Chapter 78: Ineluctabilis

In which new visitors to Haven find their place in the big city.

This should have been a job for the Grimm. Grimm deal with Grimm, and humans deal with humans. So why the blazes was Arthur Watts, respected scientist of Atlas and downright ingenious technologist, going outside the city walls to fetch the blasted beasties?

He knew why. The rat, Azeban, had abandoned his duties. Salem couldn't find him – apparently, only the horseman of choice had no mental link to her nor compulsion to obey her – so he was as good as a deserter now. Thus, his duties, including babysitting other Grimm, fell to yours truly. At least Watts could take comfort in the knowledge that a firing squad would be waiting for the rat if it ever dared show its face again.

For now, he did as he was told, even if the trek required him to descend from Haven, at the top of the mountainous city, down to the city gates at the very bottom. They needed more strength of arms. The obese woman and her minions would never be enough – Arthur expected them to be cannon fodder at best, distracting Rose while the real fighters got into position. With Adam and Tyrian declared missing – and Watts knew what that meant – that left Lionheart the lumpling, old Pietro's absentee sex doll, and (their only real fighters) their Grimm. Watts himself was nothing of a combatant; he hadn't even had his aura unlocked. Certainly, he could outsmart an opponent, lay a trap, or strategize from a command room, but grunt work and brute force were beneath a man of his genteel breeding.

The fact of the matter was that he did not like working for Salem. Working for her was a waste of his colossal talents, what with all the restrictive limitations she placed on what was and wasn't appropriate research for him to conduct. That was a simple fact of life. The only reason that he chose to work for her was that the alternative was far too dangerous. He already knew from the robot that Pietro had been conscripted by Ozma's side. People of their intelligence were inevitably drawn into conflict, whether they wished it or not. When he'd discovered the queen and the wizard's existence, he knew it would only be a matter of time before the sides began to quarrel over him. After all, a man who could hack into any security camera on Remnant, design weaponry beyond comprehension, and outthink the best and brightest was an asset too valuable to pass up. Thus, he made his choice and reached out.

The Mistrilian city walls were comedically useless. Should Salem wish it, a single contingent of her Grimm could penetrate them and lay waste to this whimsical, artsy township. The only reason that they hadn't already was the horseman outside who awaited Dr Watts.

People believe hunters protect them; what farce. Nobody can protect them.

The queen had located the horsemen in the woods just a kilometer away and dispatched Watts via a Seer. He'd come under the cover of darkness, but he'd brought some tarps just in case wandering eyes caught sight of him. Instead of a man leading a Grimm monstrosity, all they'd see would be a man leading a cloaked horse and rider. An odd sight, to be sure, but not one warranting any alarms.

The duo were bizarre, and in more ways than just their abominable appearances. Salem had interrupted them mid-fight, chastising the pair of them via the snake's mind for their reckless brawling, but their aura had prevented either from sustaining any severe injuries.

The equine thing, Thrace, bore the look of a savage creature. Its broad legs were clawed at the toe, and two wiry arms drooped down low enough to drag their ash-colored fingers along the ground. The head of the horse looked more like a predator, with honed fangs and a jaw clearly intended for biting down. Black flames, or perhaps it was smoke, poured freely from the mane of the horse, obscuring his view of the human-like growth on the back, but it disgusted him nonetheless. Little more than the upper portion of a humanoid skull, its head was malformed and lumpy. The two bodies were melded together, and Watts briefly wondered if they had been made that way, or if it were originally two separate entities that had joined together. Perhaps the man atop the beast had originally been a human, only to be corrupted and subsumed by a nightmarish captor for all time. Chilling stuff, indeed…

The other Grimm was more mundane. It was nothing more than a King Taijitu; in fact, it was significantly less than a King Taijitu, as only the black head remained. The white half of the snake was entirely missing, and exposed chunks of black flesh formed a roughened surface at the middle.

Watts threw the cloak onto Thrace, expecting it to respond in some way. It remained completely stationary, and not even a single muscle twitched.

When he made to cover the snake, it began to hiss.

"You cannot enter the city as you are now, Grimm," he said, struggling to hold back his disdain at its stupidity.

"Taniwha does not need to enter the sssssssity, human. Queen sssssssalem only inssssssstructed Taniwha to make her way to Haven."

