWWHHHHOOOOOAAAAA!" Jumping over a snowy hill was a snowmobile with Silver, Remus, and Lily on board.
Silver drove the snowmobile while it has in the air with a giant smile on his face. Remus was enjoying this so much that he jumped off the vehicle when they reached the highest point in the air and did a couple somersaults in the air. Lily was enjoying this as well, but she made sure to hold onto her seat so she wouldn't fall off. She wasn't used to Silver's semblance and it threw her off a little. Silver used Gravity to affect the snowmobile so their hang time was much longer than average, enjoying the thrill of the ride with the others. They landed on the ground and Remus used Checkpoint to teleport from the air back to his seat. He and Silver laughed at their antics while Lily chuckled to herself.
Azura drove the other snowmobile with Zelts. They didn't ride up slopes like the others and kept on the trail to the next settlement. The Cobalt glanced at Zelts and saw that he had a yearning expression on his face. She could tell he wanted to jump a slope just like the others but had to maintain the demeanor of a leader. It was amusing to Azura and she made sure to jump off at least one hill to make him feel better. Not to mention she wanted to jump a hill too.
Zelts was actually impressed with the time they were making. The snowmobiles helped them cover ground much faster than they would on foot. By now, it would've taken them at least a whole day to get this far without the snowmobiles. They should reach the next settlement by nightfall which is perfect for them.
The two vehicles raced on with Zelts and Azura taking point. Azura rode straight to a large plateau. It was uphill, but manageable for them to ride. According to the map, the next settlement should be a straight shot from here and there weren't any natural borders around that could block their path. The team drove up the plateau and it was a smooth ride until Silver noticed something in the distance.
"Is that a person?" he asked Remus and Lily.
Further up the hillside, there was a figure of a person like Silver said and there seemed to be more of them moving around aimlessly. Zelts questioned what to do in this situation if these people needed help because they weren't equipped for doing rescues, but that problem went away when one of the people fired upon him and Azura. The first few shots caught them by surprise then Zelts brought up his shield to block and deflect the rest of the bullets.
The others on Silver's ride saw this happen and Remus used Checkpoint to teleport right into the thick of the crowd and he delivered a hard kick to one of the aggressors in the right leg to force them to buckle, but instead of bending, the knee and leg was kicked off entirely, flying in the air before landing in the snow. Remus was shocked by this, believing he actually killed someone, but that changed when he noticed the people around him and the person falling before him were all machines, Atlesian Knights that seemed very old, damaged, and different from the regular kind of drones Atlas deploys. The drones began to shoot at Remus and he used his semblance again to teleport out of the line of fire and land further down the hillside.
Silver drove past Remus and to the old machines with one of his new and improved guns in one hand while still driving the snowmobile in the other. As the old droids fired at them, Silver fired one shot at one of them and he felt the power behind it. The weaponsmith really made Fenrir much stronger than before. The bullet struck one of the droids and it tore through its chest and back.
"Is it possible for a person to be attracted to an object?" Silver said, impressed with Fenrir's performance.
"Yes. Yes, it is," Tigress answered before removing two sections of Flying Eagle.
She fired two small cannon blasts from the two sections with the one still attached to the main body of Flying Eagle doing more damage thanks to the combined power of each section. The cannon fire hit the area between the droids, creating a small explosion that knocked most of them to the ground and stopping them from firing at them long enough for Azura and Silver to drive closer. They went full throttle to battle the old Atlesian machinery.
Twelve minutes passed after the battle started and the team was successful in their assault. It ended with Tigress removing her Flying Eagle from the corpse of a robot. The battle wasn't very difficult. The Atlesian Knights were large in number but they had no order or any real strategy. They were just randomly attacking the members of VRSZ whenever the opportunity showed itself, leaving them open for any manner of attack that the team capitalized on to their advantage. The battle was over, but it left the team feeling unease.
"Anyone else wanna talk about how easy that was?" Azura said to everyone as she got back on her snowmobile.
