Sera sat bolt upright, then immediately regretted it. Pain throbbed in her head and she was forced to lay back down, clutching her body.

The memories of what had happened washed over her like an ocean wave. The train had been knocked off the mountain by a giant dragon.

Something appeared in her blurry vision. A figure with white hair and violet eyes. For a terrible moment, she thought she was hallucinating to see herself, but once her eyesight cleared, it was just Neo. Her eyebrows were knit together, and a frown was on her face.

Sera groaned and sat up slowly. Nothing felt broken, just the horrible throbbing in her brain. She turned her head to check out her surroundings. They were still in the train car, except they were sitting on the ceiling. That gave Sera a slight case of vertigo.

Neo was sitting at her side with a cup of steaming liquid in her hand. After lifting it to Sera's lips to give her a drink, the pleasant taste of hot chocolate washed over her tongue.

Once Neo pulled the cup away, Sera looked up to meet her currently violet eyes. "The passengers?"

Neo shook her head once. A feeling of guilt overtook Sera. She was the huntress on board, the only one to protect them. She'd done an all right job against the Manticore, but she was too slow for the dragon. Neo then put her hand on Sera's shoulder in a reassuring manner.

Sera got to her feet. She spotted her pack and walking stick leaning against the wall. Neo must've set them there after the crash.

She quickly shouldered the pack and took her walking stick in hand.

"Come on, we have to get out of here before that thing comes back," she stated, then ducked through the shattered window, careful to avoid the jagged edges.

Neo picked up another pack and followed her out into the snow. Sera bundled up, but she still shivered. She had no idea where to go. No map, no supplies, and no shelter besides the ruined train. She looked up at the cloud-covered sun. It was mid-afternoon, and judging by their position, north was to their left. North was the way towards Atlas, so therefore, it's the way to go.

"Let's go, Neo," Sera muttered and trudged into the snow. Neo followed closely behind, silently shivering and wrapping her new coat around her in an attempt to stay warm.

. . .

"This sucks," Sera chattered. She hugged herself to try and get some warmth. It barely helped.

The two of them had been trudging through the snow for well over an hour now. Sera had to look back and make sure Neo was still following her every few minutes. Ever since the snow had picked up, they could barely see ten feet in front of them.

The cold seeped into her and turned her bones to glass and skin to shivering paper. She wasn't sure if that's what had actually happened, but it sure felt that way.

Sera turned around to see Neo's teeth chattering violently. She seemed to be losing focus for her hair and eye colors, because every now and again they flickered back to pink, brown, and white.

We can't go on like this for much longer, Sera thought. We need to find shelter—fast.

A roar echoed across the snowy forest. It sounded far off, so they kept marching north.

In her dreams, Qrow and the others had been riding a trailer pulled by Yang on Bumblebee. She wished she and Neo had that. Heck, they'd settle for the snow letting up a little. Or a fire.

Sera held in a giggle at the prospect of sitting by a fire and getting all toasty and warm. Okay, she thought. Now I'm going crazy.

Neo tapped on her shoulder. The mute girl pointed off to their right, and relief washed over Sera. There was an old wooden building visible nearby. It looked abandoned, but she didn't care. Anything was better than braving this snowstorm.

With renewed energy, the two of them trudged as quickly as they could through the snow and to the building.

Sera had to kick the door open. It was latched shut, but as soon as the wooden door flew open with the combined force of the kick and wind, she and Neo dashed inside.

"Door!" Sera commanded. She immediately pushed a heavy cabinet in front of the door while Neo held it closed. With the door being shut, the wind came to a halt and snow stopped blowing inside.

The amnesiac collapsed on the floor and held her jacket around her. She looked up to inspect the cabin. It was bigger than she thought. A wooden staircase led up to a second floor and what seemed to be a kitchen was visible through a second doorway.

Inside the room they were in, a fireplace was on the far wall, a circular rug laid on the floor, and a couch, and a pair of wooden rocking chairs.

Neo sighed and slid down the wall into a seated position. Sera hauled herself to her feet, leaned her walking stick against the wall, and shrugged her pack off her shoulders.

Without hesitation, she walked over to the rocking chairs and began to break them into kindling. It took next to no effort with her strength, but they'd need more wood if they wanted to stay warm during the night.

She piled the broken sticks into the fireplace and tossed a small flame Dust crystal into the base. Using another stick, she struck the red crystal, and the fire came to life.

"Ah," Sera sighed contently as she raised her hands in front of the flames. Warmth washed over her to the point where her skin was beginning to feel like it was burning, but she didn't care.

