(Previously:)

"What the hell ?!" Summer cried out in disbelief and shock while Salem was unable to say a word, her red eyes looking at the scene with wide eyes of equal shock and awe.

Outside the cave, there was an entirely new world : a rocky ceiling was far away above the entire area, supported by high rocky pillars (pillars that were perhaps taller than the tallest buildings on Remnant). Underneath the ceiling, there was a beautiful landscape with waterfalls, rivers, forests and even mountains !

Somewhere in the distance, they could see what looked like a sun shining in the 'sky' of this new land ! Summer and Salem also could see some forms flying in the air and they could also hear animal sounds coming from the forest nearest to them.

"Are we both seeing the same thing ?" Summer asked her companion in awe.

"We've been living above an entire world… and we didn't even know it !" Salem replied with awe as she looked around with her red eyes wide in shock.

For a few moments, they stared at the wide landscape in silence but soon, it was broken by Summer who asked her companion

"What should we do now ?"

00/(Present Time)/00

-/(Location : Patch; Surface)/-

On a small island near the Kingdom of Vale, a man with blond hair (one who had two small strands sticking out from the to)p and blue eyes was looking at the horizon with worry and concern. He had a soul patch and small stubble along his jawline and a tattoo on his right hand which resembles a heart. He was wearing brown cargo shorts with a brown belt, black shoes, a red bandana and a brown leather vest placed over a tan dress shirt .

His name was Taiyang Xiao Long and he was Summer's husband and the father of Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long.

And right now, he was deeply concerned for his wife, as she had been gone for a while now.

"Summer, where are you ?" he whispered softly to himself while looking at the horizon with nostalgia.

"Daddy ! Ruby spat milk on me !" a feminine young voice echoed from the family house.

Recognizing it as his older daughter's, Taiyang released a chuckle of fond amusement before slowly going back inside. Ever since Summer left, Yang took upon herself to raise her young sister by herself… and sometimes it was a very funny sight to see.

-/(Location : Hidden World)/-

"What should we do now ?"

Salem looked away from the unexpected but beautiful landscape to look at her companion before answering calmly "We should look for a place to stay… at least for a while… you need to rest as you are clearly exhausted..."

Summer wanted to refuse those words but then, she remembered her state and reluctantly nodded in acceptance.

"We can always stay in the cave..." Summer said while looking toward where they came from… only to freeze as her eyes widened in fear and shock.

"Summer ?" Salem asked her with a frown of confusion, wondering what had scared her companion.

"L-Look !" Summer said back in response while pointing at something with a finger.

Blinking at the sudden demand, the Queen of Grimm slowly followed her companion's eyes and finger… only to stiffen in shock once she caught on what had scared Summer.

Behind them, hissing at them menacingly was a large serpent-like creature with blood red scales, black stripes and equipped with two red bat-like wings running down the top half of its body… and supported by long spines extending from its grayish rib-cages. The beast's chest was slender and long, like a normal snake's, and its head was massive and snake's like. It had green eyes with pupils similar to a cat's, along with bony ridge above the eyes.

When the beast roared at them again (the roar sounded like a mix between a screech and a scream), the two women noticed, much to their horror, that it had sharp long fangs in its jaws ! From their perspective, one of those fangs would be as long as one of their hands!

"What the hell is that thing ?!" Summer cried out in fear and terror as the Bat Snake thing slithered toward them.

"I don't know but I think we should get out of here… NOW !" Salem said to her companion with a serious look on her pale face.

Why ?

Because two more of those beasts came out of nowhere to stand near their fellow monsters, their eyes showing nothing but hunger as they looked at them. Salem stared at them with narrowed eyes, her hands glowing with powers as she readied her magic in case those things decided to attack.

Summer wanted to curse their luck : of course, they had to be attacked just when she was exhausted and pretty much weaponless ! Looking behind her, she gulped when she saw that her and Salem were standing not too far from the edge of a cliff.

With a quick look down, the Huntress once again gulped at the sight of how high the ground was from the edge. If they were to jump and Salem unable to carry her, she would die from the fall.

And let's be honest, there are way better ways to die !

But then, she saw that, far away beneath her, there were trees with thick branches and close foliages. If she were to fall there, the leaves might prevent her fall and the branches might be thick enough to stop the snakes from going after them !

"Salem ? Do you know how to fly ?" Summer asked her companion who was still eying the three creatures with narrowed eyes.

"I do, why ?" the Queen of Grimm answered while not looking away from the bat-winged snakes.

"We are near the edge of a cliff, trapped by those three uglies and I have no weapon to defend myself ! Beside, wouldn't it be a better idea to hide in the forest !" Summer explained to her while pointing at the forest at the base of the cliff.

Salem glanced back and forth between Summer, the forest and the winged snakes, deep in thought as she wondered what she should do. Summer was in no condition to fight, that was a fact, and she had no weapon anymore after hers was destroyed during their battle earlier (she remembered with a slight grimace).

Sure she could use magic on those disgusting worms, but she didn't know if it would be effective enough against them. After all, despite being millenniums old, it was the first time she was confronted to tiny green plant-like beings or venomous (the fangs were a dead giveaway) snakes with bat-like wings.

Heck, she didn't even know what this new world had else to offer !

So far, everything around her was strange… maybe as much as the fact that, for who know how long, the people of Remnant had been living above another world without realizing it !

Unlike on the surface, she didn't know what to expect here… and for that, she felt… helpless and weak.

However, her thoughts were quickly interested by another roar from one of the winged snakes who had slithered closer to her. With barred teeth, she unleashed a ball of fire toward it and the snake went flying away for a few meters before landing back on the ground.

