The next morning, Sera woke up feeling more well rested and rejuvenated than she had in weeks. When her eyes flickered open, she found Yang holding onto her torso tightly, her face peaceful while she slept.
Sera chuckled and relaxed into the bed. She'd wait for Yang instead of risking waking her up.
Ten minutes later, her team was up and at 'em.
(Just gonna speed through this and get to when they're flying in the airship.)
Needless to say, everyone was impressed with what Atlas had done with their weapons and equipment. Each member of RWBYS and JNPR got their own metal box filled with goodies. After they were refitted with their new equipment, the nine of them joined Qrow in Ironwood's office to be briefed on the mission they were about to undertake.
Afterwards they boarded two separate airships and took off. It took nearly an hour to reach their destinations, and they anticipation of using their new weapons was getting to them.
Sera grinned to herself as she remembered opening her crate in Atlas's lab. Once she'd changed clothes, she inspected her reflection with excited eyes.
"Not bad," Sera grinned as she looked at herself. Atlas had given her a brand-new outfit inspired by her old white and purple clothes. Now, she wore a sleeveless violet dress shirt under a stylish sleeveless white coat that was so long it reached her thighs. On her bottom half was pair of well-fitting, tactical pants with a new gun belt on her hips. The belt was purple with a large Omega symbol silver buckle on the front. On her feet were a pair of black leather combat boots with violet soles and trim.
Sitting at the bottom of the box were a pair of black bracers, which struck Sera as odd. She'd never worn bracers, but no doubt it'd look better to wear them than to have nothing but her tattoos on her arms. When she picked up the bracers, she noticed that they had silver Omega symbols located on the front, near the bottom so they sat right above her wrists.
When she put them on, she noted that the left bracer was significantly heavier than the right.
"Wow," a voice said just before Sera could brush her fingers against the Omega symbols. She turned to see Yang standing there, now decked out in her new outfit. A leather aviator jacket was worn over a set of stylish tan clothes. She wore her old orange bandana around her neck, and a pair of high brown leather boots were on her feet. "Nice look."
"I can say the same to you," Sera looked her up and down. "Just one last touch," she slipped the half of Ember Celica that Yang had given her onto her right wrist.
Yang grinned and stepped up to her, and Sera had to look up slightly to meet her eyes. "You ready for this?"
"Ready to be back in the field on an actual assignment rather than fighting for my life on the road? 'Ready' is an understatement," Sera smirked.
"Alright, alright, smart ass," Yang slugged her in the shoulder lightly. "Does feel good to do something familiar, though."
"True," Sera chuckled. "But if I'm being honest, I kinda wish those Ace Ops weren't going with us."
Yang's expression soured. "Trust me, I feel the same."
"Is it cause of Harriet?" Sera asked, already knowing the answer.
"Of course, it is," Yang crossed her arms. "She's been eyeing you since they ambushed us."
"Yeah, I don't like it," Sera shuddered. "I'll just have to tell her that I'm not interested."
"Don't worry," Yang grinned. "I'll handle it."
"What're you gonna do?" Sera raised an eyebrow.
She just smiled and sauntered off, winking at Sera.
"Yang, what does that mean? Yang?" Sera called after her. "Well, fine, then," Sera murmured when Yang disappeared through the door. Taking one last look in the mirror, Sera examined the floral tattoo on her right arm. Rubbing a thumb over the violet petals, an idea popped into her head.
She grinned at her reflection, then her eyes settled on her snow-white hair. Hmm, she thought.
. . .
"All right, teams. Our mission is to secure the launch site of Amity Communications Tower. The area we're coming up on is an abandoned Dust mine. Since its closure, the Grimm have moved in and made it their home. Our job is to evict them," Clover, the team leader, said over the comm in their new scrolls. "Our science team says they need the Dust down there too, so we'll also have to collect that."
"Great, a mission with side quests," Sera said under her breath.
"A powerful Geist has taken residence in the mines, and all Atlas forces have failed to eliminate it, so you know what to do," Qrow said.
"Right," Ruby said.
"There's no telling where it might be, so we're gonna have to split up and corner the thing," Clover said as the airship door slid open. "We're coming up on the mine. I trust that you all practiced landing techniques in Beacon?" He asked rhetorically.
Everyone nodded in understanding, but Sera was lost. "Landing techniques?"
"Oh, right," Weiss said. "You weren't there for that."
"So?"
"So, let's hope you figure it out on the way down," Ruby grinned.
"What does that mean?" Sera asked, but everyone was already getting ready to jump.
"Let's go!" Ruby cheered as she jumped out of the airship, using her semblance to turn into a red blur.
Yang winked at Sera and put a new pair of sunglasses on her face before leaping out of the airship.
