In Jinn, There is Truth

Haven Apartment: A Few Days before the Trip to Argus

"We need to get the relic to Atlas?" Questioned Ruby, repeating the message Qrow had just given them from Ozpin.

"That's what Oz told me before he passed out," replied Qrow from his position on the couch. Everyone else was strewn about the room, engrossed in their own tasks such as packing, examining their weapons or just hanging out. In Wayne's case, his coat was resting on the chair he was in while he changed some of the bandages on his wound.

"You cannot be serious about that," said Weiss as she paused in her task of filling up dust canisters to put in her weapon case with Myrtenaster.

"Oh it's not all bad," said Nora, who was laying on the floor with her luggage for some reason, "We can finally get out of this apartment." Weiss simply rolled her eyes at this statement as Qrow continued.

"I'm not jumping for joy at the idea either," said Qrow, "But since we don't have a spring maiden to seal the relic back in the vault, it's pretty much our best option."

"Except for the part where we need to get into Atlas," said Wayne as he stopped fidgeting with his bandage and leaned forward, "Their borders are closed and security is tight. The only reason I was able to get in there last time was a portal, and the one who did me that favor flew off a while ago."

"Not to mention General Ironwood has recalled all of their military forces," added Ren.

"Well not quite all of them," said Qrow as he pulled out his scroll and activated a hologram of an area along the coast, "The city of Argus, which is a ways north of us, is the primary trading port between Anima and Solitas. This is also where Atlas has established its largest military base outside of the kingdom, too large for them to simply abandon. So if we play our cards right, we might be able to convince them to take us all the way to Ironwood."

"Well I mean we do have the heiress to the Schnee dust company, who's been reported missing," Blake chimed in.

"Actually I'm an ex-heiress," said Weiss, her voice a mix of sadness and irritation.

"Truuuuuuue," said Yang with a thoughtful hand on her chin before she shrugged, "But hey, if there's a chance for some reward money, why not?"

"Oh, oh," said Aegis excitedly as he popped out from behind the couch where Yang and Ren were sitting, "Can I be the one to turn her in, I've got this eyepatch I've been dying to try out and while I wasn't crazy about it at first, this new scar on the left side of my face will definitely sell the look."

"Not that I'm trying to ruin anyone's fun or anything," said Wayne, "But I met some of Weiss's family and let's just say they're not the warm hugs and kisses type of family. Her father renounced her status as heiress because she got angry at some guests at an after party, so they might not even bother with a reward for her return."

"I almost don't want to thank you for pointing that out Wayne," said Weiss, "But yes, that is the sad truth of my circumstances."

"I still say Wayne's being a spoilsport," said Yang with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face.

"Well, let us hope that the first option will suffice," Said Ozpin/Oscar as he came walking into the living room with the rest of them. His walk was still a little uneven as he supported himself with his cane.

"Glad to see you're finally up and about Oz," said Qrow as everyone else's eyes turned to the boy with the cane.

"The same to you my friend," replied Oscar/Ozpin, "And while I wish we could all rest a little longer, I'm afraid time is not on our side."

"Right," Said Blake, "The longer this thing stays out in the open, the greater the potential for it to fall into the wrong hands."

"What sort of power does it have anyway," asked Jaune as he stopped sharpening his sword, "I mean what does it do, specifically?" Ozpin/Oscar hesitated for a moment before removing the relic from where it was hanging on his waist.

"I suppose you deserve to know after everything it took to retrieve it," said Ozpin/Oscar as the relic grew to its original size and floated above the coffee table in the center of the room. "The relic of knowledge has a fantastic and also dangerous ability. The user of the relic can ask it any question and it will be answered by the lamp."

"Truly intriguing," said Ren as everyone's eyes settled on the floating relic.

"Not just intriguing, that's incredible," said Blake with a hint of wonder in her eyes.

"Incredible is one way to describe it," said Oscar/Ozpin, "Though there are limits. A user cannot ask the lamp about events that have yet to happen, and it can only answer a total of three questions every hundred years."

"Well that's not the worst limit ever," said Yang, "But that is a lot of pressure with only three questions."

