"I said I was sorry!" Sera sighed, exasperated, while she followed Yang down the halls of Beacon academy. It had been three whole days since the two teammates were playing Dust baseball in the courtyard, but the blonde was still stewing with anger. It had taken her four hours to brush out the mess that her precious golden locks had become! A few strands of hair would still occasionally spring up and infuriate the brawler all over again.
"'Sorry' doesn't fix my hair! Do you have any idea how long I've spent trying to fix it still?" Yang huffed as she marched to their next class, the rest of their team lagging behind as Sera chased after Yang.
"It looks fine to me!" Sera said hopefully.
"You don't get an opinion!" Yang shot back as she pushed open the door to Professor Port's class.
"Ugh!" Sera groaned melodramatically and followed her teammate.
"They've been like this for three days. When will it end?" Blake sighed as she, Weiss, and Ruby entered the large classroom.
"I dunno, but I hope it's soon." Ruby slumped her shoulders and adjusted her cloak over her uniform as she went to sit next to her sister and purple-eyed teammate.
"It better be. I know she cares deeply for her hair, but jeez!" Weiss huffed and sat with her arms crossed. Team JNPR turned to look back at the five girls that were seated directly behind them. "They still at it?" Jaune asked, a hint of humor on his voice.
"You know it. It's even worse today." Ruby groaned while Sera and Yang bantered to her immediate right.
Nora grinned and pounded her fist into her open palm, "Maybe I should knock some sense into them."
"Yeah, because that worked so well last week." Weiss rolled her eyes, remembering the recent battle between Sera and the hammer wielder. Nora groaned in response and faced the front of the room. Pyrrha chuckled at her teammate's attitude.
"She's still embarrassed by it." The bright red head said, a twinkle in her emerald eyes.
"Am not!" Nora huffed with a childlike demeanor.
"It's not my fault your precious friggin' hair was in the way of the blast!" Sera's voice cut in rather loudly.
"Oh yeah?" Yang glared at the white-head.
"Yeah!" Sera glared back.
"Oh yeah?!" Yang's glare intensified.
"YEAH!" Sera returned the glare in kind.
"AHEM!" Professor Port's voice caused their heads to turn to where the boisterous man stood by his desk. "Is there a problem, team RWBYS?"
"No problem, professor! Yang and Sera are going to start minding their manners right away! Aren't you?" Weiss glared at the two loud girls.
"Uhh, yeah. Definitely. Starting…now." Sera replied and sank into her seat slightly.
"I hope so, or else you two may have to collect yourselves in detention." Port said sternly.
"No need for that, Professor! I'll make sure they don't interrupt class anymore." Ruby volunteered, trying to keep her sister and friend from being punished for their antics.
"Very well, Miss Rose." Port nodded, apparently assured by Ruby's words. "NOW! Back to how my heroic deeds saved the town of Lavender from what the locals believed to be ghosts blah blah blah blah." Professor Port's voice quickly disinterested the five members of team RWBYS.
"Will you just forgive me now? I've apologized literally a thousand times." Sera whispered to the blonde beside her.
"Maybe if you actually meant it!" Yang replied in a hushed tone.
"I do! Maybe if you'd actually get over that hair of yours… Uh, I actually don't know where I was going with this." Sera trailed off, her eyes drifting slightly to the side.
Yang smirked at her teammate, but quickly recovered from it before her white-haired teammate (not Weiss) saw her.
"Tell you what. If you actually manage to get called down to fight whatever beast Port has in store for us today and entertain me well enough, maybe I'll forgive you." Yang turned her head to look at Sera.
"You want me to put on a friggin' show to make it up to you? Hell no!" Sera replied, an incredulous look on her face.
"Fine, have it your way. I'll just continue to milk this whole situation to tick you off." Yang raised her hands as if she were surrendering. After a moment's thought, Sera closed her eyes and groaned, deciding that a possibly embarrassing herself was worth not having to hear about Yang's "damaged" hair any longer.
"Fine. But after I wipe the floor with this thing, I don't want to hear any more whining out of you, got it?" Sera looked at the blonde with an annoyed look on her face.
"Crystal clear~ Now you better hurry, it looks like he's about to unveil the mystery Grimm!" Yang replied with a smug smirk.
'Oh boy…' Blake mentally sighed while she listened to her two teammates.
"Now! Who would like to participate in our weekly one-on-one fight against a dark creature of Grimm? Eh? Any takers who want to win glory for their team?" Professor Port asked and wagged his bushy eyebrows.
"I do, sir!" Sera called out loudly enough for everyone to hear and raised her hand high.
"Oho! Our newest addition to the student body! I've heard tales of your battle against Miss Valkyrie, so I expect great things from you in this particular bout!" the professor called back. "Go ahead and change into your combat equipment and prepare for the fight, we'll be awaiting a grand spectacle!"
Sera nodded and looked to her blonde teammate. "Looks like I'll be getting that forgiveness soon." Sera smirked.
"We'll see about that, Snowball. Just look at the cage over there." Yang gestured with her head to a particularly large steel cage sitting in the corner. It was at least twenty feet tall and low growling could be heard emanating from within.
"Piece of cake." Sera blew air and moved down the aisle to retrieve her weapon from the locker room.
After the amnesiac let the door swing close, indicating that she had left the room, Yang turned to her remaining three teammates with an amused look on her face.
"This should be interesting." She told them.
"Given by her general attitude, yeah probably." Blake deadpanned.
Ruby shook excitedly, hardly able to sit still at the opportunity to see one of her teammates fight to represent their team.
. . .
'I'll show her. Her smug friggin' face.' Sera thought to herself as she put on her new white jacket. She'd outfitted herself in the white jacket and pants along with a black crop top that ended just a few inches above her belly button. A black belt was around her waist, its silver buckle shining in the light. Once Sera put her weapon and its carrying strap over her shoulder, the white-haired huntress checked her reflection in the mirror hanging inside her locker's door.
'There's no way I'm not going to the Underworld, because it is a SIN to look this good!' She grinned at the reflection then slammed her locker closed.
"Alright," Sera cracked her knuckles and neck. "Let's give these guys a show."
. . .
"When's she gonna come back? Dust, it's taking forever!" Ruby groaned impatiently.
WHAM!
Everyone's heads turned to see that Sera had kicked open the door to the classroom, a smug smirk on her face.
"Okayyy, who's ready to for your daily entertainment? Eh? Any takers?" Sera asked the crowd as she walked down the steps towards Professor Port. She smirked when she saw Cardin Winchester sitting in one of the front seats. The sword-wielder smirked and ruffled his crewcut hair. "Whaddya say, Winchester? Ready for a show?"