Neo scooted next to her and did the same. Her now white hair looked ghostly in the dim light, and Sera wondered if that was how she looked. Neo's violet eyes reflected the flickering flames.

"There's no one else around for miles," Sera broke the silence. Her teeth had stopped chattering, so her voice sounded back to normal. "Why do you keep your eyes and hair like mine?"

Neo shrugged and rubbed her hands together in front of the flames. Turning her attention back to the fire, Sera relaxed and sat with her knees held to her chest.

"Thank you," Sera muttered. Neo gave her a sideways glance. "For saving me on the train. That Grimm had me pinned." She chuckled. Running her fingers along her knee, Sera continued, "I've caught the paw of an Alpha Beowolf in mid-swipe, and pulled an Ursa back by its tail from a crowd of students, but that Manticore was too much for me. So… Thank you."

Neo didn't react. Probably because she couldn't say anything, but Sera suspected she wasn't used to hearing those two words.

"I dunno why you're helping me and the others like this, but I appreciate it. You could've tracked down Cinder yourself, your tried to go after Ruby because of the fight on the airship, but you didn't."

Neo stared at the fire.

"I know you've done bad in the past, but you're proving that you can be good too," Sera hoped her words were reaching the mute girl. She knew that Neo was just doing this to take down the girl technically" responsible" for the death of Roman Torchwick, but Sera hoped she could be more than just someone out for vengeance. There was probably no redeeming her or what she is, but Sera could try. Hell, the way Yang described Neo was kinda scary.

"For what it's worth," Sera said. "I'm glad to have a little psychopath on my side."

Neo smirked and nudged her with her shoulder. Sera looked out the window and at the darkening sky. It didn't feel like it because so much had happened, but this was still the same day that she'd left Raven's camp.

Sera stood and went to check the rest of the house for anything they could use, leaving Neo alone by the fire.

Not much was in the kitchen, but she did find a few canned fruits, vegetables, and meat sauce with noodles and meatballs.

After searching the few rooms up there, she returned downstairs with an armful of blankets and pillows. She'd raided the master bedroom. The blankets and pillows were old and smelled musty, but they beat sleeping on the cold floor with nothing.

"I've got food and warm stuff!" Sera announced as she dropped off the final step on the staircase. Neo stood to inspect her bounty.

Sera dropped the stuff on the floor and picked out a blanket and pillow. "You can take the couch, I'll take the floor. We'll keep moving in the morning."

Neo shook her head and pointed at Sera, then to the couch. The amnesiac smiled and laid out her blankets on the floor near the fire.

"Not up for debate. You take the couch, I'll take the floor," Sera repeated.

Neo rolled her eyes and snatched a blanket up. Sera helped Neo drag the couch over so she could be in the fire's warmth as well. After half-heartedly eating some of their canned goods, the shorter girl arranged herself on it and faced away from Sera. But she could tell that Neo was thankful for being given the couch.

The amnesiac tossed some more sticks onto the fire, deciding they'd have to risk not finding more stuff to burn.

Sera sighed and laid back on the floor, placing a musty-smelling pillow behind her head.

Sweet dreams, she thought to herself. Then she allowed her tired eyes to close.

. . .

The house exploded. At least, that was what Sera had thought happened. She was in the middle of a rather pleasant dream of eating lunch Beacon's cafeteria with her team and JNPR when the sound of wood splintering, glass shattering, and a loud roar woke her.

Sera sat bolt upright to find the house in pieces around her, as if an airship had crashed through it. That's when Sera realized that the actual cause of it was something much bigger than an airship.

Neo was already on her feet, a wild look in her eyes as she lifted her parasol like she was going to whack something with it. Sera jumped to her feet and drew Silver Linings, the familiar weight of the weapon relaxing her slightly.

Standing before them, was the Grimm Dragon.

For the billionth time, she wished she had her sword. Sera had a feeling it'd take more than a tiny gun and Neo's parasol for this thing to go down.

It towered above them. Its large head was thirty feet above them. Its ruby-colored eyes glared right at Sera.

Sera wanted to plant her face in the snow and scream. Stupid! She thought. It was drawn to the smoke from the fireplace!

"Run," Sera squeaked. But even as she said that, she knew it was hopeless. This thing could easily keep up with them, and the snow wasn't going to make it any easier.

They didn't run. They stood as still as statues. The dragon didn't move either, but it likely wouldn't take long for it to get bored and just eat them.

Maybe it can't see us if we stay absolutely still, Sera thought hopefully.

No such luck. As if on cue, the dragon roared at them. A horrible, ear-splitting roar that sounded like a thousand chainsaws.

