Chapter 13 – Heartbeat.

- ARTHUR -

Arthur stepped through the darkness, his blade Calesvol shined as if it were made of light itself. He heard a screech, he took one step back and spread his legs out. He readied his blade above his head, red eyes lit up. Tunnelers, they breed like vermin and are responsible for most caverns such as this. They charged out of the darkness, large mole rats of black fur and red eyes. They were blind but had great hearing. He swung down, his blade cut into the first tunneler, it set ablaze as he did. He spun around and swung. A bright flash of light and a spray of sparks, the beast practically exploded. The next two were coming at him ever faster. He thrust into the first but the second leapt over it and tackled him.

He tapped a button on his wrist, armored plates emerged from his breastplate and folded out around the rest of his body. His head sealed inside the armored shell, it took less than a second before the camera activated and he could now see. The beast was gnawing on the newly formed helmet and was trying to chew through it. He clicked a button on his sword, it rotated and a small cartridge ejected. The blade dimmed. He pulled out another cartridge and swung it in, he felt the beast scraping against the breastplate, trying to dig through. He clicked the button and the blade rotated back, it exploded into a shower of sparks as arcs of electricity shot through the beast.

He set his visor to infrared, it flickered pretty badly. The helmet hasn't been the same since that goliath kicked it. He tapped his ear and cycled through contacts. He located Lancel. It rang for a second, followed by a loud beep.

"Any luck?" Lancel asked.

"Not yet, haven't heard from the others." Arthur said. "We've got some grimm running loose down here. Keep on your guard."

"I've been waiting for something to ambush me for close to an hour now." Lancel said. "It's way too quiet in this cave, one this big and you'd think something was living here."

"There's something about this cave." Arthur said. He switched his visor to night vision. Everything was bathed in a golden hue. He ran his hand along the wall. It almost looked tiled. "Some parts seem natural, others seem man-made."

"I agree, some of these hallways seem ancient. Maybe from before the war?" Lancel asked. Arthur heard a rustling sound echo his way.

"I think I have some company. I'll keep you informed." Arthur said, he hung up and raised Calesvol, small sparks shot off it. Red eyes lit up the dark.

- LYRA -

The cave was far more spacious than she expected. The asymmetrical walls gave way to plenty of hiding spots, she gripped Maibaum tightly in her hands. Last thing she wanted to think about was how many types of grimm could hide in those small crevices. Rasmatas led the way and as they crept through the darkness, they found a familiar face.

"Welcome to the party!" Gabriel said, he was laying flat on the table, Orin was examining his legs.

"What happened to you?" Morgana asked.

"Cave in took my legs out of commission." Gabriel said. "Your brother is down below."

"You alright?" She asked.

"I've been worse." He replied. He glanced past them. "What happened to Ash?"

"Fell through a sinkhole, probably somewhere around here." Lyra said. "We we're hoping you'd seen him."

"Have fun finding him, the cave isn't exactly small." He replied. He let out a loud groan. "Watch what your doing!"

"If you can still feel that then you are likely to be alright." Orin said. He squeezed again, Gabriel swung at him but couldn't reach.

They left the room behind and descended further into the darkness. Every few steps they found that the darkness broke, with small red candles dimly lit. They were rested on skulls and the longer they burned the more the inky red wax melted over them. The deeper they went the less lights there were, and the more blood red skulls they found. It seemed the locals stopped venturing this far. That's never a good sign. They continued onward, into the inky black.

- GWYN -

A horrible burning sensation, her nerves spasmed, her heart pounded and her head felt like it was overloading. There was a loud crack and she dropped to the ground, the blade pulled out of her chest and blood was oozing out. She grabbed her wound and squeezed. She glanced to see the man dropping to the ground, Natasha stood over him holding a bloody rock. Gwyn felt the tears coming back.

"I thought you were dead!" Gwyn said. She coughed up another spray of blood. Natasha sat beside her and wrapped her arms around her.

"I woke up not far from here, don't know how I made it." She said. She tore her dress length wise and began wrapping it around Gwyn's wound. She tied it tight and held her in her arms. "We're going to be okay."