"And how do you propose to enter the academy if not through the gates, my darling Grimm?"

"Call Taniwha Grimm onsssssssse more and Taniwha will feassssssst on your bonesssssss, human."

The mouthy creature slithered to the side and revealed that it had been perched atop the grate of a sewer tunnel. Mistral was built on a sloped mountain, so a simple pipe system was used to remove wastewater and sewage, flowing only by gravity. As they were at the lowest point in the city, the tunnels would naturally drain down to here.

"Taniwha wasssssss jusssssst waiting to ssssssssee off her Brother Thrassssssse. Taniwha shall take her leave. Taniwha doessssssss sssssssso hope we sssssssee one another again, Doctor Wattssssssss."

With that, the snake slid into the tube.

Arthur raised an eyebrow at the steed he now stood in solitary company with. "I don't suppose you'll be following her into the storm drains, Grimm?"

It said nothing. One could have mistaken the lifeless abomination with a rock for how stationary it was. Arthur sighed and tugged on its cloak. To that, the Grimm responded, following behind him as he led it towards the city gates. They received no questioning; after all, it was nothing suspicious. Just a human who'd left moments ago bringing back in his veiled horse and an obscured rider atop it to seek entrance to the city. No guard in their right mind would ever think a Grimm could behave itself when surrounded by so many humans.

The knowledge that the second horseman was slithering around inside the city without any supervision unsettled Dr. Watts more than he cared to admit, but he would have to trust that Salem had given it sufficient commands to rein it in. That one was unpleasant, more so than Azeban. While the rat was sarcastic, it was no true threat and therefore his favorite by absence of any superior alternative. The snake had clearly implied that it would only follow Salem's orders to the letter of the law, looking for loopholes when possible. Such individualistic thinking, Watts decided, was not meant for an empowered Grimm.

"We're here. I trust you'll stay out of sight until tomorrow night."

Again, the Grimm gave no response.

"Now, Mistuh Dove, you do realize that you are askin' quite a lot of little old me. I know I do appear motherly, and my twin daughters frequently and oh so generously compliment my exceptional parentin' skills, but four mouths to feed? That's gon' cost you."

"I don't have much in the way of lien, Lil' Miss Malachite."

Bronzewing had overcome his proclivity to use last names exclusively when it had become apparent that this woman did not appreciate anything less than her full title. She was undeniably a local leader of organized crime, but he had few other options but to rely on her.

"That's a shiny suit of armor you got, boy. I could take it off your hands."

"My armor stays, as does my weapon. As a huntsman, I need both."

Malachite shifted in her seat. It would've been obscured by the table had Bronzewing relied on conventional visible, but no movement went undetected by his semblance.

"A huntyboy, you say? Righty, righty. Well, perhaps we might be able to work out some mannuh of arrangement between ourselves. Off the record, mind you – my enterprise's licenses may be slightly out of date."

Bronzewing nodded and refrained from smiling. He lacked acumen in the field of negotiations, but perhaps his natural stoicism would prove beneficial here.

"I've found myself with a golden opportunity, Mistuh Dove. All me 'n' my fellas got to do is play ball for a client who needs backup on a dangerous job, and we get the payday of a lifetime. And it's not just lien I'm talkin' 'bout. The only thing is, we Spiders aren't mercenaries or fightuhs. We're kind folk, occasionally dabbling in the brokerage of highly sought aftuh information. All above board, I assure ya."

"And you're hoping the aid of a professional huntsman will suffice."

Malachite smiled. "Precisely."

"I believe we have ourselves a deal, Lil' Miss Malachite. You care for my cousins while I stay in Mistral, and I support your Spiders in this campaign. What is the job, and who is the client?"

"Our client would prefer to remain anonymous, for the time bein'. As for the job, we simply need to drop by Haven Academy for one night and keep the peace."

Bronzewing again restrained his giddiness; Malachite was practically offering to take him to his destination. But…perhaps he could turn this to his advantage. Against his instincts, he forced a frown.

"I'd like to avoid Haven Academy. I ran afoul of a student who believed I slept with his girlfriend. He was quite adamant that I never set foot anywhere near him again."

"The students will be sent home at night. There's no chance of you bumpin' into your buddy."

"I'd prefer not to chance it…"

Malachite scowled.