Neo looked at her expectantly, as if she were asking, Well? Run or fight?

Sera could only look at her helplessly. She didn't know what to do. Well, she sighed. When in doubt, go for the head.

She charged.

The dragon roared and swiped its canoe-sized claws at her. Sera leaped over it and onto its foreleg, running towards its body with Silver Linings in her hand.

She never made it to the head. Just as she jumped from its leg to its shoulder, the dragon swung its head around and blasted a torrent of black flames at her. Sera panicked, believe it or not. But just before the flames hit her, she raised her arms in front of her face and squeezed her eyes shut. She hoped that her semblance would activate by itself much like it did in Forever Fall, but no such luck.

The flames blasted her backwards and into the snow, much like a shotgun blast against a small animal.

Sera groaned and rolled over to pick herself up off the ground. A tingling sensation was spreading throughout her body, but she didn't have time to think too much about it. The dragon reared its head back and blasted another black inferno in her direction.

She leaped to the side and over a fallen log. When Sera peeked over the tree, she could see Neo darting around and delivering rapid slices where she could to the beast's legs. The dragon roared in outrage and continued trying to swat the annoying girl with its claws and tail.

Sera vaulted over the log and ran towards the fight. She fired off several rounds from Silver Linings, pegging the dragon in the face and effectively annoying it.

It turned towards Sera with its hate-filled eyes and took to the air. Neo tried to grab hold of its tail, probably to crawl up its body, but it was just out of reach.

The Grimm roared and dived towards Sera, its fangs bared and its claws ready to slice her to ribbons. Or perhaps it'd try to crush her instead.

Before the dragon could do either, Sera slid under its massive body baseball-style and came up with her finger on Silver Linings's trigger. She fired electricity Dust rounds into its underbelly and immediately reloaded when her gun ran empty.

The dragon roared, hopefully in pain and not annoyance, and landed on the ground with a thunderous boom.

Sera kicked up snow running over to Neo. The mute girl looked at her like, Great, you pissed it off. Now what?

The amnesiac knit her eyebrows together in concentration. She had an idea, but there was no way it would work. With Beacon's CCT down, could the signal even get through? The receiver supposedly ran on some sort of link rather than radio waves, but could her target reach her before this dragon literally chewed them up and spit them out?

Sera turned to Neo, "Can you distract it?"

Neo rolled her eyes. Sera figured she was probably trying to say, Of course I can. What kind of question is that.

"Buy me some time," Sera requested. Neo looked uncertain, but she nodded. After she ran off to be an annoying pest to the dragon, Sera went behind a tree and put her back to it as she pulled out her scroll.

She punched in her four-digit passcode. A loading screen appeared.

"Please, please, please," she muttered, then a message with a smiley face appeared on-screen. Happy Hunting, Sera!

Sera grinned.

She spun out from behind the tree, and her smile faltered. The dragon had Neo pinned to the ground with its foreleg, and its open jaws looked like they were about to take her head off. Neo fought viciously, trying to break free.

"Hey, ugly!" Sera yelled and fired an ice Dust round at its face. Its lower jaw froze on contact. The dragon looked rather surprised. It glared at Sera with absolute hatred in its eyes.

Just have to buy time till it gets here, she thought.

Her distraction was just enough for Neo to get free. Where she lay, an identical clone of her shattered, and she was suddenly standing next to Sera.

"Neat trick," Sera mumbled as the dragon broke the ice on its jaw. Neo smirked and shouldered her deadly parasol.

"Just have to hold it off for a little while till the package gets here."

Neo looked at her incredulously.

"Trust me," Sera tried for a reassuring smile. I hope, she thought. Without wasting another moment, she rushed the dragon again. It roared and reared back, its ruby eyes gleaming with anger.

Sera readied Ember Celica while aiming her revolver at the dragon's face. She hammer-fired the weapon while running. Once the telltale clicking of an empty cylinder rang out, she shoved the gun into its holster and jumped at the Grimm, her fist raised.

Neo was trailing closely behind with the blade of her parasol dipped towards the ground. As soon as Sera's feet left the ground, the mute diverted her path to get around to the dragon's side.

Sera couldn't help but grin as she sailed straight for the beast's maw. She knew it would either blow more black flames or bite at her, but she was counting on one thing. Hopefully it'd work this time instead of blanking out on her.

Just as she reached the arc of her jump, she could see the black flames getting ready to shoot out from the back of the dragon's throat. Once the flames shot out towards her, the amnesiac squeezed her eyes shut. She poured all her willpower, anger, and despair into one thought.

STOP!