"Oh, let's vote on it," said Nora in her usual excited tone, "What should we ask for first? Better yet, let's just ask it for more questions, can we ask it for more questions."

"The answer would be no," said Ren as he put a hand to his head, "They're questions, not wishes."

"I'd ask it who made up those rules in the first place, and where I could find 'em," said Aegis, "The maker's gotta be able to answer more than three questions."

"I'm afraid you won't be able to ask it any questions at the moment," said Ozpin/Oscar with a bit of a chuckle, "All the questions were used up before I sealed it away." This brought an annoyed frown to Nora's face as she ceased her little happy dance and sat back down.

"Well at least we know what it is now," said Ruby, "And why we need to keep it safe."

Argus Limited Crash Site: Now

This was not the first train crash Wayne had endured. This was also not the first time Wayne had found himself in a cold, snowy, remote location. But this was the first time he found himself feeling physically angry at the headmaster that he'd trusted up to this point, even despite some of the more recent issues they'd had to deal with. Now here they were, picking through the wreckage of a train crash to find whatever supplies they could. Wayne had already managed to gather several vials of dust and ammunition along with some rations, but his current project was proving a bit difficult.

He'd managed to locate his motorcycle, which had miraculously managed to remain within the cargo car, unlike Yang and Aegis's. Though that didn't mean it was going to be much easier to get it out as he had to shift a lot of extra cargo off of it before working on the tie down straps. With a slight bit of effort, he managed to cut the first one with his Crescent Fang, but as he was about to work on the second one, a sudden jolt of pain went up his shoulder, causing him to drop his weapon as he gripped the throbbing area. "I don't think working on your own is the best idea right now," said Weiss as she walked in to see what Wayne was up to, "Especially not with your shoulder in the condition it's in."

"It only becomes a problem on certain occasions," said Wayne as he picked his weapon back up and got to working on the other strap, "Such as fighting several Grimm and then being in yet another train crash. Nice going with the gravity glyphs by the way, we'd probably of been scattered all over the landscape if you hadn't done that."

"I do wonder what you'd all do without me some days," said Weiss, "Sometimes I'm amazed Ruby and the others made it to Mistral at all."

"They made it the same way we're gonna make it out of this mess," said Wayne as he finished cutting the final tie down strap on his bike, "They helped each other. Speaking of which, since you're clearly here to check up on me, wanna help carry some of this back over?"

"Just so long as you don't expect me to carry the bike," said Weiss before picking up a couple of the duffle bags.

"Oh far be it from me to make you relive the 'terrifying' memory of riding one," said Wayne with a smirk as he started rolling his bike out into the snow.

"You were trying to keep up with a couple of crazy people," Weiss defended, "How else was I gonna react? Hey, stop laughing!" Wayne wanted to reply but he was too busy snickering to himself as they went out to join the others.

Outside, the mood was a bit more somber as everyone else returned from gathering what they could. "Well this is wonderful," said Yang as she started yanking her bike out of the snow, "We're stranded out here in the snow, with a third of our party gone, and our only gain is a defenseless old lady!" Yang exclaimed the last part as she managed to free her bike before falling into the snow, before her bike fell over the other way.

"What is the name of our new, hobbling companion anyway," Questioned Aegis as he came walking over with his own bike held over his shoulder. He quickly set it down before helping Yang up off the ground.

"My name is Maria Calavera," said the old lady as she brushed Oscar off for a moment, "And I'm not defenseless because I'm old. I'm just a little harder of hearing these days, and a little blind without my goggles which, now that you mention it, are in desperate need of repair. Actually, I'm starting to see your point."

"Knock it off you two," said Qrow, "If we start getting all negative now we'll just attract more Grimm."

"It doesn't seem to matter either way," Blake pointed out, "Given that we've apparently been attracting Grimm the moment we left Haven."

"Oh yeah, about that," said Yang as she turned to Oscar, "What happened to no more lies and partial truths?"

"I'd like an explanation about that myself," said Oscar as his eyes glowed yellow, signaling his change from Oscar to Ozpin.

