So, now that I've beaten a playthrough of Mass Effect Andromeda- despite a couple glitches I found that actually forced me to either replay a bunch or just start over, as annoying as that was- I can honestly say that it is still a fantastic game despite all of the crap a lot of people seem to be giving it. If you're a fan of the Mass Effect series I highly recommend you give the game at least one playthrough even if you don't do it multiple times through for different choices (which I know I will be eventually).

So on that note, I am once again able to focus on things other than that game and return to updating this story as per my 2 weeks I've been going by as of late with the exception of the 3 weeks I took since the last update with Andromeda's release occupying my time.

As per always, leave any thoughts/criticisms in a review or if you just have any questions shoot me up a PM. I do quite enjoy talking to people about writing among other things, so don't be afraid to hit me up. Otherwise, enjoy the newest chapter!

"Ugh…" Frost grunted as he attempted to scratch his arms underneath the wrappings on his forearms to no avail. "I know that I hurt my arms and hands a bit fighting the Grimm, but were the bandages and blood samples really worth it? My Semblance will have them healed pretty soon anyways and this itches like hell."

"Shush, Cobalt." Neo stated authoritatively as she continued walking ahead of him with a huff, still frustrated over Frost's reckless actions once again. "Doctor Amalie said that she had to make sure there was no side effects of the direct contact you had with Grimm since people USUALLY use weapons or armor to protect themselves from the Grimm." After this admission, Neo turned to give Frost a disgruntled look as she held her fists to her hips in the attempt to look imposing.

It only worked to a small extent due to her short stature, as noted by the rolling of Frost's eyes and a light smirk on his face.

Regardless, Neo carried on in her pushing. "Why would you do that anyways? You normally have no issue fighting Grimm using your Semblance or weapons before. What changed?"

Frost deadpanned Neo for a moment before blinking as the black and red reappeared in his left eye. "Remember this?" Frost stated as he pointed one finger at his changed eye. "We're lucky I managed to get enough of a grip to keep myself under control and keep my eye from doing this all of the time, but there is literally Grimm inside of me. And I think that despite the fact that I was killing those Grimm by heating my arms- which I couldn't do while wearing my gauntlets because it would block the heat too much- the direct contact with them hurt my arms too much because of the connection with the Grimm I have now. Why it hurt me, I still don't know but it was the only thing I could do."

"Frost…I had no idea…" Neo gasped as she reverted back to referring Frost with his preferred title. "Why didn't you stop me?"

"Because you had to let it out of your system. Even I could tell that much from your rigid posture." Emerald stated from slightly behind the two of them. "So are we good now? I'd like to get to Atlas soon so we can rest a bit before finding that princess of a Schnee."

Frost raised a finger in rebuttal to Emerald's comment, but lowered it a moment later as he shrugged. "Can't really comment on that one. Not entirely wrong on that one to be honest given Weiss' usual temperament."

With that, the three of them continued trudging along the path as they continued to follow the route to Atlas from the map they had with them.

Later that day they finally noticed the spires of the city of Atlas on the horizon, a new hope instilled in them as they sped up their pace somewhat as they neared the gate to the city. Their pace slowed somewhat as they neared it however as they saw the numerous guards- both robotic and human standing armed in front of a large, closed metal gate. The three looked at each other uneasily as they paused for a moment before committing to their path and approached a group of the guards standing watch.

"Excuse me!" Frost yelled out as they approached the guards, who seemed to stand straighter and poised their weapons at the sudden noise before relaxing their posture somewhat at the sign of humans- but not entirely. "We're looking to get into the city with word about an attack of Grimm on a village about two days from here that was outside the ordinary and need to speak with the Atlas leadership about it."

"And why should we just let in three children who could be looking for a quick buck by scamming the people of Atlas?" One of the guards spoke gruffly as he stepped forward to address them. "We've seen plenty of your kind from the poorer villages on the continent trying to get in and pocket some supplies or wealth to take for your benefit. We'll need more proof than that to let you three nobodies in."

Neo put a hand on Emerald's arm as her form bristled with rage at the comment about thieving given her background. Frost meanwhile, angled his eyes somewhat to make sure everything was okay before continuing to address the guard in front of them.

