For once in his life, Cobalt felt like he really was the calmest and most collected person in the group, which was saying something when Coco was there too. Of course, he couldn't exactly blame his mother for being afraid; he'd heard about her past experiences with tight and dark spaces like these, and they hadn't been pleasant.

He was still surprised that she'd admitted to her fear so quickly. Coco had always kept her fears close, and until now, Cobalt was pretty sure that only he and the rest of team CFVY had known about this one. Then again, given that Astra had been the first to admit to being scared, Coco had probably figured that knowing she wasn't the only one would be comforting. His respect for her grew every day.

They'd been walking for about twenty minutes, and there had still been no signs of Grimm. Cobalt found himself hoping that the cave was empty, and that they could turn around and go home with no harm done and some extra credit on their belt. Cobalt didn't mind the mission at all, but he didn't want Astra and Coco to have to keep dealing with their fear if there wasn't even any point.

Out of nowhere, a couple of stones tumbling from the roof of the cave made everyone stop and jump. All lights flashed towards the area where the rocks had fallen from, but there was no Grimm waiting up there to pounce.

Cobalt couldn't see Coco's eyes behind her sunglasses, but he heard a small 'hmm' from her, with an edge of concern to it.

"Cobalt,"

Cobalt's ears pricked as Coco addressed him. "Yeah?"

"Have you heard any cracking or creaking in here?"

Cobalt twitched his ears. Now that he thought about it, he'd been hearing noises like that since the group had entered the cave, though they'd been so constant that they'd kind of faded into the background.

"Yeah," he admitted, "I've been hearing it in the background the whole time we've been in here. And I think I've heard little rocks falling in other tunnels too."

Coco was quiet for a moment, before she spoke again, "That's not good."

Astra stiffened. "Why? What's not good?" She looked as equally nervous as Luna, which Cobalt would have found funny if Coco's words hadn't filled him with concern too.

"The cave is more unstable than I thought," Coco explained, "If we're not careful, it could collapse." her voice was tight, and Cobalt understood why. One of her bad experiences with tight spaces had been on a mission in her second year at Beacon, when a Goliath had caused the opening of a cave to collapse, killing the family Team CFVY had been trying to evacuate. That mission had traumatised the whole team, and Cobalt knew Coco was fearing a repeat of that now.

Cobalt stepped close to his mother. "If that does happen, I can use my Semblance to stop us from getting hurt," he reminded her.

Coco shook her head. "Your Semblance is strong, but not enough to hold up an entire cave roof. And even if it was, you wouldn't be quick enough."

Cobalt frowned, realizing that she was right. No amount of strength would be of any use if the cave collapsed before he could even react to it. All the same, he suddenly felt the need to start practicing his Semblance's strength.

"We need to turn back," Coco announced. "Even if this cave is empty, it's not going to be safe for mining operations to resume anyway."

She turned, and at that moment, a Petra Gigas dropped from the cave roof and landed behind her with enough force to shake the tunnel, sending several more small rocks showering down.

Cobalt and the rest of the team drew their weapons instantly, but before they could strike, two Beowolf rushed out from the darkness.

"Are you serious?" Lily spat. She charged one of the Beowolf with Evening Jade in blade form, but it dodged away.

The rest of the group leapt into action. Unable to continue holding their scrolls, they were plunged into darkness, the light from various dust crystals and the Grimms' eyes now their only source of light. Cobalt held out Stoneheart and summoned the fallen rocks towards it, shaping them to wrap around and reinforce the blade. At least he had plenty of ammo to use against these things, and he didn't need to see rocks to use them.

He dove for the second Beowolf, but the Petra Gigas intercepted him, and Stoneheart smacked uselessly into the Grimm's stone body.

"It's old!" Coco reminded him, swinging her handbag at the other Beowolf. "It's going to know what it's doing; we have to be smart."

Cobalt stared at the Petra Gigas as it loomed over him, the white mask of its face standing out among the dark stone of its body. If he could just hit that…

He pulled a small boulder from the ground with his Semblance and thrust it at the Grimm as hard as he could, but it fell short and crashed into its chest, barely making a crack. Cobalt barely had any time to react as it lifted a giant arm to swing at him, only managing to roll out of the way at the last minute.

A shout of triumph came from Luna, and Cobalt picked himself up to see her standing on the back of one of the Beowolf, having thrust her spear into it. Seeing an opportunity, Cobalt flung himself over and plunged Stoneheart into its side, ripping a dark gash in its body. Luna dropped to the ground as the monster dissipated into smoke. One down, two to go.

Cobalt and Luna both turned to face their remaining assailants. Coco was swinging her handbag at the Petra Gigas while Lily shot at it with Evening jade, the bullets flying harmlessly off from it. Astra was facing the remaining Beowolf on her own, swinging her hammer as it dodged her with ease. This Beowolf was bigger than the one Luna and Cobalt had defeated, almost old enough to be an Alpha, judging by the several spikes of bone protruding from its hide. It wouldn't be as easy.

"Go and help Astra," Luna instructed Cobalt, "I'll try seeing if I can dislodge any of the rocks from the big one."

Cobalt nodded and ran for the Beowolf. It instantly turned to face him, but as he stumbled to avoid skidding right into its jaws, Astra took the chance to swing Light of the Party into its side, sending it flying. Cobalt regained his composure and readied himself to strike, but the Beowolf was quick to pick itself up again, and turned to face them with a vicious snarl that shook the cave.

