Rwby: of Guts and Blood: Chapter 20: Volume 6: The Travelers Way

Hello and welcome to the next chapter enjoy.

Trigger warning Berserk this should not surprise you.

Key

Grimm-Apostle talk

Angry talk

Ozpin talk

{Text Chat/ phone call}

flashback

Chapter start

They met at the house and everyone was shocked at how homey it was.

"So Oz what's our next goal? Qrow asked.

Ozpin thought but however Weiss stepped forward "it's simple… we go to atlas." She said

"Atlas?" Qrow asked

Ozpin nodded "no she's right. James is the only one with enough firepower to reasonably protect the relic." He said

Weiss nodded "That and…we'll there's a surprise waiting for us in Atlas." Weiss said

Guts stepped forward "well that's reasonable enough to me. I say we go for it!" He said

Everyone staired in shock at Guts but Ruby smiled

"Well…let's go to atlas!" She said

And that's how they found themselves at the train station of Mistral to Argus as Qrow writes a letter to James.

"It's been two weeks since the attack on Haven. The official report states that the plot to destroy Mistral's CCT Tower was thwarted by Ghira Belladonna Adam Taraus and the Faunus militia group from Menagerie. A couple of Huntsman and some students coincidentally visiting the headmaster were also able to lend some assistance. Unfortunately, Leonardo Lionheart lost his life while trying to defend his school. And those responsible for organizing the attack managed to escape. As I'm sure you can guess, there's a lot more to this report than I'm willing to say in this letter. But for now, what I'm trying to say is that we're on our way to Atlas, James we got the insistence that Weiss was trying to tell us all thought not actually telling usher reasoning. There's a good chance we'll get there before this letter does, but in case we don't, I need you to know that we're bringing a lot more than bad news with us. See you soon, Qrow.'

Qrow sighed and placed the letter in as Ruby ran past him "hey what's with the running?" He asked

"No what's with the standing? It's almost time!" Ruby groaned

Ruby sees the people chattering in the station lobby. She uses her Semblance to get something and fly through the gate. She then emerges smiling and humming, approaching the benches where her companions, minus Blake, are waiting.

Yang looks over to her sister "And?"

Ruby shows them a bag "Ahh!"

Weiss rolled her eyes "What an absolute waste of time-"

Yang pops forward "What did you get me?"

Ruby danced singsong "You'll have to wait and see!"

Yang huffed "No fair!"

Guts chuckled "knock it off Yang it's obvious Ruby isn't going to give it to you it's also obvious she bought 15 cookies for herself and isn't going to share." Guts said

Both Yang and Ruby looked at Guts in a deadpan

"Wow spoilsport!" Yang said

"Yea and to be fare I only got 5 for me! The other five are for you!" Ruby huffed

Guts was still looking away and shrugged "keep 'em I'm not hungry."

Yang and Ruby turned back to play fighting

Ruby sticks her tongue, Yang attempts to snatch the bag from Ruby, who recoils; then Nora jumps from between them

Nora smiled "Oh, I can't believe we're taking the train to Argus! The beautiful northern coastline... You really think it's too early for beach season?"

A daydream of a shirtless Ren holding a beach ball by the sea... which, turns out to be by Ren himself.

Ren sighed "Unfortunately, but we will be one step closer to Atlas."

"I just can't wait till we get to atlas." Weiss said

Ruby walked forward "Weiss I know your worried but team RWBY's got your back." Ruby said

"No one's gotta be worried with us around." A voice said making the girls look up

A pair of Huntsmen, Dee and Dudley, confront Ruby and her friends with proud looks on their faces, holding their weapons.

Nora looked unamused "Aaaand you are?"

Dee smirked "Why Dee and Dudley of course. The Argus Limited's very own Huntsmen. We'll be keeping everyone safe as we pass through Grimm territory."

Dudley "But for a generous tip, we can make sure your passenger car gets extra special attention should things get dangerous."

Dudley winks as Ruby, Weiss, Yang and Nora give unamused looks; Nora has her arms crossed and Weiss rolls her eyes.

"Oh my gods are you annoying?!" A voice said from behind them

Dee and Dudley turn "Huh?"

Dee and Dudley turn to see Guts standing there Dragonslayer on his back Cape billowing. A loud air horn of intimidation is heard.

Dee and Dudley start to click there knees together under Guts intense glare.

"You are weak." Guts said

Ruby gulps as Guts leans into Dudley and Dee

"I. hate. The. Weak." Guts said as he noticed there knees clicking faster.

"Boo!" He said making them scream finally Qrow comes over

"Hey!" He says and jolts his head "Buzz off. Looks like Mistral's really scraping the bottom of the barrel these days."

Dee scowled and points "Hey! You're talking to a-"

Qrow holds up his huntsman license, showing Dee and Dudley "…A professional Huntsman, right. Well, it seems one of you heroes left the staff entrance to the caboose wide open…" he said

Dee and Dudley turn around and Also see Guts himself has his own Scroll with his card making them gasp "Your the Blackswordsmen?" Dudley asked

Guts raised an eyebrow "yea? So?" He added

Dee elbows his partner "quiet your ogling for later we've obviously pissed him off. Sorry to bother you sir."

they then look to the train in surprise at this revelation.

Qrow crosses his arms "It'd be a shame to lose your job before it even started."

Dudley turns to Dee "I... I didn't do it!"

Dee scoffs and guts him on the shoulder "Come on, dummy."

Dee and Dudley walks away from them. Oscar Pine watches the two leaving.

Dee was arguing with Dudley "Well, I didn't do it either…"

Ozpin sighed mentally "I do hope those weren't Beacon graduates."

Oscar shakes his head "You know sometimes the burden of saving the world feels overwhelming. But then people like that come along and make me grateful that it's our jobs and theirs."

Everyone collectively agrees with Oscar as they nod at him together.

"Uh-huh."

"Yeah."

Qrow turned to Yang and Ruby "So, you kids ready to go? Bike all loaded up?"

Yang gave the thumbs up "Yep!"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Just waiting on Blake. As usual."

Blake was actually talking to illa and seeing her off again

I'm sorry I'm leaving so soon But your going to have to get over it, Ilia. Saving Haven had a huge impact on how Faunus are seen in Mistral. Now it's up to you all to take the progress and keep running with it. Also someone has to guard the city."

Ilia nodded "Right. The "Black Fang may have been a failure, but with everyone knowing of them and who they are The white fang will hunt them down, I've got more faith than ever before." She runs up to Blake and gives her a big hug. "Thank you, Blake, for everything. Illia starts getting choking up "I wish you didn't have to go."

Blake nodded "same"

The two then part from the hug.

