NOTE: I DO NOT OWN RWBY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO ROOSTERTEETH!

Look Not with the Eyes

By thrillerartist

Chapter 13: Honesty is the Best Policy

I've learned over the past few months that people who keep secrets generally have a good reason to.

But I've also learned that the truth comes out, whether we want it to or not.

Blake kept a secret during our time at Beacon, about her being a Faunus in disguise (and also being an ex-White Fang member). Those secrets came out in the open during a fight with Weiss, which ended up with Blake going missing for three days.

Uncle Qrow's secret was that his semblance caused incidents of bad luck. The longer he stayed in one place, the more likely bad things were going to happen-which is why Yang and I only saw him off-and-on when we were growing up.

I'd say those two didn't need to keep those things from us, but I don't have any room to judge. Not anymore. I have some secrets of my own, now, too...but I don't think I'm ready to tell them yet. Not until I know what's going on with my eyes. Not until I know what is really going on with me. My vision was gone, and now I have one tiny spot of blurry vision in the side of my right eye. The doctors back in Mistral told me that I had little to no chance of regaining any sight- not unless I had surgery to replace my eyes with mechanical ones.

I haven't talked about what's happening to me, not even to Yang or Weiss. I haven't even told anyone about what happened with Tyrian, other than what Qrow had already told them. Qrow and JNR have probably already guessed, though; they were there, after all. And why should I talk to them, when the world is literally on the brink of being overrun by chaos?

How would I even be able to describe the terror I feel? A crazy man kidnapped me, tortured me, stabbed my eyes out with his tail, which also ended up poisoning me. How would I even be able to find the words to talk about what I'm still too afraid to even think about?

My point is, we can't say there's no room for secrets in this world. Everyone has them, because there are just some things we aren't ready to talk about, parts of ourselves we don't want to reveal.

From my experience, people keep secrets for two reasons: we fear betrayal, or we fear rejection. Keeping our cards close to the chest so that we can learn if we can trust those around us.

But I think that secrets are also dangerous- after all, nothing hurts the people around you more than when your secrets are exposed to them before you were ready to do it yourself.

-Blake-

It was impossible not to hear Yang's complaining as she fished Bumblebee out of the snow. All of Anima could probably hear it by now.

This is one of the rare times that I don't like having two sets of ears, Blake thought. She looked at their surroundings, noticed that Ruby was standing alone in the snow, and Weiss was picking up the scattered dust cartridges.

"-helpless old lady!" Yang growled, falling backwards into the snow just as her motorcycle finally came free of the pile it was buried under. And then-ever the dramatic-she laid there beside her bike like a dead snow-angel.

"My name is Maria Caravera!" The old lady-Maria-scowled at Yang. "And I am not defenseless! I'm just a tad bit hard of hearing...and blind without my lenses...which need to be repaired desperately." Maria sighed, tapping her electronic eyes. "Okay, I'm beginning to see your point."

Yeah...Blake thought. You hunching over your cane isn't helping your case, either.

"Will you calm down, Yang?" Qrow groaned, cracking his neck and taking a large swig from his flask. "If we lose our cools, we're just gonna attract more Grimm to us."

An annoyed fire lit inside of Blake. "Would it matter much if we lost our cools a little?" She snarked, crossing her arms. "We've been attracting Grimm to us ever since Haven, apparently."

"Oh yeah, how could I forget about that?" Yang said, rising up from her tantrum spot on the snow. She rose to her full height, and leveled a glare straight at Oscar- who was Professor Ozpin now. "Oz, what the hell happened to no more lies and half-truths?"

This is really weird, Blake thought, talking to our headmaster in a fourteen-year-old's body.

"I think we deserve an explanation!" Oscar said to himself- or, his inner self. Immediately, Oscar's eyes flashed gold, then returned to green, and the farm-boy's mannerisms were replaced with those of a tired old man.

"I did not lie to you." Ozpin said calmly, almost practiced.

"Well you certainly didn't tell us the whole truth." Weiss chirped, standing beside Yang. Blake saw Ruby standing directly to Weiss's right, one hand on the shorter girl's shoulder. Ruby looked shaken, confused, at least from where Blake was standing.

Blake walked up to stand directly beside Ruby's right. "You okay?" Blake asked, putting her hand gently on Ruby's shoulder. Ruby flinched beneath her touch.

"Sorry." Blake said, withdrawing her hand.

"M'fine." Ruby said. She seemed to cower inwards, her other hand hidden beneath her cloak, almost as if she were trying to hide.

