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.

6. Time of Dying

"And we're off with the final round of the Vytal Festival Tournament! This round will consist of one vs. one combat of a huntsman or huntress to represent his or her team! The fighting will begin shortly, so do make sure to get enough popcorn to last you!" Professor Port's voice boomed over the loudspeaker.

Teams RWBYS, JNPR, CFVY, and SSSN sat in the stands as they waited for the first round of the day to begin. Ever since RWBYS's "girls' night out", Sera and Yang tended to not speak directly to each other or meet each other's gaze. They even sat with Weiss, Blake, and Ruby between them to separate each other.

"You want her to what?" Weiss demanded. Yang looked over at the heiress, annoyed that she'd have to repeat herself again, "I want Sera to take my place for the 1v1 match. Her semblance is near impossible to beat and she stands a better chance against someone in a one-on-one. Remember her spar against Nora?" Yang asked. Even Sera was surprised at this. She was one of the ones that voted for Yang to do the one-on-one.

"Well yeah, but you're kinda the muscle of the team," Sun put in.

"What'd you say?" Sera asked the Faunus.

"Um, er, what I meant to say was that Yang has the most combat experience out of you five," He stuttered.

"What was that?" Blake asked. Sun threw his hands up in the air, "Oh, I give up!"

Turning her attention to her blond teammate, Sera asked, "He's right, though. And you were so excited about this match!"

Yang's eyes widened slightly that she'd spoken directly to her. "Well, yeah, but I'd feel better if you did it. I've just…got a bad feeling about this match. You'd probably handle it better," Her gaze lowered slightly.

Taken aback slightly, Sera nodded, "Then I won't disappoint. Someone tell Port that there's been a switch up," She grinned.

"On it!" Nora got up and disappeared in a silhouette of pink dust. Her form could be seen speeding towards the announcer's booth. The others blinked at the Valkyrie's…shenanigan.

"So! There's a good chance that we'll be tussling, eh?" Sun asked, looking over at Sera. She shrugged in response, "Maybe so."

But unknown to them, a certain woman with long black hair and fiery eyes was eavesdropping the whole conversation.

"Well that dents the plan a little. I'll have to act accordingly…," Cinder thought to herself as she took out her scroll.

From several rows of seats away, Magnus Mundus was eyeing his old teammate warily. He'd been secretly following her around and asking the student body about her to gather as much information as he could as to why she was here. He was told that she'd had amnesia and was given a place in Beacon until she recovered her memory. He'd been awaiting an opportunity to speak to her privately, but she was always accompanied by someone else. Usually one of her four teammates.

Then two holographic squares appeared over the arena, and they began to spin vertically, students' faces swapping on the sides of the cube.

"And the first match of the day will be…!" Oobleck announced, getting everyone's attention. Cinder smirked and tapped on her scroll, then the two squares stopped spinning.

"Sera of team RWBYS versus Pyrrha Nikos of JNPR!" Port shouted. Sera's eyes widened and she turned to look at her friend. Pyrrha gave an awkward smile and a small wave, then rose out of her seat to prepare for the fight. Sera grinned and stood abruptly, ruffling Ruby's hair as she made her way to retriever her combat equipment. Ruby smiled as Sera passed, "Go get her, Sera!"

"Oh, I've been waiting for this," Sera smiled to herself and nearly leaped up the stairs behind Pyrrha. Ten minutes later, Sera and Pyrrha were walking onto the battlefield. There wouldn't be any environmental changes, just the two of them on the empty floor, with millions of people watching them both in person and on television. Sera grinned and adjusted her new coat as she twirled her sword like she always does.

"What," Jaune asked. "Is she wearing?"

"That's… a fashion statement," Weiss commented.

"Has she been into the action movies again? The ones with the simulation world? Where everyone wore long coats and sunglasses?" Yang asked.

"Those are good movies, actually," Ruby commented, crossing her arms.

"Of course you'd think so," Blake gave a small smile.

Sera and Pyrrha faced off with their weapons at the ready. Sera held her sword rested on one shoulder while Pyrrha stood in a defensive stance with her shield raised and her javelin raised as if she were going to thrust the weapon into someone. But the clothing that Sera's friends were commenting on deserved attention. She wore a long, crimson leather coat that was mere inches from the ground. A shiny silver Omega symbol the size of a large coin was pinned to the coat's lapel and glinted in the sunlight. Under the coat she wore only a black tube top that did a good job of showing off her lightly toned abs. She also wore a pair of leather pants the same color of her coat that was tucked into a pair of tall black boots that reached a few inches below her knees.

"And time to start of the qualifiers' matches for the final round! Whoever wins this match will continue onto the semifinal brackets for the one-on-one matches," Doctor Oobleck announced, then a holographic square with the number 'ten' on the front appeared. It began to count down, an audible 'ding' every time the number changed.

"Get her, Sera! Team RWBYS has to win the tournament!" Ruby cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted.

"Fight well!" Ren yelled. Even he was getting excited for this match.

"I honestly don't know who's going to win. They're both in a league of their own," Jaune said. Blake nodded while she watched her two friends intently, "I agree. Anything could happen in this." Weiss crossed her arms, "Yeah, if she actually uses her head for once in a fight instead of just charging in, expecting to win."

"It's never failed before," Nora shrugged. Somehow, the timer hadn't reached one yet.

"Yes, but her fights would go much smoother and quicker if she actually planned things out instead of just going with the flow," Neptune added, "Right, Yang?"

"KICK HER ASS, SERA! No offense, Pyrrha!" Yang yelled down at them; her voice much louder than the crowd.

"It's okay!" Pyrrha called back.

"Fight!" Port shouted as soon as the timer finally hit zero. Sera grinned and rushed forward, bringing down her sword in a massive swing. Pyrrha immediately caught the blow on her shield and slammed her javelin into the amnesiac's chest, sending her flying back at a much higher velocity than anticipated.

Immediately capitalizing on the opportunity, she was given, Pyrrha dashed forward, transforming her javelin into a one-handed sword and leaping into the air to slam her feet into Sera's chest. But Sera was ready for that. She grabbed the Spartan's foot and spun, slamming Pyrrha face-first into the concrete.

"Oooooh!" the crowd groaned. Without wasting a breath, Sera raised her sword and cleaved downwards. With the slight motion of Pyrrha's hand, the sword moved several inches to the right and harmlessly sliced itself into the ground. Sera blinked and raised an eyebrow, "What the-?"

Pyrrha smirked and launched her body upwards, kicking Sera in the chest and causing her to let go of her weapon, leaving it sticking out of the concrete. Sera immediately got to her feet but was forced to go on the defensive. Pyrrha was already on top of her, swinging her short sword and throwing her shield then recalling it back to her hand via her semblance.

Sera ducked just as Pyrrha's sword swung at her head, narrowly missing the purple-eyed huntress. Before she could swing again, Sera swept Pyrrha's legs out from under her. Or she thought she did. The red head hopped over Sera's foot and used her shield to slam her back. Sera tumbled across the stage for several meters until she came to a stop.

"Things are not looking good for young Sera! If only she could retrieve her weapon, then perhaps she has a chance!" Port's voice boomed.

"She's not doing too good," Sun commented and used his tail to bring a glass bottle of Pumpkin Pete's soda to his lips.

"She'll be fine," Ruby rolled her silver eyes. "Maybe."

With a groan, Sera picked herself off the ground and faced her opponent.

"Polarity, huh?" She asked. Pyrrha gave a small smile as she approached the amnesiac.

"How'd you guess?"

"My sword doesn't miss its mark like that," Sera told her and straightened her coat as she stood.

Pyrrha only smirked then rushed her again. Sera's eyes widened as she sidestepped the star pupil's initial attack and grabbed her wrist, punching under her arm with her free hand then retreating a few paces back. Completely unfazed, Pyrrha transformed her sword back into a javelin and jabbed at her. Sera tried to dodge, but Pyrrha was too fast. The javelin tip nicked her arm and impacted her aura, causing her meter to go down slightly more. Sera's eyes flickered from her opponent to her sword, still stuck in the ground. If she used her semblance, she could either attack Pyrrha or retrieve her weapon. Either way, her stamina will be significantly low if she does either. Despite practicing with her time semblance while she trained, the result is still the same: if she pushes limits, the results will leave her incapable of defending herself.

Pyrrha knew that Sera was thinking about pulling some sort of move to get her sword. It's what any warrior would do. She just had to wait for her to make her move.

Instead of using her semblance, Sera smiled and rolled her sleeves up to just below her elbows. Then she charged.

Sera threw a barrage of punches at Pyrrha, but the Spartan dodged to the side and stuck the white-head in the side with her javelin. Without even flinching, Sera grabbed the weapon and yanked, pulling the javelin out of Pyrrha's grip. She then grinned and held the weapon with both hands, stabbing at Pyrrha with her own javelin. But Sera didn't know how to effectively use this weapon; she was sloppy. Pyrrha easily evaded the attacks and used her semblance to recall the weapon. Once the javelin flew out of Sera's hands and into hers, Pyrrha smirked.

Then Sera proceeded with the next stage of her plan. She pulled a dark blue Dust crystal out of her pocket and threw it at Pyrrha's feet. The Dust exploded on impact and sent Pyrrha flying upwards with a huge gust of wind.

The crowd's eyes went upward with Pyrrha. She got maximum lift, then began her descent back to the ground. And she didn't even look worried. Pyrrha recovered easily, her feet slamming into the ground and creating a shallow crater with the impact. When she looked up, Sera was five feet in front of her, sword in hand.

As soon as the Dust crystal did its job, the amnesiac sprinted for her lost weapon while everyone's focus was on Pyrrha. She swung her sword at the Spartan and caught her in the side, causing significant damage to her aura.

"What a ploy by Sera! Using the power of a wind Dust crystal to expel Pyrrha and retrieve her sword! That's my girl!" Port announced.

"What was that about not using her head, Weiss?" Coco asked.

"Okay, maybe I was wrong," Weiss admitted.

Pyrrha threw her shield at Sera as she flew back. The disc slammed into her chest and made her stumble, then it flew back to the Spartan's hand. Then, before Sera could lunge at Pyrrha again, the red head spoke up.

"Hold on! How about this? No more tricks or ploys, we just fight, head-to-head to truly see who's better in sheer combat," She said. She'd decided to play to Sera's ego. "If you win you get endless bragging rights for defeating me in one-on-one, pure skill-based combat."

Sera rested her sword on her shoulder, "You've piqued my interest, Nikos. All right, I'll play your game. Now let's get this party started!"

Pyrrha suppressed a smile. She'd fallen for it.

Then the Spartan nodded and ran towards her opponent. Sera smirked and did the same. When they met in the middle, they each let out a flurry of strikes, each meant to do major damage.

"What are they doing?" Sun asked.

"It seems that they're comparing raw skill," Ren replied.

"So basically," Blake said, "It's anyone's game at this point."

"Basically," Ren said.

Sera laughed as she and Pyrrha traded blows, each of their aura meters gradually lowering. She caught Pyrrha's javelin and swung forward, slamming the hilt of her sword into her head and causing the red head to stumble. She then yanked the staff out of her hands and planted the tip in the ground, using the pole to swing forward and kick her in the chest, shouting, "Woo-hoo!"

Pyrrha cursed and regained her footing, recalling her weapon just in time to block Sera's sword with the length of the javelin. She slammed her shield into her gut to get some breathing room, but Sera immediately recovered. They were only getting faster as this battle went on, up to the point where it appeared like Qrow's battle against Winter; so fast that the human eye could barely track them.

They occasionally appeared in various places around the stage, each of them taking turns to attack or block their opponent's blow.

"My word! Even the cameras are having trouble keeping up!" Oobleck noted.

"When did they get so fast?!" Ruby demanded, almost offended that they appeared just as fast as her semblance.

"Maybe… This is how strong they've always been. But now they each have an opponent worth going all-out against," Jaune guessed. Yang turned her eyes to their aura meters. They were each steadily going down, nearing the low twenties. Fifteen was the lowest they could go before the match was called.

"She needs to hurry up and end this," She muttered to herself. Hearing this, Weiss turned her head to the aura meters, then nodded in understanding.

