Qrow had dealt with some serious bullshit in the past. He had fought terrifying Grimm and bloodthirsty terrorists. He had tiptoed around political minefields (yes, really) and had hunted down villains who were the worst of the worst. He knew secrets of the world that would incite riots and chaos if it were to become widely known. It was impossible to suppress the belief that he had seen it all and that there wasn't much left that could rattle him.

As Harbinger, his loyal weapon, cut through what he couldn't describe as anything but a fucking zombie he realized that he was still naive to the world's darkest truths.

"Not that it could get much fucking darker!" His free right arm braced against a gnashing ghoul while its rotting and yellowed 'teeth' splattered sickly bile against his cheek. It was forcing him against a wall, pinning his arm while his other struggled to fend off its many friends.

"Got you!" The kid tasked as his temporary partner spun horizontally through the air while wrapped in her bowling-ball-on-a-string string. Centrifugal force careened her miniature wrecking ball through the skull of his assailant and the ghoul directly next to it. Grey matter burst from its broken skull and splattered against her weapon and the floor.

Now free to get some leverage, Qrow pushed both feet off the wall and propelled himself through the darkness while Harbinger whirred into its scythe form. The only light he had to work with was a nearby discarded torch casting confusing shadows that made the walls and floor dance chaotically but he would make do. Twisting his body he attacked the surrounding ghouls in a deadly flurry almost too fast to perceive. He landed dramatically several feet away as four ghouls fell to pieces behind him but he had no time to pose.

"Kid!"

Said faunus twirled her weapon's string with fingers from both hands to perform what could only be described as yoyo tricks. Her Wrecking-Ball spun and shot around her with shocking speed and the sounds of crumbling and breaking ribs and spines filled the air around her. She paused for only a moment to glare hard at Qrow.

He managed to speak before she could. "I know, I know! What is your name?" Ducking underneath the flash of a weapon he briefly questioned where the hell these ghouls had gotten pitchforks from.

Before she could answer a ghoul stabbed into her leg with its farming scythe. Her aura did what it could to soften the blow and prevent it from sinking too deep but these creatures viscously penetrated and nigh-ignored her once reliable defenses. She screamed aloud before Qrow dove in to kick away the ghoul and smoothly decapitate it. As he circled around her to protect her from the encroaching hoard she gingerly pulled the rusted tool from her thigh while biting her lip hard enough that it began to bleed. Her faunus eyes granted her night vision to quickly inspect her wound - it wasn't too bad thanks to her barriers and her aura had already begun to heal the wound. Still, it hurt, and she doubted she could put too much more stress on both it and her aura. As she stood back up she subtly glanced at her aura levels. Orange.

"Tau." A chill ran through her. Her name spoken aloud, barely audible above the moans and screams of the long-dead, felt wrong. She straightened her body and held her weapon tight. She and Qrow were now stood back to back and slowly rotating in place, fighting back any ghoul who dared get too close. They had been fighting for half an hour straight now and the numbers of creatures had only seemed to swell after each wave. Despite them being quite weak individually the unending stream of them was exhausting the both of them.

"It's been good meeting you, Tau. After this, wanna go and get a coffee?" Harbinger thrust forward and pierced through two ghouls.

"Excuse me? I'm twenty-three. Don't you think I'm a little young for you?" Tau pulled her Wrecking-Ball over her shoulder into a downward strike, crushing the body of an approaching mutt. It crumpled to the floor but its hate-filled growling told her it was still alive. Her semblance activated and the wound she had given it with her weapon deepened then expanded, blowing its head into pieces.

For a moment the horror and desperation of the situation was gone. Qrow spun around to face her incredulously with a look of mortification. "Excuse me? How old do you think I am?!" He scoffed before turning back to his approaching creatures. Harbinger clicked and hinged downwards releasing two dangerous-looking shotgun barrels hidden inside. "Besides, I actually thought you were younger. Glynda said you had only recently graduated?" Shell casings full of dust exploded out from Harbinger and burst against the group of ghouls, fire and destruction echoing out in a wave from the point of impact. Qrow suddenly realized what he said made him seem even creepier. "Er, not that I was trying to ask out you because I thought you were younger, it was more a 'we'll definitely get out of this mess' kinda thing." He cleared his throat.

