Here we go.

Cover Art: Kirire

Chapter 94

Introductions were tense. Ilia was a mess, not at all in her right mind or normal – in so far as Blake remembered the shy girl who seemed to follow her and Adam around. She'd always suspected Ilia had a crush on Adam, seeing as how she'd caught the girl watching them so many times, but she'd been nice enough about it not to be bitchy. Blake would have considered them friendly acquaintances, but the way Ilia cried and threw herself at her for a huge hug, it was obvious Ilia thought they were more.

Or that she was so desperate and afraid that even her crush's ex and murderer was comforting.

Jaune had that look on his face he wore whenever he was dealing with unknowing civilians – the "yes, we're definitely ghost hunters" look where he wanted to appear dumb and unassuming so they'd underestimate him. Blake kicked his leg, widened her eyes and meaningfully looked around. It was a little too late to play stupid.

"Everyone else is dead!" Ilia whispered, voice hoarse from her earlier wailing. "More than half of us made it down here, but over the weeks – or has it been months? – they were picked off one by one. S—Some tried to find their way back to the surface. I was too scared. The demon that roams the bunker. It... It..."

Jaune leaned in. "Have you seen the creature?"

"Only the dead and those about to die see it!" There was a mad zeal in the way she said it, and Blake's stomach dropped as Ilia made some symbol over her chest.

"You joined the religion?" she asked.

Ilia froze. "I... well... yes and no. I don't think you're an actual angel or anything. I have aura and I know I'm not divine, but... well... you need something down here. You don't understand what it's like. The loneliness, the quiet, the long hours, the hunger. Even if I know it's all bullshit, just having something to pretend to believe in is a comfort. Also, I was an outsider here and needed to find a way to fit in. Telling them about the surface helped."

A White Fang member telling people about how the world was. That sounded like a bad idea. "And what did you tell them?"

"The idealistic version of Remnant. They didn't want to hear the truth so I skipped the faunus wars and all the bad stuff. And I let them believe huntsmen and huntresses were winning against the Grimm, pushing them back while most people lived in a utopia. They needed to hear it that way. The truth would have broken them."

That honestly wasn't as bad as she expected. At least Ilia hadn't been filling their heads with pro-White Fang propaganda. "Fine. That's not so bad, apart from the fact where I'm apparently an angel. Don't they consider you divine for having aura as well?"

"No. I told them I wasn't a huntress but trained by one to protect my home. They see me as a messenger or some kind of prophet from above." Ilia smiled weakly. "And if I cared about it, the fact you came down like this really cements my place as that. If only being the High Prophet of the Church of the Mother actually came with any benefits. It's just more stress. I have to do speeches, lessons, tell stories about the surface, and all the time I know if I let one bad story get in or let drop one thing to break their faith, all these people will collapse into a depression."

"It's that bad?"

"Blake, there isn't enough food down here. There's no light, no wind, no plants, no entertainment. Just the gloom, concrete walls, a monster that wants you all dead and twenty-four hours a day to make use of." She sighed. "You never realise how long the day is until your stomach is rumbling and you're sitting still cramped shoulder to shoulder with people for hours upon hours of it. There's a thing here called going for a walk, which basically means committing suicide by giving up and walking out into the darkness. Surrendering yourself to the monster because you can't take it anymore."

"Geez."

"That's not the worst of it. The military stationed here lets people walk out, and the Church encourages it. Like, they're in cahoots, and neither likes it but less people means less resources needed. We've not had once since I joined however long ago I ended up down here, but there are also pilgrimages. Big groups of religious folk who band together and go out to try and reach the holy land."

"That's the surface?"

"Yes. And, obviously, none ever come back but we're not sure what happens to them or why. Most are probably killed and eaten by the monster but there are some who think they made it and stayed, or that they ascended. I'm not sure which is less likely. The people down here..." Ilia bit her lip. "Their history doesn't match up with ours. No similar dates or events. And this is obviously impossible. Like, the monster, the food that appears, the fact we're not all already dead from lack of water. There's something strange going on here."

Most people instinctively shied away from suspecting the truth about anomalies, but then most people hadn't lived inside one for months on end. The people trapped in the Welcoming House probably accepted the existence of anomalies come their ends. ARC Corp could, and did, hide anomalies from the average person, but there wasn't much point trying with victims of them.

"That's definitely the case," said Jaune. "That's why we're here. To investigate and fix it. You're sure these people are other-dimensional in nature?"

"Other...?" Ilia shook her head. "Yeah. Yeah, I am. I'm glad you're not saying I'm crazy."

"You're not, but please tell us a little of what you've found out."

