"Looks like that village is another few days ride from here," Sera commented as she inspected the map laid out on the ground. Neo popped a handful of cashews into her mouth and looked over Sera's shoulder.
They were camped out in a small clearing, a campfire crackling in the center of a circle of stones. Sera's new motorcycle, Bellona, stood a few yards away from the fire with the support of its kickstand. Sera still wasn't sure why Mr. Money had given it to her, but she knew she was going to take good care of it.
Sera laid stone on each corner of the map to keep it down and sat back. Her eyes scanned near the top, just below where the ocean met Mistral's border. She'd used a red marker to circle the town that Qrow and the others were supposed to be heading and kept track of her and Neo's progress by drawing short lines so that it looked like they were following a treasure map.
Neo dug around in her pack and pulled out her scroll. How do you know they'll be there? She typed.
"Because they have to be," Sera muttered. "If they're not, well… we're pretty much screwed."
We could run away and start up a new crime syndicate, Neo mused.
"This isn't the time for jokes," Sera scolded and folded up the map. Neo gave a half shrug and popped more cashews into her mouth. Her hair and eyes still matched Sera's, and she wasn't sure if it was more flattering or creepy. She thought Neo would revert back when she had kept calling her "Mini Me," but apparently not.
The sun was starting to light up the sky, so they took that as their cue to start packing up. They doused the fire and climbed onto Bellona with their packs.
The motorcycle roared to life and sped down the snow-covered road, kicking up white powder in its wake. Admittedly, Sera loved this motorcycle. She felt like she was born to ride it. Plus, it'd probably make Yang pretty jealous.
Gods, what was she going to tell Yang and the others? "Hey, sorry I took so long, Yang's mom knocked me and Cinder into an abyss and I had to escape from Salem's castle with the help of the same woman who inadvertently sent me there! Then I spent about a week there getting to know Raven and her band of merry men (and women)! Me and Neo the Wonder Mute fought off a bunch of Grimm and a DRAGON, then I woke up in a remote village! Now I'm here! Isn't that great?"
She shook away the thought. They'd be happy to see that she wasn't dead. After all, they did think she was dead.
Neo tapped on her shoulder three times-the sign that Sera had given her for when there was trouble—and Sera hit the brakes. Bellona slid sideways to a halt, and Sera immediately scanned the area for trouble.
"What is it?" Sera whispered. Neo didn't answer, but she did hold up two fingers in front of the amnesiac's face. She'd spotted two potential threats.
Sera slid off Bellona and unsheathed her old sword from the motorcycle's side. The night after they left Hurosaki, she'd had a dream about her past and remembered the weapon's name—Lunar Scarlet. It reminded her of Crimson Eclipse so much, she wondered if she'd unconsciously named Qrow's gifted sword after this one.
Neo drew rested her parasol on her shoulder and stood to Sera's back.
"All right," Sera announced. "You can come out now. No point in hiding anymore."
Nothing happened for a solid ten seconds. She was about to turn to Neo and scold her for wasting their time, but then two figures stepped out from opposite trees. Sera faced one while Neo faced the other. The bad part was that they both recognized them.
"Well," Mercury said coolly. "Not bad, though it took you a few miles to catch on."
"Yeah, well, the snow probably soaked up your smell." Sera replied. A smooth female voice rang out.
"Funny."
Sera recognized it as Emerald, Cinder's other henchman. Or rather, henchwoman.
"So, where's Cinder? I know Emerald can't travel very far away from her without suffering from withdrawal." Sera quipped.
"I wouldn't be making jokes, given the situation you're in," Mercury sneered. Then his eyes narrowed at Neo.
"Neo? My gods, it's true. You're helping them now."
"Holy hell, it is her. Hard to recognize her without that dreadful ice cream get up," Emerald added. Neo trembled against Sera's back, most likely in anger.
"I wouldn't get the psycho mad, you two," Sera warned.
"Or what? Roman's little helper is going to attack? I don't know why Cinder allowed her along with us when we infiltrated Beacon, she did nothing helpful."
Neo grit her teeth and Sera gripped Lunar Scarlet tighter. She could tell the fight was about to kick off. "Well, she's certainly been helpful to little ole' me. Haven't you, Neo?" Sera glared at Mercury. She felt Neo nod, then Sera heard the sound of the parasol's hidden blade ejecting.