"I'm not feeling so well." Gwyn said. She was starting to feel hot, sweat was running down her face like tears at this point. Her bandage was already turning a deep red. She felt like she was slipping, her vision was beginning to fade.

"Stay with me Gwyn." Natasha said. She grabbed her arm and lifted it to her mouth. "Use your semblance, we're going to be okay."

"I don't..." Gwyn started to keel over. Her leg jerked, her entire body was in pain. Natasha was shaking her.

"Wake up Gwyn, come on stay with me." Natasha said. Gwyn kissed her hand. Her entire body felt like it was shifting. Her brain felt like it was on fire, everything began to dim.

She jerked awake. She was alone in the dark. She stumbled around, barely able to see more than a foot away from her. Natasha was nowhere to be found. She stumbled down the hall. Her entire body was in agony. Every step caused her wound to shift, she slammed into the wall and leaned against it for support. There was a faint glow up ahead. She stumbled forward. A small cavern with a large statue. It was of a beast with a long body, great wings like a bat, a tail like a scorpion and a head like a lizard and a mane like a lion. It's eyes were giant rubies, it's teeth was sharp and reflective. It's had sharp claws that wrapped along a small pedestal before it. The pedestal was simple marble with a fluffy velvet pillow set upon it. She stumbled into the room, approaching the pillow. On it was a gem shaped like a heart, and not the symbolic kind. It was red like a ruby but shined a fiery orange in the light. She reached out to touch it.

The world seemed to swirl around her like a vortex. The cave began to fade, suddenly the air was bright and the sun was burning above. She felt her skin begin to burn and blister. She burst into flames but she couldn't feel the pain. She spun around to see Beacon burning to ash. A massive beast crashed through the high towers, fire rained from it's mouth onto the once mighty school. Everything erupted into flames, disintegrating into ash. She was back in the cave. Her hand hovered over the crystal, but something was different. She gazed upwards to find the statue alive, it's mouth was gaping wide and it's teeth were just as keen as they looked. It lunged towards her, she raised her arms.

She snapped awake covered in sweat. Natasha was gazing down at her. She was in a dimly lit room. She felt a rag dabbing against her forehead. The world was flowing like her eyes were under water. She shook her head, it focused for a few minutes but it started to blur.

"What happened?" Gwyn asked.

"I don't know, I think that knife was laced in something. You've been in and out for about an hour now." Natasha said. She lifted her shirt, her wound was just a scar now, it still hurt. "It's not healing completely, but at least you aren't bleeding out. I just hope this means the last of that stuff is out of your system."

Gwyn leaned back, she could see something over Natasha's shoulder. Something massive. She squinted, her vision rocked in and out of focus. She saw something, a tooth far above, reflecting back at her. Little by little the rest of the statue came into focus, partially concealed in the darkness. That slow rhythmic beat seemed stronger and louder than it was before.

- ARTHUR -

A blade swung from the darkness, Arthur parried it with ease and swung his blade in kind. The cultist was better than he'd expected, perhaps he was better adjusted to the dark. With each swing, he found his opponent disappear into the shadows and come out behind him. He kept at it, lightning crackled outwards and sparks shot in every direction. Lancel was nowhere in sight. He turned around to find two cultists running at him. He flicked his blade and it rotated again, he replaced the cartridge and cracked it back in place. The blade was back to a blinding glow. A dozen cultists were surrounding him. There were more than one the entire time. He lunged, as did they. Bright flashing lights lit up the cavern like a strobe light.

His armor took a hit, he heard a crack. He spun around and swung, the cultists flew off into the darkness. Someone jumped onto his back and he felt a sharp stab to his neck. His armor kept the blade from touching skin but the impact likely left a deep bruise. He ran backwards into the cavern wall. He felt himself freed from his attacker, though more were coming his way. He charged, his blade lunged forward and he felt the ground buckling. They crashed through the floor into a small room below. His view screen was flickering, his suits main power took a hit. It slowly began to retract, partially revealing his head. He climbed back to his feet and raised Calesvol, the cultists were gone. Only one either dead or unconscious lay before him. He glanced around the room, it was charred black, the wall looked like it had caved inwards. He noticed something shining in the darkness, he reached down and drew it. A sword, a little warped from whatever incinerated this room. It was fairly damaged and had a gun mechanism that had clearly seen better days. He recognized it, Ash carried it. He glanced around the room. What was Ash's weapon doing down here. He clicked a button on his armor and a small draw slid out, he retracted the blade into it's smaller form and placed it carefully.

