The Grimm Reaper

While Cinder shares her plans with Neo, Maria shares her past with Team RWBY, and both groups are dead-set on making it to Atlas.

"The Grimm Reaper" is the seventy-third episode of RWBY and the seventh episode of Volume 6. It premiered for Rooster Teeth FIRST members on December 8th, 2018 and was made public on the Rooster Teeth site on December 15th, 2018.

Summary
In Haven's now-empty vault, Cinder Fall finishes explaining to Neopolitan that she needs to retrieve the Relic of Knowledge from Team RWBY before it can get to Atlas. She states that while she has specific instructions from Salem not to get revenge on Ruby Rose, Neo has no such orders. In exchange for helping Cinder get to Atlas and finding Ruby, Neo can do whatever she wants. Neo seals the deal.

Many years ago, a young Maria Calavera, under her huntress alias, "The Grimm Reaper", is ambushed by a group of assassins after single-handedly defeating a Nevermore using her silver eyes. The leader of the assassins, a crocodile Faunus named Tock, explains that they have been hired to kill her because of her eyes. Maria manages to kill them all, but not before Tock permanently blinds her in battle.

In the present, Maria finishes telling her story to the gathered heroes, lamenting that after she lost her eyes she only ever looked out for herself. The rest of the group is shocked to hear this, Qrow Branwen stating that as the Grimm Reaper she inspired him to become a huntsman, even modeling his own weapon after her dual-scythes. Just as Ruby asks Maria to train her in how to use her silver eyes, she gets a call on her scroll from Jaune Arc: they have arrived in Argus.

After reuniting with the rest of Team JNR, the heroes find a place to stay in the home of Jaune's sister Saphron Cotta-Arc, along with her wife, Terra, and their child, Adrian. Terra is preoccupied with some reported issues at the town's relay station, which shares a space with the military's radar system. After getting a chance to rest and get food, Ruby explains that they plan to continue their journey to Atlas by going to the military base. However, Team JNR reports they tried that already and it did not go so well. Yang questions how bad it could be, only for the whole team to have the gates slammed shut in their faces the next day.

Trivia

 * The license plate number of the street tram that the characters ride is 12082018, which can be read as 12/08/2018, the date that the episode was released for FIRST members. Since RWBY is an American-made webshow, this date is written in the American format.