Down on the battleground, the battle still raged on, the crowd roaring at the display and Port continuously commenting his praise on their efforts.

Sera's and Pyrrha's friends could only watch in silence as their aura meters dropped below twenty, but their eyes immediately turned back to the stage when they heard a loud clang!

Sera and Pyrrha were in a power struggle, each of their weapons locked with the other. They each panted heavily, their auras visibly flickering. Pyrrha's hair was disheveled and her headpiece was slightly crooked. One of her gauntlets was missing. Sera gave a weak smirk. Her new coat was tattered and ripped here and there, but luckily her tube top was still intact. She didn't want to give the world that kind of image of herself. Her hair hung in her eyes and a bead of sweat trailed down her forehead.

Then when it looked like Sera won the power struggle, Pyrrha pushed back with all her might and used her semblance to dislodge Sera's blade. They each began to attack each other again, albeit much more visibly, but Pyrrha got the first hit off. She slammed her javelin into Sera's side, then Sera swung her sword into Pyrrha's side. They traded several more blows, then Sera tried to deliver an over-head slam with her weapon but missed! The sword struck the ground and the concrete exploded, a large cloud of dust enveloping them. The crowd could hear their weapons clashing several more times, then it came to a halt.

A few seconds later, the dust cleared to reveal each of them still standing, facing each other. Sera held her sword at her side and Pyrrha did the same with her weapons. Both of their chests heaved heavily as they stared at each other.

Pyrrha winced suddenly, and Sera smirked in response.

"Oh, no!" Nora gasped as Pyrrha fell to one knee. Yang smiled. Weiss's eyes widened in surprise. Blake's mouth hung open. Ruby's eyes were filled with pride and excitement. The entire stadium was silent.

Sera's grin grew wider and she rested her sword on her shoulder.

She opened her mouth to speak, she suddenly winced. Pyrrha panted heavily and looked up just in time to see Sera fall back, her sword clanging to the ground beside her. The Spartan turned her eyes to their aura meters. Hers was at sixteen. Sera's was at fifteen.

The crowd erupted in cheer, save Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang. Their mouths hung open as they came to terms with what just happened.

"I can't believe it! The victor is Pyrrha Nikos! After such an intense and invigorating fight, the pride of Beacon still holds her status! …Is Sera okay?" Port's voice shouted.

"She…lost?" Weiss asked.

"Well…I guess Pyrrha really is the best," Blake said.

"I can't believe it… After all that, she still lost?" Ruby asked.

"It was a really, really close fight," Yang added.

"I actually had my doubts, but our girl pulled through!" Nora grinned widely.

"It truly was a good battle," Ren smiled.

"…Let's go check on her," Sun said.

"Good idea," Yang replied and stood, heading down to where Sera would be taken.

. . .

Sera's eyes blinked open to find herself in a small bed. She looked around to inspect her surroundings: a room in the infirmary.

"She's awake!" a familiar high-pitched voice said. She turned her head to see several people suddenly standing around her bed. Her team, JNPR, and Sun Wukong. Pyrrha had a bandage around her right arm and her head, along with various bandages on her body.

"What happened?" Sera asked.

"You and Pyrrha went at it until you passed out," Weiss replied.

"…Did I win?" she asked.

Everyone laughed at that and Sera chuckled awkwardly along with them. "Ha-ha, but seriously. Did I win?"

"It was a close one, but Pyrrha narrowly one. By a single point of aura on her meter, to be exact," Blake responded. Pyrrha smiled apologetically, but it was pointless. Still appreciated, though. But Sera knew she won fair and square. They compared all their skill, and Pyrrha came out on top. Well, maybe not all their skill…

Seemingly reading Sera's mind, Pyrrha asked, "Why didn't you ever use your semblance? That fight would've ended much sooner if you had." Everyone's eyes either narrowed or widened at her comment.

"She's right. As strong as Pyrrha is, that semblance is impossible to combat. Why didn't you utilize it?" Ren asked. Yang normally would've exploded with worry in this situation, but she stayed silent. All eyes turned to Sera, expecting an answer.

The amnesiac shifted uncomfortably in her bed under the gaze of her friends. Finally, she said, "I wanted to see if I could win a fight without it. I've used my ability to temporarily stop time in every fight I've been in since I've been here. If I want to truly become a good fighter, I need to not rely on my semblance so much," Her eyes went into her lap. Yang's eyes widened slightly at her words. Maybe she could learn a thing or two from her new teammate.

Pyrrha nodded gratefully, "I admire you for that. That was my one fear going into our fight. That you'd use your semblance at the most opportune moment and end the fight then and there. For what it's worth, thank you, Sera. You're one of the best fighters I've ever faced."

Sera smiled, "Thanks, Pyrrha. Testing my mettle against you has been very…eye opening. But next time…" She then slammed her fist into her open palm, "You're goin' down."

Pyrrha laughed and nodded, "We'll see."

"Now get outta here so I can get my beauty sleep," Sera waved at all of them dismissively.

"…Actually, you can leave whenever you want. You were really just put in here as a formality," Sun said, but Sera was already turned over with her head on a pillow. Weiss sighed in that way she always does, "C'mon, we still have more matches to watch."

Reluctantly, everyone exited the room to return to the coliseum. Then Sera turned back over to find Yang sitting in a chair against the wall.

"What's the matter, Xiao Long? Worried about little ole me?" She asked. Yang smirked and crossed her arms, "Nah, figured I'd stop you from hurting yourself any further. Should've known you'd botch that match." Sera put a hand over her heart and put on a hurt expression, "That really hurt, Yangy. Right down to my very core."

Yang chuckled and shook her head. After a moment, she said, "You did good, even though you lost."

"Did my best," Sera gave a small sigh and looked out of the window of her room. Airships drifted through the sky, the large coliseum ever present in the distance.

"Yeah, well, can't win em all. Especially when you have to fight Pyrrha Nikos," Yang smirked.

"You're right. I'm not invincible, after all," Sera looked down at her lap. Yang stood and approached her bed, sitting on the edge, "No one is. Even though you try your best to take out everything in your path." Sera glanced at her with a knowing smirk, "And you don't?"

"Hey, I don't do it with the magnitude that you do," Yang smiled, then put a hand on Sera's knee, "But when you actually make a plan instead of bum rushing something and hoping for the best, you're pretty scary. That Dust trick earlier was an example, even though all you used it for was to get your sword."

Sera smiled in response, "Thanks, Xiao Long."

"See? That empty head of yours is useful after all," Yang said and patted Sera's knee as she stood.

"And there's the snark," Sera commented. Yang smiled and walked towards the door to leave. Before leaving her by herself, the brawler turned to Sera, "Don't stay in here too long, 'kay? You still have friends who want you with them for the tournament."

Sera nodded in response, then Yang shut the door, and she was by herself.

She groaned and threw the blanket off her body and stood, her bare feet on the cool tile floor. She quickly spotted her clothes neatly folded on a table and went for them. "If they want me," She thought aloud, "They're gonna have me," She said, referring to her friends at the stadium.

As soon as she was dressed, a knock came to the door. She said to come in, and the door creaked open. A boy with blond hair and gray eyes poked his head in, then the rest of him entered.

"Who're you?" Sera asked as she subtly widened her stance and held her hands at her sides. The boy smiled and closed the door behind him, "That was quite a match, if I do say so myself."

Sera raised an eyebrow, "Thanks, now, who are you?"

"We used to know each other," He said and strolled to stand by the window, then he turned his head to look at her with a knowing smirk, "Back at Shade."

Sera's eyes widened slightly. Images of familiar classrooms and courtyards filled her image, with short trees surrounding a large campus of desert. She saw herself, her two former teammates, Red and Cerulean, along with this new person. All laughing and fighting together.

"You were my teammate. You knew me from before—" She said.

"Before you lost your memory, yes. I thought you were dead until the other day, along with Red and Cerulean. You wouldn't happen to know where they are, would you?" He asked. Sera shook her head in response. The guy nodded and cast his eyes down, "I thought not. The three of you were tasked with investigating the Forever Fall forest during a visit to Vale. And then no one saw you again, until now. Our fellow classmates recognized you immediately when you fought with that blond girl against those two Atlas students," He continued. This was almost too much for Sera to take in. Someone from her past actually found her. She could discover more about her past and possibly regain her memory, all because of the Vytal Festival.

"How'd you know we were missing?" Sera wondered.

"Well for one, none of you came back. For another, I found this," He said, then pulled something from behind him. It was a double-edged sword with a red blade and black hilt. It was a few inches shorter than Crimson Eclipse, and Sera recognized it instantly. More memories flooded into her mind of this weapon. Sharpening it, fighting with it, hell, even making it. She'd made this sword with her own two hands.

The guy tossed the weapon to her, and she caught it with ease. She instinctively ran her finger along the blade, as if she'd done it a thousand times. It felt right in her hands.

"This is mine," Sera thought aloud as she gazed down at the weapon.

"That's right. Come on, the headmaster of Shade is going to want to know about this," the blond guy said and opened the door, but Sera hesitated. "Something wrong?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sera thought of her time at Beacon, with Ruby and the others. She's had nothing but a blast ever since waking up in that forest. She might have been from Shade Academy with this boy, but Beacon was her home now. She'd been welcomed with open arms from the start, and she didn't even remember anything about this boy—only that he was on her team.

She tossed the weapon back to him, and he looked shocked and confused.

"I'm going to go tell my headmaster about this. Shade can wait until I'm good and ready," She said.

"That's really not a good idea—" He said.

"Why not? I don't even know you, not really. Sure, I might be from Shade, or Vacuo, or whatever, but as of now, I'm a student of Beacon," She said with determination. Beacon and Vale were familiar to her now. She didn't know if she'd feel the same way about it when- if she regained her memory, but until then this was her decision.

The guy sighed and nodded, "Fine. Let's go talk to Beacon's headmaster."

Sera nodded with satisfaction, then followed him out of the room.

. . .

On the way to Beacon Tower, the blond guy told her that his name was Magnus Mundus and that he'd been searching for her and their teammates ever since they disappeared. Not searching hard enough, it seemed.

As soon as the elevator dinged open, Sera and Magnus stepped into Ozpin's office. The headmaster himself turned to face them, his eyes widening slightly at the sight of them both.

"Sorry to burst in, Professor, but this is—" Sera said.

"Magnus Mundus. I know. If he's here, then we… have a lot to discuss, Sera," Ozpin sighed and went to sit at his desk, coffee mug in hand.

Sera raised an eyebrow and glanced at Magnus, who shrugged.

"Ozpin, what's going on?" Sera asked. The headmaster glanced at her and turned a monitor on his desk. It was a document with Sera's picture on it. She went to inspect the screen, her eyes slowly widening as she read. It was her. Her past. Her official Shade Academy file, complete with the school's logo stamped at the bottom. Her grades, combat assessments, semblance information, team name and members, everything about her.

Realization turned to anger as she looked up at the headmaster of Beacon.

"You knew?" She demanded. Ozpin gave a grave nod in response.

The amnesiac then paced the area in front of the desk, trying not to punch anything. She huffed angrily and her eyes were wild. She suddenly stopped and turned to Ozpin.

"What, the actual FUCK, were you thinking?!" Sera demanded and slammed a fist onto Ozpin's desk, cracking it. The headmaster remained calm and collected in the face of her rage. All Magnus could do was watch helplessly. But Ozpin's eyes widened momentarily. For just a second, as soon as Sera's fist came into contact with his desk, her irises turned red.

"Your name is Sera Purpura. No parents and no family, but raised by a foster family for most of your life until enlisting to become a huntress. Your Shade team name is team OLMS (Olympus). Nineteen years old with a knack for getting into trouble. Your semblance allows you to stop time anywhere from one second to ten seconds, in your perspective. Your weapon was a red two-handed sword that you forged yourself. I wanted you to discover all of this on your own rather than from me. Qrow knew as well, but do not blame him. I told him to keep it secret. That's why he designed your sword to be the way it is, to resemble your old one as much as possible so that it may trigger something. I truly am sorry, and I do hope you can forgive me. I did it with the best intentions," Ozpin explained.

