I do not own RWBY or any of the characters.
Truth
Fox pushed himself out of the snow, dusting himself off. As he did, the others began to get ready to leave the crashed train. In this case, the others included Team RWBY, since Team JNPR had left with the front half of the train, Fox's team, Qrow, Ozpin, and a small elderly woman with a blue tribal shawl and dress, an oddly-decorated staff, and a pair of goggles with blue lenses with metal shutters that seemed to function like eyelids. Fox looked around. Some of their things had been scattered. Among them were Weiss's dust containers, Yang's motorcycle, and the relic, which Fox picked up, the relic shrinking down instantly.
"Great," Yang complained, struggling to lift her bike out of the snow. "This is just great! We're...stranded. We lost a third of our party. And we have gained...a defenseless old lady!" She got her bike unstuck only to fall backward into the snow, the bike tipping over onto its side a moment later.
"Yang, you're not going to be able to bring that," Fox said, resting a hand on his emerald boulder.
His aura shimmered and the emerald shone before pieces began to fall off. Then, he stopped once it had formed a chestplate like Jaune's, a simple band ring, and a necklace formed from an emerald chain with an emerald pendant. This, however, he charged with his aura and handed to Blake.
"What's it do?" Blake asked.
"It's like a shield, sort of," Fox said.
"My name is Maria Caravera," the woman said. "And I am not defenseless. I'm just a little hard of hearing. And...blind...without my eyes." She tapped her goggles several times as the metal shutters fell out of sync. "That are in desperate need of repair...Okay, I'm starting to see your point."
"Yang, knock it off, will ya?" Qrow asked. "If we lose our cool now, we'll just be inviting even more grimm."
"Does that even matter?" Blake asked. "Apparently we've been attracting grimm ever since we left Haven."
"Oh, and how could I forget about that?" Blake said. "What happened to no more lies and half-truths?"
"Yeah," Oscar agreed. "I think it's time we got an explanation."
Ozpin took control and sighed. "I did not lie to you."
"Well, you certainly didn't tell us everything about the relic," Weiss said.
"There's a lot he hasn't told you," Fox said, sitting down on a fallen tree and pressing snow to his temples, starting to get a headache as old memories began to swim through his head. "Hell, there's a lot he hasn't told me, but I remember some of the stuff."
"Oh, so you've been hiding things too?" Yang said.
"I never said I wouldn't," Fox said. "Besides the fact that focusing on old memories, even to talk about them, makes it hard to keep track of which me I am right now."
"Which you?" Ruby asked.
"You mean, your past lives, right?" Blake asked.
"Yeah," Fox nodded. "It gets difficult without something to help keep me centered, an anchor, of sorts."
"Do you have one?" Blake asked.
He looked up with her with an amused smile on his face and she blushed.
"Oh, right," Blake said. "So, is there anything you can tell us about the relic?"
"I feel like there should be," Fox said. "But...I don't remember."
"Now's not the time," Ozpin said.
"No, we're way past that," Yang said. "I want to know why you're still not telling us everything."
"Yang," Fox said. "Take it from me, some things are better left unsaid. Ozpin's been around for a long time. If he's not telling you something, there's probably a good reason."
"Spoken like a professional liar," Yang said.
"Yang!" Blake said.
"No, she's right," Fox said. "One of my lives was a spy, so I've had practice. But let me put it this way. We lied about Lionheart because if the kingdom of Mistral had known that Lionheart was a traitor working for the bitch that controls the grimm, the entire kingdom would have fallen to grief, distrust, and fear. Then the grimm would have swarmed it. It would have been the Fall of Beacon all over again, except it'd be the entire country."
"Exactly," Ozpin said, turning and starting to walk away, everyone following, Fox grabbing more snow on the way. "I believed that the kingdom of Mistral deserved better than the truth. And I believed that Leonardo deserved to be remembered for his lifetime of service, not for the unfortunate missteps he made in the end."
"Missteps!?" Yang scoffed.
"Not how I'd label selling out dozens of Huntsmen and Huntresses, along with all of us, the Spring Maiden, and the Relic, to Salem," Wulfe said.
"You don't know Salem," Fox said.
"What, so you'd turn traitor to?" Yang asked.