Blake sighed "But my team needs me. We're going to track down the people responsible for the attack on Haven and the fall of Beacon.

Ilia giggles and looks away "Always trying to save the world."

Blake smiled "More than you realize."

Ilia looked up "Hey, I know your parents and Adam already saw you off, but where's-?"

"Sun? Oh, he's right here!"

Sun Wukong Appers up a few feet away from them. Blake walks over to him.

Sun shakes his head "What? You didn't think I was gonna miss your big send-off, did you?"

Neptune Vasilias suddenly pops up from behind him.

Neptune points out "He definitely overslept and absolutely almost missed this."

Sun growls at Neptune before shushing him. Blake laughs. Neptune shoves Sun forward.

Neptune waved "Hey, Blake." Before he turned to Sun "Now would you hurry up? Need I remind you we have our own trip to plan?" He looks up noticing Ilia "Oh, I didn't know Ilia was gonna be here. I'll, uh, I'll give you two a moment." He strides to Ilia flirting "Hey, almost didn't see you there, 'cause, you know, the camouflage?"

Blake helplessly reaches her hand out to stop Neptune, but fails to. Sun shakes his head.

Blake sighed "Wrong tree…"

Sun sighed "He'll figure it out."

Blake looked to him "So, you're really going to Vacuo?"

Sun nodded "That's right! Seeing you reunited with the rest of Team RWBY really made me realize something - I'm like the worst team leader ever. Me and the boys were cool with a little hiatus, but we gotta make up for lost time. Shade Academy's not dealing with any problems like Haven right now. Plus, that means I can show the guys around my old stomping grounds!"

Blake smiled "I have to admit, I think I was kind of getting used to having you around."

Sun stands proudly as he declares "I go where I'm needed!"

Sun looks back to Blake "And... you don't need me anymore."

Blake frowns. "Well, when you say it like that, it sounds sad."

Sun puts a reassuring hand on Blake's shoulder. "Look... despite the drama and the fighting and the numerous attempts on my life, I had a lot of fun! But you're with who you're supposed to be now."

The two look down at the floor below them at Blake's friends.

Blake smiled "Sun... I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough. I'm still-."

Sun cut her off "You're still working a lot of things out, I know. But you can do it with them. And in the future, who knows?" turns to her again "I've got a feeling you haven't seen the last of me."

Sun smiles as he proudly balls his fist in front of him. He lowers his fist down as Blake smiles.

Blake nods "I certainly hope not."

Suddenly, Blake goes up to Sun and kisses him on the cheek.

After saying goodbye to Blake, Sun and Neptune walk down some stairs.

Neptune sighs "I don't know, man. It just feels like you're letting her go."

Sun looks at his friend "It was never about that, brainiac. Besides, now that your leader's back and hardened from battle, I've gotta focus all of my time into getting you boys ready for the wastelands!"

Neptune groans and walks ahead of him. Sun shrugs in confusion.

Team RWBYJNPR Guts Oscar and Qrow board the train.

Once everyone was safely in there Room Ruby looked around. It's apparently going to take a few days to get to Argus. Weiss you have everything?" Ruby asked

"Codes once we get to Argus for safe passage check dust. Check A1 pistol check." Weiss said

Blake scoffed "I still can't believe that you were given that." She said

"Our mission is considered Black ops. We get the best gear to save the world. I expect you guys will get some as well." She said

Ruby sat up "well I'm going to see if Guts is sleeping well. He hasn't been the same sense after Haven good luck girls." Ruby said as she hopped down and headed to the door.

Yang pointed towards the door "she's clearly going for a fuck."

Weiss nodded not looking up "yep"

Blake sighed "obviously."

Yang looked back down "ok ok I just wanted to be sure I wasn't missing anything." She said

Suddenly Qrow was there holding a martini

"hey." He asked

Yang looked up "hey uncle."

Qrow looked at Ruby's empty bunk

"Where's Ruby?" He asked

"Where do you think?" Blake asked

Qrow rolled his eyes "again? Jeez bunch of rabbits those two are." Qrow said Suddenly, the train jolts, causing Qrow to drop his drink. Passengers can be heard screaming in fear. Qrow runs to the window

Blake looked up "What was that?"

Weiss looked out the window and sighed "Exactly what it sounds like."

Blake sighed "Just my luck."

Qrow looked out the window and shook his head "It's not yours... grab your weapons!"

Qrow runs out of the room and Team WBY follow suit, grabbing their respective weapons on their way out the door.

With Guts and Ruby she was naked Straddling Guts about to lower herself to fully insert in when the train shook.

"Ugh just horrid timing!" Ruby groaned as she vanished and appeared with all her clothes on.

"I'll hold the Grimm off so you can get dressed." She said Guts smiled and started getting ready as Ruby Grabbed Crescent rose and ran out the door.

Qrow climbs to the top of the train and notices a group of Manticores approaching from the back. Dee and Dudley are already up top and prepare to fight the Grimm. A much larger Grimm, a Sphinx, lands on the train and lets out a loud roar. A few train cars down, Team RWBY join Qrow as they too arrive on top of the train with their weapons out. Dee charges his weapon, an electrical spiked club, and charges forward to attack. The Sphinx roars and a Manticore flies by to snatch up Dee.

Dudley calls to his firend "Dee!" He starts firing.

Dudley watches helplessly while his partner is dragged down to the forest to his unfortunate death. The Sphinx roars again and all of the Manticores fly forward to attack.

Blake hissed when suddenly Ruby landed in front of them "What's the plan, Ruby?"

Ruby shook her head head "Don't let anyone else die!"

With that, Team RWBY and Qrow charge forward into battle. Down below in the train, Oscar opens up a window to see the commotion, a Manticore barely missing him.

Ozpin spoke up "Shall I?"

Oscar stepped back away from the window "No, I'm keeping control."

Oscar walks out into the lane and bumps into Jaune, with Ren and Nora behind him.

Jaune asked him "What's going on?"

Oscar tries to answer, but is interrupted by another jolt as passengers scream in fear. Jaune's expression then turns determined.

Back outside, Team RWBY and Qrow get to work on cutting down Manticores. Dudley runs toward the front of the train and takes his scroll out, activating the train's defense systems.

Dudley hissed "Come on, come on."

The train's armor activates, with reinforced plating covering most of the train while metal bars criss-cross on the windows. After that, a series of turrets rise above the train and begin targeting the midair Grimm. A group of Manticores get shot down.

Dudley cheers "Ah, yes!" pumping his fist.

