RWBY: A Huntress's Amnesia

by SeraShadow

An unknown girl (OC) with white hair and purple eyes wakes up in the middle of Forever Fall forest with no clue who she is or how she got there. Professor Ozpin nor his companions have any clue who she is, so like he did with Ruby Rose, the headmaster decides to enroll the mystery girl in Beacon. Follow her adventures through Remnant as she tries to pick up the pieces of her past.

5. Wish You Were Here

Memory flashes of fighting and screaming filled Sera's dreams that night. She saw the body of her forgotten friend, Val, crumple to the ground after the Minotaur Grimm was done with her, her old teammates running through the forest from an army of Grimm, the fight against the giant Deathstalker, and images of team RWBY also appeared. All of them laughing and having a good time in classes, the time she and Nora fought each other in Port's, then finally Yang embracing Sera in the locker room just before she left with Qrow. But what woke her up and caused her to sit up immediately in her bed was the scene of seeing herself open her eyes to reveal glowing red irises and the whites of said eyes turned black.

Sera groaned and looked over to her blinking scroll to stop her music playlist. The song Sweet Dreams (Marilyn Manson cover) was playing through the device's small speakers.

"Jeez, has that thing been playing all night?" a voice asked. Sera jumped and reached for her sword, only to see that Qrow was leaning against the wall of the room.

"What the hell, old man?! Have you been standing there watching me sleep?" Sera asked incredulously.

"Easy, kid. I only came up here a few minutes ago to wake you up, but you were shifting and mumbling in your sleep. None of it made much sense, though. Said something about bulls, hugs, and red eyes."

Sera sighed and looked at her scroll for the time. Seven-thirty-two.

"I like listening to music to help me sleep." She looked over at him, deciding to address the first thing he said to her rather than the rest.

"How many friggin' songs are on that thing?" Qrow raised an eyebrow.

"More than a reasonable amount." Sera smirked and got out of bed, adjusting her purple tank top to look half-decent.

"I'll let you get dressed. We got lots of walking ahead of us." Qrow said to her as he exited the inn room.

"Don't remind me." Sera sighed after the door closed.

After nearly twenty minutes, Sera stepped out of her rented room to take on the day. She'd showered and dressed herself in her usual outfit, her white jacket, jeans, a fresh purple tank top, a purple belt, and her leather gun belt. After exiting the room with her sword and suitcase in tow, she went downstairs to find Qrow sitting at a small table, pouring brown liquid from his flask into a mug of steaming coffee.

The Beacon student rolled her eyes at his alcoholism, but still sat across from him at the table.

"Hey," He said and took a sip of his concoction.

"Sup," Sera replied and pulled a glass bottle of People Like Grapes soda out of her suitcase. The deep purple liquid would surely be warm, but she didn't care. Qrow raised an eyebrow at the action but said nothing. He wouldn't hear the end of it if he did.

"So, what I'm thinking is that we head towards that village and search for tracks and signs of the Grimm both along the way and around said village. With a little luck, we'll find something." Qrow explained, then chuckled to himself at the irony of his final statement. He knew full well what his semblance was.

"Yeah if only we had some sort of brightly lit fireflies that would lead us directly to the thing after finding some of its footprints or something." Sera rolled her eyes as he propped her elbow up on the table and rested her chin on her open palm.

"…What?"

"Nothing. Just thinking out loud." Sera replied, but her idea would be nice to have.

"All right, then. Well we don't have any magic tracking fireflies, so we have to do this the old-fashioned way." Qrow told her.

"Yeah, yeah." Sera replied and finally popped the cap on her soda by pressing it against the edge of the table and slamming her palm onto the top. Qrow blinked at her nonchalance and continued, "So, if we head out now, we should reach the village by noon."

"Can't we just, like, hijack a truck? Don't huntsmen do that sort of stuff if they need to?" She asked, clearly not excited about their hike.

"No, we can't. There aren't any around here." Qrow replied with a smirk.

"Fine. But this suitcase is going to be hell to carry through all that," Sera sighed and motioned towards it.

"Get used to it, kiddo. That's why I always only carry my weapon and the clothes on my back." Qrow said.

"Yeah, and your friggin' flask." Sera mumbled to herself. Qrow ignored her.

"So, let's head out. The sooner we kill it, the sooner you can get back to Vale and fight in the tournament. And see your team." He said as he slapped the table with one hand and stood.

Sera finished off her grape soda and tossed the empty bottle behind her head, the glass container exploding against the wall behind her.

"Hey!" a waitress exclaimed.

"Let's get going, then." Sera smiled and grabbed her stuff before following Qrow out of the inn.

. . .

"This sucks." Sera groaned as she dragged her feet along the narrow pathway of a road. Qrow sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets. "We've only been walking for four hours. It's not that bad." He told her.

"And it's taking way too long!" She sighed. The sun was beating down on their shoulders and the temperature was way too hot for this time of year. With a quick roll of her eyes, Sera stripped her white jacket off and shoved it into her suitcase before continuing down the path.

"This is nothing compared to past missions I've been on." Qrow said in that way that adults do when dealing with whiny teens.

"Oh yeah? Did you have to march through a desert while running from an army of Beowolves or something?" She turned her head to the huntsman. With a smirk, Qrow replied, "Actually, funny story, I—"

"Just kidding, I don't give a fuck." Sera deadpanned.

"…People don't enjoy being around you much, do they?" Qrow raised an eyebrow.

"Generally? Not really, no. That's why I like your nieces so much." Sera replied, smiling to herself at the memories she's made with teams RWBY and JNPR.

"For what? Putting up with you?" He asked.

"For sticking around after meeting me." Sera said with a hint of sadness. She wasn't quite sure where this was coming from, since the only people she's met since waking up in Forever Fall have proved to be good people and better friends, save for several unnamed people around Beacon. But she said it as if she's had experience with people leaving. "Maybe that's part of my… My old life." She thought to herself.

"Kid, you're depressing me. Better cheer up fast or I'm gonna off myself before this Grimm gets the chance." Qrow chuckled.

"Not if I kill you first, old man." Sera smiled.

"Good luck with that, Snowball."

Sera lightly punched the huntsman's shoulder, taking care to not send him flying with her apparent Nora-rivalling strength.

"How much more walking? You said we'd get there by noon earlier." Sera asked. Qrow checked his scroll, looking at a digital map and the device's clock. "Well it's almost eleven now, and if this map is accurate, we should be relatively close. I say possibly right at noon, maybe later." Sera nodded and kicked a rock down the dirt path.

"That sword treating you alright?" Qrow asked, eyeing the crimson blade on her back. Sera glanced behind her to look at the pommel and nodded, "Very well, actually. It's balanced just right, and I like the tricks it can do." She said with a cheeky grin.

"Good, good. I dunno if Oz told you or not, but that weapon is actually of my own design." Qrow said. Sera narrowed her eyes at him, "Bullshit. I doubt that ancient brain of yours can cook up original ideas anymore."

"It's true," Qrow told her, apparently offended by her comment. "You haven't seen all the things this can do, have you?" He asked, pulling out his own large sword for her to see. She shook her head in response and Qrow smirked, "Good, you'll get a live demonstration soon."

Sera raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "Whatever you say, old man. Just don't get angry when I kill it before you can whip out your little sword." She told him while she put a pair of purple earbuds into her ears and pulled out her scroll to choose a song. Qrow started to reply, but Sera didn't hear it. She'd already clicked what she wanted to listen to while they walked.

"We better find this thing fast or I'm gonna lose it. Everyone knows Ruby and the others can't win a fight unless they have my charming self at their side." She smirked to herself and thought of her friends back at Beacon as a slow guitar tune played from her earbuds. (Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd).

After several minutes of walking and a few songs playing, Qrow tapped her shoulder and Sera took an earbud out to listen to the huntsman.

"You sure have been listening to music more frequently recently. What's up with that?" He asked. Sera smirked, "It relaxes me. Plus, it's better to listen to good music rather than listen to you talk nonsense some more."

"Oh yeah? Let's see what we're dealing with here," Qrow said and placed the earbud Sera had removed into his own ear. An extremely fast-paced electric guitar solo played in his ear and made Qrow recoil at the volume and intensity of the music. "That relaxes you?" He asked as he removed the earbud. She snatched it back and returned it to her own ear and closed her eyes momentarily, "More than you are right now."

Qrow rolled his eyes and shoved his hands into his pockets again. "Teenagers," He sighed to himself.

. . .

Just like Qrow said, it took another half hour to get to their destination. Sera played music through her earbuds and generally ignored the huntsman the entire time, trying to save herself from the surefire snark and sarcasm from him.

Whenever they entered the village, they saw an old wooden sign that revealed its name: Etna. Sera pulled her earbuds out and rested them on her shoulders, raising an eyebrow at the small expanse of tiny wooden houses before them. "You sure this is the right place?" She asked.

"Positive," Qrow replied and pointed his index finger to their left. Pained moans and whimpers could be heard from a wooden building with a medical caduceus above the doorway. The symbol looked like a pair of twin snakes coiled around a tall staff, the serpents facing each other with open mouths and visible fangs.