"…at least, not without suitable compensation."

"Careful, Mistuh Dove. I'd like to hire you, but I don't need to hire you."

"All I ask is some information from you. You did say your people were information brokers, did you not?"

"I suppose that's not unreasonable…provided it doesn't require too many of my resources."

"A companion of mine entered this city but a few days ago. Her name is Rose, first name Ruby. She carries a scythe and is garbed in a red hood. I was hoping to find her so that we may reminisce."

"Another girliefriend of yours, lovuh boy?"

"A huntress. On my team."

"I see. I'll send out some feelers. But you'll get your information after Haven, not before."

Bronzewing rose and reached out a hand. "I'm glad we could do business, Lil' Miss Malachite."

"As am I, Mistuh Dove. As am I."

"What exactly does it look like?"

"It's kind of hard to describe. If I had to say, it's like a raccoon, but it had a Grimm bones for a mask and weird pus coming from its eyes." Ruby couldn't see, but she imagined Sun's eyes narrowing from the tone of his voice. "So, what's the plan, Rubes? Are…Are you gonna eat this little bro? Can I have a piece?"

"No. We need it alive for interrogation."

"What information do you seek, child? Speak, and I, Azeban the horseman, shall do my best to answer."

Sun had transferred the tiny horseman to a sturdier cage. The three of them were currently hiding out in Ruby's hostel room as the dawn broke. It had been a lucky break to come across a familiar face here in Mistral, and even luckier so that Sun had vowed to aid Ruby in her endeavors. His teammates, Scarlet and Sage, were out on a mission, but Sun had been forced to stay behind due to remedial lessons after flunking a history test.

"We can't trust anything he says, Ruby."

"I know, but he's the only lead we've got. At least we know for sure that Lionheart's a bad guy."

"You sure about that? I've been studying under the old lion for the better part of a year now, and I've never seen anything sketchy."

"A talking Grimm started trailing me after I met with him, Sun. That's giving off pretty deep bad guy vibes."

"I guess…"

The Grimm rapped against his cage, making a clanging noise, to get their attention. "If I may…"

"Go ahead," Ruby answered cautiously.

"Headmaster Lionheart is not a 'bad guy,' per se. He is simply a weak-willed man forced into a position beyond his level. My mistress offered him salvation from the Grimm in exchange for his obedience. Please do not blame him; he had little choice but to accept."

"Who is your Mistress? Is she the goddess queen that Creepy was going on about?"

"I assume it is Tyrian to which you refer? That fact that I can recognize him from that description alone say…ahem. More to the point, yes, we are servants of the same master. Her name is Salem, and she is the Queen of the Grimm."

"Why did she send Blake to kill us? Why did she kill Ozpin, Pyrrha, and Jaune?"

"There are four different reasons for those four different people. If you promise to release me, I will tell you what you seek."

"No offense, buddy, but we don't exactly trust you right now," said Sun.

"How about this? I tell you the answers, and you decide if they make sense. Then, we can negotiate some terms."

"We're not letting you go."

"Instead, would you be able to improve my accommodations? This cage is so cramped, and my tummy is simply rumbling right now."

Ruby nodded. "Alright. Let's hear your answer, and then we can talk about an even bigger maximum security holding milk crate."

"You asked why Salem sent Blake Belladonna to kill you. She did not."

Ruby suppressed an enraged growl at the blatant lie. "Ugh, we were right not to trust you. You can't trick me, you jerk, because I was there! Blake tried to kill me and Weiss. There was this whole plan to–"

"–to blame it on the middle Schnee and seize the youngest. You are not wrong. Blake Belladonna did seek to kill you, but that is not why Salem sent her. She was given the powers of the Fall maiden to recover a precious relic beneath the school hidden in a magical vault."

Sun snorted. "Magic? How gullible do you think we are?"

"You're conversing with me, a 'savage, brainless Grimm.' Perhaps it would do for you to set aside your assumptions and open your mind."

The monkey Faunus grumbled but offered no retort.

"The power of the maiden is what Belladonna used to fight you in the CCT and in the Beacon hospital, Miss Rose. The relic is an object of extreme power that Salem covets immensely. Only one of the four maidens can open the Academy's vaults where the relics are stored. Belladonna was given maiden powers and tasked with recovering the relic of choice. Her decision to use those powers to further the White Fang's objectives…that was secondary at best."

