It's mother's day in the UK (I'm told it's a different date in other countries) so I'm off to visit and give my gift once I've finished writing this. Need to buy a card en route too. I always forget cards. I'm the kind of person who will spend ages looking for the perfect gift and put thought into it and just dismiss cards, while my parents have this weird attitude wherein the card is practically the most important part.

I once got criticised while at university for forgetting my father's birthday even though I sent a gift in the post. I had forgotten the card and that was apparently evidence I had forgotten his birthday.

"Well, I obviously didn't forget if I sent a gift, did I!?"

Cover Art: GWBrex

Chapter 56

All of Menagerie had by now gone down to the shore to see the ship sinking and the members of the church being rescued. Many were just stood on the beach watching helplessly, bystander behaviour kicking in and reducing them to lumps of clay. Those that could had already taken to the boats, including Sienna, and luckily the Grimm dying out in the deeper water had no interest in heading to the shallows. By now, its tentacles had gone under and the thing might have already died and vanished. The damage had already been done.

Stepping into Sienna's tent, it didn't take him long to find the Relic of Knowledge. There was one chest inside more heavily locked then any other, and he had to melt the locks off to get at it. Inside lay a few documents, a few trinkets of personal and sentimental value, and among them the Relic. It was warm to the touch. Given that Jinn knew everything in the present, he had to wonder if she knew what he had planned. Probably. Would that mean she would work against him or sabotage him? Could she mould her answer in such a way as to defeat his purpose?

"Jinn was created to assist humanity in defeating Salem," said Ozma. "A little known fact nowadays. Though she is limited by the rules placed upon her, she would be more likely to side with us than against. Or so I believe."

"I hope you're right," said Jaune. He tucked the relic under his arm and hurried back outside. The first of the boats returning with waterlogged sailors and church members were about halfway back to shore, but more were still out there fishing people from the water. He felt bad for them, but then what he was about to do wouldn't make their lives any easier.

And really, why should he feel bad at all? They had made his life all but impossible.

His approach to the beach did not go unnoticed.

"Jaune!" Ruby rushed over with eyes wrought with worry. "You can't be here. What if they see you?"

"Did Pyrrha and Coco go out there?"

"Yes, but they'll be back soon." Ruby placed her hands on his chest and tried to push him away with her own might. Her father was nowhere to be seen – probably helping. "Guh. Jaune, move. You're going to get killed!"

"I'm not. I have a plan."

Ruby looked up, then yelped when he stepped past her. She almost fell when she lost her grip on him, but caught herself on his sleeve and was dragged forward. "What? Wait, what plan? Did you do that? Why was there a Grimm under the ship?"

"That's a question you'll all be getting an answer to soon enough."

A few were close enough to hear Ruby's question and his response, and to recognise him. Their curiosity was piqued, and he was sure many more were silently asking themselves why a Grimm was under a church vessel and hadn't once attacked it. Few would guess at the real reason, but they were at least suspicious. Their minds were for a moment open, but once the church members got ashore they'd surely use the attack as proof that the evil Grimm wanted to keep them away from Menagerie, and that this was a proof of their goodness.

In their defence, the members of the Church of Salem didn't know any better. They genuinely believed all of that. Jaune strode out into the shallows, making sure everyone could see him. Whispers spread. Almost everyone knew who and what he was, and a few were worried he'd launch an attack. That ended when he held the Relic of Knowledge aloft. Everyone here had seen its usage to reveal the hidden path to Menagerie, so they knew this was real. They knew what Jinn could do, and that she could only tell the truth.

"In my time we kept the truth of the relics hidden and no one would have known," said Ozma. "How ironic it is that Salem's confidence in revealing them should be her undoing here. The four Relics of the Goddess are known to every man, woman and child on Remnant."

Jaune watched the ships approach carefully. He waited, relic held aloft, until he saw the one that contained Sienna Khan. Pyrrha was there as well, though Coco was in another boat. It didn't matter. Sienna saw him at the same time Pyrrha did, the redhead standing with a shocked expression on her face. Sienna looked horrified. He'd outed himself and by extension her. Adam and Blake were on the same fishing boat.

"I hope this plan of yours works," groaned Ruby.

"I do too." Jaune closed his eyes. "Spirit of Knowledge, Jinn, I summon you!"

The relic glowed. Blue smoke flowed out from it in every direction, to circle around him and pool across the water's surface. It felt as if the world grew darker for a moment, but the truth of it was that Jinn glowed with ethereal light. She was taller than he, floating above the water with not a single obstacle for miles around to obstruct anyone's view of her. Those on the water couldn't miss her either.

