Chapter 10: What Lies Beneath

As the vile airship spiraled out of control, the passengers rushed to reach safety. Just before it hit the ground, each person made their escape. Jaune did numerous flips and slammed his feet straight to the ground. All the energy of the fall transferred to the ground and ruptured it.

Penny shot wire connected blades from her backpack. They embedded themselves into trees and she swung herself to safety. Neo took hold of Roman and when they hit the ground, they shattered into glass shards. The pair ended up walking out of the forest.

"Watch the suit sweet stuff. I can't be a criminal while looking shabby, can I?" The master thief complained loudly to his pseudo bodyguard. Roman began picking leaves and sticks out of his hair, while simultaneously glaring at the innocent looking Neo.

"Well that's good, everyone's in one piece. Chalk this as another victory against those monstrosities of travel. It's going to take forever to get back to school, though", Jaune commented relatively lightly, all things considered. Even now, he was doing his best to ignore the burning glare and rebuttals from Roman.

Penny happily flexed towards him, while saying, "I am all ready to go. I always wanted to participate in a group hiking trip." At the least, Penny was in good spirits.

The good mood spoiled when the group heard rustling. From their hiding places, a mysterious group pulled a multitude of weapons in their direction. Nervously, the makeshift team all raised their hands in surrender. As far as they could see, there were more of their forces.

Soon after, the group were escorted to a well-established village. Interesting enough, every single member of their captors were refined looking cat Faunus, each donning dark cat ears and a tail. From what he could ascertain from his senses, they were wealthy in means of aura. With these numbers, a non-destructive escape was all but impossible. Subtlety had never been Jaune's greatest skill.

Roman decided to try his silver tongue, "Now I'll admit that I and my motley crew may look suspicious, but you'll find that we're all upstanding citizens of the Kingdoms. As huntsmen and huntresses, crazy things happen and this is just a case of it. You know what, you let us go and we all can just forget this every happened."

Sharp eyes narrowed at him. A tall dark skin woman took the pipe she was smoking and pushed the end against Roman's neck. "I don't recall giving you the permission to speak. You're not clever or cute. Even if I believed that garbage of your occupation, that's irrelevant. You lot survive now because the Elder wished for it. Be grateful."

When she removed the pipe, he rubbed his throat and coughed, "I'm more grateful than you could ever believe. You won't HEAR a single complaint from me. Besides is this the face of a troublemaker?"

She stared at him for a moment, before snorting, "I sincerely hope you cross the Elder, it would be my pleasure to eliminate you." The woman looked downright wistful.

"No need for all the hostilities. I'm sure when your Elder's finished speaking to us, you'll see this is all a big misunderstanding. The only reason we're here is that a giant freaking gold dragon blew us right out of the sky", Jaune tried to explain.

The sheer skepticism that she portrayed with but a look was rather impressive. In response to his assertion, she yanked his chain and sped up his pace. In minutes, the entire group was in front of a humble house. In comparison to the other homes, it was a bit lack luster.

Through hand signals, the rest of the personnel walked away and they were left with the supposed leader of the squad. She gestured towards the door with much impatience. Eyeing her warily, the group entered the door. The door shut harshly.

"I apologize for her. She's overstressed and I fear that I'm not helping with that endeavor." A cool voice sounded from a dining table. A young looking Faunus child sat patiently at the head of the table. In her hands was a stemming cup of tea.

Like her voice, her features were soft and gentle. Nothing but warmth shined in her eyes as she looked at the group. It grew especially kind as it ran over Jaune's form. He bowed in respect for the Elder.

The Elder beckoned them to sit themselves, "Please be seated, it must be uncomfortable standing like that."

"Thanks." Jaune was all smiles again and sat on the chair nearest to her. Roman simply huffed and followed suit. Penny and Neo shrugged at each other and sat down as well.

"Nice little village you got here. Funny, I don't remember there being a sustainable outpost this far from Vale's immediate protection. What's the secret?"

"Ah, you must be the great thief Roman. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the means in which we protect ourselves are no longer viable for you or your White Fang associates. We here have done well for ourselves for the thousands of years I have been an elder. I must request you don't instigate anything while here. Rest assured, after today, you'll never find this place again." Unlike previously, her tone was not soft, nor hostile, but firm as steel. Jaune could see the vast experience and maturity in her eyes.

She was truly an Elder in every other meaning of the word.

Roman coughed awkwardly and ceased his questioning. Neo laughed obnoxiously, albeit softly, at her partner in crime.