Cardin tightened his jaw and pushed the girl's hand away with a sneer. Sera hadn't had too many run-ins with the leader of team CRDL, but she knew he was a jackass that had treated Velvet Scarlatina poorly and blackmailed Jaune, so she was happy to annoy or generally mess with him.
Sera quickly put on an accent much like Velvet's and backed away, "He's angry!" After quickly recovering her composure and smirking at the tall boy, she continued down the stairwell.
"Whatever, I can't wait to see you fail miserably." Cardin replied.
"Ooh, saucy." Sera said and hopped down the final step to land in front of Professor Port.
"Ah, finally! Eager to face your opponents, I see." The boisterous man laughed.
"Hell ye- Wait, opponents? Plural?" Sera asked.
Port's mustache raised on one side slightly as if he were smiling. "Indeed! Why do you think that cage is so large?"
"Because there's an extra-big Grimm inside?" Sera asked, peering around the professor. Professor Port let out a hearty laugh and walked over to the large metal cage. "No, my girl! There are two extra-big Grimm in this cage!" He said as he stood beside it with his battle axe raised.
Ruby Rose shook with excitement at the large professor's words. Blake's eyes widened slightly as Port raised his battle axe, preparing to swing. "Two? This can't be good."
"I agree. Two large Grimm for a training match? There's no way." Weiss added in.
"Don't worry, she'll be fine!" Ruby said with a broad smile.
"You're just saying that cause you wanna see her fight." Blake said dryly.
"No…! Okay, maybe a little, but trust me, she'll be fine!" Ruby continued.
"I actually agree with Ruby on this." Pyrrha turned to her friends. "If the fight with Nora was any indication, she can take a hit or two. The question is…" Pyrrha said, turning her head back to the center of the room. "How well can she hold out against two powerful opponents?"
Just as she asked this, Professor Port swung his battle axe downwards, breaking the chain instantly. The large door swung open slowly, and two pairs of large, red eyes glowed through the darkness.
Sera raised an eyebrow quizzically, and the two Grimm within the cage suddenly surged forward, their eyes trained on the white clad huntress.
'Uh-oh…' Sera's eyes widened, then she jumped over the pair of enormous beasts in a backflip when they became too close for comfort. 'They're big!'
Sera landed nimbly, then looked over her shoulder at the Grimm.
"How did they capture two of those?" Jaune asked with wide eyes. Even Ruby began to look nervous after seeing what Port had in store for their favorite amnesiac.
In the shadows of the back of classroom, a tall figure wearing a white shirt, torn red cape, and a necklace with a sideways cross pendant stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the backwall. 'Alright, Snowball.' Qrow thought to himself as he watched Sera's eyes scan her opponents. 'Let's see what you got.'
The large pair of Ursa Majors turned to look down at the white-haired huntress. Sera groaned and looked up at the ceiling, then back at the two Ursa. "Alright, teddy bears, let's razzle dazzle." She got into a fighting stance with her fists raised. The two Ursa charged her again, on all fours, but Sera held her ground. Once the first one got within range, she punched it in its masked face and jumped several feet back to get some breathing room. Expecting the blow to temporarily put the Grimm out of commission, Sera's eyes widened to see both Ursa still running at her.
'Okay then…' She thought to herself and unslung her large sword and held it tightly. The Ursa she'd struck swiped at her with its large paw once it reached her, but Sera quickly brought up her weapon to block the blow. She gritted her teeth and redirected the Grimm's blow into the floor. Sera quickly followed up by slashing the beast across its chest, creating a large and deep gash and spilling black blood onto the floor. The Ursa roared in pain, but its partner in crime took the opportunity to attack her by hitting her in the side, knocking her several feet away and onto the ground.
"Sera!" Ruby exclaimed and clenched the seat in front of her tightly. The second Ursa capitalized on Sera's severe disadvantage and brought its paw downwards onto her in one mighty swing.
Even Professor Port began to look worried, resisting the urge to rush to her aid. Qrow raised an eyebrow from the back of the room and team RWBYS and JNPR's faces were filled with shock. After exactly four seconds of silence, a familiar voice shouted out.
"Get off of me, you big fucker!" Sera growled. She lay on her back with her sword held out in front of her, blocking the blow of the Ursa. At the last possible second, she'd braced her weapon with both hands to defend herself from the oncoming attack. Once the audience realized what had happened, Qrow smirked and went back to relaxing against the wall. 'Not bad, kid.'
Sera quickly pushed the Ursa's paw away and rolled to her feet, transforming her weapon into its rifle form while she rolled. The amnesiac put a volley of rounds into the Grimm with her semi-automatic weapon, but quickly had to evade the attack of the other Ursa. She dodged its first blow by leaping into the air as high as she could, nearly touching the ceiling. She fired round after round as she went upwards, but as soon as she reached the peak of her leap and coincidentally ran out of rounds in the magazine, she brought down the butt of her rifle to bring it down in an extremely powerful blow to the beast's skull.
The Ursa in question looked up just in time to find Sera falling towards it with a grin on her face and the rifle raised above her head.
KER-RACK!
A loud crunching noise filled the room, then the sound of a body hitting the floor soon followed. The butt of the gun immediately crushed the large Grimm's skull, caving it in and killing it instantly. Sera's boots thudded against the floor when she landed, a triumphant grin on her face. Ruby's eyes filled with joy and excitement at the sight of her teammate as she cheered. Yang grinned at Sera's handiwork, while Weiss, Blake, and the rest of team JNPR, and the whole room for that matter, just looked shock. It took an incredible amount of strength to crush an Ursa's skull, given how thick the bone is, but she'd done it with one, extremely powerful hit.
"Alright, your turn." Sera smiled as she transformed her weapon back into a sword. The remaining Ursa was the one she'd cut across the chest, and it was eager to get revenge for both its companion and wound. Sera then smirked and raised her weapon as the creature ran towards her, its large paws thundering against the floor.
Professor Port raised his bushy eyebrows as the large heap of black fur ran towards the small huntress.
'What does she have in store for this one?' The professor thought to himself. In the ocean of students watching, team RWBYS and JNPR's eyes widened as the Grimm drew nearer.
"I bet she's going to pull off some wild trick and chop off its head!" Ruby said excitedly.
"I think she'll retreat and fire from a distance like with the other." Blake mused.
"Perhaps she'll attack its limbs to weaken it and go in for the kill." Jaune said, remembering the battle so long ago against the Deathstalker during initiation.
"I think she'll whack it." Nora said simply.
"Come on Nora, not even she would do something so incredibly basic." Pyrrha nudged the Valkyrie.
"Yeah, I doubt she's that simple-minded." Weiss crossed her arms.
Down on the stage, Sera started to run towards the Ursa Major that charged her.
