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.

9. Ready To Die

After the odd-looking Mistralian airship landed, Qrow was immediately rushed off by some paramedics. Luckily, they'd gotten there in time, and the huntsman made a full recovery. In the time that it took for Qrow to get back to his old, drunk self, they were informed that there was a small house waiting for the seven of them. Courtesy of the headmaster of Haven, Leonardo Lionheart.

The former students were ecstatic that they no longer had to sleep in the wilderness, and they rushed off to inspect the gifted house. They all spent several days recovering from their long journey while Qrow regained his strength. Sera loved to go on long walks through Mistral's shopping district and take in the sights of the lush green mountains. Ruby usually accompanied her.

Team JNPR spent most of their time together, as expected. But during the time that they had, Ren and Nora took the opportunity to explain just what the big deal was with the Nuckelavee and the village of Kuroyuri.

Finally, Qrow had gotten back to feeling like his old self. And on the next day, it was decided that the seven of them would go to meet Lionheart.

They trudged through the dimly lit alleys of Mistral until arriving at the top of the mountain. A large campus with wooden buildings resided on top.

"Finally!" Ruby cheered and quickened her pace. JNPR excitedly followed her, apparently in a hurry to get inside.

Sera's eyes darted back and forth, scanning their surroundings. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something felt…off.

"It's empty," Qrow muttered.

"Didn't you say he was gonna meet us out front?" Sera asked warily. Qrow nodded, "Yeah. Keep your guard up."

She didn't need to be told twice. She rested her hand on the grip of the revolver Yang gave to her. She hated that after nearly two months, she still hasn't come up with a name for it.

The seven of them continued inside, walking through the wooden corridors and trying to reach the center of the structure. At the end of the hallway, a large set of dark oak double doors stood. They approached it and Qrow tensed.

"Get ready," He said as he drew Harbinger. Ruby and the others pulled out their own weapons stood ready to attack.

Qrow took a step back and kicked the door swiftly, causing both doors to fly open loudly. And standing on the other side was man with graying hair and a lion tail protruding from his backside. He yelped in surprise and fell back.

Ruby and JNPR exclaimed and Sera stood with her sword raised, as if she were about to swing. Qrow blinked with his foot still raised, then lost his balance and fell on his rear.

"Qrow!" The man said incredulously. "You were supposed to meet me out front."

"Leo, what're you doing?!" Qrow exclaimed as he and the man got to their feet. The man, Leo, looked puzzled. He pulled a small pocket watch out of his vest and examined it, "Oh, my! Terribly sorry, old friend. Time seems to have slipped away from me."

They could hear Sera snicker, apparently amused by his choice of words.

"You're joking," Qrow said. "Where is everyone?"

"Oh, yes. I've given the faculty time off since class is not exactly in session—"

"What?!" Qrow exclaimed. "Who's guarding the relic?" Leonardo glanced at the students with a troubled expression, "Qrow, the children—"

"Already know. I filled them in."

"You… filled them in?" Leonardo asked.

"Well this is going swimmingly," Sera commented and shouldered Crimson Eclipse.

. . .

"You… You're the one who fought the new Maiden?" Leonardo Lionheart asked as he turned his head to Sera. She nodded grimly in response. They'd just told him, well, pretty much everything. Except about Sera being the child of Salem.

"Outstanding… And you're still here to tell the tale." He sat at his desk. Sera shrugged, "I almost wasn't." Then she pulled her shirt up to reveal the scar that now resided on her abdomen.

"But that's not all the news," Qrow said as he spun a chair to sit in it backwards, with his arms resting on the back of it. "I think I found her."

Leo's eyes widened, "After all this time?" Then Qrow nodded gravely.

"Whoa, back up. Found who?" Jaune asked. Qrow and Leo regarded the swordsman.

"I thought you filled them in," Leo stated. Qrow sighed, "Mostly filled in." Then he turned to look at the six students. "The Spring Maiden. I know where she is. Well, sort of. I know who she's with."

"Who?" Ruby asked. The huntsman's expression softened when he looked at his niece, "Raven."

Sera's eyes widened at that. "Seriously?" But JNPR just looked confused. "Wait, who's Raven?" Nora asked.

"His sister. Raven Branwen." Leonardo replied.

"Yang's mom," Sera added helpfully.

"Oh." Was all Pyrrha said.

"Yeah. That about sums it up," Qrow sighed. Leonardo cleared his throat, "Qrow, there's something urgent I'd like to discuss with you." The scythe wielder nodded, "Guys, head back to the house. I'll be there later."

They didn't want to, but Sera, Ruby, and team JNPR stood and exited the room. Clearly, this was important.

"What was that about?" Ruby asked after they got outside. They descended the short stairwell and headed across the campus.

"Beats me. Probably Salem," Sera shrugged. Ren put a hand to his chin, "Maybe. But if that were the case, he likely would've had you stay. Then again, he didn't tell him about your, uh, situation there."

Sera nodded. She got the feeling that Qrow didn't fully trust the headmaster. "Whatever, let's just get back like he said."

"I'll prepare a meal. Seems like we could all use it," Ren said with a light smile.

"Ren, you are awesome," Sera told him. The ninja looked pleased at that.

"Pancakes!" Nora cheered.

. . .

True to his word, Lie Ren cooked several towers of pancakes that nearly reached the ceiling. That was Nora taken care of. Now he would make some for the rest of his friends.

After several hours of sitting around and waiting, Sera decided she'd head into the market again. Maybe she'd see something she liked. Putting on her red coat, she grabbed her sword and exited the house, heading further into Mistral.

It took no time at all to reach the market. Sera had gotten pretty well acquainted with the layout of Mistral, despite its confusing architecture.

The amnesiac smiled as she approached her favorite vendor, a large tent set up with tables full of weapons and clothing.

"Whatcha got for me today, Lavender?" She asked as she stepped under the tent. A young woman with deep purple-colored hair and lavender eyes smiled kindly, "Nothing much. New shipment outerwear, if you're interested."

Sera grinned and went to the table that Lavender gestured to. "You know I am." As she inspected the new additions, the woman approached Sera. She wore a beach towel around her waist and a violet tank top that matched the flower in her hair. Lavender looked like she belonged on tropical island, with her beach clothes, tan skin, and hair that swept over her shoulders and smelled like, you guessed it, lavender.

The white-haired huntress held up a brown jacket with yellow trim. Her expression turned sad for a moment, because it reminded her of Yang. She glanced at the half of Ember Celica on her wrist, the gold metal glinting in the sunlight.

Lavender looked to where Sera's eyes were transfixed, "Beautiful bracelet. What is it, exactly?"

"A gift. From a friend," Sera responded and set the jacket back down. The merchant could sense the sadness coming from her newest friend/customer.

"Something happen to them?" She asked. Sera shook her head, "Not at all. Well, yeah. But she's doing all right, I hope. Still mad about being 'disarmed'." The amnesiac smiled to herself at the pun Yang loved to make. But Lavender just looked at her quizzically, not understanding at all.

"So," Sera broke the silence. "Is it in yet?"

Lavender's eyes lit up, "I'm glad you asked." Then she went behind a table and picked up a cardboard box with a rose design on the top. "Came in this morning."

Sera grinned. She'd put in an order for a gift for her teammates, once they reunited. She wanted to go ahead and Ruby hers, but ultimately decided she should wait for Yang, Blake, and Weiss. The look on their faces would be worth it.

Lavender opened the flaps of the box and dug around in it. After a moment, she said, "Ah, here we are. This is yours, I'm assuming." Then she pulled out a silver necklace with an Omega pendant that glinted in the light. Sera smiled and took the necklace and closed the box.

"Thanks, Lavender."

"No problem. Just keep coming by and buying my stuff," She smiled kindly. With an affirmative nod, Sera took the box and began to make her way back to the house.

After she left the tent and began to climb the stone staircase leading upward, a short figure watched her from afar. The person was a woman in an outfit entirely of black, with black hair to match and eyes greener than Pyrrha's. As soon as the amnesiac was out of sight, the short woman smirked, and her eyes morphed colors. One was brown, and the other was pink.

A while later, Sera returned to the house she and her friends were temporarily residing in. She entered the building and peeked around every corner to see if anyone was there. Luckily, she snuck to her room unseen. Hiding the box in her closet, Sera covered it with a blanket and went back to her bed.

With a sigh, she sat on the edge of the mattress and looked at her scroll. Her screen saver stared back at her: a picture of her and her team in a tree of all things. She smiled at the image. She saw herself, standing triumphantly with her hands on her hips on a thick branch. Then there was Ruby, hanging upside down from another branch. Weiss was standing at the base with her arms crossed and an annoyed look on her face at Yang, who was sticking her tongue out at the heiress while hanging from a branch beside Ruby with one arm. Blake was on all fours on a branch just below Sera, poised like a cat.

Her eyes flicked upward back to herself in the picture. All confident with a smirk on her face. She was wearing her old red tank top, so her Omega and purple flower tattoos were visible. After a quick glance to the digital clock, she winced at just how late it was now. She knew she shouldn't have stopped at that soda machine for her favorite grape-flavored concoction.

Sera sighed and set the scroll down on her nightstand and removed her coat. The red leather was soft to the touch, and she folded it up and set it a chair near the bed. After switching the light off, she laid back and rested her arms behind her head, staring up at the ceiling.