"No thanks. The only good robot is a broken one," Remus replied, showing he still had a resentful outlook on robots.
"Don't be like that," Zelts told Remus. "If the knights are here, then someone in charge of them can't be far behind. The next settlement is still a good distance away. We have to be more cautious as we keep going."
"Then we get back on the road. I'm still driving," Silver said, not really caring about the droids and more on having more fun with the snowmobile.
Everyone got back on their vehicles except Lily who spoke with Zelts about their situation. "This could take longer than expected if we run into more of those droids. If it takes all night, then we might run into the Wendigo Grimm again and…"
Lily looked at Remus as he got on the snowmobile with concern. She knew Remus told her he wanted to find Violet more than anything, but a confrontation with the Grimm that bested him could prove dangerous. Zelts noticed this as well and sympathized with her. He understood what could possibly happen if Remus tried to get revenge against the Wendigo.
"We'll make sure that won't happen. Honestly, with this large a landscape, I doubt we'll run into the same Grimm twice, but if we do, then we'll run away instead of fighting, even if it means having to drag Remus away against his will. I don't want us to suffer any more casualties," Zelts explained.
Lily was glad Zelts felt the same way. Neither of them wanted to deal with the Wendigo again or fuel Remus's recklessness. The young Cobalt's demeanor has changed drastically during their time in Atlas. It even showed in their previous battle. Remus was rather ruthless against the droids and he destroyed the majority of them. The thing that caught everyone's attention was that he had something he rarely had in battle: an angry face. He was getting more aggressive and could prove to be a problem.
"Hey! You two lovebirds gonna make out in the snow or what!?" Silver shouted from atop his snowmobile. "We gotta get moving!"
"C'mon!" Remus shouted. "The faster the better!"
Lily and Zelts responded to this and got on their respective vehicles. The team continued their way to the next settlement.
It was just as Lily guessed: there were more Atlesian robots as they kept going. They ran into three more large groups and each battle took too long to finish and, in each fight, the droids were old and seemed close to malfunctioning. During these battles, Remus was growing more frustrated because of the delays the battles were causing and he was getting more merciless in his style of fighting. Even though they were facing lifeless machines, it was still unnerving to see him snap their necks and cut off their limbs before delivering the final blow. Everyone was concerned about Remus except for Azura. She believed his Cobalt nature was finally showing and knew it wasn't a bad thing, yet.
The journey took longer than needed because of these fights. They were supposed to reach their destination before or at nightfall, but the night has already come and they weren't even close. The broken moon shined in the sky and the team was nowhere near their destination yet. Zelts was getting concerned as Azura continued driving the snowmobile. Like he told Lily, the chances they'd encounter the Wendigo Grimm again were very slim, but the chances were still there.
"Guys!" he said as they kept driving. "I know it's already dark out, but we have to keep going. We're so close that I don't think we should stop. You guys can keep going?"
"I don't mind driving this thing all night. It's pretty fun," Silver answered.
"No problem for me," Azura answered.
Setting: Settlement
With the drivers' confirmation, they continued heading in the direction the map showed where the town was located. While they didn't run into any more machines, the rest of the journey lasted for another hour before they reached their destination; a settlement that was much closer to the kingdom than Zorin. It wasn't a 'next door neighbor' kind of close, but closer none the less. The town was similar to Zorin. Most of buildings were made of metal and no civilians were outside at this time of night. It was definitely larger than Zorin and didn't seem to be in a state of poverty. No one was around to talk to meant the team had no idea who to speak to about where they could stay.