Weiss and Blake jumped out of the ship after them, each in their new outfits. Sera couldn't help but marvel at how they'd changed in appearance the past day. Weiss wore her hair in a long braid that was impossibly thick, and Blake had cut her hair rather short. Ruby even did her hair, too. Now, her dark, red-tipped hair was styled and spiked, revealing more of her face and cheeks.
Then, there was Sera. The amnesiac stepped to the side of the airship, looking down at her team landing on the snowy ground in their own unique manner.
Once the light had hit her face, the huntress grinned. Her new sleeveless coat whipped in the wind. An Omega symbol pendant on a silver chain blew with the wind. The same necklace she bought from Lavender back in Mistral. In fact, each of her teammates were now wearing the necklaces she'd bought for them. Sera was proud of that; she'd bought them in hopes that they'd like them, and they did.
Sera's now styled hair rustled in the cold wind as she watched Yang land on the snow. Coincidentally, it was similar to Ruby's. She'd used gel to spike her hair and move her bangs out of her eyes.
She grinned as she unsheathed Crimson Eclipse and looked down at the weapon—and her arm. Sera had had the violet floral tattoo on her right shoulder extended down to her wrist. It'd hurt like hell to be tattooed more, but her aura fixed her up in no time. On top of that, her sword was repainted. Rather than being black and red, Crimson Eclipse was a metallic purple with all of its edges painted silver. Therefore, the weapon needed a new name. In a moment of brilliant clarity, the name Amethyst Ivory popped into her head.
Sera took a deep breath and leaped out of the airship.
Her first thought was: "AHHHHH!" But then she let her body move for her. She spread her arms and legs out to slow her descent. She swayed in the air. The snowy ground was coming up fast.
"You're doing great, Snowball!" Yang cupped her hands around her mouth.
Sera saw no options for landing. Ruby had used Crescent Rose's recoil to slow her descent and Weiss had used her semblance, but Sera had nothing she could use. Silver Linings's recoil wasn't powerful enough for that, and her semblance had no "stop movement" function, only stop time. And my team seemed to realize that too.
I can slow my descent, and my aura should be able to take the hit, but… I'm not too keen on slamming into the ground full force.
Too late. If she didn't move now, she'd hit the ground face first. At the last possible second, Sera straightened her body and slammed into the ground in a kneeling position, the force of the impact being absorbed by both her knees.
Ow… She mentally groaned, holding the position as she suffered in silence. Her aura activated and went to work relieving her pain.
"That was so cool!" Ruby complimented.
"Yep…" Sera rose to her full height, trying to look tough. "It's hell on the knees, though."
"Yeah, but you can take it, can't you Snowball?" Harriet asked with a playful smile.
Sera turned to her and crossed her arms. "Only she gets to call me that," she gestured to Yang with her head.
Harriet held her hands up, her smile never wavering. "Fine, no harm intended." Then the Ace Op turned and faced away from them.
"Nice," Yang said as she bumped her shoulder into Sera's.
"Yeah, well," she shrugged. "I don't know what she's thinking, but nothin' is gonna get in the way of this." Sera draped an arm around her shoulders.
"This is Alpha Squad; we're moving into the maze. You've all got fancy new scrolls now, so use them. Keep your eyes and ears open and report what you see," Clover said over their scrolls.
"Alright, you five," Harriet said. "Let's get a move on." She and her Faunus teammate, Marrow, were heading for the large and dark entrance to the mine.
"It's freezing here!" Ruby said as they got closer to the entrance.
"You're telling me," Sera hugged her body, trying to cover herself more with her sleeveless jacket. In hindsight, maybe that style of clothing wasn't the best idea. Sera rubbed her arms for warmth and tried to not shiver.
"Just project your aura. It should shield you against the cold," Weiss rolled her eyes.
"Easy for you to say," Ruby shivered. "You thrive in the ice, Ice Queen."
Weiss rolled her eyes again and walked after the Ace Ops. Blake gave them a meaningful look before following her.
Sera saw Ruby close her eyes and take a deep breath, then she stopped shivering. She grinned, "Hey, it works!"
"Great, Rubes," Sera said, rubbing her arms. Ruby smiled and ran after Blake and Weiss, a happy skip in her step.
"Don't worry," Yang pulled Sera into a hug, sending warmth into the amnesiac's body. Yang was pretty good with fire, after all. "I heat for you."
"Yeah, you do," Sera grinned. Once she was nice and warm, they followed their team into the dark and spooky mine.
. . .
Not even ten minutes of walking, and they hit a dead end. A large tunnel had collapsed and blocked the entrance with about seven tons of rock.
"Fantastic," Weiss said.
"Bravo, checking in," Harriet said into her scroll. "We hit a bit of a snag. Not sure if it's recent or was caused by the accident. Either way, we have to figure a way around it."