"Given what happened to me the last time she caught me?" Fox asked. "Yeah. I probably would if she caught me again. You have no idea what it was like. For twenty years that bitch tortured me every conceivable way, and countless ways that you couldn't possibly think of. Twenty years. Until I finally got free long enough to kill myself so I'd reincarnate and forget."
"Exactly," Ozpin said. "You may have met Professor Lionheart, but you never met the man that he was before Salem found him."
"Look, we're supposed to be in this together!" Yang said. "You can trust us, we're not going to turn our backs on you."
"Do you really think Leo was the first!?" Ozpin finally demanded, everyone stopping. "That he didn't say those exact same words to me?" Ozpin turned back toward them. "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 that 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 stopped, looking around. "Where's...the relic?"
"Here," Fox said, holding it up. "I'll be hanging onto this for a bit, if you don't mind Ozpin. I'm the one person here that doesn't want to know anything else, while still being strong enough to defend it."
"It's a powerful artifact and my burden to bear," Ozpin said, holding out his hand.
"Doesn't want to know anything?" Yang asked. "Didn't Ozpin say that all three questions had been asked?"
Fox blinked before a frown formed on his face. She was right. Out of the three questions the relic was capable of answering per century, Ozpin said all three had already been answered. So why did Fox feel like he needed to keep people away from it?
"I...yeah," Fox said, moving the relic a little further from Ozpin. "He did."
"If that's the case, why does it matter who carries it?" Blake asked.
"I need you to listen to me," Ozpin said, stepping forward and reaching for the relic only to freeze, eyes wide.
"Oz?" Qrow asked.
"Hurry," Oscar said. "He's...trying to stop you!"
"Stop us from what?" Yang asked.
"He's afraid..." Oscar said, clearly struggling to maintain whatever small amount of control he had, "you'll find out...what he's...hiding!"
Fox was impressed he could fight off Ozpin at all, all things considered. Suddenly, Oscar collapsed, grunting and reaching out toward Fox.
"Her name...is-"
"Jinn," Fox said, the relic suddenly glowing as the falling snow around them, along with the wind, halted.
They all looked around in surprise.
"What?" Qrow asked.
Fox released the relic and it began to float as blue magic energy began to form around it. It floated a short distance from them, spinning as it moved and a ringing sound beginning to emanate from it. Then, it began to transform. The relic began to break down into blue energy and the energy began to spiral together, rapidly forming into a person. A beautiful, nude, blue-skinned woman floating before them with long, messy, darker blue hair, and golden chains around her waist, ankles, wrists, neck, and a golden circlet on her head. She stretched, yawning, before smiling at them.
"It's about time Fox," Jinn said, everyone staring at her in shock, Fox distinctly remembering having met her before, but not knowing when or how. "So, do you want me to show you your past again, like I did before?"
"I've...asked you...to show me my past?" Fox asked. "Wait, that's not the question!"
Jinn laughed. "Relax Fox. I know that wasn't one of the great three questions you get to ask. Honestly, your memory's kind of annoying sometimes. Let me see, the last time we met was...what, two hundred years ago, almost. You had started to remember your past then, as well, but the process was hell, as I'm sure it has been this time. But in that incarnation, your anchor died, and you were losing yourself to the memories. So you asked me to fix you. To show you all of your memories, and help center you in your current life, or, that one, at least. So I did. Do you want me to do it again?"
"No," Fox said. "I'm okay. I've already gotten through the worst of them.'
"What, your time with Salem?" Jinn asked. "Oh, honey, for your sake, I truly do wish that was the worst."
Fox's eyes widened and he tried to form a response, but couldn't.
"Well, if you won't ask," Jinn turned back to the others. "What knowledge do you seek?"
"What?" Ruby blinked.
"I am Jinn, a being created by the God of Light to aid humanity in its pursuit of knowledge," Jinn said. "I have been graced with the ability to answer three questions every on hundred years. You're in luck, as I am still able to answer-"
"That's enough!" Ozpin shouted.
Jinn stared at him for a moment before continuing. "Two questions this era."
"Explains why you didn't want us holding it," Fox said.
"It's a pleasure to see you again old man," Jinn said. "Almost as much as my darling Fox."
"Darling?" Blake asked. "Fox, tell me you didn't."
"Uh...I don't think so," Fox said. "Without wasting a question, did we?"