"I did not tell you any lies," said Ozpin/Oscar as the voice of the old headmaster sounded from Oscar's body once again.

"But you did omit a few things about the relic," said Weiss with a hand on her hip.

"Please, this is hardly the right time to be discussing-," Ozpin/Oscar started to say before he was cut off by Yang.

"No, it's the perfect time right now," said Yang, "I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants to know why you still aren't telling us everything?" Ozpin/Oscar sighed before speaking.

"It's a faint attraction but an undeniable one," explained Ozpin/Oscar, "I'm not entirely sure of the reason myself but I believe it has something to do with the relic's origin. Despite that, I feared informing you of this would simply increase your anxiety and negativity, so I chose what I believed to be a safer option."

"Oh yeah, we only just wound up in another train crash because of it," said Aegis as he threw his hands up in the air, "But I'm feeling super-relaxed and super positive right now. $$ # it who wants to make snow angels, because that's how relaxed I am right now?"

"I'm just getting tired of everyone else trying to decide what's best for me," said Weiss.

"Is that the same reason you decided not to tell everyone about what Lionheart really did?" Questioned Yang.

"As a matter of fact, yes," replied Ozpin/Oscar as he turned and started walking, "It was and still is my belief that Mistral deserved something better than the sad truth. I also believed that Lionheart should be remembered for his lifetime of service and not the missteps of his final years."

"Is that what you call nearly getting us all killed," said Yang, "Missteps?"

"I am not denying that what he did was reprehensible," said Ozpin/Oscar, "but should a lapse in judgment really negate all the good he'd done?"

"It was far more than a simple lapse in judgement," Wayne said, "He'd been working for Salem for who knows how long and he knew damn well what she intended to do to all of the kingdoms. He lived his final days as a coward!"

"You wouldn't say such a thing if you'd met the man he was before Salem got to him," said Ozpin/Oscar without turning around.

"But we're supposed to be working together," said Yang, "we haven't turned our backs on you yet and trust me when I say we won't turn our backs on you now."

"Do you really think I haven't heard those words before!" said Ozpin/Oscar, raising his voice for the first time since any of them had met him while coming to a complete stop to face them, "Leo was not the first person to be betray me. I am sorry for some of my behaviors, but you must understand that they are all backed by experience. It is not because I actually believe that you will betray me, I am simply saying I have my reasons for the things I do."

"Tell me then," said Wayne as he crossed his arms, "What's gotten you betrayed more often? Trusting people too much or not trusting them enough?"

"It is not as simple as," Ozpin/Oscar paused when he noticed that something was missing from his side, "Where, is the relic?"

"Here," said Ruby as she held it up, "I found it in the wreckage of the crash."

"Could you hand it over please," requested Ozpin/Oscar. Ruby, however, looked unconvinced about something.

"Were all the times you talked about faith in humanity just that? Speeches for everyone else." Said Ruby.

"I was not suggesting that," replied Ozpin/Oscar, "I simply believe the relic is my burden to bear."

"But it's supposed to be safe at the moment," said Ruby, "You said the wishes were all used up right now."

"And when did it matter who carries it so long as we get it where it needs to be," Blake added.

"Please, just listen to m-," Ozpin/Oscar stopped suddenly with his hand reaching out, almost as though he was frozen in place.

"Oz, what's wrong?" Questioned Qrow as they watched him start shaking in place.

"You must hurry," said Oscar, sounding as if he was struggling to speak, "He's t-trying to stop you."

"Stop us from doing what," questioned Yang as Aegis and Wayne stepped forward with their hands resting on their weapons.

"He's afraid," replied Oscar, "he doesn't want you to find out his secret." The boy collapsed to his knees in the snow then, his breathing a bit labored. Blake, Yang and Weiss tensed then as well, ready to intercept Ozpin should he take control again. "Speak the name Jinn, it will s-summon her from t-the lamp."

Ruby looked unsure for a moment as she gazed down at the relic in her arms as the wind picked up. But finally, she spoke. "Jinn." Then there was stillness, as the wind stopped and the snowflakes hung in the air as if time had stopped all around them.