"We came here from Vale about a week or so after Beacon fell to the simultaneous attacks from the Grimm and the White Fang. We also were hoping to get some help or answers about where to find those responsible."

"And you think Atlas is responsible, is that it?" The guard stood straighter as his companions raised their weapons in response. "We've heard the like from other outposts about refugees blaming us for what happened even as we do our best to accommodate their sorry asses for losing their homes. But none have entered the city of Atlas itself to spout such heresy to the fine people of this kingdom. Get out of my sight before we run you through for stating such heinous lies!"

Emerald stepped forward and out of Neo's reach as she came to stand directly in front of the guard. "Hey! No one said you assholes were responsible for what happened! But I don't blame people for bad mouthing you if this is how you 'accommodate' those looking for food and shelter after what happened to them!"

"How dare you, you insolent brat..." The guard started reaching for his own blade as Neo stepped forward to grab onto both Emerald and Frost's arm hurriedly. Before he could swing in response to Emerald's retort however, the three of them disappeared in a flash of light as they transported further up the road and out of sight of the guards.

"What were you two thinking?!" Neo berated the others as she pulled on her hair with a frustrated look. Emerald stood with her back against a tree ad her arms crossed in front of her chest without a look of remorse on her face while Frost held a hand to his chin in thought, scratching lightly at the light stubble that had begun to form on his chin over time in their travels. "Really? No apologies for what happened?"

"Why should we apologize for some guards that just personify the self-righteous attitude everyone has come to associate with the majority of Atlas?" Emerald retorted with a snort of disgust from her position. "They're the ones who should be sorry considering Frost never said anything about them being at fault anyways. They just jumped to conclusions just like people like them tend to. No skin off my back."

"Frost?" Neo asked with a slightly lighter tone as most of her frustration was directed at Emerald's handling of confronting the guard-captain, as they assumed him to be since he had stepped forward to speak with them.

"…" Frost was quiet for a moment as he took a deep breath and turned to face Neo. "…I have to agree with Emerald, to be honest. They overreacted, even if she didn't help a lot by antagonizing the man." Emerald started to shift her position somewhat in response to Frost's comment. "But! It likely would have fallen to that happening anyways given the way he was acting. It just means we need to find another way into the city without being seen."

"What about just waiting until nightfall and then finding an empty point in the guards before having Neo teleport us past the wall?" Emerald asked curiously.

"That won't work, Em." Neo responded curtly. "I can't teleport somewhere without seeing what it looks like first, remember? That means since I haven't been into Atlas before I can't just teleport into there like the wall doesn't exist."

"Then how on earth does your teleporting even work if you can't just throw yourself into random places? How on earth was that useful for the heists that Torchwick used to set the two of you on?" Emerald questioned with an confused look on her face.

"Because he would get blueprints and camera feeds of the place before having us move in so that Neo had the layout of the place already predetermined to move in. We can't do the same here unless we had an exact breakdown of even a portion of Atlas to teleport in with. Plus since we don't know what kind of patrols there are in the city itself, it's like shooting for a proverbial needle in a field of hay stacks. Way too many unknowns for us to risk." Frost replied.

"So what are our options then?" Neo asked the other two as they continued standing off the side of the road.

As Neo and Frost both lost themselves in thought, Emerald gave a frustrated groan before stalking away for a brief respite and to think on her own as she usually did. Thankfully, since she walked into better sight of the road itself, she was able to notice something approaching slowly in the distance. A cart being carried slowly by a few horses that was being transported by one man and a pair of what appeared to by guards.

"Hey, lovebirds!" Emerald yelled back to Frost and Neo, knowing that making the joke once again about their closeness would immediately attract their attention. "I just got a plan, but you'll need to trust me and move fast, got it?"

"Just as long as it doesn't involve stealing or killing, I think we're fine!"

Frost yelled back in response as the two of them approached Emerald's position.

"Frost!" Neo snapped as she whacked his closer arm with an open hand slap, to which he winced slightly with a sharp intake of breath.

