Nothing could be seen but darkness, until...
Cinder's body is seen floating in water, ice chunks surrounding her. Her right eye suddenly opens up, twitching as she comes to terms with her current situation. Bubbles escape from her mouth as she struggles to get upright in the water. She activates her Maiden powers to get out of the water where she takes a deep breath as air filled her lungs again after she nearly drowned.
She crawls out of the pool of water onto the shore of an underground cave. Cinder holds her hand out and tries to activate a small flame in her hands, but it dies out quickly. She then groans in pain as a pain in her head spikes, and after a few moments, a small object dropped out of it. As Cinder looks, she notices that the object that fell out of her head was a bullet, the same bullet Julius had shot into her head earlier. Cinder grunts in frustration, slamming her Grimm-like fist to the ground, unknowingly opening up an exit to the cave. She looks up to see light pouring through the crack as well as the sound of howling wind. Cinder then looks up to notice the Vault under Haven Academy where she fought against Raven. Cinder then uses her Grimm fist to punch at the crack in the wall.
Cinder staggers out of the cave and into the rain. She struggles to walk for a bit before collapsing to the ground. A woman can be heard approaching her "Gods, are you okay?" The woman, holding a basket of food, looks down at Cinder in concern "Where did you...?".
Cinder crawls forward, revealing her Grimm arm. The woman gasps and drops her basket. Cinder then looks up to the frightened woman, activating her Maiden powers and smiling evilly...
…
Earlier…
"We need to take the Relic to Atlas?" Ruby asked.
Team JRHD, RWBY, JNPR, Anton, Neo, and Qrow are gathered in the house they've been staying in after the party in Mistral, packing their stuff while discussing their next move.
"That's what Oz said" Qrow said.
Everybody looks to Weiss who did not look too happy about what she just heard "You've got to be joking...".
"I mean, bright side, we finally get out of this house!" Nora said while lying on the floor, Weiss just sighs.
"Well trust me, I'm not crazy about it either, but without the Spring Maiden here to seal the Relic back in its Vault, it's our best option" Qrow said, making Yang look down for a moment before closing her bag.
"Atlas may be the safest kingdom we have at the moment, but their borders are closed. General Ironwood called everyone back" Ren reminded.
"Eh, not everyone" Qrow began as he activates his scroll, showing a hologram of a highlighted portion of land "The city of Argus is a ways north of us and it's the primary trading port between Anima and Solitas. They've got the largest Atlas military base outside the kingdom. There's no way they'd leave it abandoned, and if we play our cards right, I think there's a good chance we could convince them to escort us straight to Ironwood".
"What makes you so sure that they would even trust us?" Julius asked, "To them, we're just a bunch of ragtag kids with guns."
"Well," Roman pointed out, "I actually happen to be on good terms with Dr. Samuel Hayden, a lead scientist in Atlas. If I can get in touch with him, he could help us."
"I'm familiar with this scientist you speak of" Anton replied, "I trust he could help."
"Plus, we also have the missing Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company" Blake pointed out.
"Ex-Heiress, actually" Weiss corrected.
"True, true. But if there's a chance of reward money, I say we go for it" Yang said with a small smirk with Neo giving a playful smile and a thumbs up, much to Weiss clear annoyance.
"Hopefully the first option will suffice" They look up to see Oscar, who was letting Ozpin take over, walk into the room.
"Glad to see you're feeling better" Qrow said.
"Likewise, and while I'm sure we could all use more time to recover, I'm afraid time is of the essence" Ozpin said.
"Right," Anton said, "as long as that thing's out in the open, its power could fall into the wrong hands".
Jaune, who had been keeping his sword in good shape, finally spoke up "Speaking of, what does it do exactly? Qrow never really told us".
Everyone looks to Ozpin, who turns around to face them "Of course" He detaches the Relic from his hip "The Relic of Knowledge has a wonderful, and incredibly dangerous ability. Its user can ask any question, and the lamp will provide an answer".
Ren was in awe "Intriguing..."
"That's incredible..." Blake said who was also in awe.
"Agreed" Julius said.
"Indeed. However, it's not without drawbacks. The lamp cannot tell of events that have yet to happen, and it will only ever answer three questions every one hundred years" Ozpin explained.
"Well, I guess that's not so bad. Adds a lot of pressure though" Yang said.
"Then let's put it to a vote!" Nora suddenly flew on to her feet and began running around, surprising the others and even making Qrow spit out his drink "What should we ask first? Oh! Can we ask for more questions? CAN WE ASK FOR MORE QUESTIONS?!".
Ren face palms "They're not wishes..."
Ozpin chuckles as Nora pouts at her partner "I'm afraid you won't be able to ask it anything at the moment" Nora grunts in frustration "the questions were used before I sealed it away".
"Well, at least now we know what it is. And we'll be sure to keep it safe!" Ruby declared.
Julius nodded in agreement.
The trip was meant to be quick and smooth... little did they know. Smooth was the last thing the trip would be.