"…She's running at it." Yang sighed.
"She's gonna whack it!" Nora said excitedly.
'I'mma whack it.' Sera grinned as she and the Grimm neared each other. As soon as the two got within range, Sera leapt at the Ursa and brought down the flat of her blade onto its head.
THONK!
"She whacked it!" Yang stood to get a better look at the fight.
The Ursa roared in pain and retreated several feet back just as Sera's feet landed on the floor. She quickly followed up her initial attack with a series of slashes to the Grimm's torso with a determined gleam in her eyes.
'She's fast.' Qrow raised an eyebrow as Sera landed blow after blow. The Ursa growled as if it were angry and swiped with its left paw. Sera didn't know this; however, she was too busy waylaying into the creature with her sword. Her head turned at the last second to see the massive paw incoming.
'Oh sugar honey ice tea…!" She tried to bring her sword up to block the blow, but it was too late. The Ursa swiped Sera aside as if she were a ragdoll, and her body tumbled as she rolled across the floor. The crowd said nothing while they wordlessly watched the event happen. (1. Ha, Madagascar reference)
Sera groaned and stuck her sword's blade into the floor, using the weapon as a crutch to pull herself to her feet. 'Alright…' She gritted her teeth and glared at the Ursa. The beast turned to her and bared its fangs, preparing to charge again.
Sera raised her sword and got into a fighting stance, the Grimm causing the ground to shake slightly as it ran towards her. The huntress suddenly smiled and she swung her sword up in an uppercut-like motion. The Ursa major roared loudly in pain and its massive body hit the ground with a dull thud. Sera panted and her eyes were on the heap of black fur.
After four heartbeats, the Ursa began to stir and Sera groaned in response.
'Why won't you die already?' Sera said to herself. The Ursa was covered in slashes all over its body, all of them pouring black blood onto the class floor. The Ursa Major shakily got to its feet, but instead of turning to its attacker, it surprised Sera by turning its large head towards the crowd of students. It bared its sharp teeth at them and began to run towards the dozens of rows of seats. The students' eyes widened and they began to get up to run, but the Ursa suddenly stopped its charge.
"Huh?" Ruby asked.
The Ursa turned its head slowly, looking behind it to find a grinning Sera holding onto it by its tail.
"Oh no, you don't!" She smirked and pulled the beast back as hard as she could, budging it a couple of inches. Sera heard Nora laugh loudly, then the amnesiac pulled her sword out of where'd she'd lodged it in the ground and sliced it into the Grimm's rear end.
The Ursa made a high-pitched growling noise and reared back. Sera jumped around to the Grimm's side and stood with her sword at her side and head hung low. As soon as the Ursa went back on all fours where it'd stood before, she quickly sliced at its neck, her head still low.
"That's enough out of you." She said as she picked her head up to look directly at her team.
Qrow smirked and walked to the room's exit, pushing the door open and taking a swig of liquor from his flask as he made his leave. 'Not bad at all, Snowball.'
Sera's eyes moved to the sudden movement out of the corner of her eye to see the ripped-up hem of a red cape in the doorway before it swung closed.
"My word! What a fine display of heroism, courage, and pure strength! You disposed of those Ursa Majors as if they were lowly Beowolves, which is no easy feat. Now! That's all the time we have for today. Make sure you do the assigned readings, and happy Vytal Festival, students!" Professor Port's voice boomed throughout the room.
Sera sighed and rested her sword onto her shoulders. "What, no applause for the display I just put on? Jeez, tough crowd." She smirked and walked up the stairway to her awaiting team, but not before giving Cardin Winchester an amused glance.
"That was…! That was…! Sooooo cool!" Ruby squealed.
"For a second there, it looked like you were gonna let that Ursa charge into the audience, Snowball." Yang smirked.
"You really need to come up with a better nickname than that, Weiss is the snow princess around here." Sera replied with a groan as she made her way to the exit.
"Hey!" Weiss said indignantly.
"Where you guys going after this? I gotta drop my stuff off." Sera pushed the door open as she and her friends made their leave.
"To Oobleck's class, I guess. We all still have that before the day's over." Jaune responded.
Sera, Yang, Ruby, and Nora groaned at the mention of the hyperactive professor.
"I don't feel like dealing with Mr. Caffeine today." Sera groaned again to emphasize her point.
"Don't worry, just another few days and we can fight in the Vytal Festival!" Ruby said excitedly.
"Yeah! I can't wait!" Yang pounded her fists together.
"Yeah whenever Ozpin wants to inform me of his little idea to make it legit for me to fight in it." Sera responded.
"He will. Or he should, at least. There's no telling what's going through his head with things like this." Weiss said. Sera sighed and pushed open the door to the locker room. "You guys go on ahead, I gotta change and stuff."
"Okay, see you in a bit!" Ruby responded and continued to walk down the hall with their friends.
. . .
It took longer to change than Sera would have preferred, mainly due to the amnesiac temporarily forgetting her locker code. After a long ten-and-a-half minutes, she sighed in relief as she exited the locker room. And immediately bumped into someone head-first.
"Hey, watch where you're go-!" She groaned and rubbed her sore forehead, but was interrupted by her breath hitching when she saw the person before her.
"Terribly sorry! I really must watch where I'm going these days." The tall boy apologized. Standing in front of the amnesiac was a six-foot-tall boy with short brown hair and a scarred right eye. He wore an Atlas uniform with a red beret atop his head and a black half face mask covered, well, half of his face.
"It's cool, shouldn't have ran out like that without looking. You new?" Sera asked, looking up to meet the boy's eyes.
"Affirmative, I'm here to compete in the tournament. Could you direct me to Professor Port's classroom, please?" He replied kindly.
Sera nodded and turned to point down the hall to her left. "Sure, just head down that hall and take a right. Should be right there."
"Ah! I just left there." The boy sighed. Something reflected sunlight into the white-haired huntress's eyes, then she glanced down to see a pair of metal hands from the Atlas student's sleeves.
"You in an accident or somethin'?" Sera asked, slightly cocking her head.
"Hm?" He blinked.
"Your hands."
"Oh! Yes, that's a…long story." He replied solemnly, clutching one of his prosthetic hands with the other.
"Ah. Sorry to hear that. Well, I've got to get to my class before Oobleck gives me about a year of detention." Sera kindly hinted.
"Right! Apologies for holding you up. Perhaps I'll see you around, Miss…?"
"Sera." She put a hand on her hip.
"Right. Well, bye Sera!" He waved, then began walking towards Port's class.
"I never caught your name." Sera called after him, but it was too late. He was already gone from sight.
'What an odd guy…' She mentally pondered, then spun on her heel to walk to Professor Oobleck's class.
