"Can you see the bottom yet Lance?"

Lance clung to the rope that held him suspended in the deep pit. He opened one eye to peek at his surroundings. The lantern dangling from his hip was the only reliable light source this far down.

Hesitatingly, Lance glanced downward for a microsecond before instantly squeezing his eyes shut.

"Lance?" Hunks voice echoed down from above. "You okay buddy?"

"Peachy." Lance hissed a reply through clenched teeth. His eyes screwed shut. "I'm just dangling cold and alone in a bottomless pit."

"I told you I should've been the one to go." Pidge grunted under the strain of holding up the rope and added. "I'm not as heavy for starters."

"You also wouldn't survive a drop from this height." Shiro reminded her. "Hunks, Coran, and I are all too heavy. That leaves Lance as the best option."

He paused as they continued to funnel the rope.

"Still… this hole is way deeper than expected. I hope they're alright."

"Alluras definitely alright." Pidge said. "It's Keith you have to worry about. Assuming he's not already dead."

The group instantly fell silent.

Pidge shifted uncomfortably in her place.

It was well known amongst the team that Pidge often spoke without thinking or considering the weight of her words. So no one needed to speak for her to understand the line she crossed. The silence made the point for them.

"Sorry." She muttered in apology.

"Guys?" Lance's voice drifted up the hole.

They all stopped feeding the rope.

"I think I found the bottom?"

Keith liked to think they were getting close to an exit, if only because the air didn't feel quite as stale and damp as it had been just a few hours before. However, the darkness that permeated the cavern dampened his hopes. Even if there was an opening large enough to allow a decent airflow there was no guarantee it'd also be large enough for he and Allura to fit through.

In hindsight, it likely would have been a better idea to remain where they had fallen throu8gh the floor. Waiting for the others to come find them. It would have been preferable to wandering lost in a labyrinth of caverns with monstrous spiders potentially being around every corner.

Of course in another vein of thinking, if they'd stayed and the spiders had come in response to the noise of the ceiling collapsing in…

Keith cut off the line of thinking. There was no time to dwell on what they could have or should have done. Right now, they had to focus on staying alive and finding an exit.

"The airs picked up." Allura observed. "We seem to be heading in the right directions."

He shifted his gaze down the path they were going. It was true that he could feel a slight breeze against his skin. Meaning that if they kept in the direction they were going they may just find a way out.

"Should we shut off the lamp?"

Keith gave the princess a questioning look.

"To check for light." She explained. "If the cavern seems brighter than before than that means we're close to an opening."

He paused.

"Okay but," he spoke as he thought the thing through. "What if it's night out? I mean, exactly how long have we been down here?"

"I'm not sure." Allura admitted deflating a bit. "I've lost track of time."

The the princess perked up.

"But if night has fallen then there should be a full moon. I remember Coran remarking on the fact as we were setting up the spell."

"The one that sent us through the floor?"

Allura stopped and looked down in same.

"Yes."

Keith bit his lower lip and stared at his shoes. He really should have kept his mouth shut. Why must he always put his foot in his mouth?

"I'll give it a shot." he conceded. "The wick is burning low so we may have to grope around for a bit. Unless we want to be left in the dark at a dead end."

She nodded in understanding before Keith opened the lamp and blew out the tiny flame. They stood in the dark for a few moments, allowing their eyes to adjust.

Blinking the spots from his eyes, Keith looked about him and became keenly aware that while it was still darke he could make out vague shapes. Allura's familiar silhouette could just be made out at his side. It was definitely brighter than it had been before.

"I can definitely see better." Allura spoke slowly as she squinted her eyes. "Seems we're getting close."

Keith looked up and down the cavern.

"If we follow where the wind is coming from, and guide ourselves by taking every path that seems the brightest we just might make it out of here."

With that they quietly and carefully made their way without relighting the lamp. As they went along the air picked up and the gray and brown walls of the cavern became more and more visible. Eventually, it was bright enough for them to see their distance exit clearly.

Allura sharply inhaled.