…
Back in the present day, Ruby scours through the train wreckage and picks up Dust bullets, before looking to see the Relic of Knowledge slightly buried in the snow nearby.
Yang can be heard complaining as she struggles to get Bumblebee out of the snow, Julius is next to her as he gets his bike out as well: "Great! This is just great! We're stranded, we lost a third of our party, and all we've gained a defenseless old lady!".
With one final heave, Yang manages to extricate Bumblebee, but falls over to the ground, with her motorcycle following suit as she's partially covered in snow. Julius pauses getting his own bike out and walks over to help.
"My name is Maria Calavera, and I am not defenseless! I'm just a little hard of hearing. And blind without my eyes, that are in desperate need of repair" The old lady said as she taps on her prosthetics, which open wide and close, before opening narrowly again "Okay, I'm starting to see your point".
"Great" Julius remarked as he finally got his bike out after helping Yang: "And not only that, but we're now being attacked by what I'm pretty sure are demons. CAN THIS DAY GET ANY WORSE?!"
Qrow grunts "Both of you, knock it off, will ya? If we lose our cool now, we'll just be inviting even more Grimm".
"Does that even matter? Apparently, we've been attracting Grimm ever since we left Haven" Blake reminded, her own frustration clear.
"Oh, and how could I forget about that?" Yang asked before turning to Oscar "What happened to, no more lies and half-truths?".
Oscar who had been helping Maria turned around to face the others "Yeah, I think it's time we got an explanation...".
Oscar's eyes glow as control of his body is switched to Ozpin, who furrows his brow at Yang's accusations "I did not lie to you..."
"Well you certainly didn't tell us everything about the Relic" Weiss said.
"Please, now is not the time" Ozpin said, trying to defuse the situation.
"No, we're past that! I wanna know why you're still not telling us everything!" Yang said, refusing to hear any more excuses.
"I'm with her, Ozpin" Julius added, "Time to start fessing up."
"It is true that the Grimm are attracted to the Relics. It's faint, but undeniable. I believe it has to do with their origin, but I'm not entirely sure. Regardless, I feared that making you all aware would only add anxiety and negativity. It seemed like the safer option" Ozpin said.
Weiss crossed her arms "You know, I'm getting real tired of people choosing what's best for me".
Yang then turned to Julius and Novus: "You two aren't off the hook either. Why didn't you tell us the Grimm were attracted to you as well."
Novus simply shrugged, but Julius almost looked pale, as if the answer to that question terrified even him. All he said was: "Let's just say I've had a target painted on my back for Grimm to find for my whole life. It's not something I like to talk about."
"Look, we're supposed to be in this together. You can trust us! We're not gonna turn our backs on you" Yang tried to reason.
"I know that" Julius said, "but there are some things that should be better left unsaid…"
Ozpin suddenly raised his voice: "Yet you couldn't hide it from everyone!".
Everyone stops. Shocked that the normally calm Ozpin would snap like that. Now it was clear he was done with listening to them and was criticizing him.
"I figured it out back at Beacon: the way you reacted around the Grimm, the way they reacted to you; it all added up." Then, turning to the others, "I'm not saying that I have reason to think you will betray me. I'm saying that I have reasons for the things that I do, the secrets I keep, the reason I..." He suddenly stops and realizes something "Where's the Relic?".
"Right here" Ruby said as she holds it in her hands "It got scattered in the crash".
"Please, hand it over" Ozpin reaches his hand out, but Ruby hesitates.
"So all those times you talked about having faith in humanity, that was just for everyone else?" Ruby asked.
Ozpin sighs "That's not what I meant to suggest. Miss Rose, the Relic is a powerful item and I simply feel as though it is my burden to bear".
"But, you said it couldn't do anything right now" Ruby reminded.
"Why does it matter who carries it?" Blake asked.
"Unless there's something else you didn't tell us…" Julius threatened, his hand on his pistol.
"I need you to listen to me-" Ozpin reaches his hand out, but suddenly is stopped, stuck in his position.
Qrow looked at him "Oz?".
Oscar was suddenly fighting back for control "Hurry... he's... trying to stop you!".
"Stop her from what?" Yang asked
"He's afraid... you'll find out what he's... hiding!" Oscar suddenly collapses, Novus, Julius, Yang, Weiss and Blake glare at the boy with intense looks while Ruby holds the Relic of Knowledge defensively " Her name is Jinn. Say her name to summon her".
"Her name?" Ruby said unsure. The wind picks up much more gradually, blowing snow even harder. The Relic starts to glow in Ruby's hands "Jinn?".
Suddenly, the snow stops, floating in midair. The wind stops blowing too.
"What?" Qrow asked in surprise.
"What just happened?" Julius asked.
Ruby then lets go of the Relic as it floats a short distance away, cyan smoke emanates from it. Suddenly, the lamp is enveloped in the smoke, and from it, a giant, semi-nude feminine figure emerges. He skin and hair colored blue, and decorated with gold jewelry and ornaments. The figure stretches and moans as she has been awakened once again: Jinn.