Mercury got into a fighting stance and Emerald's pistols cocked.
"Fight time," Sera muttered. Neo sighed, as if the prospect of battling her old companions bored her.
Then they charged. Sera went straight for Mercury and slashed her sword in a wide arc. The gray-haired boy did a backflip and blasted her with his built-in weapons on his legs.
She slid across the snow and rushed him again. Mercury sent a flurry of silver bolts of energy towards her, but Sera deflected them easily. After getting within striking range, she crouched and thrust her sword forward, repeatedly jabbing at his legs. Mercury was forced to dodge backwards to avoid the sword strikes, but Sera predicted that. She followed up with an overhead swing and brought the blade of Lunar Scarlet down onto his right shoulder.
Mercury groaned and went down for the moment. Sera turned to see Neo and Emerald in a flurry of strikes. Guns were firing, blades were crossing, blows were being exchanged, but neither of them relented. What momentarily startled Sera was that Neo was smiling.
"Hey," a voice said. Sera turned and saw a boot coming towards her face. The kick was expertly thrown. Mercury's boot hit the bottom of Sera's chin and sent her upwards and into the air.
Fortunately, she recovered fast. After twisting her body in midair and landing in a crouched position, she rose to smirk at the gray-haired boy.
"That the best you could do?" Sera teased.
"No," Mercury admitted. "But it did the trick."
Before Sera could ask what he meant, she suddenly wasn't there. The forest darkened until she stood surrounded by complete blackness. Mercury disappeared from existence, and when she turned around, Neo and Emerald were gone too.
"What-?" Sera asked as she turned her head from side to side, trying to find any source of light. That's when a voice spoke from behind her.
"How could you leave us?"
Sera tensed. She knew that voice. It belonged to the same overly energetic child of a team leader she had come to adore.
She turned around to see Ruby Rose standing there, a long scratch down her cheek and blood seeping from a fatal wound on her gut. Ruby's eyes were full of hurt and betrayal, and it took all Sera had to not collapse on the spot.
"Ruby, I—"
"Where were you? We wandered in the snow and suffered while you spent your time cozying up with a bunch of bandits!"
"No, Rubes, I tried to find you all. I hurried as fast as I could," Sera's voice broke. Blood dripped from Ruby's wound and onto the black ground.
"I thought you were our friend, Sera. But you're like her. Just another monster," Ruby faded to blackness. Sera fell to her knees, her head in her hands.
"What's your problem?" A new voice rang out. Sera looked up to see Weiss standing there, her arms crossed.
"Weiss?" Sera blinked. What was going on?
"I finally escape Atlas to rejoin you, and you abandon us? What kind of a teammate does that?" she berated.
"I didn't abandon anyone, Ice Queen," Sera seethed. The former heiress's blue eyes shone in the dark.
"No? Then where were you when we needed you?" And with that, Weiss faded as well.
Sera shakily got to her feet. What the hell was happening? How'd she get here? It looks like a dream.
"Weiss never trusted you, you know," another voice said from behind her. Sera turned to see Blake's amber eyes glaring at her. "Looks like she was right from the start."
Okay, that was weird. Blake saying that Weiss was right?
"And what do you think, Blake?" Sera asked her. During her brief stay at Beacon, Blake had become a good friend to Sera. They used brew tea together and talk of a better world, where the Faunus were truly liberated.
"It doesn't matter what I think, does it? It only mattered what she thought," Blake replied slyly.
"Who?" Sera blinked. Then Blake faded, and someone took her place. Flowing blond hair, lilac eyes, and a disapproving expression.
"Me, Snowball," Yang glowered.
"Yang," Sera's shoulder's relaxed. She'd be nice to her, right?
"First you up and leave us at Haven, then you link up with my mom? What were you thinking?"
"I had to. You don't know what I went through in that castle," Sera replied, her fists clenched.
"Maybe not," Yang smirked. "But was it worth…this?"
"Worth what?" Sera blinked. Slowly, the Yang she knew transformed. Her blond hair remained, but her skin paled to chalk white, her eyes glowed a sinister red, and the whites of her eyes darkened to black.
Sera took a shaky step back as black veins formed on the sides of her once attractive face. She smiled, and the rest of their team appeared beside her. They all looked the same. Only their hair remained normal rather than changing to white. Except for Weiss, of course.