Time slowed to a crawl, then stopped completely. The black flames had just made it past the beast's teeth. The roar of wind in Sera's ears stopped abruptly.

She opened one eye slowly. Once she saw that her semblance had actually worked this time, she grinned.

Sera fell back to the ground, then immediately kicked off the snow and went straight back up. She used Ember Celica to deliver the hardest uppercut she could muster to its jaw. The dragon's head cocked upwards and stopped again.

The huntress smirked and landed on the tip of its snout. She gazed at its giant pair of eyes, wondering why this Grimm was so hellbent on getting her. Maybe Salem sent it, she thought.

She scowled distastefully at the thought of her mother. Before her semblance could end, she sent an explosive blast from Ember Celica to the dragon's face, then leaped off its face.

Everything moved again like normal as soon as her feet touched the snow. The sounds of two explosions were heard. One from Ember Celica, the other from within the dragon's mouth. Sera hoped that would happen. She'd purposely slammed under its jaw with her uppercut, forcing its mouth closed. With nowhere to go, the black flames within its maw built up and combusted.

The dragon roared as it fell back. Black smoke trailed into the sky from its mouth. Neo blinked hard, apparently not believing what she'd just witnessed.

Sera smiled to herself. But she doubted that that brought this large Grimm down so soon. As if on cue, the dragon stirred. It brought itself to its feet and growled in Sera's direction. She imagined it was probably thinking, Cute trick, girlie. Now its my turn.

The giant Grimm reared back and roared into the sky, shooting a column of black flames.

The amnesiac caught a flicker of movement over the dragon's shoulder. A narrow gray object was flying towards her with the velocity of an airship. Its metal glinted in the sunlight, and it brought a broad smile to Sera's face.

Neo blinked and pointed at it.

"Yeah, that's it," Sera affirmed.

The dragon was still shooting flames like some sort of temperamental child, so it seemed to fail to notice that it was in the flight path of a Beacon Academy locker.

The locker slammed into the top of its head with an audible crack, forcing the lizard onto all fours again. Sera grinned as her locker planted itself in the snow like it had just fallen from space.

"Oh, you beauty!" Sera squealed and rushed to the locker. She quickly typed in her passcode, and the door swung open. Neo peeked around her shoulder to inspect its contents while the dragon recovered from its unexpected head injury.

Laying inside her locker was a black and red sword. The same sword that Magnus had returned to her from her old life at Shade. Sitting beside it was a leather pouch full of Dust and even an extra pair of her old white and purple outfit.

Sera reached excitedly towards the hilt of the sword, but her smile disappeared, and her hand stilled. Taped to the inside of the door was a scroll-sized picture of her and team RWBY sitting at a lunch table. Ruby was smiling at the camera with a cookie in hand while Weiss sat with her arms crossed stubbornly beside her. Blake's face showed no emotion, but she had her hand raised in a wave. Yang stood a broad smile on her face and her hands on her hips. Sera was sitting on the other side of Ruby with her middle finger raised and a playful smirk on her lips.

She missed that day. She wished she would've cherished her time at Beacon more than she had.

Shaking off her nostalgia, she grabbed the black and red sword, pulling it out of the locker. The weapon felt familiar, yet out of place in her hands. She knew that she must've fought with it for years, but she'd grown so accustomed to Crimson Eclipse that this blade felt foreign.

Nevertheless, it was a sword. And out of all the weapons she'd accumulated, she was the most dangerous with a blade.

She gently closed the locker door closed after taking one last look at the picture. I'll see them again, she thought.

Then she charged the dragon.

Just in time, it lifted itself from the ground and bared its teeth at Sera. She grinned as she got closer to the scaly reptile. Neo was running alongside her, and Sera was thankful for her presence. Fighting alongside someone was always better than being alone. Because then, at least you knew someone had your back in case things went sideways.

The dragon spat more black flames at Sera, but she sidestepped and went straight for its face. As soon as she raised her old sword above her head to attack, a flood of memories, like déjà vu, filled her mind. She'd done this a thousand times with this sword—leaping towards the enemy with it raised high, against just about every kind of Grimm imaginable.

She grit her teeth and swung. The blade of the sword cleaved into the dragon's cheek, black blood spilling onto the snow.

The dragon roared and its head flailed from side to side, batting Sera to the ground and causing her body to dig a shallow trench in the snow.

Neo was suddenly at her side, helping her to her feet.

"We need to take this thing down fast," Sera grumbled once she was standing. Neo arched an eyebrow mockingly.

"Yeah, I know," Sera rolled her eyes. Then the mute girl's face morphed to one of curiosity and caution. What's the plan? She seemed to be asking. Sera took a little pride in that. She was getting better at reading Neo.

