Waking up was an occasion that Jaune Arc loved for as long as he lived. A wave of pleasure that hits you after a pleasant dream was something he cherished in his travel among other things. In fact, he would be happy if such pleasure were to greet him everyday. Oh, and now after reaching the city, he believed that something he cherish has increase in number. Ruby was one of them.

When he reached the city, he expected his first night would be spent in a cheap hotel somewhere in the Backstreet. Revolting food was also a part of his expectation, especially after seeing the Backstreet. But then there was Ruby. Oh yeah, Ruby, bless her soul. It was solely due to her generosity and a bit of coincidence that he tasted the best cuisine in his entire life and had a roof to stay for the night. The beer and sex were just bonus, but a greatly appreciated bonus.

It would be a blessing if yesterday would repeat itself again today, alas today was not yesterday.

Jaune Arc came into the realm of consciousness not with the usual wave of pleasure, but a wave of soreness that spread across his body unequally. Habit was still habit though so his eyes didn't immediately open. He pushed his Aura outward and after a minute deemed nothing of concern to be nearby, only an immobile Ruby a few centimeters away.

He opened his eyes; a room blanket in darkness greeted him. Wait, it wasn't a room. Memories from earlier rushed to him. The Grimm happened, and then he was here, trapped under rubbles of a cave in.

"Huh. Wait... that hole was unnatural. There must be some Grimm that dug somewhere near the surface and those Apathy-like just capitalized on that. The question is, what kind of Grimm?"

The universe seemed to be fond of screwing over the individual named Jaune Arc, because after he thought about a Grimm, one came out from the surface beside him. As wide as him and its elongated body was possibly longer than him.

"Oh, a worm. That makes sense."

Jaune was calm, calmer than normal person should be in his position. There was a justified reason for that, and a very logical one. Average Grimm could 'see' but not quite recognize something. See, their vision could recognize their surroundings and detect souls of the living, such as plants, animals, and humans. They weren't attracted to that however. What attract them were turbulence emotion, negative emotion, and aggressions. As such, when Jaune displayed a calm mind, still emotion, and no aggression of any form, the Grimm believed him to be a non-factor in its quest to satiate its eternal hunger. This fact only applied to young Grimm however.

But, Jaune Arc was not aware of that fact. The way he acted now was based solely on experience. One day, he woke up with a Grimm beside him and thankfully, his emotion was still in the positive spectrum that day. So, he watched curiously, as the Grimm ignored him and did whatever a Grimm supposed to be doing.

"I can ignore that one. Onto pressing matters, what should we do?" Aura poured into his eyes and his vision became much clearer, "There's a pathway over there. Hm, we landed in Old Glenn's underground network it seems. On the other way... only rubbles. Lets be positive here, this is a tunnel, so Senior Ermessia and Big Steel must be on the other side. Digging through that will take a long time... exploring the path it is."

With a plan set in mind, he rose from the uncomfortable ground and drew Crocea Mors from her sheath, an action that the worm Grimm registered as aggression. It was too late for the Grimm as its head was physically distanced from the body.

One problem down, many more to go.

Ruby's unconscious form was the first he addressed. In his humble opinion, she looked exactly like the time they slept together, so peaceful. Sadly, the bleeding wound on her head marred that image of peacefulness.

Lets check again what the Index gave him as standard supplies. Aura poured into the gloves and the content laid bare to his mind, "Bandages, first aid kit, two vials of Dust—one water and one fire, and emergency rations." Those supplies were enough to give Ruby a decent treatment. Ruby's head was nicely cleaned and bandaged in no time. "The injuries don't seem to damage her brain I think, but she'll be out for a while for that. Alright, that's taken care of, what next? Ah yes, carrying her."

In normal circumstances, carrying her would be a non-issue. This wasn't a normal circumstance he realized as he lamented on how to proceed with this. Carrying her or giving a piggy back wouldn't be optimal as no hand would be free in order to intercept anything that consider them worth killing. That was out of the question. So he decided to do something that might be considered as a beach of privacy if looked at a certain angle, but hey, desperate time desperate measure.