"Injured people?" Sera asked, but Qrow didn't answer. Instead, he marched towards the building with a determined look in his eyes. The huntress rolled her eyes and checked her scroll. No messages from her friends since they left the last village. She pocketed the device and followed Qrow.

After a quick survey of the building, they deduced that these people were hurt by their target. They had large bite wounds on their limbs and torsos and some people appeared as if part of them had simply melted off. Sera immediately remembered that Qrow had said something about this Grimm being able to spit acid or something. "Great," She mentally sighed. "This thing can literally melt our faces off."

They tried questioning a few of them, but nearly no one would answer. But one man did say that he recently saw a huntsman fighting the beast. He told them that this huntsman had cut off its heads multiple times, but it didn't die. In fact, it seemed to only make it more dangerous.

"Wait, 'heads'? Plural? Qrow, what the hell are we fighting?" Sera asked, now worried for her own health.

Qrow sighed, "A Hydra. Large, fast, spits acid. Cut off one head, two more grow back."

"You what?"

"Don't worry, Snowball. With the two of us, it doesn't stand a chance," Qrow smirked and ruffled her hair, much to her annoyance.

"That's what the last guy said," the injured villager mumbled then limped away.

"Eh, don't worry about that guy. Besides, I know how we're going to kill it." Qrow grinned and hooked a thumb towards his own chest.

"Oh yeah, tough guy? How're you gonna do that?" Sera crossed her arms.

"I think you mean 'how am I gonna do that'," Qrow grinned wider and walked out of the makeshift infirmary house.

"What does that mean—Hey don't walk away from me!" Sera exclaimed and went after the huntsman.

. . .

"This is a really stupid idea." Sera whispered.

"Relax, it'll work." Qrow whispered back. The two of them were currently hiding in some large bushes and waiting for their target to appear. In the middle of the clearing before them, Qrow placed a large slab of raw meat to use as bait.

"What if it doesn't show?" she asked.

"It will. Just give it time. Trust me, the bait meat never fails." Qrow promised.

"You should've left the planning to me," Sera sighed.

"Oh yeah? What would you plan have been? Run up to it and hit it till it dies?"

"…Shut it."

Then they heard the sounds of leaves crunching under something very heavy. Qrow's eyes widened slightly, "Shh, you hear that?" Sera listened for a moment, then they saw it. Her violet eyes widened at the sight of the creature. The smell of sourness burned her nose and she had to make an effort to not gag. The beast was easily eighty feet long from head(s) to tail and at least thirty feet tall. Its body was pitch black like all Grimm and four thick legs supported its heavy weight. The end of its tail was barbed and spiky for swinging, and instead of a head, it had six. Six heads that looked similar to a King Taijitu's, except each head had a pair of horns and had rows of shark teeth rather than fangs. White bone armor covered all of its heads, the fronts of its legs, its chest, and the back of its long tail. Its six heads writhed about as it sniffed the meat before it.

"That's what we have to fight?!" Sera said under her breath. "It's huge!"

"Yeah. Get ready, it looks like it's taking the bait." Qrow said and readied his weapon. Sera rolled her eyes and wrapped a hand around the hilt of her sword. As if on cue, the reptilian heads of the Hydra began ripping apart the meat and sending it down their respective gullets. But before it could even finish its newfound meal, Qrow shouted, "Now!" And charged out of the bushes.

"Stupid fuckin' plan," Sera groaned and followed him. The Hydra had been preoccupied with its snack, so it no time to recover as Qrow and Sera slashed each of their swords across its side. All six heads of the Grimm roared and turned to face its attackers, its long necks turning to look beside it.

"So what now?" Sera asked and raised her sword.

"Basically, hit it till it dies," Qrow smirked, earning a glare from the huntress. Then Qrow's eyes widened and he shouted, "Kid, watch out!"

Sera turned just in time to see a blob of sickly purple liquid flying towards her. She instinctively rolled to avoid it and heard the sound of it splashing against something followed by the smell of something sour and burning. Sera turned her head to see a tree literally melting where the acid hit it, then the tree promptly fell over and crashed into the forest floor.

Qrow sliced his sword across the Hydra's side again to draw its attention. It worked. He was forced to jump backwards to avoid the spiked tail that flew towards him at an alarming speed.

Sera gritted her teeth and charged the Grimm, sword raised. While it was distracted by Qrow, she swung her weapon at one of its front legs. Sparks flew as her sword came into contact with its scaly leg, causing Sera to recoil and leap back before it could attack her. She blinked as she processed what happened.

"The scales on its legs are too tough to cut through!" She shouted at Qrow.

"I know!" He said as he dodged its tail again. "Why do you think I was going for its body?"

"That would've been nice to know beforehand!" She said rather angrily.

"Semantics!" Qrow replied and tried to block the tail with the flat of his blade. It barely worked. The tail sent the elder huntsman flying into a tree and crumpling to the ground.

"I know his aura didn't give out that quickly," Sera thought to herself as she transformed her sword into its rifle form. After firing several rounds into its hide, she was forced to dodge two of the Grimm's heads that snapped at her, but she was able to slam the stock of her rifle into one of them. That head hissed in pain and glared at her. The Hydra then turned its entire body to face her, all six heads focused on a single target. Then, the head in the center opened his maw to show flames forming in the back of its throat.

"Uh-oh." Sera thought aloud, then immediately hit the deck. Flames shot out of its mouth at such a velocity that one would think the fire was being shot from a firehose. After the flames died down, Sera looked up to see that the grass and a few trees behind her were aflame. "It can breathe fire?!" Sera shouted as she got to her feet and rushed the monster.

"…Did I forget to mention that?" Qrow groaned and got to his feet, finally.

"A LITTLE!" Sera yelled and leapt towards the Grimm, transforming her weapon back into a sword and aiming for the head that shot flames at her. Qrow's eyes widened when he realized what she was about to do. "Snowball, wait!"

But it was too late, she'd already swung, and a sickening 'shlick!' could be heard. Then Sera remembered something Qrow had said back at the infirmary. "Cut off one head, two more grow back."

"Uh-oh," She thought to herself. Sera landed and immediately turned to see two heads already growing back from the stump of the original. In the blink of an eye, the two heads were already grown and hissing at her. Before she could attack it again, Qrow jumped out of nowhere and slammed the beast in its side with his sword, then jumped back and landed next to Sera.

"What'd I tell you about cutting off its heads?" He demanded.

"Oh, shut up and attack it," Sera responded. Qrow tightened his jaw and clicked a button on his sword's hilt. The weapon expanded and transformed, its blade popping apart and curving until he held a long scythe in his hands. Sera raised an eyebrow at the weapon and Qrow shrugged his shoulders. "What? Who do you think taught Ruby how to fight?"

Sera rolled her eyes and was about to turn back to the Hydra Grimm, but she suddenly felt something large and thick slam her aside. "Tail!" She gritted her teeth as she slid across the grass, digging a shallow trench in the ground, and eventually came to a halt. Sera sat up and glared at the Hydra that Qrow was now preoccupied with fighting. She immediately got to her feet and sprinted towards the Grimm, the tip of her sword near the ground as she carried it with one hand.

"One lizard-kebab, coming right up!" She shouted as she leapt into the air and descended upon the creature's back, plunging the entire blade of her weapon into it. The Grimm screeched in pain and writhed its body, throwing Sera free of it before she could pull her weapon out. Sera regained her balance in midair and landed next to Qrow.

"Lose your weapon?" He asked. Sera shot him a glare, "Yeah. Mind if I borrow yours?" Qrow then glanced down at the scythe in his hands, "Not a chance, Snowball." The young huntress shrugged, "Eh, worth a shot."

The Hydra continued to recoil in pain while its heads writhed about like a mess of noodles as it tried to get the crimson sword out of its back.

"After you," Qrow gestured at the Grimm with his scythe.

"Age before beauty," Sera mimicked his gesture. Qrow rolled his eyes and ran towards the Grimm. Sera grinned and followed him; her fists clenched tightly. The huntsman jumped at it once again with the intention of slicing his scythe across its back, but the Hydra had other plans. The beast roared at him and all its heads launched towards him at a frightening speed. Qrow's eyes widened and he was forced to avoid the attacks by kicking the nearest head's face and launching himself into the sky.

Sera glanced up to see Qrow positioning himself to bring a massive downward swing with his scythe. While the Hydra was distracted, she jumped onto the Grimm's hind leg and ran up it until she finally reached its back. Before the Hydra could even realize what she was doing, the amnesiac smirked and ran to the base of its long necks, deciding to not retrieve her sword just yet. "Probably better to not risk cutting off any more heads," She thought to herself and jumped several feet into the air, bringing down her foot to kick the Grimm between the shoulders.

