A/N: As an old foe returns from near death, You and the others soon make a shocking discovery. What has Ozpin not been telling you?

Cinder's body was slowly descending within a body of water, ice chunks having surrounded her as she did. 

Cinder's mind: Damn it. I almost had it....... The Spring Maiden's Power..... The Relic....... Yet even with all this current power I have........ it still wasn't enough.......

As Cinder continued to descend into the water, she soon started to see the same vision she saw before when her body was being frozen by Raven. The vision showed A Young Cinder, who looked no older than 6 or so, was standing and crying as she helplessly watched a place that was seemingly once her home burn down in a massive fire. A wall of flames was what separated the young girl from her dying father, who was being crushed under fallen debris as the raging fire was beginning to draw close near his body.

Cinder: D..... Daddy!

Cinder's Father: Cinder, listen to me...... you must get stronger........ strong enough in order to survive......

She couldn't hear the rest of what he said as the sound of the raging flames started to drown out his voice and the life soon left his body.

Cinder: Nooooo!

Her right eye suddenly opened up, twitching as she came to terms with her current situation. Bubbles escaped from her mouth as she struggled to get upright in the water. She soon activated her Maiden powers to push herself out of the water. Once out, Cinder gasped for breath as she crawled out of the pool of water onto the shore of an underground cave. She held her hand out and tried to activate a small flame in her hands, but it died out quickly. Cinder grunts in frustration, slamming her Grimm-like fist to the ground.

Cinder: Damn It!

The result of the slam had resulted in opening up an exit to the cave. Cinder looked up to see light pouring through the crack as well as the sound of howling wind. She then looked up to notice the Vault under Haven Academy where she fought against Raven before. Cinder then uses her Grimm fist to punch at the crack in the wall. Cinder staggered out of the cave and onto the ground outside. She struggled to walk for a bit before collapsing to the ground, dragging herself through the dirt. She grunted and groaned in annoyance as she continued to drag herself. She looked up at the sky and saw that it was soon going to begin to rain. She soon took notice of house near by that seemed have a bit of clothes that were hanging outside from a clothes line. Cinder groaned as she soon got back onto her feet and walked to the clothes. She looked to make sure the owner of the home wasn't near the window or about to walk out. When seemed no one was coming, she quickly grabbing a a light brown robe as well as a white shirt before staggering off somewhere to change. Sometime after changing into the clothing, Cinder had also taken the liberty of wrapping up her Grimm hand as well.

(Meanwhile).

Ruby: We need to take the Relic to Atlas?

You and all of the others were sitting in the house in Mistral.

Qrow: That's what Oz said.

Everybody looked to Weiss Schnee.

Weiss: You've got to be joking...

Nora: I mean, bright side, we finally get out of this house!

Weiss sighed.

Qrow: 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.

Ren: Atlas may be the safest kingdom we have at the moment, but their borders are closed. General Ironwood called everyone back.

Qrow: Eh, not everyone. 

He said before activating his Scroll, showing a hologram of a highlighted portion of land.

Qrow: 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.

Blake: I mean, we do have the missing Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company.

Weiss: Ex-Heiress, actually.

Yang: True, true. But if there's a chance of reward money, I say we go for it.

Melanie: Hmmmm, I'm already liking the sound of this.

Weiss: Ugh...

(Y/N): Don't get any ideas. -_-

Ozpin: Hopefully the first option will suffice.

Oscar, letting Ozpin take over, walked into the room.

Qrow: Glad to see you're feeling better.

Ozpin: Likewise, and while I'm sure we could all use more time to recover, I'm afraid time is of the essence.

Blake: Right, as long as that thing's out in the open, its power could fall into the wrong hands.

Jaune: Speaking of, what does it do exactly? Qrow never really told us.

Everyone then looked to Ozpin, who turned around to face them.

Ozpin: Of course. 

He then detached the Relic from his hip.

Qrow: The Relic of Knowledge has a wonderful, and incredibly dangerous ability. 

He said as the Relic grew into it's original size as it was found.

Qrow: Its user can ask any question, and the Lamp will provide an answer.

Ozpin placed the Relic down, and it floated on the table.

(Y/N): Hmm, fascinating.

Ren: Intriguing...

Ren said in awe.

Blake: That's incredible...

Ozpin: 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.

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

Nora: Then let's put it to a vote! 

Nora said as she zipped around the room, causing Ruby to jump and Qrow to spit out his coffee.

Nora: What should we ask first? Oh! Can we ask for more questions? CAN WE ASK FOR MORE QUESTIONS?!