Meanwhile, Qrow engages the Sphinx, using the scythe form of Harbinger to attack. The Sphinx tries to crush Qrow with its paw, but Qrow manages to transform into his avian form before changing back to land an attack from above. The turrets fire at the Sphinx from behind, causing it let out another loud roar. Two Manticores fly down, one does a tuck and roll into a turret, destroying it. The other evades turret blasts and spits a fireball at one, destroying it. The passengers inside the turret's train car scream as it jolts from being destroyed.

Qrow called to Dudley Hey! What are you doing?

At the same time Oscar Guts, and Team JNPR climb up to the top of the train to join the battle,

Nora groans "Why is it always something?!" She asked as Guts opens fire down the train killing a Grimm in one shot.

"Oh just smash the Grimm Nora." Guts said as he ran off swinging Dragonslayer.

Pyrrah got out her weapons before throwing it towards a Grimm herself following.

Oscar runs over to Qrow, who is shooting at Grimm.

Oscar "How can I help?"

Qrow looked to Oscar "You can get that idiot to shut off the turrets. They're just drawing the Grimm toward the passengers!"

Oscar nodded "Right!"

Oscar runs forward, dodging Grimm attacks along the way. He manages to approach Dudley, who is firing at Grimm with his own rifle.

Oscar "Stop! You've gotta shut the turrets off!"

Dudley growled at him "Are you crazy? No way!"

A turret continues fire, knocking more Grimm out of the sky.

Dudley pumped his fist "Yes! Another one down!"

Oscar placed his hand on Dudley "Stop! We have to lure the Grimm to the back."

Dudley pulls Oscar's hand off "What does it matter if they're dead?" and continues to fire at the Manticores

Suddenly, they notice the Sphinx and the rest of the Grimm fly off the train, keeping their distance.

Dudley looks confused "Where are they going?"

Oscar, realizing something, quickly turns around.

Oscar screams "TUNNEL!"

Dudley looked over confused "Huh?"

They take notice of the fast approaching tunnel. Oscar quickly gets below the train. Dudley does the same, but inadvertently leaves his arm stretched out as it impacts the wall of the tunnel. the sound of a bone snap and Dudley yelling in pain is heard.

"Gah!"

Team RWBY and JNPR quickly run into the train car as Oscar tends to Dudley, who holds his Shattered and limp and bleeding arm as well. Qrow And Guts enter and approaches Dudley.

Qrow growled "I said, turn those damn things off!" He picks up Dudley and shoves him into the wall.

Dudley groans in pain "Those things are keeping us alive!"

Qrow "Us, sure, but they're putting the passengers in danger!"

Dudley tried to throw Qrow off and one successfully only for Guts to pin him back down "I'm the one they hired for this job, okay?! I'm in charge here!"

Guts growled "Forgive me if I'm not exactly reassured."

While the two argue, Ruby looks out the window and notices the Manticores enter the tunnel, continuing their pursuit of the train. She then looks behind her friends at the passengers, a baby can be heard crying as passengers murmur among themselves. Ruby then walks forward to her uncle boyfriend and Dudley.

Dudley groans "Get off me!" But Guts stays firm

Qrow started to rant at him "Look, if you bozos had been doing your job instead of shaking down passengers, maybe we wouldn't be in this-."

Ruby stops her uncle and walks up to Dudley. Guts steps away letting him speak

"Please just shut off the turrets."

Jaune stepped forward "Trust us, we know what we're doing."

Jaune activates his Semblance to heal Dudley's arm. Dudley looks to the students before giving his answer.

Dudley sighed "Fine."

Ruby nods.

Nora looks to her boyfriend "Ren, could you use your Semblance to mask everyone on this train? With the guns off and emotions hidden, they might lose track of us!"

Ren thought about it "Hm, I never attempted to affect this many people."

Ruby shrugged "Well, you've never had Jaune's help before."

Weiss nodded "He could amplify your Aura! And semblance along with it."

Qrow nodded "Yeah, that's an alright plan

Nora smiled "Don't look so worried, Ren. You can totally do this!"

Ozpin spoke mentally 'May I?'

Oscar's eyes glow as Ozpin takes over.

Ozpin "I'm afraid there's one complication... The Grimm are also attracted to this." gestures to the Relic of Knowledge on his hip

Dudley was confused "What's that?"

Qrow looked back "None of your business. Oz, are you serious?"

Guts looked angry 'strike 1' he thought mentally

Yang growled at him "Why wouldn't you tell us that?!"

Ozpin couldn't answer "I-."

Ruby stepped forward "It doesn't matter right now."

Yang crosses her arms.

Guts looked impressed at his girlfriend

"Every second we're on board this train, we're putting everyone else in danger. Get the passengers to the front cars, you'll still mask the emotions and kill the turrets... we just can't come with you. If we cut the back cars with us and the Relic on them, we can deal with the Grimm. You just make sure the rest of the train makes it safely to Argus."

Upon hearing this, Jaune finishes up healing Dudley's arm and walks over to Ruby with a conflicted expression.

"Only if you'll promise you'll meet us there." Jaune said

Ruby smiled "Promise."

With that, Team JNPR begins evacuating all of the passengers to the front half of the train. The elderly woman from earlier is seen walking, taking a look behind her.

Outside, the turrets are shut off. Blake jumps down and decouples the train, allowing the front half to continue forward. When she looks up, she notices a hooded figure resembling a Black fang member in front of her on the next train car. Blake prepares for a fight, but then realizes that no one is there and it was just her imagination. Blake sighs before jumping back up to the top of the train. Ruby is seen a few train cars down looking at her scroll, which shows portraits of her teammates and Nora, the latter's signal low compared to the rest. Ruby looks back up and notices the Manticores and Sphinx exiting the tunnel and taking flight once again. The Sphinx lands on the train.

Ruby: Now!

Nora gets Ruby's message and gives the okay to Jaune and Ren. The two boys combine their Semblances, with Jaune enhancing Ren's Aura to the point where the entire front half of the train is grayed out by Ren's Semblance. Pyrrah stands near then rifle ready to defend them Oscar watches the train as it disappears into the snowstorm, before being attacked by a Manticore. He manages to fend it off temporarily while team RWBY take out several Manticores one by one. Ruby notices Oscar's struggle and takes advantage of Weiss taking one down in order to send it crashing into Oscar's Manticore. Meanwhile, Qrow is seen struggling against the Sphinx. Ruby notices this and she and her team go to assist him.

Guts is firing his Arm cannon at the Grimm. As Ruby runs past him

Ruby: We need to ground it!

Blake: On it! Yang!