Sera's heartrate quickened and her breath hitched. They smiled simultaneously, and it made Sera's skin crawl and sent a shiver down her spine.
Another figure appeared behind them. It was her. A perfect clone of Sera, except all Salemified. Evil Sera grinned, her glowing red eyes fixated on the original. She passed a hand over her Ruby, then Blake, then Weiss, then finally Yang, except she seemed to linger over Yang momentarily. One by one, they turned to dust until all that remained was a heap of clean white bones and the pile of ash that used to be their skin.
Evil Sera smiled, then she too crumbled to dust.
Tears spilled from Sera's eyes as she looked down at what remained of her team. The skulls seemed to grin at her. Then, most creepy of all, a sinister and ancient voice filled her head.
We, the bones of all you've abandoned, await yours.
Sera screamed and fell onto her side, clutching her head. She sobbed uncontrollably.
This can't be real, she told herself. This has to be a dream.
Then something brought itself to the forefront of her brain. Something Coco Adel had told her after her fight in the Vytal Festival against Mercury and Emerald.
Or an illusion…
Sera sat up immediately and slapped herself and pinched her arm like she was trying to wake herself from a nightmare. Given her situation, it might as well have been a nightmare.
Wake up! She scolded herself.
No way it'd work, but she thought of her team. Their smiles and laughter, the sight of them all in Beacon's cafeteria and in their dorm. She sat with her legs crossed and squeezed her eye shut.
She envisioned her unconscious body laying in the snow, and soon enough, muffled voices could be heard just above her.
"…fighting me. How is she resisting? No one has broken from this before," a feminine voice asked.
"I don't know. Just knock her down a few pegs so we can get these two and leave," Mercury said.
"I'm trying!"
A waver of concentration on Emerald's part. That was all Sera needed. She surged upward, her eyes shooting open to see blue sky—no more blackness.
"What?!" Mercury exclaimed. Sera shot to her feet and swung her fist towards the sound of his voice. She connected, then Sera heard the sound of wood cracking.
She turned to see Emerald fumbling to aim her duel pistols, but Sera was faster. She surged forward and grabbed her wrists, slamming the dark-skinned woman into the snow.
"You worm!" Emerald cursed at her.
"Heard that before," she mumbled and held her arm behind her. If she moved, Sera would snap it. Emerald wisely stayed still, her cheek pressed to the cold snow.
"If you ever try something like that again…" Sera pulled back on her arm slightly, eliciting a pained scream from Emerald. "Like what your friend did to mine, you're gonna lose an arm."
"Emerald!" Mercury shouted, more in outrage than worry.
"Don't try it, or she's gonna find it's not going to be easy to use both her weapons anymore," Sera threatened through gritted teeth. This wasn't like her, but she couldn't help it. Emerald made her see things that really upset her. How she even did it, she didn't know. As far as she'd known, Emerald could only manipulate the area around her victims. She didn't know she could make them pass out and control their nightmares. Maybe she'd picked up some new tricks.
"Stay back, Mercury," Emerald warned through false bravery.
"Now," Sera asked. "Where's Neo?"
Emerald used her free hand to point in front of Sera. She picked her eyes up to see the ice cream girl laying in the snow, her eyes squeezed shut as she tossed and turned in her nightmares.
"What are you gonna do now?" Mercury asked. "You can't attack me without letting go of her."
"You sure about that?" Sera smirked.
"Don't do anything, Mercury," Emerald pleaded.
"Come on Em, she's bluffing."
Mercury couldn't see the look in Sera's eyes. Emerald could. Her red eyes trembled with fear.
"No, she's not bluffing."
Sera smirked. "Now, you two are going to deliver a message to my mother for me…" Sera stated.
. . .
Sera watched as Emerald and Mercury fled down the road. She immediately grabbed Neo and got onto Bellona, the shorter girl sitting between her and the handlebars.
She smirked at what she'd told the two criminals to tell Salem. A short and simple message, really: Stay away from me and my friends, or I'm going to rip you apart piece by piece.
She knew it wouldn't work, but it was nice to throw Salem's plan in her face.
Twisting the throttle on Bellona, the bike popped up on one wheel and sped down the road faster.
A village should be nearby, she thought.