"Just move on my signal, got it?"

And with a nod of their heads, the three of them quickly went over Emerald's plan.

The old man riding the cart took a deep breath of the cool Atlas air as he continued on his way to the city of Atlas to transport some goods from the port city. His day had been relatively quiet, as the roads closer to Atlas tended to be due to the heavy defenses designed to repel roaming packs of Grimm that seldom seemed to pass to begin with. His breath filled the air with a light fog as he thought about which bar he would stop at when he got into the city before remembering that the good ones were on the ports and not in a city filled with so many snobs and busybodies. Though those same snobs paid him for his goods, so there were no real complaints to be had. A few moments later however, his cart stumbled to a halt as the horses and guards both stopped ahead of him.

"What seems to be the holdup, men?" The wizened man snapped from atop the seat on the cart.

"There's a little girl, sir. Just standing in the road and shivering." One of the men stated with an unsure tone as he turned to face his employer. "What should we do?"

"This close to Atlas? The hell is a lone child doing here, unless it got out when the guards weren't looking again." The old man huffed in indignation. "Damned fools always seem to mess up something whenever I come by this end of the city. Wish there was more entrances to the damned place sometimes." After mumbling these comments to himself he looked back at the supplies littering the large space. After spotting a larger looking fur blanket he grabbed it and tossed it the bodyguard asking questions. "Give this to the child to keep it warm at least. You know the policy those damned fools have about unregistered entries to the city. Tightwads, the lot of 'em."

The guard, after retrieving the blanket from the man, slowly dismounted from his horse as he approached the young child with the blanket held out peacefully. Just as he neared her however, she ran off into the woods without a sound, leaving the man puzzled and slightly annoyed after going to the trouble. He then returned back to his horse and passed the blanket back to the old man with a shrug of his shoulders.

The old man scoffed as he snatched the blanket from the man's outstretched hand and tossed it into the back of the cart with a backwards glance. What he didn't notice was the way the blanket as it shifted somewhat after landing- as the three new stowaways adjusted it to cover their forms as they squished further amongst the supplies to hide their forms from the guards outside the gate.

"Honestly, I really didn't expect that to work." Frost stated from his place atop one of the beds in their room at the first inn they had gone to after sneaking off the cart at their earliest opportunity. "There were so many ways that could have gone wrong between the chances we were taking about how they would approach things. What if that had been a fruit cart or something?"

"Then we would have either ended up covered in squished fruit or waited for the next person to come along. Though knowing our luck it probably would have been a while that we'd be waiting." Emerald stated casually as she bit into a ripe apple she had gotten as part of her meal after they had paid for a pair of rooms across from one another. Frost and Neo may have been familiar with living in the same space despite opposite genders, but there was no way Emerald was having anyone other than females sleeping in the same place that she would be changing or washing up in. No way in hell. "Well, we're in the city now. So what's our next stop before going after the wayward Schnee?"

"I think our best bet is to try and find Ironwood and see if he knows more about what went down in Vale before we go to get Weiss." Frost grumbled slightly as he continued. "I just hope that we don't run into more problems before we get that far."

"Knowing our luck, we'll probably have to improvise something that will require Emerald's, mine, or both of our abilities with illusions and misdirection to get around." Neo stated simply as she stood next to the one window in the room to see what the streets of Atlas were like without them sneaking around for a moment.

"Guess we'll just have to wait and see then. Either way, I'm going to take a nap." Frost remarked as he reclined onto one of the beds in the room despite Emerald's protests. Within moments a light snoring could be heard coming from his form as he laid back against the headboard of the bed with his arms behind his head and one knee propped up as well.

"Goddamnit. I wish I could fall asleep as fast as he could somedays." Emerald mumbled loud enough for her and Neo to hear but not to potentially wake up Frost despite her protests.

"We've all had to deal with a lot lately, especially him. I think it's a good thing he can still fall asleep despite that." Neo replied with a light smile as she waked over to the other bed in the room. "Come on. You can share mine for now while we all get a quick nap in."

"Fine." Emerald resigned with a small smile of thanks to the shorter girl.

"But no cuddling. I don't do that."