A/N: Great, flames all over the comments again. I've got enough to deal with...T_T

Added a LOT more content, though no one seems to have noticed...

Sorry for the delay. Site wasn't showing posts and been feeling a little under the weather.

As ever, we're going by the now infamous Embers rule for this story.

If folks don't like it...well, it won't be continued So by all means! speak up! I'm working two jobs -have been for awhile now- and I don't have time to write something folks don't enjoy. That's why I'm here you see, to write stories that resonate with people, be they happy or sad. So Make yourselves heard! Every bit of feedback counts!

That's no joke!

I really look forward to reading and chatting with you all after a long day working back to back shifts. What little downtime I have is often spent writing these days, and that really has a tendency to wear me out these days.

No questions this time. Only story. And its a doozy.

I'll let the chapter do the talking for me. Hopefully everyone enjoys it.

As ever, I own no references, quotes, memes or themes. Not a wit or a one. Here we go~!

"Dear boy. You think you know pain? You have no idea. Perhaps if you lost everything you ever held dear, if everyone you ever loved crumbled to ash in your hands, maybe then you would understand a FIFTH of what it is truly suffer.

...everyone you're talking about has already been killed."

~Clash.

A Grimm Fate

Raven Branwen was a coward.

She kenw this. Accepted it. Cowards ran away and lived to fight another day. Cowards survived. Heroes died. Cowards didn't need company. It wasn't much of a stretch to say she loathed letting anyone get close to her; if if only because such closeness would inevitably remind her of her old team. Team STRQ. One of a kind, they'd been. The four of them, against the world, taking on all comers. Fighting the good fight. Saving the world, one mission at a time. Or so she'd thought.

But they hadn't, had they?

Ozpin had his secrets, and they'd been his unwitting pawns in the grand game, like so many others before them.

Yet, when she chose to leave, that made her the traitor? Ha! The irony wasn't lost on her; after all she'd said and done to her loved ones, she felt isolation was the least she deserved. She'd betrayed her team. Turned on them. Failed Summer in her moment of need. Cut herself off from her family. Abandoned her daughter and just...run. Like the coward she was.

Not a day went by that she didn't think of her cowardice. When it didn't haunt her. Whisper to her; mock her for her failures.

So no, Raven didn't much appreciate companionship these days; least of all a dusty old bird sprawled in the middle of her tent. That said bird was her blood mattered little to her - she'd been having a damn good drink before he came swooping into her tent, cawing up a storm. Bastard. He'd ruined her drink; caused her to spill it.

Needless to say, Raven reacted accordingly.

THWAP!

Now she almost wished she hadn't clobbered him. He'd been laying there for the last minute or so now.

...why are you here, Qrow?"

A muffled croak was his sole answer.

"You just going to lay there?" she asked of the felled fowl. "Get up." a booted foot nudged the dazed avian, tuning it over onto its back. "Before I put you down."

Do it. A nasty little voice whispered in her ear. Summer already died because you were too "busy" to save her. What's a little more blood on your hands?

Raven stamped it down into oblivion.

In a swirl of feathers, her once-beloved stood before her, rubbing a welt on the back of his head. He looked old. Tired. Just as she felt.

"Why'd ya hit me...?"

"You surprised me." She stowed Omen's sheathed edge and plonked down on her bed with a growl. "What do you want, Qrow? No, wait." a hand rose when he made to speak. "How did you even find me? I thought I hid the Tribe pretty damn well this time."

A dark brow rose. "You really want me to answer that?"

"Tch." she clicked her tongue and looked away. "Fair enough."

He was of the tribe after all, even if he'd forsaken it. Of course he knew their ways.

Raven sniffed once. Frowned.

Lovely. Qrow had been drinking again. She could smell it on him and...feel his anxiety through their bond. At such close proximity it was impossible to ignore. Something had him wound up tighter than a spring. Blast him. She had a move to plan; this was no time for one of his games.

"So?" she crossed one leg over the other. "What's the occasion? Come to drag me back again?"

Anger flashed across his face, but for once, he muffled it. "...she's back, Rae."

"She?" She feigned ignorance and took a long swig of her bottle. "She who? I know no such she." Another long swig followed the second, precluding her from answering him.