. . .
The rumble of Bellona's engine drew a crowd in the small village. It was smaller than Hurosaki, if that was possible. A tiny expanse of Mistralian buildings with an old cracked concrete walkway down the center. A few dozen people—families of men, women, and children—stood outside to watch who was entering their town.
Before they even arrived, Neo had woken up from her Emerald-induced nap. The mute girl loosely held onto Sera's waist while the motorcycle inched down the concrete.
They probably looked pitiful. Sera and Neo had been riding for three days nonstop, only stopping to rest and eat. And after their encounter with Mercury and Emerald, they likely looked pretty rough.
A middle-aged woman with graying hair and a dark kimono approached them, her loose sleeves hiding her clasped hands. Sera brought Bellona to a halt and placed a foot on the ground to hold the vehicle up.
"Hello," Sera greeted calmly.
"Greetings," the woman looked them up and down warily. "What brings you to our quaint little village?"
"Just passing through," Sera responded. The woman's shoulders relaxed.
"I see," she let out a relieved sigh.
"But," Sera said, and the woman met her eyes immediately. "We could use a place to rest for a little while. We've been riding since we left Hurosaki. I'm Sera, and this is Neo."
The older woman glanced between the two of them. "I…suppose that's all right. How long?"
Sera looked back at Neo, who was leaning onto her back for support. The mute girl looked exhausted. Sera was too. She felt like her bones were made of sand, and her legs were numb from riding for so long.
"A few hours, at most."
The woman's eyes drifted to the red and black sword strapped to Bellona's side, then to Silver Linings on Sera's hip.
"Don't worry," Sera told her. "We're huntresses."
She sighed in relief again. "Apologies. Times aren't what they used to be."
"Tell me about it," Sera grumbled. A small smile played on the woman's lips, then she gestured for them to follow.
"Come. You can rest in my home," then she turned to the small crowd of people still gathered. "These two are huntresses!" She announced. "They'll be resting here for a few hours, then continuing on their way."
The crowd murmured to each other and slowly dispersed. Sera inched her motorcycle behind the older woman, watching her warily.
After a ten second trek, they stopped at a small hut that looked about as old as Ozpin.
"You can leave your vehicle out here, no one will bother it," she promised as she opened the door. Blissful smells wafted out—homemade cookies, the smell of burning wood, and lavender.
Neo dismounted Bellona with the speed of Jell-O, then trudged inside like she was sleep walking. Sera kicked out the motorcycle's stand and shut off the engine. After making sure the bike was stable, she followed her friend inside, then the woman closed the door behind them.
"Hungry?" she asked kindly. Sera hadn't realized it, but she was actually starving. As soon as the woman said that, her stomach sat up begged like a Beowolf.
"More than you know," Sera sighed. Neo made a grumbling sound and she looked up, embarrassed.
"My, I don't think I've heard a Grimm growl like that, much less a stomach," the woman said as she disappeared into what Sera assumed was the kitchen. She called, "Please, make yourselves at home!"
Sera looked over to the crackling fireplace and sat in front of it, warming her hands. Neo plopped down next to her and leaned onto her shoulder.
"Tired?" Sera chuckled. Neo nodded, her eyelids half-closed. The amnesiac nodded towards a comfortable-looking couch, "Take the couch. I'll wake you when we're leaving."
Neo gave another nod, then went over to the couch and collapsed.
The woman appeared in the doorway with a tray carrying a plate of fresh-baked cookies and cups of steaming liquid. She seemed nice enough, but Sera never dropped her guard for a second.
The woman sat the tray in Sera's lap then looked over to Neo, who was snoring peacefully with her face buried in the cushion.
"Are you two related?" she asked. Sera looked over her shoulder at Neo's messy still-white hair.
"Yeah, sisters," she lied.
"I thought so. You two look just alike," she said as she sat beside Sera on the floor, making the huntress a bit uncomfortable. She wanted to laugh at the woman's comment, but she bit her tongue.
After nearly a minute of silence, besides the crackling fire and Neo's snores, the woman stated, "I'm Mira."
"Nice to meet you," Sera replied, taking a bite of a cookie. Ruby would love these. They were warm and gooey, with just the right amount of chocolate chip. The thought saddened her, because she still wasn't sure when she'd see her team again.