"I am Jinn, Spirit of Knowledge, and one question remains this century." Jinn spoke loudly, clearly. She didn't have to, but she made sure her voice boomed. Ozma had been right; she was helping in her own way. "Any question asked of me, be it past or present, I can provide an answer to – only the truth, and no less or more. Ask."

Her voice dropped so that only he could hear her.

"But beware, Jaune Arc, for it must be worded well to achieve what you wish. Even I cannot tell you what will come of this, for I am blind to the future."

He nodded. Ozma had warned him. He'd put thought to the question, and he had to ask quickly lest some shocked individual on the shore ask a stupid question like "what's going on" and squander this last chance.

"Jinn!" he shouted, using aura to enhance his own voice so it carried. "Tell – no, show – everyone here the truth of who orchestrated the fall of Menagerie. Show them the truth!"

Jinn's eyes shone. Her smile grew. "Very well. Witness."

/-/

The world flew inward. It was like he, and everyone, had their eyes torn from their body and sent spiralling through a tunnel. He blinked, and suddenly he was alone – and so was everyone else, he hoped – looking over a great hall or marbled stone and beautiful tapestries. There, upon a throne, sat the beautiful goddess he'd seen in Vale. Her pale skin and her golden hair was artfully puffed up around a gem-encrusted crown, but she sat with the same apathetic lack of interest he'd seen in her before. A man knelt on the ground before her in priestly robes.

"My Goddess," he whispered. "I bring tidings from our churches on the island of Menagerie."

Salem waved a hand. "Go on."

"The faunus are… reluctant to surrender their children to the church and the chosen, my goddess. They beg aid, saying that their distance from the homelands mean that Grimm threaten their homes more than they do the other kingdoms. I must admit the presence of your Chosen there is slim, leaving their further villages unprotected, so I can understand their concern."

Salem shifted a little on the throne. An ugly, irritated expression flashed across her face, missed by the man on his knees with his head down. "The law is set, priest. I grant a fraction of my power to them and they answer to me. I do not see what safety they believe they have from the Grimm with young women unable to control my power."

"Actually, goddess, it seems like they're learning to harness it."

The man sounded excited by the fact, but kept his head down, and because of that he missed the way the goddess froze on her throne, eyes wide, suddenly far more alert and sitting taller. There was an unmistakeable unease to her as she leaned forward and said, "Repeat that."

"Their aura, my goddess. The young women there have been forced to experiment on their own due to the prevalence of Grimm. The Chosen who came with me tested them and were duly impressed with how far they had come. If I may, their potential is incredible. Menagerie could be a wonderful source of Chosen for the empire, and a training ground for future huntresses. Why, the rulers of Menagerie even asked if we would like to build a training facility there run by the church. An academy of some sor-"

"Leave me!" barked Salem. The man stiffened, suddenly anxious. He looked up and she waved her arm again to dismiss him. He stood, bowed his head, backed away and only turned his back on her once he reached the door. It closed softly behind him.

Salem leaned back, hands gripping the armrests of her throne.

"An academy," she whispered. "Can it be? No. I would have known. He could not have…" Her fingers drummed, and she leaned down on one side, cupping her chin in her other hand. "But if there was to be anywhere he could start this, that island would be the perfect place. Across an ocean where news travels slowly. Do you really intend to rebuild Beacon again? I crushed it for a reason."

The goddess rose from her throne and paced in front of it. Never had Jaune imagined she could show such a human emotion, the worry and anxiety that seemed so beneath her. Her white robes trailed behind her, flicking whenever she would turn and pace back. Her thoughts were her own, unshown by Jinn, but the goddess had a habit of muttering to herself either way.

"An explosion of women unlocking aura. Is it coincidence? It doesn't matter. They are learning to use it on their own. That cannot happen. Only the church can teach them. Under my control. Under my watch." She paused suddenly, staring ahead with her teeth biting down onto one knuckle. "What if the men grow to use it too? What then? If those women teach them…" Her eyes widened, and she spun suddenly, throwing her arm wide. "No. I will not allow it."

Salem stormed from the throne room and Jaune followed, moved as if he were on a tether kept a set distance from her at all times. He was dragged down a corridor, through doors where Chosen bowed their hands and clasped hands to their chests, and eventually into a dark room. Two women made to enter, but Salem angrily waved her hand at them. "Begone. Leave me. I must do holy work and you would not survive the experience. Clear the entire wing. Your goddess commands it."

They bowed. "Yes, my goddess!"