Yang takes out a Manticore before launching off it and runs towards the Sphinx, ducking under it. Blake spins her weapon, with Yang punching it back and forth, the ribbon wrapping around the Sphinx's torso. Yang punches Gambol Shroud one more time, embedding the blade to the train's roof, and she and Blake pull the ribbon together, keeping the Sphinx down. Weiss uses her Glyphs to freeze the Sphinx's wings, with Qrow and Ruby shooting at them, shattering them. The uncle and niece ready their scythes as the Sphinx prepares to launch one more fireball. Qrow and Ruby launch forward, spinning their scythes together rapidly as they bisect the Sphinx's torso, finishing it off for good. Before it dies however, the Sphinx launches the fireball, destroying the rails in front of the train. Weiss activates her black Glyphs to hold everyone in place as the train derails and crashes into the snow.

The back half of the Argus Limited is completely derailed, with the train cars crashed in the snow. Qrow, Oscar, and Team RWBY all get back up.

Qrow: Is everyone okay?

Guts groaned "yea working." He said as he collected Dragonslayer

Weiss sat up and checked her pistol "I'm fine."

Blake nodded "Yeah."

Then, an unfamiliar voice is heard.

"Still alive!"

Everyone looks up and notices the elderly woman, Maria Calavera, stepping out from the train.

Maria smiled "That sure was a close one, huh?"

Back in the past the team is going over the plan

"Wait Atlas?" Ruby asked

Weiss nodded "yes…although I believe now it's because of a different reason but James wants to see us…all of us." Weiss said

"What for?" Qrow asked

Weiss smiled

Guts spoke "she hasn't been able to tell anyone saying that it's confidential information and she be forced to firing squad if it's revealed." Guts said

Qrow rolled his eyes "James…"

"Hopefully the first option will suffice."

Oscar Pine, letting Ozpin take over, walks into the room.

Qrow smiled at Oscar "Glad to see you're feeling better."

Ozpin nodded "Likewise, and while I'm sure we could all use more time to recover, I'm afraid time is of the essence."

Blake nodded "Right, as long as that thing's out in the open, its power could fall into the wrong hands."

Jaune looked around "Speaking of, what does it do exactly? Qrow never really told us."

Everyone looks to Ozpin, who turns around to face them.

Ozpin nodded "Of course." He detaches the Relic from his hip "The Relic of Knowledge has a wonderful, and incredibly dangerous ability." the Relic grows into it's original size as it was found "Its user can ask any question, and the Lamp will provide an answer."

Ozpin places the Relic down, and it floats on the table.

Ren looked in awe "Intriguing…"

Blake was shocked "That's incredible…"

"And incredibly dangerous…" Guts said understanding that Knowledge is power.

Ozpin nodded "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."

Yang shrugged "Well, I guess that's not so bad. Adds a lot of pressure though."

Nora looked around "Then let's put it to a vote! What should we ask first? Oh! Can we ask for more questions? CAN WE ASK FOR MORE QUESTIONS?!"

Ren facepalmed "They're not wishes…"

Ozpin chuckled "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."

Ruby nodded "Well, at least now we know what it is. And we'll be sure to keep it safe!"

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.

Yang huffed "Great! This is just great! We're stranded, we lost a third of our party, and 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.

"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." She taps on her prosthetics, which open wide and close, before opening narrowly again. "Okay, I'm starting to see your point."

Qrow grunts "Yang, knock it off, will ya? If we lose our cool now, we'll just be inviting even more Grimm."

Blake looked at him "Does that even matter? Apparently, we've been attracting Grimm ever since we left Haven."

Yang rolled her eyes and looked to Oscar "Oh, and how could I forget about that? What happened to no more lies and half truths?"

Oscar stood up "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…"

"BULLSHIT!" Guts snapped

Weiss crossed her arms "Well you certainly didn't tell us everything about the Relic."

Ozpin raised his arms to placate them mostly Guts "Please, now is not the time."

Yang growled "No, we're past that! I wanna know why you're still not telling us everything!"

Ozpin sighed "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."

"THAT WASN'T YOUR CHOICE OLD MAN! If Griffith knew what the Beherit was I didn't think he would use it but guess what he did!" Guts growled

Weiss nodded "You know, I'm getting real tired of people choosing what's best for me."

Yang glaired at Oz "Is that why you chose to lie to everyone about Lionheart too?"

Ozpin started to walk away from the train crash "Yes, as a matter of fact, I believed the Kingdom of Mistral deserved better than the truth. And I believed Leonardo deserved to be remembered for his lifetime of service, and not for the unfortunate missteps he made in his final years."

Yang cried out "Missteps?!"

Ozpin sighed "What Professor Lionheart did was reprehensible. I am not here to argue differently, but does one lapse in judgment truly negate all of his good? Do we not all have regrets? You may have met Professor Lionheart, but you never met the man he was before Salem found him."

Yang sighed "Look, we're supposed to be in this together. You can trust us! We're not gonna turn our backs on you."

Ozpin raised his voice. "Do you really think Leo was the first?!"

Everyone stops.

Ozpin growled "That he didn't say those exact same words to me? I'm sorry, but you have to understand that my behaviors are backed by experience. 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?"

Guts looked at him clenching his fist "your getting real close old man," he muttered to himself as he looked to his girlfriend

Ruby "Right here." She holds it in her hands "It got scattered in the crash."

Ozpin sighed "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?"

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."

Ruby looked confused "But, you said it couldn't do anything right now."

Blake looked at Oz "Why does it matter who carries it?"

Ozpin stepped forward "I need you to listen to me-."

Ozpin reaches his hand out, but suddenly is stopped, stuck in his position.

Qrow looks up "Oz?"

Oscar was fighting back for control "Hurry... he's... trying to stop you!"

Yang was alert as was everyone else "Stop her from what?"

"He's afraid... you'll find out what he's... hiding!"

Oscar suddenly collapses, Yang, Weiss and Blake glare at the boy with intense looks while Ruby holds the Relic of Knowledge defensively.

Guts draws Dragonslayer.

Oscar looked up "Her name is Jinn. Say her name to summon her."

Ruby looked confused "Her name?"

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.

Qrow looked around shocked "What?"

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. Her skin and hair is colored blue, and decorated with gold jewelry and ornaments. The figure stretches and moans as she has been awakened once again. This is Jinn, the aforementioned being inhabiting the Relic of Knowledge.

Qrow looks away

Guts was getting flashbacks to the Eclipse.

Jinn yawned "Wonderful."

Everyone stares in awe at Jinn.

Jinn smiled "Tell me, what knowledge do you seek?"

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-."

Ozpin tried to head her off "That's enough!"

Everyone looks to Ozpin, who managed to regain control over Oscar's body.

Jinn was undeterred "...two questions this era."

Everyone is shocked, despite Ozpin telling them that the Relic won't work for them beforehand.

"Strike 2…" Guts hissed

Everyone looked at Guts shocked he was counting the incidents

Jinn chuckled "It's a pleasure to see you again, old man."