The dragon focused in on the two girls again, black blood dripping from its large face.

"Okay, game plan: I'm gonna kill it," Sera told the shorter girl.

Seriously? Neo's eyebrows furrowed.

The amnesiac grinned. "Trust me. I have a plan."

Neo's expression never faltered.

"Okay! I have, like… half a plan," Sera admitted.

Another unapproving stare from Neo.

"I'm gonna wing it," Sera mumbled. Then an idea wormed its way into her head. She glanced over at the dragon's giant wings spread in the air.

Sera grabbed Neo's shoulders, startling the poor girl. "Clip its wing," she ordered. Neo's grin sent a shiver down Sera's spine. Then the mute was gone. She dashed towards the large Grimm, parasol in hand.

Sera sprinted for the dragon, her sword at her side. Before the dragon could react, Neo dashed up its leg and onto its back. It reared and spat flames in every direction, trying to throw her, but Neo held fast. Sera jumped onto its leg just before the dragon reared back again, and she pushed off of it, using the momentum to propel herself skyward.

She cut its wing down the membrane like it was paper, gaining another pained roar from the dragon. Sera dropped to the ground like a rock, turning her momentum into a roll and coming up unharmed.

Neo seemed to be having the time of her life, riding the Grimm like a bucking bronco. She swung her parasol/sword wildly, slicing into its back and the base of its wings whenever she could.

Sera smiled, shaking her head. "Neo! Other wing, please!"

The mute looked up and rolled her eyes, but the sudden shouting drew the dragon's attention. It regarded Sera with hateful eyes and opened its maw, black flames forming at the back of its throat.

"Uh-oh."

She jumped to the side just as the fire hit where she was standing. The snow melted instantly and the grass beneath blackened.

Neo jumped to her feet, almost falling off its back, then brandished her parasol and leaped into the air. The blade in her parasol wasn't exactly versatile compared to a regular sword, but she managed to slice the webbing of the dragon's wings easily enough.

"Way to go, Mini Me!" Sera whooped, gaining a baleful look from Neo. 'Mini Me'?

The dragon roared angrily and tried to take flight. It beat its wings powerfully, but it was no use. Its severed webbing flapped in the wind, but the dragon stayed grounded. That fact seemed to make it angrier. It roared and blew flames everywhere, blasting the snow, trees, and into the air.

It stomped in an outrage and charged Sera. Neo was hanging on for dear life on its back. She seemed to see that it was intending to flatten Sera to the ground, and anger flashed in her violet eyes.

Neo thrusted her parasol's blade into the Grimm's back rapidly in a flurry of strikes. The dragon roared and reared back, then kept going back. Sera saw what it was trying to do, and it was too late to stop it. Even if she used her semblance, she doubted she could make it in time. She was already tired from the fight and using it earlier.

The dragon fell onto its back with a loud boom and rolled from side to side, trying to make sure it crushed the small girl.

"Neo!" Sera shouted as she ran towards the beast. She leaped into the air and fell onto its surprisingly soft belly, not caring that it was still rolling around so violently. With a yell of outrage, she drove her sword into the soft flesh at her feet. The dragon shrieked and rolled over, throwing Sera off of it as it got back to its feet.

Sera landed on her feet, her sword impaling itself in the ground to her left. She couldn't see Neo anywhere, but she tried not to focus on that.

The dragon glared at her, black flames licking out from its bared teeth. Sera glared at it and marched over to her old weapon.

"You want death?" Sera yanked the sword free. "Well, come on!"

The Grimm roared and charged, its large legs thundering against the snow. Sera yelled in defiance and sprinted at it. She could vaguely see a dim purple glow out of the corner of her eye, and after a quick glance, she saw that it was her violet flower tattoo. Her lightly tanned skin turned pale around the edges of the tattoo, spreading outward until her arm was almost as white as the snow around her. She saw black veins on the back of her arms, and her fingernails darkened until they too were black. She bet all her Lien that her eyes were glowing red now.

She hated turning into this. It was just another dark reminder of what she was. But she was a little relieved, too. She was no longer winded, and she felt stronger. More powerful.

Even the dragon seemed taken back by the white-haired huntress that was running towards it. But it didn't slow.

Sera screamed as she jumped into the air. The dragon opened its jaws to snap her up, but she was faster. With a powerful swipe from her sword, the Grimm's eyes widened.

She landed on its snout and immediately jumped to the top of its head. Sera gritted her teeth, and before the dragon could wise up and shake her off, she drove her sword into its skull with enough force to feel like she'd just stabbed butter.