With no other options, everyone went door to door to either find an inn or speak to someone who can give them directions to the inn. Zelts knocked and politely asked if anyone was awake though no one answered him. Remus knocked on doors rapidly and received no answers, mostly because he was impatient and quickly ran to the next building before anyone had a decent amount of time to answer. Lily knocked as well and asked for anyone to come to the door. Luckily for her, someone actually did open the door, a kind elderly woman. She asked what Lily wanted but stopped when she looked at the others with worry. Lily looked over to see what concerned the elderly lady and notice Silver and Azura. The gunslinger and the sky-blue warrior were tow peas in a pod. The both of them violently banged on doors and even resorted to kicking when no one immediately answered. Silver even started yelling at the people for not coming to the door and Azura activated the fire dust in her wrists, contemplating whether or not to burn down some of the people's houses.
"Geez, guys," Lily thought then turned back to the elderly woman who quickly closed the door in fear. Lily sighed in exasperation, "Saw that coming,"
This endeavor lasted for several more minutes until Lily found another person to answer the door. She quickly asked the gentleman if there anyplace like an inn in this settlement. She was fortunate enough to get an answer from the kind man. He told her there was an inn and where to locate it. Lily thanked the man and ran to tell the others. With the location of the town's inn, the team drove their snowmobiles to their new destination.
Setting: Inn
The team found the inn the man was speaking of and they were glad to see that it was open. Silver and Azura parked the snowmobiles nearby while the others went inside the inn to book some rooms. The was a receptionist in the lobby and Zelts spoke with her.
"Welcome to Brennen Inn. How may I help you?" the receptionist said with a smile on her face.
"Two rooms, please," Zelts asked politely.
"Sure. Just let me get you guys your room cards," the receptionist said before going to get the cards.
"So, this town is called Brennen," Lily commented. "There's something about this place… I don't know how to put it. It's different, right?"
"Yeah, I felt it too. The moment we got here, this odd sensation in the air," Zelts said.
Remus looked at them confused. "You guys think it's weird? I thought it was because this place is warm."
Zelts and Lily looked at each other in silence then looked at Remus because he was right. It was warm. This was the first time any of them felt this way in a long time without the use of their dust woven winter clothing. Lily took off her jacket and still felt warm. It was unusual for a place in Atlas to feel this way. Zelts wondered what made Brennen so special.
"Is it me, or is this place kind of hot?" Silver said as he and Azura entered the inn.
The receptionist returned with the team's room cards and Zelts had to ask why this place was so warm. "You guys must not be from this part of the continent if you don't know why. Brennen's famous for its warmth because of the massive mounds of fire dust located around the area. We even had small ponds and lakes that serves as hot springs because of this. Thanks to the dust crystals radiating heat, Brennen's not only warm, but is also the number one provider of fire dust to the kingdom of Atlas," the receptionist said, proud of her hometown.
"Sounds like a pretty cool place. Thanks for letting us know," Azura said as she and the others began to walk to their rooms.
"Have a nice night," the receptionist said as they left.
Everyone went to their respective rooms and didn't do anything else except sleep. It has been a very long day for everyone. Zelts and Lily shared a bed in their room, Silver enjoyed sleeping alone in his bed while Azura and Remus shared a bed again. The heat emitted all over Brennen made it a much more comfortable sleep which was silently appreciated.
The next morning came and everyone woke up delighted. Zelts and Lily actually remained in bed to enjoy each other's company just a little bit longer before getting out of bed and meeting the others. Remus was awake, but he was laying in bed, wanting to get up, but he couldn't without waking Azura. The female Cobalt was the last one asleep and the warmth from Brennen pleased soothed her. In her sleep, she wrapped her arms around Remus, snuggling him as well as keeping him from getting up. He tried to wrest himself from the bed, but Azura pulled him back in.
"She is… pretty strong," Remus thought, feeling trapped.
"Silver… Silver!" Remus whispered to Silver who was out of bed and ready for the day.
"Hm?" Silver looked at his friend with an amused look on his face.
"Help me."
"Yeah… no," Silver answered. "There's something here I wanna try and I wanna do it alone. Plus, you've been kind of aggressive lately, or maybe on edge is better way to put it. Either way, you need to relax and staying in bed with Azura will do that."