"I'm right beside you." Blake said, deciding not to touch Ruby any more without asking her. "We all are."

Ruby nodded her head, though her brow was still furrowed in confusion.

It was Yang who drew their attention back to the matter at hand. "Explain yourself." She growled. "Now."

Ozpin sat in the snow, his back against a large tree. He looked worried, almost in a quiet panic, and kept spouting the same excuses that Blake herself used in the past- the "I-have-my-reasons," and "you-don't-understands". To be honest, Blake thought that Ozpin was kind of pathetic- though she knew, deep down, that she used to be just like him.

Nevertheless, the longer Ozpin tried to excuse his reasons for not disclosing valuable secrets, the angrier Blake became.

And she wasn't the only one.

"I'm getting really tired of people deciding what's best for me." Weiss said bluntly. "And Lionheart? Telling all of Mistral that he died fighting the White Fang, when he really died after fighting us?!"

"Lionheart deserved to be remembered for the man he was," Ozpin reasoned (or at least tried to), "not the poor choices he made in his final years."

That made Blake really angry. To her, Lionheart was just like Adam- good natured in the past, but changed once power and an obsession with control got to his head. The difference was, Lionheart caved to a dark power because he was afraid to stand up to it.

"You can trust us!" Yang exclaimed. "We're not going to turn out backs on you-"

"Do you really think Leo was the first to betray me?!" Ozpin exclaimed, wheeling around to face them, paranoia in his eyes. "There were many who said those exact same words. The choices I made are backed by years of being used, manipulated, and betrayed. I'm not saying those experiences justify the things that I do, I'm saying that there is a reason behind them. That-" Ozpin suddenly got a scared look on his face, patting his belt for something that clearly wasn't there.

It took Blake a few seconds to realize what was missing.

"W-where's the relic?" Ozpin choked out.

It was Ruby that spoke next. "Here." She said, moving her cloak to the side, revealing the Relic of Knowledge. She clutched it close to her, as if she were afraid Ozpin would take it by force.

"It got scattered in the crash." Ruby said quietly. "I landed on it."

Ozpin looked relieved, before his face quickly turned blank again. "Please," He softly said, as if he were talking someone off of a ledge, "hand it over, Ms. Rose."

Ruby held the relic closer, as if she were shying away from a dangerous person.

Which Ozpin could have been.

Constantly putting us in danger for not telling us what we deserved to know!

"We've got your back." Blake whispered to Ruby. She would not leave her leader alone. If this turned into a fight over the lamp, she would defend her team with everything she had. She would prove that she wouldn't run away.

"So all those times you talked about trusting humanity," Ruby said sadly, "it was just for everyone else's sake?"

Oz looked shocked that his star pupil would doubt him. "No, it's just that…" He was measuring his words, Blake could tell.

That's a slippery slope to walk across. Blake thought, knowing all too well how that felt.

"It's just that the relic is too dangerous," Ozpin continued, trying his best to argue his case, "and it's my burden to bear." Ozpin said. "It's safer with me."

"You said it couldn't do anything." Ruby said. "That it wasn't a threat to anyone."

"Why does it matter who carries it?" Blake asked. She could see looks of doubt and confusion on Yang and Weiss's faces, too. "If it can't do anything, and if the Grimm are attracted to it, wouldn't it be better for it to change hands?"

"Please, it-" Ozpin started to walk towards Ruby, and froze before he could get closer. Blake moved herself partially in front of Ruby, separating her from Ozpin.

A choking noise came from Oscar, grunts of effort, as if there were two minds fighting over who would control the body.

Two souls fighting amongst the control of one man's body, Blake thought, remembering a book about the same concept. It was almost too uncanny to not see the similarities.

"He's afraid," Oscar gasped in pain and effort, "he's trying to stop you."

"Stop her from what?" Blake said.

"Finding out...what he's hiding." Oscar gasped, collapsing to his knees. Blake put a hand out in front of Ruby, and began to go for Gambol. "Say her name...to summon her." Oscar croaked. "Jin…"

"Jin?" Ruby asked, clutching the lamp close.

And Blake saw the world stop moving.

Literally.

-Weiss-

As soon as Ruby said those words, the snow stopped falling, and a blue mist began to rise up from the lamp, which had floated from Ruby's grasp. The mist grew thicker, and took the shape of a ginormous, beautiful elven woman with light-blue skin. Golden jewelry adorned her body, thick shackle-like bracelets were clasped around her wrists and ankles.

"Jin." Ruby said. "What is Ozpin hiding from us?"