The tension was broken as she smiled kindly once again. "Jaune, I received information that your aircraft was sent down by a golden dragon, is this true?"

"I was totally shocked to see a dragon up close! It could've been a lot more polite, but I guess it was just a jerk."

"This is shocking. Golden Dragons had been run to near extinction. Even seeing just one is amazing. Dragons in general don't like to interact with humanity and Faunus alike. Speaking of that, I see the power of a dragon within you. What is your relationship with them?"

The blonde swordsman tenderly rubbed the left side of his chest, "I received a gift from one not too long ago. I also promised to deliver a message to his kin."

The Elder closed her eyes and thought and seemed to come to a conclusion. She pulled out a map of Remnant and pointed to a landmass. "Your destination is the Northwestern continent of Remnant. Beware the dragons aren't always the most welcoming. Times have made them bitter."

"Bitter?" Jaune questioned curiously, as he rubbed his chin. As far as he could tell, dragons were on the top of the food chain. The beasts of beasts.

"Yes", she confirmed, "The dragons were the major opposition to the Grimm. But what the Grimm lacked in power thousands upon thousands of years ago, they made up in sheer quantity. Things only worsened with time, their numbers aged and grew powerful. As wounded as the dragon tribe is, they still hold strong against the forces of the Grimm. Alas, many no longer care for the collateral on the ground walkers. Whole eras and civilizations have been lost when the dragons return fire. I fear even now they prepare the drums of war. Just like the eras before them, the Kingdoms shall fall."

"Could we not unite the Kingdoms? General Ironwood is a pragmatic man and his heart burns for the Kingdoms." Penny added in.

The Elder's smile was apologetic, "It is through much difficulty that I protect my people. I fear that Ironwood is just as likely to butt heads with the dragons. He is a hard man of escalation. Should he hear of this, he will decide the dragons are an issue. Nothing good can come of that conclusion."

"I see." Penny fidgeted, not completely convinced.

"This is good and everything, but what's the point. All I heard was some talk about amake believe battle and the girly boy."

With utmost patience, she explained her reasoning, "I just wish to speak to Jaune. That is all." An impish smile spread on her visage and she gave a presence befitting her childish appearance.

…

"That was a major waste of time. The kiddy hag talked too much." Roman groaned as they left the comforts of the Faunus community. The master criminal grimaced at the sight of his untidy clothing before flashing a glare at the feminine blonde. "This is all your fault, kids. If you and your ragtag group of weirdos hadn't busted my operation, we wouldn't be in the middle of nowhere. Crazy stuff happens out here. Why'd you have to butt in, I was just minding my own business."

"Hey! Don't blame us! Besides, you weren't just minding your business, you were smuggling stolen goods."

A gloved hand waved him off, "I never said it was good business."

Beside him, Neo was mockingly laughing at the two.

"Oh, I believe this is where we all show our determination and bonding as a group and overcome adversary." Penny was ever the optimist and began regaling the group of how she envisioned their friendship. Sadly, Roman and Neo didn't share her excitement. If anything, Mr. Torchwick appeared downright murderous.

"Look, sweetie? Be quiet. You're giving me a headache with all your friendship talk. What we're going to do is go back to the airship, salvage what we can and try to get back to Vale."

Jaune ran in front of them and crossed his arms as he shook his head, "No. The world has blessed us with its death and we shouldn't spit on this miracle. Slain demons should be left to rot."

"See? This is the reason I know you're a weirdo. Stop the bellyaching and get a move on." No longer caring, Roman pushed the teen out of the way. Neo walked by him with smug amusement.

Penny paused to pat him on the back. "You can triumph this beast, friend Jaune."

In turn, he teared up, just a little. A small manly amount. "You're a good friend, Penny."

When the group returned to the crash site, they were disheartened to see that there was little chance of repairing the damages. One of the wings were gone and there was a tear right through the cockpit. It wouldn't be going back in the air anytime soon.

Penny showed surprising expertise as she did an analysis on the wreckage. According to her, it was more viable to rebuild the scraps into a makeshift boat to reach the Kingdom of Vale. The process was painful to say the least, between Roman's laziness, Jaune's hatred of the thing, and all of their inexperience, it was a miracle that any work was done.

Luckily, Penny could be a taskmaster. Everyone eventually just deferred to her decisions. Mors did excellent work removing unusable pieces and putting the components together. Relentless hours of work had provided them a functioning boat. It was by no means pretty, but according to Penny it would do the job.