"Okay. So, they fought a war – I can't remember the named of the countries – but it was like our Great War, taking up most of the world. Difference is their world apparently doesn't have Grimm. Aura, yes. Huntresses, yes. It's weird because the terms are the same but what their huntresses do is hunt down deserters and traitors. Their country has this whole thing about absolute loyalty and faith to the point that those who doubt it are executed. They've mellowed out down here, though. Too far away from the war."

"That's not the only thing, though." Ilia continued. "This bunker wasn't on an island but a single huge landmass the war was being fought on, and instead of a shattered moon they have a whole one. I think that's part of why the religious fervour came so easily to them. They think they're caught in limbo now, escaping their world of hell to the utopia that is ours."

It was hardly a utopia up there with Grimm, anomalies and terrorists running around, but these people didn't know better.

"That's conclusive enough for me," said Jaune. "On the bright side, we can confirm there's an entrance to our world on Menagerie, so we should be able to get home with... well, relative ease. It depends on this monster. We didn't face it on the way down so we don't know how strong it is. Do you have any detail there?"

Ilia shook her head. "I haven't seen it. No one has, or those that do die – but most of the people down here would die to Grimm too, so it's hard to judge it. The thing is definitely smart because it picks off people out of position and avoids being seen. It's also clever enough to do tricks like making sounds to lure people off and retreating when too many people come looking for it. That's not Grimm behaviour."

It wasn't, but then they'd ruled out a Grimm a while ago. This was confirmation of their assumptions but nothing more. The question in her head was whether this was a pure anomaly, or a human-turned-anomaly. If none of these people had aura, then they were all susceptible to it. Another question was whether the anomaly was related to the bunker or not, but that didn't really matter. They'd have to hunt it down and kill it either way.

Ilia wasn't prepared to help them. "I can't," she whispered. "I'm sorry, but I can't. The team I came down with had more skilled people than me and they never came back. They all died. I'm not a huntress, not really, I'm just someone decent with a whip – and that's a useless weapon in these tight corridors."

Fear, then. The weapon issues were obviously little more than an excuse. Ilia was deeply afraid. After being trapped down here for months on end, it was little wonder. Blake nodded and told the girl to get some rest while she and Jaune headed back to Pyke.

"What do you think?" she whispered.

"I don't know," he replied. "It could be two anomalies or it could be the one. For all we know, the monster could be some enemy soldier trapped down here with them picking them off one by one."

"Do you really think so?"

"No. They'd have taken guns from the fallen and no one suggests gunshots. My point is we won't know for certain until we find and kill it."

"And if it is two?"

"Then we'll need to kill it, then delve deeper to try and find what makes the bunker tick. Ideally, we find a way for these people to go back to their world and us to ours. No cross-contamination." He noticed her grimace. "I know that sounds cruel but the main reason is for the safety of everyone. They're only here because the anomaly has them here. If we kill it and bring them to our world, that could cause some kind of paradox."

"The world ends?"

"Nothing so dramatic. I think they'd end. As in, they'd cease to exist or die out. It really depends."

"What about Ilia?"

"I imagine she'll be safe to bring out. She's only been down here a few months in terms of surface time, so if there is some temporal distortion down here then she shouldn't rapidly age or anything like that."

"You mean time going faster in here?"

"Or slower. No one can say how long they've been here. That could be due to the lack of sun or clocks but it could also be an indication time is distorted." He checked his scroll. "Everything looks fine on our end, but that could just be our scrolls ticking on assuming normal time. Or maybe there's no distortion at all. I just find it unlikely these people have actually survived down here long enough to have children who don't remember the surface. I thought people needed sunlight."

She thought so too, though there had been historical cases of cave-dwelling people. It must have been good to hide away from Grimm like that in ancient times. Even so, they'd probably just spent most of their time in caves. Not all. There were vitamins that came from sunlight and, beyond that, vitamins that came from plants that only grew with sunlight. The people here looked unhealthy, but they were surviving and having children. They were repopulating. Keeping up their numbers. That made Blake think uncomfortable thoughts about livestock.

"You think one of the anomalies is intentionally keeping them alive. Is that it?"

He nodded. "I think so. The fact the monster leaves food to lure them out, the fact they haven't died from any one of a million diseases by now. I mean, look at them. They're crammed shoulder to shoulder in a dark room. And I highly doubt they have functioning toilets or plumbing down here. How are they not all dead from infection? If Angela is twenty, and she was born here, then that means at least twenty years have passed with this group of people not imploding. I just don't see how that's possible without something keeping them alive."

"For food."