"Wonderful" She said as everyone stares in awe "Tell me, what knowledge do you seek?".
…
Back in Mistral, Cinder, now dressed in the clothes of the woman she encountered earlier, steps out of an alleyway. Her Grimm arm is bandaged up. She looks to her left and notices a holographic screen showing portraits of her and her allies. A subtitle below says: LAST KNOWN LOCATION: HAVEN ACADEMY, APPROXIMATELY ONE MONTH AGO.
"The perpetrators, Cinder Fall, Hazel Rainart, Emerald Sustrai, and Mercury Black have still not been seen since the attack and are presumed to have fled the city. The Mistral police department is offering a reward to any citizen..." The newscaster said.
Cinder, realizing she's a wanted criminal, puts her hood up to conceal her identity. She walks out into the rainy streets of Mistral, among crowds of people with their umbrellas up. People still carry out their businesses as usual, both legally and illegally. As Cinder continues walking, she notices a symbol - a spiderweb with a spider in it - etched into the wall.
Cinder then walks into a restaurant, with some of the customers bearing tattoos similar to the symbol she found. She then walks up to see a woman, who she presumed is leader of the gang.
The woman notices her just as she was about to have her meal "That's far enough" Her two bodyguards walk up to Cinder, blocking her way. Cinder tosses down a sack full of Lien on the table "Okay".
The bodyguards step back and Cinder takes a seat across from her "You're Lil' Miss Malachite?".
The woman named Lil' Miss takes out her hand fan "I'm Lil' Miss Gon'-Skin-You-Alive if you ever take that tone with me again. Looks like your life's savings".
"It was somebody's" Cinder said with no remorse.
Lil' Miss laughs "Cute. What do you want for it?".
Cinder pulls out her scroll, showing portraits of Jaune, Ren, Nora, Julius, Hector, Novus, and Team RWBY "I'm looking for these travelers".
"Well, sweetheart, you came to the right place" Lil' Miss said. Cinder jolts a little as she looks behind her, noticing a man entering and being greeted by his group of friends sitting around a table "A little jumpy today, hmm? You know, I used to be afraid of spiders. Want to know what I did about it?".
"Learn to kill them?" Cinder guessed.
"Oh no, the world needs spiders. I just made the spiders work for me" Lil' Miss said. Cinder looks around, noticing all of the customers have the tattoo of spiderweb, insinuating that they all work for Lil' Miss "Give us a week, we'll find your travelers".
Cinder then gets up and leaves. The Bodyguard spoke "Lil' Miss, we already know where they are. That big guy asked about 'em last week".
"I know we know, but what we don't know is who here in Mistral might be asking about her..."
…
Back in the snow, Maria adjusts her goggles to get a better look at what's in front of her.
"I am Jinn, a being created by the God of Light to aid humanity in its pursuit of knowledge. I've been graced with the ability to answer three questions every one hundred years. You're in luck, as I am still able to answer-" Jinn began but was cut off when Oscar shouted.
"That's enough!" Everyone looks to Ozpin, who managed to regain control over Oscar's body.
"... Two questions this era" Jinn finished. Everyone is shocked, despite Ozpin telling them that the Relic won't work for them beforehand. Jinn chuckles "It's a pleasure to see you again, old man".
"Ruby, please... Don't" Ozpin begged.
Qrow glances to Ozpin, and steps forward "Hey".
Suddenly, Yang, Weiss, and Blake get defensive at Qrow. Ruby stares in disbelief. Novus had his scattersword in shotgun mode while Julius pointed his pistol at him.
"We're done with secrets." Ruby said.
"She's right" Julius said, "you know she is."
Qrow relents "Do whatever you think is right, kiddo, but you haven't been quite the open book yourself, nephew".
Julius only grits his teeth in response. Meanwhile, Ruby ponders her question "Jinn?" She turns around to face Jinn, who has a curious look on her face, while Ozpin grits his teeth in anger "What are Ozpin and Julius hiding from us?".
"NOOOOOOO!" Ruby gasps and looks behind her. Ozpin lunges forward towards her. Julius whips around, caught off guard by the question, but before he could react, they find themselves alone in a blank white space.
Julius looks around: "Ruby? Blake? Novus?"
Blake is also seen alone calling her friends' names: "Yang? Julius?"
Suddenly, an environment manifests, showing a path leading to a castle in the distance. A woman humming can be heard in the background. Julius then found himself in a room and saw a rather beautiful woman sitting front of a mirror then appears.
He raised an eyebrow in curiosity: "What the…?"
Then he heard Jinn speak "Once upon a time, there stood a lonely tower... that sheltered a lonely girl. Named, Salem".
Julius got a surprised look on his face; this is not at all what he was expecting.
Next, Julius hidden past is revealed along with the connection between the Doom and RWBY universes…and the origin of the Slayer (original backstory). Let me know what you think so far!