"You're really going to leave me like this?" Remus asked with a pleading face.
"Sorry not sorry," Silver said before leaving the room and Remus to be spooned against his will.
Silver went to the lobby and asked the receptionist about something she told them earlier when they entered the inn. It piqued his interest greatly and he wanted to try it out for himself before any of the others try it out or tell him it's time to go. Luckily for him, the receptionist told him the inn had one of their own in the back and Silver was thrilled. He made it his mission to experience this while the team was in Brennen.
Setting: Hot Spring
Behind the inn was a small hot spring. It was accessible to guest whenever they wished to use it and Silver planned on using it. Undressing until he was in his underwear, Silver got into the soothing, bubbling warm water while sighing in relief.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH! Amaaaaaaazzziinng!" he said with a relaxed expression.
He sank deeper into the water until he was completely sitting in the spring. Something this nice was something Silver deemed necessary. Being back in Atlas was the worst experience of his life. So far, there have been more bad things than good happen to him when he arrived here. Silver looked back on his time here, thinking about walking through the dangerous terrain of the land, attacked by crazy strong Grimm, met his father, and got beaten down by his father.
"Yeah, all that stuff really sucked," Silver thought as he sank further until he was completely submerged under the water.
He then looked back on the good things that happened even though there weren't that many. Silver's on much friendlier terms with Azura, his dad got beaten up, and he got Fenrir upgraded for free. He almost forgot to include coming to Brennen to experience this hot spring. It definitely counted as a win. Silver came up from the water with one thought in mind.
"I guess my time here wasn't all bad,"
Silver relaxed in the hot spring for five more minutes before he someone get his attention with, "Ahem."
He looked over his shoulder to see Zelts and Lily standing behind him. At first, Silver thought his relaxation time was over, but he had second thoughts when he noticed his two friends weren't dressed for travel. To Silver's surprise, Lily and Zelts entered the hot spring with him, both releasing sighs of relief as they sat all the way down.
"Guess you guys needed this just as much as I did," Silver said with a grin.
"Yes," Zelts answered.
"Very much so," Lily answered in a very relaxed tone.
"So, how long are we gonna soak in here? We do have to find Violet," Silver asked Zelts since he was the man in charge.
"Don't worry, we can stay here for a while. The spring and the town. Lily and I talked about this a little bit earlier."
"I reminded Zelts that the receptionist said they are the main provider of fire dust for the kingdom. If we stay in Brennen, we could probably find a way to head straight to the kingdom. Maybe stowaway on a trade ship or something like that. It'll be a lot less hassle for us," Lily informed Silver.
"Huh… This can actually work, not to mention be a lot faster and safer than any other way to get to the kingdom. I like it," Silver said, impressed with their plan. "This makes Brennen our final stop before reaching the kingdom… Wow. Can't believe we actually made it."
"I know. And it only took us a month," Zelts added.
Both of them stayed quiet for a little while, contemplating on the events to come when they finally reach the kingdom. If either Zelts or Silver were honest with themselves, they'd say they have no plan when it came to finding Violet or what to do if they do find her. Lily noticed their silence. They were getting into their own heads and she thought it was best for them to lighten up a little.
"Violet's probably going to be happy to see you guys regardless of the situation. Though I doubt she'll be pleased to see you two again with your faces looking like that."
Silver and Zelts looked at Lily then glanced at each other and realized they did have pretty grimace faces. Zelts chuckled and agreed with Lily. They should try to look like they had their act together, otherwise Violet would think something was wrong with her boys.
"We'll get our act together," Zelts told Lily.
"Speaking of getting acts together, what are we gonna do about Remus?" Silver asked.
"He has been getting worse the further we go and it's kind of our fault for not really dealing with this issue head on," Lily explained.
"You're right about us not handling this earlier, That's definitely our fault. But I think it'll be alright once we reach Atlas. His aggressive behavior is stemmed from wanting to find Violet. If we find her, then he'll most likely return to his normal demeanor," Zelts offered as an outcome.