After kicking her boots off and crossing her ankles, she allowed her eyes to close…only for someone to knock on her door.

Her eyes shot open, "Come in." The door cracked open and Ruby poked her head in.

"Oh! Sorry." She jumped slightly. Sera sat up and gave a muted sigh, "No problem. What's up Rubes?"

The scythe wielder stepped in and closed the door behind her. "I just wanted to talk to you about our talk with Professor Lionheart today."

Sera blinked. "What about it?" Ruby gave a small sigh, "I dunno. But it was weird, right? Something just felt…off."

The amnesiac nodded, "I was thinking the same. Like, did you see the way he looked at us when he first saw us?"

Ruby shook her head and smiled shyly. "Guess I was too shocked by, well, you know." Sera sat up and patted the mattress next to her. Ruby sat down and looked at her friend with a slightly worried expression on her face.

"He looked at us like… like he knew who we were already. I don't like it. I know Qrow trusted him, but—"

"Trusted? Past tense?" Ruby asked. Sera nodded, "Yeah. He thinks something's up too. But we can't quite put our finger on it. That's why we didn't mention, well, certain aspects of me."

"Oh, right. Kinda forget about that sometimes."

Sera raised her eyebrow. "The whole 'daughter of an evil immortal witch' thing?" Then Ruby nodded, embarrassed. "It's just… I've known you for long enough to know that you're good. Like, there's nothing to worry about. So yeah, my first thought isn't 'omg this chick has evilness in her veins'."

Sera smiled at her childlike team leader. "I appreciate that, Rubes. More than you know."

The silver-eyed girl nodded, "And I appreciate, you know, what you said back there. At my mom's grave. And, well, doing what you did to help Yang."

"How do you feel about that, by the way? We haven't exactly talked about that, me and Yang."

Ruby was silent for a terrible moment, then she took a deep breath and smiled. "Well, while it was certainly surprising, I'm not against it. Yang seems happier around you, especially after…"

Ruby didn't need to finish her sentence. Sera already knew she meant 'after losing her arm'.

The amnesiac smiled and pulled Ruby into a hug. After a small yelp, Ruby smiled and hugged back.

"Thanks, Ruby. I don't exactly know how that's going to end up, but… I do like Yang. She's great, when she's not being obnoxious."

After they separated, Ruby gave a grin, "Yeah, well, welcome to the thing that is Yang."

Sera smirked and picked up her scroll, focusing on the image of Yang sticking her tongue out. "She's a dork."

Ruby stood. "Definitely. But I'll, uh, get out of your hair. I can tell you're tired." And it was true. The amnesiac's eyes felt heavy and she was now having a harder time focusing on what Ruby was saying.

"No arguments here. Goodnight, Ruby." Sera yawned. Ruby smiled and opened the door, "Night, Sera. Now if you'll excuse me, Jaune said he picked up the latest copy of Red vs. Blue."

Sera only nodded and laid back, resting her head on the extremely soft pillow. Ruby grinned again and closed the door, leaving Sera to her own devices.

. . .

Dreams for Sera suck. They never feel like dreams, just really bad visions that felt extremely real. This one was no different. She saw the same man from before, hanging from his arms in the stone room. His head was hung low and his black hair covered his eyes, but Sera knew what they looked like: an extremely familiar shade of violet.

A heavy door opened, and footsteps could be heard approaching. The man didn't move.

Sera turned her head, and gasped. Standing before her was a very tall and pale woman with white hair in an ornate design. But the thing that got her was the piercing red eyes that seemed to be looking right at her.

Salem looked at the man with disgust, as if she couldn't stand the sight of him.

"Where is she?"

"I told you," The man said in a deep and gruff voice. "I don't know."

"That's what you said before, then Cinder overheard you muttering to yourself about a fight against a Nuckelavee."

Sera caught her breath. She deduced that they were talking about her. She was beginning to form her own uncomfortable conclusions about the chained man before her.

He was well built, with rippling muscles and a large frame. If he were standing up straight, she knew he'd be giant.

The man looked up, pure hatred in his eyes at the pale immortal. He scowled, but his expression softened when he noticed something else. His violet eyes settled right where Sera stood, and she knew that he saw her.

He looked sad, as if his eyes were full of regret. Then as quickly as he saw her, he turned his attention back to Salem. "And I'll tell you again: I don't know where she is. How could I?"

Salem smirked at that, "We both know you have your ways. But if you refuse to talk…" She raised a hand, and fear flashed across the man's face. Black and purple energy that resembled electricity arced to his body. The man groaned and winced, but he did not cry out.

Sera didn't know why his aura wasn't activating. Maybe he was too weak. Nonetheless, Salem smiled coldly as her power lit up the man's body. Sera wanted to cry out, to tell her to stop, but it wouldn't do any good. She was in some sort of sci-fi astral projection form.

The man's groan of pain was the last thing she heard before sitting bolt upright in bed. She panted heavily and stared ahead at the wall. After recollecting herself, she picked up her scroll and turned on the screen. Five in the morning.

She groaned and laid back again. After deciding to just stay up, she stared at the ceiling with a million questions floating through her mind. Who was that man? Why was he chained up? Her mother… What is her connection to him? Why…why does he have the same color eyes as Sera?

Sera sighed and looked at her scroll again—at the picture of her team. She'd have to tell Qrow about this later. Until then, she keyed up her music playlist to tune out her thoughts. After a moment, a slow-paced song played through the speakers.

Great, she thought. I hit 'shuffle' and the first thing that comes on is The Sound of Silence.

With another groan, she turned over and rested her head on her arm. Well, maybe I can afford just a few more hours of sleep…

. . .

The sounds of fighting roused her from sleep. She sat up immediately and looked around. She could hear the sound of two people trading blows and grunting. Sera jumped out of bed, grabbed Crimson Eclipse, then ran towards the noise coming from outside.

She burst out the back door with her sword raised to find Ruby fist fighting a short boy with dark hair and olive skin. Before she could register why Ruby didn't have Crescent Rose or the way they were fighting, the amnesiac rushed forward to attack the boy.

She let out a shout as she swung her weapon, and the boy yelped and ducked.

"Sera! What are you doing?!" Ruby exclaimed. Sera blinked and looked back at her, "Saving your life?"

Then team JNPR joined them with startled expressions. Slowly, Sera pieced together what was happening. They were sparring, hand-to-hand.

The purple-eyed huntress looked down at the boy, who had an extremely worried look on his face. Freckles splashed across his face and his eyes were a mix of green and brown. He wore ragged clothes, like a farm hand would wear.

"Sorry," Sera said, then helped the boy up. "And you are…?"

Then something weird happened. The boy's eyes flashed green, and his expression morphed to one of sadness and shame.

"Hello, Miss Purpura."

Sera blinked and dropped her sword, which impaled in the ground. "Ozpin?" She said shakily. She recognized that voice from anywhere. Plus, the only other people that knew her last name were Ruby, Qrow, Tai, and Yang.

"It's been some time," He replied. Sera stumbled slightly, "How did-? Who are-? When-? What's going on?"

Ozpin's expression turned slightly playful. "Come, I believe this is something that's best explained inside."

. . .

"So, basically, you're possessing this kid." Sera shifted uncomfortably on a couch. When she charged out, she forgot that she was still wearing her clothes from yesterday, so now she was dressed in a pair of black pants, her boots, and a white T-shirt.

"Well, yes and no." Ozpin, who was now also introduced as Oscar said.

"But you are," Sera insisted.

"Pretty much, yeah," Jaune answered. After another moment, Sera asked, "Where's Qrow?"

"Qrow is… out looking for huntsmen. He may not return for some time," Ozpin said. Sera rolled her violet eyes, "Great."

"I am sorry about what you went through at Beacon. It was not my intention for any of this to happen." Ozpin said sadly. Sera sighed, "I believe you. None of the blame's on you. It's Cinder's fault… and Salem's."

Ozpin nodded, "I thank you for that. And I see that Qrow went ahead and informed you all of Salem. And her connection to Sera here."

Everyone nodded. Then Sera spoke up, "About that…" She went on to retell the events of her dream to her old headmaster and friends.

Ozpin brought a hand to his chin, "Hmph. Very strange, indeed. I have no idea what to make of that. It certainly doesn't seem good." But Sera could tell something was off. He wasn't telling her everything. He seemed to do that a lot.

"Yeah… Well. What were you doing with Ruby outside?" Sera tried to change the subject. Ozpin gave a small smile, "Miss Rose is in need of hand-to-hand combat training."

"Because she can't fight unless she has Crescent Rose?"

"Precisely."

"Hey!" Ruby huffed indignantly.

Sera managed a smile and turned back to Ozpin. "So… You're back, then. What do we do now, professor?"

"For now, we wait. As I said before, Qrow is out searching for ally huntsman. Once he returns, we will 'compare notes,' if you will, with them. Hopefully we can reach a conclusion for a game plan." Ozpin clasped his cane in his hands.

"Lionheart's acting funny," Sera blurted. "Sorry. But when we all had our talk with him, he seemed…off. Distracted. Worried. Scared even."

Ozpin nodded, "Qrow informed me before he left. It does seem strange. Perhaps he was nervous to be in the presence of some survivors of Beacon." Then the professor did something odd. He winked at Sera with knowing expression. She understood immediately: don't let the others know yet. She narrowed her eyebrows at the headmaster, then he shot her a pleading look. Sera rolled her eyes and sat back, but she silently agreed.