"Summer." The word was a dagger in her heart, moreso what came after. "She's alive. Thought you'd want to know."

"PFFFFFFFFFFT!"

Qrow glowered down at his ruined jacket, now dripping with red wine. "Really, sis? Really?"

"You!" Raven surged upward, grabbing him by collar. "Answers, now!"

"Did you even bother to look?" he grit his teeth but didn't falter, even as she threatened to squeeze the life out of him. "Use your semblance!"

Reluctantly, she closed her eyes and did just that.

Her semblance allowed her to sense those she'd bonded to. How else could she portal to them? She only had a handful of those; One for Qrow, another for Tai and Yang, then Summer. There. She sensed her. The real Summer, close to Yang, miles away in Vale. If it was a fake, she'd not have a bond to her. But she'd not felt anything beforehand. Summer had vanished. Until she hadn't.

...what in the blue hell was going on here?

Qrow took the chance to tear his way free from her.

"I shouldn't even be here." he grumbled. "But I'm not happy with the way Oz is doing things."

A slow, satisfied smile spread across Raven's face. Ordinarily, she would have milked this for all it was worth. But the news about Summer had slowed her. Left her giddy, even. Good. Summer would be a better mother to Yang than she could ever be. She didn't know anything about her spawn; perhaps it was better this way. One Summer was bad enough. But two?!

Poor Taiyang. He had no idea what he was in for when those runts grew up.

"Is that why you came here?" she said at last." To startle me?"

...no."

Qrow looked left. Qrow looked right. Qrow made certain no one was in sight, then closed the tent flap behind him. Raven's interest piqued. Why was he being so cagey about this? He almost seemed...afraid. Not of her, but of what he was about to say. A secret, then. She loathed secrets. Her brother clearly felt the need to talk about this, and if he'd come to her of all people...

"What," he smacked his lips and swallowed to clear his dry throat, "What would you do if I told you there's a way to stop the Grimm?"

Raven rolled her eyes. "Of course there is. You hit them until they die."

"No!" He exploded at her. "This is different. Rae, this is big."

"Clearly, brother of mine." She settled in, sensing a story. "Else you wouldn't be here."

Qrow took a deep breath. "So it starts with the guy that saved Summer...

Her brother told her, then. He told her everything. She wasn't sure how long it took. Minutes. An hour? It felt like an hour. More than once, Raven drank to harden her heart. But when all was said and done, her world had changed. Everything. Had. Changed. The bottle in her hand suddenly felt terribly heavy. She raised it to her lips and drank deeply. Helped settle her nerves.

"You're having me on."

"Ha! I almost wish I was." he took another drink from his flask, mirroring her. "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it."

"And this boy, this...Grimm whisperer. Ozpin wants to kill him?"

"Lock him up, more like." the implication was left unsaid. He'd never see the light of day. "He helped us and Oz just...turned on him. I've never seen him act like that."

"Of course". He'd always been blind to the old man's faults. "The old man fears change. You do realize that if you're telling the truth about all this, it change things. It changes everything."

"Yeah." he ran a hand through his hair and plonked down beside her. "It does."

Salem was a threat because of her Grimm. Certainly her immortality played a part in it, but alone, she was just one person. People could be overwhelmed, as the Grimm often did to hunters with sheer. Turn them human or just disable them...she didn't care. Take the Grimm away and Salem was vulnerable. Powerful, perhaps, yet numbers had a strength all their own. Get enough shackles on her, bind her down, maybe involve the old man, and they could...well, not kill her, but restraint was possible with enough people.

It might even be possible to seal her away entirely; toss her in one of the vaults or something.

An ugly idea twitched in the back of her head. She was the Spring Maiden. She could open Haven's vault. For the first time in so long, Raven felt hope. It was an unpleasant feeling. How could Ozpin be so blind? This boy was a weapon! They had to use him! Before Salem killed him, or worse turned him.

"Why tell me this?" she groaned. "That's precious information you're bartering there, little brother. What do you want in return?"

Qrow buried his face in his hands. As such she didn't hear him. At first. "Come again?"

"To pay back a debt." he raised his head. "And make up for my mistakes."

Raven blinked. "To me?"