"You think so?" Silver questioned.
"I hope so," Zelts answered honestly.
In the back of his mind, Zelts blamed himself for Remus's more violent behavior in battle. Back in the destruction of Fortuna, he remembered his words to Remus when they were battling against Platinum. Zelts told him to stop holding back in that fight and Remus has been carrying his words ever since. When the team met Remus, he has been sort of like a blank canvas and his experiences with them was how his character was shaped, painting a picture of the person was today and probably still painting. This change in his character is Zelts's doing and he didn't know if Remus would remain this way or return to how he used to be.
"Maybe we can get him down here and calm him down with this hot spring," Lily joked.
"Ahahaha… That probably won't happen," Silver answered with a smirk, "Azura's holding him down in her sleep and keeping him from getting him out of bed. You guys should've seen it."
Zelts and Lily chuckled, imagining the situation. The three of them stayed in the spring for a little while longer before getting out. After soaking in the spring, Zelts and Lily returned to their room to get dressed and Silver did the same. He found that Azura finally woke up and was getting ready for the day. Remus sat on the bed with an exasperated look, showing he was relieved to be out of his previous predicament and the silence between them probably meant Azura never wanted to speak about this again with her cousin agreeing. Silver found this to be hilarious but refused to say it or laugh out loud. Remus may pout if he did, but Azura would definitely punch him in the face.
Setting: Brennen
Each member of the team departed the inn to explore Brennen. They needed to understand how this town worked if they wanted to learn anything about the trade work. If they learned when the trading vehicles arrive, then the team could stowaway on one and sneak into the kingdom.
Lily and Remus were together as they looked around Brennen and they did so without their winter coats. The heat emitted from the underground fire dust crystals allowed the team and the residents to walk around the town without getting cold. The two of them were currently in a local shop out of Remus's curiosity. Knowing that he had to wait before they could go to the kingdom, Remus looked at random items for sale to pass the time.
Lily accompanied him because she was still concerned about his behavior even though it didn't show at moments like these but preferred to be there for him in case he needed support or comfort. Though these two may not have spent much time together, Lily thought of Remus as a younger brother and wanted what was best for him. Also, she was protective of him so if anyone caused him any problems, she'd kick their ass. She figured Violet would appreciate her looking out for the Blue Flicker in her absence.
"Lily," Remus called out to her. "Do you think Violet would like any of this stuff?"
She smiled, glad to see how much he was thinking of Violet. This behavior was what she wanted to see in Remus and wished he always stayed like this instead of being hostile in fights.
"I don't know. Tell me what she likes and I might be able to help," she told him with a nice smile.
The two of them began looking at other shops in Brennen to find something for Violet but didn't find anything that caught their eye. While they didn't buy Violet a gift, Remus and Lily did have a good time bonding, but ended their exploration of Brennen early because Remus had a request for Lily. The two of them returned to the inn where they practiced fighting together and fighting each other.
The other group surveyed the area, searching for a where the town's trading takes place so they know where to go. Zelts asked around to learn about Brennen's economics, mostly their dust trading. He was able to learn that the town trades it's dust with the kingdom for money and supplies every other week. Azura learned that the next shipment from Atlas would come in about a week, meaning the team had that much time to prepare, though Zelta and Azura were sure Remus would be pretty upset about the week-long delay, but it would be something he'd have to get over.
With those two doing well with the reconnaissance, Silver took it easy and looked at the market area of Brennen that Remus and Lily were in previously though he was in a different area that sell more peculiar items. Inside one of the stores, Silver looked at the items on sale until something very surprising caught his eye. He found hookahs and cannabis for sale which wasn't the thing that shocked him.
"You got a good eye, kid," the shady merchant told Silver when he looked at the cannabis. "We got some of the good stuff straight from the kingdom."
"Really? Can't believe the stiffs in the kingdom actually sell this stuff," Silver commented.
