RWBY: Son of Salem

Chapter 35

Marek

Standing up and brushing the snow off my clothes, I rejoined the others as an old woman walked out of the train. "That was a close one, huh?" the woman smiled.

"Great!" Yang grunted as she tried to free her motorcycle from the snow. "This is just great! We're stranded, we lost a third of our party, and we've gained a defenseless old lady!" with a final heave, she managed to pull the bike out of the snow before collapsing into it herself.

"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 tapped on her prosthetics, which opened wide and closed, before opening narrowly again. "Okay, I'm starting to see your point."

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

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

"Oh, and how could I forget about that?" She turned to Oscar. "What happened to 'no more lies and half truths'?"

"Yeah, I think it's time we got an explanation..." Oscar said before his eyes glowed as Ozpin took over.

"I did not lie to you..."

"Well you certainly didn't tell us everything about the relic." Weiss growled.

"Please, now is not the time."

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

"It is true that the Grimm are attracted to the Relics. It's faint, but undeniable. I believe it has to do with their origin, but I'm not entirely sure. Regardless, I feared that making you all aware would only add anxiety and negativity. It seemed like the safer option." Ozpin replied.

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

"Is that why you chose to lie to everyone about Lionheart too?" Yang asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I believed the Kingdom of Mistral deserved better than the truth." Ozpin answered. "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."

"Missteps?!" I repeated.

"What Professor Lionheart did was reprehensible. I am not here to argue differently, but does one lapse in judgement 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." Ozpin added.

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

"Do you really think Leo was the first?!" Ozpin raised his voice. "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 stopped. "Where's the Relic?"

"Right here." She was holding it in her hands. "It got scattered in the crash."

"Please, hand it over." Ozpin said softly.

"So all those times you talked about having faith in humanity, that was just for everyone else?" Ruby asked.

Ozpin sighed. "That's not what I meant to suggest. Miss Rose, the Relic is a powerful item and I simply feel as though it is my burden to bear."

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

"Why does it matter who carries it?" I asked.

"I need you to listen to me-" Ozpin suddenly stopped.

"Oz?"

"Hurry...he's...trying to stop you." Oscar said as he fought for control.

"Stop her from what?" I asked him.

"He's afraid...you'll find out what he's...hiding." Oscar fell to his knees. "Her name is Jinn. Say her name to summon her."

"Her name?" Ruby asked before looking at the lamp. "Jinn?"

The snow suddenly stopped as did the wind. "Huh?" I looked around.

Ruby let go of the Relic as it floats a short distance away, cyan smoke emanating from it. Suddenly, the lamp is enveloped in the smoke, and from it, a giant, feminine figure emerges. Her skin and hair colored blue, and decorated with gold jewelry and ornaments. The figure stretched and moaned.

"Wonderful." Jinn said. "Tell me, what knowledge do you seek?"

"Whoa!" we all stared in awe.

"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-"

"That's enough!" Ozpin shouted.

"Two questions this era." Jinn finished. "It's a pleasure to see you again, old man."

"Ruby, please...don't." Oz pleaded.

Qrow looked at Oz before Ruby. "Hey." Weiss, Blake and Yang readied their weapons, warning Qrow to stand back. "Do whatever you think is right, kiddo."

"Jinn?" Ruby turned to her. "What is Ozpin hiding from us?"

"NOOOOO!" Ozpin got to his feet and rushed Ruby but just as he reached her, I was put in a white void.

"Huh?" I looked around for anyone. "Ruby? Ruby?!"

Suddenly, an environment manifested, showing a path leading to a castle in the distance. A woman humming could be head coming from the castle. "Once upon a time, there stood a lonely tower..." the scenery changed to inside the castle. "...that sheltered a lonely girl." I turned around and saw a blonde girl sitting in front of a mirror, brushing her hair. She seemed...strangely familiar to me. "Named...Salem."

My eyes slowly widened. "Mom?"

End of chapter 35