He gently grasped Ruby's hand and poured his Aura into her gloves, nothing happened. He tried another approach, unequipping his and equipping hers. Another pulse of Aura fed into the gloves and he finally got the info he needed, and boy did it surprise him.

Firstly, Ruby's gloves were of higher quality indicated by the sheer weight they could carry. Secondly, the amount of weapons she carried was pretty unusual for a single person. Like, this amount could qualify her as a walking armory. The contents weren't entirely weapons but they made up the majority of it. There were guns—normal guns, standard melee weapons, and then there were the weapons that made her a Star.

Evelyn—the one she shot him with, the red blood spear she used earlier, a peculiar long sword that smelled of rose, a single edge great sword that reeked of death, some more... "That rune inscribed on that great sword seems familiar—oh hey, is that a rope beside the sword? Perfect, that's what I need." The sword forgotten, Jaune grabbed the rope and returned the gloves. In the next minute, Ruby was already tied to his back. Not an optimal condition but it left his hands free.

Another problem solved, time to tackle the next one.

Just like in formation, Jaune got his shield up and sword poised for a lunge. With careful steps, he walked through the only available path. Even though he lacked the experience of traversing a cave, walking forward won't be an issue, especially since the path was rather smooth. He won't claim that he dislike underground, but he didn't like them either. Sure, the tunnel was certainly well made but the place was abandoned for years and Grimm could pop out anytime from either the wall, the ceiling, or the floor, which was pretty worrisome.

Fortunately, the occasional Grimm turned out to be more of a nuisance than an actual threat. They did pop out from out of nowhere but since his emotion wasn't in disarray, they failed to realize the knight's move on killing them. It also helped that his intention was not exterminate, but escape.

He soon reached a big room with various items strewn around. Guns, swords, mutilated bodies, crates of Dust, the usual. The most eye catching however, a freight container was being swarmed by a pack of Beowulf. Now, he won't explain why Beowulf underground was weird, but the swarming was quite logical if there were people inside that container. Which would be a logical conclusion since when an Alpha Beowulf managed to pry the door open a little, something inside pulled it shut immediately.

Unfortunately or fortunately, he noticed something quite alarming after doing a double take. An Apathy-like, the same one that sent his team down here, stood behind the pack of Beowulf and was giving orders. Verbally with its strange groan and non-verbally with its flailing arms.

He reasoned that continuing forward was the best option, but considering the presence of the Apathy... You know what, he'll call it Skelly from now. Considering the presence of Skelly, there was a huge chance more would be waiting somewhere down the path, and he didn't like the notion of being sandwich between those hungry Grimm.

Objective updated, kill the pack and save the survivors.

Jaune put Ruby down and obscure her in between some crates, just to be safe. Then he picked a sword and a tube of lightning Dust before coating the sword with it, lightning sword acquired. Now, he might not be aware of Skelly's combat prowess or even its durability, but a sword to the head should do the deed.

Jaune Arc took aim, fed the sword with his Aura, and threw it like a javelin. The sword made an arc before stabbing Skelly's head, and as the electricity surging out from the blade all at once, Skelly's head exploded in a shower of black good.

That had the intended effect of killing Skelly, but it also possessed the unintended effect of taking the pack's focus away from the crate and onto him. "Had to deal with plenty of this situation on the road," he thought as Crocea Mors brandished from her sheath.

The Alpha roared a war cry and the pack—the entirety of it—made a mad dash straight at him. Jaune put his left hand with the shield behind him and charged. It might looked rather weird since a shield was supposed to be in front you to protect you, but it would make sense soon enough. The first Grimm entered his range and Jaune Arc rammed his Aura infused shield at the abomination. The result was spectacular as the Beowulf's body was destroyed in the impact, but Jaune kept charging, an action that befuddled the pack.

He planted his foot solidly in the middle of the pack before spinning with his Aura infused sword. The motion of his swing caused a solid arc of Aura to be released from Crocea and bisecting roughly half of the pack in his surroundings. He didn't stop there. Following the momentum of his swing, he ran through the surprised pack and straight at the Alpha. It howled, accepting the challenge, and greeted Jaune head on with a wide swing that had enough power to destroy the ground.