A swing from her Wrecking-Ball knocked a ghoul backwards into a larger group of them before her semblance activated and the wound she caused reverberated and deepened. The injured ghoul's chest exploded and the small group it had crashed into was impaled by its ribs and other bones."I stayed an additional year for special training," Tau paused before giving Qrow an exhausted wink. "And yeah, I get it. Maybe I'll take you up on that offer."

There must've still been upwards of sixty creatures around them and it seemed their fighting both drove them further into the tunnels and attracted different, stranger creatures. As they had gone further and further into the darkness branching paths had revealed themselves and each one brought the promise of at least a dozen new threats. Now careening from one such branching hallway was a large, ogre-like mockery of a man. The beast stumbled forward while wildly swinging an arm that had a piece of rubble seemingly fused into the flesh, carelessly knocking away a large group of smaller ghouls as it bellowed a foul and sickly laugh. A swollen and fleshy belly jiggled dangerously as it threw its weight at the two.

"Down!" Qrow grabbed Tau and pulled her to the floor in a desperate dodge. The obese mass careened over them and tumbled through the air, landing with a disgusting splodge on the opposite side. Qrow wiped off flecks of disgusting black liquid that had dripped down from its overhead-passing form. One smooth motion decapitated the disgusting creature as Tau and he returned to formation.

"Thanks," Tau gasped. Qrow furrowed his brow in worry. She was more impressive than he had originally given her credit for but she was nearly spent. To be honest he was quickly reaching a similar state. He wished she had never come on this mission. Damn Goodwitch, and damn his luck. He was going to be the death of yet another promising huntress and the kid he had come to save in the first place was definitely dead, no chance he had survived this shit.

A shrill, bright whistle bounced through the hallways. Both he and Tau started in shock and hesitant hope - a huntsman? Down the hall, holding aloft a homemade torch in one hand and a strange toothed saw-like blade in the other was G.H. He stood with his back to what seemed to be an opening in the halls, a sudden expanse of space - at least it seemed that way from where Tau and Qrow stood as the light bouncing off stone walls suddenly petered off into endless darkness instead. Qrow groaned; the kid wasn't dead but now he definitely was. Tau and he, official huntsman both, were somewhat able to mitigate the attacks these creatures made; their aura was admittedly barely useful but they still would've been dead several times over without it. G.H., Qrow knew, didn't have such defenses.

"Kid! Go! Save yourself! We're huntsmen, we'll handle this!"

There was another shrill whistle and a sudden light rain of pebbles. The kid was throwing rocks. He was so dead. His actions both in noise and action had an immediate and growing effect - more and more ghouls and mutts were beginning to turn their attention towards G.H., though whether the creatures were annoyed or just stupid Qrow couldn't tell. Since creatures from either side of Qrow and Tau were starting to stumble in the direction of the kid, the two huntsmen had to move with the flow in order to maintain a safe distance on all sides.

Tau hissed a question at Qrow he couldn't hear. The world around him had gone dead quiet as his senses honed in on the scent of gasoline, dust, and the liquid now dampening his shoes.

The moment Qrow pieced together the puzzle he wrapped his arms around Tau - much to her shock and conflicted emotions - and sprinted as fast as he could away. He pushed off the ground while holding Tau with superhuman and adrenaline-fueled strength and leaped above the crowd of hastening beasts. Harbinger exploded outward and was stabbed into the stone ceiling, the powerful blade digging deep and latching there.

The moment the two were hanging from the ceiling G.H. tossed his torch into the horde of creatures and dove for cover.

The world exploded. The sea of gasoline and lines of dust had erupted in thunderous explosions and white-hot burning fires. Magma-like burning bodies were thrown through the air and screams were drowned out only by the roar of hell itself filling the cavern. Where there was once blinding darkness now only existed blinding light and Qrow might've thought it had turned day here, far beneath the surface.