"Got it. Let us know if you need anything," Clover responded.
Blake's expression turned sad as she looked across the mining equipment scattered around.
"Are you okay?" Sera asked as she walked to her side.
"Yeah, just… I realized where we are. This mine was shut down after a big explosion," she nodded.
"I remember this disaster," Weiss said. "Or rather, I remember how angry my father was because of it." She sighed. "I wish I could take back the wrongdoings my family has done to the Faunus, and all of my complacency in it."
"You're truly better than the rest, Weiss," Sera commented.
"Oh, shut it, you," she crossed her arms.
"Hey!" Marrow called from near filled in tunnel. "We found a gap in the wall that one of you could fit through!"
"Why can't Harriet go through?" Yang grumbled.
"Maybe they're testing us," Ruby ventured.
"Maybe," Blake said. "Come on, let's go see what they want."
Once they reached the cave in, Harriet and Marrow looked over to the huntress team.
"What do you need us to do?" Ruby asked.
"Just to check and make sure there's no Dust in the immediate area. If not, we should be good to set some charges and blow these rocks apart," Marrow explained.
"All right," Sera nodded. "I'll go."
Marrow and Harriet glance at each other. "Actually, we were thinking Blake should, since as a cat Faunus, she'd be able to see in the dark much better."
The amnesiac glanced over her shoulder at Blake, and the Faunus nodded her permission. Sera pulled a flashlight out of her pocket and twirled it in her fingers. "This should do fine, don't you think?"
"Fine," Harriet said, and Sera clicked the light on before squeezing between the small gap.
Sera swept the light across the dark cave as she inspected her surroundings. Instinctively drawing Silver Linings, she crossed her wrists and aimed the gun while simultaneously pointing the light.
"See anything?" Marrow asked through her scroll.
"Nothing besides some old minecarts and wreckage," she replied.
"Great, we should be clear to blow it. Head back, and we'll set the charges."
"Got it," Sera responded. But just as she turned around, something slammed into her from behind and sent her sprawling. "What the hell?!" She came up fast, fan-firing into whatever pushed her. A Geist hissed at her, evading the shots with relative ease.
"Sera, get back!" Yang's voice shouted over her scroll. Sera rolled to the side just as the wall behind her exploded in a mound of dust and fire. Standing on the other side was Yang, her arm extended from punching and her eyes blazing red.
The Geist tensed up and flew in the opposite direction as fast as it could. Sera jumped to her feet and quickly reloaded her revolver. By time she raised the weapon to fire again, the Geist was out of range.
"Don't let it get away!" Harriet commanded, chasing after the Grimm. Sera and the others took off running as well, but almost immediately, a long and spindly Grimm erupted from the ground. It was a large bug with a pair of large pincers and many legs on either side of its long body, and the mere sight of it sent a chill down Sera's spine.
Yang punched the Centipede Grimm down and the creature recoiled, green venom dripping from its foamy mouth. The Grimm let out a high-pitched screech, and a dozen more of its kind sprouted from the walls and floor of the cave.
"Oh, great!" Sera shouted as she holstered Silver Linings and swiftly unsheathed Amethyst Ivory. "You've woken the hive!"
"Complain later, fight now!" Yang shouted as she lunged forward and punched a Centipede several times in the head, planting small explosives onto the thing. When she jumped back and pumped her arms, the explosives detonated and effectively killed the Grimm. Before Sera could comment on how cool that was, another Grimm lunged at her.
She yelped as she swung her sword and cleaved the beast in two, each of its halves melting into shadow. Gods, I hate these things, she thought as she shivered.
Weiss sliced several of the bugs apart with ease with Myrtenaster while Ruby did the same with Crescent Rose.
Sera rushed forward and stabbed one in its long body, then kicked the blade out of its body to impale another. A third Grimm attempted to clamp onto her side with its pincers, and Sera's entire body lit up with panic as the thing got near her. She jumped straight up and stomped the thing's head into the ground, then stabbed it in its bony carapace for good measure.
Her chest heaved as she pulled the blade out of its disintegrating body, and she forced herself to shake it off. The hell's wrong with me? These are just Grimm. Then she looked over at another Centipede's body as it fought Blake, and she gulped. Bug Grimm with a hundred creepy legs and ginormous pincers…
"Hey, get your head outta the clouds!" Harriet nudged her as she ran towards the Grimm, using some sort of exo-suit weapon that protruded from her shoulder blades and covered the entirety of her arms and fists. She punched one of the Centipedes and the thing flew into the wall, disintegrating on impact.
Sera shook her head to clear her mind and hefted Amethyst Ivory.
Two more Centipede Grimm swirled around each other as they lunged towards Marrow, but the wolf Faunus just smirked, snapped his fingers at them, then ordered, "Stay," and the Grimm halted in midair.