Sera let out a heavy sigh hung her head. She knew he was telling the truth and that he'd meant every word. She understood why he kept it from her, but she was still angry about it. Then she picked her head up to meet the headmaster's eyes, "Thank you, professor. I know you meant well."

Ozpin nodded in response, relieved. He hadn't realized that he was clutching his mug. Then he remembered something urgent. "I have something else to tell you. Mister Mundus, would you mind waiting outside?"

Magnus looked reluctant to go, but he nodded. Once the door closed, Ozpin's eyes narrowed, "You may want to sit down. This…is going to take a while."

It took nearly an entire hour for him to explain what he needed to say to her. By the end of it, Sera's mouth hung open and her eyes were wide.

"So you're telling me," She said carefully, "That there are four magical Maidens, each representing a season, and one of them has been attacked? And her attacker managed to somehow take some of her power? And you want Pyrrha to somehow become the Fall Maiden in the place of the current one? AND there's some woman named Salem that's trying to wipe out the world as we know it? What the hell, man?!" Sera demanded. Ozpin let out a muted chuckle at her attitude, despite the levity of the situation.

"It's true. And whoever has infiltrated Beacon's student body… we suspect that she's the Maiden's assailant. And that she's planning something else. Most likely soon," Ozpin laced his fingers together.

Sera stood and put her hands on her hips, "This is too much. Why are you telling me this in the first place? Isn't it like top secret like you said?"

"Because," Ozpin took a sip of his now-cold coffee, "I believe you may be able to tip the scales in our favor. Given your semblance, on top of Qrow's report of your latest assignment and all your fighting up to this point, you'd be a great ally to us."

Sera ran her fingers through her hair as she realized something, "That mission wasn't to help me regain my memories. It was to see how I'd do in the field, wasn't it?"

"You've caught me," Ozpin gave a kind smile, "But I was hoping you'd remember something as well. And you did. But I'm still not sure what to make of the end of your dream…"

A thought came out of nowhere to Sera, "This woman, Salem, would you happen to know what she looks like?"

Ozpin picked his head up at the unexpected question, "Well, yes, actually. Chalk-white skin, black veins on her arms and face, white hair, and… glowing red eyes. Instead of the whites of her eyes being, well, white, they're black as night… Why do you ask?"

Sera suddenly sat into the chair behind her and rubbed her temples together. Flashes of memory raced through her mind. She could've sword she'd seen this woman before. Perhaps in a dream…

After a moment, she glanced up to meet the headmaster's eyes, "I could swear I've seen her before, somewhere…"

Ozpin's eyes widened. He would've pressed further, but he could tell she was doing her best to remember.

"Very well. It's almost time for the final, final round of the tournament. I imagine you'd like to get to the coliseum to join your team," Ozpin told her. She nodded and began to stand, then Ozpin added, "But if you remember anything, and I do mean anything, regarding this woman, please tell me."

Sera nodded, then turned to leave. She had no idea what to make of this, but it was far too much information for one day. She decided she'd sleep on it and visit Ozpin tomorrow. Hopefully she'd remember something about that woman, Salem.

If only she'd get the chance to do that.

. . .

She and Magnus went their separate ways, for now. He told her that they'd catch up more later, so that he could tell her more about her past. Before they left each other, Magnus gave Sera her old sword back, insisting that she should take it even though she didn't want to. So now, Sera was making her way back to the coliseum to continue watching the tournament. After a quick call to Yang, she learned that her team was already there.

Sera sighed and gazed down at the weapon in her hands. It was hers, but she felt no ownership towards it. In fact, she much preferred the sword that Ozpin gave her. She'd gotten accustomed to it during her time here, and honestly, this sword was rather ugly compared to Crimson Eclipse. That's another thing. Her new sword had a name. As far as she knew, this one did not. Then another thought entered her mind. Ozpin had said it after he turned his monitor for her to see the evidence of her past. She had a last name.

"Sera Purpura…" She thought to herself wistfully. While it was indeed an odd name to have, she was happy to have it nonetheless.

She then decided to make a stop and deposit her old weapon into her weapon locker, right beside Crimson Eclipse. She also considered changing into her usual white and purple outfit but decided to waste no more time and just stay in her crimson leather coat, black tube top, and leather pants. She adjusted the Omega pin on her lapel and turned to exit the locker room.

When she finally reached the stadium and stepped off of the airship that took her there, the sun was going down. She could hear the crowd and the sounds of fighting, but something was nagging at the amnesiac. She wasn't sure what, but something felt off… Like there was a certain weight in the air.

She turned just in time to spot a short girl with pink and brown hair wearing a medical officer's uniform duck into an emergency airship. Shrugging it off, Sera continued into the stadium.

The original members of team RWBY were watching one of the most intense fights yet. A young man with short brown hair and a black half face mask was fighting a boy with spiky gray hair and clothes to match. The first boy appeared to have prosthetic arms from the elbows down that also served as his weapons. His right eye was scarred and its iris grey, as if he was blind in it. He appeared about 6'3 and had a muscled figure, his form prominent through the skin-tight black shirt he wore. Maroon cargo pants tucked into a pair of black combat boots took up the rest of his attire.

The fight was going well for the tall guy, the gray one, aka Mercury, was barely holding his own. The first guy's arms doubled as guns, the metal folding outward to reveal a high caliber machine gun in both limbs.

The fight was over by time Sera found her team. The tall guy managed to cleanly knock Mercury out of the competition by grabbing an arm with one hand and a leg with the other, then throwing the poor guy off the stage and into the aura shielding.

"Damn it! That's not how the plan was supposed to go! Argh, if only that blond bimbo fought like was planned!" Cinder silently cursed to herself as Mercury fell to the ground beneath the stage.

Sera took a seat beside Weiss and gazed down at the arena, "What'd I miss?"

"That guy destroyed the other guy!" Ruby replied all too happily.

"Thanks for clearing that up, Rubes," Sera laughed.

"Metal Arms knocked Gray off the stage," Blake said.

"Thanks, Blakey," Sera nodded, earning a half-annoyed, half-amused look from the team's Faunus. "Hey, I know that guy! He's the one I met in the hallway. Remember? Prosthetic arms?"

"Yes, we are aware of his prosthetics," Weiss deadpanned. Sera knit her eyebrow at the heiress, "Whatever. That's the guy, though."

The next match was soon called out by Port as the rotating squares came to a halt. Sera grinned up at them once she saw who was about to compete.

"Pyrrha Nikos versus Penny Polendina!" Port announced.

"Ooooh, this is gonna be so good!" Ruby squealed. They looked up to JNPR several rows away from them, but Pyrrha only looked solemn. As if she had the weight of the whole world on her shoulders.

"…The thing with the Maidens is what's bothering her…" Sera thought as her expression turned sad.

"Hello? Sera?" someone said, shaking her from her thoughts.

"Huh?" Sera turned. Yang was waving a hand in front of her face with a grin.

"I said where'd you get that sword?" she asked, pointing at her old weapon.

"Oh! I'll…explain later. Tonight," Sera replied.

"Okay, fine. Now, come on!" Yang said as she took her hand and hauled her out of her seat.

"Where are you going? Aren't you going to watch the fight?" Weiss asked.

"We'll be back soon!" Yang replied as she pulled Sera up the stairs. The poor amnesiac had no idea what was happening.

"Yang, where are we going? Yang!" Sera exclaimed, but the brawler wasn't having any of it. Sera got one last glance at Pyrrha Nikos before the two of them exited the coliseum.

Yang pulled her around a corner and stopped, turning to the white head. "Where'd you go this afternoon?" She asked. Sera raised an eyebrow, "That's what you had to say? You could've asked me that with the others."

Yang rolled her lilac eyes, "Just answer the question, Snowball."

Sera contemplated telling the truth. She decided it could wait until later, "To Ozpin's. He had to talk to me about something. I'll tell you about it later."

"Fine, keep your secrets," Yang grinned. Sera raised an eyebrow, "What's got you so giddy?"

"My fine teammate, what's got me so giddy is this—" Yang said, but then the lights suddenly cut off, and a feminine voice spoke over the loudspeakers.

"What's going on?" Sera asked as she and Yang made their way back to the inner stadium. Yang placed her hand over her mouth when the pair of huntresses saw what was in the middle of the stage. Or rather, who was in the middle.

Sera had never seen her before in her life, but laying in dismembered pieces, was the lifeless body of Penny Polendina. Pyrrha stood over her, looking mortified with her hands over her mouth and tears in her eyes.

Ruby Rose sobbed at the sight of her animatronic friend, and everyone else could only look shocked while the sultry voice of Cinder Fall played through the loudspeakers.

Sera gritted her teeth and clenched her fists at the voice of the woman who was surely behind this. She was speaking as if Ozpin had put his students to commit murder like this, and something about Ironwood as well. About the Atlas military's airships presence during this 'time of peace'. She didn't know who the voice belonged to, but it sounded familiar somehow.

Then a loud banging could be heard from above, and all eyes went upward. A giant Nevermore was pecking at the aura shields that covered the coliseum.
"It won't last long…," Sera muttered. She took Yang's hand, "Come on!" Then the two ran in the direction of their team.

Cinder's voice stopped coming through the speakers, and everyone had gone into a panic as soon as the Nevermore was spotted. Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck tried to calm the crowd, but it was no use. They were in a frenzy.

Sera and Yang pushed through their fellow students and civilians to reach their friends, but by the time they even got close, the Nevermore got through. Jaune had leapt over the railing and onto the stage to get Pyrrha, but she was still caught in her despair at what had happened.

"How did that thing even get through? Don't we have defenses or something?!" Sera asked.

"It's probably not alone!" Yang replied. Then they reached their destination, but their friends weren't there. The huntress' heads whipped around to see Ruby facing down the Nevermore, holding one of Penny's swords. She was yelling at the thing.

"Ruby!" Yang shouted, but her sister couldn't hear her.

"We need our weapons! If the kingdom is under attack, they'll need our help!" A voice shouted from their right. They turned to see Sun with a distressed look on his face.

A lightbulb went off in Sera's head.

She pulled out her scroll and immediately began tapping the screen. When she was finished, a rectangular grey object crashed to the ground, coincidentally landing on the Nevermore's back.

Sera grinned as the beast was thrown off course before it could plow into Ruby's small form.

The amnesiac vaulted over the railing and landed on the stage in a kneeling position, then sprinted towards her team leader. Yang smiled and followed suit, tapping on her scroll as she ran. Then another locker soared through the sky, then dozens of them. All landing on the Nevermore just as it was trying to get up again.

"Sera!" Ruby exclaimed as the white head leapt towards the Grimm and kicked it in the face. Its beak cracked and it let out a pained crow, but it was still alive.

Then Yang caught up to them and immediately wrapped her sister in a bear hug. Once she set Ruby down, she stuck a finger in her face, "Don't you ever try to do something like that again!"

Ruby smiled meekly in response.

Sera looked over to see Pyrrha still knelt to the ground, with Jaune trying to get the Spartan to her feet.

"I…killed her," Pyrrha said. "Ruby, I'm so sorry…"

Sera winced and knelt beside the red head, "You didn't."

"The woman over the speaker did this," Ruby added with a solemn expression. Sera nodded, "And we're going to make sure they don't do that to anyone else," She said and stood, extending a hand for Pyrrha to take. She reluctantly did, and Sera helped her to her feet. Sera nodded at her, then at Jaune. Then she jumped onto the Nevermore's back to see that dozens of other students were joining them, including Weiss, Blake, Ren, Nora, and all the other teams that competed in the tournament. Even the guy with the prosthetic arms.

Looking out over the sea of huntsman and huntresses, Sera took a deep breath. Usually she'd let Ruby handle the speeches, but she was already up here, and everyone looked to her expectantly. She clenched her fists tight closed her eyes momentarily, her red coat whipping in the wind.

Then she opened her eyes and spoke.

"It looks like the city's under attack. We've just seen that Grimm have gotten through the city's defenses and are likely attacking the civilian population. I intend on finding whoever that was over the speakers and giving her a piece of my mind. I'm not from here, and Beacon isn't the academy I trained at first," She said, gaining curious looks from her team. Students' from Shade eyes widened in realization of who they were looking at. Then Sera took another deep breath and continued, "But it's my home now, and I'll defend it with my life. Now, it looks as though all of our weapons are here, so take arms! I know most of you aren't from Vale either, but I beg you to defend it as I would. But if you want to leave, you'd better do it now. Fair warning though, if you try to, I'll kick all your asses! Now, who's with me?!" She shouted.