"Maybe so," Sera said. "Maybe Ruby made him nervous with her hyperactivity."

"Hey!" Ruby cried, but the huntsmen and huntresses couldn't help but crack a smile. Pyrrha was paying attention to every little detail in the conversation. Even the looks that Ozpin and Sera gave each other. But she stayed silent.

"Now," Ozpin stood. "I do believe it's time for breakfast. Nora mentioned that Ren had excellent cooking skills." He said with a sly smirk, then his eyes flashed green again. Ozpin stumbled and caught his breath.

Sera blinked, "Ozpin?"

"Oscar," Jaune corrected. Sera's eyes widened slightly, "Right, right. Possession."

Oscar chuckled nervously and edged away from the group. Ren sighed and tied his 'Please do nothing to the cook' apron around his waist. "Better get started," He mumbled, then trudged off to the kitchen.

Sera smirked and stood. She was going to freshen up for the day, since she didn't get the chance earlier. After the amnesiac left, everyone sat in anticipation for Ren to fix up some of his famous pancakes. The prospect of tasting the golden-brown discs was enough to shake Pyrrha away from her thoughts of what Sera and Ozpin had said.

Minutes later, Sera stepped out of the bathroom with wet hair and in her old outfit: stylish white jacket and pants, purple tube top, and black boots. A purple belt with her Omega buckle rested around her waist, along with her gun belt and her half of Ember Celica.

After returning to her friends, Ruby grinned, "Now that brings back memories."

Sera shrugged, "Kinda missed it."

"Those colors suit you better anyway," Nora said with a mouth full of pancakes. "Cause of your hair and stuff."

"Got it," Sera nodded and went to take a seat between Oscar and Pyrrha. The Spartan was giving her sideways glances, but she ignored it. She was too transfixed on the stack of cakes in front of her.

. . .

Yang had rescued Weiss from Raven Branwen by now. They were in her camp right this moment, discussing, well, what they discussed. Qrow, Salem, Ozpin.

Blake was planning to stop the White Fang's invasion with Sun and her parents. They would depart soon and be in Mistral by tomorrow evening. The time of Adam's invasion.

Meanwhile, Sera was strolling through Mistral again. After a big breakfast, she thought it best to walk it all off. She promised to be back by noon, and left with nothing but what she'd changed into, including the black and silver revolver on her hip. She also needed to hurry and think of a name for the thing. Calling it 'my gun' was getting tiresome. And so, she was kicking a rock down an alley, trying to come up with a cool name for her weapon.

"Stormbreaker? No. Blue Rose? Nah, nothing about me is blue. Red Queen? Nah, too Alice In Wonderland-y. Ebony? Well, it is black, but… no." Then her thoughts turned to her sword, Crimson Eclipse. A lightbulb went off in her head, and she drew the revolver to inspect it. Its black metal and silver engravings shone in the dim light. Sera grinned, "Silver Linings."

Satisfied with her idea, she holstered the newly named weapon. Then Sera halted. Her eyes glanced to either side of her rapidly, not daring to turn her head yet. "Who's there?" She called.

Footsteps were heard from behind her. The amnesiac spun and drew Silver Linings, aiming it down the narrow alley. And what she saw was rather startling. Not because she saw a threat, but seemingly the complete opposite.

An extremely short girl with pink and brown hair approached her. She wore white, pink, and brown clothes, and a pink parasol was rested on her shoulder. But her eyes are really what unsettled Sera. One was pink and the other was brown.

"Oh, it's just a girl. Sorry about that," Sera sighed and holstered her weapon. The girl smiled and kept walking.

"What're you doing in a place like this?" Sera asked. No answer. The short girl was now directly in front of her, sizing her up. She circled around Sera with an amused smile.

The amnesiac just looked at the girl with a bewildered expression. Who was this chick, and why was she so weird?

"Uh…" Sera trailed off as the ice cream-colored girl stood in front of her again. "Don't you talk?"

The girl shook her head innocently. But there was something in her eyes…something sinister. Sera slowly reached for Silver Linings while trying to maintain her calm appearance.

"So who're you?" Sera asked. The girl's pink and brown eyes lit up, and she turned and pointed her parasol to the ground. After closing it, she pressed its tip against the dirty concrete and began to trace in the mud and grime. Sera raised and eyebrow at what she was doing, but soon enough, a word was comprehensible on the ground: Neo.

"Your name's Neo?" Sera asked, her guard lowering slightly. Neo nodded her head enthusiastically.

"All right, well, Neo, are you lost or something?"

Neo shrugged dejectedly.

"Are you mute?" Sera raised her eyebrows.

Neo nodded sadly.

"Ah, well that's sad. What's a girl like you doing around here?" Sera asked. Neo put a hand to her chin, as if thinking. Then she snapped her fingers as if she had an idea. She held her palm and fingers flat and put it to her forehead as if she were saluting, then began to scan the horizon.

"You're looking for someone?" Sera guessed. Neo nodded her head rapidly. "Who're you looking for?" the amnesiac asked. The much shorter girl then brought out her scroll, and Sera's heart stopped. Neo was showing her a picture of Cinder Fall.

Sera immediately drew her weapon and raised it. Neo's expression became distressed and she ducked for cover.

"How do you know her?" she demanded, a wild light in her eyes. Neo cautiously stood and pointed her index finger, then slid it across her neck in the widely known 'kill' sign.

"You…want to kill her?" Sera asked, never lowering Silver Linings. Neo nodded her head rapidly again and raised her hands.

"Why?"

Then Neo's expression saddened. She pulled out a black and red bowler hat and held it close to her chest.

"She…got someone you know killed?" Sera asked gently. Neo nodded. The amnesiac moistened her lips, "Was it during the Fall of Beacon?"

She nodded again.

Sera sighed and reluctantly holstered her weapon. "Just who are you?"

. . .

Ruby Rose grinned as she yelled in triumph. "I call the Mistralian forces to seize the remainder of your land!"

Nora groaned in outrage and slammed her forehead onto the table. They were playing 'Remnant', the same board game that team RWBY played in the library during the beginning of their second semester.

"I'm back~! And I brought someone!" a familiar voice called out. Ruby's eyes lit up, "Sera! You're just in time to witness my great vicor-AHH!" Then the scythe wielder zipped by in a flurry of rose petals, grabbed Crescent Rose, and prepared to swing the thing in Sera's direction.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH HER?!" Ruby demanded. Everyone else present only blinked at the younger girl's odd behavior. Standing beside Sera was none other than Neo.
"What are you talking about? I just found this girl in town, and apparently she wants to take down Cinder just as much as us."

Neo only stood in silence and stared at Ruby, the girl that she and Roman fought in the sky. In a way, she felt that this silver-eyed girl was just as guilty as Cinder, but…these people could lead her right to the Fall Maiden.

The mute girl had a plan in play. She held Cinder mostly responsible for Roman, because if not for her awful planning, he wouldn't have been up on that Atlesian airship in the first place. Her best bet for now was to use these people for her own gain.

"She's with Cinder! She fought me in Beacon! She fought Yang back under Mountain Glenn! She's evil!" Ruby cried. Sera only turned to look down at the ice cream girl, who smiled innocently and put on a fierce pair of puppy dog eyes.

"You can't be serious. Look at her." Sera chuckled. Ruby didn't lower her weapon. Team JNPR was being quiet, surprisingly. Oscar was silently, and nervously, observing.

"Sera. Please. She's with Cinder," Ruby pleaded. Sera sighed, "No, she's not. Look," the amnesiac then pulled out her scroll, which had a wall of text on the screen. "I had her type it out, since she can't talk. She was with Roman Torchwick, but now that he's dead, she holds Cinder responsible. She thought we could help lead her to Cinder, that's why she approached me."

"And you believe that?" Ruby demanded. Sera took a deep breath. She knew it was a bad idea. "I believe that we need all the help we can get, Rubes. Sure, this girl was on the other side. And no, I don't fully trust her—"

Neo's head turned to look up at Sera with a hurt expression.

"—but she could be a valuable asset for taking down Cinder. Look, I don't know if you noticed, but this woman is a Maiden, and it's not gonna be easy to fight her. We need help."

Tears formed in Ruby's eyes, and Sera was sorry for that, but her mind wouldn't be changed. Ruby hung her head low and dropped her scythe. "Fine. Don't believe me. But when, not if, when she betrays us, just know that it's on you."

Then Ruby stomped off to her room and slammed the door. Sera sighed and leaned against the wall.

"I'll go check on her," Nora volunteered, then left to do just that. The rest of JNPR went in different directions to do their own activities. Ren was cleaning the kitchen while Pyrrha and Jaune went out to practice swordplay.

"C'mon, Neo. Ruby'll come around eventually. You just gotta prove you're with us." Sera said and went to sit on the couch. Neo nodded earnestly and followed her. After they sat down, Oscar—no, Ozpin spoke up. "Do you believe this is a wise decision? Perhaps Ruby is right—this girl isn't to be trusted."

"I stand by what I said. We need help." Sera affirmed. Ozpin took a deep breath, "I just hope you know what you're doing. I've heard of this woman, you know. And what I've heard is…not pleasant."

Neo just blinked and switched from looking between the two as they talked.