"Well that's just a bit unusual," said Wayne as he tapped one of the snowflakes next to him. Aegis, failing to be discrete about it, ate a couple in one gulp. But it was just the beginning as the relic began glowing blue and floated out of Ruby's arms before emitting a type of ethereal, blue smoke that slowly shaped itself into the form of a woman. A giant blue woman with long black hair, pointed ears, golden chains around her waist as well as cuffs on her wrists and ankles and a circlet on her head.

"Ah, how wonderful," said the woman as she stretched out while still floating in midair before resting a hand on her cheek. "Now tell me, what knowledge do you seek?"

Mistral Black Market

Drake Beller was not particularly happy to be back here. Back when he was an agent of the White Fang, he'd made an increasing number of trips with Exo to the black market for weapons, materials, or some exotic solutions to certain problems. In this particular instant, Drake had come to the black market in search of something he always needed when hunting for a target, information. He was aware that such things came at a cost and that the information brokers in the area where cautious, so in order to make himself seem less threatening, he donned a simple mask that covered his eyes and nose, while carrying his weapon in a specialized wooden box. Of course, those weren't the only precautions he had in place.

He kept his ears and eyes open for anything unusual as he made his way through the throng of people, his boots squishing in the mud from a recent rain. He hated that it dulled his sense of smell, but there was little he could do about it and even if conditions were ideal he'd be hard-pressed to find a single person in a crowd like this. Fortunately, his eyes were working just fine as he spotted what he was looking for, the symbol of a spider in a web on a wooden post. 'Here we go,' thought Drake as he walked past the post and into a traditional Mistraltan restaurant and bar.

Inside were the typical kinds of people you'd expect to be frequenting a bar, save for the curious characteristic of a spider tattoo on many of them. And in the corner was the person Drake had been looking for. A somewhat heavyset woman with neck-length blond hair and a spider tattoo on her left shoulder. The woman wore a backless dress which went down to her feet, with a white top and purple bottom section that went down to her feet. Rounding out her look were a pair of white sleeves with purple frills and a fan in her left hand.

"That will be quite close enough," said the woman with a bit of a drawl in her voice. Drake stopped his approach as the two bodyguards that were flanking her stepped forward around the table the woman was sitting at. Both of them resembled bandits to a degree with one being a goateed man and the other being a girl with long, light brown hair. The two of them wore matching purple jackets and bandanas with brown gloves and bluish, purple jeans. Though the girl wore chaps over purple jean shorts.

Drake pulled out a handful of lien and held it up for the two of them to see. "That's enough for you to have a seat at least." Said the woman as she motioned for Drake to sit.

"I'll remain standing," said Drake, "This won't take all that long, assuming you prove you're worth the lien, Little Miss Malachite."

"You'd best watch your tone boy," said Miss Malachite as she closed her fan angrily, "Speak to me like that again and I'm liable to have you skinned alive."

"Then it's a shame about your dessert there," Said Drake as he moved to the right slightly. In the next instant, the sundae that Malachite had been eating was shot off the table by a bullet through the upper floor window. All friendly conversation ceased then as everyone in the restaurant moved to get out of their chairs. "SIT DOWN!" Yelled Drake, halting most of the restaurant goers.

"Any of you even twitch in a way I don't like," said Drake in a voice where everyone in the restaurant could hear him, "I'll know and your boss will have a new beauty mark in her head, am I clear?" Everyone acknowledged his order by sitting back down and quietly resuming what they were doing, albeit with their eyes trained even more intensely on Drake. "Now let us start over so that 'you' will understand the situation fully. You are not the only source of information in the Mistral black market, merely the most convenient at the moment, which means I'll have no problem ending you and everyone else in here with a spider tattoo as a message to the next information broker. So if we're done dispensing with the petty threats I'd like to get down to business."

Miss Malachite was clearly fuming from this turn of events, but eventually sighed and spoke up. "Alright then, I suppose you've made your point. Now what is it you want?" Drake pulled out his scroll and brought up a few pictures of wanted posters on it before tossing it on the table.

