Reveal Past of Former Lovers
Glynda and the four married lovers are standing on the steps of the long escalator as it moves them down with some lights on as Jaune and Pyrrha look around feeling both surprised of there's such a large space under the school, and scared of what could be down here as they held each other's hands. Salem and Cinder on the other hand are perfectly calm seeing as they are actually use to being in dark places like Salem's castle in the Grimm land and Cinder has always seen it as her home ever since her Mistress took her in.
"Uh, Miss. Goodwitch, what exactly is this place?" Jaune asked, feeling like his legs are shaking a little.
"This is a the Vault." Glynda answered.
"The Vault?" Jaune confused.
"A special vault that only me and Professor Ozpin know." Glynda added.
"Is it something that needs to be kept inside this large room?" Pyrrha asked looking down, barely seeing the bottom from all that darkness.
"You could say that." Glynda said.
"Do you think "she" is down here?" Cinder asked whispering in Salem's ear.
"Perhaps, we'll have to wait and see." Salem advised not to do anything unless needed to.
Few minutes later, they finally made it to the ground as they step off and follow Glynda down a hallway with large pillars on each side as they walk by them. Soon, they made their way at the end of the room where they see Ozpin waiting for them and standing next to a big metal capsule that holds a woman inside with extensive facial scarring, she was seen wearing a white tube top and a white skirt.
"Salem, it's her." Cinder gasped.
"My, never thought Ozpin would lead us straight to the Maiden." Salem grinned.
"Hello everyone, I hope you didn't find any trouble on your way here." Ozpin concerned for Jaune and Pyrrha being with Salem and Cinder.
"Well, besides walking up naked in a full with three naked women and found out that I'm married to all three after being drunk from the party last night. Then yeah, we're all good." Jaune said, obviously showing he's still freaking out about all this.
"Though we were worried about people seeing Salem's… ghost-like appearance, but so far no trouble." Pyrrha added.
Salem removes the hood revealing her face to the man standing before him, the man she has not seen in a long time and both wished they would never have to see each other again until now.
"It's been a long time, Ozpin." Salem said with a sinister smile.
"Perhaps not long enough, but I see you've been keeping yourself well." Ozpin glared with a complimented.
Jaune and Pyrrha look back and forth seeing Salem and Ozpin looking each other with tensions in their eyes, almost like they want to go for the kill right now.
"This is awkward." Jaune whispered to Pyrrha as she nod.
"Yes, being immortal for countless centuries and ageless can make you feel that not a day has gone by." Salem said shocking the Arikos couple, they thought she was joking but they can tell she is telling the truth in her eyes as they also see small black mist coming out.
"Well, I can't say the same for me, being reborn over and over can make look different despite being the same." Ozpin blurted out on purpose.
"Okay, okay, okay, back up there you two!" Jaune interrupted getting between Salem and Ozpin.
"Immortal, reborn, what the HELL are you guys talking about? Who is that woman in the metal bed? And why is that" Jaune babbling question were cut off when Salem place a finger on his lips.
"Calm yourself young one, all the answers you seek will be answer, isn't that right Ozpin?" Salem asked.
"Yes, now that you and the now Misses. Arikos are involved with Salem it is time you learn the truth." Ozpin said.
Jaune calm himself taking a deep breath and back away by two feet.
"How about we start from the very beginning, when the world was created by the two brothers the God of Light who created life like the trees and plants while the God of Darkness created the Grimm to destroy all life, then together they created humanity once living among us." Salem started the story as she use her magic to make chairs for everyone to sit.
"I was once a lonely girl living in a big castle all alone with my evil father, I had hope to be free and one day my wish came true in the form of a man." Salem said looking at Ozpin as he looks down hoping he would never have to talk about the past anymore.
"Back then before my reincarnation curse, I was a hero known as Ozma. At first simply wanted to defeat an evil lord from the land until I met Salem and from then on she was something I sworn to protect and we… fell in love with each other." Ozpin explained.
Jaune and Pyrrha became shock that they were once lovers from who knows how long it was for them.
"I never felt so free in my whole life being with Ozma, it's like we got our happily ever after… At least, that how we believed." Salem said now with sadness on her face.