"Well…" Jin said, "that story is a long one." She swiped her hands across the air, and the snow dissolved around them ,creating a desert landscape with blue skies and dusty air. "It begins with a young woman named Salem…"

And just like that, Weiss was sucked into a void of white nothingness. She called out for her friends, but only heard the sound of her voice echo against the nothingness. Before her eyes, Weiss saw the world recollect in front of her, though everything had a brighter quality to it than real life did. It was like Weiss was walking through a dream, a clear memory.

That's exactly what this is, Weiss realized. We're seeing a memory from an omniscient perspective.

Before Weiss sat a woman of about twenty, locked in a room at the top of a monumental castle tower.

Well, this is all too familiar, Weiss thought.

Locked away by her cruel father, Jin's disembodied voice narrated, Salem was a girl who desired only her freedom. She lived in a time when kings and their kingdoms prospered, and magic was a gift from the gods that all humanity could wield- and yet there she sat within her tower, locked away from it all.

Though she did not intend to, nor did she want to, Weiss found herself sympathizing with Salem. Weiss knew all too well what it was like living under the thumb of someone else, being locked in a gilded cage like a prized trophy.

Jin's voice returned again. Until one day, a brave warrior known to the people as Ozma came to the tower, intending to brave the challenges within, and free the maiden from her cage. He was not motivated by earning the hand of the maiden within, but rather by a sense of righteousness. One by one, Ozma defeated the guards, and together, he and Salem escaped the gilded fortress; and yet, something bound them together once they were outside of it.

Weiss didn't believe in "Love at First Sight"- it simply made no logical sense! "I know we just met, but I love you!" Seriously? No, Weiss had far too many encounters with two-faced people to succumb to love after just one meeting. Yet, she couldn't deny the way Salem and Ozma looked at each other...it just seemed to say "I love you,".

The two fell deeply in love, Jin continued, planned to adventure around the world, and live happily together. But where countless blades and creatures of legend had failed to defeat Ozma, a single illness succeeded in felling him.

The past figurine of Salem was bent over an empty bed, clutching Ozma's magic staff, crying about how unjust it was to lose love and happiness just after she had found it.

Yet again, Weiss found herself relating to the feeling- her father had taken her away from her team after the Fall of Beacon. True, Weiss could have told him to shove it, and stayed where she wanted to be...but then what would she have done? Though her friends showed her that there was another way to live life, Weiss didn't know yet how to stand on her own- without her father, without his money. Without the title of "Schnee".

To be honest...Weiss wasn't strong enough yet to trust her own heart.

Maybe returning to that gilded cage was a good thing after all, Weiss thought. To make me stop playing the helpless damsel, and start being the huntress I want to be.

Salem journeyed to the god of Light, seeking for him to bring back her lost love. But Salem's wish was rejected, her heart broken further when the god of Light told her he could not recreate what had already been destroyed. So, Salem went to the god of Darkness, hoping he would jump at the chance to succeed where his brother had failed; and after modifying the truth a little, Salem was able to convince the god of Darkness to do just that.

Ozma's body and soul was ripped from oblivion, returned to its place in Salem's arms. But relief was short-lived for Salem, for the god of Light and Creation soon returned, and forced Ozma back into the afterlife. When the gods forced Salem from both of their domains, Salem traveled the world, inciting the kingdoms against the power of the gods, stating that their magic was all they needed from them. The gods then destroyed humanity, their creations having turned against them, and made Salem incapable of dying and being with Ozma again- not until she learned to value life.

But Salem only used her existence to find new ways to die, and with each failed attempt, grew farther and farther from the woman Ozma had known. Lost in her loneliness and despair, Salem tried submerging herself in the pools of Grimm in order to undo the spell of creation cast upon her. All it did was make her into the monster she was becoming.

Ages later, when humanity was reborn again, the world was in a constant state of unrest. Salem had become a rumored witch, an ancient hermit that lived where no man nor faunus dared venture.

Amidst the chaos that man and faunus were intent on entacting, the god of Light brought Ozma's soul back in the form of a young body, tasking the weary soul with unifying Remnant, and guarding the relics until humanity was brought together in harmony once again. The god of light was careful to warn Ozma to not seek out Salem again, to forget the woman she was, for she was no longer the love Ozma had found in the past.

Weiss knew that last part was destined to continue forever. Ozma would never be able to rest in peace, because Weiss knew that no matter how well structured and good hearted a kingdom was, there would always be those who sought to bring it down. There would always be division. There would always be someone who wanted everything you had, and would do anything to make it theirs.