He heard a steady beat, the floor felt like it was beginning to shake with each thump. He heard an echoing cry in the dark. A dozen tunnelers maybe more, he charged. His blade swung down and cleaved one in half, he pivoted and struck another down. One lunged for his face and with a single strike he sent it flying. It only took a few minutes to chase them off. He followed them, with luck they would lead him back to their lair. If they had gotten to Gwyn or Natasha then he'd find answers there, if not then one less grimm lair.

- GWYN -

Gwyn heard footsteps, Natasha crept into the shadows. Gwyn wasn't exactly armed or able to defend herself, she realized she was pretty much bait in this ambush. She heard the feet creeping closer, she saw an armored figure step into the light. Natasha lunged from behind, knocking him down to his knees. She flipped and kicked the side of his helmet with an aura infused kick. He flung off his feet and flipped onto his feet. He held his hand out and retracted his helmet. Gwyn recognized the armor, it was one of her fathers.

"Calm down I'm Lancel, I'm part of your rescue team!" He called out. Gwyn recognized his face, judging by the look on his face he recognised hers.

"You're Gwyn?" He asked, she nodded. He seemed to freeze for a moment.

"Alright, let's get you out of here." Natasha said. He snapped out of it and nodded. "I've had enough of this cave."

"Come on, follow me." He said. Gwyn swallowed, this was bad. Natasha helped her onto her feet. He led the way from through the door. She turned and stumbled further into the room, towards the statue. She wasn't entirely sure, but she wanted to know. She reached the statue and found a mildew stained pillow on a pedestal, a small crystal shaped like a heart rested upon it. She grabbed it and pocketed it. Lancel called out behind her. "You coming?"

"Yes!" She called back, she turned and hurried out the door.

It didn't take them long to find light again. Red candles bathed the room. A dozen men were blocking their path, dark hoods covered them. They all carried the same jagged obsidian ritual knives. A familiar shape emerged from the crowd adorned with the skull of a stag. Gwyn shuddered and her wound burned brightly.

"You are still alive." He said, his deep voice rumbled, the floor seemed to quiver as it did. "You are more persistent than I thought, and now you have friends."

"Who the hell are you?" Lancel asked, his lance raised high. The man let out a mirthless laugh.

"I'm the shadow in the dark, the whisper in your ear while the wind howls, the bad dream within nightmares." He said. The hooded cultists began to chant.

"Oh yeah? Well I got a big gun." Lancel replied. Arondight exploded in bright light, a massive fireball emerged from it's barrel and the antlered cultist flew from his feet beyond the crowd. They continued chanting unflinching. The antlered man climbed back to his feet. He felt his chest, blood soaked his hand.

"A fine attempt." He said, his voice seemed to croak. "It'll take more than that."

Lancel lunged. He thrust his lance forward, the cult leader spun out of the way and swung his blade. A splash of blood and Lancel staggered over, a long gash cut across his cheek. His armor extended over his head. He charged and vaulted over the man, he fired downwards as he passed over him. The man seemed to melt into the shadows. He dropped from above and crashed into Lancel. Lancel rolled when he hit the ground and fired, the man was already gone.

"I am of shadows, I am born beyond those of mortal blood." He said. Lancel hopped to his feet and lunged. The man sidestepped and thrust. The blade stabbed into Lancels armor. It hit with enough force that he was sent staggering. Lancel spun around and charged again. "I am neither man nor beast, I am grimm incarnate."