Jaune was ready for such respond, as the Grimm of the wild used the method countless times against him. His stance was solid, his shield making a move towards the incoming strike. A loud TWANG, and the strike was parried spectacularly, leaving the Alpha unbalanced. He capitalized that opening with Crocea Mors finding herself lodge deep in the monster's throat.

The Alpha was dead, it's body turning to dust, a fact that the pack realized.

Jaune reassumed his basic stance of shield in front and sword poised. His keen eyes taking note of the pack's behavior. So far, after the Alpha's dead, they only took contemplative steps towards him or away from him. The Grimm were visibly hesitating, a trait borne from experience rather than the usual eagerness of a youngling.

From there, Jaune could take this very easily. Beowulfs were quite easy to deal with wen they don't have an Alpha as their strength mainly came from sheer number alone. They could coordinate when an Alpha was leading the pack, but without one, their threat level was comparable to a horde of Creep.

Alas, Jaune didn't get the opportunity for mass murdering the Grimm because of a voice behind him. The container creaked open, followed by several footsteps and a voice of a man, "Hey boi, mind if you duck?"

Johnathan Amsel believed that ducking would be the most optimal solution for the interaction, so he ducked.

"Open fire!"

Sounds of rifles firing cackled behind him, spewing bullets ranging from fire, ice, electricity, and some other than he didn't recognize. Within seconds, the remaining Beowulfs has been slain, leaving nothing but black dust disintegrating into nothingness.

"I guess that's that. But seriously, I can take care of them myself."

Still with his weapons deployed, Johnathan regarded his helper with a small smile. Better appear prepared yet still friendly enough for an open negotiation, "Thanks for the help."

His helpers, wearing the uniform of the finger organization known as the Thumb, gave him a collective thumb up. There were six of them, and the older one with a goatee at the front came to him with an extended hand, "Haha! Thanks a lot boi, would've been wolf snacks if you didn't save our asses!"

Johnathan saw no harm in giving the older man a handshake, "Just passing. Also kind of on the same boat here since I believe those Apathy-like Grimm also trapped you down here."

The man ended the handshake and give Johnathan a toothy smile followed with a big laugh, "Ya got that one right, those Apathy wannabe just pop outta nowhere with the wolves. We were lucky that container was there, or well you know what would've happen." The man grimaced at that, "Well boi, names Don. What's yours?"

"Johnathan."

"Alright Johnny, let's work together and get the hell out of this shithole. Think of it like a small collab between the Thumb and the Index. You good with that?"

"The more the merrier, let me grab my friend and we good to go."

But when Johnathan was about to do that, he was stopped by the creaking of the container. It surprised him because he didn't expect more people to be in there, but lo and behold, a faunus emerged from it in a state that didn't really surprised him. It was quite concerning however when he took stock of the situation. The faunus guy was beaten up and tied with a rope.

"W-wait! Help us! You can't just leave us here!"

John glanced at Don and gestured with his hand, asking about the situation.

"Well, just some subhuman. Members of the Fang, you know, the terrorist. Just leave 'em there, pretty good bait for the Grimm, too."

Scene like this wasn't strange in the Frontier. You fight and you survive, as simple as that. There were of course other activities you could indulge for yourself, but the core principle was still there, survive. To Johnathan and some, one of their indulgence came in the form of seeing people survive. As they found out in their younger days, saving people felt good.

An argument instantly formed, one that used hard logic which people like Don could find merits in it. "Can they still fight?"

The older man stared at him questioningly, "Yea, some of them even have Aura, why ask? Oh, you want me to tighten the rope and increase their suffering? I'm down with that."

"No no. I propose we release them. Now hear me out before you argue, because I can see you are about to, we release them to help us get out. More manpower more safety. Plus we got the Apathy-like roaming around with possible pack with them, so having them won't be a bad idea."