To Weiss, it almost seemed like the gods were punishing Ozma for loving Salem; or, more possibly, the gods were punishing Salem for not letting Ozma go. Seeing Oz and Salem reunite, Weiss felt her heart sink low into her stomach.

That's not going to last, Weiss thought sadly.

But the love in Ozma and Salem's eyes when they saw each other was tender, gentle. Loving.

Did my parents ever look at each other that way? Weiss wondered. She searched her memories, and couldn't find one where they were in the same room long enough to acknowledge each other, let alone look at each other. Her father was emotionally manipulative at best and abusive at worst. And Weiss's mother had found...ways to numb the world, so to speak.

Instead of taking up his quest, Jin cut in, Ozma sought out Salem- now rumored to be a witch living alone in the woods. Though they were both clearly different than they remember each other in their past life, they knew each other. And yet they told lies- Salem about what had caused the world's destruction, and Ozma for why he was brought back.

"But love has a way of making beings into fools. The two used their magical abilities- the likes of which the world no longer had- and created a cult following. Later, a kingdom, and eventually, a family."

"Eventually though, Ozma was reminded of his purpose for the return to the world. When he told Salem his true story, his true purpose, Salem saw only an opportunity to bring about the world's conquest. To become the gods of the world by replacing the gods of Light and Darkness. When it became clear that their children had inherited their magical ability, Ozma felt the need to take matters into his own hands."

They are MY children. They are MY heirs. You will NOT take them away!

The look in Ozma's eyes as Salem slow approached him and the children screamed, Please, don't do this now.

It very much mirrored the pleading of Weiss's mother- Not in front of the children, Jaque. Please, not on Weiss's birthday.

A horrible fight broke out between Ozma and Salem, throwing magic at each other with the intent to defeat the other into submission- and just like that, Weiss was back to being that 10 year old girl again. Internally begging, Please, stop fighting!, sitting in front of her birthday cake as the candles melted and her parents fought. Whitley just sat quietly, and took a fistful from the cake, before Klein had the chance to cut into it.

Winter, of course, was lucky enough to miss all of this. She was training at Atlas Academy, far enough away from their father's influence to make her own decisions, and start becoming her own person.

The Way Salem and Ozma fought reminded Weiss too much of her own parents. Though she never heard anything with how big the family manor was, Weiss would notice her mother's occasional had discolored wrists, or a dark spot across her cheek. The smells of alcohol on her mother's breath most nights, and the feel of tears running down Weiss's face.

From then, the story morphed into Ozpin living with the souls of the bodies he inhabited, modifying his sword into a cane- and an inconspicuous sign of his reincarnation.

"Ozma was the first in 300 years to ask me the first question once he had found the Relic of Knowledge." Jin finally said. "And the first thing he asked me bore an unsatisfactory answer:

'How do I kill Salem?' Past-Ozpin asked.

'You can't.' Was Jin's response.

And Weiss felt all the hope that was left in her evaporate.

-Ruby-

Ozpin finally broke down, and disappeared further into Oscar's mind. Ruby could tell by the sound of his voice that Oscar was just as confused and frustrated as the rest of them. To be honest, Ruby didn't know what to do at all. She didn't know anything she could do or say that would ease the minds of her friends and teammates that were just beginning to question everything they had ever thought.

Can we even really fix this? Ruby thought. How...just, how?

"Enough!" cried an old-lady's voice. It took Ruby a second to remember that an old woman- Maria Calavera- had stowed away in the train crash.

"It's going to be dark soon," Maria lectured, "and every one of you is spewing negativity, and there's no doubt a horde of grimm coming this way." There was a pause, before she continued. " There's a trail over there."

Can't see where I assume you must be pointing, Ruby thought, but I'll take your word for it, lady.

"Trails usually lead somewhere." Continued Maria. "I say we start walking and see where it takes us- hopefully some place to stay. I know you're all upset-honestly, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that this is humanity's second try-but we need to get moving if we want to get out of here alive."

Ruby heard Yang growl, "Lady, I don't know you you think you are, but-"

"No buts!" The woman snapped. "If we don't start moving, we die-and I'll be damned if I die after having gotten this far in life only to freeze to death!"

Ruby heard the woman's words, and knew that's what needed to be done. Ruby took a breath of the biting air, ignoring the sting in her throat, before saying, "She's right. Grab your stuff, and let's go."