He swung again colliding with Lancel's helmet, two more hit his shoulders, another to his leg and one more straight to his chest. Lancel flipped onto his back. He fired upwards, clipping the man in the shoulder. He was flung from his feet and crashed into the ground. He climbed back. Lancel reloaded. That shot had enough power to tear an ursa apart. The ritual knife in his hand seemed to grow, slithering from it's guard like a serpent. He swung the now sword length blade down at him. Lancel flicked a button near his lance's guard and it slid backwards into a sword length. He swung high, the cultist blocked and swept his legs out. He hopped to his feet. A blade swung for his throat, he leaned back and it missed his head narrowly. The cultist rammed him, he toppled over. The cultist swung his knife down.

There was a flash of flame and the mass of chanting cultists staggered back. The cult leader spun around. A young woman, dressed for a jog with nothing but a transparent turquoise scarf was sauntering towards Lancel and the cultists. She coiled the scarf around herself and bent down low. The cultists charged together. She swung the scarf around herself like a vortex, there was a bright flash and suddenly she was in a vortex of fog. The room seemed to grow cold and snowflakes began to fly in every direction. The cultists lunged through the fog and a blast of lightning shot from the fog, which turned black like a storm cloud. She whipped the scarf and it cracked like a bullwhip. Lightning sparked and the cultist leader flung from his feet.

"Alright, here's how this is going to happen." She said. She tightly coiled the scarf around herself. "Two of you are going to charge me, I'm going to effortlessly dispatch them. One of you is going to flee, the rest are going to either surrender or charge, either way it'll end the same. Understood?"

A dozen knives were soaring her way, she flipped and launched the scarf outwards, with a slight flick of the wrist the knives fell and with another flick the scarf began to spin around her. Lightning crackled and sparks were spitting across the room. Two of the cultists lunged, she flipped again and slapped them both with her scarf, they spasmed and dropped to the ground. The rest of the cultists backed up a few steps, one of them slinked away through a side door.

"Impressive." A deep voice called out. The cult leader was climbing to his feet. He casually dusted himself off, ignoring both the scorch mark and the bullet hole in his robe. "You certainly make an entrance."

"Are you planning on surrendering any time soon?" She asked. He let out a booming laugh. There was something wrong about the way he laughed. Gwyn felt like she needed a shower. Then again she probably did. He took a step forward. Naia cracked her scarf like a whip, sparks showered outwards.

"I will not surrender, but this charade has gone on long enough." He said. He glanced around the room, Gwyn felt his gaze. She suddenly felt cold. "You and your people may leave, and never return."

"That's it? We get to leave, you don't try anything?" She asked.

"So long as you never return." He said.

"And what if we do?" She asked.

"We kill each and every one of you." He replied. There was a moment of tense silence. The cultists twitched oddly behind him.

"I'm willing to make that deal, but only if you answer one question for me." Naia said. She took a step forward. "We were looking for a hiker named Flynn. He was last seen in this area. You wouldn't know anything about that now would you?"

The man stood silent, his cultists glanced towards him. Naia tightened her grip, Gwyn could see her slowly shifting position. Lancel began to raise his lance. The cultists began to laugh and not the silent kind. They broke out into an all out shriek.

"The sleeper must awake, it hungers in the dark." He said. Naia nodded.

She whipped her scarf straight at his face. He exploded into a cloud of black smoke. Suddenly he was behind her knife raised. Lancel fired. He exploded again in smoke. His cultists charged. Gwyn felt an arm grab her shoulder, she suddenly was flung from her feet. She landed hard on her back, the cult leader swung his knife down. Natasha spun around and kicked him hard in the face. He vanished again and appeared behind her. Gwyn grabbed a rock and tossed it, hitting him square in the chest. Natasha swept her legs low and he dropped. He vanished again. Naia was fighting off most of the cultists herself, crackling bolts of electricity lit the entire room like a strobe light. Lancel was fighting off three of them. He kicked on square in the chest and fired Arondight. They were running out of opponents fast. The cultists began to flee into the tunnels. Their leader appeared before them.

"That was quite a show." He said. Black smoke began to billow from his sleeves. "I cannot stay and finish this however. I have plenty of work ahead, perhaps we'll meet again."'