"Yes. But is it the bunker or the monster or both?" He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is leading me in circles. At the risk of sounding like my sisters, I think we need to spend less time thinking and more time hunting it down. We can see what changes after its death but..." He lowered his voice. "I wouldn't get attached to anyone here, Blake. Best case, they're teleported back to their world war the moment this is over. Worst case? The anomaly that's kept them alive all this time unravels as we kill it, and all that support keeping them alive fails at once. What effect that will have on them I don't know."

Hundreds of awed and hopeful faces watched their "angel" as she made her way through the hall. Some reached out to touch her, others prayed to her, and more just watched her with tears in their eyes.

It was horrific.

/-/

"I can give you five men at best," said Brigadier General Pyke.

"We'd rather have none," Jaune replied. "No offence but we work best on our own, and we'd only have to look after your people."

No offence was a cute thing to say, but it didn't always work. Blake could tell it hadn't here because the military men and women bristled. They'd fought a world war, then fought this monster and survived. They were hardened and grim people.

But they were not ARC Corp.

"What my associate means is that you're not trained for this specific enemy," said Blake. Jaune rolled his eyes but let her take over, continuing the charade that she was the one in charge. "I'll be engaging this creature in melee while you'll be shooting, which will only endanger me. We are specialists in hunting these kinds of things. You're not. Also, I'm told it shies away from larger groups of people."

Pyke grunted at that. "It does. But if you go alone then the religious ones will have my head – especially if you die."

"Anyone you send with us will die anyway. It's a pointless discussion."

"My people are proud solders—"

"Then you should do your duty and protect your people." Jaune stepped in with a calming smile. "Your duty is to your citizens. Ours is to this monster. We're not asking for your help or permission, Brigadier-General. We're simply being polite in informing you that we shall be heading out there."

"Fine." Pyke snarled and threw his hand out at them. "Go out there. Do what you want. I just hope you'll remember how many of our people are depending on you, huntress. If you fall, it won't just be you who suffers. We'll have hundreds walking into the darkness!"

"Isn't that—"

Jaune placed a hand on her arm, stopping her. "Thank you, sir. We'll be sure to report back once we've dealt with the creature."

They headed out the room and down the entrance corridor, past soldiers in position guarding the one way into "Home". They watched the two suited people go, some making the same sign Ilia had with their hands on their chests. Blake had never liked it when people relied on her even back in the White Fang, but this was ten times as bad.

"I'm sorry," she said, outside. "I shouldn't have been so snappy with them but I don't like being put on the spot."

"It's fine. I'm not one to get upset about it. Let's just focus on the job." He rummaged in their bags for a torch and turned it on, bathing the concrete walls in stark light. "Good job we brought torches down here, but we're limited. Once they run out we'll have our scrolls but we shouldn't expect a recharge. That said, if things go poorly and we can't find the creature then I'm going to say we leave the bunker rather than go back to them. We can restock, inform Sienna of what's happened with Ilia, and head back down another day with more supplies."

That sounded like a great idea to her, not only for the supplies but for the chance to sleep in a real bed, have real food, and not have to worry about where she was going to poop. She hadn't even considered the toilet issue until he brought it up, and she didn't want to know how they got rid of so much waste.

With the torch lighting their way, they headed back down the tunnel. Jaune took the lead, which she wasn't thrilled about but allowed because she could respond quicker to an attack from the front than the back. This thing was said to be an ambush predator, so she'd rather her back and aura be available to it than his.

The tunnels felt less dangerous by torchlight than candlelight, which she supposed made sense and might even serve to scare the creature off. These were heavy-duty torches Jaune had brought along. ARC Corp wasn't going to be cheap on the budget, and when they wanted a dark place illuminated, it got illuminated. She could see all the way to the end of the tunnel, including every doorway along it. They stopped at each to peek inside, shining the torch about in search of evidence of people or just another ladder going down. On the way, they passed the ladder back up, still with yellow paint on.

"That's a relief," Jaune muttered. "Good to know this isn't one of those labyrinths that changes its orientation on you."

Moving on past it, they soon found what they had been finding all along.

"It's another ladder heading down."

"More floors," she said, sighing. "How deep is this thing?"

"Hard to know. I'm wondering if the soldiers come down here looking for food or if they stick to their floor or go up a level. Also, did they start on this level or have they slowly been making their way up from below?"

"I doubt they can even remember," she said. "The floors don't have markings to tell you the numbers. You'd think they'd have made some, or at least leave signs on the walls pointing back to their safe spot."

"Maybe they did. Maybe the anomaly got rid of them. Or worse, altered them to lead them the wrong way."