Harriet grinned as she halted in front of them, then grabbed the Grimm and slammed them into the ground.
"Isn't that like your semblance?" Ruby asked with an awe-filled voice.
"Definitely not," Sera replied. "I think his is way different, Rubes."
"Still cool, though," she said.
Sera shrugged. "I like mine."
"I think Harriet's is like mine," Ruby admitted.
"Maybe," Sera said as she and Ruby watched Harriet rush forward, faster than anyone could believe. She punched a couple of the Grimm to pieces with her exo-suit weapon and stood triumphant.
Harriet brought a hand to her earpiece and spoke into it. "This is Bravo. We found the target, but it fled deeper into the mine. Engaging Centinels."
"Oh, so they're called Centinels," Sera thought aloud as she and the others ran after the Geist.
"What'd you think they were called?" Weiss asked.
"Centipedes. Cause, you know, they look like centipedes."
"You raise a good point," Weiss said.
"Enough chit-chat, just focus on catching the Geist," Harriet said.
"Yeah, yeah," Sera grumbled.
"Teams, we've engaged the target!" Clover said through their scrolls and earpieces. "Everyone, move to our position!" Then a few seconds later, he said again, "Target escaped. Last seen headed east."
"Good job, guys. Way to hustle out there," Sera sighed as she hefted Amethyst Ivory and sliced another Centinel to pieces. More of the Grimm were flooding into the cave, and RWBYS and the two Ace Ops took them down as quickly as they appeared as the seven of them made their way deeper into the mine.
Finally, they reached a large circular room in the mine big enough for that dragon Grimm that Sera fought with Neo to fit in it.
"Guys!" Ruby called out, pointing across the cavern to JNPR and the remaining pair of Ace Ops. They were on a higher level, and far enough away that Sera could hold her thumb up like an artist and completely obscure individual people from view.
"Everyone be careful," the bald guy, Vine, said. "There's a lot of Dust in this room. One wrong explosion could ruin the launch site."
"And vaporize us. How is that always second with you?" Marrow exclaimed.
"Wasn't the Geist supposed to be here?" Sera asked, her eyes darting around the room. Nora asked a similar question to her team over the comm frequency. Insane minds think alike.
Of course, as soon as they asked, a cluster of large rocks on the ceiling started to shift. A Geist Grimm mask appeared in the center of the largest hunk of ice, then more ice and rocks connected to that one to form arms and legs.
"Oh. Naturally," Sera murmured.
The Geist fell to the ground, a huge cloud of dust billowing from the impact. When the dust cleared, and the Geist stood to its full height.
"It added Dust to its body?" Ruby asked.
"After a landing like that, I'd be surprised if it wasn't covered in dust," Sera said.
"Not that," Ruby rolled her eyes and pointed at the large mounds of purple Dust protruding from its body. "The Dust."
"Oh," said Sera, feeling like an idiot. "Well how are we supposed to—"
Harriet rushed past them via her speed semblance and towards the Grimm. Then the Vine and Elm leapt into action, using their similar semblances to try and restrain the Geist. Vine shot some sort of ethereal yellow arms from his, well, arms to wrap around various parts of the Grimm. Elm had a similar thing, with green ethereal vine-like appendages on her feet to anchor her while she wrapped her arms around the Geist's leg.
Once they got an arm restrained, Marrow threw his odd double-bladed chainsaw weapon to cut the appendage off. A large chunk of Dust fell from its body, and Marrow called for Harriet. The pink-eyed Ace Op sprinted for the Dust in a blur of tan and white uniform.
Marrow sliced off another piece of it, and someone caught the Dust before it could hit the ground.
"What would you do without me, your fearless leader?" Clover smirked.
"What are we standing around for?" Sera asked. Ever since the fight started, they'd been standing there watching.
"I think they might have it handled," Ruby said, her eyes never leaving the fight. The Ace Ops were leaping around the room to avoid its attacks, chipping in damage where they could.
Clover leaped directly in front of the Geist and swung his fishing pole, somehow managing to wrap the wire around its mask and snag it off its icy body. The Geist's black and shadowy body came out of the ice and rock, and Harriet was suddenly there to uppercut it into oblivion.
The remaining shards and chunks of Dust flew in separate directions, and they all leaped into action; catching the Dust before it could hit the ground. A particularly large piece of Dust shot far away, and Ruby disappeared from Sera's side. Just before Harriet could catch the Dust, Ruby got her hands on it and tumbled across the floor with the Dust in her hands.
Ruby laughed and accepted Harriet's hand when she offered it.
"Thought you said your semblance was like mine," the Ace Op said.
"It… Is?" Ruby said uncertainly.
"I've seen speed semblances before, and that was different. I think there's more to you than meets the eye," she replied before heading back to her team.
