First off, major apologies for how long this update took to get out. Part of it I can blame on running into a little bout of writer's block and being unsure of how to start the bridge to the second arc of the story. That and a fair amount of procrastination.

And a mix of some WoW Legion, the new Pokemon, and just all around laziness on my part. Won't happen though, promise. What I may have to do however at least for a month or two is extend my two week timeframe I set previously to a three week frame for updates. Working retail this time of year in an electronics store can get really tiring, really fast. Plus our manager is having a kid soon too so he'll need to take some time off to spend time with the kid for a couple weeks or so.

All that aside, here's the newest installment to The Fragments of Remnant.

"So…let me get this straight," Frost started as he rested his palms against the table in the center of the room. "The two of you are proposing that we somehow sneak all three of us aboard a ship going to Atlas, gain access to an unoccupied room to let us rest during the trip, and then sneak off the boat when we reach land. All without being spotted or caught in any way?" His body jerked upwards and away from the table as he threw his arms into the air out of frustration, a few loose papers flying off the table's surface from the light breeze generated from his sudden movement. "That's it. We're officially desperate."

"Oh, stop being so dramatic Frost." Neo said with an optimistic smile. "Between my teleportation, Emerald's deception, and a combined effort on disguises and illusions we'll be aboard that boat with no difficulty." Neo walked a short distance away from the table before her Semblance flashed into existence, her previous appearance replaced with an outfit similar to that of a boat's crew as well as shoulder length auburn hair and green eyes to hide her regular styles.

Frost's eyebrow rose in a halfway cross of bemusement and boredom, "Congratulations for you, we have one of three disguises taken care of now. What's the plan exactly for retrieving disguises for the rest of us, hmm?" His foot tapped lightly against the floor of their room as he patiently leaned against the wall, his arms crossed in front of his chest as he awaited a response.

"No one said that it would be all three of us infiltrating the crew, dimwit." Emerald stated from another part of the room as she reclined on a couch. "Neo's job is to get them to bring aboard some last minute cargo that will actually be a crate the two of us will hide in. Then once it gets late and everyone is asleep, Neo will let us out and then we'll spend the rest of the trip in the crew quarters that Neo will get until we get near Atlas and get back in the box before everyone wakes up and get lifted onto the docks."

Frost's eyebrow nearly disappeared into his hairline as it rose even further in question. "So you're saying that the two of us," Frost stated as he pointed back and forth between himself and Emerald, "Will be crammed into a box, most likely uncomfortably I might add, and stay that way until Neo can get to us? And what happens if she doesn't get that chance due to unforeseen circumstances?"

"Then we'll be stuck inside a box for a day or two until we reach Atlas and can get out." Emerald shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time one of us had to squeeze into tight quarters to get somewhere."

"Maybe for you Em," Neo replied as she sheepishly pushed her index fingers together. "But I did forget something when the two of us were coming up with our plan." Both Frost and Emerald turned to face Neo, one with a knowing look and a smirk while the other bore a look of mild confusion. "Frost…doesn't do well with tight spaces for extended periods of time. I wouldn't exactly call it claustrophobia, but we learned a long time ago that if Frost gets left inside a small space without any windows or anything for any decent length of time it ends rather…explosively."

"Oh, well that's great then." Emerald stated with an exasperated tone as she was the one to throw her arms in the air out of frustration this time. "So our original plan is a bust, and we can't switch places at all since Frost can't disguise himself as a crew member while the two of us fit into a crate." Frost gained a thoughtful look as Neo and Emerald vented in different manners- basically Emerald walked around the room raving while Neo gained a grumpy pout as she stared into the map on the table that showed their route from Sanus to Solitas.

Frost's eyes lit up a short while later as an idea started to form in his mind. "What if we did try having me pose as a crew member, but for a boat that had its trip cancelled last minute, leaving me with cargo that needs to get back to Atlas as quickly as possible and asking around if anyone can manage one more crate on their load? It could work."

"That solves out issue with finding space in the crate, but how exactly are we supposed to get you a sailor's outfit and a convincing story to get the cargo aboard?" Neo asked while Emerald looked on out of curiosity.

"Oh, just leave that to me and my acting. I've got this." Frost said with a smug grin as the other two shrugged to each other, and other ideas not worth mentioning due to likelihood of success in comparison.

