"Ozma!"
Laying in bed, pale as the light of the sun outside, the brown-haired, golden-eyed young man that had been the one to rescue her was dying from an illness that even the young Sorceress had never seen before. He had been sick for ten days… And for ten days Salem tried to save him. Now, with one last spell to try, Salem prayed to the Brother Gods that it would work…
As her magic flowed into her palms, she leaned over Ozma, her lips whispering words of prayer to the God of Light to allow his awakening and to the God of Darkness to will her powers to act. Lilac energy pooled into her fingers and wisps of light entered Ozma's frail body… She heard him gasp for air… A wide smile formed on her face. Though strained, the young woman continued, pooling much of her magical power into this last hope…
His pulse was faint, his heart beat, slowed and his breathing, ragged. Whatever disease attempted to take her Hero, she would not let pass… Focusing again, her teeth grinding against one another, more of her powers streamed into the heart, soul and body of the young man. She begged the Gods time and time again, now with sweet words, more than prayers, as she worked herself…
Yet as the man's soul faded, she began to feel him slipping through her fingers. As tears fell from her eyes, she poured more of her magic… And almost lost part of her soul… Yet as the Spell became more and more bright and the lilac magic of the young woman washed Ozma's body… She lost hold…
"No!" She screamed, unable to react before a wave of her own magic wrapped around her… The pulsating light blinded her and her ears began to ring. She felt what must've been a thousand hands grab her as she fell, immobile, into a Void. She shut her eyes tight, her eyes burning from the brightness… The sound of millions of voices cried out in the void, echoing into Salem's ears like the roar of the tar-black monsters of the God of Darkness…
Millions cried out her name as she felt herself dragged down. She knew not why they called her to the underworld, but she didn't resist. Ozma was to be there as well… And if this meant she could be with him again, she would not oppose it. Yet just as she felt herself weightless from her fall, as suddenly, she felt herself slam against the hard ground, with the air knocked out of her lungs…
She gasped, eyes blasting open as she grabbed at her collar, tugging at it with her fingers… Her eyes darted from the sky, to the facade of a building and then, to the streets around her… People that had been walking on the streets of this place all had suddenly stopped to look at the newly-arrived young woman…
Her heart thumped in the chest as she gazed at the buildings and people and… She gasped as she saw what looked like a chariot with no horses, stopped in its tracks to her right. Both its doors were open and its occupants… One, a normal human, while the other was a blue-haired girl with what looked like wolf's ears, stared in muted awe at her… Animal ears?
"... Oh, my Gods…" She whimpered, her breathing erratic as her eyes darted to and fro… She felt a hand on her shoulder and heard a voice start speaking, but she spun about with a scream, raising her hand… A wave of white energy washed over the man that came to her side, sending him staggering back…
He, too, had an animal trait. The antlers of a deer on top of his head...
Salem felt short of breath, turning only to see the crowd surrounding her, all awed, all holding one item or another. Salem could not process the colors. She could not process the buildings and items around her. So she did the only thing she found sensible… She ran. She ran and pushed her way through the crowd, staggering as she lost one of her heels against a bump in the road that nearly tripped her.
She hobbled on one shoe and a hurting foot, into an alley and as far away from the crowd as she could manage, only to lean against one of the walls, gazing down at the dirty, grey ground beneath her. She rested a hand on her chest, feeling her heartbeat racing. A droplet of sweat fell on the ground. But tired as she was, Salem needed to get out of here. To find out...
To find out where she was… To find out where her home was…
Gritting her teeth and biting down on what felt like tears, she removed the other shoe, holding it in one hand as she ran, her bare feet pressing against the cold ground. Back at the scene of the young Sorceress's conspicuous landing, a blonde-haired woman approached the scene minutes later, arranging her glasses on the bridge of her nose as the last of the crowd dispersed…
… Glynda Goodwitch, the combat teacher and assistant to the Headmaster of Beacon, knew better than to disregard the order that the man that she had been working with for the better part of her life had given her. Plus, it was her job to watch over the city while Qrow was gone, and to ensure the safety of the people.
Stopping a man in the middle of the street, a Faunus with antlers, she asked him "Garnet… What happened here?"
"Hello to you as well, ms Goodwitch… Uhm, to be fair, I haven't got the faintest. I was minding my own business when I suddenly saw a crowd forming here… I see a woman pop up from the middle of that crowd, one of the most beautiful humans I've ever seen, mind ya…" The man explained, only stopping to notice Glynda's slight raise of a brow, then continued "Not that you aren't lovely yourself… Anyways… I went to help her up and tried to ask her name and she used… I think it was a semblance, to push me away… Anyone from Beacon?"
"Mmm…" Glynda narrowed her lips. "No. The school year won't be starting for another month… Do you happen to have a description of this woman?"