"I bet you've come a long way to get here," Reyna looked over to her.
Sera chuckled. "You have no idea."
"So, where from?"
"Vale."
"Oh," Mira's voice saddened. "Such a tragedy."
Sera nodded, her eyes never leaving the fireplace. Something was nagging at the back of her mind. The villagers' expressions were sleepy and dazed, as if they were sleep walking more than anything else. Come to think of it, Neo hadn't been particularly drowsy until they neared the village… It had to be a coincidence, right? She'd never heard of anything such as this happening before, not unless it was someone's semblance. But how could a semblance do that to an entire town? Sera was sure she was just paranoid.
"Must've been a hard journey, coming all the way out to the middle of Mistral like this," Mira said. Sera nodded and sipped tea from a warm mug. Mira smiled, and that made Sera a little nervous.
"I'm looking for people," Sera stated coolly.
Mira frowned. "Friends or enemies?"
"Definitely friends," she replied. Her voice slightly slurred, but she didn't think anything of it.
"What kind?" Mira asked. Why was she asking all this? It's not like she cared. Once Neo got rested up, they'd be outta here.
"Other huntsmen and huntresses," Sera replied, refusing to say more. Then something rather odd happened. A wave of nausea washed over her, and she dropped the mug in her hands. Her vision swam. Her body felt numb. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mira smile.
The older woman stood stiffly. "It's not everyday that someone strong-willed enough comes into my village. Especially not someone like you."
"What…" Sera mumbled. "What'd you do to me?" Then her eyes widened. The tea. This witch spiked her drink!
Sera tried to stand, but that was a mistake. She felt like she'd just been turned upside down really fast. She stumbled towards Mira, her fingers fumbling to draw Silver Linings.
"Who—who are you?" Sera stuttered. Her vision doubled, then tripled. Mira smiled. A weird, creepy smile that would've sent a shiver up Sera's spine—if she could feel it.
"Ah, young huntress."
Sera's knees buckled, and she fell onto her chest. She struggled to look up at the smiling form of the formerly nice lady that fed her cookies and tea.
"Your mother has many allies."
Then Sera blacked out.
. . .
The scene she woke up to was, in a word, not pretty. Sera and Neo were bound and gagged, sitting back to back on the cold ground outside. Neo sighed in relief when she saw that Sera was awake.
The amnesiac tried to speak, but the wad of cloth in her mouth wouldn't let her form words. She looked off to the side, her eyes widening at their surroundings.
The few dozen villagers shuffled in place in a circle around Sera, Neo, and a large bonfire. Mira spread her arms wide, a triumphant grin plastered on her face.
"Tonight is the night, my friends!" She announced to the villagers, who didn't do much besides moan and groan like zombies. What had this witch done to them?
Sera fought against her bonds, only to find that she was bound in thick chain, unlike Neo who was tied with rope. Apparently, Mira knew about her enhanced strength, but how? What else did she know about her?
She glared at the middle-aged witch, but Mira didn't falter. She grinned, "Tonight is when we kill these two traitors and rejoin our Mistress Salem!" She stated proudly.
Guess Salem really does want my life now, Sera thought. She looked around frantically, trying to find anything they could use to their advantage. Behind the villagers, she spotted Bellona in the same spot she parked it. But at the moment, the motorcycle might as well be at the top of Beacon Tower.
Her eyes scanned herself and Neo. Somehow, Neo had wriggled one of her hands out from behind her back, and she seemed to be trying to reach her back pocket. Sera shifted her own arms slightly, and she would've grinned if it didn't have the chance of alerting Mira. Sera could feel something on her wrist digging into her waist: Ember Celica. Mira didn't know that it was actually a deadly weapon rather than some jewelry piece.
Sera tried to speak again, but the gag muffled it. But it did the trick. Mira glanced over at the amnesiac, a malicious smile spreading on her face. Sera tried to throw some pretty choice cuss words her way that would've gotten her a one-way ticket to Ozpin's office. Mira seemed to acknowledge that she was insulting her.
The witch marched over and ripped the gag out of her mouth. "What was that?"
"I said," Sera flexed her sore jaw. "You know that Salem's just going to kick you to the curb, right? And why shouldn't she? You're just some crackpot witch in the middle of nowhere."