. . .
"You what?" Yang asked.
"I'm not lying! He had prosthetic arms." Sera gestured with her arms. After her conversation with the stranger, the white-haired huntress kicked open the door to Oobleck's room! ...And immediately got detention. Groaning and complaining, Sera sat down with her team and explained her encounter with the odd guy, gaining incredulous looks from the four girls of RWBY and even team JNPR.
"Sounds odd. Prosthetic arms, blind in his right eye, and a half face mask? I've seen some weirdly dressed people around-" Ruby said.
"Yeah like Sera." Weiss said under her breath.
"-but this sounds bizarre." Ruby finished.
"I'm tellin' you it's the truth!" Sera reinforced her point.
"There's no way. Unless…" Weiss thought aloud.
Sera blinked. "Unless…?"
"Back in Atlas, even I heard rumors of a prodigious young huntsman with mechanical arms. But to think they were true… Not even Ironwood would tell me anything." Weiss explained.
Yang blinked. "Okaaaay…"
Weiss sighed. "Why do I even bother."
'That guy's some sort of Atlesian progeny? According to Weiss, anyway…' Sera thought to herself.
"That sounds so cool!" Ruby's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Of course you think so." Blake rolled her eyes, amused by her childlike teammate.
"Miss Rose! Something you want to share with the class?" Doctor Oobleck announced.
"Er- No, Professor!" she replied.
"Just as I suspected! You and your team had better not disturb class again, or you'll have detention just like miss Sera."
Sera tightened her jaw at the low-blow.
"Now! Onto the anatomy and weak points of Leviathans…" Oobleck went on to his next lesson.
'Man, what a pain in the ass…' Sera groaned.
. . .
"FINALLY classes are over!" Sera sighed in relief after she kicked open the door to her team's dorm.
"Could you please not do that to our door? We already had to get a new one from when Ruby attempted to bake cookies in a miniature oven." Weiss sighed.
"…How did that happen?" Sera turned to look at the heiress, eyebrows raised.
"It was an accident!" Ruby exclaimed and covered her own face.
"It exploded and took out the door. Collateral damage and whatnot." Yang added as she plopped down on her bunk.
"Really? That's hilarious." Sera cracked a smile, a smile that only grew wider when she saw Ruby's embarrassed expression. She was about to take advantage of her embarrassed state, but someone suddenly knocked on the door.
"Hm? Who would that be?" Blake asked.
"Gee, I dunno, perhaps one of the several people in our circle of friends? Couldn't possible be one of them, no way." Sera rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.
"Yeah, yeah…" Blake groaned and opened the door to reveal Professor Goodwitch standing there, arms crossed and riding crop in hand. Sera's shoulders immediately lowered when she saw the older huntress. "What do you and Ozpin want now?" She asked.
Goodwitch's eyes narrowed and her grip on the riding crop tightened in her hands. "Just come with me. You have a visitor."
"Visitor?" Yang blinked.
"This need not concern you four." Glynda said dismissively, then spun and walked down the hallway.
That ticked even Weiss off.
"Huh?" Ruby blinked.
"What's her deal?" Yang put a hand on her hip.
Sera sighed and began to walk after the professor. "I dunno, but…better go find out."
"What's even going on anymore?" Blake sighed once Sera was gone.
"I honestly have no idea." Weiss replied.
"Well…hopefully it's all right. But isn't it odd that she's been meeting with Professor Ozpin a lot lately?" Ruby asked.
"…Ruby she has amnesia and isn't even originally from this school." Yang said, looking at Ruby.
"…Shut up."
. . .
It took no time at all for Professor Goodwitch and Sera to reach Professor Ozpin's office at the top of Beacon Tower. The headmaster himself was seated at his desk, gazing towards the entrance with his fingers laced and elbows resting on the desktop.
"Okay, what gives? It seems like every time everything's starting to feel normal, I get called into this office for you to drop some other nuke all over my day." Sera said as casually as someone would if they were ordering a coffee from a café.
"Well if you must know, Snowball."
Sera's shoulders squared and her jaw tightened at the voice that spoke. From the shadows of the room behind her, a man with a smirk on his face stepped out and approached Sera and Ozpin.
"Qrow. How're ya doin', old man?" Sera turned her head slightly and watched Qrow out of the corner of her eye.
"Not so bad kid, not so bad. Hear you're making a name for yourself around here, kickin' the asses of the student body and even going so far as to take down an Alpha Beowolf with your bare hands. Sounds like the kind of shit Yang would do." Qrow smirked and crossed his arms.
"Oh she'd definitely do that." Sera smiled and put a hand on her hip.
"Ahem." Ozpin cleared his throat, causing the two to turn their attention to him. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to get to the matter at hand."
"Right… So why was I summoned? Dominatrix lady said I had a visitor, which is Qrow, but there has to be a bigger reason than that." Sera crossed her arms.
Wham!
"Again?!" Sera clutched her head tightly and squeezed her eyes shut.
"Whenever you learn to keep your comments to yourself, that'll stop happening." Glynda replied with narrowed eyes as she crossed her arms.
"Yeah, yeah…" Sera rubbed the back of her head with one hand.
"Anyway, we think it'd be productive for you to accompany Qrow on one of his missions. It's possible it could help trigger a flashback to be in the field." Ozpin said calmly. Sera's eyes widened slightly and her arms uncrossed at the headmaster.
"You sure that's a good idea? Sending a student on a mission with a "professional" huntsman?" Sera asked.
"Hey." Qrow protested.
"I do, yes. For one, it's a good learning experience. Two, like I said before, it could very well trigger a memory. You may not even need to participate in the Vytal Festival, this could be your chance to regain some of your memory."
Sera raised an eyebrow. "How do we even know that a combat mission would help? Or any combat at all? How do you know that any of this is going to help?" Sera was beginning to rattle on, her voice getting more and more out of control. Qrow's eyes widened slightly as Sera went on, beginning to pace in front of Ozpin's desk. Even Professor Goodwitch was taken back by her change of attitude.
"-I've been sitting around waiting for my damn memory to come back, not knowing who I am or what the hell I'm doing here and it's been driving me craz-" She went on, running her fingers through her hair with one hand.
"Kid." Qrow said.
"-and Port's class is so damn boring that-" Sera was rattling on even more now, leaving the topic of amnesia and moving on to her day-to-day struggles with the staff and student body of Beacon. The amnesiac was releasing all of her pent-up stress and anger that she had been storing for the past several weeks, no longer caring who was listening.
"-and not to mention that bitch of a student Weiss-" Sera groaned.
"KID!" Qrow said and put his hand on her shoulder.
"WHAT?" she turned to face him.
