Everything was dark. Amid his panicked, frantic breathing, Leonardo Lionheart had no idea where he was. The heavy sack drawn tightly around his head and neck and the blindfold covering his eyes robbed him of all sense of sight. He could taste the filthy cloth that had been stuffed into his mouth as he struggled against the restraints around his wrists, and he could hear heavy footsteps from below and behind himself. The air was tinged with an acrid scent of smoke and sulfur, and what little bits of insight he could glean about the place combined to give Leonardo one vital piece of information.
Wherever he was, it was somewhere he was unlikely to return from.
Leonardo let out a cry of pain as he was thrown downward to what felt like a stone floor. Rough pebbles and flecks of dirt dug into the man's arms as he sputtered and squirmed against the ground, only for a heavy hand to grab the back of the covering around his face. He looked immediately backward at Hazel as the mountain of a man untied his blindfold and gag. Without thinking, he launched into a panicked tirade, breathing hard as he rolled onto his back.
"W-what is the meaning of this!? I have more jobs! Much more lien coming your way if you let me go!" Leonardo pleaded desperately. "I-I can fix this! I had to get away, t-to g-"
"I don't care about your money, Leo," Hazel spat in a booming voice. "I care about your connections."
"Connections?" Leonardo repeated. "I-I can't… Hazel, you know I can't j-"
"You will," a deep, feminine voice corrected from above and behind Leonardo.
Something about the unfamiliar voice caused Leonardo's blood to run cold, as though it was slush being lazily pushed through his veins. The man immediately felt a heavy lump in his throat as he spun around upon his rear, only to finally catch sight of who, or perhaps what, was waiting behind him.
Salem sat waiting upon a throne of obsidian, her pallid, ghostly flesh practically gleaming in contrast to the black stone. Red and purple veins that seemed to almost pulsate within the semidarkness extended along her bare arms, neck, and face, adding to her unnatural glow. The woman wore a black dress that seemed to be almost alive, the apparent fabric flowing slowly along her form as she sat waiting. She had an elbow propped up upon the arm of her throne, and her head cupped gently within her hand as she looked over Leonardo with scrutinizing, black and red eyes.
Leonardo could think of nothing to say as he looked around the room, finding the space to be designed like some sort of twisted cathedral. Salem's throne was fused to the floor, almost as though the regal seat and entire building were carved from the same dark rock. Frighteningly tall stained glass windows filtered an eerie red light into the room, projecting pointed shapes all along the stonework. Behind Leonardo was a long stone table, where Tyrian Callows had perched atop a seat as he fixed the captive man with a leering grin.
"For if you prove useless to me," Salem continued, drawing Leonardo's attention back to herself, "then both you and Hazel will be disposed of for wasting my time. Is that clear?"
Leonardo swallowed hard, refusing to answer as Hazel uncrossed his arms from his chest and regarded Salem with a rare look of fear.
"…Salem, I promise you, this man has information. I don't know who he answers to, but we've worked together for years, and he's always kept his cards close to the chest. He has access to resources he shouldn't, he knows people in all corners of Remnant that I've never seen, and he has a pulse on dealings of artifacts and relics the likes of which I've never heard of. He's more than a simple getaway driver and smuggler."
"Is that so?" Salem asked boredly as she clenched her fingers around the ends of her armrests. "Unfortunately for both of you, he seems incredibly reluctant to confirm your story."
Hazel clenched his jaw before taking a step forward and cracking his knuckles.
"…then I'll make him talk."
"Wait!" Leonardo called as he scooted away from Hazel, only to realize that he was moving closer to Salem. In a blind panic, he tried to shuffle off to the side, inciting Hazel to follow him along while cracking his neck to the side. "Wait, wait, wait! I'll talk! I-I'll talk, I swear! He's right! I… I have connections, but I… t-they'll kill me if say anything!"
"…not like I will," Salem threatened as she pushed herself up from her seat, eyes narrowed as she seemed to almost glide across the floor with each step. "My patience is wearing thin, Leonardo. When it has expired, you will receive no warning."
Leonardo let out a pathetic whimper as his back hit the wall. The man curled his leonine tail into his lap before clearing his throat and closing his eyes.
"…I need protection, but you have no idea how serious this is, and who you'd be standing up to. If you offer me protection, I'll tell you everything!"
Salem let out a humorless laugh, causing Leonardo to open his eyes and stare up at her.
"…little man… I don't think you quite understand who it is that you're dealing with," Salem asserted as she clasped her hands before herself. "There is no one on Remnant who can stand up to me. Name your supposed demons, and I will show them one far worse."
Leonardo took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself as he kept his eyes on Salem's face. The woman never blinked, and Leonardo tried his best to keep his gaze steady as he spoke.
"T-those Above All. I… I work for Those Above All…"
Hazel chanced a sideways look at Salem just in time to catch a scowl of displeasure and clear recognition upon her face. The woman clenched her teeth as she lowered her chin and narrowed her eyes, her gaze becoming even more threatening.
"Those Above All. A name I thought wiped clean from Remnant ages ago… yet you claim they live on. Who is their leader?"
"Arowana," Leonardo answered immediately. "A-a man named Arowana, I swear it! They live! It's true! H-he has two children- twins! H-he assigned me to keep an eye on them both, before… before I… I lost contact with him…"
Salem took a sharp inhale through her nose before speaking in a furious voice through clenched teeth.
"Show me your wing."