Ozpin looked up "Ruby, please... Don't."

Qrow glances to Ozpin, and steps forward.

"Hey." He said

Suddenly, Yang, Weiss, and Blake get defensive at Qrow. Even Guts pointed Dragonslayer at Qrow. Ruby stares in disbelief.

Qrow raised his hands up and smiled "Do whatever you think is right, kiddo."

Ruby pondered her question "Jinn?"

Ruby turns around to face Jinn, who has a curious look on her face, while Ozpin grits his teeth in anger.

Ruby looked at her "What is Ozpin hiding from us?"

Ozpin yelled "NOOOOOOO!"

Ruby gasps and looks behind her. Ozpin lunges forward Guts steps forward trying to heed him back but Oz bashes Dragonslayer out of the way effortlessly and is about to touch her, but suddenly, Ruby finds herself alone in a blank white space.

Ruby gasps "Wha- what? Weiss? Yang?"

Ruby walks into a white void, Yang doing the same .

calling out as well "Blake? Ru-."

Yang goes deeper, and Weiss then appears, also calling out for their team leader.

"-by? Ruby?"

Weiss goes off screen, and Blake then appears.

"Yang?"

Guts stood shivering. He was having so many Eclipse flashbacks now it was unsettling. His hand was shaking

"C-Casca…"

Suddenly, an environment manifests, showing a path leading to a castle in the distance. A woman humming can be heard in the background.

Jinn was narrating "Once upon a time, there stood a lonely tower…"

Smoke envelops Blake, and Qrow appears where she was. He looks behind him.

Jinn spoke "...that sheltered a lonely girl."

A rather beautiful woman sitting in front of a mirror then appears. Ruby is seen walking up to her.

"Named... Salem."

A blue smoke appears, revealing Salem staring from her window of the tower, her arms crossed. A woman humming can be heard in the background.

Jinn spoke narrating "Locked away by her cruel father, Salem was a girl who desired but one thing: freedom.

Salem walks away with sadness as Ruby Rose watches her do so when Salem passed by her.

"She lived in a time when kings and their Kingdoms were plentiful, when men and women were capable of greatness, and magic was a gift from the Gods that all could wield."

Salem sits down and leans against the vanity. She holds her left hand, using her magic; four magical spheres with a magic circle in six basic colors appear over her hand.

"And yet, there she sat within her tower."

As Salem looks down, the blue smoke reappears and envelops Salem to the next scene. It reforms the castle Salem resides in.

"Until one day, a legendary hero came to brave the challenges within the tower's walls."

A young man in armor and a cape wielding a scepter appears standing proudly in front of the tower. Qrow Branwen can be seen walking up to him. But the warrior doesn't see him.

"The people of the lands knew him as Ozma."

Qrow waves his hand in front of Ozma's face, but the latter proceeds forward unfazed, simply phasing through Qrow's hand.

"Unlike those who had come before, this warrior was not driven by the prize of the young maiden's hand. He fought only for righteousness, and his pure heart and courageous soul prevailed."

As Ozma walks up to the tower, other warriors are shown falling in battle. Blue smoke reforms the scene once again, this time showing Ozma using his scepter to strike down a dark-armored figure. Ozma then opens up a door leading to Salem's room, where she stands up and offers a grateful smile to him. Blue smoke reforms the scene of them battling side by side with their magic powers.

"They escaped the wretched fortress, and yet something bound them together."

Smoke reforms the scene showing Ozma and Salem running away from the tower holding hands together. Once at a safe distance, the two stop to catch their breath before looking to each other.

"Ozma had been ready to give his life for justice countless times, but now saw a woman worth saving it for. And Salem, to her surprise, found her freedom not in the outside world she had yearned for, but in the eyes of the man that had saved her."

Salem looked to Ozma "So, where should we go now?

Ozma offered his hand to her. "Wherever you'd like." He said honestly

"The two fell deeply in love, planned adventures around the world, and lived happily ever after."

Smoke envelops the environment around Ozma and Salem as the two hold hands. The two disappear into a bright light of white space.

"Or at least that's what should have been."

Smoke then reforms the scene showing Salem kneeling at an unconscious Ozma's bedside. Salem holds Ozma's hand and can be heard sobbing.

"Ozma, the infallible hero of legend, fell ill. And where all the beasts and blades of the world had fallen short, a single sickness prevailed."

Ozma's body disappears in smoke as Salem continues sobbing, holding his scepter in her hands. Weiss Schnee can be seen behind her watching.

Salem looked up from the bed asking out loud "How could the Gods let this happen?"

As Weiss continues to watch in pity, she looks up to notice two spheres - one bright yellow and the other a dark purple - circling above her head.

"The Gods, brothers of light and darkness, creation and destruction. Salem prayed they would see the injustice that had befallen her love and make things right."

The two orbs encircling above lower down, with Blake Belladonna watching the two conjoin in front of her. A bright light and blue smoke transitions the scene, this time showing a brightly lit place with a stairway leading up the mountain.

"The Domain of Light was a sacred place."

Salem approaches the stairway, offering flowers. She holds Ozma's scepter in her hand.

"It was here the elder brother dwelled beside his fountain of life and creation. It was here... where mankind would fall to ruin."

Weiss watches Salem walk up the stairs as smoke transitions the scene again, with Salem now at the top of the mountain as she looks upon the Domain of Light, valley filled with flowers with a pool of water and a tree at the center. Leaves blow from the tree and encircles above the water, and from it, the God of Light rises from the pool. He walks forward to Salem.

Salem fell to her knees pleading to the God of Light "Please... Please, bring him back to me."

God of Light looked at her impassively "I understand your pain, but you demand of me that which I cannot make so. Life and death are part of a delicate balance."

Salem looked up shocked "So... you won't do it then?"

God of Light shook his head "To disrupt the cycle of-."

Salem stood up "But that's not fair... That's not fair!"

Salem's voice echoes throughout the Domain from her last exclamation.

God of Light looked sternly at Salem "Let. Him. Rest."

The wind picks up, causing leaves to blow around Salem. Suddenly, she finds herself back at the bottom of the stairway leading to the Domain of Light. She looks to Ozma's scepter in her hands before looking up angrily.

Salem growled determined "No."

Blue smoke transitions the scene again, this time showing a dark, foreboding environment with a stairway leading up the mountain, similarly mirroring that of the Domain of Light's.

"The God of Darkness…"

Salem approaches some skeletal remains at the bottom of the stairs.

"None dare to enter his home, as men knew what monstrosities emerged from his blackened pools of annihilation."

Salem proceeds forward, approaching a blackened pool of tar-like liquid similar to that of which the Creatures of Grimm spawn from.