"What happened?" Cinder asked. She never knew all of Salem's past and ever ask knowing it's something she would not like to talk about.
"...Ozma grew ill, several months after we met and died in bed. I tried begging both Gods to bring him back to life so that we can continue living our days together, but they refused and cursed me immortality to live out the rest of my days alone and never to experience death like others!" Salem angered as the black mist from her eyes grew slightly and her tone grew darker in rage.
Jaune and Pyrrha felt sad for the white woman that all she wanted to be with her love so they can live together and die together in old age, Cinder on other hand was angry at the Gods refusing to answer the pray of a woman and made her suffer for it. Glynda was shock to all this, Ozpin never told her the truth of his past though started to think why because it must've been painful to once love someone only to become enemies toward each other.
"My power alone I could not fight against the Gods, so I went from kingdom to kingdom in the land to gather an army to retaliate to make the Gods feel my wrath. However, it was all pointless when they easily wiped out all of Humanity living me all alone."
"Wait, wait, you said the Gods destroyed every single human but how is that we're still standing?" Pyrrha confused.
"You know the history about evolution of how humans were born?" Salem asked back, giving Pyrrha the idea as she realized it.
"You lived THAT long?!" Jaune gasped.
"Yes, it was very lonely as I walked aimlessly waiting for death that will never come. One day I came to the large lake fill with black goo where the Grimms are born, I thought that the Grimm Ooze would undo the Gods' curse but it didn't as you can see." Salem gestured at herself showing them the result of being dipped into the Grimm Ooze.
"Didn't it ever occurred to you that the pool where the Grimm comes from would turn into a human-Grimm?" Jaune asked.
"When you're immortal and wanted to die for so long, you would do anything to try getting rid of it." Salem sighed.
Jaune now felt worst for asking such a sensitive question to her, and got up from his chair and walk up to her placing a hand on top of hers wanting to comfort Salem as she suddenly felt calm and form a small smile on her face.
Ozpin saw this, surprise that Salem would feel calm with a young boy and thought that Jaune could be the person to help Salem see the light of life against like before.
"And that's where I come in." Ozpin said getting to his part of the story.
"After I died, I met with the God of Light offering me another chance in life and telling me about humanity's second time and that Salem was no longer the woman I knew. Though I didn't care for all I wanted was to be with her again, he even told me about the relics he and his brother left before abandoning Remnant, then I was reborn as a different with still my memories went off to search for Salem until I finally found her." Ozpin said.
"It must've been a happy day for you." Pyrrha said.
"It was, we spend some days in that small house until one day Salem suggested we try to unite humanity though through force and fear than peace and showing them our magic powers. I went along with it hoping Salem could see she was wrong as we settle down and had four daughters." Ozpin mentioned.
"Even getting everything you want, it wasn't as you hoped." Jaune guessed, Ozpin nodded.
"And when he told me about the relics, I decided that we should use them to remake the whole human race that we could become Gods ourselves. And you want to know how he responded?" Salem smirked.
"By… making you see the error of your ways?" Jaune guessed. Cinder facepalmed herself.
"No. He tried sneaking out in the middle of the night while taking our four daughters away from me, it's like all the times we had together were nothing but trash."
"NO THEY WERE NOT?!" Ozpin shouted getting up from his sit.
"I loved every moment we had together were the greatest time of my life, but way you wanted to do things like turning humans and Faunus into killing machine for a stupid ambition of ruling the world." Ozpin said angry.
"I was trying to make the world better, better than the Gods could hope for and with the relics we could've been greater!" Salem yelled getting up from her chair too.
"I never wanted ANY of that! I wanted peace! I want equality for all including a union between humans and Faunus! I wanted a world where our daughters could've been happy if they were not dead because of YOU!" Ozpin stated as he glows intentionally of his aura.
"It was your cowardness that they them killed, afraid of having power beyond your wildest dreams and no one would stand in our way!" Salem said emitting her dark aura too.
The anger build between the former lovers have caused the ground beneath them to crumble and making earthquakes shaking the whole room.