"No, not you!" He snapped. "That kid pulled Summer out of the fire. Literally. And Oz wants him in chains for it? No. Screw that." He turned his head and spat. "I treated that kid like shit. You should've seen the way Ruby and Yang smiled at him. He was good. He was kind and...and...!

"You betrayed him."

Qrow physically flinched, but nodded.

"So why tell me? You know I'll act on this."

"Why?" He rounded on her, eyes wild. "I'm telling you because you can do something about it. You're not under Ozpin's thumb. Any actions you take will be yours and yours alone." a pause then, as he seemed to consider something. In the end, he threw caution to the wind. "Why not go see the kid yourself? He's feisty. You might like him. Might still be in Vale."

"I wouldn't even know where to look. If he knows what's good for him, he's left Vale behind.

The silence that followed proved itself all too telling. Raven hissed.

"Oh gods. You know where he is, don't you...?"

Qrow managed to look sheepish.

"Where is he?!"

(.0.0.0.)

Take. The. Girl.

The whispers were getting louder.

Summer grit her teeth. "Shut...up...!"

Ruby jolted in her lap. "M-Mommy? But I didn't say anything...?

Blast it all! She'd said that out loud. "Not you, sweetie. Mommy's got a bit of a headache...

And an awful feeling in the pit of her heart. Something horrid was about to happen, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

(.0.0.0.)

Naruto couldn't breathe.

He tried, he really did, but his lungs just weren't listening to him. His throat closed as panic bleated in his head, raw and loud and primal, the drums of a great hunt pounding out for blood. His blood. His heart hammered in his ears at a breakneck pace, threatening to deafen him completely. He'd been a fool. He had stayed. Lingered in one place too long. Painted a target on his back...no, all of their backs.

Now he paid the price.

Salem - Queen of the Grimm. Here in Mountain Glenn. Stood before him, eyes burning like fire in the low light. She was the very picture of poise, seemingly harmless despite her unnatural appearance. The men behind her less so; they were a ragged bunch, save one, a curiously clad fellow with a great bristling mustache who wouldn't stop scowling at him.

Somehow he doubted they'd dropped by for a spot of tea.

Lisa swore behind him. "Shit...please tell me that's not who I think it is...

"Are you afraid of me, boy?" Salem touched one hand to her cheek and hummed softly. "You needn't be."

His instincts said otherwise! He very much should! Her very presence seemed to suck the warmth from the air. He felt faint just being near her. But he stood his ground. What else could he do? To retreat was to die, to yield here meant the complete and utter annihilation of everything he held dear. All around them the Grimm looked on, caught between two Masters. They did not approach, but he had no illusions as to what might happen if his control slipped, even for a moment. He could hardly turn them all...or rather he could, but so many at once would surely kill him..

A line of blood ran down his nose.

Lisa saw it and hissed in his ear. "You alright?"

"Its nothing. I'm just...not used to warding off this many. Now get back!"

'Damnitall!' his mind bleated inwardly. 'I'm not ready for this! Send someone else!'

'There is no one else!' Casper poked out of his shoulder and stabbed his cheek with a tiny claw, startling him terribly. "You have to do this!"

He didn't dare look away from Salem; but it didn't stop him from flicking a thought to his bonded Grimm. "You can talk?!"

"I could always talk." came the angry huff. Was it just him, or did it sound like a girl? "You just didn't listen! Buy me a little time!"

"Time for what?!"

In response, the little Grimm dove back into his shoulder. Traitor!

"Dear boy," Salem spoke up, reclaiming his attention once more. "Don't look so pale. We need not be enemies. And whatever your little friend is planning...it will not succeed."

'Ack!' He felt the Geist spasm within him, wracked by pain.

Elm hefted her hammer and planted her feet. "Your actions say otherwise."

"Quiet, child." Salem considered Marrow's mangled body not a yard away. "Your friend isn't long for this world. Unless you wish to join him, hold your tongue."

The berserker hissed out a breath, though Queen paid her little heed and looked back to him.

"Are you one of mine, I wonder?" she tilted her head to regard him as one might a small animal. "No, I think not. Abilities aside, you're no Grimm. I would remember having a son...a descendant, perhaps?" tutting softly, she stepped forward. "Let me have a look at you."

He winced at that implication. "Lets not and say we did, yeah?"