Much to her frustration and shock, the blasted worm was still alive and looked perfectly fine ! Normally, when she used her balls of fire, the target would be destroyed : Ozma himself died this way once ! But the snake was not only fine, but also clearly angry judging by the way it roared at her louder than before, its fangs bared in a threatening manner.

Its two comrades also joined it, slithering closer to the two humans with clear killing intent.

Glancing back at Summer, Salem could clearly see how tired she was and for a moment, she internally debated on what to do : should she just escape and leave her behind as distraction ? Should she keep fighting ? Or should she take Summer with her and escape together ?

For some reason, she was not in favor of the first option : after the moment they had together in the tunnels, she couldn't bring herself to leave the Huntress behind. Her daughters were waiting for her, and Salem, as a former mother, would never allow a child to be without a mother.

The first option was out of the equation… which left two.

The second one was tempting as she wouldn't abandon Summer to her fate but again, it wasn't a good option either. After all, her magic seemed pretty harmless against those snakes and she didn't know how long Summer would last before she lost consciousness again.

Which left one option only…

With a nod of determination, Salem quickly grabbed Summer by the arms before jumping in the air while saying loudly "HOLD TIGHT !"

The silver eyed Huntress barely had the time to blink in shock before screaming as she and Salem began to ascend in the air.

"EEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHH !" Summer screamed in fear as she felt her feet no longer touching the ground.

The Queen of Grimm would have laughed in amusement at seeing her companion's current expression but she retained her composure as her main preoccupation was to take the two of them to safety.

"Uh oh..." Summer said with dread in her tone.

Glancing back over her shoulders, Salem wanted to curse the Gods for their luck : the winged snakes were after them, hissing and snarling in anger.

"Hold on, Summer !" the Queen of Grimm said to the other woman before diving toward the foliages.

"I'M GOING TO DIIIIIIIIIIIEEE !" Summer cried loudly in slight fear as air crashed against her face.

Once again, Salem wanted to laugh at the expression of fear on Summer's face but managed to hide it under a mask of determination as her eyes narrowed at the trees beneath her. When their bodies were inches from the foliage, Salem used her magic to transform herself (and her charge) into a cloud of mist, allowing them to pass through the branches and leaves of the trees.

Thanks to this, Salem and Summer were free of their pursuers as the winged snakes, who didn't have this ability, were forced to stop their descent as they roared their frustration and anger at seeing their preys escaping their grasps.

Soon, when she saw the ground, Salem dismissed her magic, causing both her and her charge to regain their normal form before the Queen of Grimm looked up smugly at the still roaring winged snakes. After a few seconds, the creatures flew back toward where they came from, causing Salem to release a sigh of relief, happy to not have to deal with them any longer.

"Are they still after us ?" Summer asked her companion as she was still feeling dizzy from both the descent and the transformation.

"Not anymore… They are blocked by the thick foliage..." Salem calmly answered her while looking at her companion with clear amusement.

"I didn't know you were afraid of fly~" the Queen of Grimm added in a teasing manner.

Summer shot her a glare as she pouted childishly at her former enemy, hissing " I AM NOT !"

"Oh really ? Ten, why didn't you stop screaming 'I'M GOING TO DIE !' for the whole time, then~?" Salem retorted back with a smirk.

Summer's cheeks reddened even more as she narrowed her eyes further at Salem, who simply crossed her arms over her bust, smirking and not looking bothered by the look she received from her companion. Seeing that her glare was noneffective, Summer quickly turned around with a huff, crossing her arms over her own bust, still pouting as she grumbled

"Meanie..."

The Queen of Grimm released another chuckle, ignoring the glare Summer sent her way for it, before saying "We should go before those things came back… or something else..."

Summer, hearing this, lost her pouting face to turn it into a mask of determination as she nodded at her companion before looking ahead of them with Salem doing the same.

Unlike before, the two of them were now in a world of trees, bushes and plants… but Salem knew better : she could tell that this entire place was a very ancient forest. Centuries of snapping branches laid on the forest's floor and were now rotting silently. The smell coming from the decomposing plants rose up in waves in the air. Huge roots spread-eagled the ground, twisting like slithering serpents.

Above them, the foliage was thick and lush, forming an arch of green above their heads, almost hiding the sky from them. Around them, brambles and berry trees could be seen, the bushes so thick that ti was making it impossible to go through them. Along with that, the two of them could hear the sounds of animals echoing in the air, giving the place a peaceful atmosphere.

However, Salem also detected another thing : Magic. She was in awe of the amount of magic radiating from the entire area and she couldn't help but comparing it to the time when every single humans on Remnant were magical : the magic here felt stronger… more versatile… and most of all : ancient.

Clearly, this place, whatever it was, was older that Remnant but how could this be possible ? What this place a prototype of the one they knew ? Or was it something more ?

So many questions passed through Salem's mind, but she had no answers for any of them. For both her and for companion, this place was a true mystery.

"Salem ! Are we leaving or not ?!" Summer's impatient voice broke the Queen of Grimm out of her trance and, after blinking a few times, she saw that her companion was looking at her with slight impatience.

"We are… We must find a shelter and quick… it seems the night is coming..." Salem commented while looking at the sky above her.

While it was hard to tell if night was truly coming, as the foliage was hiding the sky, it was easy to tell that the area was turning darker by the minutes. The shadows stretched as the light seemed to slowly decline in intensity.

"We should indeed… I don't know what other creatures live out there but I am not looking forward to encounter some...especially if they are carnivores..." Summer said with agreement and a shiver.

"Well then, we better go..." Salem said as she wrapped Summer's arms over her shoulders before helping her companion to get back on her feet.

With a look of gratitude from the silver eyed Huntress, the two women then bravely entered the forest, searching for a place to stay for the night… and to plan what to do the next day.

(To be continued…)