For a split second, Don genuinely considered the idea, before throwing it in the bin entirely. "Look, Johnny, they are subhuman, they don't meant to exist, an error of nature. Since before our forefathers ever borne, subhuman has, and always been, slave to humanity. We as a race have the undisputed right on what to do with them and I am currently expressing my right to give them suffering. They deserve it too. See that bastard, he ruined my favorite suit—"

BAM

Don fell hard on the ground. Dumbfounded, he looked up at John, and found the young man's arm extended and coated with Aura.

John gave him one last glance and began walking towards the downed faunus.

"Oi OI, BOI! Are you making an enemy of the Thumb now! I'm high on the command chain you know!"

But John chose not to answer that. Instead, he spent his time wisely by untying the faunus.

"OI OI! Turn around and look at me BOI!" Don stood up tall, his fury burned hot, with his rifle loaded with Blast Dust. "I'll fucking shoot you!"

The faunus was fully released, "Go and help the others." And he immediately went inside again. With his task done, John faced Don. He stood there, hands behind him, and relaxed. He didn't even bother deploying his shield, "Come shoot. Your gun is a peashooter to me."

Thick vein of anger appeared on Don. His fury bubbling to the surface and was ready to shoot, "YOU ASK FOR IT BOI! This is Blast Dust with penetrating round strong enough to pierce a Goliath's skull!" His finger was on the trigger and was ready to shoot. But then, he froze because he felt the barrels of the Thumb's rifles pressing on his back.

"What the hell are you doing lad?" He turned his head around, and stared at the neutral face of his subordinates. Their eyes were not in agreement with their face unfortunately, as they conveyed a great deal of irritation at the man.

"Sorry boss. It just happens, like what you always did."

"Wha—"

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG

Five shots rang true; five bullets nested themselves within Don. The man named Don was no more, in his stead there was a corpse named Don.

Johnathan believed that would be the end of it. Don was dead, and judging by the smiles of his subordinates, they were satisfied. But no, it did not end there. The Thumb members, still with their big smile, kicked the corpse of Don together. Then they did it again, again, and again. Still with their big smile.

He was mildly disturbed honestly—not by their act but by the implication of Don's behavior in his life. There was no way that man could be consider a pleasant one if his underlings became the source of his death and the source of his extra misery as a corpse.

"Human," someone called to him. He answered by turning around and facing the individual. A dog faunus with his fluffy ears proudly on display greeted him, "I thank you for the assistance. But let's skip the pleasantry and leave immediately."

He has a point there. Johnathan glanced at the Thumb members, "Yep. They still doing it. The negativity will rack up fast."

The faunus also glanced at the celebrating Thumb, "We may have differences... but their firepower is valuable for our chance of survival."

Good point, "Hey! You Thumb!"

The Thumb members stopped their celebration and looked at Johnathan's group.

"Wanna go out together? We can use more firepower."

The Thumb members looked at each other, seemingly having a silent conversation, before giving a collective thumb up.

"Good, let me grab my friend."

Finally having an agreement with both parties, John felt comfortable with grabbing Ruby and regrouping with the group once they rearmed themselves with the available weapons.

"Before we depart, you," John asked a monkey faunus, "Can you hold Ruby and stay behind me?"

The faunus understandably looked hesitant, an extra urging from Johnathan convinced him though. Johnathan needed both hands to function at a hundred percent while still keeping Ruby safe, this was the compromise he came up with.

"Your girlfriend?" One of the Thumb asked.

"Just partner. We prefer to keep it professional for now."

He quirked an eyebrow, "For now?"

Johnathan chose to ignore that. Since he was the one to bridge the gap between the two groups, he unanimously became it's leader. To be honest with himself, he didn't really know how to lead a team. Working together was one thing, but actually giving order wasn't really his forte. He then constructed a way to compensate for that by copying a likeable leader that he knew, Senior Ermessia.

"Alright team, we know that we all hate each other, but until we reach the surface let's put that hate on hold ok. Now, Thumb, two of you on the front, three of you on the back. Only bayonet, bullets only for emergency. The White Fang will protect the Thumb so position yourself as you see fit, also use guns. Any question?"

"Yeah, where is your position?"