As desperately as Qrow held and protected Tau to even the extent of shielding her with his aura they had been caught too close to the explosion. Harbinger was ripped from stone and the two of them were blown backward, heat singing their clothes and the micro hairs on their bodies. They tumbled to the ground now separated and exhausted. Tau had lost consciousness as she collapsed into the stone and Qrow felt his aura barrier break. Harbinger clattered to the ground dozens of feet away as he felt aura exhaustion - the byproduct of pushing oneself - hit him like a wave. Dizziness and exhaustion forced him to his hands and knees when he tried to stand so he instead crawled towards Tau.

"Dammit!" Qrow hissed in pain through his teeth, desperately clinging to consciousness. The world was still ablaze around him and screaming ghouls stumbled around in the light. Burning clothes and melting flesh filled his senses as combusting bodies cascaded down around him and then burned in silence. He wrapped his arms around Tau as a familiar obese foot crashed down in his vision. He followed the grotesque leg up to a bubbling and burning belly, then followed that up to a decapitated body wielding its stone arm. Bubbling blood spewed from the stump as though it were still laughing as it brought down its terrible weapon upon the defenseless two.

Then it was dead. Qrow blinked the sweat and pain from his blurry eyes. The kid, G.H., had dashed to their aid and in a bloody flurry with that dangerous-looking saw-toothed cleaver had cut the beast in half. His silhouette against the still-burning flames covered in blood and gas, slick with death and power was not the silhouette of a kid nor a student. It was the silhouette of a Hunter.

Qrow finally lost consciousness as he and Tau were dragged from the screaming mass of flesh and fire.

Qrow awoke in pain. His body ached and the hard stone and lack of a pillow didn't help his comfort. His eye cracked open as he subtly looked around where he lay.

G.H. was sat marveling at Harbinger. He clearly could tell he now held a spectacular weapon. Shining metal that had been cleaned of blood and gore beamed at him while hiding interlocking metal held in place by an advanced system of gears. Qrow could tell G.H. feared pressing any buttons or activating any mechanisms so instead gave it simple admiration.

Qrow decided it was about time to get up and groaned as he fully embraced the pain. G.H. in embarrassment or fear hurriedly threw down Qrow's transforming longsword with a harsh clatter and bang. Groggy eyes stared up at him in annoyance and slight disdain.

"If you're gonna another hunter's weapons without permission you might as well treat them a little better." Qrow sat up and pushed away the thin cover he had been given as a blanket. His body ached as he held up a hand to his bleeding scalp. "Damn."
"My apologies sir, I meant no disrespect. Your weapons and techniques are fascinating to one such as I and I had merely -"

"They weren't kidding when they said you talk weird." No response. "Look, no judgment. Just give me a second." Qrow peered around to get his bearings.

The three of them were in a small outcropping of stone and moss. Roots and rocks peeked from dark and rich soil above while forgotten stones supported them from beneath. The "walls" on all sides but one was more dirt and soil, while the fourth seemed to be the other side of the labyrinth walls, They were still underground, clearly, but it seemed G.H. had found some hidden alcove outside the labyrinth. Here he had set up the base for a small campfire, torches, supplies, and even a small area that seemed dedicated to working materials into usable tools and weapons if the makeshift Molotovs and old throwing knives were anything to go by. A small rack of weapons rested on the stone wall; a metal cane, a sawtoothed cleaver, and a large curved axe - all ancient and rudimentary compared to modern weapons but shockingly well preserved. If someone skilled sat down with those things to restore them it wouldn't take long to convince him they were brand new. By G.H.'s open pack, there lay Garlin's axe, now seemingly relegated to tool rather than weapon.

Qrow whistled, impressed. "You've been busy kid." Qrow had followed him into the underground several hours after G.H.'s entrance and it had taken at least two more hours filled with fighting

before Tau and he had been overwhelmed but it seemed the hunter was doing just fine on his own.

G.H. nodded before gently stroking the weapons by the wall. "I must be reaching my eighth or ninth hour down here, in the darkness." His eyes darkened. "Though my expeditions have been somewhat physically fruitful they also prove to be inconsolably frustratingly fruitless." His leather-gloved hand squeezed tight and Qrow finally took notice of what he was wearing.

A pointed leather hat with distinguishing feathered ends rested low atop his gray head. His gleaming eyes only just poked out from beneath the deep brim of the tough-looking material.