"I'm looking to determine if the masterminds behind the attack on Haven are still in Mistral," said Drake, "If you have any information on their immediate whereabouts, I need to know now. If you have none, I'll leave you a tip and be on my way." The woman took a look at the pictures for a moment before pushing it back towards Drake.

"You may be in luck," said Malachite, "We had a recent visit from a large man matching one of these posters."

"Hazel," Drake couldn't help but say aloud, "If he's risking remaining here, then he has a reason. Tell me, what did he want?"

"I can't really divulge the business of another cli-," Drake interrupted her by dropping the bottom section of the box he was carrying on the floor.

"People like you always make exceptions when it suits your needs, and in this case, I just might pay extra for it, but only so long as you stop trying my patience," said Drake, "Now I'll ask again, what was Hazel doing here?" Malachite sighed as she answered.

"Not that it would mean that much to you," Said Malachite, "But he was searching for some travelers. An odd bunch really, several little girls with various weapons, a couple of boys, a veteran huntsman and two half Faunus, I forget what type."

"Bear Faunus," said Drake as he picked the box all the way back up, "They're half bear Faunus. So that brings us back to my first question, is he still in Mistral?"

"If I recall our most recent report," replied Malachite, "He was heading north, likely out of the city by now."

"I see," said Drake, "Do you have information on any of the others?"

"Nothin' more than rumors I'm afraid," replied Malachite, "Though I have heard of a scarred woman possibly heading north as well." Drake's hand tensed on the box he was holding when he heard that.

"And would you say that last rumor has any credibility?" Questioned Drake.

"There are a number of people in this city with scars," said Malachite, "It'd be difficult to lend much credibility to it at all, but since you came asking I thought you might like to know."

"Well for all our sakes," said Drake as he pulled out a larger amount of lien than he had last time, "I hope it turns out to be nothing more than a rumor." He ended his sentence by tossing the small stack of lien on the table in front of Malachite before turning to leave. "Thank you for the information, if we meet again, hopefully you'll remember to keep it civil." He caught the sound of an annoyed grunt as he exited the bar and headed about a block away.

As he turned down an alley, a girl came out of the shadows, her skin changing back to its normal shade. "Did you really have to go right for the intimidation tactic," asked Ilia, "I'm sure she would've told us just for giving her the lien."

"She likely would have," said Drake as he leaned against the wall and removed his mask, "But if there's one thing I learned while working with Exo, it's best to hold as many cards as you can when you negotiate. Or at the very least, make them think you're holding more cards."

"I wasn't too fond of it myself," said May as she walked in from the other side of the alley with her rifle wrapped up in a cloth, pulling the hood down on her new black and red jacket, which also sported a red scarf. "But the good news is, we should only have to do that once. Little Miss Malachite will probably spread the word about us now and, very hopefully, any other brokers we run into will be more willing to work with us instead of threatening us."

"That is the hope," said Drake as he stood up straighter, "this is also a good time for the both of you to make a decision. I don't plan on falling back to 'all' of my old methods, but this is the Mistral underworld we're dealing with. There's a high possibility I'll employ some less than savory measures to find Hazel and the rest of his cohorts should it prove necessary. If either of you wish to back out of the hunt, I'll understand. Ghira still needs plenty of help cleaning up Haven."

"There you go being dramatic again," said May as she punched her boyfriend in the shoulder, "I didn't hesitate when the White Fang was after you and I sure as #$% ain't gonna let you walk into a den of potential killers without a little back up. So if you want to get rid of me, you'll have to do a lot better than that."

"And there you go reminding me how much I don't deserve you," said Drake with a small smile as he rubbed his shoulder.

"I could do a lot worse than you," said May, "But the point is, I'm still in. So what about you Ilia?" The chameleon girl had her arms crossed as she averted her gaze, thinking of the best way to give her answer.

"These are all bad people we're dealing with now," said Ilia, "That Hazel guy was there when Adam cut down Sienna Khan and Mercury and Emerald were there when Cinder coerced the White Fang into working with them. They led us to commit an atrocity at Beacon and nearly at Haven. So if possible, I want them behind bars for what they did and if not, I at least want to make sure they can never do something like that again."