"How on earth did the two of you manage to screw this up so much?!" Frost yelled as the three of them fled security, yelled shouts to stop and be taken into custody falling onto deaf ears. "I had things handled with my story of needing to get to Atlas, so what the hell happened?!"

"We didn't expect the crate to jolt so sharply when they started hoisting it up to bring aboard the ship!" Emerald exclaimed as the three of them sprinted around a corner and quickly ducked into a dark alcove out of sight as they hushed their voices, the guards running by without even glancing into any side spaces as they turned the corner at the other end and kept going. "I didn't exactly intend to go around groping Neo's chest while we were stuck in there!"

"That's not what I'm talking about!" Frost snapped back as he turned to face Neo, who was currently trying her hardest to hide her still red face behind her long locks of hair, a timid look never before seen on her face as she took rapid breaths. "Why the hell did you moan so loudly? I get that…that area is sensitive and all, but seriously?! Way to ruin our plan Neo."

The three of them waited a short while to make sure the coast was clear before slipping out from the alcove and started making their way back to the streets of Vale to rethink how they were going to reach Atlas and get to Weiss and Ironwood to find out how to proceed. As they turned to leave the alleyway however, a burly man with massive arms and a grizzled beard stepped in front of them with a questioning look on his face. As the three of them quickly reached for their weapons, the man gestured to them to be silent as he quickly ushered them back into the alcove they had just departed from.

"So I hear the three of you need passage to Atlas rather urgently." The man stated almost immediately as they finished piling into the hidden space. His burly arms crossed in front of his chest as he regarded the three teens in front of him. "How urgently are we talking, here?"

"Wait, wait." Frost stated as he shook his hands in front of his face to attempt to slow things down a bit. "Back up a second, how do you even know that?"

"Overheard the commotion from my ship a couple moorings down from the one you were trying to get aboard as the crate got busted open and your friends tumbled out. Pretty much all of us tend to know where the other was going, and I had just been sharing drinks with some of the crew of that ship when they mentioned that they were heading to Atlas and wondered about grabbing a drink once we were grounded over there as well. That answer your question?"

"Yeah, I guess that works. Didn't think we were being that loud though." Frost stated with a slightly caught off guard expression at the man's bluntness.

"Oh it wasn't you." The man stated with a throaty chuckle. "It was the little one. I haven't heard girls moan that loud since the last time I visited a nightclub one time in Mistral. She's got quite the pipes on her." The three of them all blushed in varying degrees, but none moreso than Neo as her hair almost seemed to grow longer on its own to hide Neo more as she mumbled something about getting killed now while she can still breath.

After the three of them- mostly Neo- were able to get their faces and breathing under control and explain their situation, without giving away too many names or plans, they silently followed the man to his ship as they all boarded and he explained the extra members to his crew. As it turns out, they had happened to come across the captain of the ship and so none on the ship appeared to have issue with a few extra passengers. A few crew members snickered or gave the three impressed looks after the captain finished telling what he had heard and seen, much to the continued embarrassment of the three before they were shown to their quarters and given a rough idea for the timeframe on their voyage.

The three of them slumped onto the bots that had been shifted into the room they had been assigned to as they all avoided eye contact before starting to turn in. A small amount of time passed in silence before a voice broke the silence in the room.

"For future reference, no more tight spaces in our plans if we can help it." Neo stated curtly as she shuffled to give a quick look to the other two who nodded in agreement.

Emerald paused for a few moments in thought before responding verbally as well. "Or at least if we do need to go with tight spaces, don't all cram into the same space. Unless we want to hear Neo moan again that is."

"Emerald!" Neo snapped as she bolted upright from her cot, her pillow sailing across the room to slam solidly into the green-haired girls face. Emerald laughed wholeheartedly despite the pillow wrapped around her face in enjoyment at Neo's embarrassment.

"Leave her alone Emerald. I think she's had to deal with enough." Frost stated plainly as he looked towards the ceiling of the room with his arms crossed behind his head. "Besides, next time she can just ask us to leave if she really needs privacy that badly."

"Et tu, Frost?! Honestly!" Neo exclaimed with a huff as she flipped around to avoid showing the two of them her beet red face. "Good night!"

It would be a while before the laughing between Frost and Emerald would die down, at least until a sharp rap came on their door telling them to quiet down before someone came in and shoved their own entrails down their throats. That graphic description very quickly ended any discussion as they all gently fell asleep.