Salem waited for them to leave, then showed her own concern by opening the door to double check. It was clear. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and… rippled. It was hard to explain it. Her appearance rippled like water after a stone had been thrown into it, rolling down her body as the warm tones drained from her skin and hair, both turning an ugly, inhuman shade of white. Harsh red lines crept up from her neck to her ears, and spread across her cheeks like cracks. More appeared on either side of her eyes, pulsing angrily as her golden hair turned white as ash, and her skin as pallid as fallen snow. When her eyes opened to reveal black sclera with a red iris, Jaune gasped.

Ozma hadn't told him this!

"You would never have believed it," spoke the immortal. "Some things must be seen to be believed."

The monster before him – for what else could he call her? – bit her thumb and let black ichor fall. It pooled on the fall, then grew, as a shiny black pod rose up with hideous, thin tentacles beneath it, each hooked with a small claw. The thing was a Grimm, but the likes of which he had never seen. Ozma whispered "Seer" in his head, but Jaune hardly listened. Once the thing was floating before her, Salem gripped its fleshy sides and its surface swam.

His form floated over her shoulder to see a blasted wasteland of jagged rock and purple sand, with crackling red lightning shattering a sickly sky. The view panned down, until he was looking over legions of Grimm sat still in place, their bone masks flashing red whenever thunder rumbled above. It was an army, and worse yet they stood like soldiers in line, silent and waiting.

Then, Salem spoke.

"You will make your way to the island of Menagerie. There, you will ravage and destroy until every trace of the settlements on the island are wiped away. Kill all who stand against you – and prioritise all with aura. My Chosen included. Make sure none survive. Of the survivors who take to the sea, allow them to escape. The island must be made uninhabitable. Destroy the homes, destroy the crops, kill every animal and faunus and human you see." Her teeth were bared as she snarled. "Leave nothing standing once you are done, and slaughter any who would try and return. You have your instructions, my children. Now go. Do as your goddess commands!"

The Grimm roared. The sound of it was so loud that it travelled into the room itself, forcing Salem to pop the creature by pushing her hands together. It twitched and let out a gaseous hiss as it died, slipping to the floor and dissolving into mush.

Salem stood, breathing heavily with anger, until she closed her eyes once more and concentrated. The same ripple overcame her, and colour swam back into her features. Her skin warmed to human tones, her hair to hold, and she opened her eyes. They were red and black still. Looking once in a nearby mirror, she frowned and closed her eyes, brows creasing as she concentrated, and then opened them again. Beautiful green-blue eyes stared back at her, and she nodded once, satisfied.

Without another word, she swept her white robes about her and walked serenely out the room.

Jaune was sucked out the vision and thrown back into his own body.

As was everyone else.

/-/

He was back in the water, knee deep, with smoke curling around and away from him as Jinn slid back into the relic. All around and on the shore, people "jumped", their bodies flinching as they suddenly regained focus and control and had to catch themselves or fall. It took a few seconds for them to gather themselves, and for their minds to catch up with what they'd seen, and Jaune waited with bated breath.

And then it happened.

"She killed my family!" roared a man.

Another shouted, "D-Did everyone else see that?"

"That monster?" shouted a woman. "Yes! That's no goddess! That's a Grimm!"

It spread like a wave washing over the shore, and soon people were shouting angrily. Some were less sure, naturally suspicious or just fully indoctrinated, but their voices were drowned out by many thousands more. The faunus of the White Fang were here because they had been prepared to gamble their lives to reclaim the home of their parents and grandparents, and Menagerie meant everything to them as a result.

They had been proud to land on these shores, and proud to work themselves to the bone rebuilding the settlement. These were men and women who stood tall after a day's hard work because they knew they had achieved something. Because they were making their ancestors proud.

And now they'd seen that those ancestors had been slaughtered by Salem.

A teenager stooped and picked up a rock. Jaune tensed, but the rock sailed well over his head and toward the lead boat. It splashed into the water a good few metres in front of it, but the meaning was clear. More began to kneel, and soon a rain of rocks and stones was being hurled toward the boat, and Sienna and the Chosen on board were struggling to keep it steady. Then it happened. Blake moved first, racing down the length of the boat and striking Pyrrha in the back. The redhead was unready for it, still reeling from her own experience, and was brought down. Adam was there a second later, sword to her neck.

Sienna had no choice but to let them do it. Soon the faunus on board had taken the survivors hostage, and weapons were thrown overboard as hands were tied behind their backs. The waterlogged sailors and soldiers put up no real fight. They knew they were outnumbered and in no state to argue, and they were probably just as confused as anyone else. They'd seen it too. The faunus on the shore began to cheer and the hail of rocks stopped. Instead, a chant grew.

"Menagerie! Menagerie! Menagerie!"

And another. "Independence! Freedom for Menagerie!"

Jaune smiled madly. "Ozma…"

"Yes?"

"Tell me more of this academy that she was so afraid of."