Mira's face tightened with rage, but Sera smiled. "And why would you kill me? Didn't she tell you she wants me to 'reclaim my rightful place' or whatever? You'd just anger her by offing me."
"Because," Mira chuckled. "You made it quite clear that you weren't going to go to her side, didn't you? Now she's done with you. Some daughter you turned out to be. Yes, you were meant for great things, but you botched that up. And now look at you, about to be killed off by some crackpot witch in the middle of nowhere."
Sera glared at her. She wasn't mad at her. She was ticked off that Salem decided it was better to kill her off than to at least try to keep winning her to the immortal's side.
The amnesiac grinned, which seemed to be off-putting to Mira. "See, that's the thing, I'm not about to be killed by some likely power-hungry witch in the middle of nowhere."
"And why's that?" Mira gestured to the ten-foot tall bonfire, its heat had melted the snow long ago and left nothing but wet green grass in a perfect circle around it. "I have you surrounded."
Sera quickly stole a glance down. She saw Neo's hand giving a thumbs-up.
"Because," she smiled. "Neo."
Mira blinked. "Neo?"
Neo sprung into action. The ropes that had been tightly restricting all movement were now laying in a heap on the grass.
"What?" Mira exclaimed, but by then Neo had already kicked her in the side of the head. She ripped the gag out of her mouth with an annoyed expression, like: Seriously? What was the point of gagging me?
The zombie villagers seemed to notice that their witch was down. With a chorus of outraged grunts, they shuffled forward.
Oh great, Sera thought. Here comes the horde.
"Try not to hurt the villagers. Just make your way to the bike so we can get the hell outta here." She thrusted her arm forth, transforming Ember Celica into its true form. Neo pointed at Sera and raised an eyebrow. "I'm going to get our stuff back. And to beat up a witch."
Neo grinned, apparently pleased by her answer. The mute girl took off, weaving through the ocean of zombified villagers and towards Bellona.
Someone grabbed Sera's shoulder and she turned to kick back a dazed man. He stumbled and fell, but the villagers were closing in.
She jumped straight up and over their heads to get a better view of the village, and to see if she could spot the woman behind all this.
Then she saw her. Mira ducked into her little hut and slammed the door behind her. With an annoyed sigh, Sera made her way to it after she returned to the ground. She pushed and shoved villagers out of the way, but more just took their places. Eventually, she made it, and kicked the door open.
After slamming it closed and shoving a tall cabinet in front of the door, Sera turned to look for any immediate threats. The room was empty. Mira was nowhere to be seen, but that didn't ease Sera.
She took a step forward, the floorboards creaking under her foot. Sera spotted her sword, pistol, and Neo's parasol sitting by the fireplace. Without hesitation, she made her way to the weapons.
That was her mistake.
As soon as she made it to the couch, Mira jumped out from behind a bookcase and slammed a frying pan into her face.
Sera stumbled back, clutching her face and now-throbbing head.
"A frying pan? Really?" Sera groaned. Mira smiled and hefted her deadly weapon.
"It's a shame you're not going to see the world that Salem plans to create from the ashes after she destroys Vale and all the other kingdoms."
"Oh yeah? It's a shame you're not going to, either," Sera raised her fists, Ember Celica shining in the light of the fireplace.
"You could've been great, you know. It's all here," Mira tapped a finger to her temple. "In your head."
"Blah, blah, blah. World domination and true forms and all that useless shit. Can we fight now? I really wanna put my fist into your face, lady."
Mira smirked. "Good luck trying tha—" But suddenly, a golden gauntlet slammed into her teeth. Mira launched backwards and collided with the wall. The witch slid into a seated position, a steady stream of blood pouring from her nose.
Sera hadn't even allowed her to finish talking. She'd used her semblance to get in a well-deserving blow.
"The thing is," Sera cocked Ember Celica, a single shotgun shell clattering to the floor. "I'm sick of hearing the same thing from you villain types. It's all repetitive and boring." She walked towards the bleeding Mira, who was holding her arms up as if to shield herself.
"P-please! I'll do anything!" She begged.
"Would you let the villagers go?" Sera asked as she grabbed the witch by her hair and pulled her up.
"Yes! Look!" She clapped her hands together. "They're free from my semblance! Please, just take your belongings and leave!"
Sera's scowl relaxed, and she released the witch. She turned and made her way to the fireplace, but she didn't see the smirk on Mira's lips before she did so.