All seven pairs of eyes widened when the Hydra felt something land a hit on its back. Sera smirked when she heard a deep cracking sound and felt the familiar sensation of bones crunching. She then leapt back before one of the multiple heads could attack her and wrapped both hands around the hilt of her sword. The Hydra tried to shake her off and trampled around, its deafening screeching making Sera want to cover her ears. Then before she could wonder where Qrow went, she heard the sound of metal cutting into flesh and the screeching came to an abrupt halt.

"He didn't," Sera's eyes widened, and her head whipped around to see Qrow land beside her, the Hydra's multiple heads falling to the ground.

"What did you do?" Sera demanded.

"You couldn't hear me over the sound, now listen! We have to use fire once we decapitate it. It's the only way to kill it for good, unless you have a big friggin' cannon in that suitcase," He told her quickly.

"Why didn't you do it just now?" Sera asked.

"Do I look like I have any fire?" He asked rhetorically.

"No," Sera sighed and yanked her sword free from the Hydra's back. Its heads were almost fully grown now, all fourteen of them.

"I know what that sword can do," Qrow said to her and pointed at her weapon. "Now get to it before this thing gets the chance to really fight back!" He said as his sword transformed into a sword again. She rolled her eyes and twirled her sword in her hand. Fourteen reptilian heads turned to the two of them and roared.

"Couldn't you have told me how to kill it before we started fighting it?" Sera glanced at Qrow, ultimately ignoring the beast they were standing on.

"I'mma be honest, I didn't remember how until a few moments ago," Qrow responded and dodged a head that lunged at him. Sera sighed as she nonchalantly pulled a red Dust crystal out of her pocket and popped it into the hilt of her sword. Several of the Hydra's heads had launched at her while she did this, but the huntress simply sidestepped the attacks or hopped over the heads once they got too close for comfort. Once the Dust was loaded and her sword was ready, she smirked and sidestepped another large Hydra head, opting to kick the thing as hard as she could just before jumping off of the beast's back. The head she kicked made a deep groaning sound and retreated. As soon as Sera's feet touched the grass, she clicked a button on her sword's hilt and swung. In mid-swing, the blade erupted in green flame just before it sliced into the Hydra's front leg. She theorized that the fire Dust would help cut through the Grimm's armored legs, and she was right.

In no time at all, her sword cleaved through the scaly black leg and the heavy limb crashed to the ground. While the Hydra screeched in pain and at the loss of its leg, Sera glanced at the bright-green flames that blazed from her sword. Before she could wonder why the fire was such a color, she was forced to dodge the Hydra's large tail and jump back to get some elbow room.

"Not bad, Snowball!" Qrow shouted while he tried to keep the Grimm's focus on him. Glancing between the Hydra and its severed leg, an idea formulated in the young huntress's mind. "I have a plan!" She shouted and ran for its remaining front leg. Just as she reached the large Grimm, she hit the dirt and slid under the beast like a baseball player reaching home plate. In mid-slide, Sera stuck her sword into the air and sliced into the creature's less-armored underbelly. Black blood fell from the long cut and spilled to the grass, but Sera was already on her feet and right beside her target. She swung her sword with both hands, slicing its other leg clean off with the help of the flame Dust. The Grimm roared extremely loudly as its front end crashed to the ground. Its long tail whipped around violently, trying to hit one of its opponents.

"Oh, I get it!" Qrow shouted and used the flat of his sword to knock aside one of the Hydra's heads.

"Took you long enough!" Sera smirked and ran to the Grimm's back end. Before she could even attempt severing one of its back legs, its spiked tail flew out of nowhere and hit the huntress square in the chest. With a pained grunt, she flew back and directly through a particularly large tree. "I swear if that tail hits me again, we're gonna be having Hydra barbecue for months," She thought to herself as she picked herself off the ground. Her purple aura was visibly flickering, but it held. If not for her aura, she'd be a goner.

Qrow gritted his teeth. He'd only heard something being hit followed by the sound of wood splintering, but he kept his focus on the fourteen fanged heads desperately trying to kill him. Sera may have rendered it partially immobile, but this thing still had a ton of fight left in it. The Hydra's multiple glowing red eyes bored into the huntsman as he knocked aside its heads with his sword or simply dodged, but not even Qrow could keep this up forever.

Sera spit the dirt out of her mouth and gritted her teeth. Her sword had run out of Dust just after she was hit, so she pulled another crystal out of her pocket. This one was white and cool to the touch, like an ice cube. She popped the Dust into her weapon and grinned as frost formed along her sword's blade and cool mist emanated from it. She ran full speed at the Hydra while it was distracted, reaching the beast in mere seconds and plunging the tip of her sword into the base of its tail. The Grimm roared with all its heads as its tail froze in seconds, turning to pure ice as if the appendage was dipped into nitroglycerin.

Sera smirked and pulled her sword out, proceeding to deliver a powerful bicycle kick to the tail. It shattered on contact, the broken ice raining to the ground and effectively severing the tail.

"Now," Sera said aloud as she popped out the ice Dust crystal and slid in a red one. "Back to business."

In just two extremely precise swings, she severed the Hydra's hind legs and caused its legless body to fall to the ground, immobile. Qrow jumped just out of the Hydra's heads' range and took a deep breath. "Finally," He shouted to Sera, who was casually walking around the Grimm and to its front end. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's not like I was hit through a tree or anything!" She responded, her flaming sword at her side. Qrow smirked and rested his own sword onto his shoulder, "Just kill this thing already so we can go home."

Sera stopped and stood in front of the Hydra. Its fourteen heads roared directly into her face. She was standing just out of range of its long necks, so the reptilian heads were mere inches from her. "With pleasure," She grinned and leapt over its heads and onto its back. With a quick smirk, she said, "Heads up," and swung her sword downward, effectively slicing all fourteen of its heads off at the base of their necks. Without wasting a breath, she jumped down and stabbed her flaming sword into the middle of its necks for good measure. The Grimm dissipated into shadow and faded, leaving nothing to remain. With a heavy sigh, Sera turned to Qrow and rested Crimson Eclipse onto her shoulder. After she turned the flames off, of course.

"Now," She grinned at the elder huntsman. "Lunch?"

Qrow and Sera returned to the small village, Etna, and called in for airship pickup. After making another call on the flight home to whoever put the price on the Grimm's head, the two were immediately wired their Lien reward, much to Sera's delight.

"There," Qrow said as he pocketed his scroll with a smirk. "Fifteen-thousand Lien for each of us."

Sera's jaw dropped, "Someone put thirty-thousand on that thing?"

"You'd be surprised how much someone would pay for peace of mind."

"Wait, I thought this was like some sort of official mission from Ozpin." Sera raised an eyebrow.

"It was, but it was also a kill contract. How do you think we huntsmen make a living?" Qrow asked.

"…You raise a good point." Sera replied.

Qrow chuckled in response and sat back in his seat. The hum of the airship's engines was welcomed by each of them. It meant they were finished being in the field. For now.

"So," Qrow said to Sera. "Today's the day of the Vytal Festival, and its already around three. Seems we might've missed most of the first round."

Sera groaned and slumped her shoulders, "Pilot, can we go any faster?!" She picked her head up and shouted.

Sitting in the pilot's seat, the man grinned and pressed a red button on the controls. "Right away, ma'am," He said, and the airship shot across the sky like a cannon.

. . .

Team RWBY and JNPR were done with their first round of the Vytal Festival. In fact, by time Qrow and Sera even reached Vale, all tournament activities were finished for the day. The doubles rounds would start up on the following day. The two returning huntsmen decided to go straight to Beacon and report to Ozpin regarding their completed mission and Sera's recent dreams. They were walking up the sidewalk towards Beacon Tower when Qrow spotted an armed escort in front of them. And who was being escorted? None other than Winter Schnee, Weiss's older sister.

Qrow smirked and tapped Sera's shoulder, "Watch this." Qrow then ran towards the Atlesian robot soldiers and yanked the two in the rear back, tearing them to pieces in seconds. Sera rolled her eyes and hefted her sword. She might need it now. It seems that they're about to commit some form of felony.

"Hey, you," Qrow said, gaining the attention of Winter. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of the grinning drunkard. "That was Atlas military property, Qrow," She glared. Qrow glanced at the remains of the robots on the concrete and put on a faked apologetic expression, "Oh, oh, I'm sorry," He said.

A girl wearing a black beret and sunglasses approached Sera, standing beside her with her arms crossed as they both watched the proceeding confrontation. Sera recognized her as Coco Adel, the leader of team CFVY.

"You know that guy?" she asked. Sera glanced over at her and rested her sword on her right shoulder, "Unfortunately. That's Ruby and Yang's uncle," She responded. Her eyes analyzed white-haired woman in the military uniform with a critical expression, "And by the looks of her, I'm guessing she's Weiss's big sis."

"I was thinking the same. Do all Schnees have an aura of pure bitchiness and a superiority complex around them?" Coco asked.

"Well I've seen two of them now, so I think it's safe to say that their whole family is like this," Sera smirked.