"What can I say? Maybe we could use a little 'unpleasant' right about now," Sera smirked. "Fight fire with fire."

"Perhaps you're right. But like Miss Rose said: if this woman betrays us, it's your head. I hope you know that."

Sera gulped, "I do. But…there's something about Neo that seems like she'd be good in the fight against them."

Ozpin only nodded gravely. "If you think so, I'll take your word for it. Like you said, we need all the help we can get now." The amnesiac nodded and stood, "Thanks, professor. It's good to have you back by the way." She smiled before turning to head to her room.

The headmaster suppressed a smile, then his eyes flashed green, and Oscar was back.

Neo followed Sera, since she was the only one who seemed to want her there. The ice cream girl found Sera sitting on her bed with her legs crossed, looking down at the brightly lit scroll in her lap.

"Oh, hey Neo. Not feeling as welcomed as you thought?" Sera looked up. Neo shrugged. "Yeah. Ruby's pretty pissed. But she'll get over it. You just gotta do something to prove yourself, y'know?"

Neo shrugged again.

"…You don't talk much, do you?"

The shorter girl glared at Sera, who smiled in response.

The next hour or so passed rather quickly. Sera decided to give Neo the rundown of her team and JNPR. Neo listened in silence and nodded occasionally to signify that she was still paying attention. But during most key points during their "conversation", Neo's eyes lit up with what Sera assumed was admiration. The amnesiac had just finished her story on the Hydra that she and Qrow slayed when someone knocked on the door, and Ren poked his head in, "Word from Qrow. He'll be back tonight."

"Thanks Ren. Ruby still mad?" Sera asked, genuinely worried. Ren cast his eyes down, "Well, it's not good."

Sera took a deep breath, "I thought not. Be out in a minute?" Then Ren nodded, and closed the door, leaving them alone again.

Neo picked up her scroll and began to type madly at the keyboard, then she turned the device around for Sera to see.

Your fight against Cinder?

Sera raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Figured you'd wanna know about that. All right, so it all started when she thought she could take me on…" Then she went on to retell the events of her fight against the Fall Maiden, choosing to leave out the details of her 'transformation,' as per usual.

By the time she was finished, Neo looked a little shocked. She began to type again. You must be quite the fighter to last so long against her.

"Well, I don't mean to brag, but a bit," Sera smirked. Then Neo's expression turned shameful.

Saw you in Beacon, at the colosseum.

"What? Nah, no way. I would've recognized you-uhhh?" As she spoke, Neo closed her eyes momentarily, and when she opened them, they were green. Her hair also changed to black.

"HOW'D YOU DO THAT?" Sera jumped to her feet on the bed. Neo smiled awkwardly. Just can. I can change my eye and hair color to what I want. As if to prove her point, Neo's hair turned to the color of snow and her eyes changed to violet.

Sera gasped and returned to a sitting position, "That's totally cool! I wish I could do something like that."

Neo smiled awkwardly again and rubbed the back of her neck. Then a pleasant aroma filled their nostrils: food cooking. Sera looked past Neo at the door, "What say we investigate?"

The ice cream girl smiled in response and got to her feet.

Sera and Neo exited the bedroom and entered the living room and kitchen. Ruby and Nora were slicing carrots and dumping them into a large pot filled with broth and other vegetables.

Movement caught Ruby's eye, and she turned to find the two looking at her with awkward expressions. Ruby scowled and went back to her carrots, "Great, she's looking like Sera now."

Neo frowned and made her hair and eyes return to normal. Sera patted the short girl's back, then approached her teammate.

"Hey Ruby."

"Hey. Enjoy yourself with the enemy?" She said distastefully. Sera frowned, "You don't have to be like that, you know. She's not exactly trying to actively kill us."

"Just waiting for the right moment, likely." Ruby scowled at the cutting board under her hands.
"You sound like Weiss," Sera blurted. The scythe wielder actually smiled at that.

"How many people do you think Qrow's bringing?" Nora asked as she popped a sliced carrot into her mouth.

"I don't know. But hopefully a certain pair of our friends aren't at each other's throats all night." Ren announced.

DA-DING

The doorbell echoed through the small house. "I'll get it!" Ruby said, momentarily forgetting about Neo and Sera. Ruby picked up a platter with cups of tea and walked into the living room.

Then the sound of glass shattering was heard. Nora, Ren, Sera, and Neo glanced at each other. Sera drew Silver Linings and stepped went after Ruby with her eyes narrowed. Then her expression immediately softened at what she saw: Qrow, with Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long.

Ruby was standing with her mouth gaping and her arms hung at her sides. Yang smirked at Sera and rested her yellow hand on her hip. Wait- yellow hand? Sure enough, right where her arm used to be was a yellow prosthetic. Sera did a double take but was immediately met by the blond wrapping her in a hug. Sera smiled and hugged back. Yang's hair smelled like lemon soap and lavender.

"See you're still in one piece," Yang told her and pulled away. Sera gave her a lopsided grin, "C'mon, this is me we're talking about."

"Yang! Weiss! Wh-what're you doing here?" Ruby asked, finally getting over her initial shock. Weiss smiled, "Long, long story."

Then Ruby lunged forward and tackled the former heiress to the floor, cackling maniacally while her legs kicked in the air. Normally, Weiss would've shoved her off and exploded, but she missed her teammates. Even Ruby.

"Yeah- great to see you too, Ruby. Can you let me up now?" Weiss said playfully. Yang smiled, then someone besides team JNPR stepped into view. Yang's eyes narrowed to inspect the newcomer, and needless to say, what came next was not pretty.

Yang's eyes flashed red and she lunged Neo without warning. Sera could only turn to see the blonde's fist sail at the short girl. Neo only smirked and easily dodged the attack.

"Yang, wait!" Sera exclaimed, but it was too late. She was in full Super Saiyan mode now. The blond threw punch after punch at the much shorter girl, and Neo evaded them easily with some extra-sassy hip movements.

"Yang!" Sera grabbed her arm, and the brawler turned to glare at her, Yang's eyes blazing. The amnesiac glared at her sternly and held her fist back. After a moment, Yang's eyes slowly returned to lilac and her hair died down.

"What," Yang pointed at Neo. "Is she doing here?"

"I'm still wondering that," Ruby mumbled and crossed her arms.

"She's a friend. She wants to take down Cinder." Sera replied calmly. Yang yanked her arm out of Sera's grip.

"She tried to kill me!"

"I know. Ruby made that very clear."

"And you four?" Yang turned to JNPR, who had been silently watching. "You're okay with this?"

"We're… reluctant about it," Jaune admitted.

"But Sera's right. We need help if there's a fight," Pyrrha added. The amnesiac nodded gratefully. Yang groaned angrily and punched the wall beside Neo.

"Why? We have enough people for two whole teams, plus Qrow and… this kid," Weiss gestured to Oscar.

"Trust me," Sera turned to Weiss. "She can fend us off, especially if she has help. Which she most likely will, because she's smart. The pride of having Maiden powers isn't going to get in the way of her tact."

Yang sighed. If anyone would know, it's Sera. She's the only one here who's fought Cinder. Well, besides Ozpin. But Yang and Weiss didn't know about Oz yet. Yet.

"Yes, well, I fear Sera's correct. Cinder will come with allies, and any help will be greatly appreciated." 'Oscar' said. Yang and Weiss turned to look at the much younger boy with quizzical expressions.

"And just who are you?" Weiss asked in her heiress voice.

"Oh, boy. Here we go," Qrow sighed.

Fifteen minutes later, everyone was seated in the living room to hear Ozpin's explanation, save for the headmaster, Qrow, and Sera. And Neo, but she was really just standing off to the side, out of view. Ozpin had told them everything. The Maidens, Salem, and the imminent threat.

"You're kidding," Weiss said at last.

"Afraid not, Ice Queen," Sera crossed her arms. Yang remained silent.

"So basically, we have a war on our hands," the Schnee continued. Qrow nodded.

"Is that basically what your mother told you, Miss Xiao Long?" Ozpin turned his gaze to Yang.

"Wait, what? Her mother?" Sera asked.

"Oh, yeah. Yang and Weiss had a run-in with Raven," Qrow replied.

"Glad people tell me stuff," Sera grumbled. No one volunteered to tell her that Yang and Weiss had just gotten there.

"You forgot two things," Yang finally spoke up. Her lilac eyes turned to Sera, "You forgot to tell them about your mo-"

"Up bup bup! Later," Sera interrupted. Yang blinked. "…Right. Well the second thing is that you forgot to tell us what you did to Qrow and Raven," the brawler returned her eyes to Ozpin.

"What?" Ruby asked. It was the first time she'd spoken since Ozpin's explanation.

Then Ozpin went on to tell them that he'd given Raven and Qrow the ability to turn into birds.

"…You what?" Sera asked, dumbfounded. Qrow chuckled nervously.

"Why would you do that? What kind of person—" Yang demanded.

"Yang, that's enough. We chose this," Qrow interrupted.

"It's still a little…odd," Pyrrha added.

"SO YOU'RE TELLING ME I WAS RIGHT TO CALL YOU 'BIRD BRAIN'?!" Sera exclaimed. Qrow only snickered.

"…Back to the matter at hand," Ozpin chuckled.