Jinn laughed. "No no. I just find you interesting, especially after witnessing your memories."
"Would you stop risking our questions?" Yang said.
"Oh don't worry," Jinn said. "As long as it's small things, I'll answer him for free."
Fox stared at her before shaking his head. "Whatever."
"Ruby, please," Ozpin said, everyone, except Fox, Ruby, and Ava, tensing. "Don't."
"Hey," Qrow said, stepping forward, only for Team RWBY along with Wulfe, to prepare themselves to fight, Qrow raising his hands disarmingly. "Do whatever you think is right, Kiddo."
"Jinn," Ruby began.
"Ruby," Fox said. "Remember what I said. Some questions really are better left unanswered."
"What is Ozpin hiding from us?" Ruby asked.
"No!" Ozpin shouted, dashing for Ruby, only for Fox to intercept him, slamming him to the ground before suddenly being in a white void.
He looked around. He was alone. He had felt this before. He had seen this void. according to Jinn, it had been when she had shown him his own memories.
"Once upon a time," Jinn's voice said as a ground formed under him, followed by Beacon Academy, "there stood a lonely tower, that sheltered a lonely girl."
A wall of blue energy passed him and suddenly he was in a void again, but as he turned around, he found a beautiful, familiar-looking blonde seated at a huge, ornate vanity mirror.
"Named Salem," Jinn said as the girl turned, Fox seeing the version he knew and feared so much for a heartbeat before she was replaced by the blonde again.
Fox stared at her. As he watched, Jinn revealed the truth, the story of how Salem became the creature she was, and how Ozpin became who he was. Salem had been rescued from her family by Ozpin, then named Ozma, during a time when humans were able to use magic, and the two had fallen in love. However, Ozpin had grown ill and died. Salem had gone first to the God of Light, begging for him to be returned to her. But the God of Light refused her, telling her that life and death were an essential balance that could not be denied. So instead, Salem had gone to the God of Death. The God of Death, who, understandably, was never worshiped as his brother was due to creating the grimm, creatures of destruction, happily revived Ozpin for Salem, who had told him that she came to him first. However, the God of Light intervened, telling the God of Darkness the truth. In response, the Gods once again killed Ozpin, then cursed Salem with Immortality. She cursed the gods, trying time and again to end her life, only to fail each time. Eventually, she realized something. When she had gone to the God of Darkness, it had caused a fight between them at first. She realized that the gods were not infallible. So, she began to use her immortality for her own gain, claiming to have stolen it from the gods, and welcoming any who would listen to try to kill her, going before the kings of the land and proving herself unkillable. Then, she fooled the humans into believing in a time when they would all be immortal, and they would no longer need to fear their loved ones passing away.
She raised an army and led it against the gods, only for the God of Darkness to punish the humans using his gift of magic against him to wipe out every human on the planet, save for Salem. Then, when she cursed them, threatening to raise another army, they told her she was truly alone, before leaving the world, the God of Darkness shattering the moon as he did. After realizing how alone she was, Salem eventually made her way back to the God of Darkness's realm, throwing herself into the god's black pools of darkness, known as the Pools of Grimm. The Fountain of Life, the water that resided in the God of Life's sanctuary, had given her immortality, so she believed that the Pools of Grimm would end it. However, she was wrong. Instead of ending her life, it cursed it still further. Instead of an immortal human being, she became an immortal creature of darkness, incapable of death and craving destruction.
Next, Jinn moved from Salem to Ozpin once again. As they left the world behind, one which became known as Remnant due to the God of Light calling it a remnant of what it once was, the God of Light created four relics; Creation, Destruction, Choice, and Knowledge. He then gave Ozpin the option of trying to save the human race, which would be recreated on Remnant. If Ozpin succeeded, and the human race was united as one and abandoned their desire to destroy each other, the relics were to be gathered together, and would summon the Gods of Light and Darkness back to Remnant to once again bless humanity. If not, Remnant, as a whole, would be erased from existence. Ozpin initially declined, wishing to go to the afterlife to be with Salem, until the God of Light informed him that Salem was alive, but warned him that she was not the woman he had fallen in love with any longer. Ozpin agreed, and was reincarnated for the first time into a time when the human race possessed no magic, and were at war with the grimm, and losing, and the Faunus were still kept in cages, and treated like monsters, or vermin. He had found he could still use magic, unlike everyone else, who now relied on Dust, a type of magic crystal the God of Light had granted the humans to keep them from being wiped out by the grimm. He then heard of a which who was feared for using magic and living with animals, rather than humans.