Jaune had other opinions, "I'm not doing it. No matter how much you mutilate that corpse, it's still a vile piece of devilry. I can't, in good conscience, travel on that thing."

Roman held a dislike for it as well, "I'm not riding that. It looks like it could flop at any moment. Worst of all, it has no class to it. Traveling in a piece of junk like that would be a major blow to my reputation."

Penny and Neo merely looked at each other and simply nodded. Then, each took their respective associate in their arms and forced them into the vehicle. Neither were happy about it, and made it quite clear that they were opposed to any such movements.

"It's evil, Penny! The very essence of its past life will not be satisfied, until I meet a watery grave."

"Let me down, Neo. I am a grown man and demand to be respected as such. You are by far the most insubordinate lackey I have ever had the displeasure of working with."

All of their arguments were duly noted and utterly ignored. Once inside, the men were tossed aside and Penny took to the jammed together console. It was a heavy handed reconstructed mess. Dials and meters were refunctioned and misused. Pulling down a lever, the boat purred evenly.

Despite the male occupants' dismissal, the ride was rather calm. The ship managed to cut through the chilling waters easily enough. Penny took care to not attract too much attention from the Grimm that were most likely lurking beneath.

Jaune took the moment to meditate and further strengthen his aura capabilities. Though, his greatest concern was finding any hint of his semblance. Semblance had been an interesting subject for him. It was an inherent ability molded by the user themselves. He knew for a fact sweet Pyrrha could manipulate metals and the like. It was a rather useful thing against weapon wielding opponents.

Don't worry, Jaune. I know you'll find yours. And when you do, it will be far greater than anything that Pyrrha girl can hope to achieve.

The blonde Arc was thankful for his sword's support and thanked her. Though, he wished she wouldn't insult Pyrrha so often.

His concentration was disturbed as the boat shook violently. Jumping to his feet, he went to the front of the ship and saw an impressive indent on the sides. Eyes scanning the area, he failed to see the source of the damage. A sharp whistle hit his ears.

To the front of the ships, gallons of water were displaced as the area sunk beneath itself. A whirlpool was forming. All of the passengers, with the exception of Penny, grew anxious at the sight. There was no means of pulling the ship away from the danger. Its power resources were minimal for the task and there wasn't any debris to make an escape.

Instead, everyone braced themselves for high pressure and an uncomfortable swim. The forces spinning their ship only grew more and more intense as they reached the bottom. Jaune could feel his stomach protesting loudly against the treatment. Tears stung his eyes as the discomfort only grew worst. Just beneath the vessel, he heard the sound of mechanism and the ship spun even further out of control.

Their crash was decidedly unpleasant. Disoriented, confused, and wet none of the group were particularly happy with the turn of events. Jaune was at a secluded area emptying the contents of his stomach. All the while muttering utterings of revenge beyond the grave.

Their new location was a damp place filled with rusted armor. Algae and the like grew through the gaps of the underwater hold. Rusted armors and weaponry were scattered on the floors and walls. Breathing was chore from the musky and horrid odor.

"Great, just great. Not only are we lost, but now we're trapped underground. Smooth sailing girlie."

Penny seemed just as disappointed in herself, if not more. "I am sorry. There should not have been any such accident. A blockade rapidly rose from the bottom. I fear that we are now trapped. But, fear not, I am quite capable of destroying the confines of our holding. It would take only a moment."

"Wait! That's too dangerous!" Jaune yelled as he withheld her hand. Seeing that she was willing to listen, he continued, "You need to remember that we're underwater. The ruins are the only things protecting now, however poorly. There's a good chance we'll all drown if this place caves in."

Penny nodded in understanding. Withdrawing his hand, Jaune took a look at the area. His friend followed suit and took to observing her surroundings.

Roman snorted and huffed away. Neo simply sat peacefully beside a withered skeleton.

"Stinking brats, I should be enjoying a nice time off after a day of hard work, but no you guys had to be heroes."

All he got from Jaune was a pair of rolled eyes. Dismissing even more complaints from the criminal, he noted that Penny looked surprised.

Seeing his confusion, she explained, "This is one of the fallen realms. Atlas has been very interested in some of the earliest recorded civilizations and their interactions with the monsters of Grimm. There had been much speculation about this era. From the weathering, I can deduce that this has withstood several millennia." She swept past a corridor, "It is saddening. So many realms, eras, and kingdoms have fallen to the might of the creatures of Grimm. With a force so great, it is little wonder that this is but a relic now."