"Wait until she sees what she can do with her eyes," Yang joked.
"Or mine," Sera crossed her arms. "And my skin, veins, and—"
"Alright, we get it," Weiss interrupted.
"Well, mission accomplished," Blake said.
"Guess so. Although, I wish we helped instead of just standing here," Yang said.
"Me too," Sera sheathed Amethyst Ivory and watched the Ace Ops. Qrow soon joined them in his new black outfit and ruffled Ruby's hair.
"Everything go smoothly for you five?" he asked.
"Bout as smoothly as a bunch of Centinel Grimm make it be," Sera grumbled.
"Sera's scared of the bugs," Weiss snickered.
"I am not!" she said indignantly. "I just don't like their legs. Or pincers. Or faces."
"You're not making it any better for yourself," Qrow chuckled.
"Oh, shut it, old man." Sera crossed her arms. "I didn't see you helping."
Qrow chuckled again and ruffled Sera's hair. The huntress shoved his hand away irritably.
"Stop, you're gonna mess up my do," Sera pushed her hair back into place with her fingers.
"All right, kiddos," Qrow beckoned. "Let's get outside. Ironwood's probably on his way right now." He and the Ace Ops headed for the exit, leaving RWBYS and JNPR behind.
"Let's go," Blake sighed, and they trailed after the adults.
"Hey," Yang said to Sera beside her. The two of them were walking at the back of the group, making sure no Grimm attacked from behind. "Did pretty good back there." She grinned.
"What did you expect, Blondie? Of course, I did," Sera smirked and spread her arms to show off.
Yang grinned again and hugged her. Yang's metal arm dug into her back, but she didn't complain.
"What's this for?" Sera chuckled and tried to survive Yang's lemon-scented hair from suffocating her. Yang pulled away with a pleasant smile and kept walking.
"Just felt like it. Something wrong with hugging you?" she asked.
"No, no," Sera rubbed a thumb over her tattoo-covered right arm. "I don't mind."
"Good," Yang grinned and took her hand. "Then let's get out of this old mine and get back to Atlas."
"Wow, Yang, you sure know how to show a girl a good time."
"What can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic," she squeezed Sera's hand.
Sera chewed her lip in contemplation as they walked. "We haven't done anything together, have we? Like, just us."
Her eyebrows furrowed. "I don't think so, actually. The closest was that dinner with Ruby and the others back in Vale."
"Exactly," Sera frowned.
"So, what? You wanna go on a date or somethin'?" Yang smirked.
Sera turned her head to hide her face while crossing her arms. "Maybe."
"Okay," Yang said, and Sera turned to see her smiling. "We'll go out, just you and me. Let's see what Atlas is made of."
Sera smiled without meaning to. "All right, Blondie. Let's go out on the town."
"You got it," Yang put an arm around her shoulders.
. . .
In no time at all, they made it outside and onto the snowy ground. The harsh sun blinded Sera after being in the dark of the mine for so long, but Yang handed over her old pair of aviator sunglasses for her to wear. Sera accepted them gratefully and put them on, and the glasses helped immediately to block the sun.
Ruby was talking with Harriet and a few other Ace Ops ahead, and a couple Atlesian airships were touching down. Further ahead, James Ironwood stood with his back turned to them all, looking like he was talking into his scroll or something. Qrow nodded at Sera, then went on with Clover to talk to the general.
"Weren't these your old sunglasses?" Sera asked, fingering the glasses on her face.
"Yep, but I've got some new ones now," Yang said as she put on her new orange sunglasses.
"So, what, you just kept your old ones on you?"
Yang grinned. "Just in case someone needed to borrow 'em."
"And by 'someone,' you mean 'you,'" Sera smirked at her.
"Maybe."
Ruby appeared in front of them with an excited look in her eyes. "So, what do you guys wanna do first when we get back to Atlas? Sightsee? Explore the city?"
"Sleep," Blake yawned.
"Aw, come on! This is a great time to go exploring! We haven't done that in so long," she whined.
"You, Sera, and JNPR literally walked all over an entire continent to get to Mistral," Weiss said.
"And oh boy, it sucked," Sera agreed.
"Well, yeah. But it was only the boring parts," Ruby's shoulders slumped.
"We can do that later, okay Rubes?" Sera put a hand on her shoulder. "Let everyone recuperate first. It's been a long trip."
"Yeah, you're right," Ruby sagged. "I just want to keep the team together."
"Hey, we'll always be together. Right?"
Ruby looked up with a light smile on her face. "Right."
"Hey," Qrow said. "Head's up." He gestured to Ironwood and Clover.
"Can I get the team leaders over here? There's something I'd like to discuss with you. You too, Sera and Qrow."
Sera raised an eyebrow. "What's he want me for?"