"And so you must understand the Dark Lord's surprise when he found a lone woman kneeling before him."

From the blackened pool, the God of Darkness emerges, his body twisted and contorted. Yang Xiao Long is seen standing a few feet away from Salem, gasping in fear at the sight. The God of Darkness crawls toward Salem in an unnatural position. Grimm can be seen inching closer to her.

"Salem understood it well. She told him of her loss and professed that she knew only he could answer her prayers, all while careful to make no mention of his elder."

Salem is seen telling her story to the God of Darkness before offering Ozma's scepter to him.

God of Darkness spoke after a while "Rise, child, and let your faith in me be rewarded."

Salem does so. The God of Darkness then conjures a purple sphere, and from it, Ozma's body appears. Salem approaches him, and Ozma gasps back to life.

Ozma looked around shocked "Where am I? What is this?! WHERE AM I?!"

Salem looked at Ozma smiling "It's okay! Everything's going to be okay!"

Suddenly, the God of Light appears with a sound of thunder at the top of the stairs leading into the God of Darkness' domain.

God of Light spoke angered "What have you done?"

God of Darkness answered "I have done what I please, brother. You may bask in the powers of creation, but you do not own them."

God of Light looked at his brother "This is not creation."

God of Darkness growled back "Do not lecture me!"

The Grimm can be seen slowly approaching the God of Light.

God of Light spoke stoically "I will do what I must to maintain order."

The God of Light puts his hand out, and an orange aura surrounds Ozma's body, before he disintegrates in Salem's arms.

Salem screamed "No! No! What did you do?! BRING HIM BACK!"

God of Darkness growled "You dare enter my domain and show such disrespect!"

The God of Darkness makes Ozma's body appear again.

Salem sighed "Ozma!"

God of Light growled getting aggravated "I am abiding by the rules we agreed upon!"

God of Darkness snorted "Rules that I now see are ever in your favor. And yet the day a mortal comes to pray at my feet before your own, so do you arrive to lay your judgment upon me!"

The God of Darkness transforms into a nightmarish, dragon-like form that snarls at the God of Light. The Grimm proceed forward and attempt to attack him, but a bright light emanates from him, destroying all the Grimm in the area. He transforms into a bright, beautiful oriental-looking dragon.

God of Light spoke wisely "I know we have our differences, but I have not come here with the aim to control you. The same, however, cannot said for her. This woman came to you only after I denied her pleas – pleas that would have disrupted the balance that you and I created. Together."

The younger brother ponders this revelation.

God of Darkness finally spoke calmly as well "Then it seems I owe you an apology. Allow me to correct my mistake."

Salem gasped No!"

The God of Darkness fires a purple beam from his dragon form's mouth, disintegrating Ozma once again. Salem watches as Ozma's ashes blow away out of her hands.

Salem screamed "You… You monsters! Give him back to me! GIVE HIM BACK!"

Salem activates her magical abilities. Suddenly, the God of Light rushes forward and devours her.

Salem then wakes up falling from the sky. She is then submerged in the God of Light's pool, drowning as an aura-like shimmer covers her body. Suddenly, she finds herself on the surface of the water, catching her breath. She looks up and notices both of the God Brothers standing side by side.

God of Light spoke "When you first came to me, I did pity you. But it is clear now that your selfishness and arrogance have led you astray."

Salem stood back up "What did you do to me?"

The aura-like shimmer is seen on her hands.

God of Light "I have made you immortal."

Salem looked confused "Immortal?"

God of Darkness spoke "You cannot die. You cannot be with your beloved."

Both Gods "So long as this world turns, you shall walk its face."

Salem stares back at them in disbelief.

God of Light "You must learn the importance of life and death. Only then may you rest."

Salem tries to reach out to them, but then finds herself transported to a vast open field.

"Salem was a prisoner once again. Her fruitless attempts to reunite with Ozma eventually became nothing more than acts of spite and defiance against the Gods."

Ruby is seen back in Ozma's room, watching a shadow of Salem as she fatally stabs herself. Ruby covers her mouth with her hands in horror. Salem's suicide attempt fails due to her immortality.

"But perhaps the Gods were not as powerful as they seemed…"

Ruby watches Salem walk to a window, who is still holding the sword she attempted to stab herself with.

"She had lied to them, turned them against one another, they… were fallible."

Salem sets her sights on a castle in the distance.

"If she were to turn humanity against light and darkness, she could rid herself of their curse, or at the very least… she could make them suffer."

Salem then throws the sword toward Ruby's way. Ruby yelps in panic as she disappears in a puff of smoke just as the sword was about to strike her. Smoke transitions the scene, showing a king standing up in surprise as a bloodied ax is thrown to the ground.

"Salem traveled from one Kingdom to another, telling tales of how she stole immortality from the Gods, welcomed any swordsman to cut her down, and demonstrated her powers."

Salem is shown speaking to various leaders of Kingdoms, including the aforementioned king from before, an oriental-looking empress and her subjects, and finally to a savage-looking warrior king.

"With the kings and queens in awe, she pulled them deeper into her scheme. She painted them pictures of a time when they would no longer have to watch their loved ones wither and die, when they could claim the powers of their creators for themselves, and in turn, perfect their own design."

As Salem finishes telling her story to the warrior king, she kneels before him. The warrior draws his weapon and let's out a proud battle cry, with his people cheering along with him. The combined forces of the Kingdoms are then shown launching an all out assault on the Domain of Light.

"All they needed to do was destroy their old masters."

As the warriors run in, the God of Light emerges from the pool in his dragon form.

"The Gods had hoped that Salem would learn from her eternal curse, and she did. She learned that the hearts of men are easily swayed."

The leaders of the Kingdoms Salem had spoken to stand in front of their people approaching the God of Light. The God of Darkness, also in his dragon form, then appears alongside his elder brother.

God of Light spoke "Who has led you down this path?"

Salem is then seen walking through the crowds of warriors as she makes her way to the front of them. She glares at the Gods.

God of Darkness growls "You…" before he roars at Salem

In response, Salem launches a magical attack, and the warriors follow suit. A barrage of attacks are launched at the God of Darkness, but he easily catches them all into his hand, absorbing them into a purple sphere of energy. Everyone looks in shock.

God of Darkness spoke slow as if trying to process everything "My own gift to them... used against me."

The God of Light looks away in disappointment as the God of Darkness squeezes the sphere within his hand, creating a massive shockwave that envelops the world, smiting everything and everyone in its path. Humanity has been turned to dust, only Salem remains due to her immortality.

Salem fell to her knees "No... no…"

Salem gets knocked back when the God of Darkness stomps his foot in the ground.