Ren soon facepalmed.

Ren: They're not wishes...

Ozpin: I'm afraid you won't be able to ask it anything at the moment. (Nora grunts in frustration) The questions were used before I sealed it away.

He said as he chuckled.

Ruby: Well, at least now we know what it is. And we'll be sure to keep it safe!

Back in the present day, Ruby scoured through the train wreckage and picked up Dust bullets, before looking to see the Relic of Knowledge slightly buried in the snow nearby. Yang was currently complaining as she struggles to get Bumblebee out of the snow.

Yang: 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 managed to extricate Bumblebee, but fell over to the ground, with her motorcycle following suit as she's partially covered in snow.

Maria: 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. 

She said as she tapped on her prosthetics, which open wide and close, before opening narrowly again.

Maria: Okay, I'm starting to see your point.

(Y/N): At least we were still able to survive that wreck.

Miltia: Not exactly sure that's much of a good thing for us at the moment.

Qrow: Knock it off, will ya? If we lose our cool now, we'll just be inviting even more Grimm. 

Blake: Does that even matter? Apparently, we've been attracting Grimm ever since we left Haven.

Yang: Oh, and how could I forget about that? 

Yang soon turned to Oscar.

Yang: What happened to no more lies and half truths?

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

Oscar's eyes glowed as control of his body is switched to Ozpin, who furrowed his brow at Yang's accusations.

Ozpin: I did not lie to you...

Weiss: Well you certainly didn't tell us everything about the Relic.

(Y/N): And considering what had happened not very long ago, a little more explanations are needed.

Ozpin: Please, now is not the time.

Yang: No, we're past that! I wanna know why you're still not telling us everything!

Ozpin: 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.

Weiss: You know, I'm getting real tired of people choosing what's best for me.

Yang: Is that why you chose to lie to everyone about Lionheart too?

Ozpin: 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.

(Y/N): Missteps?! You call all of that shit back there "Missteps"?!

Ozpin: 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.

Yang: Look, we're supposed to be in this together. You can trust us! We're not gonna turn our backs on you.

Ozpin: Do you really think Leo was the first?!

Ozpin raised his voice, causing Everyone to stop.

Ozpin: That he didn't say those exact 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... 

He suddenly stopped and realized something.

Ozpin: Where's the Relic?

Ruby: Right here. 

She said as she held it in her hands.

Ruby: It got scattered in the crash.

Ozpin: Please, hand it over.

Ozpin reached his hand out, but Ruby hesitated.

Ruby: So all those times you talked about having faith in humanity, that was just for everyone else?

Ozpin soon let out a sigh.

Ozpin: 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.

Ruby: But, you said it couldn't do anything right now.

Blake: Why does it matter who carries it?

Ozpin: I need you to listen to me.....

Ozpin reached his hand out, but suddenly stopped, stuck in his position.

Qrow: Oz?

Oscar soon spoke, all while seeming to try and fight back for control.

Oscar: Hurry... he's... trying to stop you!

Yang: Stop her from what?

Oscar: He's afraid... you'll find out what he's... hiding!

Oscar suddenly collapsed, You, Yang, Weiss and Blake glared at the boy with intense looks while Ruby held the Relic of Knowledge defensively.

Oscar: Her name is Jinn. Say her name to summon her.

Ruby: Her name?

The wind picked up much more gradually, blowing snow even harder. The Relic started to glow in Ruby's hands.

Ruby: Jinn?

Suddenly, the snow stopped, floating in midair. The wind stops blowing too.

Qrow: What?

Ruby then let go of the Relic as it floated a short distance away as cyan smoke soon emanated from it. Suddenly, the lamp was enveloped in the smoke, and from it, a giant, semi-nude feminine figure emerged. Her skin and hair were colored blue, and decorated with gold jewelry and ornaments. The figure stretched and moaned as she had been awakened once again. This was Jinn, the aforementioned being inhabiting the Relic of Knowledge.

Jinn: Wonderful.

Everyone stared in awe at Jinn.

Jinn: Tell me, what knowledge do you seek?

Back in Mistral, Cinder stepped out of an alleyway before looking to her left and noticing a holographic screen showing portraits of her and her allies. A subtitle below saying "LAST KNOWN LOCATION: HAVEN ACADEMY, APPROXIMATELY ONE MONTH AGO".