Without a word, Leonardo turned to the side and began unbuttoning his shirt. As he shuffled the collar back over his right shoulder, he worked to roll the rest of the fabric down to show off his flesh. There, seared into his skin, was a brand in the shape of a winged gear. Salem kept her eyes upon the wound for several seconds before balling a shaking fist at her side.
"…Salem?" Hazel asked hesitantly. "Who are Those Above All? What does it all mean?"
"It's rather simple, really," Salem answered, her tone a deadly calm as she unclenched her fist. "It means that we have a new objective, before heading off to Atlas. Leonardo?"
The man pulled his shirt back on in full before turning to face Salem, his face full of panic.
"Show me where Arowana's been hiding."
"So, what's our game plan?" Qrow asked as the elevator to Professor Ozpin's office continued to rise.
"…you're asking this now, when we're seconds away from being in his office?"
Qrow turned his head to the side, only to be met with a sight that still hadn't quite registered as familiar in his brain. Each and every time he looked at Raven while they were in a public space, he was momentarily startled. Instead of her hardened features and ever-present expression of displeasure, there was a mask constructed of grimm bone plates. The skeletal pieces were assembled together in an intimidating, multi-tiered design, the red markings aligning perfectly to suggest some sort of demonic pattern. Every time Qrow saw the mask, his heart sank just a little, though he had never found the courage to say so.
"You know how I am. I don't really think things through, sometimes."
"And other times, you think too much," Taiyang joked as he continued to lean against the elevator wall.
Suddenly, the carriage jerked to a stop, causing Summer to stumble forward. The girl had been in the middle of rocking back and forth upon her heels and toes, only for the unexpected seizing of the elevator to unbalance her. She quickly found herself wrapped in Qrow's arms to prevent her from falling and gave him a cheeky grin as she righted herself.
"My hero. As for the plan? Well… I think we should just go in, be respectful, reserved, and honest, and hope for the best."
"…we are none of those things," Raven pointed out, her voice somewhat muffled through the ever-present mask. "And this is all assuming the elevator starts up again."
"…yeah. Sorry about that," Qrow said with a heavy sigh. "Semblance."
"Is it, though?" Taiyang asked as he pushed off the wall. "Technically, it bought us more time to figure out a plan. Isn't that good luck?"
"Time that we're wasting by having this conversation," Raven chimed in. "Still- I'll take the lead on this, if no one else wants to step up."
"Nah, I've got it," Summer said with a wave of her hand. "I'll just be myself."
"…oh, no," Taiyang said as the elevator whirred and began to rise once again. "No, that's a terrible plan, don't do that."
"Who's gonna stop me?" Summer asked with a mischievous grin.
The very moment the elevator doors slid open, Summer pranced happily out of the small space and toward Professor Ozpin's desk, where the man sat in the middle of a sip from his coffee mug.
"Hey, Oz! We need a favor!"
A sigh of annoyance rattled through Raven's mask as she followed her leader up to the desk, earning a chuckle from Qrow in the process.
"…a favor? Interesting," the professor said with a smile as he lowered his mug to the desk and interlaced his fingers atop the surface. "Team STRQ isn't usually the sort to ask me for favors. I'm listening."
"That's the thing… you know us," Qrow added as he stepped forward to stand next to Summer, hands in his pockets as usual. "Outside of Tai, we all like to handle things largely on our own. This is something we… can't. We might need a bit of political pull."
"Political pull," Professor Ozpin repeated as he adjusted his glasses and gave Qrow a serious look. "I'm not about to help you rig an election, if that's what you're asking."
"…stop dancing around the issue," Raven ordered as she stepped forward and slowly removed her mask. Even without the obscuring bone, her hair had been intentionally brushed down so that her bangs covered almost the entire right side of her face. "We need you to talk to Nero Torchwick for us."
Professor Ozpin bristled at the name and sat up a bit straighter.
"Not about anything political!" Taiyang reassured as he finally took his place in the lineup. "Just… we're planning a beach vacation in Vacuo, and we really want Roman to come with us. He's been awesome, and you know what he's been going through all year… so you also probably know that there's no way his dad's gonna let him come with us."
"No. No, he won't," Professor Ozpin agreed as he steepled his fingers before himself. "A beach vacation, is it? I can't say it's undeserved, given all you've accomplished in one short year. It would be a shame to lose access to you for the duration of the summer, but… hm. A moment."
Without hesitation, Professor Ozpin depressed a button upon his desk, causing a computer monitor to rise from within the furniture. After sliding a keyboard out from places unseen and tapping away briefly, he raised his scroll from his pocket and held it up to the side of his head as Team STRQ exchanged uncertain looks.
"Nero Torchwick, please," Professor Ozpin said softly before pausing. "Professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy."
"He's calling now?" Taiyang asked, his voice full of disbelief.
"Is he the type of man to delay dealing with his problems?" Raven asked rhetorically, only for Taiyang to shake his head.
"Yes, Nero? Good afternoon. Professor Ozpin," he began before pausing to listen. "Of course, of course, I won't keep you long. You see, an interesting opportunity has come about this summer, and I would very much like for Rom-… I'm sorry to hear that, sir, but if you would only… no, I'm not questioning your decisions at all, but… please, hear me out. This opportunity could be incredibly important to his career as a huntsman… is that so…?"
"That… isn't a good sign, is it?" Qrow asked as he folded his arms across his chest.
"No," Summer answered, her eyes closed as silvery wisps of aura flittered out from beneath the lids. "No, it isn't…"
Author's Note:
Will Roman make it to the beach party? The most important arc in all of Arboretum. The suspense!
…believe it or not, it's actually pretty fucking important.
Next update the week of 11/16!
-RD