"Dunno," Qrow shrugged. "Probably to do with mommy dearest."
"Please never say that again."
She, Qrow, Ruby, and Jaune approached the general.
"…Just be subtle. If people see too many huntsmen around, they'll get nervous," Ironwood told Clover.
"Yes, sir." Clover saluted, then headed for the airship his team was next to.
"Problems in Mantle?" Qrow asked.
"More of the same, unfortunately," James exhaled. "Someone in Mantle is taking out public figures to speak out against Atlas." He held out his scroll, and a hologram of the guy that Sera and the others rode with to Atlas Academy appeared above the device. "Specifically, people speaking out against me. It didn't look like a pattern at first, but this is the third murder of its kind in the last week."
"That's the guy that rode with as after we were arrested," Jaune said.
"That's what I was thinking," Sera murmured.
"He died?" Ruby asked.
"Your opposition in Mantle dropping dead isn't exactly a good look for you, huh?" Qrow asked.
"This isn't really about my public image, but it is causing unrest," James said, and he made the hologram disappear. "I think someone's trying to frame me, and by extension, Atlas. And that's what I wanted to talk to you about."
"Uh, what?" Ruby asked.
"With the launch of this tower," he looked up to the giant floating rock that was Amity Arena. "And tensions down in Mantle, I think there's a lot of good your teams can do here." Then the general put a finger to his earpiece, and his tone became more urgent. "What? Here? Now? No, let him land. I'll deal with him myself."
"Well, that sounds ominous," Sera whispered to Ruby.
"More Mantle problems?" Qrow asked.
"No. This one's an Atlas problem," the general watched an expensive-looking airship fly closer to the mine. "Come on, we better form the welcome party before he pitches an even bigger fit than he's going to."
Sera and Ruby glanced at each other uncertainly.
. . .
Team RWBYS, Qrow, and Ironwood stood side by side as the airship landed. When Sera saw the logo on the door, she cringed and glanced at Weiss. It read S.D.C. AKA, Schnee Dust Company.
"Great," she muttered and stood closer to the ex-heiress. Weiss looked at her questioningly but said nothing. From what Sera had been told, the big man of the biggest Dust company in the world was actually a giant whiny child when it came to, well, everything.
The doors hissed open, and a raspy voice followed by a tall man dressed in white soon followed. He wore a fancy white suit, and like Weiss, his hair and mustache were completely white.
"Let me get this straight, Ironwood. In addition to this nonsensical embargo of yours crippling my business, you've also decided you have the authority to commandeer private property?" He demanded, storming up to the general. The Schnee man had to look up to meet Ironwood's eyes, and Sera stifled a laugh. "When the Council hears about this, you will never—"
"Actually, I've already informed them," Ironwood said calmly. "And this is now the sight of a classified military operation. It didn't even require a vote."
"Didn't require a vote?!" Weiss's dad demanded.
"You might want to brush up on council law before you lose this upcoming election, Jacques," Ironwood said. "Now, I've allowed to land here once, as a courtesy. The next time won't be a friendly reception."
"Lately, you seem to forget who your friends really are," Jacques seethed. "I'm going to get that council seat, James, and maybe then you'll—" the white-haired man's eyes settled on Weiss. Sera and Blake stepped closer to her, with Ruby on Sera's other side. "You've found my missing daughter," Jacques said. "And you've roped her into these schemes of yours, too?! How long has she been back in Atlas? Does Winter know?"
"She's done this out of her own volition—" Sera started, but Weiss stepped forward. Blake put a hand on the amnesiac's shoulder, and Sera saw the look in her eyes. Sera understood immediately; this was Weiss's battle.
"It was my decision to come here," Weiss told her father. "Just like it was my decision to leave. Or have you forgotten all about that?"
"If you think I'm one to forget anything, girl, then you've seriously misjudged the man your father is," Jacques turned to her.
"Believe me," Weiss said. "I know exactly what kind of man you are."
"How dare you speak to me that way?" he demanded. "I have half a mind to—"
"Half a mind to what?" James asked.
Jacques took a moment to compose himself. "You know, your mother was devastated when you left. Didn't leave her room for days. You know how she gets when she's upset." Weiss looked down sadly, but Jacques only smirked and fixed his collar. When he turned back to Ironwood, he clasped his hands behind his back. "I knew one day you would overextend your reach. I didn't come here to beg for an abandoned mine. I came here to thank you. For personally handing me the noose to hang you with."
"What?" Sera thought aloud, and Jacques seemed to acknowledge his daughter's team's existence for the first time.
"So, these are the little friends you threw everything away for?" he asked Weiss. Sera reached down and took Weiss's hand, gaining a surprised look from the ex-heiress. Apparently, Blake had done the same thing just seconds before, so both of them clasped each of Weiss's hands.