Before they could get any more answers, Ruby felt Sun's hand rest on her shoulder. He led her over to the hallway, out of the raccoon Grimm's earshot.

"What do you think?" he whispered. "I don't know what went down with Blake since I wasn't there. Does his story check out?"

"Weiss mentioned that Blake had a backer, and that has to be this Salem woman. Apparently, she wanted Blake to…open a door or something? The vault, maybe? Blake had superpowers when she tried to kill us, so I would assume that was the maiden powers."

"How did you fight her if she was superpowered?"

"The first time on the CCT, she let me get away. The second time, well, I think I might've used these maiden superpowers myself."

"Wh–"

Ruby raised a hand. "I have no clue, but I just…felt something inside of me. It was like I had to protect Yang, and then this energy exploded from me. It felt like it had been held back for years, and it was bubbling out of me, reaching to burst free. I just pointed it in Blake's direction."

"So, if you're a maiden, and maidens can access the relics…"

"I could get the relic from Haven! Good thinking, Sun!"

"But where's the vault?"

"Dunno. Maybe Azeban will know?"

Sun guided her back to the room where the horseman was caged.

"Woah," said Sun.

"Listen here, you little pipsqueak – wait, no, that's a slur. Listen here, you little Procyon rascal. We want to know where the relic is, and we're prepared to offer you some elbow room for that knowledge. How does twice as big a cage sound?"

"Ruby."

"We can find a bigger cage, Sun."

"No need. The raccoon's dead."

"WHAT?"

"His top half is turning to smoke on that side of the room, and his bottom half is doing the same on the other side."

Ruby froze upon feeling a light gust of wind on the back of her neck. "S-Sun? Was there a breeze before?"

"Oh shit. The window's open, and it certainly wasn't when we left." He paused for a second. "I don't think we're alone anymore – they can't have gotten far in the two seconds we were out of the room. Can you still fight?"

"No. Without Crescent Rose, I'm a goner. I can fly away thought."

"Good. There's nothing left for us here. Let's get back to Haven and press Lionheart about the vault. On three, we rush to the window. It's just to the right of us. One…"

Ruby tensed her muscles and got ready to switch to bird form. A faint hissing came from beneath them.

"ssssssssssssssss"

"Three!" Ruby screamed, transforming as fast as she could. The sound of wood snapping ripped through the air as the floorboards broke. She could hear Sun desperately leaping just behind her as they escaped through the open window.

"Come back, kidsssssssss! Taniwha jussssssst wantsssssss to play!"

"Argh!"

Sun!

On instinct, Ruby rotated midair and blasted the world around her with silver eyes randomly, spinning in all directions as she did.

"SSSSSSSSSSS!"

Ruby turned back into her human body and tumbled a short distance to the ground.

"Sun! Where are you?"

"H-Here. I'm okay. It just hit my aura!"

"Cursssssssse you, girl! Your friend shall perish for that!"

"Ruby! It's coming back! Blast it again!"

Instead, Ruby reached out blindly to Sun's voice and landed a hand on his shoulder. The world slowed down around them, and Ruby pulled him to his feet.

"WWee nneeeedd ttoo mmoovvee, nnooww!"

Without Bronzewing to guide her, it was like running with her eyes closed. Signposts, vehicles, people in the way – Ruby slammed into all of them and kept running, ignoring the slowed down protests of various Mistrilians. She had no idea if whatever was chasing them was keeping up or not, and she wasn't keen to stick around and find out.

"II tthhiinnkk wwee lloosstt iitt" said Sun. "II ddoonn'tt sseeee iitt aannyywwhheerree."

Just to be safe, Ruby kept running for another few minutes. She stopped before her aura broke just in case she needed some more for another emergency exit. It never hurt to keep a little in the reserve.

"Sun, what the heck was that?!"

"It looked like a King Taijitu, but only half. Was that another horseman?"

"I guess? I silver-eyed it, and it lived, so probably. Plus, it talked. Yeah, no, it must've been another one."

"This is crazy! How many of these things are there?"

"Four, I think Bronzewing said. But that was before. Maybe they're making more? I got no clue."

"Four?!"