Then something changed. Winter drew her thin-bladed sword and lunged at Qrow, who easily avoided the swift thrusts towards his head. Sera rolled her eyes as he brought out his own sword and toyed with the Schnee. "I'd better break this up," Sera told the older student. "Understood. See ya around, Snowball," Coco smirked and turned around, waving as she walked towards the main complex of campus. Sera sighed, "I'm gonna kill Yang for telling everyone about that," Then walked into the middle of the circle that was formed around Qrow and Winter by dozens of students. The two were full-on dueling now, each of them moving at unbelievable speeds as their two swords clashed repeatedly.

"Hey, hey! Break it up you two—" Sera began, but she was interrupted when a thin sword came out of nowhere and knocked her aside. The strike was meant for Qrow and she'd walked directly in the way. Then again, how was she supposed to know? She could barely see the two of them zipping around trying to kill each other.

"Stay out of the way, girl!" Winter shouted as she blocked a swing from Qrow's sword.

Sera got to one knee and smirked, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, "Oh, that's it." She then ran at the Schnee while she was preoccupied fighting Qrow. Sera swung her sword at Winter and almost caught her in the back, but the woman's small sword appeared out of nowhere and blocked the strike. Sera smirked and dropped to the ground, bringing up both of her legs and drop kicking her into Qrow's sword swing. Winter was knocked aside and rolled across the ground. But in no time at all, she was back on her feet and Sera barely managed to bring her sword up in time to deflect her strike.

Winter locked eyes with Sera, blue eyes meeting violet. "I said stay out of the way," She gritted her perfect white teeth. Sera grinned, "You kidding? This party's just getting started!" She brought her elbow and dislodged her sword from Winter's, then proceeded to send out a flurry of precise stabs in the Schnee's direction.

"UNCLE QROW!" a familiar high-pitched voice cried out as Ruby tackled Qrow to the ground and out of the fight. "YOU'RE BACK!"

"Hey there, Ace," Qrow grinned, momentarily forgetting the fight and ruffling his niece's hair. "You mind getting off me so I can finish this fight I instigated?"

"Nah. Sera can handle it!" Ruby grinned up at Qrow.

"I doubt that very much."

"Yeah. Kick her butt, Sera!" Ruby suddenly got to her feet and shouted at her teammate.

"Trying!" Sera shouted back and evaded another stab from Winter. The fight was going horribly. Winter was obviously far more experienced than her and had almost won several times, if not for the amnesiac's unpredictable fighting style.

"This is going nowhere fast. I have to find a way to quickly end this. I can't make myself look bad in front of all these people, it'd destroy my rep!" Sera thought to herself, and with that thought in mind, she got an idea. She'd play dirty.

Sera caught Winter's sword blade with her own, knocking the weapon aside and taking the chance to elbow her in the face. Winter stumbled back and Sera capitalized on the opportunity she was given. She swept her legs out from under her and pointed Crimson Eclipse's tip in her face before she could get up. Sera smirked down at her, her chest heaving from the fight.

"Schnee!" a deep voice shouted. Winter's eyes widened. Sera smirked, "Busted," Then she lowered her sword and returned to Qrow's side. Ruby immediately wrapped her small arms around Sera and squeezed the life out of her.

"Sera! I'm glad you're back!" she smiled.

"Yeah I'm glad to see you too—Ow! Ribs, Ruby, the ribs." Sera winced, then the younger girl finally released her. While General Ironwood conversed with Winter and Qrow, Ruby's silver eyes suddenly widened in realization, "Sera! You missed the first match!"

Sera smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of her neck with one hand, "Sorry bout that, Rubes. We tried to get here as fast as we could."

"Eh, don't worry about it. You can always watch it later on someone's scroll."

Weiss appeared out of nowhere just after Winter was led away by General Ironwood. "C'mon, kid," Qrow sighed and followed the two. Sera rolled her eyes and slung her sword over her back, "Of course I get wrapped up in it. Then again, I did kinda join the fight… Kicked that chick's butt, too."

"Alright. See you guys later," Sera told Ruby and Weiss. Weiss eyed her critically and crossed her arms, "I'll reprimand you later for what you just did to my sister," She told the amnesiac. Sera was about to retort but Weiss continued talking, "But I am glad you're back."

Sera's eyes widened slightly, and she broke into a grin, "I knew you couldn't be heartless forever!"

"And you ruined it," Weiss sighed and spun on her heel, leaving them. Ruby gave a small wave and chased after the heiress. Sera smirked and grabbed her suitcase from where she'd left it, going in the direction that Qrow and the others went.

After she caught up with the three of them, they all went to Beacon Tower together and rode the elevator up to Ozpin's office where the headmaster was surely waiting. Ozpin, Ironwood, Goodwitch, Winter Schnee, and Qrow seemed to be in an intense argument for a while, but they soon lost Sera's interest not long into the conversation. She bounced on her heels and got lost in her own thoughts while they talked. Listening to music was considered, but Sera decided that it wasn't worth the look that Goodwitch shot her as she was pulling out her purple earphones.

Sera was honestly about to fall asleep and without a doubt fall to the floor, but then she heard her name and perked up. "Huh? Talkin' about me?" She asked.

Qrow chuckled and shook his head while Winter and Glynda glared at her. "Were you not listening to anything we just discussed?" Winter asked.

"I usually tune out conversations that include stuck-up knobs like you," Sera shot back. Ozpin's eyes widened at her insult and Winter looked like she was about to skewer the student.

"Ahem," Ozpin interrupted. "Qrow was just telling us about these recent dreams of yours. Care to elaborate?" Sera turned her attention to the headmaster with a relatively polite expression as compared to the daggers she was glaring at Winter. "Sure, Professor," Sera told him, her voice filled with utmost respect towards him. She then went on to explain her dreams regarding the fight against the Minotaur Grimm but decided to leave out the other stuff with her team and friends. After her retelling of the battle, their expressions said it all. Everyone but Qrow had looks of confusion, wonder, and fear.

"So," Ironwood broke the silence. "You're the one who put a stop to that particular Grimm. I'd heard that a pair of young huntresses had fought it in that village, but to think it was you all along." Sera smirked and crossed her arms. She was under the impression that he was impressed, but James Ironwood was more concerned about her true origins. What she said about her eyes changing was absolutely unheard of. There was a number of huntsman and huntresses whose irises could change color, but this was different.

"What about the end of it, the matter of your eyes?" Ozpin asked calmly. Sera shrugged in response, "I've no idea. You probably have a better clue about it than I do." Ozpin shot Qrow a look and the huntsman gave a curt nod in response.

"How was the hunting mission?" Ozpin asked, changing the subject. He'd have to have a more in-depth conversation with Qrow about this matter later.

"Piece of cake. Had to save the old man a few times. Right, Bird Brain?" Sera grinned and looked at Qrow. "Hey, it would've been dead a lot sooner if you weren't the one with the fire weapon."

"Whatever helps you sleep a night." Sera smiled and crossed her arms.

"Right. Well, I'm sure you're tired and ready to return to your room after such an excursion. You're dismissed," Ozpin said kindly. Sera nodded in a slight bow and winked at Winter Schnee before turning around and heading for the door.

"Insufferable," Winter grumbled.

"That's what your sister says," Sera called out after she exited the room. Once the door closed, Ozpin turned to Qrow with a bit of a distressed expression. "Now, about that girl…"

. . .

Sera smiled and knocked on the door of her dorm room. Immediately, she heard a high-pitched voice say, "I'll get it!" Then the door opened to reveal Ruby standing there.

"Finally!" She smiled and stepped aside. Sera entered the room and grinned. Her whole team was there. Blake was sitting atop her bed reading, like usual. Weiss was sitting at her desk studying, like usual. Then Yang hopped off her bunk and approached Sera and Ruby. "Took you long enough," She grinned.

"Had to deal with a certain heiress' big sister," Sera smirked.

"Heard that," Weiss said without picking her head up.

"I know," Sera smiled. "You shoulda seen it, Yang. There was nothing she could do against the might that is me—"

"Winter had her against the ropes for the whole fight until Sera pulled something dirty and elbowed her in the face," Blake said without taking her eyes off her book.

"How did you even know? Who's side are you even on?" Sera grumbled and crossed her arms.

"Ruby recorded it and showed us."

"Naturally," Sera sighed.

"Didn't wanna rain on your parade. Wanted to hear you talk about it," Yang said to her. "Now! How was the mission?"

"Yeah! I wanna hear every detail!" Ruby said excitedly. Sera grinned, "Well it all started when that jackass uncle of yours said he had a plan…" She went on to explain the details of their fight against the large Hydra Grimm. By the time she was finished, Sera stood proudly. Her fists rested on her hips with a pleased smile on her face. Team RWBY was sitting on the floor of their room sitting crisscross applesauce.

"…That's it?" Weiss asked after a moment.

"Whaddya mean 'that's it'? That was awesome!" Ruby smiled and leapt into the air. "Thank you, Rubes. I knew I could count on you," Sera grinned and gave Ruby a high five. It was Blake's turn to speak up, "That did sound like a tough fight, especially since the thing has the ability to regrow heads. I've never heard of anything like that happening." Sera nodded at her, "It was pretty annoying. Especially its tail," She rolled her eyes at the memory of being hit twice by the spiked appendage.