"So is that the long way of saying you're still in," questioned May, fairly certain she knew the answer already.

"Yes," said Ilia, "Someone's gotta keep you two honest anyway." The three of them shared a laugh at that.

"I guess that settles it then," said Drake as he put his mask back on, "Let's hunt down some fugitives."

Argus Limited Crash Site

"You may call me Jinn," said the blue, floating woman, "I was created by the God of light to aid humanity in their search for knowledge. As such, I've been granted the ability to answer three questions every one hundred years. As luck would have it, I'm still able to answer-."

"That's enough Jinn!" Yelled Ozpin from his prone position on the ground, still struggling to move thanks to Oscar.

"Two questions this century," Continued Jinn, finishing the sentence she had started, "Always a pleasure to see you old man." Everyone turned back towards Ozpin/Oscar with varying looks of anger or disbelief. Well, everyone except Aegis who was still gawking at Jinn.

"Pull yourself together," said Wayne as he slapped his brother on the back of the head.

"Ow, what," questioned Aegis as he rubbed the back of his head, having been snapped out of his little trance.

"She's a vaporous, blue entity of knowledge that emerged from a lamp," said Wayne, "We've seen weirder."

"When have we seen something weirder than this?" Questioned Aegis, and immediately regretted it as Wayne put him in a head lock to cover his mouth.

"Actually there was the time you-," Jinn started to say before Wayne cut her off.

"Don't answer that," said Wayne, "Believe me, it's probably better we don't know that one."

"But there is something that we would like to know," said Blake, "It's your call Ruby."

"Ruby I'm pleading with you," said Ozpin/Oscar, "Don't do this."

"Maybe we should-," Qrow started to say as he stepped forward, only to have everyone else point their weapons at him. With a sigh, the veteran huntsman held his hands up in surrender. "Do whatever you think's the right thing, kiddo." He ended that sentence with a smile. Ruby hesitated for a moment before she turned back to the relic.

"Jinn," said Ruby, "I want to know, what Ozpin's hiding from us."

"NOOOOOOO!" Ozpin/Oscar yelled as he launched himself from his position on the ground, running towards Ruby with an outstretched hand. Wayne and the others were just about to intercept him when suddenly, everything just went white.

"What the heck," said Wayne as he looked around, "Ruby, Aegis, Weiss, anyone here?" He got no answer at first, only echoes.

"I imagine they're all seeing what we're seeing now," said a low voice as Wayne turned to a dark figure.

"You," said Wayne as the image of the aura shadow stood before him, "You shouldn't be here, unless."

"Unless everything we're seeing now is happening inside your mind," replied Shadow Wayne as he tapped the side of his own head, "But things are a bit different this time. I'm not here to tempt you with the aura shadow again just yet, I've not the strength at this time. So instead it looks like you'll be joining me in one of my favorite past times."

"And that would be," Questioned Wayne with a raised eyebrow.

"Watching the show," replied Shadow Wayne with a smirk as grassland and a rocky road suddenly materialized out of nowhere.

"Once upon a time, a lonely tower stood over the land," said the voice of Jinn as an ornate castle with several smaller spires and one large central spire also materialized. "It was inhabited by a lonely girl." The scenery disappeared into blue smoke as it was replaced by a very real looking image of a girl with long, blond hair, some of which was tied in a bun, in a white, toga-style outfit with a blue jewel on her neck who was brushing her hair while sitting in front of a mirror with several drawers beneath it. "The girl's name, was Salem."

And now the truth shall be revealed to our heroes, and it's gonna be a long explanation. Hello everyone, I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter of my little ongoing story. Now I got two things I need to mention, first, sorry I got this out a day later than intended, that's my bad. Second, it's very possible I won't have a new chapter for this story out next week. The reason being that chapter 3 of volume 6 is pretty much exposition about Salem and Ozpin's origins and I don't think I can write an entire chapter about Wayne and Aegis's reactions and make it interesting, unless you like a bunch of jokes that are likely in poor taste. Now if you all absolutely demand it, I'll do my best to come out with a new chapter next week, so as always, feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or a neat idea you have to make the story better. 'Til next time.