Neo simply walked by her complaining boss and knocked him with her waist. Losing balancing, his back slammed to the wall. Shockingly, the wall caved in a bit and a mechanism seemed to have been activated. All around them the walls parted and arrow tips were visible.

A tense second passed until hundreds of arrows from all directions shot out. Everybody ran for the end of the bobby trapped tunnel. Neo spammed her semblance that somehow caused her body to shatter into glass every time she was fatally pierced. Penny utilized her omni-directional blades to cleave right through the offending arrows, while also flinging her across the room. It was a rare thing for her feet to touch the ground. Jaune made use of his lithe form to maneuver aerially through flips and spins. Roman kept it simple and ran for it.

Blocking their path was a thick stone door. Having neither the time nor choice, Jaune ran ahead of the group and cut the whole structure horizontally. Wasting not a moment, he jumped on the sliced portion, shifted his weight and spun around to deflect dozens of the arrows.

The makeshift barrier slammed into the ground and the others leapt into it. But still, the arrows didn't relent. Jaune focused his concentration on moving the remainder of the door down the sloped pathway. To the front, there were arced pillars obstructing their path.

Roman took some spare dust and used his cane gun to blow them into pieces. This in turn caused the ceiling they were holding to begin breaking apart. Neo took her handy umbrella and twirled it around. Pieces of the ceiling were deflected with some minor difficulty. She angled the blocks of stone to cover the path of the arrows' onslaught.

Jaune jumped lightly and allowed the platform to pass him until the very end. Landing on top of it, he caused it to leverage upward and guided it towards the nearest walls. Jaune proceeded to pierce the walls with said door fragment.

All of them leapt off the new projectile as they heard the last murmurs of destroyed mechanisms.

"Don't do that again. You almost got us killed."

"No, you're almost got killed. Everybody else seems fine to me." Neo pointed out impishly. Her finger was pointed to the completely at ease Penny and the only slightly labored Jaune. Neither appeared too shaken up.

Roman's teeth gnashing was almost audible. Collecting his nerves he went back to uselessly reaching any of his associated through his scroll.

Penny gasped and pointed sadly around them, "This is terrible."

The room was filled with bones of larger, femininely dressed, bodies covering over smaller ones. Despair radiated all around. All of these people's final moments were in desperation. The monsters of Grimm would love the negativity that surrounded this place. In the center of the room was a radiant looking grail. The rim was covered in precious metals.

Greed shined brightly in the criminal's eyes. With an unusual amount of disregard, he swiped the goblet. The pedestal it rested on sunk to the floor and a new door became visible. All over the door were faint handprints in dried blood.

Penny caught sight of something. There was a message on the door. Perking up she read, "You who crawl upon the muddled waters, yet yearn for the shore, made by Our will. All that lived and ever shall, are but insects before the Beasts. Ignorant child, heed thy arrogance."

With a haunting allure, the door unlatched. From within was no great treasure, or even a room, but an eye.

A lone single eye that seemed to instill great fear. As the eye blinked, they heard the sound of thousands choking and drowning. Then there was water. So very much water surged from the door. None of them could hope to stand firm. They were shot fiercely back from whence they came.

The water came like a stampede of the most wild and ferocious herd of stallions. Aura was their only ally in this struggle. Most of their efforts laid in not drowning under the angry tides. Too many times they had crashed straight through pillars, walls, and floors. Pressure assaulted them from all sides, twisted and pushing against them. Through stinging eyes, Jaune saw a monstrous figure hidden in the darkness of the chilling waters.

Like filth, they were expunged. Now they were falling down to some form of cathedral area. Jaune latched on to the top of the worship area. The other's followed suit. To their dismay, a geyser shot from beneath them and sent them blasting towards the center of the area. What happened next was but a blur. Buildings, mud, human/ Faunus remains, mixed into some convoluted soup of sickness and expelled them out to the open. Once again they found themselves on the free waters that they had been sailing earlier this day. Pieces of their boat were visible from their position, which Jaune couldn't help but feel utter happiness from.

Shaken, but not disabled, the group was able to land themselves unto the floating roof of the notwdestroyed cathedral.

Hacking out the water, they turned to see their nemesis.

Author's Note:

Thanks for reading another chapter guys. As always I love getting feedback and reviews. Please take a moment out of time to tell me how you found the chapter.

Was I able to pace it properly? I wanted to go for hectic this time around. Most of their actions were merely reactionary. Pseudo Team JNPR were never meant to be in control in this chapter. Just like the fallen realms, they could only try to survive.

Thank you for your time. Until next time.