"Couldn't you just have, I dunno, punched it?" Yang shrugged. Sera turned her violet eyes to the brawler, "Could've, but what's the fun in just punching everything? Gotta mix things up a little."

"You're asking me what the fun is in punching everything?" Yang asked.

"Some people like to take a more strategic and intelligent path in a fight," Weiss deadpanned.

"…Weiss you're fired," Yang replied. Ruby and Blake gasped, but Sera was just confused.

"You- You what? Me? Fired? From what?" Weiss demanded.

"From being my partner in the doubles round tomorrow," Yang grinned then motioned her head towards Sera. "I want Sera to fight with me."

"You insufferable-!" Weiss stood.

"I say we put it to a vote!" Ruby announced. "All in favor of Sera fighting in Weiss's place?"

"Aye," Yang grinned and raised her hand.

"Aye?" Sera blinked.

"I don't care," Blake deadpanned and stood, hopping up to her bunk with her catlike agility.

"It's decided! Sorry, Weiss. I'm sure you would've done us proud," Ruby said and put a hand on the heiress's shoulder. Weiss sighed and returned to her desk, "You know what? I don't care! Just don't be upset if you lose," Weiss told them.

"What did I just do?" Sera asked. Yang grinned and slapped her hand onto Sera's shoulder, "Congratulations, Snowball! You get to show your stuff to the whole world tomorrow in a doubles match with your favorite teammate!"

"How come you're the favorite?" The remaining members of RWBYS asked at the same time.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me," Sera's eye slightly twitched.

"Hm?" Yang asked.

Whack!

"Yowch! What the hell?!" Yang exclaimed and clutched her head.

"That's for telling everyone in the school about that nickname!" Sera told her with a smug smile.

"If you weren't gonna be fighting tomorrow I'd so tear you apart," Yang replied. Sera stuck her tongue out at her.

The next few hours flew by for the five girls. Sera unpacked her stuff and made up her makeshift bed space for later use. Weiss went to spend time with her sister and catch up. Blake remained atop her bunk, reading. Qrow stopped by to hang out with his nieces for a while before leaving once again. By time Weiss had finally returned, it was nighttime, and the shattered moon hung in the sky. Ruby, Sera, Yang, and Blake had all changed into their pajamas for the night, Sera's PJ's being a fresh purple tank top and white pajama pants with purple flower designs; the same pair she wore the previous night in the inn.

"Took you long enough," Sera deadpanned and went back to organizing her hundreds of songs into special playlists on her scroll. She was currently working on one that she called, "For When The Party Gets Started", aka fighting music.

"Well sorry that I have family members that care about me," Weiss crossed her arms.

"The one who's ass I kicked?" Sera smirked and looked up from her scroll." Weiss huffed and went into the bathroom, presumably to possibly shower, change, and prepare for bed.

"She loves me," Sera grinned and went back to her music organizing. "She'd love to run you through with her rapier, that's for sure," Yang replied.

"After 'firing' her like that, she'd probably target you next, Blondie," Sera told her. Yang shrugged and laid back on her bunk, resting her hands behind her head and looking over at Sera sitting on her blankets laid out on the floor, "Eh, she'll get over it. You know, you really need a bed." She commented.

"Eh, I'll be fine. Better than nothing."

"You wanna lay in mine?" Yang smirked.

"Yang Xiao Long, are you asking me to come to bed with you?" Sera looked over at her with an expression of feigned surprise.

"Guys, Ruby's in the room," Blake deadpanned.

"So? I sleep in Yang's bed all the time!" Ruby said innocently. Yang rolled her eyes, "We haven't done that since we were kids, Ruby."

"And?" Ruby asked. Sera chuckled and laid back, covering herself with a thick blanket.

"I'll take that as a 'no' to the snuggling?" Yang asked sarcastically.

"Jeez, at least take me out to dinner first. You're coming on too strong, Xiao Long." Sera smirked and rolled her eyes.

"How bout if we win our match tomorrow and you don't do too horrible?" Yang asked.

"Sure, why not? Victory dinner," Sera replied and put in her earphones before turning over and laying her head on a pillow. As if on cue, Weiss stepped out of the bathroom with wet hair, wearing her nightgown. Ignoring the fact that Blake was still reading, she shut the room's light off and got into her bunk. Blake sighed and set her book aside, pulling her covers over her and settling into her bed. Ruby, however, was already asleep. She passed out as soon as the lights went off and her head hit the pillow. The faint sound of music could be heard from Sera's earphones. Then just as everyone was about to fall asleep, Blake spoke up.

"Yang, are you gay or something?"

"WHAT?!" Weiss exclaimed in the dark.

"Night, guys," Yang smirked.

. . .

"And we're off with another day of the annual Vytal Festival!" Professor Port's voice boomed over the loudspeakers scattered around the coliseum. "Today will be the doubles round! Two huntsman or huntresses from each of the winning teams from yesterday will fight today to advance to the final round."

"Yes! The final round will consist of one-on-one combat. Who will win it all?" Oobleck added.

Blake, Weiss, Ruby, and teams JNPR and SSSN were sitting in a big group together to watch the fight. The first fight of the day would be Sera and Yang versus two students from Atlas academy.

"How do you think they'll do?" Jaune asked curiously. Nora popped a handful of popcorn into her mouth, "Well, considering that they both think and fight in similar ways, and their general personalities… Nah, I'm sure they'll be fine."

"That's reassuring," Sun rolled his eyes. Then Port's voice dominated the arena again and they were all forced to listen, "Please welcome Sera and Yang Xiao Long of Beacon to the stage!" Applause erupted from around the arena. The crowd saw just what Yang could do the previous day, but what really peaked their interest was the addition of Sera being in the fight, since teams are usually comprised of four members. "And Flynt Coal and Neon of Atlas!"

Four figures were seen walking onto the middle of the stage. Ruby cheered when she saw her teammates. They were met by a dark-skinned boy in a dapper outfit and a bronze trumpet in his hands, along with an… Interesting-looking girl beside him. She was dressed like she was ready to attend a rave, with roller skates and those glow in the dark bracelet and necklace things around her neck and wrists. An orange feline tail that matched her hair color flicked behind her. A cat Faunus, by the looks of her.

"This is gonna be so good!" Ruby said excitedly while shaking her popcorn in her hands. Weiss rolled her eyes. While she was still livid about being replaced in such a manner, part of her was relieved. She didn't want to face anyone from her home. They knew exactly who she was and where she came from. Blake watched intently while she sat beside Sun, who was cheering on his friends. Even though he didn't know Sera too well at all.

But something else happened. When Port announced Sera's name and the camera's zoomed in on her, a wave of confusion washed over the students of Shade academy.

"Hey isn't that-?" One asked.

"No way," Another added. "Impossible."

"Didn't her team go missing a while back?"

"Yeah except for one of them."

In the middle of the crowd, a young man with shoulder-length blond hair and storm cloud gray eyes looked shocked when the white-haired huntress appeared in the middle of the stage. On the large screens in front of the crowd, Sera grinned and hefted her sword. She said something to Yang, who smirked in response.

"I found you," The blond boy thought aloud. His whole world was turned around. As far as he'd known, she was dead, along with Red and Cerulean. The boy, Magnus Mundus, clutched his seat in anticipation at the sight of his missing teammate. Then he gave small smirk as the rotating cubes that would decide the fight's scenery began to spin. "Alright," He thought. "Let's see what you've learned."

Sera grinned and rested Crimson Eclipse on her shoulder as she and Yang faced off against their opponents.

"Nice outfit," She said. Flynt Coal regarded her with a cold gaze, "Thanks," He said with a bit of sarcasm.

"I was actually talking to her," Sera gestured at Neon. Yang smirked while Neon was rollerblading in a circle with ease.

"So, you're the amnesia girl," Flynt stated coolly and spun his trumpet on a finger.

"Yup," Sera replied.

"Heard we were originally gonna fight this chick and Weiss Schnee. What happened with that?" He asked. Sera gave a half smile, "Oh, y'know, stuff happens."

"Ain't that the truth," Flynt scoffed and adjusted his shades.

In the crowd, a certain girl with long black hair and amber eyes gazed down at the four huntsmen and huntresses with a sneer. Cinder Fall held up her scroll and clicked the record button, livestreaming the footage for a certain immortal sorceress to see. "Let's see how you've grown since we last saw you in combat," Cinder thought aloud, remembering the amnesiac's old sparring matches at Shade Academy. She'd gone to the campus to spy on this girl, and her mistress's suspicions were true about her. Untapped, limitless potential just waiting to be awakened because of her…parentage.

"Which on you want?" Yang asked. Sera shrugged and tightened her grip on her weapon, "Eh, dealer's choice."

"The dude, then," Yang grinned and slammed her fists together. Then Neon stopped her rollerblading and looked at the brawler, "You should try rollerblading sometime! It's super fun! But it might take you a while to get it down, since you're so, y'know, top heavy."