Silence.

Yang looked expectantly at Sera to see what she'd say next. Then someone took a step forward. It was Flynt Coal.

"Eh, why not? This is a cool place to kick it, hate to see it burn down."

Then the boy with the prosthetics stepped forward. Then a student from Haven. Then one from Shade. Yang smiled as everyone raised their hands or stepped forward. Sera allowed herself to smile as all the unique-looking students collected their weapons and armed themselves. She then turned to open her own locker and halted. Her eyes flicked between the pair of swords that lay in her locker. After a quick decision, she grabbed the newer weapon and slammed the metal door shut, but not before grabbing her gun belt and putting it on. She considered taking both of the swords and wielding both of them, but it'd be too cumbersome. With a sigh, she turned and jumped down from the Nevermore, who was actually still alive. The large bird tried to snap at Sera, but with a quick blast from nowhere, the creature's head exploded.

"Students," a familiar voice said. Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck were walking towards them, their weapons in hand. "I think it's time for you to leave."

"But—" Ruby started.

"Miss Rose. Today will surely go down in Remnant's history. I would prefer if my students lived to tell about it." Oobleck interrupted.

Reluctantly, the group of students began to jog towards the coliseum exit, leaving team RWBYS.

Ruby nodded with determination, "We won't let you down, professors."

"Doctor," Oobleck corrected.

Sera smirked. She had a sword rested on each of her shoulders. Then her team followed after the other students, leaving the two professors to fight back-to-back against the oncoming horde of Griffons.

"Miss," Port said, and Sera turned to look at the professor's bushy eyebrows knit together. "Do be careful."

"C'mon, this is me we're talking about!" Sera grinned, then ran after her companions.

She and the others quickly reached the airship docks and began boarding airships.

"Half of us will go to Vale, the other half is going to Beacon! Divide and conquer," Ruby said. It was a good idea. The group of students began splitting up to carry out their task, which was to repel all Grimm from the kingdom. Sera looked to see which airship her team was boarding, and thankfully it was the one going to Beacon. She was the last to step onto the Beacon Express, the exit ramp closing up and sealing them in.

After the airship took off, Yang leaned over to Sera, "You did good with the speech back there," She whispered.

"Thanks," Sera smiled gratefully.

"Where'd you get the other sword?" she asked. "Saw it in your locker a second ago."

"Tell you about it later, after all this is over," Sera replied.

After another few moments, Yang whispered again, "Did you mean what you said? About Beacon being your home now?"

Sera turned her head to meet Yang's eyes, "Every word."

The blond smiled, and they returned to standing in silence with the rest of the students. A few seconds later, Sera felt something grab her hand, and she looked down to see that it was Yang's hand. The amnesiac returned the gesture and interlocked their fingers, both of them squeezing tightly.

Then something exploded.

Everyone turned to see that an Atlesian airship had crashed into one of its sister ships, the latter falling to the ground in a fiery inferno.

"What the-?" Coco asked. Voices filled the airship, then Ruby Rose got a determined gleam in her eye. She turned and opened a hatch in the rear of the ship, and before anyone could even process what she was planning, the team leader jumped out.

"Ruby!" Yang exclaimed, her hand letting go of Sera's. Then something that sounded like a rocket could be heard, and the silver-eyed girl could be seen riding a locker towards the Atlesian airships.

Yang everyone else that knew Ruby looked distressed.

"She'll be fine," Sera told her. "She wouldn't have taken off if she didn't think she could handle it."

"Oh please, have you met Ruby?" Weiss asked. Sera nonchalantly kicked Weiss.

"Hey!" the heiress exclaimed.

Yang sighed, "I guess you're right."

"I know I'm right! Now let's get to Beacon so we can get this over with," Sera smiled.

The rest of the flight was rather uneventful, if Sera did say so herself. It took only a few minutes for the bullhead airship to touch down in Beacon's courtyard.

The exit ramp hit the ground and everyone inside the bullhead poured out, weapons at the ready. They were ready to fight, but most of them looked confused as to what to do next.

"So, we're here, what now?" Scarlet of team SSSN asked. Yang then cocked her gauntlets and pointed at Beacon, "We take back our home."

Sera nodded and looked to her team, "Weiss?"

The heiress looked surprised that Sera addressed her, but she quickly regained her composure and stood straighter, "We can't let the Tower fall. Letting that happen means the CCT is compromised. Some of us should fight in the courtyard while others secure the tower." Sera unslung her sword and rested it on her shoulder, "I can handle that. But we shouldn't focus on the CCT right this second. With less fighters in the courtyard, the more likely Grimm could get into the Tower. But if it goes from bad to worse, I'll go up the Tower with some others."

"Just stay around here and hold off baddies? Sounds like a plan," Sun grinned.

The amnesiac nodded and turned to go towards the center of the courtyard. All of her friends, new and old, went with her.

Yang hurried to walk beside her and grinned, "Better cool it there, they're gonna make you the boss." Sera rolled her eyes and smiled, "Un-fuckin'-likely. There are too many team leaders here to name a non-team leader the boss of them."

"You never know," Yang shrugged. "You've got my vote, at least." The amnesiac then raised an eyebrow at her teammate. She turned to her left to see the boy with prosthetic arms jogging to her other side.

"Good speech, if I do say so myself," He said kindly. His face was mostly hidden by the half-mask, but Sera could see the friendly light in his eyes.

"Thanks. It just kinda happened," Sera replied.

"Natural leader, more like. Trust me, I know," He said and patted her on the back lightly. Then he motioned his head towards the oncoming wave of Beowolves and Creeps heading towards them, at least a hundred yards away, "Well, the fight begins. If we survive this, drinks are on me," He said, then began to sprint towards the Grimm.

"Odd guy," Yang commented. She and the others began to follow the guy with their weapons ready, "Yeah, still haven't caught his name," Sera smirked and twirled her sword before running with the weapon held at her side.

Huntsmen and huntresses clashed with the forces of Grimm in Beacon's courtyard. The next few minutes went pretty easily. They dispatched the creatures with ease, and Atlesian knights had even shown up to help. The students panted lightly as the small mounds of darkness littering the ground dissipated into shadow.

Sera grinned and rested her sword on her shoulder as she approached her remaining teammates. Ruby was still off taking down airships or something.

"That wasn't too bad," Blake commented as she loaded a clip into Gambol Shroud. Yang pumped her gauntlet covered fist and grinned, "Yeah, this'll be a piece of cake! Especially with Ironwood's robots helping, right Weiss?"

Weiss nodded with a small and proud smile, "Absolutely. The knights should be able to handle the Grimm pretty easily, especially if its just weaker Grimm like these Beowolves."

Then something happened.

The light in the Atlesian knights' faces flashed to red and they trained their guns on the students.

"…Just had to say something, didn't ya?" Sera deadpanned at Yang and Weiss. Before the two could retort, the knights opened fire.

The huntsmen ducked for cover or attacked the robots, shooting or carving them to pieces to eradicate this new threat. After they were safely dismantled, Weiss said, exasperated, "I don't understand! Why would they be attacking us? They're programmed to attack only Grimm!"

Blake turned to look at the airships in the sky. This incident plus the Atlesian airships turning on each other formed a puzzle in the Faunus's head.

"Atlas forces have been compromised," she said, gaining the attention of everyone present. "What do you mean?" Flynt Coal asked.

"Think about it. The airship turning on the others, then this," She promptly kicked a severed knight's head, "Someone's up there, turning the robots against us."

"But that means—" Weiss said.

"Ruby!" Yang exclaimed and turned to look up at the airships. "I have to get up there!" She tried to make a run for the bullhead they'd taken to Beacon. Yang suddenly halted and looked back to see Sera pulling her back.

"Wait, Yang. Ruby can handle this. If what I'm thinking is right, then it's that Torchwick guy up there. And from what you've all told me from the past semester, Ruby should be able to take him. Besides, we need you here. Your team needs you to fight with them," Sera told her. Yang looked like she wanted to argue, but she sighed and nodded, "Then let's hurry up and finish this. Anything could happen to Ruby up there."

"I know. But you know she'd want you down here with us," Sera gave a lopsided smile.

"Guys, we got more incoming!" Jaune called out. Sure enough, more Grimm were on their way. But this time, Ursai and a Deathstalker were part of the horde. Gripping her sword tighter, Sera looked over the students that stood beside her, then charged.

"Just gonna run in? Just like that? No words of encouragement? Well, alrighty then!" Sun commented before he ran after Sera, the other students following suit.

Sera let out a war cry as she swung Crimson Eclipse into the Ursa leading the charge. Her sword cleaved through its waist and effectively cut its body in two. She quickly cut down as many Grimm as she could, but for every one that she and the others killed, several more took its place. In no time at all, she and her fellow students were surrounded and formed a loose circle. Weiss froze as many Beowolves as she could to the ground and render them immobile, Blake made use of her semblance to trick the creatures or block the attack of a Grimm, and Yang was, well, Yang. She punched down Grimm after Grimm to clear her path.

Everyone else used their weapons and semblances to defeat the opposition. Sun's yellow clones could be seen clashing into Grimm or knocking them aside for the original to annihilate with his staff.

The young man with the prosthetic arms followed Yang's example: punching down the Beowolves, Creeps, and Ursai when they got within range. Several times, his arms folded open for him to cut down the Grimm with their built-in machine guns.

Pyrrha and Jaune fought back to back, each of them using their swords and shields to cut down the Grimm.

Sera was actually having a little fun, despite the dire situation they were all in. She whooped and hollered as she used her sword to dispatch of as many Grimm as she could. With every swing of her weapon, the creatures of darkness fell. She got into a groove as she fought. Slice, dodge, roll, kick, slice, roll, dodge.

She had just cut down a Creep when a loud hiss filled the air. Sera turned to look at the large Deathstalker that crawled towards the group of huntsmen and huntresses on its six legs. Sera smirked and leapt into the air, jumping towards the large insect with her sword raised above her head.

"Woooo-hooooooo!" She shouted as she brought down the weapon onto the Deathstalker's armored exoskeleton. It screeched at the impact, its bone armor chipping under the force of Sera's blow. Using her momentum, the amnesiac launched herself into the air once more in the same manner that Nora does.

She grinned at the apex of the jump, then just as she began to fall towards the ground again, Sera raised her weapon. Crimson Eclipse slashed into the Deathstalker's armored head and created a large gash, but the Grimm still lived. Its red eyes glowed with hatred as it launched its tail towards Sera. She somersaulted to avoid the blow, the yellow stinger stabbing into the concrete.

"Jackpot!" Sera grinned and stabbed the Grimm's tail with her sword. It screeched in pain and dislodged its tail, then tried to stab her again.

"Should we help her?" Weiss asked as she watched Sera fight. Flynt Coal blasted a Beowolf away with his trumpet and turned to see what Weiss was talking about, "Nah, I think crazy bitch got it," He said and pointed at the amnesiac. She was currently jumping around and delivering cuts to the Grimm's armored body.

The fight wasn't going that bad, but Sera's sword could only do so much to the Deathstalker's armor. She probably should've sliced its stinger off rather than stab its tail, but she was well past that point. Just after she delivered another shallow cut to its body, she remembered the Hydra fight. Her sword had clanged uselessly against the monster's leg, but after she loaded the weapon with Dust…

She checked her pockets for any crystals, and came up empty. Her head whipped towards her teammates, towards the one person she knew for a fact had Dust on her.

"Weiss!" she shouted as she evaded another stab from the large stinger.

"What is it?" Weiss called back as she cut down a Creep with her rapier. "Dust! Now! Please!" Sera yelled as she dodged attack after attack from the Deathstalker.

Weiss rolled her eyes and pulled a cartridge from Myrtenaster, "Here!" She shouted and threw it at her teammate. Sera turned just in time to see a yellow Dust cartridge flying towards her at a shocking speed. Who knew Weiss had such a good arm?