"So stubborn. Perhaps you are of my blood after all." she tutted once, pausing only a stone's throw away. "Perhaps not. We'll find out momentarily. I will show you mercy if you but tell me how you have done...this." she flicked a look at Alpha and Rim, eyes pulsing with ghastly light. "How is it that you have made them human?"

She didn't know?

Sensing his panic, the hybrids nestled closer to him, flanking him. Elm hefted her hammer and Lisa...? Why was she warding her scroll before her like a sword.

No. Surely she wouldn't.

"S-S-So." she managed through chattering teeth, "You're Salem, huh...?"

A pale brow rose. "I am. Are you not afraid of me, girl?"

Lisa absolutely would!

"Terrified, really." her smile was glassy. Was she trying to buy him time...? "Still, Any chance I could ask you a few questions...? I mean, its not everyday you get to interview the literal Queen of the Grimm...

Alpha and Rim winced as one.

Salem blinked. Salem blinked hard. "Excuse me?"

Elm hissed in Naruto's ear, drawing him back. "What is she doing?!"

He shrugged back, not daring to move any further than he already had. "Buying us time...?"

"An interview?" The mustached man beside Salem snorted in disbelief. "What nonsense is this? Men," he flicked a hand at the hired thugs with them, "Take the girl-

"Peace, Watts." Salem laid a hand on his arm. "What's the harm in indulging her?"

"Watts?" Lisa rounded on him with a predatory grin. "You wouldn't happen to be Arthur Watts, would you? Renowned genius of Atlas and criminal mastermind?"

"Yes, well," His mustache quivered with pride as he preened. "The stories exaggerate...

She was definitely stalling!

Naruto took the chance for what it was. Slowly, carefully, he began to speak to the surrounding Grimm. He spun his mental web slowly as Lisa fired off question after question, whispering to them, nudging them, urging them to action. Salem didn't seem to notice; she seemed far too amused by Lisa's bravery. He could only. She had grit, if nothing else. When was the last time someone stood up for him...?

...if we get out of this, I'm giving her a big hug!'

"Hmm." Salem granted her an indulgent smile suddenly. "Perhaps I'll let you live as well, if only to spread the news of what happened here." Blood red eyes looked past him. "He seems fond you if nothing else. Maybe that will convince him to be more...compliant in the future."

A gulp. "Any chance you'd be willing to tell me what you'll do to the others?"

"They will die, of course."

Naruto drew back, but it was too late; shadowy hands burst from the street at their feet and dragged the lot of them down.

Elm went down with a startled yelp. The others weren't far behind.

He thrashed his way up to a knee just as Salem reached him. Pale palms like ice closed in on either side of his face to lock him in place. Her forehead kissed his, as a mother might their child. Her consciousness brushed against his, and with it he experienced a sudden surge of strength. He couldn't think of any other word for it. Having her this close, touching her, somehow made him feel more alive than he'd been in weeks. Was she even aware of what he was doing? Or was she just that arrogant?

"Marvelous." she murmured to herself, enraptured with him. "You are every bit as I imagined and more...

Lisa cried out behind them, choking as the Grimm hands squeezed her throat. Elm and the girls gasped for air. He had to do something.

"Stop!" His eyes flashed red. "Let them go!"

Salem complied. Not willingly. His mind crashed against hers and she yielded with a gasp, buckling to him in surprise. She didn't so much step back as she did lurch; taking whatever spell summoning those twisted hands went with her. There was a certain wariness in her gaze now, a quiet curiosity that chilled him to the bone. Beneath that, he felt her anger, pulsing in time with his own. She'd done something, unwittingly linked herself to him perhaps, or maybe the other way around.

Regardless, he'd pulled something from her, and she felt it.

"You dare," her very words were a venomous hiss, "To command me...?"

Naruto felt her will slam back into place, walling him off. Her hand lashed out, striking him hard in the gut. He folded with a grunt of pain and retaliated in kind.

In short? His forehead smashed against hers.

It made for quite the show; the mighty Queen of Grimm pitched back with a startled yelp, legs folding beneath her like a startled child. Black light oozed across her forehead, but when she tried to stand, her knees buckled and she fell once more. Elm scrambled forward and hauled him back, but stunned as she was, Salem made no move to pursue. Rather, she couldn't.