A dark grey, almost black coat fit him loosely - it was obviously a bit too large for G.H. but it still somehow fit him well. Atop the grey coat rested a small and slick black cape made of likely leather material. It wrapped around his shoulders and covered much of his front, especially when sat as he was. It looked impermeable like it was made for liquids to simply slide off of. Underneath the cape was a leather harness holding various phials and vials, likely of G.H.'s own creation.

While the coat and cape might been seen as some sort of gothically fashionable the bulk of what lay under seemed almost entirely dedicated to efficacy. Tight and hard yet clearly flexible leather armor wrapped his entire torso and some of his neck, held in place by buckles and straps made to withstand both time and lade.

A ruffled white shirt could be seen just barely poking through. It and the white ribbon resting at G.H.'s neck gave off a strange desire for antiquated fashion and class.

"So you came down here to loot weapons and style, huh?" Qrow pointedly accused. G.H. stuttered for a moment as he tried desperately to find an excuse for both Qrow and himself.

"H-hardly!" G.H. seemed legitimately concerned by the accusation. "I came for answers and to end the scourge of beasts." He murmured something about "paleblood" that Qrow had only just caught. "But when I found had unearthed these ancient weapons and armor…" he trailed off. "It felt familiar. Soothing, in a way, as unnerving as it must sound." Qrow had to admit - the kid pulled it off.

Qrow sighed while rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I appreciate and understand your feelings kid but trust me - you alone can't take on this place. You saw what Tau and I were going up against? It was insane." He glanced over at the still-sleeping girl. It seemed G.H. had bandaged and taken care of some of her wounds and, as he now noticed, Qrow's own as well. Damn. What couldn't this kid do? It was honestly getting annoying.

"My apologies but you were only dealing with that because, one, the two of you so loudly barged into a nest, and two, I was luring them all out of their dens anyway."

"To burn them all at once?"

"Indeed."

Qrow growled. His already somewhat sparse gratitude at being "saved" was quickly thinning even more.

"Let's make this clear kid." Qrow stood and loomed over the much shorter and still-sitting hunter. "You only got the chance to 'save' me 'cause you blew me up in the first place." He growled before pacing around the room, wincing as some of his more serious wounds hadn't healed yet. "I was gonna let it go and ride the gratitude wave but now you're telling me half the reason we were in that mess in the first place was because of you?" He knew he was getting himself worked up but at this point, it was getting more and more difficult to calm down. "She nearly died!" He jabbed his finger in Tau's direction, not noticing she was awake. "You almost died!" He forced his finger into the kid's chest hard, pushing him slightly. "What kind of immature, reckless bullcrap-"

"I was required to come to your aid when you and your consort barged into my hunting grounds and ruined my plans!" G.H. suddenly exploded as he rushed to his feet to meet Qrow. "I was to both ruin the flesh of many of this floor's denizens and instill terror into the rest! Now I have no idea how many were actually slain and how many never even came because of your chaos!" He gestured violently to his small, somewhat pathetic, workspace. "Are you aware of the amount of supplies I had expended to set that trap only for it to be set off prematurely to save the skins of two outsiders?!" G.H. froze as that last word raged from his lips, not that Qrow took much notice.

"'Outsiders'?!" Qrow shoved the frozen G.H. back down to where he had been sitting. "What, like you're some kind of famous huntsman on his home turf?!" He turned and knocked G.H.'s standing weapons to the ground in a clatter of fury. "You're a KID. Barely more than a child. You have no aura, you have no training, you. Have. NO. CHANCE." Qrow stepped darkly towards G.H. who still sat in stunned silence. "You're so desperate to put another kid's death on my shoulders? You're so desperate to prove me wrong? Then GO-"

Qrow was cut off mid-speech as it was quite difficult to speak with a fist in his mouth. This was a realization the man had had many times in his life before, though this was certainly one of the stronger hits he'd taken. No, it was not from G.H. - the kid was barely moving, instead just staring down at his gloved hands, not that Qrow had really noticed before in his uncharacteristic rage. No, he had been socked hard by the now wide-awake Tau.

He felt his body leave the ground and spin through the air before crashing heavily back down and into the said ground, his arms barely catching himself. He stayed there, motionless, breathing as heavily as Tau was, as he stared down at the stone and his hands. He wiped a bit of spittle from his mouth.