God of Darkness: "You thought there was no greater punishment we could bestow upon you?"

Salem growled "I'll come back. I'll tell the rest of the world of this massacre! Build a new army!"

God of Darkness spoke almost sadly "You do not understand. There is no one left. You are all that remains of Humanity."

Salem's expression turns shocked at this revelation.

God of Light spoke "This planet was a beautiful experiment, but it is merely a remnant of what it once was. We will learn from this failure. I hope that you will learn from yours."

The God of Light disappears into a bright light of dust.

Salem yelled at them "No! You can't leave! You can't leave! COME BACK!"

God of Darkness looked at her sadly "Still demanding things of your creators…"

The God of Darkness also disappears into a beam of purple light that shoots up into the sky and out of the atmosphere. In the process, the moon is shattered. Moon fragments rain down like meteors back onto the planet's surface. Salem falls to her knees and lets out a scream of despair that is muted out by the crashing meteors.

"Once again, Salem was alone…"

Salem is seen walking alone. She walks by a pair of deer eating grass, as well as abandoned villages that are now inhabited by Grimm.

"She cursed the Gods. She cursed the universe. She cursed everything, everything but herself. She wandered the face of the planet, awaiting a death that would never come…"

Salem then stands on the edge of an overhanging cliff in the land once inhabited by the God of Darkness. She looks down at the blackened pool below her.

"Until fate led her back to the Land of Darkness. This was it. This had to be it, the brother's Grimm, the pools of black that continued to give rise to horrific nightmares. If the fountain of life granted her immortality, then surely, the pools of Grimm will finally take it away."

Without hesitation, Salem falls forward and is submerged into the blackened pool.

"She was wrong. This force of pure destruction could not destroy a being of infinite life."

Salem is thrashed around by an unseen force.

"Instead, it created a being of infinite life with a desire for pure destruction."

Salem crawls out of the pool, this time, her skin deathly white as well as her hair. She opens her eyes, irises red with black sclerae.

"And in time, she would find her adversary…"

Ozma is shown awakening in a white space. He takes a look at his surroundings. Team RWBY all watch him walk around aimlessly, before a voice can be heard.

God of Light spoke "Ozma."

Ozma turns around seeing the God of Light in his dragon form, before turning back into his regular form.

Ozma looked confused "Where am I?"

God of Light spoke "We are between realms. I'm afraid a tragedy has befallen your home at the hands of my brother. We have chosen to depart this world, but in our absence, I would like to offer you the chance to return to it."

Ozma tried to understand "I... don't understand."

God of Light sighed "Mankind is no more, yet your world remains. And in time, your kind will grow to walk its face once again. However, without our presence, they will be but a fraction of what they once were."

Suddenly, the God of Light conjures four objects: a Staff, a Sword, a Crown, and a Lamp.

God of Light spoke "Creation, destruction, choice, and knowledge were the ideals upon which Humanity was made. Now I leave them behind with the hope that you will learn to remake yourselves."

The four objects are conjoined together into a yellow sphere of energy.

God of Light "If brought together, these four Relics will summon my brother and I back to your world, and Humanity will be judged. If your kind has learned to live in harmony with one another and set aside their differences, then we shall once again live among you, and Humanity will be made whole again. But if your kind is unchanged, if you demand our blessings while still fighting amongst yourselves, then man will be found irredeemable and your world will be wiped from existence. Until your task is complete, you will reincarnate, but in a manner that ensures you are never alone."

Ozma falls to his knees as he comes to terms with this ultimatum. Oscar Pine watches him.

Ozma smiled sadly "I'm sorry, but... that world just isn't as dear to me without her. If I may, I'd rather return to the afterlife to see Salem."

God of Light shook his head "You will not find her there."

Ozma's eyes widened "You mean she isn't gone?"

God of Light sighed "Salem lives, but the woman you hold dear in your memories is gone. Heed this warning... where you seek comfort, you will only find pain. So, will you-."

Ozma without hesitation said "I'll do it."

The God of Light looks in surprise at Ozma's immediate answer. But continued

"Very well. Our creation rests within your hands."

The God of Light then disappears.

"And so Ozma was reborn."

Ozma reincarnates into a man with a tanned complexion and pale blonde hair, who had just stabbed a Beowolf with a pitchfork, causing it to disintegrate. Ozma takes the time to come to terms in his new body and surroundings. He looks up and sees people screaming and running into the forest he is in away from a burning village in the distance.

Ozma looked around "Where am I?"

Ozma hears a man scream, and looks over to see him flailing a sword at a Beowolf, which swipes at him to the ground, disarming him. Ozma's pevious soul takes over and runs forward, grabbing the man's sword and slaying the Beowolf. The man gets back up.

Man sighed relieved "Thank you. Please, tell me your name. Who are you?"

Suddenly, Ozma's newest reincarnate has trouble speaking, and throws the sword to the ground in horror. Oscar watches the scene before him.

Oscar realized sadly "He didn't know…"

As Jinn continues to narrate, Ozma walks down a street, seeing along the way Faunus locked up in cages, and a pile of Dust crystals on top of a table.

"Ozma had found himself in a world completely unfamiliar to him. Cities looked different. Creatures known as the Faunus bore fangs and claws and were locked away in cages. And without the blessing of the Gods, no one could perform magic like mankind was once capable of, no one but himself and a woman known as... the witch."

The environment around Ozma changes from the city to a forest as he comes upon a lonely, dilapidated cottage in the woods.

"During his years of travel, he heard the same frightened whispers that spoke of a terrifying sorceress who commanded dark powers in the wilds among the beasts and monsters. Ozma was convinced that this witch was Salem, and decided he needed to see what she had become."

Ozma stands at a distance from the cottage. The front door opens, and from the darkness beyond, Salem emerges, wearing black robes this time. She gives an angry glare while exiting the cottage, but suddenly, her expression softens upon seeing her visitor. Ozma likewise smiles back at her.

"Call it magic or call it something stronger, but in that moment, the two knew exactly who it was that stood before them."

Ozma and Salem walk towards each other, the two hold each other's hands, interlocking their fingers affectionately.

Ozma sighed contently "What do we do now?"

Salem followed "Whatever we like."

As time passes, the scene shows the cottage changing from its dilapidated state to a much better condition, following with Salem and Ozma conversing with one another at a table on the front porch.

"As Salem and Ozma recounted the events which had brought them back together, each withheld parts of their story. Salem, fearing Ozma would reject her, blamed the end of the world on the Gods. Ozma, still unsure of where the truth lay, kept his task and the Relics a secret. Though time passed and all seemed well, Ozma's conversation with the God of Light still lingered in his mind. He had found happiness, but Humanity seemed more divided than ever before."