"You...?!" she scowled at him as she forced herself up on her arms. "What is your head made of?!"

Naruto slammed a hand forward, and the Grimm went with it.

"Now!"

As one being, a tide of black and white broke and lunged at Salem.

They never stood a chance.

Salem didn't even deign to retreat, merely raising an arm to defend herself. Black light -could light be black?- gathered in her palm and was loosed upon them. They did not die. They simply ceased to be. A single spellbolt eviscerated the swarm with a bolt of liquid fire -a bolt that evaporated the beasts and hit their feet. It detonated there, sending everyone sprawling into the street.

Head spinning, ears ringing, Naruto distantly heard her words.

"These are Grimm, boy." she scoffed at him as she rose ponderously. "Mindless creatures meant to do our bidding and nothing else. Do not think that they are a threat to me. They live for us. Die for us. Like so."

A pale palm swung up ponderously toward a prone Beowolf, as one might a blade; he realized too late what she intended. "No!"

That hideous hand swept down, carving it in half. Its ruined body landed at his feet with a pained cry.

Alpha snarled. Rim screamed and tried to lunge, only to be held back by Elm.

"Do you see?" Salem scoffed. "Mindless."

Naruto knelt and touched a hand to the dying Grimm. It made a faint chuffing sound and licked his hand. Even in its last moments it could have bitten his hand clean off. He didn't have aura to protect himself. But it didn't kill him. The creature only whimpered, looking up at him with red eyes, as though to ask what it had done wrong.

"They're not mindless...

"Of course they are. They follow you because you will it, not-ack?!'

She jolted as the towering Ursa he'd befriend came crashing down onto her, toothy maw biting deep into the marrow her shoulder. She slapped it aside like a child, taking her arm with it. An awful crack filled the air. Its bulky body struck a building, bounced, and skidded to a halt at Lisa's feet.

"Enough of this." Salem snarled, already beginning to heal. "Watts! Attend me!"

"Don't be foolish, boy." the scientist -Watts?- stepped up beside her. "You're outmanned, outnumbered, and outgunned. Surrender. Let us be civilized about this."

Naruto tilted his head. "Is that what you think?"

Behind him, Lisa shivered.

...you really don't want to do this."

"Hard way it is, then." Salem's minion paid him even less heed. Watts flicked a glance at the men -mercenaries?- he'd brought. "Masks. Use the gas to subdue him, just as we practiced. Kill the rest."

Weapons rose. Elm surged forward, but not quickly enough. Too slowly. She'd not make it in time.

It was the straw the broke the camel's back. Naruto saw red. Someone was screaming.

Oh. He realized dully. Its me. I'm the one screaming...

"Masks?!" He shrieked, near hysteric with rage. He stabbed his arms backward into the dying Grimm, the faint spark of its soul already nearly gone, but not quite. "You want masks? I'll show you a mask! MASK!"

Deep inside him, a scarlet eye opened.

Black tar flowed up his limbs.

"COPY."

He poured everything he had into the dying Grimm and it reciprocated in kind. It would never walk again, never truly live, but its body had substance. Material. Form. Power, added to its own. He took its dying body and molded it to his whim. Shrouding him in shadow, shielding him in strength, the Grimm's shadow loomed large, body twisting horribly as it gained mass and substances that hadn't been there before. Muscles sprouted from its bristly hide as it grew larger, smooth rubbery skin fusing with him in its entirety.

A cold mask of tar and toothy bone slammed over his head, bearing jagged jaws and slanted white eyes.

Naruto blinked, realizing he could see through those twisted slits. It was enough.

Kill.

With a roar he slugged Salem in the face. The Queen of the Grimm criminal didn't fall. She flew across the street. Watts tried to draw his revolver. An uppercut smashed him into a low-rise building. He didn't wait to see if he'd killed him; he was already moving onto the next. From there he grabbed the nearest man and crushed his skull like an overripe grape. He didn't even have time to scream. A black fist smashed his corpse back into his fellows. Dark tendrils lashed out, reeling anothr into his arms. He bit their head off, flung him over a shoulder, and stalked forward. Fuel in the tank.

Kill them.

The survivors stumbled back, firing wildly. One of them screamed. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?!"