Moonlight flowed in through an opening o n the far side of a massive open cavern. Illuminating a network of threads that crisscrossed the room like a giant complex series of wire traps. Out of the corner of his eye keith could make out some bulbous shapes hanging from the ceiling.

Egg sacs.

Keith swallowed hard as Allura's nails dug into his arm. Her whole form stiffed, her eyes grew as wide as supper plates, and the beginnings of a sob was just barely suppressed behind her hand. She held it all in with just the faintest shimmer of tears in her eyes to expose her terror.

Pulling Allura back into the cavern from whence they came. Keith held the princess by her shoulders and tried to calm her down.

"Princess. Princess, look at me."

His words fell on deaf ears.

Alluras eyes were fixated on the cavern.

Keith shook her and hissed as quietly as he could manage. "Allura!"

Jumping at her own name, Allura's attention snapped back to Keith.

"K-Keith…"

"It's okay Allura. Everythings gonna be okay."

"The… the spiders-"

"Didn't see us." He tried to sound confident but his shaking voice betrayed him. "We'll turn back. Find another way out."

He took her hand and tried to pull her away.

Allura didn't budge.

"There… might not be another way out."

"There might be." Keith insisted. "We don't have to go through there. We can turn back the way we came. Retrace our steps. Maybe find the opening we fell through. Maybe the others have already started a rescue attempt-"

"We got lost." She reminded him. "There's no way we can find our way back. Not when I couldn't even guide us out. We only found this exist by happenstance. If we turn back now.. We'll likely die wandering the tunnels."

Keith tried to speak but Allura shushed him with her finger.

"I'll be fine." She spoke softly as she gave him a shaky smile. " I'd rather take a chance on an assured escape than retreat into an unsure fate."

They stood stared one another down.

Keith caved.

"Fine. We'll try and get past the webs. But stay close okay?"

Allura nodded stolidly.

"I will."

"Let's go."

"Cheese and crackers." Lance breathed as he looked into the endless expanse of tunnels. "What is this place?!"

His voice echoed down the cavern before disappearing into nothingness.

"Spooky." Pidge breathed.

"Maybe we shouldn't be down here?" Hunk suggested. "I mean this place is super creepy. We have no idea what's down here."

"Oh ho never fear!" Coran's voice echoed from the stone around Hunk's neck. "It's just the castle catacombs. Just stay alert, don't get lost, and be careful not to step on any skulls."

All four of the monster hunts stopped at looked at their stones.

"Skulls?" Hunk spoke with a great deal of discomfort. "Like… bones?"

"Oh yes." Coran hummed. "All kinds of bones. So watch where you step."

Almost immediately the four huddled together and surveyed the ground around their feet. There were indeed various unidentifiable pieces of yellowish distinctly bone like shards scattered amongst the debris.

"Spooky." Pidge repeated. "Definitely, definitely spooky."

Shiro took a breath to steel himself before finally speaking.

"Alright so it seems likely Allura and Keith probably went off to try and find their way out. Since it took us a couple of hours to gather supplies, they have a major head start on us." He glanced at the group apprehensively. "We may have to split up."

"Split up?!" Lance protested. "Down here?! No way. Nu-uh. I am NOT wandering around alone down here."

"No one is going alone." Shiro assured. "We'll use the buddy system."

"Is that really any better though?" Pidge questioned. "I mean, at that point we'll just have three groups of two wandering around here at the same time. Plus we're assuming Keith and the princess are moving around. Unless they've stopped to camp out."

"Camping out? Like… alone? In the dark? Alone in the dark?" Lance's voice took on a negative connotation as he rubbed his arms in an attempt to keep warm in the cool cavern air. "No no no, we gotta find them like, now!"

"Which is why we have to hurry." Shiro insisted. "We won't have time to regroup if we all just split up. There's no other way to do this."

"Yeah yeah, I get that." Hunk nervously looked about him nervously. "But, like, even if we pair up and start looking. Whos to say Keith and Allura won't already have died from thirst or starvation? Or gotten into some kinda accident? Or… Or what if they got eaten by monsters?!"

Shiro growled in frustration.

"Well…"

The three man turned and looked at Pidge.

"I might have… one spell that can help out."