"Not friends," Weiss shook her head. "Family."
"Hmm…" Jacques's face hardened, and he turned and walked away stiffly. He walked up the ramp of his airship, and soon he was gone. The airship raised into the sky, then flew away.
Weiss exhaled the breath she was holding, and Ruby patted her on the back. Almost immediately, a military truck came to a stop where the airship was. The back opened, and Winter Schnee stepped out.
"Oh, now you show up, Winter. You just missed father," Weiss said with a hint of enthusiasm.
Winter clasped her hands behind her back in the same way Ironwood does and walked up to her sister. "I wouldn't exactly say I missed hi—"
Then something, or rather someone landed between them. After getting over her surprise, Sera realized it was Penny.
"Surprise!" the android announced. When Penny seemed to notice the tension in the air, she asked, "Uh, did we not start yet?"
"Apparently, we haven't," Winter said.
"Start what?" Ruby asked.
"We'll discuss it up there," Ironwood nodded to Amity Arena.
"What for?" Sera asked. The general only smiled lightly, then turned and headed for an airship. "Thanks for the answer," Sera mumbled.
"Let's just go," Ruby said. "We'll get our answers up there."
"Fine," Sera said.
Then the two huntsmen teams loaded onto airships and flew up to Amity. Once they unloaded, Qrow, Ironwood, Winter, Penny, and both teams stood in the center of the arena and waited for Ironwood to speak.
Sera took the time to look over at JNPR. She hadn't really noticed since she'd seen so little of her, but Pyrrha had changed with the rest of them. She wore more armor than before that covered her shoulders and upper arms, with a pair of golden bracers on her wrists. Instead of wearing a skirt with bare thighs, she wore a pair of well-fitting black leggings.
After the Fall of Beacon and during their trip to Mistral, Pyrrha had worn her hair down rather than the ponytail she had during their time at Beacon. Now, the ponytail was back, but instead of her old ornate headpiece, she wore a golden laurel wreath on her head. It open-ended in the front, so it didn't completely wrap around her red hair. A red sash was tied around her waist and whipped in the wind.
Finally, he cleared his throat and opened his mouth. "It goes without saying that this arena holds significance to all of us. It's only fitting that we reconvene here. Now, when the world needs to be brought together more than ever, the road you traveled from our first meeting hasn't been easy. You fought for your school and your friends back at Beacon. You fought for the world and the innocent at Haven Academy and beyond. You faced down terrors people couldn't even fathom…" Ironwood went on. Sera couldn't help but zone out.
She's seen three out of the four huntsman academies: Beacon, Haven, and now Atlas. But she hasn't heard anything about Shade, the school she's from. Back in Vale, she met Magnus, one of her old teammates, and some people from Shade recognized her, but other than that, she knew nothing about the academy. Most of her memories were still lost, like puzzle pieces that just weren't there. She's considered asking about visiting Vacuo, but there were way more pressing matters to attend to than regaining her memories. Number one priority right now was stopping her mother. The rest could wait until later. Besides… Her team now was much more important to her than lost memories. Hell, she'd forgotten about trying to get her memories back weeks ago. Why focus on the past when there was so much happening right now?
"Sera?" Ironwood asked. She snapped back to reality and shook her head to clear her mind.
"Sorry, I was a million miles away. What was it?"
James cleared his throat. "Well… Check your scroll."
Sera took her scroll out and inspected the screen. It was already lit, with her student license pulled up. "So? I don't…" Then she saw it. The "Student License" at the top had been changed to "Huntress License."
"What?!" Sera exclaimed. According to the screen, her academy of occupation was now Atlas, and she had a Class B license.
Yang smirked. "We've been given our licenses because of everything we've been through since Beacon."
"I need more huntsmen and huntresses I can trust," Ironwood explained. "With tensions rising in Atlas and everything that's going on, I should be so lucky to have you all on my side. Now, Sera, you're the only one who's been granted a B-license while everyone else are only C-license huntsmen."
"Why—why would you do that? Huntresses like Pyrrha and Ruby deserve it more than me," Sera said, looking across her friends.
"Oh, but not me?" Yang joked.
Ironwood chuckled and tapped on his scroll. "I've seen fit to give you a higher level after what you specifically have gone through. Qrow filled me in about being held captive in Salem's castle. And after reviewing your history at Shade, well, you're very well on par with Miss Nikos, Sera."
"I dunno, she kind of kicked my tail in the tournament," Sera shrugged. Pyrrha opened her mouth to retort, but Sera held her hand up, and Pyrrha clamped her mouth shut.