Kill them all.

They were babbling at him, trying to fire those strange weapons at him. He ignored them, as did the Grimm with which he'd joined. His interest was in their flesh, not the metal they held. Eyes. Lungs. Pancreas. So many snacks. So little time. Why was he so hungry? He'd never been this hungry before...

"Enough of this! Salem snarled behind him. "Fall!"

Fire hit his back and the Grimm encasing him screamed in agony as it evaporated. What little remained dove deep inside him to recover -hiding from the trauma, leaving him terribly, horrible alone. Naruto crashed to his knees, feeling weaker than he'd ever been. Still a part of him, but weakened. Subdued. He heard the faint clatter of weapons behind him, but he couldn't move. Couldn't find strength in his arms. He felt a hand close around his hair and yank him upright. Salem glowered down at him.

A mournful breeze blew through the dead city; a stray strand of pale hair fell across her face.

She tucked it back with a scowl.

"Sweet dreams."

A bloody blade hurtled down from on high, beheading the Queen in a single stroke.

Her skull struck the ground, bounced once, and rolled down the street, never once saying a word.

Even as her body fell a long pale leg lashed out and kicked it, sending it skidding away from the tumbling head.

Elm and Lisa scarcely had time to yelp before a crimson portal opened at their back. A streak of red-on-black hit them and hurled them through. Alpha was summarily ripped off her feet and launched in after, Rim with her. Naruto had time enough to glimpse a masked woman in red and black before she slung him over her shoulder like a sack of grain. The portal swept open again, dark and red, brimming with menace. An arm cocked back, hefting him, ready to throw.

"Raven Branwen!"

The masked woman paused, looking back. Raven. Was that her name?

"Know this." Salem's head called after her. "If you take him from me, you will be my enemy."

An awful beat of silence passed between them. The masked woman looked to him. Naruto felt her gaze burn into his soul.

"Give him to me, child." Salem's voice was motherly, almost kind, as a parent would be unto a naughty child. "Now. Do so and I will forgive your little...indiscretion."

The silence stretched to its breaking point.

...I'm already a target." the masked woman drawled softly, words muffled behind that bone white helm. "Nothing has changed." a mocking note entered her voice and he imagined she was smiling beneath the mask. "I wonder how powerful you'll be without your Grimm."

"You are making a mistake."

"No." the woman reached up and removed her mask. "For once in my life, I'm doing something right."

With a dull thunk the porcelain facade struck the rooftop, bounced once, and plummeted to the street below. Revealing a striking young woman with a pale face framed by dark hair. Red eyes, a pure and natural red like blood, so unlike Salem's, glared hatefully down at the witch. Naruto sucked in a sharp breath.

She looked like Yang.

Much older and sharper, her face a bit leaner and lined with stress, but still the same, a hint of what Tai's daughter would one day grow to be. Realization broke like the dawn. He was looking at Yang's mother. Her eyes burned with raging fire, red light flicking at the edges, but her visage was every bit a deadlier version of the cheeky blond child he'd met in Summer's cottage.

"Why, he might even be able to control you in time."

Salem twitched.

"So be it!"

She flung a spellbolt up at her, the same that had sent them all sprawling before. Naruto hollered a warning.

Raven caught it.

"Huh." she remarked, holding it aloft gazing upon the liquid fire trapped in her grasp. "Come to think of it, I never did try to fight you." lightning played over her fingers, causing her aura to crackle blood red. "Never saw the point in it. You can't die. I can. Seemed a fool's errand. But this...?" Pale fingers curled around the spell, still cradling it...no, feeding it now, adding her power to the raging heat in her grasp. "Is this the best you can do? Or did he weaken you that badly?"

Salem went still. "You know not what you meddle with."

Raven grinned, and it was such a Yang thing to do that Naruto couldn't help but smile in turn.

"What can I say?" she all but cooed the words. "We ravens are bad luck."

Her hand snapped out and shot the bolt into the sky.

The heavens answered.

Lightning howled down from on high in a great vivid bolt of gold. Salem looked up, tutted in mild annoyance...and smiled.

Then she vanished with the thunderclap.

Naruto flung up an arm to shield his face from the resulting explosion; a sudden rush of heat and light so powerful that it nearly blinded him with his eyes closed. Even then, it only endured for an instant. Ears ringing, he gaped down into the crater where the Queen of the Grimm once stood.