Sera's eyes widened slightly as she jumped, spinning in the air and holding out her sword. The Dust cartridge flew perfectly into Crimson Eclipse, and Sera smirked as she landed and flipped the switch on her weapon's hilt. Yellow electricity arced up the blade and casted a glow. Then she looked back at her friends and scanned them until she saw a familiar girl with orange hair and a pink outfit.

"Nora, smash!" she shouted. Nora's head immediately turned towards Sera, and a grin spread across her face. The hammer wielder ran towards them and hefted her weapon. The Valkyrie leapt into the air and raised her hammer, intent on bringing it down on the Deathstalker.

"STOP!" Sera mentally shouted. Just as Nora reached the top of her jump, she and everything else came to a halt. With a smirk, Sera used an Ursa's head as a springboard and jumped towards her friend.

She smiled and pressed the flat of her blade against Nora's stomach, insuring that her sword's electricity would channel into her.

Sera felt a familiar tug in her gut, and everything moved again. Nora's eyes widened and the grin on her face spread further as she felt the sweet electricity. Sera allowed herself to fall and land nimbly on the ground. She looked up in time to hear an extremely loud CRACK! As Nora's hammer collided with the Deathstalker. Needless to say, the red light faded from its eyes as its body melted into darkness.

The Grimm's numbers were beginning to dwindle by now. Surprisingly enough, Atlesian Paladins were beginning to join the party as well. The fight against those didn't go too well. It took a combined effort of all the students to bring down the mechs.

But that's not what drew Sera's attention. She looked up just in time to see Pyrrha and Jaune sprinting towards Beacon Tower, towards Professor Ozpin. The amnesiac began to go after them, but someone stopped her.

She looked back to see Yang pulling her hand back, with Blake and Weiss with her.

"Where are you going?" Weiss asked. Sera had to resist rolling her eyes, "To go with Jaune and Pyrrha. They could need my help!"

"I don't know where they're going, but we're a team. We need to stick together," Blake said.

Sera groaned and tried to pull her arm free, "There's no time! Look, I'll explain later, I promise, but there's more going on than just Vale being under attack! Ozpin needs me and Pyrrha, right now."

They scanned her eyes, which were frantic and filled with worry.

"Fine," Yang said, releasing Sera's hand, "But whatever happens, you better come back."

Sera nodded with a determined gleam in her eye.

"Guys, we could use some help over here!" Neptune called as he fired at a Paladin.

"More Grimm and Knights are showing up!" Yatsuhashi of team CFVY shouted.

Yang, Blake and Weiss readied their weapons, then Yang turned to Sera, "You better get going."

"Right," Sera turned and began to run towards Beacon Tower.

"And Sera?" Yang's voice said. Then as soon as the amnesiac turned to look at her, something warm pushed against her face, her vision was blocked, and a pair of arms wrapped around her body. Warm flesh pressed against her lips as she was held tighter, and her vision swam. She quickly realized that Yang had kissed her.

When Yang finally pulled away from Sera, a deep blush was on her face and Weiss's and Blake's mouths hung open.

"Called it," Blake deadpanned once she collected herself. Sera felt her face heat up as she looked at the blond in front of her.

"You better come back to us, Snowball," Yang told her, shoving a finger into her face.

"Um- Er- Uh… Y-yeah. Sure," Sera's ears felt hot. Yang smiled, the blush still on her face, "Good. Now go do whatever you have to do,"

Sera gave a dazed salute and turned to go towards Beacon Tower. After she was out of earshot, Weiss deadpanned, "So, uh, that happened."

"It sure did," Yang put her hands on her hips.

"CAN WE GET SOME HELP NOW?!" Ren demanded in a not so calm manner.

Sera was in a daze for the next few minutes. She didn't even remember going into the elevator and hitting the button for the lowest floor.

"She actually did it," She thought, then allowed herself to smile. "Y'know, that wasn't so bad."

Then the elevator door slid open, shaking her from her thoughts. Sera gripped her sword and ran forward, into the large chamber. She could make out a few figures standing next to some sort of pod-looking objects, and a single person wearing a red dress with her back to Sera. Jaune and Ozpin faced away from her, looking at one of the pods that appeared to hold Pyrrha inside.

The amnesiac's eyes focused on the odd stance that the woman held, as if she were about to fire a…

"No!" Sera shouted. Too late. The woman let her arrow loose, and it penetrated the glass of one of the pods.

Amber, the Fall Maiden, woke immediately and shakily looked down at the black arrow sprouting from her chest. An orange flow of energy that was being transferred between the pods halted and stopped flowing into Pyrrha. The Spartan pounded on the glass with a distressed look on her face.

The assassin turned just in time to see Sera slam her sword into her chest, sending the woman flying. Sera gritted her teeth and bared down on the Maiden-killer. She'd recognized her instantly as the woman from the clothes store that she and Coco met.

Sera didn't know anything about what was going on in here, but she deduced that Ozpin was going forth with his plan of making Pyrrha the next Fall Maiden. This woman put a stop to that, and the Fall Maiden's power was going into her killer.

But Sera didn't see that. All she saw was the red in her vision as she approached Cinder Fall, sword in hand. She didn't realize that Cinder was gaining the full power of and transforming into a Maiden. All she knew was that this woman just killed someone who had no way of defending herself, and all because of Cinder's selfish lust for power.

"Sera, wait!" Ozpin shouted and threw his hand out. But it was too late. As soon as she swung her sword down to cut the woman in two, Cinder's eyes shot open, a bright orange glow radiating from them. A small explosion sent Sera tumbling across the floor until she stopped herself by impaling Crimson Eclipse into the ground. Cinder floated into the air with her Maiden powers and smiled wickedly down at Sera.

"Oh, I've been waiting for this," She said and raised her open hand at the amnesiac. Before Sera could defend herself, one of the pods flew out of nowhere and collided with Cinder. The new Fall Maiden crashed to the floor, and Pyrrha appeared from behind her, weapons in hand.

"Miss Nikos, take Jaune and Sera and get out of here!" Professor Ozpin shouted, his eyes wild.

"Oz, there's no way—" Sera said. Then she was forced to dodge as a ball of fire flew towards her from Cinder's hand.

"Now!" Ozpin yelled. "Find Qrow, Glynda anyone! The tower cannot fall!"

"No way, professor," Sera said as she evaded another blast of fire. Cinder gritted her teeth. This was getting tiresome. But Pyrrha finally followed direction. She picked up Jaune, against his will, and sprinted towards the elevator. Cinder raised her hand to blast them, but Ozpin was faster. He slammed his cane into her and sent the Maiden flying.

"Now, Sera! Go, find your past. I can handle this woman!" He shouted. Sera groaned. She desperately wanted to kick the crap out of this woman, but she felt that she was unevenly matched now, even with Ozpin on her side.

"Fine! But you better be the only one coming up that lift once this is done," Sera told him. The headmaster gave a quick salute, then was forced to evade one of Cinder's attacks. Sera turned and ran after her friends, her red coat and white hair whipping in the wind.

. . .

Blake and Yang were scouring the campus for any survivors. They'd checked their own dorm building already and were now coming up on the cafeteria. What surprised them, however, was that the building was aflame. Not completely, but definitely enough to notice. And a lone man stood inside the cafeteria. He had just cut down an unarmed student, the poor young man's blood pooling around him.

Blake's eyes widened as she began to hyperventilate at the sight of the man. He had red and brown spiky hair, a black suit with a rose decorating the back and where his heart was, a White Fang mask covering his face, and a red katana held in his hand.

"Who's that guy?" Yang asked. Blake didn't respond. Her eyes were wide, and her pupils were tiny.

"Blake?" Yang asked. Then the man turned to see them standing there. A cold smile spread across his face at the sight of his former companion.

"Hello, my darling," he said. Blake nearly took off right there to run for her life, but Yang put a hand on her shoulder, an angered expression on her face.

"And who are you supposed to be?" She asked as she got into a fighting stance.

"Oh? Did Blake here not tell you about me? No, I suppose she wouldn't have. My name is Adam Taurus." He replied smoothly and swiftly sheathed his weapon with expert precision. He took a step forward and Yang cocked her gauntlets, "I wouldn't do that if I were you." She warned. Adam grinned and lunged at them.

. . .

It turns out that Sera had to take the next lift. Pyrrha and Jaune didn't wait for her. Luckily, there was one right beside the one they took, so Sera wasn't too far behind. Once the doors slid open and she exited Beacon Tower, she was met with the sight of a silent Pyrrha and a frantic Jaune.

"What's wrong?" Sera asked as she approached the two.

"Pyrrha's trying to go fight that woman!" Jaune panicked.

"You what?" Sera turned to the red head. Pyrrha only glanced at her in response, "This is my fight."

"No, it's not! If it's anyone's, it's Ozpin's—" Jaune said, then Pyrrha surprised everyone present by grabbing the blonde's head and kissing him.

Sera's jaw dropped, then she noticed the locker that was standing behind Jaune. She glanced back at the two and winced. She'd figured that Pyrrha thought more of Jaune than she let on, and she didn't intend on allowing anything to happen to this new relationship.

That woman, Cinder, knew Sera she was sure of it. She had to know her before she lost her memory. Cinder knows something about her past. And she planned on asking her about it. Soon.

Pyrrha went to shove Jaune into the locker, but everything came to an abrupt halt. Except for Sera.

The amnesiac sighed and took in the image of her two friends from team JNPR and quickly placed both of them within the lone locker. It was a tight fit, but it'd have to do. As soon as she closed the locker, time resumed. Emerald and blue eyes widened as Pyrrha and Jaune realized where they were. They focused on the sight of Sera smiling at them from the other side of the locker door.

"Glad you guys finally found each other," Sera said as she began typing a number into the keypad of the locker.

"Sera, wait-!" Jaune's eyes widened. Pyrrha was too shocked and surprised to realize she could blast the locker apart with her semblance. She could only stare at Sera with wide eyes.

"Take care of each other, will ya? I'll see you two later," Sera gave a two-fingered salute as the locker launched into the night sky.

The purple-eyed huntress smiled as she watched her friends sail away, then a loud roar filled her ears, and she whipped around to see a giant Grimm flying around Beacon Tower.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!"

. . .

The fight against Adam Taurus was going poorly. Blake and Yang were covered in cuts and bruises, which their aura slowly healed. Yang panted as she raised her fists once more. Blake yelled angrily and rushed the Faunus. Adam swiftly unsheathed his katana and sliced the huntress across the stomach.

Blake gasped and dropped Gambol Shroud to the ground. Yang's eyes widened as tears formed in them. Her Faunus teammate dropped to her knees, clutching her stomach with both hands.

"A shame this happened, it really is. But you know that the White Fang will not suffer under the humans any longer," Adam told her. Blake's eyes shakily met his, or rather, the mask that covered them. Then she fell onto her side, the pain from her cut finally getting to her.

Adam smiled and straightened his posture as he sheathed his sword once more.

"YAAAAARGH!" Yang screamed as yellow aura enveloped her body. Her hair blazed as if it were flaming and her eyes glowed with hatred. "YOU BASTARD!" she bellowed as she leapt towards the Faunus. With a smirk, Adam quickly unsheathed his sword, and swung.

The blonde's eyes widened as she felt something slice her body. She hit the ground feeling lighter. Warm liquid touched her arm and soaked into her clothes as it pooled around her. With shaky eyes, Yang looked down to see that her right arm was severed.

Before Adam could finish the job, Blake appeared out of nowhere. Her stomach was covered in burns. She'd used a round of flame Dust to cauterize where Adam's sword cut her.

Blake quickly grabbed Yang and used her semblance to distract her mortal enemy. The two huntresses disappeared through a hole in the cafeteria wall and into the darkness.

Adam Taurus smirked and flicked his katana towards the ground, tossing the blood from it before he smoothly sheathed it into its scabbard.

. . .

Cinder Fall smiled coldly as she watched the Wyvern Grimm crawl up the tall tower from inside Ozpin's office. Everything was going according to plan. Ozpin was dead. The dragon was unleashed, she took the full power of the Fall Maiden, Beacon and Vale had fallen, Grimm filled the streets, and the White Fang attacked every huntsman and civilian they saw. But she didn't know about Ruby Rose ending Roman Torchwick once and for all or Adam Taurus's encounter with Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long.