He was gone before they could react, the cloud dissipated to reveal nothing but an empty hallway. Naia turned to them and smiled. She wrapped her scarf around her neck. Lancel leaned against a wall panting like he just ran a marathon.

"Well, this certainly wasn't what I had expected to find." Naia said. She stretched. "Anyone know what these people wanted? Other than to sacrifice people."

"The sleeper must awake, I heard a couple of cultists say that earlier." Lancel said. "If I'd have to venture a guess, I'd say they are trying to wake something up."

"A hibernating grimm perhaps." Natasha said. "A big one if it garners this much respect."

"Grimm cults." Lancel said. "Just what this world needs."

"I'll need to report my findings to Ozpin." Naia said. "Let's find the others and get out of here. I think I've seen enough of this cave to last a lifetime."

"Same here." Gwyn said. She was looking forward to seeing her brother, maybe getting a warm meal, a soft bed, a bubble bath. Her mind drifted, her heart started to sink. Ash...

- ASH -

He woke to what felt like a knife carving into his skull. He felt pain coming from seemingly everywhere, it'd likely be eaaier to say what wasn't feeling pain rather than what was. He could barely move, his lungs hurt with each breath, and he was partially buried under rock. It took him a while to notice the heavy breathing, a little longer to realize it wasn't coming from him. He glanced upwards and found a bear looking down at him.

"Vigil." He wheezed. "I didn't blow up your home did I?"

"Cave. Not. Safe." The bear carved. It knocked the debris off him, his legs didn't look too great, neither did his arms.

"I don't plan on staying." Ash said. He struggled to lift himself up. His entire body protested. "How do I look?"

"Dead." The bear replied.

"That's a little harsh." Ash said. He didn't exactly have a mirror but personally considered himself at most half dead. The bear sat down and shook it's head.

"You. Not . Strong." The bear continued. "You. Must. Leave."

"Alright, I know when I'm overstaying my welcome." He said. He limped away, leaving Virgil behind.

He had grown quite accustomed to the inky black that the lack of candles was actually refreshing. He turned a corner and found a familiar face. He glanced back towards Virgil, he was long gone. He let out a sigh of relief, one less issue to worry about.

"Ash, you're alive." Arthur said. He paused. "Mostly at least."

"Really look that bad?" Ash asked. Arthur held his tongue, that didn't exactly inspire confidence.

"Well, what matters is your alive." Arthur said. "We need to get out of here."

"Are the girls safe?" Ash asked. Arthur shook his head.

"Haven't found them yet, have you seen them?" Arthur asked.

"I told them to run. Then I blew the cave up." Ash said. He leaned against the wall and coughed hoarsely. "If I survived then there is no way they didn't."

"Alright, let's find the others. By the way, you dropped this." Arthur said, he tossed Silver Faust, Ash caught it. He ran his hand along the warped metal. His father was going to kill him.

- LYRA -

It was at least the third room that they found filled with bodies, both grimm and man. None of them whom were recognizable. No sign of Ash, nor Gwyn or Natasha. Rasmatas stopped for a moment and examined the burn marks on several of the dead grimm. He ran his fingers along it and froze.

"What is it?" Lyra asked.

"This wasn't from any ordinary weapon." Rasmatas said. "No cuts, no bruises, a simple burn but no obvious point of impact. I know this weapon."

"Friendly?" She asked.

"In this circumstance yes, but mark my words." Rasmatas said. He was suddenly speaking in a hushed tone, almost a whisper. "Whatever you do, do not trust that woman."

"Oh Razzy, I hear forgiveness is good for the soul!" A voice called out. Lyra spun around, a young woman was standing in the room, behind her were several recognizable faces.

"Forgiveness only comes to the deserving." Rasmatas spat back. "Parasites like you I find lacking."

"I missed you too." She replied. "Alright, how's the rest of the team?"

"Got a message from Kol, he's on his way back." Lancel said. He stowed his scroll away. "No message from Arthur yet."

