Sacrifice

"Summer.." Raven glanced at her partner and gripped her blade tight.

"Yeah.." Summer nodded.

They both turned around as fast as they could. Raven unleashed her entire cartridge of fire dust in one fast slash. Summer's weapon transformed into a twinblade and stabbed at the face of Salem. She blocked them both with a single finger. Though they were stopped just before her finger. Her hands radiating powerful red colored magic that halted their attacks so easily.

~Did she just 'Aizen' us both?~ Raven grit her teeth.

"Branwen, I didn't expect to see you here. You were not invited" Salem spoke matter-of-factly.

Both Summer and Raven leapt back and prepared for the fight of their lives. Raven briefly contemplated using the maiden powers but using them while still so new to them in front of an immortal witch would be like a two-cent child magician showing off in front of Houdini. It was better to keep that as a trump card.

"I only need the silver eyes. I can't believe Ozpin let you come here.. He truly must be going senile after I killed him so many times" Salem pondered for a second before Raven opened up a rift with her semblance.

"Summer!" Raven tried to pull her in but they were hit with a fire ball.

The explosion and concussive force blasted them away from the rift before they even had a chance to get near. Raven and Summer quickly rolled off the ground and ducked to avoid a large magic beam that Salem swept at their midsections.

"You thought I'd let you escape right in front of me? Do you take me for an idiot, Branwen?" Salem sighed in disappointment like a parent catching their child doing something stupid.

Raven stabbed the ground with her blade and made a wall of ice appear, Summer nods and fires a grenade at it from her twinblade and launches hundreds of ice shards at Salem's face. Raven quickly tries to open a rift again but both her and Summer are hit with a very powerful blast of blood red lightning from the sky that blasts a crater in the blackened soil beneath them.

"Not bad. Are you going to retort to me at all? This conversation's a little too one-sided for my liking" Salem walked towards them, crushing the ice beneath her as the holes scattered throughout her body grow grimm-like teeth and started to close like chomping jaws.

"Monstrousity.." Summer picked herself up with Raven and muttered.

Salem didn't acknowledge her insult and started to gather vast amounts of magic in her palms.

"Summer we have to run.. I can't get us out with all these bullshit spells hitting us.." Raven grunted and stood ready.

"I'm afraid you're too late for that" Salem coldly remarked as several hundred Grimm surrounded them.

Beowolves, Manticores, Griffins, Nevermore, Ursa, Boarbatusks, King Taijitsu and Deathstalkers surrounded them in every direction but below them.

"Raven.. we aren't getting out of this.. I'll use my eyes. You escape and tell Ozpin about this.." Summer whispered as she got back-to-back with Raven, who became silent.

"Are you sure? There's no other way?" Raven muttered silently, observing the horde and the Witch before them.

"Yes.. now open a rift and get back to Patch in three... two... one.. GO!" Summer shouted as her silver eyes lit up the vast area around them. Salem flinched back and her magic dispersed due to the lapse in concentration.

The Grimm around the immediate area were turned to stone but not all of them were dead. Raven opened up a rift and Summer gave her a reassuring smile. But it vanished when Raven kicked her into the rift right as Salem hit her with a concentrated blast of Darkness magic that broke through her aura and set her sprawling on the ground. It was too late though, the rift had closed and Salem lost the prey she desired.

"That's a pity.." Salem seemed somewhat annoyed and clicked her tongue before looking to the collapsed form of Raven.

She had open bloody wounds and sores caused by the corrosion of Darkness magic. Her body was slowly falling apart, which drew Salem's attention. Normally, anyone without aura hit by Darkness magic was corroded into a skeleton almost immediately. She was resistant to it. Salem observed her as she writhed in pain and threw up blood.

"Interesting.. Was it worth it, Branwen? I thought you were smarter than this. The idiocy of humanity never ceases to impress me. I was going to use Summer for my experimentation with the pool of corruption.. hmm..." Salem monologed, since Raven was too busy gasping and writhing in pain.

"But seeing that you ruined that.. Oh well. I'll use you. Carry her" Salem ordered an old Alpha Beowolf, who grabbed Raven like a sack of potatoes.

Raven was teetering on the verge of consciousness when she heard a familiar voice in her head.

"Oh dear.. What have you gotten yourself into, my friend?" It was the voice of the man who resembled Kimblee. He even sounded like him.

"I sent you here to live but at this point.. heh.. well you know, right? You don't possess the immortality to survive that pool. There's no avoiding that fate now. You'll die or be submerged, then die. How about I give you a hint? That will of yours? The thing you kept running on during the war? What sustained you after until your body grew too old to function? You still possess that. Though it's changed.. given a tangible form. Let's call it your unique power! You were literally too angry to die. Use that" He finished with a gruff laugh at the end.

Raven tried. Again and again. To draw upon the feeling of that spite she held onto for so long. What she thought she let go of near the end. It did not return. It used to be like a wildfire, that burned through her entire body. Now, there was only an ember. She saw only a tiny ember surrounded by darkness. And it was dying so fast.