Cinder watched flames dance between her fingers. Salem would be proud of her accomplishments.

Then the doors behind her exploded. At least, that's what it sounded like. She turned around to see Sera standing in the doorway, the doors broken off of their hinges because of the huntress's foot.

"I don't know who the hell you think you are, lady, but you've crossed way over the line," Sera said as she entered the office. Cinder smiled and allowed Sera to approach. The huntress unsheathed her sword and held it at her side with one hand.

"Is that any way to treat an old friend?" Cinder asked.

"Shut your hole," Sera shot back. Cinder frowned and willed a ball of flame to appear in her hands. "Come now, wouldn't you like to know who you are? Where you're from? Your parents? How about those eyes of yours?"

Sera hesitated.

Cinder smiled and took her chance. She launched the flame towards Sera. The energy collided with her chest and the amnesiac was sent flying backwards. Her purple aura flickered as she got to her feet.

"Oh, that's it," Sera growled and charged Cinder. She swung her sword towards the Maiden, but two black swords appeared out of nowhere and deflected the blow. Cinder had summoned the blades seemingly out of thin air. Sera gritted her teeth and dislodged her sword, then swung again. And again. And again. Each swing was met by Cinder's swords blocking the blows. But the force of the attacks was making the Maiden step back to get more room.

Knowing that she was outclassed in terms of swordplay, Cinder leaped backwards and willed a bow to appear in her hands. Sera was forced to go on the defensive as the Maiden shot arrow after arrow in her direction. She barely managed to deflect the arrows with her sword, but she was getting the hang of it. Sera grinned and quickly flipped Ozpin's desk towards Cinder.

Cinder did exactly as the amnesiac expected. She blasted the desk to cinders, pun intended, and her eyes widened when she was met by Sera crouched on one knee, her weapon's rifle form in her hands.

"Jackpot," Sera smirked and fired. The Dust round collided with Cinder's chest, and the Maiden's body shook as the electricity of the Dust coursed through her body.

"YAAAGH!" Cinder suddenly screamed, and a large blast of fire shot from her body.

"Uh-oh," Sera thought. The top floor of the tower exploded, blasting the roof off and leaving only the bare floor of Ozpin's office. Cinder's eyes literally blazed as she glared at Sera with pure rage.

"You wanna know why you're here? Why you have no memory? Why your eyes change like that? Why your precious Ozpin refuses to tell you about it?" Cinder demanded. Sera got to her feet and raised her sword, "I don't care! I don't care who I once was, or how I lost my memory. I'd rather be who I am right now than be obsessed with who I once was. Because this, Beacon, and everyone in it, is my home," Sera replied as she charged. Cinder easily dodged her sword's attack and smirked.

"That's a lie and you know it! The only reason you're even alive is because you're too damn stubborn to die! Do you even realize how long I've been in your life? I've watched you since you were a girl! I had to sneak into Shade's student body just to spy on you more. And it's all been because of her," Cinder shouted. Sera's sword landed a hit. The Maiden gasped and floated back.

Sera rested her sword on her shoulder, "I told you I don't give a fuck about any of that. All I care about is that you invaded my home, and you're going down for that," She said, then felt a familiar tug in her gut. Cinder's eyes widened, but it was far too late. Everything around Sera came to a dead stop. Wasting no time at all, Sera rushed forward. She delivered a flurry of stabs and cuts to Cinder's body.

"That's for Ozpin!" She brought her sword down on her shoulder.

"That's for Beacon!" Her sword sliced her stomach.

"That's for all my friends!" She kicked her in the side. She didn't realize it, but her irises had turned red and sclera darkened until they were as black as midnight.

"And this is just because I want to!" Sera mentally shouted as she sheathed her sword and proceeded to German suplex the Fall Maiden.

As soon as she got to her feet, she felt that time would resume soon. Just before it did, she got an idea. Smirking, she rested her sword on her shoulder. Cinder's eyes widened and she made a pained grunting sound as she clumsily got to her feet.

"You'll pay for that," Cinder seethed as both her arms blazed with fire.

"Maybe. But not before I perform my next trick. Wanna see?" Sera asked, then made a show of pulling her sleeves from her wrist one at a time. "Nothing up this sleeve. Nothing up this one either. So what could I be hiding?" Sera gave a knowing smirk. Cinder's eyes narrowed and she tightened her jaw.

"And without further ado," Sera bowed so far down that her hair touched the ground. Then she wasn't there anymore. Cinder looked around her wildly to find the amnesiac, 'Damn it, she's using that semblance again…!'

Then the huntress appeared out of nowhere, "Time stop with a punch!" She shouted and clocked the Maiden. Then Sera disappeared again. 'The hell is she up to?'

"Time stop with a kick!" Sera kicked her in the gut from the opposite side.

"Time stop with another kick!" Another kick was delivered from behind Cinder.

"Time stop with an elbow!" Sera elbowed the Maiden in the face. Cinder could do nothing but endure the onslaught of blows that Sera was delivering to her. The huntress was using her semblance to relocate herself and blindside the orange-eyed woman.

"Time stop with knee!" She shouted and used her knee to hit Cinder square in the forehead.

'This is getting annoying! But…she's sloppy. She's been attacking with the same pattern. From the front, then side, then back, then repeat. If I could just…'

"Time stop with a- gurk!" Sera was interrupted by Cinder raising her hand and blasting the huntress in the face with fire.

"Would you shut up?" Cinder growled and towered over Sera. The amnesiac panted heavily as she got to her feet. Her chest was heaving, and she glared at the Maiden, 'Too slow on that one… I knew doing it one more time was pushing my luck. Still got the last laugh, though," She chuckled to herself. Cinder glared at the girl and raised a hand that burned with energy. Sera spread her arms, accepting that she was about to be blasted to ash.

Then something dawned on her. She'd made a promise to a certain blond girl with anger issues.

The ball of flame flew towards Sera. Her fists tightened, and she let out a defiant scream. Then the projectile immediately dissipated against a wall of purple aura.

Cinder's eyes widened when she looked at Sera's face. Not only were her eyes black and red, but her purple aura was visible around her body, and her skin had turned completely pale, save for black veins that webbed on either side of her face.

Sera glared at Cinder and stumbled. The Maiden quickly regained her composure and let out a low chuckle that soon turned into full-on laughter. The amnesiac raised an eyebrow.

"That's it!" Cinder shouted. "Embrace your parentage!" Unbeknownst to them, a certain adorable scythe wielder was running up the side of the tower on white glyphs formed by the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company.

Sera blinked. What was she talking about? She looked down at herself, and nearly jumped out of her own skin. She raised her hands in front of her face, turning them around to look at the fronts and backs. Black veins ran out of her coat's sleeves and covered the back of her hands. Even her fingernails had turned black.

"W-what?" She muttered. Then a sharp pain went through her body. Her limbs tensed and her eyes widened as she shakily looked down to see a black sword stuck halfway into her gut. Cinder smiled and grabbed Sera's shoulder before she could fall. Crimson blood spilled onto the concrete below them. The amnesiac gasped and she clamped onto Cinder's shoulder with one hand and put the other on her stomach just below the sword.

"Wanna know the truth?" Cinder whispered into her ear. Sera's eyes were wide, and her body shook as shock overtook her. "The truth is that you're just a nobody who was lucky enough to be born with power. You inherited it from the immortal sorceress, and by my hand, I take it away." Then Cinder pulled Sera closer, forcing the rest of her sword through the amnesiac's body to the hilt. Sera's eyes were as big as dinner plates and her mouth was hung open in a silent scream. Cinder pushed Sera off, allowing her to crumple to the floor as her body visually returned to normal. Her eyes changed to purple and her skin tone became livelier until her usual light tan returned, only for it to immediately begin paling again from blood loss.

Cinder smiled down at the amnesiac maliciously as her right arm began to darken and become skinnier, her fingers turning into claws. Sera's eyes widened further at the woman's arm. She tried to ask her what the hell was up with it, but she was preoccupied with bleeding out on the tower's rooftop.

Just when Cinder's changed arm launched towards Sera, Ruby Rose jumped over the side of the tower, and her silver eyes widened. She saw her teammate laying on the ground, a vicious stab wound in her abdomen, and Cinder Fall standing above her. Sera's eyes screamed at Ruby to run, run as far as she could and forget about her. She couldn't speak, so instead she motioned with her head and stared at her desperately.

Tears filled Ruby's eyes, then her eyes flashed brightly, lighting up the entire night sky, "SERA!" She screamed.

"WHAT?!" Cinder demanded just before the light consumed her.

Sera's final thoughts before she blacked out were of her time at Beacon, with Qrow, her team. Then the image of a woman's pale face filled her vision. Her glowing red eyes and black sclera piercing right through her. 'At least I could save Pyrrha and Jaune…'

. . .

Qrow Branwen reached the top of Beacon Tower to find three things: one, Ozpin's office completely destroyed. Two, the giant Wyvern Grimm frozen in midair, its body gray as if it were made out of concrete. And three, Sera and his niece unconscious. Except Sera had a very obvious stab wound with a steady flow of blood coming from it.

The huntsman's eyes widened as he dropped his sword and fell to his knees. It'd finally happened, Ruby had awakened her silver eyes.

Sera had awakened a power within her as well, but the only people who knew that were Sera and the new Fall Maiden.

Recovering his wits, Qrow picked up his weapon and sheathed it, slung Ruby over his shoulder, and carefully picked Sera up princess-style. Her blood stained his shirt, but he could care less. The Branwen twin walked as quickly and carefully as he could to the elevator. He knew that the elevator was dangerous right now, but he had to risk it. Sera was bleeding out, both her nieces were out of commission, and Beacon was lost. He was doing the best thing he could come up with. Going home.

By time the huntsman had reached the airships in Beacon's courtyard, Sera was looking awfully pale. All color had drained from her face and she shivered in her unconsciousness.

Yang still lay on the ground where she'd been put on a blanket. A bandage was wrapped around what remained of her arm after Adam Taurus was done with it. But the white blanket next to her was empty. Blake was gone.

Weiss was still there, though. She wore a worried expression as she gazed down at Yang.

Whenever the heiress spotted Qrow, her eyes widened, and she got to her feet. A worried expression was plastered on her face as Qrow gently laid Sera down on the spot where Blake had lay.

"Is she…?" Weiss asked. Qrow looked up to meet her eyes, "Just unconscious, but she will be if she doesn't get help soon," He said as he laid Ruby down right beside Yang.

"Stay with them, I'm going to find a medical kit or a paramedic. If you see a woman in a red dress, well, just hope she doesn't show up," Qrow said, then knelt beside Sera. He took the heiress's hands and pressed down onto her stab wound. Weiss looked like she'd rather be anywhere but there, but she kept her hands there.

"Keep pressure there if you want her to live," Qrow told her, then took off. He was back in mere minutes, holding a plastic red case in his hand.

"I-I think the bleeding stopped," Weiss said, tears running down her cheeks. Qrow nodded and began to dress the wound, pulling Sera's coat apart and cleaning the stab as best as he could. He quickly cleaned it until he was satisfied and wrapped a bandage around her torso. She'd get better medical attention later, but for now, this was the best he could do.

Sera let out a sigh in her sleep as the color slowly returned to her face. Qrow exhaled with a small smile, "There. That'll hold till the real help gets here."

Weiss nodded as she gazed down at Sera's sleeping face. She seemed more comfortable now, even slightly restless.

Then something caught the heiress's eye. A white airship with the SDC logo emblazoned on the sides. Weiss's eyes widened as uniformed men exited the airship and took off in her direction.

"No…" She choked back a sob. She knew why they were here. They were to take her home. Qrow picked his head up and looked behind him to see the Schnee Dust Company security marching towards them.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" The Branwen asked as they approached him and Weiss.

"Schnee Dust Company official business. We've come to take Miss Schnee back to Atlas," The one in charge told him.

"You can't just—" Qrow started to argue.

"It's fine, Mister Branwen," Weiss sighed. "I'll go with them. Even though I badly wish to stay here and make sure my friends are all right, I know you're more than capable of taking care of them. You care deeply for your nieces, and you treat Sera nearly as well."