Ruby could hear the naked fear in his voice, and she cringed. "I'm sorry to drag you into all of this, Sun. If you want to leave–"

"Nah, I'm not backing down. They exist out there whether I ignore them or not. Just give me a minute to process this." His footsteps grew softer, indicating he was stepping away, and she heard some faint hyperventilating.

Ruby took the fleeting moment of peace to plan their next move. If they went to Lionheart, they could force him to take them down to the vault and get the relic. Maybe, from there, they could take it back to Beacon or give it to Miss Goodwitch and Uncle Qrow. They would know what to do with it, and it was better off in the hands of trusted friends than a traitor to the academies like Lionheart. Ruby was blind, so sneaking in at night would be best. She wouldn't be able to see either way, so she might as well attack when the odds were evened out by darkness.

And for the long term…

Bronzewing was out there, but she could reach out to him when she got back to Beacon and accessed the school's records. Her scroll had been lost when Angry and Creepy caught her, and she hadn't memorized his number. Yang would be safe back in Patch, and Weiss must've resolved the business with her family by now. Team Roadway would be okay. She would be okay.

"What the hell do you mean you lost her?" Watts slammed his fists down onto Lionheart's desk. "The Spring maiden waltzed into your study, having escaped from Tyrian and Adam, and you let her leave?"

"What was I supposed to do, fight her? She's a maiden, for the Brothers' sake!"

Watts struck the imbecile. The blow probably hurt his own unprotected hand more than the aura around Lionheart's face, but white-hot anger distracted him from the pain. "Your cowardice has jeopardized this entire damned operation. We've only got the Malachite's Spider army for one night! That was our deal! We NEEDED the girl to open the vault when WE were ready."

This was bad. This was worse than bad. Salem would have both their heads for this.

"I sent Azeban after her," Lionheart weakly murmured, rubbing his chin.

"Azeban's not a fighter! No wonder Salem lost track of him – if Rose realized he was trailing her, he'd be dead. He's probably already dead." Watts kicked his dress shoes into a bookshelf, knocking the whole thing over. "We're probably already dead."

"No, we are not."

Watts froze. Behind Lionheart, a shadow blocked the light from his frosted windows. Swallowing his nerves, Watts pushed Lionheart out of the way and unlatched the hook. In came the horseman from last night, defying gravity as it slithered vertically down the glass.

"Taniwha found the girl. Let her lissssssten to the traitorousssssss horsssssseman before killing him. She knowssssss of the relicssssss, and she isssssss ssssssscared. She will make her move on the vault sssssssoon. Gather the otherssssss for tonight and lay your trapsssssss, Doctor. We shall claim both relic and maiden."

Arthur breathed out a sigh of relief. This one, while nightmare-inducing, was clearly competent.

"It shall be done."

"Oh, one more thing. Ssssssssalem ssssssendsssss word. Kraken will be joining ussssss."

Next Chapter: Clear the Air – In which Yang solves her problems with her fists, Penny ponders her ill-fated former cabal, and some good news makes Raven's day.

Omake

Sun: What are you gonna do with it?

Ruby: We need to interrogate him.

Azeban: I'll never break. Do your worst.

Ruby: Hmmm. We couldn't find any bitches for Zwei in Higanbanana, but a raccoon is the right size for a corgi…

Azeban: Please, no! I'll talk, I'll talk!

Author's Notes

This title is named in Latin not for any deep, meaningful reason but just because I couldn't think of a better title and always thought it would be cool to have some incomprehensible Latin shit for a title.

I know Watts has two flintlock pistols and green aura in the show, but the idea of him (this technological genius) having a fistfight with Ironwood just left a bad taste in my mouth. His character always struck me as more of an intellectual enemy – someone to fight using his wit and his machines. I liked how he used Amity Arena, but when he himself started running around and doing flips, I was deeply saddened. Thus, Empty Seat Watts is just a highly intelligent civilian, not a huntsman.

Dove Bronzewing and Lil' Miss Malachite – obscure side characters unite!

RIP Rascal the Raccoon. He was too pure, too perfect, too þRÖÇ¥Öñ for this godless world. Enjoy the afterlife, matey.

In his place, however, we have all three of the remaining horsemen converging on one location. And, to get you all thoroughly hyped, you can expect horsemanbowl to go down…

Happy rats, and don't do crime!