"…The chick, then," Yang said and gritted her teeth.

"She has a point, though," Sera smirked and gestured to Yang's torso.

"You too?" Yang asked while her cheeks colored.

"Nah, I'm just messin' with you," Sera smiled and looked up at the spinning holographic cubes. They both stopped at the same time. One showed a red volcano and the other looked like a snowy mountain.

"Fire and ice!" Port shouted.

"Icy terrain and volcano!" Oobleck corrected.

"Yes!" Port affirmed. "Get ready! The fight will commence in three… Two… One!"

A buzzer went off. Sera grinned and raised her weapon, "Let's get this party started!" Neon immediately dashed forward and slammed into Yang, leaving a rainbow trail behind her. The blond grunted and recovered her footing, sending several blasts from her gauntlets towards Neon. Sera turned her attention to Flynt, only to be met by a literal soundwave emanating from his trumpet. The noise filled the entire stadium and made Sera cover her ears from the sheer intensity of the sound. The soundwave caused her feet to slide back a few meters, but she managed to maintain her balance. Once Flynt felt she was far enough back, he stopped blowing into his instrument/weapon and rushed Sera.

With a smirk, Sera quickly put in her earphones and jumped backwards, turning her body and pushing off of the ground to avoid Flynt's charge. As soon as she landed, she brought up her scroll and clicked 'play'. Ironically enough, loud, upbeat trumpets played with great skill played through her earphones, followed by a man singing in a foreign language. She'd only heard this song once before, and it immediately pumped her up. Sera grinned and hefted her sword as the trumpets picked up again in her song. (Bloody Stream by Coda).

Sera rushed forward while maintaining a one-handed thrusting motion with her sword. The tip of her weapon collided with Flynt Coal and sent him flying back, but he regained his footing in midair and recovered. With a smirk, she ran towards him, intending to stay as close as possible. Range was his ally with that weapon, but it'd be hard to blow into that trumpet if he was too busy defending himself from Sera's sword.

Before the Atlas student could blink, Sera was already on top of him. She swung her sword with such force that Flynt could feel the wind generated from it. He jumped backwards and raised his weapon to his lips, immediately blowing into it and playing different notes for different blast effects. A wave of transparent green energy flew towards Sera. Without hesitation, she leapt to the side and rolled, transforming her weapon into its rifle form and shooting a volley of rounds towards Flynt.

Meanwhile, Yang was getting mad. Every attack she launched at Neon, the Faunus simply dodged it and taunted her, calling the brawler fat or insulting her hair. Which would soon be a grave mistake.

"Maybe if you lost a few pounds, you wouldn't be so slow to hit me!" Neon called to her and zipped by on her roller skates.

"Shut up shut up shut UP!" Yang yelled and launched herself towards Neon via Ember Celica. Neon simply changed the direction of her rollerblading and avoided the punch that Yang threw at her. Clenching her jaw, Yang glared at the Faunus with her glowing-red eyes as her hair seemed to catch ablaze.

"Oho! It seems that Miss Xiao Long's semblance has activated. As most Beacon students know, this happens when she gets angry. And you wouldn't like her when she's—" Port announced.

"Angry?" Sera asked after she kicked Flynt in the side and sent him flying to the left and onto the icy ground.

"-upset," Port finished.

"YAAAARGHH!" Yang yelled and launched herself at Neon once more. This time, the hit connected, and the Faunus was sent sprawling onto the volcanic terrain. The hit by itself took fifty points off of Neon's aura meter. Meaning that either Yang's punch did that much damage, or her aura was just that weak.

The fight for Sera wasn't going all too well, in all honesty. While Flynt was hardly able to land a blast from his trumpet, she wasn't exactly able to hit him, either. Every time she fired bullets at him, he blasted them away with his weapon. Whenever she tried to get up close and personal, he was quick to put some distance between them. She knew that if she didn't end it now, this fight would drag on forever. And he seemed to realize it too.

Flynt Coal gritted his teeth and waited for Sera to get close again. Once she was exactly where he wanted her, he smirked.

Sera suddenly found herself surrounded by four Flynt Coals that looked exactly alike, save for their different colored hat bands and vest stripes. She hefted her sword and looked all around her to see all four of them raise their trumpets to their lips in sync.

"That's a neat trick. Bet it's real interesting in the bedroom," Sera grinned, hoping to throw him off. It worked.

"You could say that," He smirked, momentarily lowering his weapon.

"Wanna see a cooler trick?" Sera's grin widened. Before Flynt could fully raise his eyebrow, she mentally shouted, "STOP!" And she felt a familiar tug in her gut, then everything around her ceased moving. The young huntress smirked and exited the circle of Flynts, walking behind the original and raising her sword with one hand. Before she the time stop ended, Sera glanced over at Yang to see that she was chasing after Neon, who was mid-stride with her roller skates.

Sera felt a mental twinge, and everything began moving again.

"Wha-?" Flynt said, then felt a tap on his shoulder. He whipped around to face Sera, his semblance deactivating and his clones melding together and rejoining him.

"Oho! It seems that young Sera has activated her semblance as well! Even I am still not sure how exactly it works, but it's certainly just put the fight in her favor!" Port's voice boomed.

"Neat trick, huh?" Sera grinned, then proceeded to slam her weapon into Flynt's chest. The young musician flew back, skidding across the ground until he coincidentally landed in front of Neon. Without time to avoid her teammate, she tripped over Flynt and landed on top of him with a startled expression on her face.

"Flynt! Where'd you come from?" She asked. Flynt readjusted his crooked shades and pointed at Sera, who was walking towards them with her sword rested on her shoulder and a grin on her face. "Crazy bitch," Flynt replied and lowered his hand. Then a shadow fell over them, and they looked up to see a smirking Yang Xiao Long cracking her knuckles and looking down at them.

"You wanna finish em, or shall I?" Yang asked Sera, who was now looking down at them as well.

"Together?" Sera asked and readied her sword.

"Together together," Yang smiled as she imitated Nora's voice. Sera smiled and prepared to strike down at the pair of Atlas students while Yang raised her fists.

"This could be the match!" Doctor Oobleck announced.

But they didn't get the chance to finish them off. Just as they went to attack, Flynt and Neon were sent flying upwards in an explosion of extremely hot steam.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" they screamed as they went into the sky.

Sera blinked and looked down to see that they were laying on a hole in the ground. One of the many holes that lava and steam blasted out due to the environment. The two opponents flew up, up, and off the side of the arena. A loud buzzer sounded, and Port's voice boomed, "And that's the match! A…surprisingly quick one, but that just shows how dangerous this duo of huntresses is together!"

"Yes! That might just be a new record! This match lasted approximately two and a half minutes!" Oobleck added. And they were right. The song that Sera was listening to hadn't even ended yet. She pulled her earphones out and pocketed them, then gave Yang a shit eating grin.

"Looks like you were right to have me replace Weiss," She said.

"Duh! Now let's get out of here, I need a shower. That chick was making me so angry, I thought steam was going to blow out of my ears," Yang laughed and put an arm around Sera's shoulders as they walked to the exit of the coliseum.

"Not bad," Magnus smirked and rose from his seat.

Cinder Fall put on a cold smile as she ended the livestream on her scroll. Surely, she'd be rewarded for her efforts. "Now," She thought aloud with Emerald and Mercury at her sides. "To make sure she doesn't make it out alive when the final stage of the plan begins."

. . .

Yang sighed contently as she stepped into the warm water of one of the locker room's many showers. She threw her towel over the edge of the shower stall and allowed the water to wash over her. Not too far away, Sera was taking off her dirty and sweaty combat clothing and putting on a more casual outfit. A purple short-sleeve shirt with black pants and her boots. She fitted a black belt around her waist and sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Sure you don't wanna shower too? It'll help!" Yang called from across the locker room.

"I'm startin' to think you just wanna see me naked, Xiao Long! A girl can't even change her clothes without being stared at!" Sera teased. Yang didn't reply, causing Sera to raise her eyebrows. Finally, Yang called back, "In your dreams, Snowball! I was only trying to help!"

"Yeah, yeah. You still haven't taken me out to dinner!" Sera grinned.

"Anytime, anyplace!" Yang replied.

Sera smirked. She didn't know Yang's sexuality, but she seemed to have some sort of "thing" for her. What really tipped the amnesiac off was when Yang hugged her before she left with Qrow. "I'm thinkin' tonight!"

Yang nearly slipped in the shower. "You what?"

"Tonight. Girls night out on the town. We deserve it after winning our team another round, eh?" Sera smiled and put a hand on her hip, enjoying the expression on Yang's face. It was unlike her, given her personality. But she recovered quickly, "Yeah! I know the perfect place," Yang grinned.

"Perfect," Sera said and turned to exit the locker room. "See you then."

After Yang heard the sound of the locker room's door slamming closed, she smiled chuckled to herself. "That girl's too much."