"Uh, sure thing, ms… Long, blonde hair, teal eyes, a beautiful face and a dress with varying shades of white, blue and violet, as well as a blue… I dunno if it was a necklace or part of the dress, but some sorta teal gem set right in the chest area."
"Thank you. Which way did she take off to?" She inquired, looking around.
"Hobbled off into that alley over there, ms." The Faunus man jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "I think she lost a shoe or something too…"
"Got it. Safe travels." Glynda nodded to the Faunus man, sidestepping him and walking toward the exact spot where the Faunus had pointed… Indeed, stuck in one of the gutters was a purple high-heel shoe embroidered with the one gem in the center… She picked up the item from the gutter, then looked toward the alley. Foot-shaped marks continued into the alley, before becoming a pair further down the middle… Clearly running from the greeting crowd, the young woman that'd landed here was probably scared…
Following the steps would be easy. Talking to this new arrival was an unknown…
It seemed Ozpin's gut feeling was right yet again…
… Further down the winding streets of this strange, seemingly almost fictional city, Salem had slowed her running to a brisk walk, breathing heavily as she walked past stairs and terraces where people ate, drank, talked and laughed. She needed to find a way home now, if possible… If at all possible…
Her slowed pace meant she could catch her breath. Her heart slowed its beats with her pace, now a steady, rapid drumbeat instead of the rapid-fire thumps of fear from before. People walked past her. With animal traits and without… Some smiled and waved at her, others simply passed her, unaware as they were too caught up in their chatter.
Old, young, human and… Whatever they were… They seemed to be cohabitating. It was… Interesting…
She paused upon seeing a child, with his mother beside him, playing on some sort of… Odd machine or device. It was a flat one, with rounded corners and a transparent, almost glass-like screen. The young child seemed enamored by his toy, playing with it as his mother gazed around, perhaps for a place to eat…
Overhead, Salem heard the whine of metal against metal, gazing up at what looked like a bridge held up by pillars of steel and rock, only to see cars hanging off of it, tied together like a tube and moving fast across to another part of the city. And from there, her gaze turned toward the shimmering water of the blue sea ahead… She lay on a fairly tall hill, from which she could see more buildings and streets and stores and beaches…
Her heart skipped a beat, mouth agape, as she stared at the beauty of the gulf…
Her little moment of joy, however, was cut short as she stopped by another alley, hearing struggle. She turned her head toward the alley, to see three men surrounding a black-haired beauty with amber eyes. On top of her head, she wore a bow… And the rest of her attire was just as odd, formed of a white top, shorts, a black, almost corset-like item, black arm covers and multi-tone leggings of a lilac color, as well as oddly-designed shoes…
In her hand, she held a bladed weapon with a bulky body and another which… Upon first glance, looked thicker and somewhat heavier than its smaller, thinner counterpart… Salem approached, hiding behind a container of some sort that smelled rancid… She gazed to the girl and her assailants, listening in…
"You got some sorta business here, girlie? Why don't you put those blades away 'fore you hurt yourself…" One of the goons laughed.
"Why don't you let me pass. And then we'll see about that?" She retorted with a bit of snark.
"Ya gotta pay a fee, girl… Now, you can pay it in cash, or…" He chuckled menacingly. "Some other way."
"Not in a million years." She hissed at him. He rolled his eyes…
With a sigh, he shrugged and said "Oh, well… Money it is, then."
"Let me rephrase what I just said then…" The woman growled at them "I am not giving you anything that's mine… Step off."
The man and his goons cracked their knuckles… And Salem sighed… Even here, hoodlums threaten young maidens… She stepped forth from behind her hiding space, then spoke "I would've presumed some sort of intelligence from creatures as big as you… This girl has no desire to pay for safe passage. Can you not see that?"
The black-haired girl looked, dumbfound, at Salem, before the blonde smiled and nodded… Then continued, as out of her element as she was… Ozma would've never forgiven her if she sat this little fight out. "I presume you hooligans know how to step aside for a fair maiden, or for two… There's no need for any kind of violence if we can just be polite, no?"
"And who the hell are ya?" The leader balked "Some kinda princess?"
"Mm… No, not really." She shrugged "Just a passer-by."
"Then mind your own damn business, blondie. This is between us and the kid." He retorted, turning back to the girl… He took out what looked like a knife from his pocket, before saying "Now… You gonna pay, or are we gonna have to carve you up for that cash, kid? I'm losing my damn patience."