Tau angrily spat out an insult to the both of them before sighing and calming herself. She took a moment before looking at the two men she was trapped with.

"Get over yourselves and get the hell up. We're leaving." G.H. finally looked up at this command while Qrow picked himself from the ground still not facing the two.

"I-," he began, unsure of how to say it. "I apologize, but I cannot." He continued. "Furthermore I apologize to both of you. For putting your lives on the line and forcing you to put yourselves in danger for no reason, as I will not leave."

Qrow groaned as he downed a HUGE swig of his favorite whiskey canteen. "For fuck's sake kid. You want her to deck you too?"

"N-no, of course not. But my duties are not finished here. I must continue my search here and continue my hunt above ground as well. Red Springs is still not safe."

"Search for what, G.H.?" Tau asked. She was doing her best to remain understanding but he was making it somewhat difficult - not that he intended to, clearly.

"I'm… not sure." He admitted.

Tau smiled as though she had her in. It did not last long. "Then come with us. Ozpin will help you and provide what you need as you-"

G.H. flinched as he interrupted her. "Another reason I cannot go with you. I know not why but any who has ties to the Healing Church I simply cannot trust." Qrow rolled his eyes in the torchlight.

"Kid, I trust the church less than the distance I could pick up and throw a REAL church;" He emphasized a very small space between his hands on the off chance G.H. thought he might be able to throw a building any sort of distance. "And Ozpin trusts them even less. We've heard the rumors and Oz KNOWS when shit isn't right."

Tau nodded and added to what he was saying. "If you don't believe us then you can speak to Professor Ozpin yourself. If you don't like what he says we'll take you straight back here." At seeing distrust flare in his grey eyes she placed a hand over his heart. "I swear to you."

G.H. considered his options. He doubted the people in front of him would resort to violence if he refused but he was even less sure he'd be able to win if they did. He might've been the one to save them from the horde of beasts but he had seen them fight - they were unlike anything he had ever seen before. If he could learn to fight like that… well, in truth his hunt would go even smoother. He wasn't sure he'd be willing to "go to school," but he might be willing to pick up on a few things.

If this Ozpin were as powerful in both physicality and influence as he was being led to believe AND he suspected the Healing Church of malpractice G.H. could potentially garner a very vital ally. G.H. could come to gain a lot from a simple meeting - but, he supposed he could lose much as well.

Unbeknownst to him Qrow had practically read every one of his thoughts as each and every one was practically written on his face. Confusion, hesitation, trepidation, excitement, and fear, all swirling and mixing together. The kid was decent at fighting, undeniably, but he really had to work on a poker face before Qrow would even begin to consider him for a night out at the Crow Bar.

Finally, opportunities won over hesitation, and G.H. gave a simple, single nod. "Fine."

It was night when the group returned to the surface and G.H.'s church. Bright moonlight reflected from the shattered sky glimmered down to earth like a curtain of pale blood.

They had emerged tired, hungry, and worn. So worn. Bruises, cuts, bashes, and burns covered what felt like every inch of their bodies. Even G.H., it turned out, had his limits. During the initial 9 hours he spent alone in the dark constantly running and fighting the healing he received from blood had waned and waned until it could barely seal a splinter. Instead, when blood had entered his body, it stung and made him nauseous - then it incited his madness. He was lucky he had found the clothes he now wore when he did - oversized as they were, they almost seemed purpose-made to slip off blood and gore. It had covered every inch of him but his eyes, and in his isolation from blood he found reprieve. After a short rest the next time he had imbibed he had found its restorative effects somewhat returned - though he suspected he needed a good amount of rest and recovery before his body was willing to take anything in.

All things must have their limits he supposed. It just meant on these long hunts he would have to be extra careful and not overindulge.

He glanced at the two huntsmen. Both held those strange glowing devices - scrolls? They had called them. With such ease, they had swiped and beeped, clicked and booped and images and noise had appeared in response to their commands. Whatever this strange magic was he was curious and wanted to know more - but now was hardly the time. He watched as the huntsman, Qrow, sighed and made a little victorious motion - a light pump of the fist and a tensing of the body in a paradoxical release. G.H. knew that if Qrow were aware he was watching the urge would've been suppressed.