"I will be your vanguard don't worry about that. Other question?"

"Yeah, is that our cue to leave?" asked one of the Fang while pointing at the other side of the room.

They all followed his line of sight and they found worms and creeps emerging from the grounds. Some of them already took a head start towards the tasty humans.

"Alright guys let's move!"

The team of fourteen, including Ruby, went into formation and took the path forward. John could hear the Grimm approaching from behind and fast. Even though the team was at their maximum speed, they couldn't outpace the quickened pace of the worms and creeps. It was inevitable that the Grimm caught up to them.

"Engaging enemy!" shouted a Fang from their rear.

At the same time, Grimm of the same variety came from the front. "Enemy at the front!" Fortunately, the area was quite narrow, thus the Grimm couldn't simply zerg rush them into oblivion. They were sandwiched yes, but the enemy came in chunks that they could handle with their number. Creeps and worms were quite low in term of threat level; even the Fang and Thumb could handle them without much issue.

How about the front? There was John of course, and he fulfilled his job as a vanguard and defender with terrifying efficiency. His wave of Aura could decimate a lot of the incoming enemies. If they got close enough, his emotion was heightened by his enormous Aura that he became a literal Beacon to the Grimm, effectively making him the focus of attention. This condition allowed the Fang and Thumb behind him to kill the approaching Grimm with little to no risk of getting damaged.

Thus, the path was cleared easily and the team could safely marched forward despite the horde behind them.

It was when the enemy behind them began dwindling did they reach another big area, not as big as the first one but big enough to house several crates of Dust and still have room for easy movement. That was the good news, as for the bad news, John was faced with a dilemma. Right or left? There were two paths in this room, and the one on the left emitted sounds of rushing footsteps. The choice should be obvious on this one, but he didn't know this place, and running to a dead end wasn't something he put into his to do list.

"Go right, there's an exit there!" someone shouted. John didn't confirm who shouted that, but if you had confidence to pull that in this situation, then you knew what you were doing. So John followed that suggestion.

"Team, we're going right!" and they rushed to the right path.

A Thumb then asked, "Hey Fang, is this area stable? We can make the Dust go boom!"

One of the Fang replied back, "You can shoot that Earth Dust over there! It will cover the entire path! Leader, your input!?"

John only gave a hasty reply; too busy watching their front, "Whatever works!"

"Aye Aye Boss!" an exited cry from the Thumb was the only reply he got before an angry crack of a rifle echoed through the tunnel. Immediately, the earth Dust erupted and caused a quake to the immediate vicinity.

The team, not expecting the sudden tremor, lost their footing and was swept in the dust of the earth. When their vision became cleared, a new wall of stone has covered the path behind them.

"It works BABY!" and that cheer was followed by the others.

John was quick to remind them however, "Don't relax yet! We haven't reach the surface!"

Realizing that John was right, and remembering that worms could dig through the stone, they scrambled back into formation and hurriedly went forward once more.

It wasn't long until they saw a semblance of moonlight in their path. However, John then remembered a question that he should have asked from when the team was formed. He asked anyway, "Say, Fang, where does this exit lead us?"

The Fang in question, with his smile full of relief, answered him, "You know that big hole in the middle of the city? This one leads there."

John nodded in understanding, "I see." And did a double take so fast that concerned the Fang whether his neck was ok or not, "The big hole!?"

The Fang leveled him a questioning stare, "Yeah, what about it?"

"Well—"

He was too late, they were already emerging from the pathway, and indeed there were creatures waiting for them. Johnathan could practically felt the growing panic and despair from the temporary team while the warning from the radio echoed in his head. "Fuck."

A.N. I have nothing much to say honestly, other than thanking all of you who still read the story until this point. Oh and another thing, the chapter after this will focus on Ermessia and Big Steel's side of the underground adventure. So don't expect Jaune and the Fang Thumb Union to fight an entire horde of Skelly in the next one.

P.S. Black Silence is fun.

P.S.S. I misclick on Chesed's Realization and Road Home just casually murdered my nuggets. That gave me the push to finish this chapter today.