"Listen, have any of you seen Ash?" Lyra asked. Gwyn stepped forward. Lyra froze, she could already tell by the look on her face that this wasn't going to be good news.

"Natasha and I ran into him in the tunnels. We got trapped by a grimm and he told us to run. Then he brought the cave down on top of us, we barely made it out alive." Gwyn said. Lyra felt sick, she wanted to sit down. Her hands instinctively reached for her hood. "I don't know if he made it, he saved our lives."

"Is that so?" Rasmatas asked. Lyra glanced back at him, she could have sworn he smiled, but it was dark enough that she couldn't quite tell.

"We've got to look for him." Lyra said. The ground started to rumble.

"I really don't want to go back down there." Lancel said. He let out a weary sigh. "But I guess we don't have much of a choice.

Gwyn collapsed behind him. Natasha crouched down beside her. Lyra could make out blood pooling beneath her. Natasha ripped off a piece of her dress and wrapped it tightly around the wound.

"What happened?" Gwyn asked. Natasha pressed her hand against the bandage. It turned red pretty fast.

"Something about this cave, her semblance isn't working right." Natasha said. She ran her hand along Gwyn's forehead, it was dripping with sweat.

"She doesn't look like she'll last long." Lancel said. "We need to get her out of here."

"Alright Lancel and Natasha will drag Gwyn back to the main room. Call the others, signal the bullhead and get out of here. We'll find Ash and get back as soon as we can." Naia said. She glanced over to Rasmatas. "You okay with this or is there going to be grumbling."

"Both." Rasmatas replied. It was almost like a kid stamping his foot down.

- ARTHUR -

Arthur wasn't sure how long they've been in this cave. Time seems to fly when you can't see the sun. Fortunately most of the critters were elsewhere. Now it was just a matter of whether they preferred their journeys long or tedious. Ash was looking worse for wear, plenty of burns and gashes along his exposed skin. He wasn't sure how well that would heal, if it could heal. It was getting darker, even though they were scaling uphill. Distant cackling broke the silence.

"Grimm?" Ash asked. Arthur slowly reached for his sword.

"Never heard anything like that. That weapon of yours still work?" Arthur asked. Ash drew Silver Faust, the blade was warped like water and the gun mechanism seemed to have welded still.

"Give me an afternoon and some proper tools and it'd be good as new." Ash said. He gave it a firm slap.

"How about in the next ten minutes?" Arthur asked. Ash gave it another glance over.

"Give me a rock and I can make it work." Ash replied. Arthur scooped up a rock and tossed it to him. He started smacking the revolver cylinder back into place.

"Aren't those packed with dust?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, why?" Ash asked back.

"No reason." Arthur replied. He clicked a button on his collar, his breastplate began to expand outwards covering his limbs and his head. He tapped his helmet, everything was bathed in a bright yellow.

"What do you see?" Ash asked. He continued to smack his gun with a rock. It echoed louder than it should.

"Looks like there is some kind of opening." Arthur said. "Also looks like a staircase up next to it."

"Well thats good." Ash said. He gave it one final smack, there was a loud snap and the cylinder began to spin. It's frame wasn't as lucky. One good hit and the cylinder might smack loose. "Finally, I think we're ready."

They neared the opening. While it wasn't their intended destination, Arthur was curious. He was certain Ash was too. The clearing was almost pitch black. Arthur held his blade out and it light up like a torch. Blinding light revealed the cavern. In the center of the room, taking up much of the space, was a massive beast. Covered in thick scales, partially buried in the rocks. It's head and tail vanished into the walls opposite each other. Arthur would've though it was dead if it wasn't breathing.

There was something barely visible beneath the scaled mass. Ash stepped closer and ran his hand along a golden rosebud. He gripped it tight and pulled. It slid out from under the scales, which seemed to shift away as he did. The rosebud turned out to be a pommel, as he pulled a hilt emerged, followed by a guard and a blade. The golden blade had a sharp curve, it was more of an axe than a sword. Along the guard and jutting out was a long tube. A trigger ran along the hilt, near it was a small switch. Ash flicked the switch, a small canister ejected from the back of the hilt. Devoid of fuel but still in good shape.

