Pyrrha gazed blankly at her breakfast bagels the morning after the ill-fated bullhead trip. She wasn't the only one, as the rest of her team plus team RWBY were extremely subdued. Nora wasn't even inhaling her pancakes like usual, just nibbling on them.

Pyrrha had cried herself to sleep the previous night, and now felt more drained than she would have previously believed. The sight of Jaune's shocked face as the griffon took him away appeared to her every time she closed her eyes. She'd been completely helpless then, and that same feeling continued to haunt her. She glanced around at her friends, trying to think of anything else other than that horrible feeling of uselessness.

Ruby was twirling a strawberry absently, staring blankly. Her eyes were rimmed in red and bloodshot, and Pyrrha had no doubt that the young reaper had been crying just as much as she had. Ruby and Jaune were very close, being the first friend either had made at Beacon, and fellow team leaders. It was not surprising in the least that the girl had been heavily affected.

Yang wasn't as boisterous as she usually was. Usually when they were having breakfast she'd be grinning and cracking horrible puns to the groans of her audience. Now she just ate her cereal slowly while keeping close to her sister, obviously trying to offer her support. Pyrrha was just glad Yang hadn't decided to try to lift everybody's spirits with her usual antics. She wasn't sure how she'd have dealt with that, but she imagined it would be badly.

Blake was trying to distract herself by reading a book, having already finished her own food. However, Pyrrha could see that the faunus had stopped reading entirely, just staring down at the page, eyes not moving to take in the words. She looked drawn, showing that despite being the one that interacted with Jaune the least, the events of the previous day were still affecting her.

Weiss was paler than usual and looked exhausted. An almost palpable aura of guilt covered her like a cloak. The fact that Jaune had been taken because he'd saved her and Ruby was apparently weighing heavily on her mind, and it was clear she wasn't dealing with the feelings very well.

Ren looked stoic as ever, but his shoulders were slumped, and he sipped his morning tea slowly and ponderingly. The loss of the man he'd begun to consider like a brother had affected him so that he seemed to have even less energy than usual.

Nora, as stated before, was half-heartedly nibbling on her pancakes. She looked tired, obviously not having slept much. Pyrrha remembered that the Valkyrie had curled up with Ren on his bed rather than her own during the night, obviously seeking comfort. She didn't remember much due to her own tears, but she was sure Nora had cried into Ren's shoulder for at least a while.

Pyrrha and a couple of the others looked up when Sun and Neptune approached, the monkey faunus stretching with a small grin. "Ah, nice to relax, isn't it? I mean, it's a bummer they pushed back the Vytal Tournament to deal with the aftermath of the Breach, but I don't mind sticking around Beacon for a month or two longer." When nobody answered he quirked an eyebrow. "Hey, what's with you guys?" He looked around. "And where's Jaune, anyway? He said he was going to lend me a couple of issues of X-Ray and Vav."

Ruby's face crumpled, and Yang hastily wrapped an arm around her. Weiss hung her head, blinking tears out of her eyes. Nora dropped the piece of pancake she was nibbling on and pushed her plate away, looking anguished. Ren set his tea down, though his hands were shaking slightly. And Pyrrha buried her face in her hands, trying to keep the tears that wanted to burst out at bay.

It was Blake, the calmest among them, who answered the question. "Yesterday there was an ambush by Grimm on the way home from our mission. Jaune…" She let out a deep breath. "Jaune was pulled out of the bullhead by a griffon and… and dropped into the Deathlands. We couldn't go back for him. So he's still in there."

Sun and Neptune stared, shocked, as did several other students who had been close enough to hear her. "W-what? The Deathlands? But… But that's…" Neptune seemed at a loss for words as Sun was struck silent.

Before the conversation could continue Goodwitch's voice came from the entrance of the cafeteria. "Students, your attention please!" Everybody turned to find her and Ozpin standing there. For once, the headmaster didn't have his customary mug of coffee in hand, which made everybody look at him intently.

"Thank you." Ozpin said. "I wanted to inform you of an incident that occurred yesterday before any rumors pop up as they are want to do." He took a breath before continuing. "On their way back from a mission, teams RWBY and JNPR were attacked by a large force of airborne Grimm. Normally this would not be an issue, however they were forced to fly over the area known as the Deathlands during evasion." The students began to whisper to each other but Ozpin continued unperturbed. "During the fighting a couple of students almost fell out of the bullhead and into the forests below. Fortunately, they were saved by Jaune Arc. Mr. Arc managed to pull them back into the aircraft safely. Unfortunately, this left Mr. Arc in a position which enabled a griffon to grab hold of him and take him away. It was brought down, but this meant that Mr. Arc fell into the Deathlands, and it was unsafe for the bullhead to turn back for him." There were gasps at this, the students staring at Ozpin in horror. More than one turned to Jaune's friends, who were all looking dejected. "However, I assure you that we are working hard to recover Mr. Arc. As we speak, a team of Beacon faculty have headed into the area we believe he landed in to search for him. So rest easy that we are doing everything possible to bring him home. That is all." With that Ozpin turned and left the hall, Goodwitch following behind him.

There was an explosion of talking as they left, everybody wanting to share opinions on what they just found out. The general consensus seemed to be that Jaune was a goner, and the teachers were only going to bring back his remains, if they brought anything back at all.

Pyrrha clenched her fists. Everybody was ready to give up on Jaune, and the worst part was that she could understand why. Fully trained, high level huntsmen died quickly in the Deathlands, and Jaune was known to be good tactically, but not the greatest physically. The odds of Jaune still being alive even now were small.

Team CFVY made their way over. "Hey guys." Velvet said, giving Ruby a hug, which the younger girl eagerly returned.

"We're sorry to hear about Jaune." Coco said.

"He's not dead!" Nora said fiercely, glaring at the fashion conscious girl.

Coco lowered her shades to look at Nora. "Never said he was. That doesn't mean this isn't rough on you or him."

Yatsuhashi was the next to speak. "Jaune has a surprisingly strong will. I am sure he will manage to survive till he's rescued. We just need to believe in his strength and look forward to the moment he returns."

Pyrrha looked down at her clenched fists. "I'm trying. But when I think of what he could be going through…" She let a tear escape from her eye.

Sun moved close and patted her back. "Hey, like the big guy said said, don't worry about it. That guy's way too stubborn to die. He'll be back. You'll see."

"Makes me wonder what he's up to now." Yang said musingly.

Jaune woke up from an extremely restless sleep, thankfully still on the branch he'd claimed and not being eaten by a monster. He stretched with a soft groan even as his stomach rumbled loudly.

"Ugh, I really need to find something to eat. Wonder if there are any berries nearby." He froze when he heard something moving below him at the base of the tree.

Slowly, carefully, he peered over, expecting some horrible monstrosity with too many teeth and swords for arms, only to find… a boar. He blinked. It wasn't a boarbatusk, but a regular boar. He sighed in relief as he watched it rummage around the tree for something to eat. For some reason the idea that there were regular animals and not just Grimm in this area hadn't entered his mind. It was reassuring to know it wasn't just him alone with the monsters.

His stomach growled again, demanding sustenance. He patted it irritably. "Okay, and what am I supposed to… feed… you…" He looked down at the boar again thoughtfully.

He'd never hunted before. He'd never cleaned a kill or cooked his own food over a fire. But he was hungry enough to learn.

"Alright, piggy. Sorry, but it's you or me." He prepared himself to pounce, Crocea Mors in his hand, and once he was certain of where he'd land he dropped from his branch, sword positioned to hit his target.

It went better than he could have hoped. His blade caught the boar in the back of the neck, severing its spine and almost beheading it despite its thick hide thanks to his momentum. The animal didn't even have time to let out a squeal before it was dead, which was for the best, as far as Jaune was concerned. Less of a chance of something being attracted to the noise.

What he hadn't prepared himself for was the blood. He was used to fighting Grimm, which didn't bleed. This was quite different. Hesitantly he picked the dead boar up, holding it away without thinking to keep from getting any blood on himself.

"Okay Jaune, now what?" He asked himself. He thought for a moment before sighing. He'd need to head back to the stream he'd passed the previous evening, both to get something to drink but also to help himself clean his kill. At least, he thought being near water would help. He wasn't really sure. Still, he carried his kill towards the stream, feeling thirsty now.

A short while later he'd washed his hands and had a drink before turning towards the boar, trying to figure out what to do now. His only cutting implement was his sword, so that's what he'd need to use. He found himself wishing he had a proper hunting knife, which would probably work better. He made a mental note to get himself one when he got back to civilization.

He quickly took his armor and shirt off to keep them from getting dirty before getting to work. Drawing Crocea he stuck the tip into the boar's hide and started trying to cut it. It was difficult, but he slowly made progress.