Blake grimaced. That'd be good reason to stop and tell your people to only trust their memories and instincts. Grimm were terrifying to the average person, but imagining a world where they were smart enough to play tricks like that was too much.

"Do we go down?" she asked, really hoping they wouldn't have to.

"We'll go down this one but no further. If we see another ladder down, we'll mark the route but backtrack."

They stopped to scan every direction with the torch before trying, and with good reason. Blake had to go first, leaving Jaune isolated for a brief moment. He kept it short, however, jumping down a second after her and landing next to her. The torch scanned about but, to the surprise of neither of them, it was more of the same. Another set of tunnels, another set of doorways.

"I'm really starting to hate this place," said Blake. "I'd have honestly preferred it if we jumped down into a tunnel made of flesh and bone with fire everywhere. At least then we'd know we're making progress." She paused, then added, "You don't think there are more people trapped down here, do you?"

"I really hope not. Let's check where Home would be on this floor to be safe."

To their crushing relief, there wasn't a second parallel version of the place on this floor, filled with different people or – in the worst scenario – more of the same people. If this bunker was cross-dimensional then it was possible it could have multiple Ilias from different dimensions, and then they'd have to figure out what to do with them. Finding a copy of the chambers from the floor above was expected, but they were thankfully barren, with no signs that people had ever lived in them.

What they did find, however, was another ladder.

Jaune marked it with the spray can and shone his torch down. The floor looked the same, as did what little they could see off to the sides without going down. Neither was interested in risking it, however.

"That's us done for the day," he said. "I'm going to suggest we stop back by the settlement to pick up Ilia and take her to the surface."

"To see what happens?"

He nodded. "That and to rescue her from this place. If there is an adverse effect then the sooner she's out, the better. I'm not sure what this will mean for the other people, but I can't imagine they'll be against the idea."

"We should set up some cameras too," said Blake. "See if we can't catch a sighting of it."

"I doubt we will."

"I doubt it too," she admitted, "but if even one gets destroyed then we'll at least know what floor it was on."

"Well said. Fine. We'll put one down here facing the ladder and then fill the floor above with them."

They did that on the way back, taking care to look out for the creature that stalked the tunnels. It wasn't showing its face, though. The thing knew better, or was hunting elsewhere, or maybe it just was full and didn't show up. If it was organic, then it might have been resting somewhere deeper in the bunker. They couldn't very well ask the survivors what times it attacked at, because they didn't know night from day down here.

Pyke was relieved to see them alive and well on the return. "Did you find it?"

"It didn't show," said Jaune. "It either avoided us or it was full and not on the prowl, but we'll keep looking for it. We're going to head back to the surface to resupply and try to open a corridor for supplies to reach you." He made sure to frame it as a military decision and not as them leaving the people here to their fate. "We're going to leave our food with you and bring more down tomorrow. Are there any other supplies you direly need?"

Pyke laughed. "Too much to mention, but food is the primary concern. Medicine would be helpful but we don't have many sick or injured. They don't live long. What do you have for us now?"

Jaune and Blake swung their packs around. They didn't have a lot, their bags having been filled with equipment like cameras and rope and such. Things they might need down here. Even so, the six or so MREs they had brought might as well have been a feast to these people, and the extra candy bars – mainly for energy in a pinch – were welcome, as was the clean water and, more importantly, the means to filter unclean water. There were cans of soup too, meant to be heated over a fire.

"It's a damn bounty," said Pyke, showing it to the other soldiers. "Good timing, too. A lot of the folk here will be wanting the angel to stay and not leave, but if we can provide them all a good meal courtesy of her divine generosity, then say she's bringing more food and angels down to clear the bunker, we should be able to stave off panic."

"We'd like to ask for Ilia to be brought here too," said Jaune.

"Hm." He waved to a woman in uniform. "Fetch the girl – and bring Angela along as well. We're going to need her to calm her flock and hearing it from the angel's mouth will convince her." Pyke turned back to them, saying, "You'll need to repeat the story. I could tell them, but they'll only say we're keeping secrets or deceiving them. They're a distrustful lot and we don't always see eye-to-eye. Even so, we need them and they need us. They keep people calm and in order, and we keep them safe."

Angela and Ilia arrived soon after, the former bowing low and Ilia half-bowing before catching herself at Blake's irritated expression.

"You are back," the religious woman whispered. "Oh, how we feared when you left us, but we should not have! Your holy grace has returned!"

Pyke nodded to her.

Blake sighed. "Rise, child." It made her cringe inside to talk like that, but it was what was going to work. "I have called you here to deliver a message to your flock. I shall hunt the beast with my... um... knight." Jaune grinned off to the side. "But we must return to our home for now to gather more supplies for you and your people. We have shared what we have with Brigadier-General Pyke, who will see the people fed today."

