No Pov
Mercury had been interviewed by Ironwood and Qrow with Robin there to verify everything. It all checked out, and they told him that they would decide how much this would reduce his sentence when they saw how much it would actually help them.
He knew it would get them something good, since he had even told them where Salem stashed the lamp. He didn't know why both sides cared so much about it, but since they did, he could take advantage of it.
Adam and Michael had decided it was time to get Y/N out of the way. He was still family, but they cared more about their battle to put the faunus where they thought they should be than him. They needed to get to Vale unnoticed and knew they couldn't on their own, and they saw a chance to get Salem back on their side for the time being.
She would jump on the chance to give Vale a scare, and it was even better that one of the biggest threats to her would be out of the way afterwards. She seemed even more open to the idea after she heard that they would be taking out both Y/N and potentially part of team RWBY, who had been some of the most important people in the defense of Beacon.
Oscar was training with Y/N at Beacon. Everyone else was in class. Oscar was improving, but even with Ozpin's cane he couldn't stand up to someone who had been using his sword ever since it was longer than his body.
Y/N's Pov
Oscar sat down panting. I had just taken him down for the fourth time. We weren't going until he had a red aura, but just until I could knock him over.
Oscar: "How am I going to beat Salem's followers if I can't beat you?"
Y/N: "Because you aren't going to go at them with your current skill. The only reason I win so often is because I'm at my peak. I'm as good as I can ever get."
Oscar: "How do I get there?"
Y/N: "You don't have to."
Oscar: "So... How long until we... Merge, or whatever?"
Y/N: "He told you about that?"
Oscar: "I can feel it happening."
Y/N: "I don't know."
Oscar: "Oh. I thought you might. He seems to tell you more than anyone else. You even know more than me."
Y/N: "Enjoy it while it lasts. You still have some time left without seeing how bad it really is."
Oscar: "What, like you? Ozpin told me how you were about a year ago."
Y/N: "You'll be worse. You'll see the full pain Ozpin experienced in all his lives."
Oscar: "What? What do you mean?"
Y/N: "I can't say it. Just make the most of it while you can. I still wish I did." I got a call from Qrow just then.
Qrow: "Hey, you got time?"
Y/N: "What is it?"
Qrow: "I don't want to discuss it over the phone. Y/N, I need you here as soon as possible. You can pass this to Ozpin when you get back."
Y/N: "It'll take the rest of the day. This better be worth it."
Qrow: "Trust me, it is." I hung up.
Oscar: "What is it?"
Y/N: "I don't know. Tell Yang I'll be back this evening." I started teleporting to Atlas. It would take a few hours to get there and back. It sounded big, whatever it was.
Timeskip
I got there without interruption. I headed into Ironwood's office.
Ironwood: "Oh, hello Mr. L/N. I suppose you're here to pass along the information we got?"
Y/N: "Qrow didn't tell me what this was."
Ironwood: "Mercury Black gave us the location of the lamp."
Y/N: "What? Why?"
Ironwood: "It seems his motivations for joining Salem were different from what we normally see. He was only in it for personal gain, and being beaten multiple times and getting thrown in prison was not quite what he had in mind. In exchange for what he gave us, he wants freedom."
I tried to contain my excitement. Ozpin never told anyone but me how important that little paperweight was. There was one question we could ask that could be the key to defeating Salem.
Y/N: "Well... Where is it?"
Ironwood: "Hand me your scroll. He pointed it out on a map. He said Salem keeps it in the belly of a massive Grimm whale she has been working on." I gave it to him and he put everything on my scroll directly to avoid any risk of hackers getting it over the network. He didn't even plug it into anything, he just inputted it from memory. "Get this to Ozpin."
Y/N: "Don't worry. He'll know this evening when I get back." I left immediately. I couldn't believe our luck. If there was any way to stop Salem, we could get it soon. Maybe she would finally be stopped in my lifetime. I never thought I would see the day.
Timeskip
I got back to Beacon. It was dusk. The sun was setting already. I needed to talk to Ozpin, now. He took control.
Ozpin: "So what is this?"
Y/N: "We have a location on the lamp."
Ozpin: "Pardon?"
Y/N: "Salem keeps it here. She's building a Grimm whale to conduct another attack. She keeps it in the belly." I showed him the map.
Ozpin: "This changes everything. I assumed it would be several hundred years before we had the chance to get it. Are we sure this information is accurate?"
Y/N: "This comes from one of Salem's former cronies. Ironwood has someone who can verify if someone is telling the truth, so it's real."
Ozpin: "Then we will be staging an attack to get it back as soon as possible."
Y/N: "I never thought I would get the chance to hit Salem like this."
Ozpin: "You may not realize this yet, but this means you could still be alive when we stop her."
Y/N: "I know."
Ozpin: "I will begin coordinating with the other headmasters. We will pull together anyone who can keep this a secret and go in and get it."
Y/N: "Teams RWBY and JNPR will want in on this. Amber will too."
Ozpin: "This is, of course, assuming Salem does not know how to use it. We have no reason to believe she does, but we may not get our chance to ask our question for another several centuries."
Y/N: "Don't worry. I don't have my hopes that high."
Ozpin: "I will send you inside to get it. You can be in and out of the entire whale in a matter of minutes. When you find it, remember to ask 'How can Salem be beaten without bringing the gods back', nothing else. You must make sure you ask in a way that will require a full answer. To ask her, just say her name. She goes by Jinn."
Y/N: "Got it. How long until we do this?"
Ozpin: "It will take several days to bring together a force large enough for this sort of attack. In the meantime, get as much rest as possible. I need you at your best for this."
Y/N: "For once, I agree with you." I got to the room Yang and I shared. I opened the door and she was in the shower. I got dressed and laid down. I guess I fell asleep for a short time, because I woke up to her leaning on me in a new set of yellow and F/C lingerie.
Yang: "Hey Kitty. I missed you." I already knew I was blushing.
Y/N: "What do you want?"
Yang: "You. I got kinda lonely since you had to disappear the whole day without any notice. Now you have to pay me back for that." She bit her lip and smiled. I knew what she wanted.
Y/N: "You have protection?"
Yang: "Of course. I'm on birth control. Now lay back. I wanna have some fun." I didn't fight. I was ready for this kind of closeness now.
No Pov
Adam and Michael had gotten to Vale without incident. The were hiding in the shadows for now, but the attack would be the next day. Adam was looking forward to getting back at Blake, despite Michael's constant reminding him what they were there for. It was time to end their familial battle.