It was Astra's quick thinking that saved them from being charged at again, conjuring a ball of light and throwing it into the monster's face, not enough to do much damage, but enough to blind it temporarily. Seizing their chance, Cobalt and Astra raised their weapons and charged, finishing the beast off with a quick blow from each of them.

Just the Petra Gigas left. Luna was halfway up its body with Striking Shadow plunged between its rocky armour while Coco and Lily kept its arms busy, but as she managed to dislodge a boulder, the Grimm summoned another to fill the gap, telepathically pulling it from the roof and sending several more crashing to the ground. The new rock knocked Striking Shadow out of place, and Luna crashed to the ground.

Astra growled and swung Light of the Party behind her shoulder, running straight toward the Petra Gigas with a battle cry of rage. its attention grabbed, the Grimm turned quickly, and Astra was met with a heavy stone arm that collided with her and slammed her into a wall, her aura flickering.

Luna gasped. "Astra!" As she ran over to help her girlfriend, Cobalt stared helplessly at the Petra Gigas. It was too smart to let anything near its face, and dislodging the rocks from its body was no use when it could just keep grabbing more, especially when the act heightened the risk of a cave-in.

His gaze fell to the rocks the Petra Gigas had caused to fall, just barely illuminated by tiny dust crystals. No, it was a stupid idea…and dangerous. Cobalt glanced at Astra, who was struggling to pick herself up, Luna at her side in concern. Staying in this cave with this monster was dangerous too. What other choice did he have?

"Everyone get away from it and get ready to run!" He shouted, preparing himself.

Coco stared at him. "What!?"

"Just trust me!" Cobalt shot back. Coco and Lily leapt away and headed back towards to cave entrance as the Petra Gigas attempted to swing an arm at them. Astra and Luna joined them, Astra leaning against Luna's side.

Taking a deep breath, Cobalt began to slowly back towards the group, and concentrated on the cave roof above the massive Grimm. Summoning all of his strength, he pulled downwards. The rocks in the roof shivered and crumbled, before dislodging and falling to hit the Petra Gigas. More rocks followed, dislodged by the others, and loud rumbling filled the cave.

Cobalt stopped and whipped around. "Come on!"

Not needing to be told twice, the group turned and ran back the way they'd come as rocks fell around them. Behind them, the shriek of a Geist indicated that the Petra Gigas had been reverted back to its base form and defeated. Following was a loud bang, and then another. The dust crystals had been activated. The Grimm problem was over, but now the group had to outrun a collapsing cave and the explosions of several dust crystals.

Oh Gods, Cobalt prayed, I hope I made the right move.

They dodged stones and boulders as large cracks started appearing along the roof and walls of the cave, the dust that fell almost blinding Cobalt. He looked back and saw Astra hurrying along, still supported by Luna. Ducking back, he joined Astra on the opposite side to Luna, helping her to speed up. As they ran, she seemed to regain a little of her strength, until she was keeping pace without help.

A huge boulder crashed down beside Cobalt, barely missing him, and sending him sprawling onto the ground. He didn't have time to recover. Ignoring his stinging knees and elbows, he picked himself up and kept running. Just a bit further. He glanced around as he ran, making sure the rest of the team was still there.

Please let everyone make it. Please let everyone make it.

Ahead, a speck of light shone in the darkness. The entrance!

Another explosion sounded behind them, sending a shockwave of warm air that propelled the group forward as they tried not to trip and fall. They couldn't afford to fall.

Almost there!

Right as Cobalt didn't think his lungs could hold out any longer, they reached the entrance as it threatened to crumble and trap them inside. Cobalt shot out and collapsed onto the leaves, panting heavily. Picking himself up, he looked around. One, two, three, four…everyone had made it out okay.

He stood up and brushed the leaves and dust off his body, adrenaline still coursing through him. They'd made it. Thank the Gods, they'd made it.

"Shit!" The gasp came from Luna, who was holding her arm. "I lost my bandanna back there."

Astra shot to her feet. "I'll get it." Before anyone could react, she turned and sped back into the still-collapsing cave.

As the shock wore off, Cobalt moved to run after her. "Astra, wait!" A hand pulled him back as he approached the entrance, and he turned to see Coco.

"It's not safe," she told him quickly, "I'll get her."

Coco took one step, and the entrance of the cave exploded with enough force to throw the team backwards.

Cobalt's ears rang from the sound, and he gathered himself back up and looked around. What just…wait, no. His gaze fell on the collapsed cave entrance. No!

"Astra!" The scream was Luna's, but Cobalt couldn't bring himself to turn and look at her. He was fixated on the cave entrance, hardly daring to breathe. Please…please…

Nobody moved. As shocked and horrified silence filled the air, the rocks shifted. Cobalt leaned forward. Orange hair poked through the rocks and Astra appeared, clutching Luna's purple bandanna in one hand, the other wrapped around her waist. Her hair was messy, she was limping, and she was covered in scratches, but she was there. Cobalt let out his breath.

"Astra!" Luna started forward, her voice aching with relief. "Thank the Gods you're okay."

Astra stumbled forward, her eyes half-closed. "Right…about that…"

She moved her arm, and Cobalt's heart dropped into his stomach. A huge chunk of dust stuck out from the side of Astra's torso, her shirt ripped and soaked in blood from the gash. Her eyes rolled back as she tried to take a step, before she collapsed into the fallen leaves.