The next day after the Attack on Haven~

"We need to take the Relic to Atlas?" Team RWBY, JNPR, and Qrow are back at the house in Mistral, "That's what Oz said." You weren't in the living room with everyone.

Everybody looks to Weiss, "You've got to be joking..."
"I mean, bright side, we finally get out of this house!"
Weiss sighs.

"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. (Y/n) isn't going to be happy with us having the relic out in the open."
"Atlas may be the safest kingdom we have at the moment, but their borders are closed. General Ironwood called everyone back."

"Eh, not everyone." He activates his Scroll, showing a hologram of a highlighted portion of land, "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."

"I mean, we do have the missing Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company."
"Ex-Heiress, actually."

"True, true. But if there's a chance of reward money, I say we go for it."
"Ugh..."
"Hopefully, the first option will suffice."

Oscar, letting Ozpin take over, walks into the room, "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."

"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."

Everyone looks to Ozpin, who turns 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." The Relic grows into its original size as it was found, 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."

"Well, I guess that's not so bad. Adds a lot of pressure, though."

"Then let's put it to a vote! What should we ask first? Oh! Can we ask for more questions? CAN WE ASK FOR MORE QUESTIONS?!"
"They're not wishes..."

"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!"

Weiss looks at Ozpin, "How's (Y/n)?"
"Saint is coping with her interaction with Suneel. She sleeps to reset her senses."
"Suneel?"
Qrow glared by hearing that name; Yang takes notice, "Who is he?"
"Suneel Jack used to attend Beacon Academy around the same time Qrow entered the academy. He is the only one that Saint had loved and now fears."

Back in the present day, 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 can be heard 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 over to the ground, with her motorcycle following suit as she's partially covered in snow. "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." Maria taps on her prosthetics, which open wide and close, 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."
"Does that even matter? Apparently, we've been attracting Grimm ever since we left Haven."

"Oh, and how could I forget about that?" Yang turns to Oscar, "What happened to "no more lies and half-truths"?"

"Yeah, I think it's time we got an explanation..."

Oscar's 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."
"Please, now is not the time." You say then Yang shouts, "No, we're past that! I wanna know why you're still not telling us everything!" You flinch at the sudden shout.

"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."
"You know, I'm getting real tired of people choosing what's best for me."
"Is that why you chose to lie to everyone about Lionheart too?"

"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?!" Your breathing quicken, your heart was racing.

"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 really think Leo was the first?!" Both you and Ozpin shouted at the same time.

Everyone stops, "That he didn't say those exact same words to Oz and me?" A ringing filled your ears, as you spoke, everyone was on edge that you raised your voice, Ozpin added, "I'm sorry, but you have to understand that our behaviors are backed by experience. I'm not saying that I have reason to think you will betray us. I'm saying that I have reasons for the things that I do, the secrets we keep, the reason I..." Ozpin suddenly stops and realizes something, "Where's the Relic?"

"Right here. 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?"

Ozpin sighs, "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 need you to listen to me-" Ozpin reaches his hand out, but suddenly is stopped, stuck in his position, "Oz?"

Oscar fighting back for control, "Hurry... he's... trying to stop you!"
"Stop her from what?" Your eyes widen, "No, wait." You faced Ruby, a hint of fear laced your voice, "He's afraid... you'll find out what he's... hiding! (Y/n), don't... stop them."

Oscar suddenly collapses, Yang, Weiss, and Blake glare at the boy with intense looks while Ruby holds the Relic of Knowledge defensively, "Her name is Jinn. Say her name to summon her."
"Her name?"
"Ruby, please don't."

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?"

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 colored blue, and decorated with gold jewelry and ornaments. The figure stretches as she has been awakened once again, "Wonderful."

Everyone stares in awe at Jinn, "Tell me, what knowledge do you seek?"

You fall on your knees, "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, Jinn chuckles, "It's a pleasure to see you again, old man. My, Saint, have you been taking care of yourself, dear mother?" Jinn bows to you, this caught everyone off guard. You look up at Jinn, "Hello Jinn, it's been a while."
"Ruby, please... Don't." Ozpin tells Ruby.

Qrow glances to Ozpin, and steps forward, "Hey."

Suddenly, Yang, Weiss, and Blake get defensive at Qrow. 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, then turns to you, "Saint."
"What is Ozpin hiding from us?"

"NOOO!!"
"Ozma!-" You shout in fear, Ajin covered your mouth. 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?"
Ruby, Yang comes from her position, "Blake? Ru-"

Yang, and Weiss then appears, also calling out for their team leader, "-by? Ruby?"

Weiss, and Blake then appears, "Yang?"

Suddenly, an environment manifests, showing a path leading to a castle in the distance. A woman was humming in the background.

Jinn began narrating, "Once upon a time, there stood a lonely tower..."

Smoke envelops Blake, and Qrow appears where she was. He looks behind him, "...that sheltered a lonely girl."

A rather beautiful woman sitting in front of a mirror then appears. Ruby is seen walking up to her, "Named... Salem."

End of Vol 6 Chapter 2
Prepare for the next chapter.
Love you guys💜
Michaelis~