There was a loud rumbling sound and the scales began to shift. Ash stumbled back. Arthur tapped him on the shoulder and took a couple steps back. Ash followed him. The beast let out a loud groan and the entire cave seemed to rumble as it did.

"I think we can both agree that we took a wrong turn." Arthur said. Ash turned to see Arthur heading for the stairs. Ash followed. They ran up the stairs without looking back. Ash slid the intricate blade into his belt.

- ARTHUR -

They sprinted down a long hallway, they could hear a rumbling of footsteps trailing behind them. Arthur glanced over his shoulder, it looked like they weren't out of the woods yet. Ash fired over his shoulder. The flash was blinding in the dark, the swarming mass of teeth scattered momentarily.

"What the hell are these things?" Ash asked. Arthur ran in front of him and swung his blade like a torch.

"Tunnelers. Don't let them bite you." Arthur said. He swung his blade through one of the advancing grimm. "Hurt's like hell and leaves a nasty wound."

"Wasn't planning on getting bit today." Ash replied. He fired a couple shots. There was a loud blast and the tunnel began to collapse. "Oh that's not good."

He felt an hand grab him by the shoulder and pulled him out of the way. Arthur spun around and slammed into a wall. Ash was on his hands and knees gasping for air. Arthur grabbed him and tossed him. He rolled along the ground. Arthur ran towards him. The last of the rocks fell. Arthur sat down next to Ash.

"Well, it's safe to say we can't go that way." Arthur said. He leaned against the wall. He heard a loud hiss. He spun around. A massive spider was skittering towards them. Ash spun around and stumbled back. Arthur raised his blade. He was really sick of this cave There was a loud ringing sound and a blade collided with the spider's abdomen. It suddenly swung into the wall beside it and began to slide backwards. It resisted and struggled to lunge. Arthur could make out a shape behind it. A large man with a big grin.

"Billy!" Ash shouted. "Boy am I glad to see you."

"How's the cave?" Billy asked. Ash laughed.

"Dark and horrifying. Boy do I know how to pick them!" Ash said. He fired a round into the spiders face. It began to spasm. Arthur lunged and swung his blade through it. It curled into a tense ball. Billy ripped his blade out and retracted it back into it's guard.

"Billy." Arthur said patting him on the shoulder. "I owe you one. Expect that I'll repay this debt soon."

Billy was grinning ear to ear. Ash patted him on the shoulder and he guided them back. They turned a corner. Ash felt something ram into him. He almost fell over, he glanced down to see dark hair and arms wrapped around his chest.

"Hey Morgan." Ash said. Arthur frowned, she turned and hugged him too.

"I'm so glad your safe. This cave is just awful." She said. "Grimm everywhere and creepy cultists."

"I know, I was there." Arthur said. "Found your friend lying in a pile of rubble."

"You brought him back in one piece." She said.

Arthur glanced over at Ash, he had to double take. Ash's scars were gone, his face was completely healed. Ash glanced back at him and raised a finger to his lips. Morgana grabbed them by the hands and dragged them away, as if they'd vanish if she let go. They reached a well lit room, there were worryingly large blood pools on the ground. Several shapes came into view. Lancel ran over and smacked him on the shoulder.

"What was that for?" Arthur asked.

"You had us worried." Lancel replied.

"I'll take it you're Ash" Naia said. Ash nodded. She pulled out her scroll. "Alright, get the bullhead ready to go we're leaving now."

"No time to explain, Gwyn is going to need an expedient departure." Rasmatas said.

They left the cave and were bathed in the unfamiliar light of the sun. Arthur covered his stinging eyes and followed the others by ear. He climbed into the bullhorn and found a warm seat waiting for him. It was cramped, but where they were going had soft beds, warm showers and fresh food. He glanced over at the stretcher in the middle of the bullhorn. Gwyn was staring up at him, her pupils were black orbs. He noticed the IV bag above her. She was probably doped out of her mind. He smiled down at her. She had the biggest grin. The engine roared to life, the forest disappeared below them.