Salem and Ozma head back inside the cottage, still talking to each other.

Salem shook her head "Are you surprised? This world is quite literally godless. These Humans have no one to guide them. Perhaps that's all they need."

Ozma looked at her "What are you saying?"

Salem smiled "We could become the gods of this world. Our powers surpass all others. Our souls transcend death. We can mold these lands into whatever we want, what you want, create the paradise that the old Gods could not."

Ozma is troubled at first, but then smiles in agreement with Salem. The two of them look each other in the eyes as Salem places an affectionate hand on Ozma's shoulder.

"The hearts of men... are easily swayed."

A village is shown under attack by a Nevermore. Suddenly, a purple energy surrounds the Nevermore, causing it to be bent and folded into unnatural positions. The Nevermore disintegrates, and the villagers watch as Ozma, once again wielding his scepter and wearing regal robes, and Salem levitate into the air side-by-side above them. They all bow down to the couple in reverence. Weiss and Yang are shown walking up to two statues of Ozma and Salem that are then erected.

"The two amassed a following. That following grew into a prosperous Kingdom."

A castle then appears, the camera pans into a large room with a painting of Ozma and Salem together.

And at the head of that Kingdom blossomed... as four little girls then appear in the painting "...a family."

Ozma and Salem watch their four daughters playing together, the little girls all wearing colors on their dresses similar to that of the Four Maidens. One of their daughters comes up to the two of them, playfully tugging on Salem's robe. The two parents smile at her before smiling at each other.

Blue smoke transitions the scene, showing a massive conflict between people that is being observed inside a crystal ball by a smirking Salem. Ozma stands a short distance away from her looking outside the window.

Ozma looked troubled "Are we sure this is right?"

Salem looking over to Ozma "You said we needed to bring Humanity together. In order to do that, we have to spread our word, and destroy those who will deny it."

Ozma gains a shocked expression on his face upon hearing these words. He turns to see his reflection on the window, which suddenly talks to him.

Ozma sighed "What are we doing?"

Ozma reels back in horror seeing his reflection ask him that question, briefly becoming his original incarnation, before looking over to Salem.

Ozma stood up "This isn't what he asked of me…"

Salem looked over at him "What did you say?"

The two then hear a door open, and their eldest daughter enters the room excitedly.

Eldest Daughter "Mother, father, look!"

Their daughter then conjures multicolored wisps that fly in circles in front of her. Salem has a proud expression on her face, while Ozma looks on in surprise, before looking down with his troubled expression again.

"It was a miracle, their children could perform magic. But what should have been a joyous occasion was short-lived."

Smoke transitions the scene again, this time showing Ozma telling what he knows to Salem in his study.

"Ozma told Salem everything, the true reason the God of Light had brought him back, the Relics that they scattered around the world, and the day of judgement he had been told to prepare for."

Ozma finishes his explanation to Salem.

Salem shook her head "Don't you see? None of that matters anymore. Why spend our lives trying to redeem these Humans when we can replace them with what they could never be?"

Salem offers her hand out, but Ozma hesitates to take it, backing away in disgust. Smoke transitions the scene again showing Ozma quietly escorting his daughters through the quiet halls. The youngest daughter looks down the hallway, noticing something.

Youngest Daughter gasps "Mommy?"

Salem stands at the end of the hall menacingly. Ozma protectively stands in front of his daughters. Salem, realizing what he is doing, angrily conjures a red beam from her hand. Ozma uses his scepter to counter Salem's attack, launching a green beam. Their attacks clash, engulfing the area into a bright white flash. Ruby and Weiss watch in horror as Ozma and Salem fight throughout the castle. Their battle causes the castle to collapse and be destroyed in the process. A charred plush toy is shown, implying the daughters were killed in the fearsome battle. Ozma weakly crawls away leaving a trail of blood on the ground. Salem then reforms thanks to her immortality, and angrily walks over to Ozma. She kicks him over onto his back and holds him down with her foot.

Salem "We finally had freedom…"

Ozma weakly looks up at her.

Ozma groaned as te tried to speak "I-."

A blast of fire from Salem engulfs Ozma, killing him once again.

"Thus began a long and painful cycle of death and rebirth for Ozma."

A montage of Ozma's various reincarnates are shown, including a frail man weakly walking by many gravestones, followed by a despondent man walking in the rain, who would rather drink his problems away.

"Some lives were spent in mourning, many were spent attempting to forget it all."

Finally, Ozma reincarnates to a dark-skinned man with glasses who starts off slouching, but then eventually stands straight up and determinedly walks forward.

"But no matter what, his mind would eventually turn back to the task he had been burdened with."

Ozma's newest reincarnate is shown serving a meal to his wife and two children, both of whom interestingly have silver eyes. A mirror image of the man is shown behind him, leaning on a nearby wall.

"And as the centuries went on, Ozma began to learn the importance of living with the souls with which he had been paired."

Ozma then hears screaming outside. He opens the door and sees villagers running around in panic as Grimm attack.

"But no matter where or how he lived, her presence was always felt."

Ozma looks back to his wife, who nods in understanding, before going out with The Long Memory into battle.

"If Humanity were ever to stand a chance at being united, one thing was clear…"

Ruby spoke already knowing the answer "He had to destroy Salem…"

Smoke then transitions showing Ozma's reincarnation many years older now, tinkering with his cane in his workshop.

"Knowing he could never rid the world of her through any mortal means, Ozma sought out the power of the Relics."

The elderly tinkerer then places his cane inside a metal cabinet, closing the door on it. The door opens again showing Ozma's newest reincarnation, a well-dressed man, picking up the cane where he last left it in his previous life.

"Armed with my knowledge, he believed he could fulfill his promise to the God of Light."

Ozma is next shown holding the Relic of Knowledge, summoning Jinn for the first time. All of Team RWBY can be seen with him as they walk towards Jinn.

Ozma spoke "Where are the other Relics?"

"He asked me his questions."

"What powers do they possess?"

"And though I gave him my answers…"

"How do I destroy Salem?"

"...not all of them were to his liking."

Team RWBY watches as Jinn gives her answer to Ozma.

Jinn bent down "You can't."

Upon hearing this, Ozma falls to his knees in despair, Ruby, Weiss and Blake all have shocked expressions, and Yang closes her eyes in anger. Ozma remains on his knees as Jinn disappears before him. The camera pans out,

transitioning Ozma to his current reincarnation, Oscar, who lowers his head in sadness as the snow falls once again.

(Eoc)

Here we go more of Arc 2. I'll be honest I didn't expect Volume 5 to be so short but next one will be longer one more volume till the end of Act 2. Keep reading. Bankerrtx01.