One rest of a boring conversation later…

After that ended, all the students proceeded to eat the dinner that Ren, Nora, and Ruby worked so hard to prepare. They all joked and swapped stories, but there was tension between Sera, Ruby, and Yang. Neo wasn't present for the dinner. She went to sit alone in the living room and wait. Afterwards, everyone dispersed to head to bed. That talk lasted well into the night, and if Qrow and Ozpin were right, they'd need their rest for tomorrow. Qrow received word from Lionheart that he'd be able to organize a party to retrieve the Spring Maiden, and that immediately tipped the huntsman and headmaster off. It seems that Lionheart has betrayed them after all, if their suspicions were correct.

Sera had just closed the door to her bedroom when someone caused it to fly open again. Yang marched in and glared at Sera, "What were you thinking?" She demanded.

The amnesiac only stared at her until she realized what she'd meant. "Again, we need help, Yang. I realize that you and Neo have a 'past', but Cinder isn't an easy opponent.

"Oh, enough about Cinder! I'm tired of hearing from you how 'strong and powerful' she is! You're just scared to face her again, so you're trying to get more and more people to fight her so you don't have to!"

Sera blinked. Then she got angry. "Me? Scared? Are you kidding! I just want to end her already so she won't do what she did in Beacon again! What's up with you?"

Yang's eyes flashed red, then Sera realized something. Ruby had told her what happened with Yang and Neo on the train, and she saw it in action when Yang lashed out at the ice cream colored girl.

"You're scared of her. She beat you like it was nothing, and you're still mad about it. Of course, you are," Sera scoffed. "You're too prideful to let something like that go."

Yang clenched her fists tightly. Her anger seemed to die down, being replaced by what Sera recognized as shame. "You have no idea what it's like…" Her voice was low and her eyes returned to lilac.

"Yes, I do. You were partly right, you know. I don't want to fight Cinder. But I will. To protect my friends. To protect you." Sera put a hand on her shoulder. Yang managed to smile lightly, putting a hand over Sera's.

"I missed you, dork," Sera smiled. Yang immediately embraced her and held the amnesiac tightly, crushing her chest. Sera made choking sound, but Yang didn't relent. "I missed you too, Snowball."

Then a knock came to the open door. They turned to see Neo standing there with an embarrassed expression on her face. Sera looked to Yang, as if for permission, and the brawler gave a reluctant nod.

"Come on in, Neo," Sera waved. Neo nodded and stepped in. "Now, you two make up."

Yang rolled her eyes and scoffed. After a moment, she sighed and met Neo's multicolored eyes. "When you prove that you're with us, maybe I'll start trusting you. I don't forgive you for working with Torchwick—"

Neo stiffened at the mention of Roman.

"—but I'll allow you to fight with us." Then Neo nodded gratefully.

"But," Yang said, stepping close to Neo and allowing her eyes to turn red. "If you ever hurt anyone I care about, I'll kill you."

Neo paled slightly, but she nodded. Yang gestured towards the door with her chin, and Neo fled the room.

"…That was kinda mean," Sera noted.

Yang shrugged, "I meant it. I'm not taking anymore chances." Sera nodded and ran a hand through her hair, "Yeah, but—"

She was interrupted when Yang dashed forward and gripped her shoulders while pressing forward. The kiss lasted at least ten seconds, at least, and when it was over, Sera was lightheaded.

"Uh…"

Yang grinned, "Come on, Snowball. We have a busy day tomorrow." Then she turned and went to the door, giving the amnesiac one last glance. "See you in the morning."

Sera nodded absently. "Uh-duh." With a final grin, Yang exited the bedroom.

. . .

Ruby, Weiss, and Yang sat on the ground outside, watching the sun rise over the horizon the next morning. They were supposed to be getting ready to head to Haven, possibly for a fight, but until then the three were content to watch the sky turn from orange to blue.

"Beautiful…" Weiss commented. Yang nodded and rested her prosthetic arm onto her knee. "You should see the sunrise in Patch."

Back inside the house, Sera was watching her teammates with a longing expression. She knew that Yang had reluctantly forgiven her for the whole Neo situation, but Ruby likely didn't, and she didn't know how Weiss felt.

Someone tapped on her shoulder, and the amnesiac turned to see the ice cream colored girl looking up at her.

"Speak of the devil," Sera huffed. Neo tilted her head slightly, as if curious.

"Never mind. What's up?" Sera turned to her. Neo brought up her scroll to reveal a pre-typed message. Sera read it aloud, "Supposed to be getting ready for a battle." Then the amnesiac scowled slightly at the short girl's sass. "That's like, hours away. Don't get your jimmies in a bunch," Sera crossed her arms.

Neo's eyebrows furrowed and she began to type.

Still gonna be dangerous.

"I know, Miss Vanilla. But it's not like it takes long to get gear together."

Neo rolled her eyes, Whatever. Don't blame me when you slip up.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Neo only smirked in response and held a hand in front of her mouth as she silently giggled.

"…You're just messing with me, aren't you?"

Neo nodded. Sera sighed and uncrossed her arms, "You're a real piece of work. You know that?"

She nodded again. The amnesiac chuckled, "Whatever. I'm going to join my team. You can come if you want, you know. It might help for them to see that you're making an effort."

Neo shrugged half-heartedly, but reluctantly nodded. Sera stepped through the door with the shorter girl following closely behind. Weiss, Ruby, and Yang turned to see who had come out. Ruby rolled her silver eyes and returned her gaze to the sunset. Weiss looked rather indifferent, but it was hard to gauge what she was thinking. Yang, however, smiled at the sight of Sera. But she scowled slightly when she saw Neo.

Sera didn't say anything. She just plopped down on the ground next to Yang and crisscrossed her legs. "What's up?" She asked nonchalantly.

"Just enjoying the sunrise," Weiss responded, her icy blue eyes following Neo as she sat down next to Sera.

"Ah," Sera gazed at the horizon. "Kinda reminds me of Patch."

"That's what I said!" Yang said. Sera grinned and bumped her shoulder into the blond.

"So," Ruby said. "Today's supposedly the day." Weiss shifted uncomfortably. Sera didn't blame her. She wasn't exactly stoked at the prospect of confronting the headmaster of Haven for his possible betrayal. To top it all off, there was a good chance that some of Salem's forces would be there as well. Sera dreaded that Cinder would be present. They'd all been talking like it was a sure thing that she would, but no one knew the truth. Not for sure, anyway.

"Yep," Yang replied. Neo shifted, and Sera looked over to see a determined, yet slightly nervous expression on her face. The amnesiac patted her on the shoulder and gave her a reassuring nod. Sera still had her doubts about the girl beside her. They knew nothing, and she meant nothing about her, besides her past employer. Sera decided she'd ask her about it later.

"Might have another fight on our hands," Weiss said with a twinge of bitterness.

"Yep," Sera sighed.

"We'll be fine. We always are," Yang insisted. Sera gave her a quizzical look and held up her golden arm. "Obviously."

Yang smirked and pulled her arm away. "Okay. Most of the time."

"At least this time it'll be us, JNPR, Neo, Qrow, and Ozpin. All we're missing is Blake." Weiss said and sat forward.

Yang's expression immediately soured. "Why? We don't need her." Then Ruby and Weiss exchanged glances. Even Sera was taken aback by her comment. She'd thought that Yang was past this after their conversation in Patch.

"What are you talking about, Yang?" Weiss asked gently.

Yang threw her hands up, "I mean we don't need her! She left us, so let her stay gone."

Sera tried to take hold Yang's hand, but the blond shook her away. Neo didn't know what they were talking about, but she followed along silently as usual.

"Yang, even you have to realize that you're being irrational." Weiss said in her usual heiress voice. Yang's scowl deepened, "I don't care."

Before anyone else could say anything to calm her, the brawler stood abruptly and marched towards the house.

"What was that about?" Ruby asked. Sera sighed and wrung her hands. Then she told them about her conversation with Yang regarding Blake.

"She feels like Blake abandoned her." Sera concluded.

"That's… Wow." Ruby blinked in disbelief, as if she couldn't believe her own sister's actions.

Weiss had been silent the whole time, her blue eyes focused as if she were drawing out a plan in her head. Then she stood and looked down at Sera and Ruby, "I'll talk to her. I think I can help."

"By all means, Ice Queen. Maybe you can fully get through to her, since apparently I didn't." Sera replied. Weiss didn't even scowl at her nickname. She just spun on her heel and headed for the house.

That left Sera, Ruby and Neo in uncomfortable silence.

"So," The purple-eyed huntress broke the silence. "Still mad at me?"

Ruby looked over to see Sera's trademark grin on her face and the familiar look of playfulness in her eyes. As much as she didn't want to, Ruby couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Honestly? I just realized I stopped being mad like five minutes after Neo showed up. But I just couldn't be like 'oh I'm cool now', y'know?"

Sera blinked and grinned again. "You're too cute for this world!" Sera tackled Ruby with a hug.

"Get off, please. You're embarrassing me in front of the psycho."

The next few hours were a blur. It was nice that Ruby was more accepting of Neo now, and the amnesiac could tell that Neo was happy about it.

The sun was beginning to go down on the horizon when Sera laid her gear across her bed. Crimson Eclipse lay besides Silver Linings and her half of Ember Celica. Beside her weapons was a choice of two outfits: her red coat and black pants, boots, and tank top or her white jacket and pants with purple trim and purple tube top.