Just as Sera buckled her gun belt around her waist and slid Silver Linings into its holster, something grabbed her arms.
"You idiot! Do you really thing I'd just give up like that? No, Salem will be extremely pleased with my capturing of you!" Mira shouted. And where her arms had been were now black limbs with clawed hands. They were impossibly long and thin. She had Grimm arms like Cinder, except these were more similar to a Nuckelavee's arms.
"What?!" Sera grunted. The arms wrapped around her arms and torso and slammed her into the ceiling.
"You can thank your mother for these arms—perfect for teaching upstarts like you a lesson!" Mira gloated.
"Let me guess," Sera told her. "You didn't have arms before, did you?"
"No, I did not," Mira grimaced.
Oh great, Sera thought. This is the part where she tells me her tragic past.
"It's been nine years since that horrible night," Mira said in a story-telling voice.
Oh, gods, Sera mentally groaned.
"My family and I were in a horrible accident—I was the only survivor. But the cost—"
"Was your arms," Sera finished. "Can we finish this or are you going to bore me to death, woman?"
Mira scowled. "You insolent brat."
"I get that a lot."
"Now you die, and I can secure my place at Salem's table!" Mira's arms tightened. Sera stiffened as the arms closed tightly. She could feel her ribs straining under the pressure.
"See," Sera managed. "That doesn't sit well with me. What's the fun in dying," she readied the trigger on Ember Celica, "when you can just blow up some witch and continue on your way?"
A shotgun blast rang out and Mira screamed. Ember Celica's round had completely eviscerated Mira's Grimm arms, and Sera fell to the floor face-first. After picking herself back up, she charged the witch and slammed her to the ground.
"Now," Sera told her. "Me and my friend are going to leave. One wrong move and, well, let's just say it won't be pretty."
Mira was sobbing. Sera didn't care. She considered finishing her off permanently, but that didn't sit right with her. Killing another person, especially like this—she'd have nightmares about it forever. So instead, Sera released her, grabbed her sword, and made her way to the door.
Mira looked up, her teeth clenched and her eyes blazing with anger. The elderly witch rose to her knees.
"How dare you…" she grumbled. Sera halted and looked over her shoulder. "How dare you do this to me?!" Mira got to her feet and ran at Sera. The huntress wasn't sure what this witch planned to do without arms, though. Before she could think about it too much, a green aura surrounded Mira's body.
"Now you're mine!" She announced.
Sera let her approach. The huntress's face was completely neutral. At the last possible second, Sera stepped aside. She drew Silver Linings with such speed, the human eye could barely catch it.
Sera immediately fired a round into Mira's side. The Dust round penetrated her aura and buried itself into her ribs. Sera hit something vital, she knew it.
Mira stumbled and her breathing became labored. Blood dripped onto the wooden floor of the hut.
"You really have been through a lot, haven't you?" Sera asked, her voice a hushed whisper.
"More…" Mira winced. "than you could ever know."
Sera holstered Silver Linings and grabbed her sword scabbard, slipping the weapon over her shoulder, and held Neo's parasol in her hand. Mira crumpled to the floor, clutching her side tightly. More blood pooled around her, staining her robes.
The huntress opened the front door and looked down at the elder woman. "I'm sorry." She said, then stepped into the doorway. She made it halfway out before Mira's voice stopped her.
"Sera."
The amnesiac looked over her shoulder. Mira was meeting her gaze, except all of the fire and evil light in her eyes had been replaced by warmth. "Thank you. Now, I can rest, and be reunited with my family."
Sera nodded, then stepped outside. The cold wind slapped her in the face, blowing her hair to the side. After a quick sweep over the village, she could see that the villagers had seemingly returned to normal. Instead of shuffling around like zombies, they wandered around in a daze like they weren't sure where they were.
Bellona sat a few feet away from the hut, and Neo was leaning against it. Her arms were crossed, and she was watching Sera expectantly.
Sera tossed the frilly pink parasol to Neo, who caught it out of reflex and smirked. After Neo stepped out of the way, Sera swung her leg over Bellona and took her spot behind its handlebars. She kickstarted the motorcycle, and Neo got on behind her.
"Now," Sera muttered. "Let's get the hell out of here."
. . .