"It's a bounty from heaven," said Pyke, sounding more resigned than anything. The food on the table spoke for itself, however. "Tell your people to spread the word, but we don't want a panicked rush for food. We will make sure everyone gets their share."

"I understand." Angela's eyes were sparkling in the gloom. "We will make sure none ruin this moment, a chance to sample divine sustenance. You bless us. We are not worthy."

"Additionally..." Blake said, continuing to grimace. "I require your prophet, Ilia Amitola, to accompany us on our travels above." Ilia trembled, equal parts terrified and elated at the idea of going home. "I trust this will not be an issue."

"None, great angel. None at all! But, if I may, could you take one of us with you? A chance to see the divine realm? If we could but see it and bring back news, the people's hearts would swell with devotion."

Blake frowned. "I don't—"

"Holy Avatar." Jaune interrupted with a phrase that sounded so alien she was stunned to silence. He linked his hands together and bowed. "Pardon this humble servant for speaking, but it would be no great burden to accept their request."

"Uh. Okay, then." Jaune had to have some reason for wanting that. "We'll accept one," she told Angela, "But it mustn't be you. Not because of any sin or fault of your own, but because you're needed here to keep the church in order. Let it be someone of lesser importance."

"Of course. Of course. If I may be excused, I shall gather an acolyte. With the mother's grace."

The robed woman fled.

Blake tugged Jaune to the side. "What's that about?"

"I want to see what effect it will have bringing one of them out," he replied in a quiet whisper. "Since it'll determine our plans going forward. Better to find out now with one person than risk it on over a thousand."

When Angela returned, it was with a young boy of around sixteen years. He introduced himself as Aelfred, an odd name that only reinforced the differences in culture between their world and Remnant. He was awestruck and amazed, with wide eyes that remained locked on Blake in a way that felt creepier than it probably was.

"Aelfred, you are to stay out of trouble and not bother the angel," Angela instructed. "Listen to her every command."

"Y—Yes, honoured mother. I will do as the angel says."

"Good boy." Angela patted his head. "Will he suffice, holy one?"

"I'm sure he'll do fine. Stay in the centre of our formation and don't wander. Do as any of us say and you'll be fine."

It was a larger party that left, but they moved quicker for not having any bags to carry. Aelfred was quick on his feet if nothing else and determined not to slow them down. Thankfully, Ilia had retained some of her fitness as well, even if she was a little thin in places. Malnourishment had obviously started to set in.

They reached the first ladder and went up, then the next, following the string patch that still remained. While they were careful with their movements, it was all for nothing and no "creature" showed itself to them. Soon, they were on what memory served as the first floor below ground, where there should be no ladder up.

And sure enough, the dusty staircase stood at the end of the tunnel.

Ilia whimpered.

"Not long," said Blake, touching her shoulder. "Sienna Khan will want to talk to you, but we'll see about getting you some food first."

"I want to swim in the ocean," Ilia whispered.

Funny. Because ever since her missions around the ocean, that was probably the last thing Blake wanted. Large bodies of water could bugger off in her opinion. Too much space for terrifying and unknown creatures to hide in.

When they ascended the steps into the pillbox-like structure itself, sunlight could be seen streaming down through the entrance. Ilia began to cry, while Aelfred stared on in shock. "Is that what sunlight looks like?" he whispered. "It's so bright! So warm!"

Jaune went up first, then called back. "It's clear. And yes, it's Menagerie."

Ilia broke ranks and sprinted up behind him, hurling herself from the bunker into the sunlight and onto the grass, then sobbing and rolling around in it, fanning her arms and legs out like she wanted to rub as much of herself on the grass as possible. Aelfred was little better, squinting and holding an arm over his face, looking around in such shock and awe.

Blake kept watching him, waiting for the nightmare. Waiting for him to age and turn to dust and bone, for his body to collapse in on itself as a mutation of flesh, for him to scream as every molecule in his body broke apart as the world rejected his foreign presence. Jaune was, too, clenching his hands tight and gritting his teeth together.

But the boy persisted. "It's beautiful," he said. "I can feel the sun on my skin. Oh, I... I cannot describe it." He raised a hand. "Is this the wind? The... breeze? My grandmother talked about it but I never thought it would feel like this."

He was alive.

Whole.

They both were.

"Let's take them to Sienna first and ask your parents to look after Aelfred," said Jaune. "We can gather supplies to head back down after a night's rest."

Next Chapter: 1st April

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