Sera's violet eyes glanced between the two outfits, her fist pressed against her chin like The Thinker.

With an indecisive sigh, she grabbed the white outfit. In no time at all she was changed into it and was now placing her weapons on her person. After sliding Ember Celica onto her left wrist, she turned to check her reflection. She wasn't even in the mood to compliment herself on her looks. Sera was way too anxious about what she and her friends were about to do.

A knock to the door shook her from her thoughts, and Sera turned to see Yang in the doorway.

"Hey," she said and stepped in. Sera gave a two fingered salute and continued gazing into the mirror. "Hey."

Yang went to stand beside the amnesiac, staring into their reflection as well.

"Nervous?" The blond asked. In response, Sera slipped her hand into Yang's and gave it a light squeeze. "I'll take that as a yes," Yang responded, squeezing her hand back.

"I'm scared," Sera murmured. Yang was taken back. She shook her head to make sure she'd heard right. Those were the last words she'd ever thought she'd hear from Sera. It just wasn't like her. The purple-eyed huntress had always charged in without a second thought for her own safety.

"Why?" Yang asked gently. Sera leaned into her and held her arm, "I don't know if I can protect all of you."

Yang almost laughed at that, but she steeled herself. "You don't need to worry about that. We can take care of ourselves, so don't worry Snowball."

Sera gave a weak smirk and held Yang's arm tighter. Her real one, not the cold metal one. "If she's there…"

"Hey, we'll be fine. Don't worry so much." Yang gave a broad grin. Sera looked up, her violet eyes meeting Yang's lilac ones. The brawler leaned in and kissed her, and for a moment, everything was fine.

Warmth spread through Sera's chest and she gave a content sigh. Then someone else knocked on the door. They turned to see Pyrrha standing there with a blush as red as her hair. She wore her combat armor, and her hair was up like it used to be.

"Erm… Everyone's waiting for you two. Sorry," She stammered.

"Thanks, Pyrrha. We'll be right there," Yang said. Both her and Sera wore extremely crimson blushes. Pyrrha disappeared in a hurry, and Sera let out a hoarse laugh. "Guess they're not used to seeing, well, us."

Yang grinned, "They better get used to it, cause we're not ashamed, are we?"

Sera's familiar smirk reappeared on her formerly downcast face. "Definitely not."

"Good!" Yang smiled and pecked her on the cheek. "Now come on, we've got a headmaster to confront."

. . .

Team JNPR, Qrow, Ozpin, Neo and team RWBYS (minus Blake) were marching towards Haven academy. The only light provided was the dim streetlights of the city. Ozpin and Qrow led the group, followed by RWBYS and Neo, then JNPR.

The city was quiet, only adding to everyone's suspense. Soon enough, they arrived at the front doors of Haven. The group of huntsmen stood before the entrance with anxious expressions.

"If this goes bad," Ozpin told them. "Just do what you were trained for, and we'll be okay."

And with that, he opened the door to the brightly lit, enormous room inside. Standing on the staircase was Leonardo Lionheart himself. Everyone entered cautiously, branching off and scanning the room and eyeing Lionheart.

"Well, Leo. We're here. Can we proceed with discussing a group to retrieve the Spring Maiden?" Qrow called. Before they arrived at the academy, Ozpin told them that he'd prefer to keep his identity a secret, so now Oscar was currently in control.

"Oh, there seems to be more of you than last time…" he said nervously.

"Uh, yeah?" Qrow responded. The headmaster's eyes flicked between each of them.

"Why… why do you have your weapons?"

Sera tensed.

Qrow furrowed his eyebrows. "What? We're huntsmen."

"Ah, but," a new voice said. A feminine voice, full of venom and mirth. "The Spring Maiden is already here." Then a figure stepped out of the shadows on the second floor above them. A woman wearing a black and red skirt, with long black hair and red eyes. To Sera, she looked oddly familiar. But to Qrow, Yang, and Ruby, they knew exactly who she was.

"Mom," Yang said. Sera's eyes widened and she looked at Yang. She could see the resemblance. Their faces were near identical, and their hair was similar, despite being different colors. They had the same intensity in their eyes, and Raven had the same cruel look that Yang sometimes got when she was really angry.

"What're you doing here, Raven?" Qrow asked with absolutely no warmth in his voice.

"Can't a girl welcome her brother to Haven?" she asked. Then figures stepped out from behind pillars and from the shadows. Sera counted a total of seven opponents, counting Raven and Lionheart.

But what made Sera's heart drop was the woman in the red dress thirty feet in front of her.

Cinder looked horrible. Weak, even. Her hair was shorter, and an eyepatch resided over an eye.

She also saw Emerald and Mercury, plus a really tall guy with arms as thick as Sera's waist.

Qrow tightened his jaw, "You're no sister of mine."

Raven wavered slightly.

Sera couldn't help but smirk at the Fall Maiden. "You're not looking so hot, Cinder. Guess Rubes really did a number on you."

She said nothing at first. The Fall Maiden sneered and her remaining eye blazed with fire. "You have nothing. Eight students, a boy, and Qrow Branwen against us? There's no chance."

Team JNPR and RWBYS wavered slightly at that, but Sera smirked. "Well, you're forgetting someone."

Then a familiar ice cream girl walked out from behind a pillar, spinning a parasol on her shoulder. Emerald and Mercury looked rather surprised, and Cinder's face contorted with rage.

"You…" She seethed. Neo smirked at the Maiden. Sera could see an excited light in her eyes. Then she bowed, and her hair changed color until it was even more orange than Nora's. When she picked her head up, her eyes were a shade of light brown.

Even her clothes changed color until they matched that of Roman Torchwick. She spun the black bowler hat in her hands and set it on her head.

Then Cinder's forces readied their weapons and got into fighting stances. Weiss, Ruby, and Yang looked to Sera. She was the one standing at the front of their side. Sera looked over to Qrow, and he shrugged in response.

"Whatcha thinking?" Yang murmured from beside her. Sera grinned and rested her sword onto her shoulder.

"Saturday night's all right for fighting."

"…It's Wednesday." Yang deadpanned.

"Shut up, blondie."

And with that, they charged. Yang and Qrow rushed Raven. Ruby and Weiss went for Emerald, Jaune and Pyrrha for Mercury, and Ren and Nora for the big guy. Oscar ran after Lionheart, who was retreating up the stairs. And Sera… well, Sera ran straight for Cinder Fall, and Neo followed.

Originally, she'd been nervous to face the Maiden again, but seeing her in the state she was in alleviated some of that fear.

The huntress raised Crimson Eclipse and deflected the plumes of red-hot flames sent her way

Crimson Eclipse clashed against a pair of short swords that Cinder formed out of thin air. Sera immediately went on the defensive— slashing rapidly at Cinder and hoping to wear her aura down. Luckily, she had Neo to help.

The shorter woman was deadly with her parasol, delivering quick and precise strikes to the Maiden's unprotected sides.

Sera was in the zone. She sliced, jabbed, parried, rolled, and kicked like she'd been fighting her entire life. Being a huntress in training, she had been fighting all her life.

But while Cinder was weakened, she still fought like a demon. She used all of her powers to combat Sera. Blasting her with fire, quickly summoning all sorts of glass weapons to use, and flipping and dodging around like a trained acrobatic.

Sera had time to glance over and see Yang trading blows with an unknown woman. She had short hair and intense blue eyes, and she used some sort of bladed gauntlets.

The Spring Maiden, Sera thought to herself. That's her? I was expecting someone a little more, I dunno, impressive. This girl looked like she might hang around a café and gossip all day.

Meanwhile, Qrow was dueling his sister. They fought viciously, and the scary thing was that they were evenly matched.

But the amnesiac had to turn her attention back to Cinder when she felt a blow to her side. Sera clenched her jaw and slammed Crimson Eclipse into her chest, sending the Maiden flying away.

Something slammed into a column and fell to the floor. Sera turned her head to see Ren struggling to his feet, clutching his side tightly. From where he'd come from, Nora was dueling the giant man, a wild look in her aqua eyes. The guy could deflect Nora's hammer strikes like they were nothing. Every time she scored a successful blow, he gritted his teeth and fought harder.

Slight panic filled Sera's mind. She needed to go help Nora, but in order to do so, she'd abandon Cinder.

Sera clenched her sword tighter and returned her focus to Cinder. The Maiden was literally flying towards her, an enraged expression on her face while fire blasted from her hands to propel her forward. She just had time to think uh-oh when Neo slammed into her side, knocking Sera out of the way.

That knocked some sense into her. Sera dashed to her feet and stared down Cinder, who had shot right past them.

"Think you can hold her off for a while?" Sera asked the mute to her right. Neo flashed her a sly grin like, Of course I can, Snowball.

"Just for a little while, I have to help Nora!" Sera said, then dashed off with Crimson Eclipse in hand. Neo smiled and rushed Cinder, her deadly parasol ready to strike.

Hazel's eyes were calm as he caught Nora's hammer and tossed her back. Sera appeared out of nowhere and sliced the giant across the back. He turned stiffly and scowled down at her.

"The child," he said stiffly.

"Do I look like a child to you, big guy?" Sera smirked.

His frown deepened. "Yes."

"Oh. Well, all right." Sera frowned and charged. He was huge, at least eight feet tall with bulging muscles and a hard expression.