Slowly but surely he managed to puzzle out how to clean his kill. The moment he had to remove the organs he had to move and vomit into the river, but he managed to get it done. He then cleared one of the large stones by the river and started cutting the meat off the boar and setting it aside. By the time he was done he was bloody and sweaty, and the boar's carcass had been turned into a bunch of amateurishly cut pieces of meat.

"Whew, finally. Now I need to cook this…" He looked around for stones and sticks he could use to start a fire. Thankfully he'd gone camping with his family before, so he knew the setup. Thinking of happier times he got to work.

He looked on in satisfaction once he had a campfire set up. Now he just needed to light it. "…Aww hell…" His face fell. He didn't have a lighter. He bit his lip, but started working on the old rubbing sticks trick.

It took him far, far too long for his liking, but he finally got a fire going what felt like an hour later. Not that he could tell, since his scroll was smashed and he didn't wear a watch. Another thing he'd have to correct when he got back, he thought to himself.

Still, now that the fire had been started he could start cooking. As he was setting the meat to cook on some skewers he'd whittled he had a sudden thought. He hadn't run into anything yet today besides the boar. No other animals and, thank everything holy, no Grimm. True, the day was young and it wouldn't last, but he still found it odd. He was under the impression the place was crawling with monsters.

What Jaune didn't realize was that the Deathlands, while one of the most dangerous places on Remnant, also had areas with differing populations, just like any other location. He'd been lucky to land in an area that was sparsely populated by Grimm, at least in comparison to the rest of the region. As he moved, however, he would pass through more populated areas, where he'd be lucky to go twenty feet before encountering something.

For now, however, he was unaware of any of this and was simply enjoying the peace and quiet as long as it would last.

By the time the first bit of meat was ready Jaune's stomach was roaring with hunger. Having cleaned himself up while he was waiting, bored, he eagerly set upon the meal.

It was rather bland, since he hadn't had any spices to use, but he was far too hungry to care and eagerly ate it all, followed by several more pieces. By the time he was satisfied half the meat was gone, and he was leaning back, patting his stomach. "Finally…"

This left him with a predicament, however. What to do with the rest of the meat? He couldn't just leave it behind. He didn't know when he'd next find food, and it would be best if he carried some around with him for later.

He looked around for something to carry the meat in before spotting his clothes. He considered them before grabbing the shirt he wore under his hoodie. Nodding to himself he tied the end to turn it into a makeshift bag and placed the meat inside. Then he put his hoodie and armor on before walking back the way he came, wanting to keep going.

He fervently hoped he was going in the right direction to get out of this deathtrap.

Several hours later the sun was a bit past noon and Jaune was panting. He'd run into an Ursa Major not long before, and the fight had worn on for twenty minutes as Jaune did his best to keep away from its devastating swipes while trying to take it out. He'd only managed to kill it by luck, as he'd forced the tip of his sword up through its jaw and up into its brain as it tried to lunge at him.

He looked up to find out that he'd reached a cliff. A bit further away he could see a waterfall dropping over the edge. He looked around for a way to get down. He spotted several large trees rising from below nearby he made his way towards them, using them to make his way to the bottom without injuring himself.

He sighed in relief when he made it down and turned to continue on his way before spotting something on another tree. He made his way toward it before seeing that he was correct. What he had originally taken to be an uncommonly straight little branch was actually an arrow.

He tugged it out of the wood and studied it. It was made of some composite material that had obviously endured the weather well for however it had been out. The metal arrowhead was still in surprisingly good condition, with only the slightest bit of rust on it. He wondered where it came from. Obviously from one of the 'visitors' to the Deathlands, but who? And where were they?

He placed the arrow back where it was to find out where it was shot from and saw that it pointed to the base of the waterfall. Curious, as there didn't seem to be any place for someone to shoot from there, he made his way towards it, wanting to see if he could find anything else.

It took him a bit of looking before he realized that there was a small cave hidden behind the waterfall. Remembering the last time he entered a cave he drew Crocea Mors and made his way around the water as best he could and into the cave before grimacing at what he found.

The body of what Jaune could only assume to be a Huntsman lay in the back of the cave. He'd been there long enough that only bones remained, but not so long that his gear had decayed with him. Indeed, some of his stuff looked pristine.

Jaune hesitated before looking at the body apologetically. "Sorry, but, well, I need it more than you do." Felling like a thief he began to go through the stuff in front of him, seeing if there was anything he could use.