Salem sighed, shaking her head… She needed a bit of a wake-up call after recent events. "Such hostility…" She murmured, approaching the men… One turned to greet her, blade in hand… Before he flew against the wall as a wave of unseen energy slammed him hard. She raised one of her bracers, blocking the rather dull knife of the second, before he, too, slammed into the wall…
The third roared an angry roar, but got no closer to Salem than a step before the strange weapon wielded by the girl, now retracted and with a black ribbon attached, wrapped around his leg, pulling his feet from under him and forcing him to land face-first in a puddle of black muck… The young woman pulled back her weapon, stowed it on her back, then showed Salem to follow…
And the two maidens ran out of the alley, with Salem slightly surprised at the development… As they ran, the amber-eyed girl looked to her, then said "Thanks for the help… I had a feeling those guys weren't gonna leave me alone… Though you probably shouldn't have risked yourself like that."
"Nonsense…" Salem smiled back at her "I help wherever I can. Plus, I needed something to bring me out of my state of shock. A little bit of a scuffle did the trick."
"I see…" The girl gave a half-smile back. The two stopped after a long run, right next to a coffee shop and, to that, the black-haired girl turned to her and spoke "Want a drink? It's on me…"
"That'd be lovely." Salem smiled still. "Thank you."
And as they walked up the stairwell to the terrace, the girl said to Salem "I'm Blake… Blake Belladonna. Sorry for not introducing myself earlier… What's your name?"
The Sorceress nodded "It's quite alright, miss Belladonna. We were running, after all. Ah, my name, yes… " And she smiled again...
"My name is Salem. A pleasure to meet you…"
Glynda had to admit, her quarry was somewhat elusive. Although she most definitely could not have gotten very far, since Vale was a massive city and she was quite literally on foot, presumably having removed her other heel to allow herself better mobility. Glynda just had to find her in what she would assume was the radius of two or three city blocks.
With eyes open, the combat teacher gazed around at those that passed her. The roar of car engines, the honking of horns and the usual chatter of the young and old filled her ears, while street vendors peddled food and cheap jewelry to the few tourists visiting Vale still. Those from Atlas seemed to find the street vendors quite an endearing bunch.
Sidestepping a crowd formed around a street performer, Glynda caught sight of what appeared to be local policemen from the district, taking in three men, one of which was a burly mass of muscle and idiocy that Glynda had had the displeasure of interacting with on a few occasions, when they were trying to swindle her of her money and acting as if that alley was their territory…
She wondered what they'd done to garner the attention of the Police this time, however.
Walking to the Policemen, she gave a nod to the bearded fellow that was the inspector, then asked "What have these hoodlums done this time around?"
"Apparently, got into some kinda ruckus with two girls that beat the crap outta them. Eyewitness called us while they were still going at it with the two… And apparently one of the girls used some kinda… I wanna say Semblance, but it's not like any I've heard before." The Inspector shrugged. "Any of your students, Goodwitch?"
"School doesn't start until next month, inspector. Most students are still at home." Glynda noted calmly, watching them put the trio of thugs into the police car. She sighed, then arranged her glasses again and spoke. "Though this sends me to my next question. Did that eyewitness give a description of the girls and which way they went?"
"Yeah. One was blonde with really bright blue eyes, the other had black hair and yellow eyes. Black-haired one was wearing a bow and some weird Huntress outfit… The other one, apparently, resembled some kinda fairytale princess." The inspector explained, then he pointed down that same alleyway and said "They went off running that way, the witness said. Took a right."
"Ah. Thank you, inspector." She nodded respectfully, then turned and glared at the men in the police car. With a hint of disregard, she added "Make sure these three stay off the streets this time. They're a public nuisance for holding down that alley. Good day."
"Sure thing, Prof. Same to ya." He responded as Glynda walked away, to retrace her quarry's path. Going back up the hill seemed to be what she needed to do in order to reach her target, so she did it, feeling the gusts of wind sent by cars on the road, sidestepping crowds and couples and looking around.
Her little rascal friend wouldn't get away this easily...
Salem and Blake sat, each enjoying a cup of warm tea as they chatted away. Thankful she had found Blake along the way, the Sorceress regaled Blake with tales that, to the young, black-haired woman, probably seemed awe-inspiring and perhaps even a little fantastically weird. Admittedly, Salem had no idea where or, well, better said, when she was.
But before Blake could finish her tea, she let out a sigh. Looking to Salem, she spoke "Well, it's been nice meeting you, Salem, but… I do have to go. I've been dealing with something and I need to finish it. We can talk more when I'm done with that, but it's kind of an important process that I need to go through."
"Ah." Salem hummed. "I understand, miss Belladonna… It's quite alright." And she smiled. "Thank you for the tea. I needed something to drink after all the running around. And it's been a pleasure meeting someone so erudite."
Blake smiled back, offering a "Thank you." before she turned to leave… Then she stopped. Looking to Salem, she asked "Will you be okay?"