Sera quickly made her way back outside to catch an airship to Vale. She wanted to go shopping. Her tiny wardrobe was starting to get a little boring, even if the clothes complimented her perfectly. But she wanted to check out the local stores, had a night on the town with Yang to do, and had fifteen-thousand Lien sitting comfortably in her pocket. It was time to splurge a little.

She caught the nearest airship heading to the Vale shopping district. It took less than five minutes to reach her destination, and with a grin, she stepped off of the exit ramp and into the city. Unsure of where to go first, she took off in a direction that she assumed would be where all the shops were. She'd only been here once before, and that was when she and Qrow walked through after he found her in Forever Fall.

Eventually, Sera found what she was looking for. Streets filled with shiny and clean stores of all kinds. Stores selling clothes, Dust, armor, weapons and weapon attachments, and just about anything else. She scanned over all the stores and shops for one that might catch her eye.

While Sera was busy searching for a place to spend her hard-earned Lien, someone found her first. With a cold stare, Cinder Fall followed Sera down the street.

Sera grinned when she saw a brightly lit store with racks and racks of clothes that looked like they'd be her style. "Finally, something interesting," She thought to herself and opened the glass double doors, a blast of cold air-conditioned wind blowing her hair. Sera's grin widened as she stepped in and allowed the doors to close. The inside walls were a warm red and the tile floor was black. The clothes were in all sorts of colors and styles that she could think of, and the walls were lined with glass cases filled with different accessories.

"Damn, she actually found somewhere. I'll have to follow her inside, too," Cinder thought to herself with a sigh. She opened the doors and went in and was taken aback by what she saw.

Sera was giggling to herself as she zipped by several racks of clothes, grabbing something every now and again, then bolted for a changing room.

Cinder blinked a few times but recovered quickly. She walked towards some racks of clothes and tried to look casual, browsing. A man in a nice vest and tie smiled at her as he approached. "Is there anything I can help you with, ma'am?"

"Wowzer! This woman is the hottest I've seen yet!" He thought to himself with a small smile.

"No," Cinder dismissed coldly, never taking her eyes off of the clothing she was looking through.

"Are you sure? Perhaps I can—" He persisted.

"Leave," Cinder interrupted as she looked up at him, her fire-colored eyes flashing momentarily. The employee's eyes widened, and he backed off, a startled expression on his face. Cinder smirked and looked up to see if Sera had come out yet. Then the door to the changing room opened and Sera stepped out wearing a very nice, and very expensive-looking violet dress that complimented her eyes perfectly. Even Cinder was impressed. The dress was designed in a way that her left leg was visible from the knee down. The straps held the dress up on her shoulders and a white waistband was on her, well, waist. Sera smiled as she checked her reflection, turning around to check from all angles.

"Well?" the same man in a vest approached Sera with a kind smile. Sera checked her backside in the mirror, looking over her shoulder with an eyebrow raised, "I'll take it."

"Great! Now if you just—" He said.

"Along with all this," Sera said and dumped an armful of merchandise into his arms with a smile.

"Oh! Well, all right then! I'll just ring you up," He replied and struggled to carry the heap of clothing to the register. Sera went back into the changing room to change back into her clothes.

"Holy Dust, that's a lot of clothes," Cinder's eyes widened slightly. Then the doors to the store crashed open and a woman that emanated cockiness entered. Cinder turned her head to see a girl with a black beret and aviator shades walking towards the register. Then Sera stepped out of the changing room with the dress slung over her arm. The new girl lowered her shades and Sera grinned when she saw her.

"What do you think you're doing here, Coco?" Sera asked and went to place the dress on top of her other clothes.

"Better question is what do you think you're doing in my store?" Coco smirked and pushed her shades up on the bridge of her nose.

"Your store? Who do you think you are, Coco?" Sera's eyes narrowed slightly.

"My store," Coco crossed her arms.

"Ma'am, you don't own this stor—" The employee said.

"Can it, Sheldon," Coco held up a finger. Sheldon shut up and continued scanning clothes.

"How are you even able to afford all that? Stuff here's pretty expensive," Coco uncrossed her arms.

"Oh, y'know, hunting missions," Sera smiled and handed the employee her Lien card. She didn't even flinch at the price that all her clothing rung up. On the outside, anyway. The clothes ate up nearly half of her funds from her and Qrow's mission.

"How'd you manage that, Snowball? Not even my team gets to be paid for missions,"

"Special perks of knowing Qrow Branwen," Sera smirked and took her card back then picked up her many bags.

"Ohh, look at the bigshot. Little miss special moving on up in the world," Coco smirked.

"Will you hurry up already?" Cinder mentally groaned.

"I was about to head to a weapon shop, you interested?" Sera asked.

"No," Cinder thought. "No, no, no."

"Sure, why not?" Coco grinned. "I know the best one in town."

"FUCK," Cinder groaned, a little too loudly. Sera and Coco raised an eyebrow and turned their heads in Cinder's direction. The half-Maiden hid behind a rack of clothes, but it was too late.

"Hey, doesn't that girl stay at Beacon?" Sera asked.

"Yeah, saw her in the tournament yesterday," Coco replied.

"Huh. Maybe we say hi?" Sera said and looked over to Coco.

"Why not?" Coco asked, then began walking over to Cinder.

"Great," Cinder said to herself and straightened herself out, fixing her usual red dress as Coco and Sera approached her.

"Hey! You're participating in the festival, right?" Sera greeted with a smile. She couldn't place it, but she looked familiar.

"That's right, and you are…?" Cinder asked, playing coy.

"Sera, and this is Coco. My…associate," Sera responded, gesturing at Coco.

"'Associate'?" Coco asked.

"Ignore her, she's a raging dyke," Sera smirked.

"Oh, you are so dead," Coco crossed her arms. Cinder couldn't help but scoff at the white-head.

"Well, nice meeting you two, but I really must be leaving," Cinder gave a forced smile and turned to leave.

"Well, uh, bye," Sera gave a wave as Cinder exited the store.

"Raging dyke?" Coco turned her head towards Sera.

"We going to that weapon store or not?" Sera ignored her with a smirk.

After they left the store, Sera and Coco walked for several minutes until they arrived at a large store that resembled a log cabin, filled with weapons of every kind hanging on walls and in display cases. Whenever they entered, a large man wearing a blacksmith's apron with a large, black beard on his face and long black hair pulled back in a ponytail greeted them.

"Welcome! Back again, Coco?" He said kindly.

"You got it, Tarkus," Coco replied.

"Who's your friend?" Tarkus asked, turning his eyes to Sera.

"This is Sera, a friend from school."

Sera half expected Coco to introduce her in a way like she did with Cinder back at the clothes store.

"Hi," Sera gave a wave.

"Hello, Sera. Here to purchase a weapon, or are you like Coco and only want to browse?" He asked in a joking tone.

"Just looking for now," Sera smiled.

"Thought so," He smiled with a twinkle in his eye. Sera could tell he was a good and kind man just by talking to him.

"Can I set these down somewhere?" Sera asked, showing him her several bags of clothes.

"Of course! Anywhere you like," He replied, and Sera set her bags against a wall. Coco was already looking through the wide assortment of weapons that lined the walls, then Sera started to do the same. Nothing quite caught her eye just yet. She saw maces, axes, swords, and knives of all shapes and sizes. Guns and Dust rounds took up the rest of the space. Sera was looking at a large lightweight machine gun with a box clip when she saw something. She picked up an old-fashioned revolver that a gunslinger might've used. She twirled the gun on her finger and inspected its design. The gunmetal was black as night with silver engravings along the barrel and cylinder that reminded her of ocean waves. The grip felt good and the gun was balanced, as if it were made for her hand. After twirling it again and aiming it towards a wall with one hand, Tarkus noticed her.

"One of my favorite creations, that one. Got inspired by an old movie about gunslingers and outlaws, so I made that gun to commemorate it." He said to her as he went to stand beside the amnesiac. Now that he was a lot closer, Sera noticed that Tarkus was nearly seven feet tall with rippling muscles and rough hands, likely from blacksmithing so many weapons.

"You made all these?" Sera asked.

"That's right. My shop is the only one in Vale that sells non-transforming weapons," He answered. That took her aback. All weapons she sees huntsmen use transform into something, usually a gun, except for maybe Professor Port's blunderbuss-axe.

"None of your weapons transform into anything? How's your business going?" Sera asked curiously.

"Well, actually. You'd be surprised how many people prefer classic weaponry these days," he replied.

"Color me impressed," Sera said and spun the gun on her finger again. Tarkus nodded at the weapon, "Care to buy it?" He asked kindly. Sera then held the weapon in her hand and gazed down at it. It'd give her an edge in battle, but she also didn't know if there were any rules against her having multiple weapons. She could think of several students who carried more than just one, but those were special cases. Like Yang with her gauntlets or Ren with his duel pistols. This was a different situation. But she would finally have something to put on that gun belt of hers…

After a moment's consideration, Sera returned the weapon to its place and smiled kindly, "I think not, actually. Perhaps another day." Tarkus shrugged in response, "Eh, that's okay. I'll hold it for you in case you change your mind," He said warmly and picked the weapon up, along with a wooden case, and placed the revolver inside. The foam was hollowed out so that the gun would fit perfectly within it, along with several small, cylinder-shaped holes that held Dust ammunition.