"Haha! You're about them being stiff, but no. Those tight-asses would never allow something this fun out to the public. This stuff was smuggled here by someone else in the kingdom.
"Pretty ballsy," Silver remarked.
"Yeah, Dreamer knows how to treat the people," the shady merchant said.
"…Wait, what? Dreamer?" Silver wasn't sure if he heard him right.
"Uh-huh, Dreamer supplies the town and other settlements with his goods and we love him for it," the shady merchant answered.
"Uh-oh," Silver said in astonishment.
Zelts and Azura walked into the shop looking for Silver, ready to tell him they have the needed information. Zelts was about to tell Silver what they learned, but the gunslinger came to them with a horrid expression.
"Zelts! Azura! We got trouble! Code red! Code red!" Silver shouted while grabbing onto Zelts's shirt.
"What is wrong with you?" Azura asked, looking at Silver like he was a moron.
"And what's a code red?" Zelts asked confused.
"NewDreamer's gone off the deep end! He's strap for cash and selling dope! What are we gonna do!? We can't have a drug dealer as our creator and author!"
"Who's NewDreamer?" the merchant asked and Zelts covered Silver's mouth.
"Hey! Enough with the fourth-wall breaking! We have a job to do," Zelts told Silver to keep them out of trouble.
"I don't know any NewDreamer, but Dreamer is pretty cool. Smuggling stuff for us every few days. Actually, I've heard from a buddy of mine that a new strain will be coming in tomorrow. I can hook you guys up if you want," the merchant offered.
"Thanks, but no thanks. Let's go guys," Zelts said as he left the store.
As the three of them returned to the inn, Azura stopped in her tracks. Silver stopped to see what was wrong and so did Zelts.
"Something wrong?" Zelts asked.
"Did hear what that guy said? He said a new strain of cannabis is coming tomorrow," Azura said.
"Yeah. What? You want a batch?" Silver joked.
"He said that stuff is coming to this town tomorrow and this Dreamer person is from the kingdom or at least his goods do. Instead of boarding onto the dust trade vehicles, why not sneak onto one of the vehicles smuggling Dreamer's goods? If they're doing it illegally, then they know how to get in and out of the kingdom without getting caught."
Silver and Zelts looked at each other with acknowledgement of Azura's brilliance. Her idea was much better than waiting a whole week for the other transport vehicle. Remus would surely vote for the faster route to the kingdom. That was something Silver and Zelts were certain.
Setting: Inn
The trio returned to the inn where they saw Remus and Lily train together. Silver scolded them for ending their search early and the two of them laughed it off. Azura joined in the combat practice and after the training session, Zelts told Lily and Remus their plan and they were met with Remus eagerly choosing the plan where they get to the kingdom in a day, like Silver and Zelts suspected. Lily decided it was best to do the smuggled goods plan as well, meaning the vote was unanimous.
In one day, Lily, Azura, and the members of VRSZ were planning to reach the kingdom of Atlas. After all this time, they were going to make it to the biggest military power in Remnant, including the most heavily guarded of the four kingdoms, and most importantly where Violet was located. That alone made it all worth the journey. Many feelings were swirling between the group. Anxiety, worry, and frustration were some of them, but the others were happiness, optimistic, confident, and hopeful. Remus was more than ready to search for Violet. This was the closest he's ever been to her supposed whereabouts and he was prepared to take down anything or anyone that stood in his way.
Brennen is a German word meaning burning which is why the settlement is sitting on a mound of fire dust.
The hordes of old Atlesian Knights weren't explained to the team in this chapter and they won't be in the future. Those drones were obsolete models of the Atlesian military drones. Instead of dismantling them, the kingdom sends them into the wilderness for a suicide mission; eliminate enemies. They're placed in dangerous areas as a way to get rid of them and to attack roaming Grimm or intruders who are dumb enough to travel around those areas. Team VRSZ was just dumb enough to get attacked by this roaming force.