"I think so. I am kind of new here, after all, but I think I will manage." She answered calmly, taking another sip of her tea. Blake nodded, then, after bidding goodbye, she vanished as fast as she'd appeared, leaving Salem alone. The young Sorceress sighed , leaning back into her seat and rubbing her eyes. She felt tired, wary, scared, but at least she knew people here were kind, if Blake was anything to go by.
She straightened up and continued drinking her tea as the world around her continued its existence. The sweetness of the tea and its warmth helped calm her, indeed, but this world felt foreign to her, yet so familiar. The tall buildings, the high-rises and the wonders around her felt almost magical, but she had some degree of pragmatism… This was probably human advancement in technology, perhaps with just a touch of magic.
She stopped mid-sip, the hair on the back of her neck standing on-end as she felt another approaching soul. This one was more powerful, more pronounced and possibly dangerous. Hearing a whisper in the air, the woman stood up, pushing her chair aside as embers of fire formed a spinning ball in her hand. She swept her hand downward and a wave of fire washed over a beam of lilac energy. With her other hand, she sent forth a single, sharpened icicle toward her magical assailant.
With a flick of her wrist and a strike from what looked to be a riding crop, the blonde woman before Salem deflected the ice projectile into a wall. Salem staggered a bit, feeling her strength fade. Her magic had yet to fully recover from her attempt at healing Ozma and that weakened her. She wondered if it was better to just run for a moment, before she saw the emerald eyes of the woman before her were filled with the fire of determination.
"You've caused quite a ruckus." The woman spoke to Salem calmly, although her eyes gave away her surprise at Salem's use of her powers
"So it would seem. Are you a guardian of this city?" The Sorceress inquired, almost unsure of herself "I assure you, I meant no harm to anyone…"
"I figured as much from your actions. And yes, you could say that." Her counterpart took a step forth, then said "I will need you to come with me. Someone important more than likely wishes to meet you and he requires that I escort you over to him. I think he will be able to answer any and all questions you ask of him."
"Your country's ruler?"
"Mmm… Not really. He's somewhat more important."
Salem raised a brow. "Who could be more important than a king?"
"A bit old-school, are we not?" The woman looked, bemused "Are we going to do this peacefully? I do not want to cause any damage here that I will have to repair later."
Salem snorted "Only if you promise never to try and grab me by using your magic again. You scared me."
"O-Oh…" The woman hummed, somewhat surprised. She spoke "Forgive me for that… I probably should have just come up to talk to you, but I did not want to take any chances."
"Yes, well… If we go by those thugs in the alley, I can understand that." Salem sighed, letting her magic fade away. She stumbled a bit as her feet nearly slipped on the stairs, then said "I've also lost my…" only to catch her right shoe mid-flight. With a smile, she spoke "Ah, yes, my shoe… Thank you."
"My pleasure… I'm Glynda Goodwitch, miss. Combat teacher at Beacon Academy. You are?" She spoke with a more friendly tone of voice.
The Sorceress looked to her counterpart as she put both shoes on. She pushed a lock of her blonde hair aside, then, with hands behind her back, she introduced herself "Combat teacher, then? I see… A pleasure to meet you, miss Goodwitch. My name is Salem and I… Am unfamiliar with your world, city and this academy you speak of."
Her eyes now wide as saucers, Glynda stared at the woman before her…
Salem?
That was impossible. Ozpin would not have… This couldn't have been the Salem, but names not related to colors were one of the more major rarities on Remnant and she seemed so sure of herself. Taking a moment to process this, Glynda nodded, then showed the woman to follow her with a single hand wave. She needed to get to Ozpin, right now…
… Meanwhile…
Deep in the dark, twisted lands that spawned the nightmarish monsters known as the creatures of Grimm, a land of corruption, of black tar, scarlet sand and pulsating crystals, a land like a wound in the side of the world of Remnant, resided a castle built upon the ruins of what was once a beautiful kingdom.
Within that castle, where darkness permeated the walls, where the Grimm roamed the halls like untied pets and Black Magic seeped out of every pore, resided a being thousands of years older than modern Remnant. With hair and skin as white as bone, scarlet irises on black sclerae and veins of black blood coursing like vines across her body, the mortal enemy of Man… Had felt it.
She had felt the disturbance that ripped open her heart millennia ago. That same disturbance had broken her, turning her into the nightmare of today from what she once was. Yet this time, it was different, almost warm, almost… Hopeful. She blinked once, then twice and stood from her throne, walking toward one of the windows to stare out into the fields of violet crystals and the pulsating red skies.
For the first time in many years, she'd felt it. And she was not going to let it go unanswered.
As the door behind her opened, she said "Tyrian." while her most loving servant approached her side. The scorpion Faunus let out a deranged giggle just before his master spoke again "I may need you for something, child. I feel that a new chess piece, one that is dangerous to our plan, is now on the board." And she turned, smiling a cruel smile at her little assassin "I need you to do what you do best…"
"Remove it."