Sera evaded his pillar-sized leg and drove her sword into his gut. The blade deflected off his greenish aura. He scowled and grabbed Sera's whole head with his massive hand, throwing her aside as easily as she would a Beowolf. If someone were close enough, they would've heard the muffled, startled scream from Sera when his hand enveloped her head.

She skidded across the floor and into the midst of the fight. Weiss and Jaune were squaring off with Cinder now. She didn't know where Neo was, but hopefully the mute hadn't abandoned them.

Yang was trading blows with Mercury and Qrow was still facing off with Raven. Vernal tried to intervene, but the blue-eyed woman was outmatched against Yang, even with the Raven's help.

Ruby fought against Emerald, and Pyrrha was running to help Jaune.

Sera got to her feet and turned to Hazel again. Except now, he was staring down someone else.

Oscar, no wait, Ozpin was descending the steps towards Hazel.

"OZPIN?!" Hazel roared.

"Uh-oh," Sera murmured. Apparently, the giant had some sort of beef with Beacon's headmaster.

Ozpin's eyes hardened, and he leaped towards Hazel. Oscar's small body proved useful against Hazel. He could outmaneuver him by dashing around his legs, all the while jabbing him with the butt of Ozpin's cane.

Sera gritted her teeth and rushed to the headmaster's aid. She shouted and tried to drive her sword through his giant chest, but just like before, his aura was too strong. He didn't care his entire focus was on Ozpin.

That was when Sera heard Weiss yell in pain. Her head whipped around to see something terrible.

Cinder's sword was buried in the former heiress's gut, much like she'd done to Sera.

Sera's eyes widened, and somewhere to her left, she heard Ruby shriek, and a silver glow enveloped the large room. Or it would have, if Mercury hadn't whacked her in the back of the head. Ruby slumped forward, unconscious.

Sera was too far away to do anything, but luckily, Pyrrha and Jaune were to the rescue.

Pyrrha slammed into the Maiden and knocked her away from Weiss, who immediately fell to her back, clutching the stab in her gut.

The amnesiac rushed forward, completely forgetting about Hazel and Ozpin, and ran for Weiss. While Pyrrha focused all her energy on fighting Cinder, Jaune, Ren, and Nora knelt at Weiss's side.

Just as Sera got there, an odd greenish glow was emanating from Jaune's hands. It looked like the reflective light you see at the bottom of water, washing over Weiss's body.

Sera knelt on Weiss's other side and stared at the wound. It looked so much like hers, she felt her abdomen ache where the blade had pierced through.

"She's stabilizing," Ren said in awe.

"I don't know how I'm doing this…" Jaune admitted.

"Well, keep doing it," Nora suggested.

Sera could only stare at Weiss's face. Her breathing was less erratic and more relaxed, as if she were sleeping. The bleeding had stopped, and the wound was slowly but surely fading.

"Wish you'd unlocked your semblance when I got stabbed," Sera mumbled, getting over her shock of Weiss being stabbed.

"You kind of flew us away," Jaune countered.

"Yeah, but still—" Sera said, then Pyrrha slammed into her.

Once they untangled themselves, her eyes scanned wildly. "Where's Cinder?"

"She blasted me away then took off!" Pyrrha exclaimed. Then Sera spotted her. The Maiden was dashing through a hidden entrance at the base of a large statue of a woman. Raven and Vernal followed close behind.

"I have to go," Sera stated, then took off.

"Sera, wait!" Nora tried to stop her, but she didn't care. Cinder had hurt one of her teammates, and now they were probably headed for the relic.

Emerald and Mercury tried to intercept her. Sera narrowed her eyes and slung Crimson Eclipse over her shoulder.

STOP! She mentally screamed. Mercury and Emerald came to an abrupt halt. Sera jumped over them and ducked inside the hidden door. As soon as her feet had touched the ground, time resumed, and Mercury and Emerald exclaimed in surprise. It was too late to catch the lift, so she jumped down the elevator shaft.

Wind blew her hair straight up as she fell down the shaft. She stuck her arms up and straightened her legs, so she'd fall faster, then she saw the bottom. A distant square of dim light rushed towards her.

Just before she made impact, she tucked herself into a ball and hit the ground rolling, turning all her momentum into that roll.

She came up immediately and drew Crimson Eclipse. There was no immediate threat, but she didn't let her guard down. There was a winding staircase going down in front of her, suspended over a black abyss. Already across the stairs and approaching a giant thing. Sera didn't know what it was. She assumed it was the vault.

She sprinted down the steps as fast as her legs would allow. She reached the central platform just in time to see Cinder turn Raven into a popsicle and extend her blackened Grimm hand towards the Spring Maiden. Her claws sunk into Vernal's stomach before Sera could cry out. She knew what Cinder was trying to do—the same thing she'd tried to do to her on the night Beacon fell: take her power.

The Spring Maiden fell to the ground, blood pooling around her body while Cinder smiled triumphantly. But something was wrong. No power was surging into her from Vernal's body. No bright lights, no Maiden glowing.

Sera was halfway to them now, clutching Crimson Eclipse to her side tightly. She quickly drew Silver Linings and aimed down its sights while sprinting.

The thing that made her hesitate was seeing the ice on Raven's body crack apart. Shards of ice fell from her to the ground.

"She's not the Spring Maiden," Raven removed her Grimm mask. "I am." Her eyes burned with blue flame.

Cinder could see Sera now. Her eye was wide with fear as she withdrew her Grimm arm and assumed a fighting stance as orange fire enveloped her remaining eye.

Sera fired all nine rounds from Silver Linings at each of them. The Dust rounds clattered harmlessly off their flame aura and fell to the ground, now molten.

Raven looked over her shoulder and regarded the newcomer with cold eyes.

"Well," Sera said as she popped a new cylinder into her revolver, trying to mask her growing fear of fighting not one, but two Maidens. It hadn't gone so well last time, when the number was only one. "Sorry to ruin the party."

"You have no business here, girl." Cinder growled, her eyes still on Raven.

"Wrong, Cindy. I have every business being here." Then she scratched her head with the barrel of her gun. "Every business? Does that make sense? Anyway, you hurt my friends and you stabbed me through the gut, so I'd say I'm right where I should be."

Raven drew her katana. "Leave if you value your life."

"Oh, you're not off the hook either," Sera scowled. "Tai and Yang have told me enough to consider you an enemy." She rested Crimson Eclipse on her shoulder and holstered her firearm.

Cinder grew impatient. She rushed Raven, who deflected the blow easily and counterattacked. They traded blows in a flurry, their weapons glowing to match their burning auras.

Sera narrowed her eyes and charged, bringing her sword down onto Cinder's shoulder. The Fall Maiden was shoved aside, giving Raven the opportunity to slice into her exposed chest. In the blink of an eye, Sera swung her sword into Raven's side and batted her back.

"Maidens or not," Sera shouted as she evaded a blast of fire from Cinder. "I'll take you both on!"

She kicked Cinder in the side and used her own momentum to vault back to Raven and slice into her shoulder. Raven grunted and sent a flurry of rapid strikes to Sera's body. The amnesiac only managed to block a few of them. The rest hit her so powerfully, her aura was already flickering.

Jeez, she thought. I thought Cinder was strong. Raven's had more time to practice her powers.

Sera got to her feet, and her jaw dropped. Raven and Cinder were whacking away at each other with large swords that seemed to be made of pure energy. They floated in the air, their eyes burning furiously.

If this was how two Maidens fought, I'd hate to see how Salem is, she thought.

Sera clenched her teeth and gripped her sword tighter. She was stupid for coming down here alone. Raven had only hit her a little, and her aura was already weakened. With them floating around like that, she couldn't attack. Unless…

She wanted to scream, to slice down everything around her with her sword. Instead, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She focused on her anger at Cinder and Salem, at Tyrian, Christian Castelo, and at herself. She imagined her fight against the giant Minotaur Grimm and against Cinder on top of Beacon Tower. She allowed all her anger and resentment and fear to surface to the forefront of her mind. She pictured all those she was fighting for: Ruby, Yang, Weiss, Qrow, and JNPR.

She felt energy flow down her limbs, making rejuvenating her tired body and strengthening her aura.

Then she opened her eyes.

The first thing she did was look down at her open palms. They were as white as chalk. When she turned her hands over, black veins webbed across the top of them, and her fingernails were as black as any Grimm.

Sera grinned. She hefted Crimson Eclipse and glared up at the dueling Maidens. Then she jumped at them.

She'd never jumped so high in her life. She soared up to them, right in the middle of their clashing blades, and blocked both swords of energy on her own sword.

"I didn't come down here to be ignored," Sera told them. Raven's eyes widened and she faltered, which gave Cinder enough time to snap her fingers and cause an explosion of fire to erupt between Sera and Raven.

They all flew in different directions. Sera's back slammed into the ground below, but she didn't feel it. Raven hit the vault and fell to the floor. Cinder landed rather nimbly and smirked.

She formed a glass sword in each hand and approached them at a leisurely pace.

"Did you really think you could stand up to not one, but two Maidens? My word, you truly are pitiful!" she cackled. Sera clenched her jaw and got to her feet, holding Crimson Eclipse at her side.

"Look at you. You're so hungry for power, you'd transform your own body into Grimm to get it," she gestured to Cinder's blackened arm. The Fall Maiden scowled and raised her duel swords, but Raven slammed into her.