The SDC employees seemed pleased with her answer. Weiss stood, her hands and the front of her combat skirt bloody, and followed her family's employees towards the airship. Just before stepping onto the ship's boarding ramp, she turned to look at the huntsman once more. "Contact General Ironwood and get me the hell out of Atlas as fast as you can." Then the ramp closed, and the airship lifted into the sky.

Qrow looked down at Ruby clutching onto Yang in her sleep, then at Sera. Her chest rose and fell rhythmically.

"What do I do with you, I wonder?" Qrow mused as he set Crimson Eclipse next to its owner.

. . .

Horrible images flashed through Sera's mind in her state of unconsciousness. She saw herself fighting Cinder, Ruby fighting for her life atop a large airship, and the sight of Yang's arm being sliced off by a stranger with a katana.

She was in a constant state of going between sleep and barely being awake. She was vaguely aware of her surroundings, but she was never conscious for very long to make sense of it. One thing that was a constant factor, however, was the stinging pain in her torso.

Sometimes she heard Qrow's voice, sometimes she even saw his face while he sat in a chair next to her. She saw the face of a blond man with facial hair and a tattoo on his shoulder.

"This is the girl?" an unfamiliar voice asked from beside her. The man was holding a straw in her mouth while she unconsciously drank from a bottle of water.

"Yup," a gruff voice replied. "The fifth member of your daughters' team."

"There's something…off about her. She should've died from the amount of blood she lost, but she's pulling through."

The familiar, gruff voice chuckled, "About that. You remember that, um, offspring I told you about?"

A moment of silence.

"Qrow, you can't be serious," The other voice said in disbelief.

"I am, Tai. She's hers." Qrow responded. Then Sera blacked out again.

The next time she awoke, she was actually awake. Her violet eyes shot open and she sat bolt upright. Which hurt, a lot. She winced and clutched her abdomen with both hands. She then looked down to see that her torso was wrapped in bandages, going from one shoulder all the way down to just above her belly button. Sera let out a pained groan as she looked around to see where she was.

She was laying in a large bed inside a wooden room. Sunlight poured in from the windows and shone on the floor. A single doorway was at the opposite side of the room. She decided she wanted to get to it.

Sera winced as she threw the green blankets off of her and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She stood, nearly falling as soon as her feet hit the wooden floor. She clutched her gut with one hand as she stumbled towards the door, leaning onto the wall for support. She looked down to see that she was wearing her pajama pants from Beacon, which was a comforting thought. Then it was ruined by her realizing that someone had to change her into said pajamas.

The amnesiac groaned as she finally reached the door. She poked her head out and looked down both sides of the hallway to see a stairwell leading down to her right. She exited the room and made her way to it.

Going down the stairs had to be the hardest thing she's ever done. She almost fell several times, and pain jolted up her body with each step. When she finally made it to the bottom, she looked to see that she was now in what appeared to be a living room. A green couch sat on the floor facing a large hologram of what she assumed was a news report.

"…Still no word on the situation inside Vale. The CCT has gone down and has stopped all communication devices from working all over Remnant. Back to you, Gavin."

Movement was heard from her right, so she turned her head to see another doorway that seemed to lead into a kitchen. Sera limped her way towards it and entered, leaning onto the doorframe for support. She was met by the familiar face of Qrow and the blond man that helped her drink the water.

Their eyes widened when they saw her and Qrow nearly dropped his coffee mug.

"Hey," Sera winced as she turned to lean her back against the doorframe. "You look like you've seen a Gheist."

"How- What the- What're you doing out of bed?" the blond asked. He seemed familiar, somehow, but Sera couldn't place it.

"Figured I could go for a run," Sera gave a breathless chuckle as she went to sit at the table that stood in the center of the kitchen.

"Kid, you shouldn't be up." Qrow told her. Sera sighed and rested her head in her hands, "Yeah, well, what can ya do? I wasn't going to just sit up there."

"Still. You were hurt pretty bad, you know." Qrow said, more gently this time.

"Miss?" The other man asked. "What's the last thing you remember?" Sera sighed and sat back in her chair, a hand still on her injury. She reached across the table and grabbed Qrow's coffee mug. Before he could stop her, she brought it to her lips and took a sip. Her eyes widened as she choked down the liquid. Her chest felt warm as the alcohol passed through her body. Qrow chuckled nervously, "Tried to warn you."

Sera gave him a look as she passed the mug back to him. Then she cleared her throat and sat back again, her arm rested on the back of the chair. "Well, we have a new Fall Maiden." She said, then went on to explain the events that happened after she entered the Maiden's chamber. Except for the part of her body changing into something she barely recognized. By the time she was finished, Qrow had finished his mug.

"Not good. Not good at all. If that woman is the new Fall Maiden, then we have a seriously bad situation on her hands." The blond said as he crossed his arms.

"What about what she said, about my 'parentage'?" Sera asked. Qrow and Tai looked at each other, then the Branwen twin sighed.

"Kid, it's not good. I'll tell you that."

"Well pitter patter, spit it out." Sera told him. She was feeling anxious about what the huntsman was about to tell her.

"You're gonna need this," the blond man said and placed a bottle of liquor in front of Qrow.

"Sera," Qrow said, and she perked up. That was the first time he addressed her using her name. "You remember when Ozpin and I told you about the Maidens, and the woman who wanted to destroy the entirety of the human race?"

Sera nodded, "Salem. Some evil chick."

"Right, right." Qrow said as he poured liquor into his mug. Sera was already piecing together what he was about to tell her. But she still refused to believe anything of the sort.

"Well, she's kinda…sorta…your mother," Qrow said carefully. Sera gazed down at the tablecloth. She didn't know how to feel. How else were you supposed to react when you're told that your mom is some evil bitch who wants to destroy everyone?

"Does she happen to have white hair, like mine, extremely pale skin, red eyes, black veins, and black sclera? Or the part of your eye that's white, if you didn't know." Sera asked, but she didn't say that last part all matter-of-factly like she normally would.

"How do you know that?" The blond man asked. Sera took a deep breath and looked down at her own hands, remembering seeing black veins and white skin.

"When I was fighting Cinder, I sort of… changed. It was more than just my eyes," She said, looking at Qrow. "My skin turned white as snow, my fingernails, some veins, and the whites of my eyes turned black. I can still feel the red in my irises. It felt…good. I wasn't tired anymore, and my aura was so strong that I could see it without flaring it on purpose. Cinder's fireball did nothing to me. I felt…powerful. Then I saw what I'd turned into, and the fight was over." Sera said, still gazing at her hands, as if they'd turn white any second now.

"That's…a bit of a shocker, if I'm being honest." The blond said.

Sera allowed herself a small smile, "That's an understatement." Then another thought emerged in her head. "What about the school? Is everyone okay?"

Qrow looked down sadly, "Vale's lost, kid. Grimm completely took it over. There was nothing we could do."

She then grabbed the tall bottle of liquor and knocked it back, taking a long swig of the bitter liquid and leaving the two huntsmen before her with wide eyes. More warmth spread throughout her chest as she sighed and returned the bottle. The alcohol burned her throat and sat uncomfortably in her stomach, but she didn't care.

Sera stared at the table below her. Beacon was…lost? What about all the students, faculty, and civilians? What about…

"Where is my team?" Sera asked sternly. Qrow sighed and sipped from his cup. "Ruby and Yang are upstairs. Blake… I dunno, she's gone. Weiss was taken back to Atlas." He said, then smirked. "She saved your life, y'know. Stopped your bleeding while I went to get help."

Sera's eyes widened at his words. Weiss saved her?

The amnesiac felt tears welling up in her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away. "Can I see Ruby and Yang?"

"It's best if you wait a bit for that. It's probably best that you don't tell them about your little, ah, 'transformation'," The blond told her. Sera's eyes turned to him, seeming to fully acknowledge him for the first time. "Sorry, who're you?"

"Oh! I'm sorry. I'm Tai. Taiyang Xiao Long." He replied.

"Yang's dad?" Sera presumed. Tai smiled, "And Ruby's." He said. Sera nodded and returned her gaze to the table. After a moment, Qrow spoke up, "Grabbed this for you before we left." She looked up to see the huntsman pull her suitcase from where it was leaning against a wall. It looked full, packed to its limits.

Sera's eyes widened as she saw the suitcase. Crimson Eclipse was strapped to the front of it. She looked at Qrow gratefully, "…Thank you, Qrow."

"Eh, no problem. Gotta tell you though, all those new clothes you bought? Nearly couldn't get em all in here." He joked and returned the suitcase to where it was.

Then Sera stood, wincing in pain. "How long am I to be here?"

"As long as it takes for you to feel yourself again," Tai approached her with a kind expression on his face. "I know what you've been through, and I know what you've done for my daughters. You're welcome to stay here for as long as it takes. Thank you, Sera. I…know that it hasn't been easy, trust me."

Sera regarded the man and stuck her hand out. "No, sir. Thank you for all your help. A pleasure to meet the father of the girls that welcomed me without question. Your daughters have been more than amazing for me during my time at Beacon."

Tai took her hand and shook it. After their hands returned to their sides, he told her, "You can go see them now, if you want. But… Yang… Isn't the same." His expression turned sad. A sense of worry immediately grew within Sera's chest.

"How?"

. . .

Sera peeked inside of Yang's bedroom to see the blond staring out the window beside her bed. The amnesiac stumbled inside, clutching her abdomen, and smiled at her teammate. That smile soon morphed into horror as she got a look at Yang's right side.

Sera fell to her knees as tears formed in her eyes. Yang turned her head towards the white head and allowed herself a smile.

"Hey."

"Hey," Sera said.

"Get off the floor, you're embarrasin' me." Yang chuckled sadly. Resisting the urge to cry out in pain, Sera somehow got to her feet and went to sit on the edge of Yang's bed.

"What…what happened?" Sera asked, her eyes on Yang's severed limb. The brawler's expression turned sad and she looked down.

"It was my own fault. I was stupid and should've seen that attack coming. Blake… Blake did her best." She replied.

A tear trailed down Sera's face as she took Yang's left hand into her own. "I'm so sorry," She said.

"Don't be sorry. It's nowhere close to being your fault." Yang told her sternly. Sera looked up to meet her eyes, "But if I just stayed with you—"

"Shh. You had other places to be. This…" She lifted her severed limb slightly. "Is my fault." Sera gripped her hand tighter and looked down. She couldn't meet her eyes.

"Enough about me," Yang chuckled dryly. "What happened to you?"

Sera laughed and wiped a tear away, "You should see the other guy."

"Do tell," Yang said. Sera gave her usual grin. She went on to once again describe her fight against Cinder, making sure to not mention the whole skin turning pale and eyes turning red thing.

Yang smiled or laughed when Sera described the more comical things during the fight, but her expression was dead serious when she got to, y'know, being stabbed.

"Holy Dust, Sera…" She said finally. Sera nodded, "Yeah. Crazy, right?" Yang met her eyes, "That's an understatement."

The amnesiac let out a laugh, "I said something similar earlier to your dad." Yang's eyes then widened, "Oh, Dust. You met my dad." She said.

"Yeah, he's pretty cool, actually." Sera responded. "Reminds me of you." A small smile played on Yang's lips as she looked at Sera.

"Yang, where did Blake go?" She asked. Yang's expression soured and she looked down, her fists clenching the blanket in her lap.

"Blake ran."

Sera blinked. "She what?"

"Blake. Ran. After this," She looked at her stump. "She took me back to the airships and ran. Poof. Without a trace."

"There has to be some sort of reason, she wouldn't just—" Sera reasoned.

"Well, she did!" Yang suddenly shouted; her eyes momentarily flashing red. Sera lowered her gaze to Yang's legs.

After a moment, the blond sighed. "Look, I'm not feeling too hot. I need some rest." Taking the hint, Sera got to her feet and made her way towards the door. Just before she left, she stopped and turned her head back to Yang. Taking in one last look of her blond teammate, Sera remembered what Yang had done just before they split up at Beacon. The white head left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Told you she wasn't doing too well," a voice said. Sera looked left to see Taiyang leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. "C'mon, I'll get you a cup of coffee."