The dragon roared weakly as the glow from its eyes faded, and it fell to the ground in a heap of black scales.

Sera panted as she yanked the sword from its skull and jumped down to the ground. She took a deep breath and stabbed the weapon into the snow as the dragon began dissipating into shadow.

She saw movement to her left, and Neo appeared in front of her with wide eyes and a paled face. Her clothes were ripped and hair disheveled, but she appeared fine.

Sera glanced down at her arms to see that they were still pale, but the black veins were receding, and she was beginning to get some color back.

"Well," she sighed. "That sucked." Then she promptly collapsed once her body returned to normal.

. . .

Sera's dreams were extremely tame compared to what they usually consisted of. This time, she was sitting on the couch of the Xiao Long house with Ruby, Yang, and Tai. They were watching some silly show that depicted several men in different-colored suits of power armor with golden visors and rifles in their hands. They seemed to be bickering about a vehicle with a heavy machine gun mounted on the back.

Sera recognized this show. It was Red vs. Blue, one of the things that she and Ruby watched a lot of during their time after the Fall of Beacon.

They seemed to be having a good time, laughing together at the television. Sera sighed in content and leaned against Yang. The blond wrapped her right arm around her, which was weird since it had been severed during the Fall of Beacon.

Taiyang smiled warmly and turned to say something, but when he spoke, it wasn't his voice.

Wake up, young lady, a woman's voice said.

Sera sat bolt upright in a completely different place. She was in a large, extremely comfortable bed in some room with wooden walls and candles providing light.

She turned to see a woman in her twenties or thirties looking down at her. She had flowing black hair and green eyes, and she was dressed in a heavy woolen coat.

"W-where am I?" Sera blinked.

"Hurosaki," she replied, a kind tone to her voice. "We found you in the forest, your friend dragging you through the snow."

Then she remembered the fight against the dragon before she collapsed. "My friend—is she okay?"

"She's fine," the woman assured. "In the next room, warming up."

Sera nodded and threw her legs over the side of the bed. When she stood, she was surprised that she didn't feel exhausted like she usually does after blacking out from pushing herself. She was pleased to see that she wore the same clothes, just without her jacket. She hated waking up to find out someone had changed what she was wearing.

"You must've been in a tough fight," the woman commented. Sera nodded and made her way to the door.

"Guess my friend didn't tell you?" Sera asked. The woman shook her head.

"Hasn't said a word, actually."

"She's mute. She can't say a word," Sera chuckled.

"Figured," the woman said as they entered the next room—a large living area with a fireplace crackling and warm rugs covering the wooden floor. Neo sat on the couch with a bowl of stew in her lap, but she stood when she saw Sera.

"Stew over there if you're hungry," the green-eyed woman told her. "And you can come outside whenever you're feeling like it."

Sera nodded, then the woman exited the small building they were in. Neo walked up to her, worry lines on her face.

"Hey," Sera told her. "Easy-peasy, right?"

Neo slugged her in the shoulder, but there was no force behind it. The black-haired woman smiled lightly. "I'll leave you alone." But before she could make it to the door, Sera spoke up.

"Actually, miss. I was hoping I could talk to you a bit."

She turned around, "About?"

"Uh, how about where exactly we are, and why you agreed to help my friend and I?"

The woman sighed and clasped her hands together. "As I've told you, you're in Hurosaki—"

"And where is that?" Sera interrupted. The woman shot her a look.

"Not far from the ocean between Mistral and Atlas. As for why my village helped you, well, we're a hospitable people. We'd never turn away an injured huntress, especially after slaying such a large Grimm so close to our home."

"Yeah but where were you during the fight," Sera mumbled. The woman didn't seem to hear.

"Hurosaki is a small village," the woman stated. "But you're welcome to explore and meet the people who've allowed you to stay." And with that, she turned and left the cabin.

Sera sighed and looked to Neo, who was glaring at her.

"What?"

Neo rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Well, whatever. Let's get outta this house," Sera grabbed her jacket.

As soon as she stepped out of the wooden cabin, Sera gasped. Before her were about a dozen or so wooden or log cabins arranged in neat rows. Smoke billowed from their chimneys, and people bustled about the snow-covered "streets". Children played and ran around, chucking snowballs at each other and just being kids. A few dozen meters to her left, a building that was obviously a blacksmith's forge rang out with the sound of hammer pounding against metal. Several guards armed with simple rifles patrolled the perimeter. A lot of them kept glancing to the sky, as if they expected another dragon. Just how close had the fight been to this village?