The two Maidens went tumbling as they wrestled for dominance. Sera didn't waste a beat. She rushed towards them and brought her sword onto both of them.

Sera could feel her eyes glowing red. It felt strangely pleasing, and she wondered if that was how Yang felt when she used her semblance. Wait, semblance.

Sera spread her arms and let out a shout. Suddenly, Raven and Cinder stopped fighting, frozen with their hands at each other's throats.

She approached the two of them and began slicing into them without a moment's hesitation. Crimson Eclipse struck in a flurry of precise cuts, delivering blows all over their bodies. She doubted it'd do much against two Maidens, but it was better than getting beat up further.

She didn't even realize when her semblance had come to an end. Suddenly the two women began moving again, except they flew in opposite directions and landed on their feet. They didn't even look winded. Meanwhile, despite being all powered up and stuff, Sera's chest heaved. She'd only used her semblance for a short while, so she wondered why she was already so tired.

Raven glared at Cinder, and she at Raven, ignoring Sera again. Sera took offense to that. She gritted her teeth and charged them again, but Cinder and Raven disappeared before she could reach them.

They were in the air again, striking furiously at each other. Their eyes glowed with their respective colors and they slammed swords of energy into one another.

Sera jumped at them again. Or would have, but Cinder's body collided with her and sent them back to the ground.

The amnesiac rolled to her feet and slammed her sword into Cinder, only for the Maiden to blast her back with fire. Sera was beginning to despise fire.

Sera panted and unsteadily got to her feet. She took the time to inspect her surroundings. The floor beneath her was crumbling, and the two Maidens seemed to finally be getting tired.

Then she saw a flash of yellow.

She turned her head to see Yang running down the stairs towards them.

"No," Sera muttered. She turned to Cinder and Raven and hefted her sword. The look in her eyes must've been truly terrifying, because they faltered.

I can't let them hurt her, she thought. Despite already feeling out of the fight, she got ready to use her semblance yet again.

Sera took a deep breath.

Stop, she thought, much more calmly than usual. Time slowed to a halt.

Raven was behind her, Cinder was in front. She intended to end the fight here, but she wasn't confident she'd be able to.

Sera charged Cinder. She let out a flurry of attacks to the Fall Maiden, slicing across her torso as quickly and powerfully as possible. She kicked, punched, hit her with the hilt of Crimson Eclipse, and several other attacks in the midst of her fury.

She felt that her world of frozen time was about to end. So with one last attack, she reared back and hit the Maiden in the side of the head as hard as she could. In that instance, time became fluid again.

Cinder cried out as she was launched towards the vault. Sera had to struggle to keep from collapsing. She wobbled from side to side and panted hard, leaning onto her sword for support.

Raven blinked, and instead of rushing Sera, she ran for Cinder.

Sera dropped to one knee, her chest heaving. Yang appeared at her side and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Sera come on we have to get out of…" she faltered when Sera looked up. The amnesiac's eye glowed red, her skin was as white as snow and nearly matched her hair, the whites of her eyes were black as midnight, and black veins were spread on either side of her face.

"Hey," Sera panted. Yang shook her head as if making sure she was seeing right.

"Come on, we have to—"

"Nah," Sera's chest heaved as she got to her feet shakily. "You get outta here. I got a couple Maidens to handle."

Yang frowned. "You're coming with me."

Sera grinned weakly. "Get outta here, Blondie."

The brawler shook her head stubbornly. Raven and Cinder were at it again, using the full extent of their Maiden powers to attack each other.

Sera hefted her sword tiredly. "I can take em, just go make sure Ruby's all right."

"Sera, you're being unreasonable."

"I know," she winked. Yang groaned. She knew she wasn't going to change the white head's mind. Instead, she busted out Ember Celica and raised her fists.

"Together?" she asked.

Sera grinned, ignoring the fight in front of them. She knew that if these two kept going at it, the entire city would probably crumble from the sheer intensity of their power. Yang was glaring at her mother and Cinder with hate-filled eyes, but Sera never thought she looked more gorgeous.

"Gods, I'm gonna miss you," Sera told her. Yang's eyes widened at her statement, but before she could say anything, Sera pulled her into an intense and passionate kiss. Explosions rocketed around them and the two Maidens were shouting in their fight, but Sera didn't care.

She let go of Yang and shoved her back with all her might. As soon as her hands left Yang, Sera focused as hard as she could in that split second.

STOP.

Raven and Cinder froze. Sera ran towards them at full-speed, turning her head long enough to see Yang frozen mid-fall, a mix of shock, fear, and despair on her face.

Sera screamed and swung Crimson Eclipse into Cinder. She stood between the two Maidens, alternating between attacking Raven and Cinder. She didn't know how long she could keep this up, but she had to push herself.

She felt herself go on autopilot like she always did when practicing her swordplay on dummies. With Cinder and Raven being frozen in time like they were, it wasn't much different.

The huntress's eyes blazed with anger at both of them. Raven for abandoning Yang and Tai to pursue her own selfish desires, and at Cinder for just generally being a cunt.

Before she even realized it, Cinder and Raven moved again. They flew in opposite directions from the onslaught of Sera's attacks, but they still looked raring to go.

Sera stood with her sword hung at her side. Her chest heaved heavily, and she swayed as she stood.

Cinder's aura flickered slightly, a crackle of orange energy rippling at her thigh. Then Sera heard her laugh.

"After all that, and you've still only managed to scratch my aura. And look! Raven isn't even damaged," Cinder announced. Sera didn't understand why she was praising Raven's well-being, they were just fighting to the death, after all.

Sera bit back a curse. She was right. Even with her enhanced power, it was still next to nothing compared to the power of a Maiden. If she'd practiced with it and trained its potential, then maybe, but this was only the second time she'd used this power.

The amnesiac charged into battle expecting to die, and now she figured that's what was about to happen. She glanced to her side to see Yang standing where she'd been pushed, a look of absolute terror etched on her usually cheerful face.

She turned to look at Raven, who was analyzing the huntress and enemy Maiden before her, as if planning the best way to take them both down.

Sera decided that Raven was the lesser of two evils. All this time, Raven had been targeting Cinder, not her. Either she was really mad at the Fall Maiden, or she hadn't really been trying to harm Sera.

The huntress turned back to Cinder, fire blazing from her eye and hands, then she smirked. Cinder was standing at the edge of the abyss.

Cinder faltered, as if she weren't expecting Sera to have her usual cockiness about her. Then she charged, activating her semblance one final time.

She closed the distance in mere seconds, which was good because time resumed just before she reached the Maiden. Cinder's eyes flashed with fear. Hey, you'd be scared too if a Salem lookalike suddenly appeared in front of you with a smirk on her face and a hateful look in her glowing red eyes.

Just before she launched herself forward to collide with Cinder, she turned to Yang to take in one last look at the blond. Her eyes were wide and brimming with tears. Despite being, well, Yang, she just stood there. It honestly broke Sera's heart to see her like that, but in that moment, she remembered every good time they'd had together.

"See you around, blondie," Sera whispered, but she was sure that Yang heard her.

Sera tackled Cinder with all her might, which meant she had to drop her sword to do so. The sharp blade impaled itself into the concrete at the edge of the abyss, standing straight up as if it'd been sitting there for years.

Cinder's eye blazed with anger at the amnesiac, but Sera didn't care. She tackled the blazing woman right off the edge, holding onto the Maiden's body as tightly as she could.

From above, Raven's eyes blazed blue, and she sent a massive blast of fire towards them. The flames enveloped the two and sent them flying at Mach speed, rocketing downwards like a bullet.

"You dare?!" Cinder exclaimed, seemingly unable to free herself from Sera's iron grip. The huntress ignored her. Her thoughts consisted only of her teammates above. She didn't know what Raven would do now, but at least the Maidens' fight was finished.

Sera held tighter, ignoring the burning flames scorching her body from Cinder. She squeezed her eyes shut.

I'm sorry, she mentally sobbed to her friends, then she and Cinder fell into complete blackness.

Super emotional and heartbreaking, right? At least, I hope so. Kinda what I was going for. Hope the chapter was enjoyable, I try to make it be.

On the next chapter! It's been hinted at several times in the past, what with when Ozpin gave Sera Crimson Eclipse, and with the symbols she wears with every outfit, and with her semblance itself! I hope you boys and girls like (or at least tolerate) Greek Mythology. I'll try to remember explaining all the different things that the non-geeky may not know.

I'm trying to work it in so that the mythology stuff doesn't drastically change the story or anything like that, so no worries if you don't like the idea. It's just gonna be small stuff, except for the big stuff that explains Sera's true origins and all that. But don't expect anything big like "Oh boy Apollo just showed up outta nowhere to talk to Ruby Rose!" cause let's be honest, that'd suck. To reiterate, it'll just have to do with Sera.

P.S. yeah, Neo's a thing now. Why not? I think I can make this work to where people like it. Since she was hunting Cinder anyway, I figured I'd mix things up a bit. Also, I kind of wanted to recreate a scene from Austin Powers: Goldmember where Mini Me switched sides and looked like a mini Austin, so I wanted to do a similar thing with Neo. I think it'd be funny, but sorry if you guys don't like it.

And yes, Sera's semblance was originally a JoJo's reference.