A/N: Double update today! Lets see if I can make it a triple~!

Sadly, "The Gods Must Be Crazy" didn't get much in the way of feedback. Really hurts, that...T_T

Yes, this is a fragment. Wish it could be longer, but I have no blasted time these days and I'm slowly losing my mind here in isolation.

I wanna go outsiiiiiiiide~!

In that regard, no questions this time. Only story. Sorry if that upsets people.

Alright, I've kept you waiting long enough, I think. Shall we begin?

As ever, I own no quotes, references, memes or themes~!

Minor verbatim from a certain RWBY scene here...

"Betrayal. That pain that feels like it'll eat you from the inside out, can either break you, or forge you into something greater.

You need to let ***** die. So the fear of pain will no longer control you.

You're strong, now. Like you were always meant to be.

~A Wise Man.

Let the Past Die (Fragment)

Ozpin woke slowly.

He soon wished he hadn't; if only because agony came with waking. Blinding pain in his back prevented him from feeling anything below his neck, and yet in an awful twist of fate he was somehow aware of everything. Someone had gagged him, for he could not speak, blindfolded him for good measure, even gone so far as to bind his now useless arms and legs together. Pointless he supposed, but then again perhaps his captors were erring on the side of caution.

But while the world was dark, he could yet hear.

"And so the conquering hero returns." that was undoubtedly Salem's voice. "You certainly gave those girls a beating." And then a pause. "Oh, dear. Is the blond one still alive? She's bleeding quite badly."

He heard a grunt. It sounded guilty. "She's still breathing. I...I didn't mean to...

...hmm. Near death then. Bad head wound. Might've rattled her brain. I can work with that.. She'll be right as rain...eventually." he missed something in lower tones before she continued. "You did good work today. I daresay the invasion was thwarted because of your efforts."

"And my friends?"

Ozpin craned his neck to listen.

"As you wish." Salem tutted. "I will make an attempt. I promise nothing more. If you're asking after your comrades...?" A rare note of contrition entered her voice. "I am sorry, my contractor. Some survived. Others...did not. For what its worth, Hyuuga girl survived."

Naruto audibly exhaled.

...but the pink one succumbed to her wounds."

Sasuke's consciousness stirred in the back of his mind. "Sakura...?"

"N-No." Naruto's voice lowered to a dull rasp. "She was alive! I felt it! I...I...I...!"

Ozpin felt a seed of pity sprout in his heart, not for the boy, never a pawn of Salem, but those who had perished for getting too close to him. He quashed it before it could take grow and root. He disliked involving innocents in his schemes, but perhaps this would open the eyes of the people. Salem and her ilk could not be trusted. All who worked with her or fell for her ruses would inevitably meet the same fate. He would save them all, one

The Uchiha's soul snarled at him. "Monster."

"It was for the greater good."

"What greater good?! We were fine without you!"

"Enough! We must work together to overcome this, or we are both of us dead."

"No. I'll get out of this. And when I do? You'll wish for death."

.

..

...

Ozpin couldn't see the boy's face, but he heard the roar of pain that followed. It was the sound of a someone who'd just had their heart torn out and stomped on. His sixth sense shrieked a warning, but there was nothing he could do save grit his teeth. Just as well; because a rush of hot slashed across his face and blasted him away, all but flinging him into the wall. Something blasted him back. Salem must've deflected the attack; because his head was still attached to his shoulders.

"Its all his fault!" Naruto's voice snarled. "If I had been there I could've done something!"

"Leave him!" her voice rose in a rare command. "If you kill him now you doom your friend, while he will simply move onto a new host!"

Words flowed on, but they faded to an endless drone for the errant knight. She was going to twist those girls. Break them with lies and half truths...or worse. And there was nothing he could do about it. It would take more power than he currently possessed to heal from a severed spine. Which made his current host next to useless. He could not rise, could not fight, could not resist in any meaningful fashion. All he could do was scheme. With his eyes bound and his body paralyzed, he was even more helpless than a newborn.

"So sorry I don't live up to your expectations." His host bridled at him. "Maybe you should've chosen someone else."

Had he any say in the matter, he would have. The process was random. He had no control over whose body he took when his curse flung him out of the afterlife and back into the world; as he had been the very moment Salem was unsealed. When he'd first come to him the time he'd considered Sasuke an ideal host. Young, viable, eager for power and revenge. Easy to mold. Easier to control. He was meant to reincarnate with like-minded souls. The boy was a child. He thought he was the only one who mattered.

How wrong he'd been.

Sasuke sent a jolt of paining shooting through him at that.

Ozpin grit his teeth against it and growled behind the gag. "Mrmmph!"

Mistakes were made. The moment he made a noise, he heard Salem hiss. A hand closed around his chin.

"Leave us." Salem's voice was a low purr. "I'll make him talk. Gaara needs you. Testify on his behalf and bring him here."

...I'll be back in an hour."

She made a pleased sound. "I'd be dissapointed if you weren't. Bring the girl with the fan when you return. I have a proposal for her-

"Salem."

His voice cut through hers like a knife. Ozpin choked as a wave of killing intent flooded the room. As though he were trapped in the jaws of a giant beast; a single twitch would bring those awful fangs crushing down. He did not fear death. He never had. And yet here, in this moment, he feared the absence of it. He'd never been more powerless.

"If those girls won't join us...

She hummed. "It will be done."

A beat of silence pushed between them.