Ruby had tried to be positive, she really did. But Maria was right: every one of her team members were spewing negativity, and it was almost enough for Ruby to smell it in the frigid air.

Ruby tried to console Oscar, who just learned that the voice in his head wasn't being very hornets with him. Qrow had quickly shot down Ruby's gentle encouragement.

"Don't lie to the rookies, Ruby." Uncle Qrow had growled, his footsteps crunching in the snow. "We're better than that."

He smelled like too many drinks from his flask.

Ruby could almost hear any hope Oscar had left shatter into pieces.

"Keep the relic, Ruby." Oscar said. "It's safer with you than me." Ruby heard Oscar trudge away from her, along with the other footsteps headed in the same direction.

Ruby could only stand alone, her feet cold in the snow, and try to get her thoughts together.

Find shelter tonight, work our way towards Argus, find Team JNR, get to Atlas...and then...and then-

"Ready to go?" Weiss asked, interrupting Ruby's train of thought.

She let out a shaky breath. "Yeah…" Ruby said. "Let's get out of here."

A gentle hand was placed on Ruby's shoulder, and Weiss began to steer Ruby towards the sound of snow-dampened footsteps.

Ruby knew that the snow had started to fall harder and thicker. She could feel cold flecks of it fall onto her face and shoulders, soak through her weather-proofed cloak, and melt against the heat of her skin. The wind chilled a few more degrees, and had Ruby still been able to see, no doubt her breath would be forming thick clouds of steam every time she exhaled.

"I don't think this is going to let up anytime soon." Uncle Qrow had voiced.

"Let's just keep going so that we can get this stupid lamp to Atlas." Blake growled.

"I just hope we don't have to walk all the way to Atlas," Weiss griped.

Ruby couldn't really blame them for complaining. We've had a long day, to say the least, Ruby thought. I'd be surprised if they didn't complain- especially with how vocal Yang usually is.

Speaking of Yang- "I thought trails were supposed to lead somewhere." Yang said mockingly, only to be countered by Maria with a, "Don't you have anything better to do than mock a defenseless old lady?"

Beyond that all, in the distance, Ruby heard a noise. A distinct, squeaky noise, kind of like when Dad needed to grease the hinges on the fence.

"Everyone shut up!" Ruby snapped, stopping in her tracks. "Listen."

The wind blew harder, but Ruby could still hear it.

Creak...Creak….

A quiet, squeaky sound.

Ruby started walking towards that sound, Weiss trailing behind her. As she walked, the sound grew louder and louder. A hard grip on her shoulder eventually told Ruby to stop.

"What is it?" Ruby asked.

"It's a farm." Weiss said. "The gate to a place called Brunswick Farms."

"Well, at least one good thing happened today." Blake said cynically.

"It looks abandoned." Weiss said.

"Anything's better than this." Ruby said, shivering slightly. Her gear was designed to be thermal, but not for intense cold. Her toes were starting to go numb in her boots, as well as her finger tips.

We need to find shelter, Ruby thought. It's either this, or we risk trying to find something else. I'll take the creepy farm for now.

"C'mon." Uncle Qrow said. The squeaky sound suddenly stopped altogether, almost like it was trying to disappear. "Let's get inside and get some rest." Qrow said tiredly. "I think we all need it."

There was a nudge on Ruby's shoulder, and she tentatively took a step forward.

A feeling of dread had formed in the pit of her stomach. Relief was suddenly replaced with anxiety, and all that was left in Ruby's mind was, Please, just this once, let my gut instinct be wrong...

To Be Continued…

It's been a REALLY long time, but I'm back!

I've had a really hard year. I've wanted to get back into writing, but I haven't had the time, nor the drive. I finally convinced myself that I couldn't watch Volumet 8 until I got my story caught up. This way, I can re-watch the previous episodes, and re-watch Volume 7 without a crippling sense of paranoia and anxiety that I had during the quarantine...and the summer...and, well, just the rest of my life when I was dealing with all the shit from last year.

Special thanks to all of those who have stuck with the story for this long. I have to balance school and work with my writing in my free-time, and my job is...taxing to say the least. But totally worth it in the end!

My goal this summer is to get back into writing. My friends and I have been paying more attention to our self-care regimens the past year, and I want to make creative writing and fanfiction writing a part of my de-stress process. That and running when I have the time (and the motivation, LOL- I'm on my feet all day at work, and it is very hard to go running when your feet and legs are sore from walking and standing all day).

Hopefully, the next chapter will be up sooner than this one was. But hey, like I always say, "you can't rush art!"

-Thrillerartist