Five hours. That's how long it took for something else to screw up Sera's day. First, she gets ambushed by the villainous duo of Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black and they give her enough nightmare fuel to last a lifetime. Then, they get tricked, knocked out, and tied up by a middle-aged witch, whom Sera had to kill and turned out to not be as evil as she'd originally thought. And now, a freaking horde of Grimm was surrounding her and Neo.
They just showed up out of nowhere. Sera hadn't even seen them despite the ungodly amount of them that was there. One minute she's just driving down the road. The heat from the engine warmed her legs and just cruising down the snowy dirt path relaxed her. Then, out of nowhere, she saw nothing but black, and she slammed on the brakes. Bellona slid to a halt on the road and Sera kicked the kickstand out for the bike to lean on.
Neo hopped off the motorcycle while Sera got off in a much more laid-back manner. She rested her old sword, Lunar Scarlet, on her shoulder and sighed at the crowd of Beowolves surrounding her.
"Really?" Sera asked. "Just couldn't stay away, could ya?"
Then as one, they charged. Sera and Neo leaped into action. In seconds, they were swarmed by dozens of the wolf Grimm.
Sera swung her sword in wide arcs, killing several Grimm with a single slice. Neo jumped and dodged around while stabbing and delivering sharp blows to the Beowolves with her parasol.
The amnesiac would alternate between her sword and gun, shooting or blasting apart Grimm with ease. She jumped into the air and fired round after round into the skulls of her opponents.
After seeing a perfect opportunity when several Beowolves ran in a line towards her, she threw her sword at them. The weapon spun end over end in a horizontal fashion, like the world's most dangerous frisbee, and sliced the Grimm to pieces at the waist.
Sera kicked another Grimm in the side and fired a round from Silver Linings into its skull, then made her way towards her sword.
And so it went. She quickly got into her familiar groove when fighting Grimm: slice, dodge, kick, slice, jab, roll, shoot, stop time, stab, repeat. In what felt like only a few minutes, nothing remained of the horde besides several dozen mounds of dissolving shadow.
Sera stood in the middle of it all, holding her sword at her side and panting. Several beads of sweat trickled down her forehead. She glanced down at herself and groaned. The new jacket that Moe Money had given to her with Bellona was in shreds. It looked like it'd been put in a blender. Which, in a way, it was. Her pants were tattered as well, and there was a hole on the front of her shirt where a claw had scratched her.
Man, she thought. I really need a way to keep my clothes from being ruined.
At least her aura had protected her body from injury. Not even a scratch marred her skin.
Neo leaned against Bellona for support. She was just as exhausted as Sera now. Well, maybe not so much. Sera had used her semblance quite a bit to avoid attacks and deliver blows of her own.
"Come on, Neo," Sera made her way over to the motorcycle. "Now, let's get out of here."
Yeah I know, this was basically just a filler chapter. But hey, I wanted to try out some new writing techniques. Particularly the nightmare Emerald had given Sera, and the "witch" lady in the village. Basically, this was a practice chapter for my future writing. But I'm posting it because I thought it had some good stuff in it, and I didn't want it to go to waste by sitting in my files doing nothing. So, here you go, my dear readers. If you liked it, fantastic! I'm glad, seriously, because that helps me. If not, then sorry. I'm steadily improving how I write and tell this story.
P.S. I've got like, over half of the next chapter already written. I just need to review over Volume 6 for some stuff I'd forgotten. Particularly, the fight against the Leviathan Grimm and Adam. Dunno if Sera's gonna be present for the Adam fight (probably not, because that's a Yang and Blake thing, but if Sera's there, she'll be expressing just how much she appreciated Adam mentally scarring her *ahem* partner. (I dunno if it's proper to make Sera and Yang, like, an official couple. I still haven't gotten neither any positive or negative feedback about how my readers feel about that ship, so I dunno if it's liked or disliked. If people like it, I may bump it up a notch. If not, I'll tone it down.)) But nevertheless, this story is far from being finished.
To the people of and my like three readers of this story on Wattpad, seriously, thank you.
P.S.S. You've probably noticed the chapter titles recently. Hint: they're all songs, if the "Take Me Home, Country Roads" wasn't obvious enough. I keep forgetting to say who the song is by, but I'll start with this chapter. Traveling On by Kongos.