A small smile escaped him as he turned to enter his church to fetch a few things. On his way, he dumped his spent supply bag on one of the pews in the church and his new collection of weapons on another. He gathered up some fresh ingredients he had kept stored in a makeshift icebox he'd created with the entirety of the cold dust stuff he'd been given back at Red Springs while sniffing nervously at the raw meat inside. A part of him was glad to be returning to civilization. This dust stuff was insanely useful and he was basically out. He didn't trust the ice box to hold meat anymore after tonight as it had warmed up too much.

Upon his return to the outside, he began stoking a fire and dumping the meat into a large pot of rainwater. His guests didn't seem to notice, too lost in conversation they were. His ears perked up as the huntsman turned to the huntress.

"…got a signal. It was looking pretty rough down there but it looks like we were right. The scrolls can't communicate with the surface at all in the labyrinth." Tau gave a solemn nod in agreement.

"In fact, we know not if the scrolls can communicate with each other down there. We never had to try."

"I'm just glad we got the kid to agree. I was worried what Ozpin would say if I came back empty-handed." Qrow chuckled. "Well to be honest it'd probably just be some platitudes about 'the merits of effort' and 'everyone is entitled to their choices' or some crock."

"Hmph." The disapproving huff was made with a slight smirk. "Cynical, aren't you?"

"Not cynical, just know my way around the geezer." Qrow glanced up at the stars. "What do you suggest now though? We have to travel back to Red Springs for a ride back to Beacon but it's night. More dangerous this way."

G.H. cleared his throat. The two older huntsmen turned in confusion, before looking quite longingly at the pot of boiling stew he was gesturing at.

About two hours later the three of them were sitting around the campfire, roughly carved wooden bowls full of the most delicious stew they'd ever had in hand.

Of course, the stew itself was quite bland - G.H. knew how to cook for sustenance, not flavor. During the preparations, however, Tau had given him a few pointers and some cooking materials from her supplies; this simple act had sparked something burning inside of G.H. that was only emboldened by the slightly better-than-usual stew now delighting his tongue.

He desperately wanted to learn how to cook and he figured this was a good first step. His stew, bland as it was, was delicious because the three of them were laughing. Qrow had lazily set his feet up along a log and was using his supplies and weapon as a makeshift sit-up pillow - all while regaling the two others with stories of conquests and failures - both in battle and in bed.

"…next thing I knew she had decked me right across the face, right here," he excitedly pointed to his five o'clock. "And sent me reeling. Course it wasn't as hard as Wrecking-Ball over here but it packed more than a wallop," He motioned to Tau with his eyebrows as he spooned another mouthful of stew. Mouth still full he continued his story. "So there I was - the 35th floor, drunk out of my mind, decked in the face when you guessed it,"

"You fell out of the window." Both G.H. and Tau simultaneously finished the sentence.

"I fell out of the window!" Qrow guffawed and finished his sentence anyway. Tau and G.H. broke their forced disinterest and burst out laughing at the ridiculous and probably not true story. Probably. "And what about you, little miss Wrecking-Ball?" He pointed at Tau with his fork. "I bet you've got some spicy ones to tell, eh?"

Tau rolled her eyes but her mischievous smirk and pointed look away told another story. "Well," she acquiesced after a moment. "Maybe one." Her hesitation broke like a dam as she animatedly leaned in. "It all started over in Vacuo. I was on the trail of some wannabe kingpin named Don Kaliedo…"

G.H. watched her animated movements in bliss. This was amazing. This was what he had wanted so badly, and it had come from these people he had assumed were his enemies. Tau's and Qrow's voices receded in his mind as he peered down at his swirling soup. "The paleblood…" it whispered to him.

No. Not now, and not tonight. His obsession with that word he found in the labyrinth during his 9 hours alone would have to be on hold for now. He looked back up at his one-night companions, tuning back in.

"I was kissing the motherfucker while cutting our way out of the nevermore's stomach. Fucking brutal;" she reemphasized.

"Holy shit," Qrow smirked at the lady through legitimate respect. "I think I'm in love." She laughed at this before rolling her eyes once more.

"At least buy me that coffee first. You promised, old man."