"I think we should get out of here." Cinder suggested.
But Jaune didn't want to leave, not while leaving things as they are now knowing the history between Salem and Ozpin or Ozma, whatever he likes to be called, somehow he has to end this fueled once and for all. Starting with calming them down before they end up destroying the whole school and everyone in it.
"Jaune, no!" Pyrrha called out as Jaune runs to the middle and facing Salem with his arms spread out.
"Salem. Stop!" Jaune demanded, hoping he knows what he's doing.
"Stay out of this, boy! This does not involve you!" Salem snarled.
"Yes it does, I became involved when we got married and now I believe it's time for you to let go!" Jaune said.
"Of what?" Salem asked.
"Everything you've been holding onto for so long: your love and hatred to Ozma, your anger towards the Gods, all of it! I can't stand to see those close to me hurting themselves." Jaune determined.
Suddenly, the ring on Jaune's finger started to glow as its responding to his strong feeling towards Salem as her ring has glow too.. Salem look at her ring, she was still trying to figure out what spell Ozpin used on these, then she felt tears trailing down from her eyes to the chin for some reason like she was crying. The emotions she's feeling were like something that has brought out by the rings, she look towards Jaune seeing as he is crying too, realizing that the rings are sharing each other's emotions. It's like something she hasn't felt in a long time, not since Ozma's death like her heart was taken away until now and it was there at that moment she remembers the last words Ozma said to her on his deathbed.
"I love you, and I hope you live a happy life."
It was then Salem finally realizes all the things she's been doing, everything she had done to lives of many and making them like puppets until they had no more uses and cutting their strings. Even recalling the four daughters that were killed in the fight that she started and their life being the price for her blinded anger.
The dark aura vanish as the Grimm-woman drop to her knees with her arms supporting her up and began sobbing.
"What have I done?" Salem asked crying and tears dripping to the ground.
"Ozpin, the rings?" Glynda confused. The Headmaster's aura faded as he calms down.
"A spell I learned during my time as Ozma, allowing those with strong hearts to share his or her emotions to others wearing the rings for them to understand each other. And it looks like Jaune's has a bigger heart than I realizes." Ozpin smiled, happy to see Salem looking more like human for the first time in centuries.
"T-too big if you a-ask me." Cinder sobbed trying to stop the tears as the spell is working on her and Pyrrha too though the red-haired girl didn't mind.
Jaune walks toward Salem and knee down to her level placing a hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay to cry, this prove your still human and I promise as an Arc that I will help you see life as a precious thing you will cherish them forever." Jaune promised as he pulls Salem into a warm embrace.
"Y-you promise?" Salem asked.
"Of course, an Arc never goes back on his word." Jaune reassured, looking down with a bright smile.
Salem saw the smile and felt joy that she hasn't felt in many, many years, she return the embrace as she press her forehead against his. Cinder was shock to see this and knew one thing; that Salem is no longer the dark, evil woman she once but for some reason she wasn't mad about it and wonder how this will go everyone. After all, she is married to Jaune too, which is a big shock that he was able to tame Salem's dark-heart and wonders if he can calm her heart too.
Pyrrha was very proud of Jaune who had stopped a senseless war that has been going on since dawn of time or something that long and joins in for a group hug, she pulls Cinder in to embrace too. The half-fire Maiden was annoyed of such affection, but she didn't pulled away meaning she also love the group hug, though not showing it on the outside.
"Ozpin… does this mean what I think this mean?" Glynda asked shock.
"Indeed it does, I believe the dark war is finally over. Jaune Arc has slayen Salem." Ozpin said, proud of his student achieving great that he had failed to do and glad to see that he made the right choice of letting Jaune into his school despite the fake transcript.
KO a new chapter is done and hope you all enjoy it!
Bet you weren't expect Jaune saving the world with the power of his big heart making the Black Witch Salem to see the error of her ways and making her turn over a new leaf as she will now use her power for good.
I wonder how Jaune and Pyrrha's friends will react when they meet Salem and Cinder once they get back upstairs and learned about their drunken marriage. Hehe.
KO comment, favorite, and follow through of how this story will go!