Sera followed Tai back downstairs and sat at the kitchen table once more, the two of them sitting across from each other. Qrow stumbled in as well, taking the seat to Sera's right.

She was looking out the sliding glass door that led outside, holding a steaming mug of coffee with both hands. After nearly a full minute, she finally broke the silence.

"What's the plan?"

"For now? We regroup and lick our wounds. Figuratively, of course. Huntsmen and huntresses are spread thin, and with the CCT down, there's no way to communicate with others quickly enough. We wait. You need to take it easy. Get your strength back. You're no use to anyone with an injury like that, so just relax for a while." Tai told her.

Sera scowled. "I can't just sit here—"

"You can and you will." Qrow spoke up, his eyes narrowed at her. "Look kid, you took a hard hit. Now it's time to take it easy. You're in the same boat as Yang, just about. So both of you are going to stay here until you're better."

Sera rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair, leaving her mug on the table.

"Cinder's out there—" She began, but Qrow interrupted her again. "Injured even worse than you are, if my guess is correct." Sera only stared at him with a look of confusion on her face. Last time she checked, she was the one who got stabbed. Not Cinder Fall.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're not the only one who awakened something within you, Snowball. What else do you remember from the Tower?" Qrow asked with a small smirk. Sera racked her brain, trying to remember something that could tell her what he was telling her. Then her eyes slowly widened in realization.

"Ruby." She said, remembering her silver eyes giving off a blinding white light. Qrow nodded, "That's right. That dragon that was flying around? It's currently frozen as if it were made out of cement. Ruby's special. And not in a way that everyone says that a kid is 'special'. No. Those silver eyes of hers? That's a sure sign of being part of the Silver Eyed Warriors."

"The who to the what now?" Sera blinked. Tai chuckled.

"Silver eyes. Ancient warriors whose eyes gave them special powers. And Ruby's a descendant of them, just like her mom." Tai said.

"So basically…this adorable little girl is some sort of super huntress?" Sera asked, pointing at a picture of Ruby as a little girl. They nodded in response. The purple-eyed huntress sipped from her coffee. "Learn something new every day," She said as she stared into her mug.

"I know, trust me. She has a lot to live up to. And dark times ahead of her. But honestly?" Qrow said then took a swig from the bottle of liquor. "You two are our best shots at taking out Salem. You, her daughter. Ruby, a descendant of the Silver Eyes'."

Sera returned her gaze to the table. What has she gotten into? With a sigh, she stood, still holding her stomach. "I'm going for a walk."

"That's not the best idea. You're hurt." Tai told her, his fatherly instincts kicking in.

"Then I'll take Ruby with me, since Yang's in a mood." Sera said bitterly as she made her way towards the staircase, grabbing her suitcase with her free hand.

Tai started to go after her.

"Don't," Qrow said, halting him. The father of Ruby and Yang turned to him with an incredulous look. "This is a lot to take in. Let her go be with Ruby. After all, my nieces, your daughters, are the people she trusts most in the world."

Tai nodded with a defeated look. He gave one last look at Sera, climbing the stairs with a slightly pained expression.

The amnesiac went into the first bathroom she could find. She checked her reflection above the sink after splashing water into her face, staring into her own eyes as if they'd turn black and red at any second. Her eyes then scanned her own body, lowering to the spot where she'd been run through with a sword. She touched the wound gently and immediately winced.

With a sigh, she opened her suitcase and pulled out a pair of black pants, a black belt, a black tank top, her combat boots, and the red coat she wore during the Fall of Beacon. A narrow hole was located on the back of the leather, where Cinder's sword exited her body.

She quickly, and painfully, changed clothes. Once she was done, Sera stepped out of the bathroom and carefully made her way towards what she deduced was Ruby's room. If the roses decorating the door weren't any indication.

Gently knocking on the door, she cracked it open to see her team leader laying in her bed with an expression of longing. That expression changed when she saw who entered her bedroom.

"Sera!" Relief spread across her face. "You're finally awake!"

"I'm glad to see you too- Wait, what do you mean finally?" Sera asked as she entered the room.

"You've been out cold for nearly a week!" Ruby responded, getting up from her bed.

"What?" Sera demanded. "They never told me tha- Gurk!" Sera suddenly choked as Ruby wrapped her small arms around Sera's chest, squeezing the life out of her.
"Ow, ow! Ruby!" Sera exclaimed, her stab wound flaring with sharp pain.

"Sorry!" Ruby gasped and pulled away. "It's just… I've been worried." Sera smiled lightly, "Don't worry about it." Then it was her turn to pull Ruby into a hug, this time avoiding the painful injury in her gut. The team leader melted into the embrace and hugged her back.

After they separated, Sera took Ruby by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes, "So, what happened after you took off on that locker?"

The dark-haired girl went on to explain how she'd single handedly put an end to Roman Torchwick's schemes and used Weiss's glyphs to run up the side of Beacon Tower. During the story, they'd gone to sit on the edge of Ruby's bed.

"A griffon did what?" Sera asked. Ruby gave a small smile, "Ate him. In one bite. It was kinda terrifying."

"I bet! Perfect timing though, from what you say." Sera smiled warmly. She was glad that Ruby hadn't been hurt during the attack.

"So… What happened with you? How'd you, uh…" She asked, gesturing to Sera's midsection. With a muted sigh, the amnesiac explained for the third, and hopefully final, time what had happened. She told her about pushing Jaune and Pyrrha into a locker, fighting Cinder, her own…transformation, then finally, being stabbed.

Ruby's mouth hung open when she was finished. She tried to speak but couldn't quite get the words out. The young huntress took a deep breath to calm herself, then she exclaimed, "YOU DID A CONTANT TIME STOP THINGY?!" Sera laughed at the reminder of her little trick.

The amnesiac smiled and got to her feet. "Wanna go on a walk? I could use it. Plus you could show me around your stomping grounds."

Ruby's eyes lit up and she began to zip around the room at the speed of light. In no time at all, she was dressed in her usual red and black outfit, her hood sitting on her shoulders.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go!" Ruby suddenly took her hand and ran out of the door. Sera had to resist crying out because of her injury, but she held it in for Ruby's sake.

Yang watched out her window as Sera and Ruby walked down the dirt path leading to their house and into the green forest. The blond sighed and returned her gaze to her lap. She wished she wasn't feeling like this. The sense of sheer hopelessness and helplessness.

Then she looked out the window again to see Sera's grinning face disappear behind a tree. She gave a small smile as she remembered when she'd pulled the purple-eyed girl into a kiss.

Yang then reached under her nightstand and pulled out a small wooden case that she'd gotten from some weapon shop Coco told her about.

Maybe things will be better than she thought.

. . .

"Oh, this is where I found my first Grimm! Ooh this is the spot that Yang and I used to play at! And there's the lake! We used to swim in it all the time! And look over, that's…! Well, that's just a stump, but- Oh, our old tire swing!" Ruby rattled on, pulling Sera through parts of Patch's forest near their house. After reaching a certain clearing, the silver-eyed girl's expression turned sad. Sera raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"…Come on. I want you to meet someone." Ruby said with longing, then began to walk across the clearing. They reached a beautiful cliff side with a great view. But what caught Sera's eye was the lone grave marker with a rose engraved on the front.

Ruby approached it and gave a sad smile, Sera following her. Once they got close enough, the amnesiac could read the name. Summer Rose.

"Hey, mom," Ruby said. "It's been a while. A… a lot has happened in the past few days. But that's not the important right now." Then the young huntress looked back at Sera with a smile, a single tear trailing down her cheek. She returned her attention to the headstone, "I want you to meet Sera. The newest addition to team RWBYS. She's the strongest huntress I know, besides you of course. I know if you were here right now, you'd like her as much as I do. Tough as nails and she can back up the nonsense she spits out."

Sera had to resist saying, "Hey!" But she bit her tongue.

"Yang's not doing too well. She…she lost something, and I'm not sure if she'll come back from it. I… I miss you. You'd know what to do right now. I know Dad and Qrow miss you too, maybe more than I do. But don't worry, they have me and Yang to focus on. We'll make sure they don't get into any trouble." Ruby said with chuckle. "I gotta go now. But I promise I'll come back soon." Then Ruby turned away from the cliff and faced her teammate. Tears trailed down both sides of her face as she stepped away from the headstone and in the direction they came from.

Sera stepped forward, her eyes on the rose engraving. She sighed shakily and got to one knee. "Hi, Miss Rose. I'm Sera. Sera Purpura." At this, Ruby turned to look at her. Sera hasn't told anyone about Ozpin finding out who she was yet. "I woke up without knowing who I was sometime ago. Ruby's uncle found me and brought me to Beacon, where I met your daughters. Though I know Yang isn't technically yours. Point is, I didn't have anyone to turn to, but Ruby and Yang were there. Weiss and Blake, too, but you don't know them. I'm glad to know your family. Without them, I probably would've died in that forest. So… thank you. And don't worry, I'll watch out for both of your hot-headed daughters. Qrow too, but I might have to kick his butt to keep him in line." Sera chuckled, then stood.

Then something strange happened. A warm breeze blew through the small clearing, lightly blowing Sera's hair and her coat.

"I promise," She said, then turned away. Ruby was staring at her with an unclear expression. Sadness? Joy? It was hard to tell. But then the young huntress rushed forward and hugged Sera again.

"Thanks for that," She told her. Sera smiled down at the slightly shorter girl and hugged her back. "Hey, someone's gotta watch over you two when Qrow's not around."

They separated, and Ruby began to fidget slightly. "Sera, I've got something to tell you."

Sera raised an eyebrow, her eyes searching Ruby's face.

"So, JNPR had this idea about going to Mistral…"

Wow, that was a long chapter. Almost 20,000 words! Go me. But yeah, Pyrrha's still alive. After following how the show went for my JoJo RWBY crossover and receiving a few messages from readers who were sad that she still died in that, I decided I'd make it to where she lives in this one. For plot and such. Dunno how I'm gonna work around a few things though, like Jaune and Cinder's interaction in Haven or Jaune's general depression about losing Pyrrha.

I also considered having Sera be taken by the SDC because, y'know, there was an airship RIGHT THERE that could've taken her to better medical attention, but whatevs. I'll probably write an alternate thing about what would've happened if she did go with Weiss, cause I've been having a lot of ideas about how that'd go. Sera being forced to act prim and proper in Atlas? How long would that even last? She'd probably suplex Weiss's dad.

And yeah, I know that Magnus just sorta disappeared. I honestly couldn't figure out a way to have him back in that would improve the plot. After writing this though, I've had some ideas for him.

Also, yes, Yang kissed Sera. 'Ahhh cringe!' and all that. But whatever. It felt pretty wholesome to write, if I'm being honest. Now Yang has to get off her ass and get back to being her old self. I know neither of them really addressed the kiss when they were talking in Yang's room, but to be fair, there were more pressing matters at hand.

Some people are probably wondering about the mystery man that fought alongside Beacon's students during the school's final moments. You know, the one the prosthetic arms that kicked Mercury's tail. That's the character of my friend and dorm roommate, SirViper. You can find his stories on Wattpad and his account on iFunny under the same name. He's a pretty cool guy with good content, so I suggest checking him out. And if you want, you can see my iFunny under the name ShadowDio. Don't really care about people seeing mine, unless you just want a bunch of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure memes and jokes with people who are in my friend circle on there.

I don't really know if people enjoy this story or not. After seeing a review regarding Sera being a "Mary Sue" character, I've tried to change my writing style for her to make this more enjoyable. You've probably noticed that she's a bit more emotional now and she's not quite as anime-ish in combat. Like the bad kind where you do a bunch of damage to the person then wham! Back at full strength and a power boost. But I DID write her with the intention of her essentially being a mix of Dante and Joseph Joestar. Even though there's a fuck ton more Dante in her than Joseph.

So yeah, see you next chapter when Sera either stays in Patch with Yang, tries to hunt down Cinder, or goes with Ruby to Mistral. It'll probably be the latter, if I'm being honest. Not much plot in staying in Patch and trying to get her to find Cinder would be extremely difficult. For me, at least.