"Jeez kid, chill out. You're making a scene." Qrow chuckled and removed his hand. Sera's eyes widened slightly as she turned to look at Ozpin and Goodwitch.
"S-sorry." Sera said nervously.
"It's quite alright. I'm sure it's been stressful, having to sit around and wait." Ozpin said with a small smile.
"Given the circumstances, I'll forgive your use of language, this time. But don't do it again." Glynda's expression slightly softened.
Sera sighed and ran her fingers through her hair again. "I'll do it."
"What was that?" Qrow asked, putting his hand by his ear as if he were trying to hear better.
"I said I'd do the mission." Sera looked at him.
"Sorry, couldn't hear tha-"
"Watch it old man, or you won't return from it." Sera glared at Qrow. The huntsman smirked and retained his usual posture.
"Alright then, you two will head out immediately and eliminate the threat. Sera, I advise you pack your things for a long trip. Good luck to you both." Ozpin nodded and picked up his coffee mug.
"Wait, eliminate? Leave immediately? Long trip?" Sera blinked as she looked between the three professors frantically.
"You heard 'em kid, let's get to it." Qrow smirked and pulled Sera along by the collar of her uniform.
"But I actually wanna compete in the Vytal Festival!" Sera whined as Qrow dragged her out of the office. The doors swung closed, allowing Ozpin and Glynda to get one last look of despair plastered on Sera's face.
"Are you positive this was a good idea? She's still a child, after all." Professor Goodwitch asked.
"A child with very high potential and one of the most powerful semblances we've ever seen. Plus she's got Qrow to watch after her. She'll be fine, Glynda." Ozpin said calmly. Professor Goodwitch sighed and shook her head. "If you say so. I just hope you know what you're doing."
"I always do." Professor Ozpin chuckled.
"Professor, why don't you tell her that you found who she is?" Glynda asked as she gazed at the open tab on Ozpin's desk. It was Sera's personal file with a Shade academy logo in the bottom right corner. Everything about her was displayed. Grades, her team's name and members (three of which were listed as missing, including her), and even her emergency contact.
"That's something for her to find out on her own, not to be explained to her by someone else." Ozpin calmly took a sip from his coffee. Glynda sighed again and went to exit the office. Before she went through the doorway, Goodwitch turned back to look at the headmaster. "And just how is she going to react when she finds out that you knew the whole time?" Without another word, Professor Glynda Goodwitch exited the office, closing the door behind her.
Ozpin looked into his coffee mug with a hint of sadness in his eyes. "I just hope I'll be forgiven."
. . .
"Kid calm down, I'm sure we'll be back in time for the Festival." Qrow rolled his eyes. He walked through the dorm halls with his hands shoved in his pocket while Sera slowly followed him, moping. "Maybe." Sera sighed.
"I wouldn't sweat it. You get to travel around a bit with me, your favorite huntsman." Qrow grinned and stopped beside team RWBYS's door, leaning his back against the wall. "I'll wait here, you go get your stuff."
Sera sighed and put her hand on the doorknob, hesitating a moment before opening the door.
"Sera's back!" Ruby announced.
"So how'd it go?" Yang asked.
"Oh, y'know, crappy." Sera replied, gaining a curious look from her team. The amnesiac sighed and closed the door. "How do I say this? I was uh, assigned a mission."
Weiss dropped the textbook she was holding.
"A mission? Alone?" Blake asked, closing her "romance" novel and setting it down.
"Not alone. With a huntsman." Sera replied as she grabbed her suitcase and began to pack clothes into it.
Yang raised an eyebrow as she watched her teammate zip up her suitcase. "What huntsman?"
Sera looked up at Yang, then Ruby, then back to Yang, then she smirked. "Your uncle."
The sisters' eyes widened in response.
"Uncle Qrow? You're going on a mission with him? By yourself?" Yang asked.
"Oh my Dust you're going to have the best time…! You're gonna fight a whole bunch of stuff and do top-secret agent stuff and…and…!" Ruby said excitedly.
Qrow, being on just the other side of the door, smirked at hearing his niece get so excited.
Another idea popped into the excited leader's head suddenly and she let out a gasp. "Is he here right now?"
"Yeah. But we're trying to leave kinda quickly, y'know?" Sera replied as she pressed the button on her suitcase, popping the handle out. Ruby's shoulders slumped and she looked down. "Okay. That's cool, I guess."
Qrow, hearing this from the other side of the door, sighed and instantly opened the door, not wanting to cause his Ace any grief.
Ruby looked up to investigate who had opened the door, and her eyes lit up instantly.
"UNCLE QROOOOOOOOW!" She squealed as she jumped towards the huntsman, wrapping him in a koala hug. Qrow smirked and put his hand on her head, "Hey, kiddo."
"Why're you taking our teammate on a mission meant for a huntsman like you?" Blake asked.
"Well kitten," Qrow looked at the Faunus, who shot a glare at him. "Ozpin wants her to go with me cause it might just trigger one of her missing memories through combat, especially against the Grimm that we've been assigned to take down."
Sera raised an eyebrow at this.
"What Grimm?" Weiss asked, crossing her arms. Ruby was still hugging her uncle tightly, not even listening to what her team was saying. Qrow smirked at the heiress's question and pushed down on Ruby's head, causing her to fall to the floor and land on her behind.
"C'mon kid, we'd better get going." Qrow said, then turned to the door and walked into the hallway.
"Bye, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby waved, undeterred from the fall.
"Uh, right. See you guys at the Vytal Festival, I guess!" Sera gave her team a small wave as she followed the huntsman, pulling her suitcase behind her.
Yang's eyes narrowed as the amnesiac left the room. Once the door closed, Sera gave a muted sigh and continued after Qrow, who shoved his hands into his pockets and made his way down the hall.
"Now I know you have to pick up your weapon from the locker rooms, so let's swing by there real quick." The huntsman looked over his shoulder.
"Yeah and change out of this friggin' uniform." Sera nodded.
"I definitely know where you're comin' from, I hated wearing the uniform. Did I ever tell you about the time I wore a skirt?" Qrow asked.
"You what?" Sera asked incredulously.
"Never mind, it was a long time ago and- look here we are!" Qrow said, and true to his word, they neared the locker room doors.
Sera set her suitcase against the wall and opened the door. "I won't be long." She said to the older huntsman.
"I know you won't, Snowball." Qrow chuckled. The amnesiac rolled her eyes and entered the large locker room.
She quickly changed out of her Beacon uniform and into her new white jacket, pants, boots, and a purple tank top that matched the purple on her jacket. She then put on her usual belt with a silver Omega buckle, then looked into her locker and considered an item. With a quick shrug, she put on the loose-fitting gun belt around her waist, its large Omega buckle shining in the light and the belt itself sitting crooked on her hips as if she were an old-fashioned gunslinger.