"I appreciate it," Sera thanked, then Tarkus nodded and placed the wooden case behind the counter of the shop.

"You ready, Coco?" Sera asked. Coco looked back over at her and grinned, "Not quite. Tarkus, ring me up for ten thousand Dust rounds for my baby. You know what I'm talking about."

Tarkus sighed and shook his head, "That gun of yours is a monstrosity."

"I know~" Coco replied as she adjusted her shades.

. . .

It didn't take long for Sera and Coco to get back to Beacon. When they entered the dormitories, they said their goodbyes and separated, returning to their own rooms. Sera had to kick open the door to hers due to the number of bags she was carrying, but no one was inside, so no one could get mad at her for it. She unpacked and put away all her new stuff in the closet. The inside of said closet had been previously separated into five separate spaces for each of the team members, and now Sera's space was overflowing. Before, Weiss's clothes dominated the closet, but now that was not the case. Sera smiled to herself, imagining the reaction that the heiress would have to being dethroned, closet-wise.

After she was finished, Sera hung her dress up so that it wouldn't get wrinkled to wear for tonight. She concluded that her blond teammate had some sort of "thing" for her, so she intended to tease her about it by going all out.

Apparently, Yang was already out and preparing for their "girls' night out". Sera knew this because after she finished putting her new clothing away, her scroll beeped. A message from Yang said that she was in Vale, waiting at a restaurant. She didn't give the name of the place, only an address.

"Well crap!" Sera cursed aloud once she saw the time. "Putting those clothes away took nearly an hour! It's already almost seven!" And so, she put on her new dress and fixed her hair up. By time she left, it was fifteen past seven.

She hurried to the airship docking to get to the address Yang sent her. The young huntress hadn't bought any shoes to go with her dress, so she took a risk and stole a pair of Weiss's heels. And she had no idea how that girl managed to fight in them. They were awful to wear! She made her way back onto an airship and only managed to fall one or seven times on the way.

Sera finally made it to her destination, which happened to be an expensive-looking restaurant that seemed made for Weiss's kind of people. She sighed and entered the building, then gasped. The place was very nice. It reminded her of those restaurants that people would have their first dates on in movies. Dim lights, dozens of fancy tables and even suit-wearing waiters that wore white silk gloves and everything. A woman in a beautiful dress and makeup greeted her at the door with a smile, "Hello. Do you have a reservation?"

"Uh," Sera responded. "Xiao Long?"

"Right away. Follow me, please," The woman said and walked further into the restaurant with Sera following until they reached a velvet rope with a 'reserved' sign on it. "Right through here," The woman smiled after she undid the rope and gestured for Sera to enter. She nodded at the lady and passed through.

"Wow. Yang really went all out for this. Guess she likes me a lot more than I thought." Sera thought to herself, starting to get giddy. She guessed that this was way less of a girls' night out and more of a date.

Then Sera turned a corner and all her suspicions were proven wrong. Sitting at a table were the four members of her team, talking and laughing with each other. Then Yang noticed her.

"Hey, Sera! You made it!" She smiled. All of her team was wearing nice dresses, all corresponding with their given colors. Weiss was in a very expensive-looking white dress, Blake in a rather simple black Mistralian kimono, Ruby in a nice red dress with a skirt that stopped above the knee, and Yang in a strapless yellow dress that reached her ankles.

"What's this?" Sera asked, rather surprised at the scene.

"What do you mean? Didn't Yang tell you this was a girls' night out thing?" Ruby asked.

"Are those my shoes?" Weiss demanded.

"Uh, yes. To both questions," Sera answered. "How are your feet so small?"

"Why do you have my shoes?" Weiss asked.

"Girls, girls. This is supposed to be a fun night, so stop fighting and enjoy!" Yang intervened, then gestured at the seat beside her for Sera to sit. And she did. Sera scooted her chair up to the table and looked at each of her team members. Ruby was wearing her usual smile, Weiss was glaring at her, Blake was observing silently as usual, and Yang was grinning while she read a menu. Sera picked up her own menu and scanned it quickly while taking sip from a glass of mineral water that was in front of her, and she nearly spit out her drink. Partly because of the taste of the water, but mostly because of the price of all the menu items. Two hundred Lien for a sirloin steak?

"How, uh, how're we paying for this?" Sera asked. She knew how she could, because of her leftover reward money, but she was curious about how the others were. She knew Weiss was filthy rich, but she doubted the heiress was going to pay for it out of the goodness of her heart. She wasn't sure about Blake's wealth, but she knew that Yang and Ruby weren't exactly from a rich family.

"My treat, actually," Weiss responded. Sera did a double take at her fellow white-head. "Because you're just so kind and generous?" Sera asked. Weiss's expression soured. "If you must be like that, it's because of your win today. Yang proposed a night out with the team, and I decided to reward her for her efforts today, and that includes you. Even though you are a massive headache."

"I actually heard some sincerity in your voice just now, Weiss. I think I'm growing on you~" Sera smiled and rested her chin on her palm. Weiss rolled her eyes in response.

They had a lovely dinner. Sera, Yang, and Ruby ordered large steaks, Blake ordered smoked salmon, and Weiss got some sort of salad, naturally. They talked about pointless topics for the whole dinner, laughing and joking together even more than they usually did. Blake actually participated. After they were finished, Weiss paid for it all, true to her word. The five of them left the restaurant with full bellies and positive attitudes. They were going to explore the city for longer and truly have fun, but Ruby was sleepy, so they headed back for an airship rather than have to carry an unconscious fifteen-year-old around.

As they walked down the street in the night, Weiss, Blake, and Ruby led the group while Yang and Sera trailed a several feet behind.

"Y'know, tonight was really fun. But I can't shake this thing on my mind," Sera told her.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Yang asked. Sera chewed her bottom lip and stayed silent for a moment. Finally, she said, "You've built this whole thing up, and I thought it was going to be different because of, y'know."

"Know what?" Yang said, and Sera shot her a look.

"Look, I've noticed how you act around me recently. Like the way you hugged me before I left with Qrow? You've got a thing for me, Xiao Long," Sera responded. Yang's expression morphed into something different. Embarrassment? Shame? Sera couldn't tell.

"Oh," Yang said. "That."

"Yeah, 'that'." Sera said. She hoped the others couldn't hear them.

Then the blonde's mood changed. "I dunno where you got that impression, Snowball, but what do you take me for? Some sort of hopeless romantic who has a crush on her teammate?" She said in her usual boisterous tone. Sera raised an eyebrow, but Yang never wavered. The white-head sighed, half relieved, but also half something else. She could've sworn it was disappointment.

"Okay, forget I said anything. Things have been tense for a while. Guess I was imagining things," Sera said.

"Glad that's cleared up. You and me? Get real!" Yang smiled. She was kidding, but she looked unsure.

The rest of the trip back to Beacon was rather uneventful. No one really spoke, and Weiss's heels were killing Sera's feet. But when they finally reached the door to their room, Sera was the last to enter with Yang right in front of her. But before the brawler went in, she turned her head to look over her shoulder.

"Hey, Sera?" She said. Sera looked up, her violet eyes meeting Yang's lavender ones. "You look beautiful in that dress," She said, then entered their room. Sera smirked and followed her, "Called it," She thought to herself.

Yo, it's me. The author. Yeah I'm kinda shipping my OC with Yang for this story. Why not? I think they're good for each other anyway. Not sure how far it's going to go, though. Obviously, the story isn't going to become NSFW or anything like that, but there might be some romance. Sorry but if anyone doesn't like that, don't read it. I have some pretty big plans for this little fic, plot-wise, but I hope that a little shipping doesn't drive anyone away. Might get a little descriptive, though. Kinda had to resist mentioning how Yang's strapless dress made her, ahem, 'bust' look.

Might do a little additional, minor shipping. Like Blake and Sun, Coco and Velvet, Weiss and Neptune, stuff like that. Stuff that's generally canon. No, I don't really plan on shipping Ruby with anyone. She's too pure for that just yet, in my opinion. Plus I just kinda think she should be single, even in the show, y'know? So yeah, hard no for Ruby x Oscar. That ship's just awful.

I doubt I'll name all the music Sera listens to all the time, that gets a little repetitive. Unless yous guys like that, then I will. Kinda got inspired by the movie Baby Driver and also Jessica Biel's role in Blade: Trinity to have Sera listen to music more often, both on and off the battlefield.

P.S., I'm sure you noticed all the references to Greek mythology. Sera's tattoo, all her Omega symbols, the Hydra and Minotaur Grimm. Basically, I'm a big mythology fan, and Greek is my favorite. I'm sure I said something about it before but I'm too lazy and too tired at the moment to go back and check my earlier work, so this is a little refresher.

P.S.S., the Dante from Devil May Cry's personality within Sera is about to show its true colors in the next chapter. Don't worry, it'll be obvious. Sera did go clothes shopping, after all.