Before she knew it, her body was flying. Her eyes were unable to open but she knew, she was thrown. Then she was submerged in what at first felt like water. Then it felt like the most intense acid she ever felt. She felt like she was melting. She screamed, but the liquid only went inside her mouth and suffocated her. Aside from the excruciating pain, there was a growing and intense feeling now. She saw the ember grow, like pouring gasoline on it, it grew and grew. It became darker, somehow.

The flame encompassed her body now. It fought the corrupting waters and grew as the water pushed harder to consume her. It became a war of attrition. But the flame wasn't losing. Flashes of images hit her over and over. Like torture, it showed her the death of her loved ones. Lawrence's Mother, Lover, Summer, Qrow and finally, Yang. And the flame grew so very large at the last image.

Salem was watching the whole time. She was sure Raven would be killed soon. Though she was steadily growing more surprised by what she saw. A crimson flame had started to leak from Raven's body now. It grew and grew until it surrounded her like a large cloak. It kept regenerating her but could not halt the corruption. Eventually, it seemed to pull Raven out. Raven coughed up the black waters and shakily crawled on all fours back to shore.

She did not change like Salem completely. But the effect was obvious. The white bone plating Grimm possessed had grown on her head and formed a single horn on the right side of her head. It was the only thing that crimson flame could not reverse. The plating on her arms and legs were pushed back. The pale skin like Salem's was reversed as well.

~I refuse to look edgier..~ Raven almost laughed at her own priorities as she finished throwing the black water up.

"This is interesting... very very interesting, Bran-No, Raven. What is this power? It's not magic.. But it's too powerful to be aura" Salem put her hand on her, getting the flame to cover her hand.

"What is.." Salem froze and made a face of realization.

She almost dropped to her knees. Images of Lawrence's life kept flashing through her eyes. His childhood, the loss of his mother and abandonment of his Father. The long time he spent in school, dealing with the cruelty of children without an outlet. The meeting of his Lover, Elizabeth. The death of Elizabeth and his entrance into the army. Being too angry to die before he killed those he blamed for her death. His bitter and resentful life afterwards. All of it played out like a horrible movie in her mind and it made Salem pause like nothing else in the world.

"How? How do you have this!? How do you have his memories!?" Salem grabbed Raven by the collar and lifted her up, screaming for answers.

Raven didn't know how to answer her. Her eyes reflecting the same spite she saw in those memories. She paused and touched her face.

"Lawrence..?" She spoke softly but Raven's eyes had closed, her consciousness slipping.

"Lawrence it's you.. haha.. Keep her alive! Bring her into my Castle" Salem ordered the Alpha Beowolf behind her and grabs Raven's blade.

"And be gentle" Salem ordered once again as the Beowolf carried Raven back inside in a cradling position.

"I won't let us be separated again, Lawrence.." Salem sighed happily and strode into her Castle, followed by the Grimm carrying Raven.

-Patch, XiaoLong-Rose house-

Summer was kicked through the rift suddenly and was sent sprawling across the table in front of Yang, who jumped and yelped in surprise with Ruby in the living room.

"Girls!?" Tai ran out to the living room, only to see Summer back and crying.

"Rae.. Oh Rae.." She couldn't stop her tears and it made both Yang and Ruby start to cry too.

"Summer? What is it..? What happened to.." Tai stopped himself there as Summer's sobs picked up.

She hit the table and nearly broke it in half. She glared down at her hands as harshly as she could, as if blaming them.

"What's all this..?" Qrow walked downstairs to find the kids sad, Summer despairing and Tai looking at him with a concerned face. But there was no Raven.

"She saved me.. The idiot.. Idiot!! I told her to go through instead! She likely wouldn't have killed me.." Summer clutched her face and slid down onto the floor.

"Raven did..?" Tai and Qrow couldn't believe she had changed this much.

"Mom..?" Yang got up and grabbed Summer's white cloak.

"I'm.. s-sorry Yang.. Mommy was just.. sad" Summer wiped her eyes and looked at her children, pulling them into a tight hug.

The feeling of despair at losing her friend was mixed with gratefulness of being able to see her children once again.

~Raven... Thank you. Thank you..~ Summer had to stifle her sobs for the sake of Yang and Ruby.

Tai comforted her as best he could. But Qrow walked outside, trying his best not to let his face be seen. As soon as he got outside, he transformed into a Crow and flew off as fast as he could.

-Salem's Castle-

Raven woke up with a sharp inhale, coughing up black specks of liquid still inside her before looking around the large room she was in. It was there, she saw a child of about 12 years old. She had black hair and wore a small red dress. She was looking at Raven curiously, her ember colored eyes peeking at her before looking elsewhere in the room. Raven was too exhausted and too sore to protest or jump up as she normally would in this situation.

"Mistress! She woke up.." Cinder looked down fearfully and informed Salem, who had been checking in every hour.

"Good job, Cinder.. You may leave" Salem nodded at her and watched as Cinder quickly exited the room.

When she was gone, Raven saw her expression shift dramatically as she fixed her gaze on her.

"Lawrence.. we finally.. finally meet again.." Salem leaned over the bed and kissed the woman lightly but with as much affection as Elizabeth had when Lawrence had kissed her.

Raven's eyes widened at once, the feeling was incredibly familiar. Tears formed at the corner of her eyes as she stared at the long haired, pale woman who seemed to resemble her first and only love.

"Eliz..abeth..?"