Sera smirked at her reflection and held her belt in the same manner as if someone were resting their hands in their pockets. The sound of a door opening drew her attention, and she turned her head to investigate. The person that entered the locker rooms was none other than Yang Xiao Long.
"Yang? What's up?" Sera raised an eyebrow as the blond approached her.
"Look I know that you've gotta go and all that, what with Qrow standing outside waiting and all that, but you can do a better goodbye than that. 'See you at the Vytal Festival'? C'mon." Yang smirked as she stood in front of Sera. The amnesiac smiled and put a hand on her hip. "What, you gonna miss me or something, Blondie?"
Yang momentarily averted her eyes and lightly punched Sera in the shoulder. "Gonna miss kickin' your ass in Goodwitch's."
Sera smiled. "I believe it was the other way around, Xiao Long. Besides, it's only like what, a little over a week? I'll be fine. Not sure about your uncle, though." She then neared Yang and put her open hand beside her mouth, hand pointed upward as if she were hiding what she was saying from someone else in the room. "He's kinda soft. May have to save his hide a few times before this is all said and done." She whispered.
Yang chuckled. "Yeah I think I'll miss you. Ruby, too. Blake might, not sure there, but I don't think Weiss is effected at all."
"Figures. Hey, when you get back to the others tell them, and I quote, 'Sera says she'll miss all of us. Me, Ruby, Blake…Ice Queen.'" Sera smirked.
"Dust, she hates that!" Yang smiled broadly.
"Exactly, my blond friend." She put her hand on Yang's shoulder. The brawler continued smiling at Sera's smirking face.
"Hey kid, could you stop sucking face and hurry along? We got an airship to get to!" Qrow announced through the locker room. He must've poked his head in to say that. Immediately, blushes spread across the huntress' face at the huntsman's words.
"Shut it, you old bastard!" Sera shouted back with a scowl on her face. She groaned and looked back at Yang, who had an awkward smile on her face.
"Guess you'd better get going, then." Yang said.
"Looks like it." Sera sighed and slung her sword across her back. The brawler's eyes scanned the amnesiac's face as she slammed her locker shut. Sera raised an eyebrow at her teammate's facial expression, but shrugged it off. "Gonna miss ya, Yang." Sera said as she began to head towards the exit.
"Sera?"
"Hm?" Sera halted and turned around. However, as soon as her body turned, Yang lunged forward and hugged her tightly.
"Wha-?" Sera asked with wide eyes.
"Don't die out there, okay?" Yang said gently.
"You realize who you're talking to, Xiao Long?" Sera chuckled.
"Yeah but…do you know how much it'd destroy Ruby if something happened?" Yang said.
"You misspelled 'me'." Sera said, then Yang tightened her grip, crushing Sera's ribs and lifting her up enough to get her feet off the ground.
"What was that?" Yang grinned.
"N-nothing!" Sera squeaked. Yang then returned her to the ground and released her, allowing Sera to catch her breath. "Now get outta here before my uncle leaves without you." Yang smiled.
"I think I will, before you kill me." Sera held her chest in pain and stumbled towards the exit. Yang laughed as Sera pushed the door open and left the locker room. "Bye, Sera!" She called after her.
The poor amnesiac stumbled out of the locker room clutching her chest with a pained expression on her face.
"Wow, looks like she did a number on you." Qrow chuckled. Sera glared at the huntsman and straightened her posture, grabbing her suitcase and walking down the hallway.
"You were the one so eager to go and now you're just standing there." Sera said without looking back. Qrow chuckled in response, and Yang appeared doorway.
"What'd you do?" Qrow asked his niece.
"Oh y'know, squeezed her real hard." Yang smirked.
"Figures. Well, see you around kiddo." Qrow ruffled her hair and followed Sera. "Better go now before she leaves without me."
"See ya, Qrow." Yang gave a two-fingered salute as Qrow shoved his hands in his pockets and went down the hallway.
. . .
"So lemme get this straight. We're hunting a Grimm that's basically a whole bunch of King Taijitus on one body with only one known way of killing it?" Sera asked. She and Qrow were flying towards the border that separated Vale and Vacuo. Supposedly, a large Grimm has been terrorizing dozens of villages in the forest and all the huntsmen and huntresses that sought it out haven't returned. That's why Ozpin assigned the most skilled huntsman he knows to eliminate it: Qrow. With Sera as backup.
"Pretty much, yeah. Oh, it spits poison as well. There's your nugget of information for the day." Qrow replied.
Sera rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall of the airship. "Great." She sighed.
"Don't worry kid, we're only the eighth and ninth huntsmen to try to kill this thing. That we know of." Qrow said.
"Not helping." Sera groaned as she then leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees.
"We'll be fine." Qrow assured her.
"See you keep saying that, but why do I get the feeling that we're up shit creek without a paddle?"
"Cause you're not entirely wrong."
"Thought so." Sera looked towards the front of the airship. Qrow smirked and laid his sword in his lap.
"Go ahead and get some rest, kid. It's gonna be a few hours till we get there." Qrow told her. Sera looked at the huntsman quizzically, then sighed. "Fine. But not because you said so!" She pointed at him.
"Yeah, yeah." Qrow chuckled, then Sera leaned against the wall and tried to get comfortable. After a few moments, the amnesiac's eyes fluttered closed.
. . .
"In the knees, go for the knees!" A voice shouted. The setting of a battlefield filled Sera's mind. A village lay in ruin, smoke trailing into the sky from the scattered burning buildings. A pair of individuals were currently fighting for their lives against an impossible foe: a giant, humanoid Grimm. Except it had a bull's head, complete with a pair of massive, pointed horns, hooves, and a thin tail. Its furry humanoid body rippled with muscles as the beast fought, its glowing red eyes and white bone armor covering its large head, chest, and the backs of its arms.
The monster stood at least twenty-five feet tall and bellowed at its assailants. Standing a good forty feet ahead of its were a pair of huntresses that panted and tiredly held their weapons at their sides, various cuts and bruises covering their bodies. One of the huntresses was none other than Sera, dressed in a tattered red tank top, black jeans, and combat boots. She held a black and red great sword at her side that was nearly two feet shorter than her current one. A fresh cut was on her face, beginning above her eyebrow and ending an inch below her right eye. The other huntress was dressed in a white combat jacket with black trim, a black V-neck shirt, black combat pants and boots, and held a very old-fashioned shotgun with four large barrels in her hands. She had long black hair that was braided on the left side of her head, making it appear really short on that side. Her grey eyes glared at the Minotaur.
"This thing ain't going down." The one in white said, holding her side with one hand and the shotgun with the other.