"Beacon? There will not be time to build it, Jaune. Salem will react with fury to this and move quickly to prevent the spread of information. This is a war now."

"I know. But I'd like to give her something to worry about either way. And we have to start somewhere."

"That is true. Very well. Let me tell you of a very special school I dedicated many lives to create, and which helped enrich many more…"

/-/

The sailors, soldiers, architects and more were lined up with their hands tied behind their backs, stripped of weapons and armour but provided food and drink out of mercy. They were silent, confused, and wrought with uncertainty. A single holy man among their flock preached constantly of misunderstood visions, but few listened. Everyone knew the Relic of Knowledge after all, and they knew that what they had seen was the truth.

It was a struggle just to keep many of the faunus on Menagerie from rushing them. Several still shouted for their heads, and more for them to be thrown back into the sea to drown. Sienna wouldn't have that when most here were guilty only of being lied to. That wasn't enough for some.

"A little warning would have been nice," said Sienna. "Before revealing I'm on a boat filled with people responsible for the deaths of my people and the destruction of my home."

"My apologies. I didn't settle on this course of action until you were already on the water."

"But you knew of the truth. You knew Salem destroyed Menagerie."

"Ozma did." Jaune held the woman's gaze until she sighed and looked away. "He never told me before because he didn't think I'd believe it. Which I guess he was right about. I needed to see the proof just as much as everyone else did."

"Yes – and that's a problem. We now know the truth. Us and no one else. And the relic has used its last question, which means we won't be convincing anyone of the truth of what we just saw. Not for another hundred years at least."

That was true, but he would have never been in any position to address the whole world, and it wasn't like Jinn could reach out and cram knowledge into the heads of everyone on Remnant. Most would just see it as a dream without the context of her summoning, and hearing his question spoken out loud.

"What are we doing with them?" asked Blake. She had her weapon drawn, ready to fight. It was clear which side she and Adam had taken. All Sienna could do now was go with the flow.

"Good question, Blake. What are we going to do with all these prisoners, Jaune? I assume you have a suggestion since it's your fault we're in this position." Her gaze fixed on him, and her eyebrows rose with every second of silence. "No? Wonderful. Then I guess it's up to me. Goddess-" Sienna grimaced at the instinctive word. "Ugh. Well, it's not like we can keep them tied up forever, and it's not like we can release them either. Keeping them puts us on a war footing with the church."

"Releasing them will do the same when they're sent back," warned Adam. "And let's not imagine the church will listen to whatever they say." He said it loudly enough for those nearby to hear. The prisoners swallowed. "The church will call them heathens and execute them for so-called blasphemy, and then claim we misled them somehow."

"The Relic of Knowledge cannot lie."

"No, but people can, and they'll claim all these simply lied about what they were shown. Corrupted by the dark lord, they'll say, and traitors to the cause of good peoples across all Remnant. Throw in a few religious judges and they'll be hanging from the gallows by morning."

Several soldiers looked down in fear, and he imagined they were now weighing the choice of staying silent and pretending to worship the goddess all the while knowing her true nature. He couldn't anymore. Jaune had clung to his faith even with Ozma in him, but this was the last straw. His faith had not been shaken, rather the one behind it had proven themselves a fraud. That meant she'd also sent the Grimm who nearly killed his father – or she'd at least allowed them to exist so close to Ansel.

"It would have been this bad either way," said Ruby. "Didn't you see the vision? What upset her most was the idea of faunus here learning to use aura on their own – and of men discovering it. That's what caused her to set the Grimm on the island and kill everyone. And we were going to send Pyrrha and Coco back with proof of it. Think about that! And think about what they – what she – did to Mistral!"

Nearby, Pyrrha stood with her eyes fixed on the grass, wide and pale as a sheet.

Coco was weeping quietly nearby.

"You're right," admitted Sienna. "We were doomed either way. If this didn't happen then she'd have had the same warning and reacted the same way and we'd have never known. Menagerie would have fallen again, and this time she'd have used that as proof we should never try and reclaim the island. Damn her. Damn her!" Sienna twisted on her heel. "I won't allow it!" Her voice rose. "Menagerie belongs to us! It's our homeland! We shall defend it!"

The crowd of faunus that had been hovering nearby, desperate to know what would happen, roared their approval, clashing weapons in the air. They were dedicated now, and perhaps they'd never had a choice because with or without his actions today Salem would have sent the Grimm to cleanse Menagerie once more.

At least this time they would be ready for it.

Off I go.

Next Chapter: 26th March

Like my work? Please consider supporting me, even if it's only a little a month or even for a whole year, so I can keep writing so many stories as often as I do. Even a little means a lot and helps me dedicate more time and resources to my work.

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur