Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or RWBY.
A/N: Remember to vote if you haven't!
Also, for any that hasn't heard, RoosterTeeth is shutting down... Can't say I'm surprised after hearing their decisions/behind-the-scenes stuff... If RWBY doesn't get picked up/finish the story I guess except OC stuff for a "Last Volume"
Chapter XXXI.
Last Time
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 crashing in the snow. Qrow, Oscar, Team RWBY, and SHNN all get back up.
"Is everyone okay?"
"I'm fine."
"Yeah."
"So are we." Naruto groaned holding his shoulder
"Still alive!"
Everyone looks up and notices the elderly woman. "That sure was a close one, huh?"
Now.
(Flashback.)
Mistral
"We need to take the Relic to Atlas?"
Team SHNN, RWBY, JNPR, and Qrow Branwen are in the house in Mistral.
"That's what Oz said," Qrow replied as Weiss was putting Dust in a case.
"You've got to be joking..."
"I mean, bright side, we finally get out of this house!" Nora said as she was on Naruto's back as Weiss sighed.
"Well trust me, I'm not crazy about it either. And without the Spring Maiden here to seal the Relic back in its Vault, it's our best option." Qrow picked up his flask at that.
"There's really no other way?" Haru asked as he sat on the armrest of the couch.
"Atlas may be the safest kingdom we have at the moment, but their borders are closed. General Ironwood called everyone back." Ren explained as Pyrrha walked in.
"He could have a vault that'll protect it."
"The city of Argus is a ways north of us and it's the primary trading port between Anima and Solitas. They've got the largest Atlas military base outside the kingdom. There's no way they'd leave it abandoned, and if we play our cards right, I think there's a good chance we could convince them to escort us straight to Ironwood." Qrow explained as he showed a hologram map to them.
"I mean, we do have the missing Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company."
"Ex-Heiress, probably now."
"True, true. But if there's a chance of reward money, I say we go for it." Yang shrugged having her bust bounce.
"Hopefully the first option will suffice," Ozpin said walking in holding the lamp and having it grow.
"Glad to see you're feeling better."
"Likewise, and while I'm sure we could all use more time to recover, I'm afraid time is of the essence."
Blake glanced over at him at that. "Right, as long as that thing's out in the open, its power could fall into the wrong hands."
"Speaking of, what does it do exactly? Qrow never really told us." Jaune said as everyone looked at Ozpin, who turned around to face them.
"Of course. The Relic of Knowledge has a wonderful, and incredibly dangerous ability. Its user can ask any question, and the Lamp will provide an answer."
Ozpin places the Relic down, and it floats on the table. "Intriguing..."
"That's incredible..."
"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." Ozpin explained as Yang looked up.
"Well, I guess that's not so bad. Adds a lot of pressure though."
Nora smiled as she jumped off Naruto and ran around. "Then let's put it to a vote! What should we ask first? Oh! Can we ask more questions? CAN WE ASK FOR MORE QUESTIONS?!"
"They're not wishes…" Ren sighed as Shiki looked up.
"Kinda useless if you can only ask about stuff that already happened."
"I'm afraid you won't be able to ask it anything at the moment. The questions were used before I sealed it away."
"Well, at least now we know what it is. And we'll be sure to keep it safe!"
(Flashback End.)
Train Crash.
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's complaining as she struggles to get Bumblebee out of the snow. "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 into Naruto's arms as he catches her. He smiled as he kissed her before pulling back. "Better?"
"Slightly… There's another place you could try~"
Naruto smiled before pulling her up as the elderly woman beside Ozpin turned and tapped her goggles. "My name is Maria Calavera, and I am not defenseless! I'm just a little hard of hearing. And blind without my eyes, that is in desperate need of repair… OK, 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 grunted as he walked up.
Haru and Shiki rolled their shoulders as they walked up. "Not much survived the wreck. Haru said as Shiki nodded.
"Yeah no food… but some bags we can put snow in to melt for water if we need to."
Natsu was yelling as he tried to clear some rubble before kicking the metal and screaming out in pain.
"We've been attracting Grimm ever since we left Haven," Blake said as Naruto got his bike out and turned to them.
"Could that Salem woman know where we're going and is attacking us?"
"What happened to no more lies and half-truths?" Yang asked looking at Oscar.
"Yeah, I think it's time we got an explanation…" Oscar sighed before his 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..."
"Well, you certainly didn't tell us everything about the Relic," Weiss spoke hand on her hip as the others walked up before Shiki looked at Naruto.
"What? I'm keeping quiet… I was married before you know."
"Please, now is not the time."
"No, we're past that! I wanna know why you're still not telling us everything!"
"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 explained to the group
"You know, I got real tired of people choosing what's best for me," Weiss spoke up as she placed a hand on her hip.
"Is that why you chose to lie to everyone about Lionheart too?" Yang asked Ozpin who turned to walk with his hands behind his back.
"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."
"Missteps?!"
"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."
"Look, we're supposed to be in this together. You can trust us! We're not gonna turn our backs on you."
"Do you think Leo was the first?!" Ozpin yelled stopping them. "That he didn't say those 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… Where's the Relic?"
"Right here." Ruby holds the lamp in her hands. "It got scattered in the crash."
"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?"
"(Sigh) 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," Ruby spoke as Blake looked over.
"Why does it matter who carries it?"
"I need you to listen to me-"
Ozpin reaches his hand out, but suddenly is stopped, stuck in his position."
"Oz?" Qrow asked as Oscar spoke up as he started struggling.
"Hurry... he's... trying to stop you!"
"Stop her from what?" Yang asked as Oscar looked over.
"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.
"OK, stop with the glare."
They turned to their boyfriend at that. "Oscar's in control at the moment. I'm like Oscar in that I got the giant Grimm that attacked the school in me and was treated like I was a Grimm by my hometown for my first 16 years of life. You can be mad at Oz but not at Oscar. He didn't ask to have Oz in him."
"Her name is Jinn. Say her name to summon her." Oscar said as Ruby blinked.
"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. "What?" Qrow asked as everyone looked around.
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 are colored blue, and decorated with gold jewelry and ornaments. The figure stretches and moans as she has been awakened once again.
"Wonderful. Tell me, what knowledge do you seek?" She asked looking down at them.
Mistral
Cinder, now dressed in a cloak, steps out of an alleyway. Her Grimm's arm is bandaged up. She looks to her left and notices a holographic screen showing portraits of her and her allies before hearing a radio. "The perpetrators, Cinder Fall, Hazel Rainart, Emerald Sustrai, and Mercury Black have still not been seen since the attack and are presumed to have fled the city. The Mistral police department is offering a reward to any citizen…"
Cinder, realizing she's a wanted criminal, puts her hood up to conceal her identity. She walks out into the rainy streets of Mistral, among crowds of people with umbrellas up. As Cinder continues walking, she notices a symbol, a spiderweb with a spider in it, etched into the wall. Cinder then walks into a restaurant, with some of the customers bearing tattoos similar to the symbol she found.
She then walks up to a woman, who she presumed is the leader of the gang. She is a heavy-set middle-aged woman with light skin and short blonde hair kept in a bob haircut. She has a spider in its web tattooed on her left shoulder, a beauty mark under her right eye, lipstick on her upper lip, and purple nail polish on her fingernails.
The top of her dress is white and backless, with long sleeves and details, such as beads and straps, in purple. Below is a purple corset, and a long pleated skirt that is yellow on its top layer, purple in the middle one, and white in the lower layer. Her shoes are brown and decorated with a green ribbon.
"That's far enough." Her two bodyguards walk up to Cinder, blocking her way. Cinder tosses down a sack full of Lien on the table. "OK."
The bodyguards step back and Cinder takes a seat across from her. "You're Lil' Miss Malachite?"
"I'm Lil' Miss Gon'-Skin-You-Alive if you ever take that tone with me again… Looks like your life's savings."
"It was somebody's."
"Ha-Ha! Cute. What do you want for it?"
Cinder pulls out her scroll, showing portraits of Team RWBY, SHNN, and JNPR. "I'm looking for these travelers."
"Well, sweetheart, you came to the right place." Cinder jolts a little as she looks behind her, noticing a man entering and being greeted by his group of friends sitting around a table. "A little jumpy today, hmm? You know, I used to be afraid of spiders. Want to know what I did about it?"
"Learn to kill them?"
"Oh no, the world needs spiders. I just made the spiders work for me." Lil Miss replied to her. Cinder looks around, noticing all of the customers have the tattoo of spiderweb, insinuating that they all work for Lil' Miss. "Give us a week, we'll find your travelers."
Cinder then gets up and leaves. "Lil' Miss, we already know where they are. That big guy asked about 'em last week." One guard whispered to her.
"I know we know, but what we don't know is who here in Mistral might be asking about her…"
The Others
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-"
"That's enough!"
Everyone looks to Ozpin, who managed to regain control over Oscar's body. "Two questions this era." Everyone is shocked, despite Ozpin telling them that the Relic won't work for them beforehand. "It's a pleasure to see you again, old man."
"Ruby, please... Don't."
Qrow glances at Ozpin, and steps forward. "Hey." Suddenly, Yang, Weiss, and Blake get defensive at Qrow as Ruby stares in disbelief. Do whatever you think is right, kiddo."
"Jinn?" Ruby turns around to face Jinn, who has a curious look on her face, while Ozpin grits his teeth in anger. "What is Ozpin hiding from us?"
"NOOOOOOO!"
Ruby gasps and looks behind her. Ozpin lunges forward and is about to touch her, but suddenly, Ruby finds herself alone in a blank white space.
"Wha-what? Weiss? Yang? Naruto?"
Naruto looked around at the space before hearing Jinn. "Once upon a time, there stood a lonely tower… that sheltered a lonely girl." A rather beautiful blonde woman sitting in front of a mirror then appears. "Named... Salem."
Jinn explains that Salem, who was once completely Human, in an era when magic was available to all Humanity, is kept isolated in a tower by her father, desperate for freedom. A knight, Ozma rescues her, and the two fall in love.
Sometime later, after Ozma dies of an illness, Salem petitions the god of light to resurrect him, and when he refuses, she goes to the god of darkness, who agrees. Before she and Ozma can leave, the god of light arrives and destroys Ozma again, the god of darkness again resurrects him, and the two fight. Their difference is resolved, however, when the god of light reveals to the god of darkness that Salem only came to him upon the god of light's refusal to resurrect Ozma.
The god of darkness then destroys Ozma, and Salem flies into a rage and attacks both gods, only to be teleported to a great height above a pool in the Domain of Light. After nearly drowning, she awakens on the surface, which supports her body like land, and the two gods tell her that she is now immortal, and so can never be with Ozma, until she has learned "the importance of life and death".
After several failed suicide attempts, Salem realizes that she, as a mortal, having lied to the gods and turned them against one another exposes their fallibility. She goes to the three monarchs of the world, the Fat King, the Stern Queen, and the Zealous King, claiming to have stolen her immortality from the gods, and raises an army, thus learning from her curse that "The hearts of men are easily swayed"
The army sends a volley of magic at the god of darkness, which he easily dismisses, and right after wipes out all of Humanity except for Salem. the gods leave the world, the god of darkness shattering the moon as he does so. Salem, now completely alone, still refuses to blame herself for her fate. She returns to the Land of Darkness, and in yet another suicide attempt, leaps into a Grimm pool, which does not kill her, but corrupts her, giving her chalk-white skin and hair and red eyes.
Jinn then continues explaining that "Between realms", the god of light tells Ozma that his brother has destroyed Humanity and that while it will one day return, it will return to a world without their presence. Instead, he leaves behind the four Relics, saying that when they are brought together, Humanity will be judged, and either the brothers will return to guide Humanity again, or, if they find them still fighting among themselves, the world will be destroyed.
Until this happens, he will reincarnate in a way that ensures he'll never be alone. He refuses at first, saying he would prefer to join Salem in the afterlife, but accepts upon being told she's still alive, despite the god of light's warning that she is no longer the woman he loves.
Ozma awakens in the head of a Human man during a Grimm attack. Upon getting his bearings, he takes control of his host to save the life of another man, who asks his name, which Oscar observes Ozma doesn't know. The world he's now in is different from the one he knew, with Grimm attacks frequent, Humanity lacking innate magic, and the Faunus now living among them, kept in cages.
Hearing of a woman called "The Witch", Ozma, correctly thinking her to be Salem, goes to find her, and upon reuniting with her, asks what they do now, to which she echoes his response from the tower, saying "Whatever we like".
Ozma laments the state of the world to Salem, to which she responds that Humanity needs "Someone to guide them", as they once had, and that she and Ozma, the only two with magic, should take on that role. As Jinn repeats Salem's past lesson that "the hearts of men are easily swayed", the two of them theatrically destroy a Nevermore attacking a village, leading the villagers to bow down before them. They soon use their influence to find a kingdom, which they rule over as they raise their four daughters.
As Ozma becomes increasingly concerned about the harsh means by which he and Salem have come to enforce their rule, one of their daughters interrupts their discussion to show that she's learned to do magic. Ozma tells Salem the mission given to him by the god of light, only for Salem to respond that there's no longer any point to redeeming Humanity, but that rather they should replace them with their line.
This prompts Ozma to attempt to sneak their daughters out of the castle, but Salem stops them. Salem and Ozma fight. Back in the present, the teams look on in abject horror, and at the end are shown the burnt doll of one of the daughters before Salem kills Ozma's incarnation.
As Ozma reincarnates again and again, he decides that Humanity cannot be redeemed without destroying Salem. Knowing that this cannot be accomplished by mortal means, he hunts down the Relic of Knowledge, and asks the location of the other Relics, their powers, and how to destroy Salem, to the last of which Jinn responds simply, "You can't." Ozma falls to his knees in despair, becoming a similarly dismayed Oscar kneeling in the snow.
Naruto then caught Qrow's fist from hitting Oscar. "Not yet, Oscar still has his body… He did not ask for this but just woke up one day with Ozpin in his head. I don't know if, or when Oz will fully take over but right now you will not hurt Oscar. Now, look for any food that may be in the wreck and if not, let's go." Letting go of his fist, Naruto turned to go to the wreak for one more look over.
To Be Continued.
A/N" Thanks for reading and let me know of any mistakes
Beta: ANUBIS the god king.
Remember to vote if you haven't!
Also, for any that hasn't heard, RoosterTeeth is shutting down... Can't say I'm surprised after hearing their decisions/behind-the-scenes stuff... If RWBY doesn't get picked up/finish the story I guess except OC stuff for a "Last Volume"
Sorry for the canon, mostly exposition for these last 2 episodes, and trying to not go past 3k outside of ending a volume.
Next to be updated will be A Fox In Middleton.
Nothing else to say.
Talk To You Later,
Lone Wolf Out.🐺