"Speak for yourself, Val." Sera panted, a line of blood trickling down her face from the fresh cut.
"This isn't the time for jokes, Sera." Val said as the Minotaur drew closer and closer, its large hooves thundering against the pavement as it walked towards them menacingly.
"Who's joking? This thing's heading straight for Lindos. You know that village has even worse than this one." Sera replied and raised her sword.
"Yeah well, once more unto the breach, I guess." Val blew a stray strand of hair out of her face.
Sera cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders, then charged the beast. Val rolled her eyes and followed her, transforming her shotgun into a double-headed war axe and leapt towards the Minotaur. Sera gritted her teeth and did the same, raising her black and red sword to deliver a powerful blow to the Grimm's skull.
Val leapt onto the beast's shoulder and attempted to bury her axe into its neck, but it simply huffed and swatted the huntress off as if she were a bug annoying him. Its eyes bored into Sera as she flew towards it. She was its real target, and Sera seemed to piece that together by the way its been focusing only on her. Could it be because she was wearing red?
The white-head narrowed her eyes at the Grimm as she neared it, but far too late, she realized something was wrong. She and Val knew right away that this particular Grimm was far more intelligent than any they'd encountered before, but as Sera drew ever closer to it, she saw a dangerous light in its eyes.
The Minotaur reached its hand out and caught Sera out of midair. She gritted her teeth and kicked, trying to free herself, but it was no use. The Minotaur seemed to laugh as its grip tightened around her waist and chest.
Sera screamed out in pain. Her aura was already dwindling, but as soon as the beast squeezed, it failed, meaning that she was susceptible to fatal damage.
As soon she felt her ribs begin to crack, a high-pitched squeaking sound came from Sera's mouth, the kind of sound a squeaky toy would make.
'What the-?!' Sera mentally exclaimed mentally. Even the Minotaur seemed surprised, raising an eyebrow in alarm.
Val appeared out of nowhere, blasting all four rounds from her shotgun into the side of its head. The Minotaur roared in pain and dropped Sera to the ground. She gasped and clutched her chest desperately and rolled onto her side.
Val yelled out as she transformed her shotgun into an axe and swung it into the Minotaur's chest, burying it in the white bone. The Grimm roared out in pain and grasped at its chest, attempting to pull the weapon out. However, Val was still holding on. The Grimm swung around, taking Val with it. She could only hang on for a small while until she was forced to let go and fly towards Sera. The black-haired huntress landed on the pavement and skidded across it, coincidentally ending up right beside Sera.
"How're ya now?" Sera groaned.
"Good, and you?" Val panted as she got to her feet.
"Not so bad." Sera groaned in pain.
"We're really screwed on this one, bud." Val said as she watched the Grimm try to pull the axe out of its chest.
Sera unsteadily got to her feet, leaning onto her sword for support. "Again?"
"Eh, why not?" Val shrugged.
The two then lunged at the Minotaur again. The Grimm saw this, however. It swung its open hand towards them with the momentum it had accumulated from spinning, trying to get the axe out. Val, being too injured and exhausted to evade, took the brunt of the blow, and flew directly through a brick wall.
"Val!" Sera exclaimed, then turned her attention back to her opponent. She gritted her teeth and swung her sword, cleaving one of its horns clean off.
Sera smirked as she landed, still clutching her chest. The Minotaur huffed angrily as it watched its horn fall to the ground, then it turned to the white-head. Sera's eyes widened slightly as the Minotaur punched her head-on. Sera, being in an even worse state than Val, could do nothing but take the hit. Sera grunted in pain as she flew back and skidded across the pavement. Once she came to a halt, she could barely pick herself up. The Minotaur strolled towards her until it stood directly in front of her. It raised its hoof above her head with a smug look on its face, and in spite of the situation, Sera let out a hoarse laugh.
"You look even stupider with the missing horn, Toro."
The Minotaur narrowed its eyes and brought its foot down, but was suddenly interrupted as a figure appeared from the side. Val shouted out as she leapt at the beast. But, without taking its eyes off of Sera, it caught her out of midair! Its large fist closed around her thin body. Val struggled uselessly against its grip, but the Minotaur quickly squeezed.
"NO!" Sera shouted. A loud crack could be heard from Val's body, and her body went limp, the life instantly draining from her eyes.
Sera's eyes widened as tears formed in them, then she screamed. A blast of purple energy emanated from her body, and the Minotaur flew several feet back and landed on its back. The beast quickly brought its head up to look at the huntress.
Sera was now standing on her feet, fists clenched and head hung low as she gazed at the body of her friend, tears streaming down her face and purple Aura visible around her body.
The Minotaur got to its feet and glared at the pre-amnesiac with its glowing eyes, then Sera looked up.
She glared directly into the beast's eyes furiously. Except something was different. Her irises were now glowing red like that of a Grimm, and the whites of her eyes were now black as midnight.
. . .
Sera woke with a start and quickly scanned her surroundings. She was still inside the airship.
"Kid, you alright? You look spooked." Qrow asked, and Sera's eyes settled on the huntsman.
"…I had a dream." Sera told him.
Qrow leaned forward. "Like a memory flashback dream or a dream dream?"
"I-I'm not sure, to be honest. It was all so bizarre." Sera replied, images from said dream still fresh on her mind.
Qrow raised an eyebrow at her, then Sera sighed and began to retell the events of her recent dream. After a ten-minute explanation, Sera crossed her arms and looked at the huntsman in front of her expectantly. Qrow stared at her with wide eyes. He hadn't moved for nearly half the story. Without wasting a beat, he pulled out his flask, uncorked it, and took a long drink.
'Well.' Qrow thought to himself. 'There may be more to this girl than we thought.'
After corking his flask and putting it away, Qrow sighed and looked at the amnesiac. "Look kid, I'm glad you actually remembered something, but I have no idea what it means."
"You're saying this actually did happen, and that I actually did that?" Sera asked warily. Qrow nodded gravely and looked down at his shoes.
"There were reports of a Minotaur terrorizing people in Vacuo about a year ago, and that it destroyed nearly a dozen villages until it was taken down. Now, I know your dream didn't finish, but I have a feeling that you're the one that made it kick the bucket, kid." He said to her in the same manner that he'd talk to Ruby or Yang.
Sera gulped and looked towards the front of the airship. "If that really was me, then what was with my eyes? That's not normal."
Qrow shrugged, "I dunno, Snowball. We'll have to figure it out later, cause the airship just went into hover mode."
'Meaning that we're about to land.' Sera concluded. She sighed and stood, grabbing her suitcase and weapon. When she stood, the gun belt around her waist caught Qrow's eye.
"What's the belt for?" he gestured to it.