He tracked her down, and found that it was, indeed, Salem, in all her horrifying, inhuman glory. But they both recognized each other, and were both still in love. They lived together for a while before deciding to lead the human race as their new gods. They were both capable of magic, and both immortal in their own ways. They could convince the humans, whose hearts were easily swayed, that they were gods. And so, they made themselves gods. They used their magic to fight the grimm and were worshipped. As time continued on, they eventually had a family, four daughters, each capable of magic. The original Maidens. But as time ticked onward, Salem's craving for destruction began to become more and more apparent. She sent their followers to spread their worship to other humans, and any that refused to follow them, Salem ordered their followers to slaughter. Ozpin eventually had enough. He told Salem of the task given to him by the God of Light, a task which he had kept hidden from Salem, along with the existence of the relics, and their purpose, just as Salem had hidden the truth of why she was immortal, and why the gods left, from Ozpin. Salem disregarded both Ozpin's task and the relics, believing it didn't matter, because they were the new gods.
And so, not long after, Ozpin had had enough. He planned to leave with their daughters, to find a place to live peacefully, and to begin to try and fulfill his task. However, Salem was furious. She fought Ozpin, both of them inevitably throwing everything they had at each other. In the end, the battle consumed their home, their children, and what little good remained in Salem. She survived the battle due to being immortal, and killed Ozpin's host. And so, Ozpin's cycle began. At first he would take over completely, replacing the host, but this caused a string of problems, from regretting ever agreeing to return, to trying to forget his problems, usually using alcohol. Eventually, he learned to coexist with the host, and they began to work toward the completion of his task. However, try as he might, he was unable to succeed, and no matter what he did, Salem, no in control of the grimm, continued to wage war against him, sending grimm after the humans she once ruled, and after Ozpin. It became clear that if he was ever going to unite humanity, Salem had to be destroyed first. Eventually, Ozpin had sought out and acquired the relic of Knowledge. He had used Jinn's powers to find the rest of the relics and seal them away, find out what they did and how to wield them, and then to ask how to destroy Salem. However, on the last question he received an answer he couldn't bear to hear. Salem could not be destroyed.
As the story ended, Fox found himself once again in the void, Jinn floating before him. He was confused. If that was how Ozpin had come to be, then how had he? He desperately wanted to use Jinn's last question to learn of his own origins, however, he couldn't waist something so valuable to satisfy his own curiosity.
"You needn't ask," Jinn said. "I'll tell you for free. Before your cycle began, you were created as the first recreation of mankind by the gods before they left. Rather than magic, you were given some semblance of it, the first Semblance. After you, others were made, with their Semblances taking form from their personalities. But you were different. When they created you, and your Semblance, the Gods had wished for one person to be present to mediate between Ozma and Salem, and so the God of Darkness pointed out a need for someone more powerful than the rest of humanity, one whose Semblance was closer to magic, enough to be able to be used against the true magic wielded by Ozma and Salem. The God of Light agreed, but at a price. You would be returned to life each time you died, so as to be capable of mediating between them for as long as Ozma's task remained unfinished, but in order to preserve balance, you would start over each time. And so, your own cycle of rebirth began a lifetime before Ozma was reincarnated the first time."
"But, he and I were childhood friends," Fox said. "I remember that he and I were friends before his cycle began."
"No," Salem said. "That was already multiple reincarnations into Ozpin's own cycle, the first time he reincarnated into a child. He merely told you that you were childhood friends, because in that lifetime, you were."
"I see," Fox nodded. "Thank you."
Jinn nodded and the void around him faded, leaving him once again in the snow.
Leave a review. Not gonna lie, I'm kind of disappointed that the broken moon wasn't more important than that.
I'm accepting applications for any OCs to have either cameo or maybe join the group for a while, depending on how detailed the description of them and how the story progresses. Don't forget, Fox's team still has an open spot. I'll keep the best one as a replacement. Oh, also, any original Grimm you want to appear in the story, feel free to leave that in a review as well.