Sera stepped onto the snow-covered ground took in the sight of the village. Once a group of kids saw Neo, they ran over to her giggling with wide grins plastered on their faces. Neo smiled and ruffled their hair, then a girl that looked about six wrapped her tiny arms around the mute's waist.

Sera raised an eyebrow. Since when was Neo the kid-friendly type? She attacked Beacon and has cut down Grimm like they were made of wax, but here she was getting along with children.

A few of them glanced warily in Sera's direction as they told Neo about their adventures "slaying Grimm with snowballs".

Eventually, the kids ran off to play and Neo looked to her with a pleased smile.

"Since when are you, I dunno, nice?" Sera asked. Neo frowned and crossed her arms.

"Whatever, let's see if there's a quick way outta this place," Sera gestured towards the blacksmith's forge.

They stepped through the open doorway and were immediately met by a large man with greasy hands and a grimy blacksmith's apron. He was bald, but on his face resided a handlebar mustache that would make Professor Port jealous.

"Welcome! You must be the huntresses that Diana took in," the man's blue eyes twinkled with a friendly light. She couldn't place it, but she could swear she's seen this guy before. He looked really familiar.

"Diana? Oh, the woman with black hair and green eyes," Sera guessed.

"Right you are, lass. She helped you into her home when she found your friend here dragging you into the village."

"Right, right," Sera glanced to Neo. "Well, mister…?"

"Money."

Sera stared at him. "'Mister Money'?"

Mister Money sighed, "Just call me Moe."

"Right… Well, Moe, I was hoping you could tell me if there was a fast way outta town. An airship, maybe?" Sera asked, but even as she said it, she knew it was hopeless. There was no way this little place had any flying transportation.

Moe laughed. A loud, boisterous laugh that boomed across town. "I'm afraid not, miss. There's not much in the way of transportation around these parts."

Sera sighed and hung her head. "I didn't think so."

"My, that's an interesting piece…" Moe muttered. Sera picked her head up to see that his eyes focused on her hip, where Silver Linings rested in its holster. The amnesiac drew the weapon for him to see.

"Got it from a weapon shop in Vale. Guy that made it is named—"

"Tarkus," Moe guessed.

Sera blinked, then nodded. "How'd you know?"

Mr. Money's eyes gleamed. "That's my boy. Tarkus! Ah, he grew up to be a fine weaponsmith. He has a shop in Vale, then?"

That's why he looked familiar. He was the father of the weaponsmith at the shop Coco had taken her to just before Vale fell.

"Had. Uh, have you heard about Vale recently?" Sera asked carefully. The man shook his head, but worry lines etched on his face.

"Has something happened?"

Huh, Sera thought. News travels slow around here.

But reluctantly, she told the man about the attack on Vale and Beacon. Once she was finished, he had to sit in a chair so his knees wouldn't buckle.

"Vale… I never thought I'd see the day. Is Tarkus all right? Is my boy okay?" He asked, looking into Sera's eyes for answers. She glanced at Neo, who was watching to see what she would say.

Sera shook her head. "I don't know. It's possible that he's still alive, a lot of people made it out."

Moe's eyes dropped to the floor.

"Your son's a tough cookie," Sera said. "I could tell just by meeting him. I doubt he let a few Grimm take him down." But even as she said that, she couldn't know for sure. The situation in Vale had gotten really bad. It was possible that he was still alive, but still…

Moe lifted his head, the gleam in his eyes returning. "He certainly is, lass. I'd wager that he's on his way home right now."

Sera smiled. "I bet he is, mister."

He held his hands out, "May I?"

Shrugging, she placed Silver Linings in his hands. Moe inspected the weapon along its barrel and investigated every inch of its cool metal.

"Damn boy," he mumbled. "I told him that engravings are useless. They provide no tactical advantage whatsoever."

Sera cracked a smile. "I like the engravings, sir. They give it character."

Moe's eye twinkled and he handed the gun back to her, holding the hilt out for her to take. "Perhaps you're right, miss."

"Sera," she held her hand out. Moe smiled and shook it. His hands were rough and felt like iron from working the forges.

"Maybe there is a way I can help with your transportation problem, lass," he smiled kindly.

. . .

"Oh," Sera muttered. "my Dust."

Moe crossed his arms proudly. He'd led Sera and Neo around the back of the shop and to a small garage. Neo's eyes widened at the machine that resided inside.

"You can't be serious," Sera stared at Moe. "This thing is an antique! There's no way I could put it through the all the stuff that's definitely going to happen on the way to the ocean."

Moe shrugged. "Eh, why not? It's not like I get to drive it anymore. 'Sides, if you don't take it, it's just going to sit and rot in here."