The first and most obvious thing to him was the leather pack at the skeleton's side. If nothing else, he could use that to carry any supplies, including food. It would do much better than his shirt, that was for sure.

He opened the bag to find some rations that had gone bad, so he threw them to the side. A change of clothes that, from the look of the remains wouldn't fit him, but which he kept to use as makeshift bandages and/or kindling. A couple of medical supplies such as a roll of bandages, a box of band-aids, some pain relief medicine and some disinfectant. All things he would keep. To his delight there was a lighter with some small vials of fire dust for it. That would save him a lot of time. Finally there was a canteen he was happy to find, as now he could carry water with him rather than hope he'd find a stream. That appeared to be it, though he wasn't complaining. All those things would come in handy.

Then Jaune turned to the body itself. He gently pulled a well-made composite bow from the skeleton's hands and looked it over. It didn't seem to be capable of mechashifting, but he didn't care. He felt he couldn't have made a better find when it came to ranged weaponry.

One of his sisters had taken up the bow and had taught him when he was younger. He was decently proficient in it, and he'd considered getting one when he went to Beacon. However in the end he decided to stick to Crocea.

Now, however, it would be a big help, as it could help him hunt better than his sword could. Not to mention that having a ranged option was always a good idea, as his friends had shown him more than once.

He turned back to the body. "Thanks. I promise to put it to good use. And when I get out, I'll see if I can find your family and give it to them, so they have something of yours." He proceeded to remove a large quiver thankfully bristling with arrows from the body to strap to his own and, noticing it strapped to a boot, a knife that he figured he could use for his hunting, at the least.

The last thing he checked for was a scroll. If he could call for evac that would work better than making his own way out alone. He was happy when he found one, but frowned when he realized it was out of power and he had no way to charge it. Sighing he set it back where he found it. "Well, it couldn't all go my way. Thanks for the help anyway. I owe you big." He raised a hand in farewell to the unknown Huntsman. "See you on the other side, but hopefully not too soon." Shouldering the pack after stuffing his meat filled shirt into it and picking up the bow, he made his way back out of the cave.

He squinted slightly once he was back out in the sunshine before looking at the way he had been going before. Seeing nothing around he settled the pack more comfortably on his shoulders before nocking an arrow, ready to draw. He let out a breath. "Alright Arc, you're better off than you were before. Now get out of this place and back to Beacon. You've got a tournament to prepare for." Having psyched himself up he proceeded to make his way, searching for a way out, ready for anything.

Well, almost anything.

Finally, new chapter of this fic. Got it done quick, too. Took me about five and a half hours. It is short of course, but I'd already said most of the chapters of this fic would be. I hope it was good anyway.

I know not much happened in this chapter. It was mostly setup. I needed to show Jaune begin to adapt, and him getting those supplies is something important, especially the bow. He needed something he could use other than Crocea, and I debated between that and a revolver. In the end I decided that a bow wasn't something I remembered seeing in the series besides from Cinder, and the idea of Jaune using the type of weapon she used to kill Pyrrha to fight her appealed to me.

I'm still debating on what Jaune will get as he travels through the Deathlands. I was thinking a mythical piece of armor to go with his Semblance, which I've mostly decided on, just not all the details. He might come across the remains of other poor souls who died in the area that could give him things he needs too. I'll try not to make it happen too often though.

I'm sure some people are annoyed that there were no fights in this chapter besides an offscreen one. There are two reasons for this. One, I can't show every fight Jaune gets into in the Deathlands. That's just not feasible. So some will be alluded to if they aren't important in some way. Secondly, well, I've said it before, I'm not good at action. Character interaction/development is what I'm best at. It is very, very hard for me to make a halfway decent fight, though I do try. I think it shows in my work.

Speaking of character interaction, I hope the scene in Beacon went well. Showing what's happening there will be a regular thing. Maybe not every chapter, but most of them. Jaune's 'loss' is going to obviously affect them, and I want to show that. That way his return will be even better.

Still undecided on the pairing, though I'm sorry to tell the Arkos haters that it will very likely be included. I'd say 99%. Sorry, my fic, my choice.

Next, I'm going to see about posting the first chapter of my Chrono Trigger idea, if only to get it out of my head. That will most likely be on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. If you're interested in the series, give it a look when it comes out. It's just a novelization with a few changes to canon, but I'm still looking forward to doing it.

Anyway, till next time, I'm off. Please review.