Shuffling footsteps. A door opened and closed.

Ozpin counted the moments that passed; the seconds. One. Two. Three.

"Now, then." Salem's voice echoed in the darkened room. "Where were we?"

Someone tore the blindfold away.

Ozpin tried to close his eyes, but it was too late.

A candle sprang to life between them and he squinted against it.

"My long lost Ozma, found once again." Blood red eyes met his in the dark, flickering firelight dancing off her smiling face. "You just don't know when to quit, do you?"

"Neither do you, apparently." His jaw clenched, but it was too late to take the words back. "One would think that two defeats would be enough for you. Shaping up for a third?"

...you always did have a way with words." She released his face and stepped away to consider him for a moment. "So frail, this new host of yours. Its a wonder my contractor didn't break you...

Sasuke snarled. 'He should have killed me!'

Ozpin ignored him. Contractor? That term was new. Salem never shared power with anyone. Unless she...oh. Oh, no. That was bad. It all made a twisted sort of sense now. Small wonder the boy had been able to use her abilities. She'd given him her blood, hadn't she? More than that, she'd shared her magic with him. And if she did to those girls what she'd done to him, corrupted them...!

His prone body growled. "You...!"

"Look how you've diminished...such a shame." Salem ignored his ravings and pinched his cheek. "Its been...how many years since we saw each like this. Face to face. Nothing to say?"

Only one thing. "You and your pawn will fail."

"Pawn?" Salem blinked, momentarily nonplussed. "You mean Naruto?" "Magnificent, isn't he?" her voice echoed in the darkened room, redolent in its pride. "He's all I ever hoped for. I suppose I have you to thank for that. You pushed him over the edge. It would've taken me months to open his eyes to the true nature of his world."

Sasuke burst to the fore and wrested away control. "Don't hurt him!"

"How fitting." Salem smiled. Even your host rejects you. Don't worry, boy." she caressed his cheek. "He's in good hands."

Ozpin wrested it back. "You won't win!"

"Oh, but I've already won." her smile was supreme in its satisfaction. "I'm told the Yamanaka picked your brain while you slept." a hand cupped his cheek, steering him back to her. "I imagine the found find all manner of interesting things. Things that will likely expedite my -our!- departure from this village. After which, I intend to give you to a new...associate of mine. And so," Her lips thinned in a grimace, even that sensual smile faded. "I will be brief. How many came back with you?"

Ozpin didn't reply. He refused. Never!

Sasuke did to spite him. "..."

"Fool of a boy!"

"Ah, so there's still more to deal with. And likely your...associate as well." she tutted once. "Sasuke, was it?" her gaze fitted away, revealing a rare spark of sympathy. "I'm told you have no say in this. For what its worth, I pray that they find a way remove you from my dear Ozma."

Ozpin dragged the boy down and drowned out his protests. "Why are you here, Salem?"

"To gloat, really." she leaned close, lips brushing his ear. "And now? To say goodbye."

An ominous chill pervaded his body. "...what?"

"Did you know," her voice rose in purr. "That there are ways to destroy and seal souls here in the future? These "shinobi" have been quite productive."

His heart sank into his stomach. "No."

"Oh, yes." her voice was sin itself. "I've seen the texts. My new...friend assures me its quite possible. Its all one and the same to me. I'm sure he'll find a way."

He tried to speak. Words failed him.

Salem patted his cheek once and stood. "Goodbye, Ozma."

"Wait!" He found her voice just before she departed. "What is your aim?! Your goal! Why have you returned?!"

"You never understand." She paused at the threshold, fingers trailing around the edges of the arch. "I have no intention of destroying this world. On the contrary. I wanted an end. The God denied me. And so I learned. I will no longer destroy."

A lone red eye narrowed over her shoulder.

"I will rule."

Ozpin shivered.

"While you sit there in your broken host, unable to do a thing to stop me." she turned to face him fully, hands clasped at her waist. "The relics are gone, Ozma. So are the gods. And soon, very soon, you will be too.

She reached behind her and knocked thrice on the door. Someone unlatched it for her.

"Wait!" he cried out at her back. "Kill me! Don't leave me like this!"

"Kill you?" Salem's gaze snapped to his with a raw hiss. "There was once a time, near the end, when I begged you for such a mercy. You denied me then." her gaze was a knife cutting into him. "And so I deny you now. Naruto is mine. Just as those girls will soon be. If the truth doesn't bring them around to my way of thinking...I have other means."

Sasuke's laughter echoed in the back of his head. "Serves you right."

Ozpin's head bowed in grief. No. It couldn't end this way. He'd sacrificed so much, returned from death to save the world, only to be told it was never in any real danger at all. The gods had betrayed him one final time, and left him with no way out, locked away in this pit.

One last parting jab followed. "How does it feel to lose, old friend?"

At last, the door opened for her. Salem stepped backward through it. Her eyes never left his. She watched him intently, even as it creaked shut on rusty hinges.

The broken knight struggled against his shackles with a cry. "SALEM!

His screams echoed in the hollow confines of his cell.

Then the door closed, sealing him in his tomb.

A/N: Nearly there now. Thanks for joining me on this mad little roller coaster.

The plot's starting to wrap up, and its been one hell of a wild ride, here.

So in the Immortal Words of Atlas... ...Review, Would You Kindly?

No previews this time. Why not, you ask?

We're in the endgame.

R&R~!