Sera shook her head in disbelief. Sitting inside the small garage was a motorcycle. An old motorcycle that nobody even drove anymore. Despite its age, it looked brand new, as shiny as Yang's bumblebee.

It was black with a wide seat and chrome metal handlebars that stuck up about a foot so that she'd have to have her hands at head level. Along the side of it was a thin silver stripe. Its chrome Dust cap gleamed in the light. Its single headlight resided on the front of it. Sera knew what this motorcycle was—loud, unsafe, and going to be extremely fun.

She grinned, "I… I don't know what to say. I've only just met you, but thank you, Moe."

Mr. Money smiled and jingled a set of keys with an anvil keychain, then tossed them to Sera. "Just tell me when you're leaving, and I'll have her ready for ya."

"Her?" Sera asked. Moe grinned proudly.

"That's right," he crossed his thick arms. "Her name's Bellona."

"Bellona…" she savored the name. Sera looked back at Neo. The mute girl had an eager look on her face, like she was ready to leave.

"Be back in an hour," Sera told the blacksmith.

"So soon?" He asked.

Sera nodded. "I have people I'm trying to catch up to. From Beacon."

He nodded gravely. "I'll look her over and make sure she's ready to ride."

"Thank you, Moe. I bet Tarkus is proud to have you as a dad."

The blacksmith smiled wide then, a pleased look in his eye. Then he said, "Go get your stuff and get outta here before I get attached to you, lass."

Sera nodded. "Come on, Neo. We have friends to find."

. . .

In forty-five minutes, Sera and Neo were packed. Unfortunately, it was then that Sera learned that her cedar walking stick had been destroyed in the fight. But on the plus side, her pack was now filled with spare clothes, a medical pack, and enough food to last a week. Since Neo's clothes were already ruined, she changed into an outfit similar to her usual one, except it was white and black rather than ice-cream colors.

The woman, Diana, said a hasty goodbye when Sera and Neo grabbed their things. She might've praised her village for its friendliness, but she seemed rather unwelcoming. Sera shrugged it off.

Now, Sera and Neo were standing in front of the open garage that contained the motorcycle Bellona. Moe was there too to see them off.

"Fueled, maintained, and ready to ride," he announced. He was holding a piece of leather across his arm, but Sera dismissed it. Her eyes were on Bellona.

"I can't thank you enough…" her voice faltered. Neo nodded her head rapidly, showing that she felt the same.

"Don't sweat it, lass. You've given me hope that I might see my boy again, someday." He said coolly.

Sera fastened her old sword onto the side of the motorcycle and grabbed the handlebars. The grip was soft and felt like it was made for her hand.

"One more thing," Moe said. Sera looked up to see him holding the piece of leather with both hands, except it wasn't a piece of leather. It was a black leather motorcycle jacket, with zippers on the sleeves, zip chest pockets that would reside on her bosom, and a strap on the left collar so that she could button it to the right collar.

It looked designed for warmth, with soft-looking red plaid cloth on the inside.

"You shouldn't have," Sera said, but she was staring at the jacket.

"Just another gift," he shrugged. "And watch this—it's Dust infused so it can do…this!" he announced, then revealed a small shirt button on the inside of one sleeve. Before her eyes, the jacket changed color until the black leather was now white, and the red plaid was purple.

"That," Sera said. "Is extremely cool."

Moe smiled like he wasn't used to praise, which was odd since he was a blacksmith. "It's no big deal. It's for extra camouflage in this snow, plus the white and purple match your and your friend's eyes and hair."

He handed the jacket to her, but Sera lunged forward and wrapped the large man in a bear hug. When she pulled back, she stripped off the jacket Raven gave her and slipped on the leather one.

"Now, get outta here," Moe ordered. "Go get your friends."

Sera nodded and mounted the bike. She turned the key and kicked down the clutch. Bellona roared to life, growling like an angry Ursa. Neo slipped on behind her, wrapping her thing arms around Sera's waist.

After walking the motorcycle out of its garage, Sera took one last look at Moe, then sped off down the snowy road. The children cheered and waved bye to Neo, who smiled tried not to fall of the bike.

I'm comin'for you, Sera thought, mentally calling out to her friends.

An interesting chapter, to be sure. Hopefully it was enjoyable to read. Also, the closest comparison to the new motorcycle I can think of is the Zombie Chopper from Grand Theft Auto V.

What adventure awaits Sera and Neo next on their journey to regroup with RWBY and the others? Find out next time on the next episode of Dragon Ball Z. (I'm sorry)