Newscaster: 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 was a wanted criminal, put her hood up to conceal her identity. She then began walking out into the rainy streets of Mistral, among crowds of people with their umbrellas up. People were still carrying out their businesses as usual, both legally and illegally. As Cinder continued walking, she noticed a symbol; a spiderweb with a spider in it that was etched into the wall. Cinder soon walked into a restaurant, with some of the customers bearing tattoos similar to the symbol she found. She walked past these people and up to a up to a heavy-set middle-aged woman with light skin and short blonde hair kept in a bob haircut. This woman was Lil' Miss Malachite, who she presumed was leader of the gang. Lil' Miss noticed her just as she was about to have her meal.

Lil' Miss: That's far enough.

Her two bodyguards walked up to Cinder, blocking her way. Cinder tossed down a sack full of Lien on the table.

Lil' Miss: Okay.

The bodyguards stepped back and Cinder took a seat across from her.

Cinder: You're Lil' Miss Malachite?

Lil' Miss took out her hand fan as she answered Cinder's question.

Lil' Miss: I'm Lil' Miss Gon'-Skin-You-Alive if you ever take that tone with me again. 

She soon looked to the Lien on the table.

Lil' Miss: Looks like your life's savings.

Cinder: You could say that.

Lil' Miss soon closed her hand fan.

Lil' Miss: So, What do you want for it?

Cinder pulled out her scroll, showing portraits of Jaune, Ren, Nora, and Team RWBY.

Cinder: I'm looking for these travelers.

Lil' Miss: Well, sweetheart, you came to the right place.

Cinder suddenly jolted a little as she looked behind her, noticing a man entering and being greeted by his group of friends sitting around a table. Lil' Miss chuckled at this a bit.

Lil' Miss: A little jumpy today, hmm? You know, I used to be afraid of spiders. Want to know what I did about it?

Cinder: Learn to kill them?

Lil' Miss: Oh no, the world needs spiders. I just made the spiders work for me.

Cinder looks around, noticing all of the customers have the tattoo of spiderweb, insinuating that they all work for Lil' Miss.

Lil' Miss: Give us a week, we'll find your travelers.

Cinder then got up and left.

Bodyguard: Lil' Miss, we already know where they are. That big guy asked about 'em last week.

Lil' Miss: I know we know, but what we don't know is who here in Mistral might be asking about her...

Back in the snow, Maria adjusted her goggles to get a better look at what was in front of her.

Jinn: 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.....

Ozpin: That's enough!

Everyone looks to Ozpin, who managed to regain control over Oscar's body.

Jinn:... two questions this era.

Everyone was shocked, despite Ozpin telling them that the Relic wouldn't work for them beforehand. Jinn soon chuckled as she looked at Ozpin.

Jinn: It's a pleasure to see you again, old man.

Ozpin: Ruby, please... Don't.

Qrow glanced to Ozpin, and steps forward.

Qrow: Hey.

Suddenly, Yang, Weiss, and Blake got defensive at Qrow. Ruby stared in disbelief.

Qrow: Do whatever you think is right, kiddo.

Qrow said while relenting. As this happened, Ruby was ponding her question.

Ruby: Jinn?

Ruby turned around to face Jinn, who has a curious look on her face, while Ozpin grit his teeth in anger.

Ruby: What is Ozpin hiding from us?

Ozpin: NOOOOOOO!!

Ruby gasps and looked behind her. Ozpin lunged forward and is about to touch her. You rushed forward in order to try and stop him. However, Ruby suddenly found herself alone in a blank white space.

Ruby: Wha.... what? Weiss? Yang? (Y/N)?

Ruby was suddenly gone as Yang was trying to look for everyone.

Yang: Blake? Ru.....

Yang was then gone, only for Weiss to soon appear, also calling out to everyone.

Weiss:...... by? Ruby?

Weiss was quickly gone, and Blake soon appearing after.

Blake: Yang?

She was gone soon after, with Miltia appearing soon after, looking around in a somewhat frantic pace trying to look for her sister and You all while calling out.

Miltia: Melanie? (Y/N)?

Once she was gone, Melanie was looking around and calling out for everyone.

Melanie: Miltia? Where ar......

She was quickly gone, with you appearing soon after.

(Y/N): Where the hell is everyone?!

Suddenly, an environment manifested, showing a path leading to a castle in the distance. A woman humming could be heard in the background. As this was happening, Jinn appeared to have been narrating the events.

Jinn: Once upon a time, there stood a lonely tower...

Smoke enveloped You, and Qrow appeared where You were. He looked behind him.

Jinn:... that sheltered a lonely girl.

A rather beautiful woman sitting in front of a mirror then appears. Ruby soon appeared, walking up to her.

Jinn: Named... Salem.

A/N: And so begins our look into the past.