Watts lay sprawled some feet away, curled inward, his entire right side badly burned. He was fortunate. He'd been on the edge of the blast zone. But Salem...

Nothing could survive that, surely.

"Go!" Raven spun and shoved him toward the portal. "That won't keep her down for long-

"Not long at all."

A spellbolt slammed into Raven's back, piercing her shoulder. Aura sizzled but she didn't fall. Her hands swept outward, conjuring a cyclone of frozen air in Salem's general direction. For a wild moment, Naruto actually glimpsed her down there, scowling up at them as she healed. Her pale arms rose and the shadows darkened; becoming dark and viscous. Fresh Grimm crawled out of them, hateful eyes turning their way. He tried to reach out to them and found himself rebuffed, actively blocked by the scowling woman below. No, not quite blocked, but his efforts were weakened. Muted.

"Surrender." Salem called to them, voice darkening as she strode forth. "This is your last chance."

Naruto hissed at Raven. "What now?!"

"Now?" Red eyes flashed. "Now we run. Get in the portal." She nudged him back when he tried to push past her. "It'll take you to safety."

"He is not safe!" Salem swung her arms up with a shriek. As one, the Grimm moved with her. "None of you! Are! Safe!"

A vortex of fangs and claws descended on

Raven hauled him backwards into the portal and dove in after him. The world lurched and his back struck a grassy knoll. Grass? That was all he had time to realize before Raven crashed atop him. Her knee struck his ribs as she rolled off, paying him no mind. Her sword was already rising again, not to strike at him, but something else.

"Close it!" He heard Elm wail in the background. "Close it now! She's coming through!"

Raven's sword slammed down.

The scarlet portal vanished with her blade.

Just before the gateway slammed shut, Naruto's heard Salem's scream of rage.

A/N: Biiiig honking Venom reference there.

Still, Raven with the save!

Sadly, her reasons are far, FAR from altruistic.

Someone who can control, use and change the Grimm? She'd be after that in a heartbeat.

The plot thickens! And so does the pairing! Feels nice to try something I don't usually do. Maybe that's why I feel so invested in writing this story...and others.

As ever, we're going by the Embers rule. This'll won't be continued if folks don't like it.

So speak up! Make yourselves heard! Every bit of feedback counts! Seriously!

Strange at it may seem, I can't write without reviews. That's no joke.

Worry not, we haven't seen the last of Summer or the rest.

Didn't see that coming now, did you?

Aaaand there we go. As ever, reviews keep me alive. Without them, I cannot write.

So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review...Would You Kindly?

Have some new previews!

As ever, a disclaimer:

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

THAR BE SPOILERS AHEAD!

BEWARE!

(Previews!)

When Ozpin reached Mountain Glenn, he found it deserted.

"Blast...!"

The Ursa had followed them through the portal. Of course it had Naruto wasn't sure why he was surprised.

Half dead, it rumbled softly as he stroked its fur.

"Poor thing...

Elm plonked down beside him. "Whatever you're thinking, don't.

Naruto's face darkened. He grabbed the beast's mask and pulled.

Golden light flashed through the tribe.

"Shall we pursue?"

"Eventually, Watts. He'll change his mind in the fullness of time, one way or another. They always do.

"Welcome to Mistral. Hope you enjoy your stay."

Lisa curled into Naruto's side. "Never do that again, alright?"

"I might not have a choice-

"NEVER AGAIN!"

"Alright...

A red eye creaked open in his mind.

Naruto felt something old and angry stir in him.

"Vernal, was it?" he scowled at the cheeky bandit. "Keep your forked tongue behind your teeth. I have not passed through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a witless fool!"

"I SEE YOU."

Raven flung something at him, A sword clattered to the floor at his feet.

Naruto scowled at it. "The hell?"

"Pick it up. We don't have much time. I'm thinking three days, maybe a week if you're lucky."

"Before Salem sends her forces here. I've brought you a reprieve. Nothing more.

"Mistral?!" Ironwood's jaw clicked open. "Say again, Elm? You're where? No, no. So long as you're alright. Stay there. I'll dispatch the fleet...

R&R~!