Sera looked down at it sitting loosely around her waist, its large Omega buckle sitting slightly crooked and below her regular belt's buckle.
"Ozpin gave it to me along with this other stuff." Sera replied.
"What's the point of wearing a gun belt when you have no gun to put on it?" he raised an eyebrow. To which she replied, "I dunno, but it looks really cool." And gave a shrug. Qrow chuckled and stood, grabbing his sword.
The airship touched down in a forest clearing, not far from a small village. After Sera and Qrow hopped from the airship and onto the lush grass, the white-head slung her sword over her shoulder and looked over at Qrow.
"So do we even know where this thing is or…?"
"Nope. All we know is that its been attacking villages in this area. Gonna have to find it the old-fashioned way." Qrow responded.
Sera's shoulders slumped and she let out a groan. "But that's gonna take forever."
"Which is why this is going to take a while to accomplish. Welcome to actual huntsmen missions, kiddo." Qrow smirked.
"This sucks." Sera kicked the dirt as they walked towards the village.
"You'll get used to it."
"Doubtful." Sera looked sideways at the huntsman.
"Whatever kid let's just get to the village and start asking around. The sooner we get started, the sooner this can all end."
"Yeah, yeah I hear ya." Sera sighed and rolled her eyes.
. . .
They began by starting on the north end of the village and working their way down, asking anyone and everyone if they'd seen or heard anything about this Grimm. So far, they found nothing. Most of them hadn't even known the creature was in the area. The most interesting thing happened when they started to ask around the market.
Sera had asked a young brunette woman if she'd encountered the Grimm, and her blue eyes filled with horror.
"You're her!" She exclaimed.
"Excuse me? Have we met?" Sera asked.
The woman took Sera's hand, holding with both of her own. "You saved my village from a Grimm in Vacuo! But that other poor girl…" Her eyes turned sad.
Sera's eyes widened slightly. She must've been talking about the village from Sera's dream. Hearing the sudden commotion, Qrow approached Sera and the woman.
"What's up, Sera?" Qrow asked, and the two women turned to look at him.
"Nothing Qrow. This woman's thanking me for saving that village. Remember? The one I told you about?" Sera said, heavily hinting at the huntsman. His eyes widened slightly in realization. He seemed to be thinking the same thing Sera was: this is way too much of a coincidence.
"After you killed it, you just disappeared! We couldn't even thank you, or reward you for your efforts." The woman said.
"R-right. Well I apologize for that, I had some…urgent business to attend to." Sera lied.
"You are a huntress, after all. I…just wish that girl wasn't…" She said, then had to choke back a sob. Sera patted her shoulder, unsure of what else to do.
"I-it's quite alright. She didn't die in vain." Sera told her, and the woman nodded in response.
"Miss, I hate to ask, but have you seen or heard anything about another large Grimm in this area? Looks reptilian." Qrow interrupted. The woman held her chin with one hand in thought. "I-I think I remember some huntsmen coming through her a few weeks ago about hunting a reptilian Grimm. They were heading south, towards the ocean." She replied. Qrow nodded and shot Sera a quick glance. "Thank you very much, ma'am. We're hunting that creature as well, and we won't bother you any further." He said, then began to walk away from them.
After Qrow was a good twenty feet away, the woman turned to Sera with a worried look on her face. "Be careful with this one. I know you're a tough one from that fight before, but from what I can tell, a lot of huntsmen have tried to take this thing down." She told the huntress.
"Yeah. That's what I keep gettin' told." Sera sighed, then followed after Qrow.
"Good luck!" The brown-haired woman called after her. Sera simply put her hand up in a motionless wave as she walked after Qrow.
Sera jogged the rest of the way to catch up with the huntsman, who was weaving his way through the market area of the small village.
"So what now? She said that those huntsmen headed south to find this Grimm." Sera asked, lacing her fingers together and resting her hands behind her head.
"Now we find an inn, preferably with a bar." Qrow replied.
Sera raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Cause it's a long way to the next village south and it's already nearly sundown. Look." He pointed ahead of them, and sure enough, the sun was beginning to disappear over the horizon. "So we'd better find somewhere to stay for the night. Unless you wanna go Grimm hunting in the dark, of course."
"Fine. Let's find an inn." Sera huffed and returned her arms to her sides.
"Knew you'd see things my way, Snowball." Qrow chuckled.
"Oh, shut up." Sera replied and crossed her arms.
. . .
It didn't take long for the pair to locate an inn in such a small village, but unfortunately, the inn was also pretty small.
"So now what?" Sera asked after Qrow paid for their rooms.
"Now, Snowball, I'm getting a drink." The huntsman replied, then made his way for the bar. Sera sighed and looked around the inside of the inn.
"Fine. I'll go make sure my gear's in top condition." Sera sighed and walked towards her rented room.
After unpacking a few of her things, Sera sat cross-legged on the twin-sized bed and sharpened Crimson Eclipse. Grinding a small whetstone along one edge of the blade, she groaned and looked outside the window and into the dark night. A sudden sound shook her from her thoughts. Sera looked over to see her scroll's screen lit with a notification on it. She picked up the small device and squinted to see the screen clearly in the dark room.
'A message from Ruby?' She mentally asked, then slapped her own forehead with her open palm. 'Stupid! How could I forget that I can still talk to them with my scroll?'
With a groan, Sera unlocked her scroll and read the message.
"Hey Sera! We miss you already. Hope Uncle Qrow isn't driving you too crazy yet. Is the hunt going well?" Ruby's message read.
Sera quickly typed a reply. "Miss you guys too! Qrow keeps trying to act up, but I put him in his place *laughing emoji*. No news on the hunt so far. Haven't even located it yet, but here's hoping for tomorrow." She hit send.
Within moments, her scroll dinged again.
"We know you'll find it and take it out with no problems! Weiss won't shut up about it being late and us having class tomorrow, so goodnight! Keep in contact!"
Sera smirked and set her sword down. "Goodnight, Rubes. Promise to give you and the team updates. Tell the others I said hi!" Sera then sheathed her sword and set it near the bed, then shrugged off her combat clothing and changed into a clean purple tank top and a pair of white pajama pants with purple flowers decorating the garments. The amnesiac stretched her arms out wide and gave a big yawn, then leapt into the bed and immediately covered herself with blankets in one fluid motion.
She unlocked her scroll and pulled up her music playlist with a tired smirk on her lips. After picking out a song to listen to while she drifted off to sleep, Sera hit 'play' and set the scroll on the nightstand beside the bed.
'I'd never hear the end of it if Qrow knew I liked this song.' Sera thought to herself, then allowed her eyes to flutter closed.
watch?v=KvlqclaxyP4