"I know, I saw," Ironwood tapped his scroll, and footage from the festival appeared in a hologram. It showed Sera in her old leather coat going toe to toe with Pyrrha, each of them trading blows. Sera had a wild and determined look in her violet eyes, and present Sera could hardly believe that the girl in the video was her. She looked younger, more carefree and innocent. "You held your own," James said. "And you've only grown in strength since then. You fought two Maidens at once, and you're here to talk it today."
"That was a fluke," Sera said, but she knew it was only a half truth. She'd faced Cinder and Raven at once, but she only barely survived. Even then, she'd had to rely on a power that technically wasn't her own to fight them.
"Maybe," Ironwood said, but he pulled up another piece of footage. It was her fighting a giant humanoid Grimm with the head of a bull. Her eyes widened, realizing it was when she'd fought the Minotaur. She didn't remember the fight; it was from before she lost her memories. And how Ironwood had found footage of it, she didn't know.
But there she was, wearing her old red tank top and jumping around delivering blows to the Grimm. Sera glanced over at her friends. Their eyes were glued to the screen with wide eyes.
"And this," James pulled up another video. She was single-handedly fighting a swarm of Beowolves and Creeps in the middle of a desert, her old sword in her hands. "And this," he pulled up a clip of her fighting the Hydra Grimm with Qrow. The camera angle seemed to be from some sort of camera on the huntsman, because it looked like a first-person video game from Qrow's perspective. "Quite an impressive record. Do you still lack your memories from before Beacon?"
Sera nodded. "Except for some dreams I've had about my old team."
"Well, you were a star pupil in Shade. How we hadn't realized who you were sooner, I don't know. Your team was among the top three most successful during your 'reign.'"
Sera rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably. She didn't know how to handle all this information. She was getting a higher level of license because she'd supposedly been so successful? As far as she was concerned, it was all sheer luck that she was here today.
"General, I don't deserve that class of licensing. Let Ruby or one of the others have it; I don't deserve it."
"Sure you do," he persisted. "Besides, Qrow was the one to request it."
Sera glanced at the huntsman, but he only shrugged. "What can I say, Snowball? You might need that clearance."
"It's already done, and I can't demote someone's license without good reason," Ironwood told her. Sera looked to her team for help, but they only shrugged.
"Maybe he's right," Yang said. "After everything I've see, everything you've told me you've gone through and done, you deserve it, Snowball."
I really don't, Sera wanted to say. But there was no use in arguing. Like Ironwood said, he couldn't just demote someone's license. Well, he could, but it'd be frowned upon.
"Fine," Sera sighed. "But I really don't think it's deserved."
"Oh, shut up and be a B-list huntress," Weiss rolled her eyes.
"You're still C-list, Ice Queen."
"Hmph." Weiss crossed her fingers, and Sera smiled.
"Okay," Sera dipped her head to Ironwood. "I'm honored to receive this."
Ironwood nodded respectfully, then said to all of them, "I know this is a lot to take in. But what better way to celebrate than here? We'll tell the world about Salem, and face whatever comes after us after that, together."
Sera gave a two-fingered salute, a smirk on her face. She and her friends were official huntsmen and huntresses, with all the good and bad that came with it.
"Okay," Ironwood said. "That's all the pomp I have in me for today. If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to running this operation. Enjoy the cake," he turned and walked away, his hands clasped behind his back.
"Wow," Yang said. "After everything we've been through, I forgot this is what I wanted in the first place.
"When Beacon fell, I thought getting this would be impossible," Blake said.
"It almost feels trivial now," Weiss chuckled.
"Jeez, lighten up a little," Qrow said. "Enjoy yourselves for a change. You've earned it."
"Finally!" Nora sighed. "Let's kill some cake, huh? Because I can eat two slices before Ren even eats one!"
Off to the side of the arena, a large table with a giant cake and drinks was being set up for them. Sera wandered towards it, her scroll in her hand. She gazed at the picture of herself with wonder. The tiny image showed her with a confident smile, her violet eyes full of life. The picture was at least a few years old, maybe from her first days at Shade. When she clicked the screen off, her reflection stared back at her, and she looked noticeably different. Her eyes were less life-like, and her mouth was set in a slight frown. Wow… Didn't think I'd changed that much.
Then something bumped into her, and she turned to see that it was Yang, a light smile on her face.
"Hey," she said. They were halfway to the table, and Nora had already sprinted to it and was already tearing the cake apart.
"Hey," Sera felt a smile spread on her lips.
"Level-B, huh?" she asked.
"I don't deserve it," Sera insisted.
"Hey," Yang put a hand on her cheek. "Stop that. I think you deserve it more than all of us."
Sera raised her eyebrows. "All of you?"
"Well, maybe not me, but most of us," Yang grinned.
"That's what I thought, Blondie," Sera smiled, pocketing her scroll.
"Oh, shut up," Yang wrapped her arms around her and pulled her into a kiss. Sera smiled into it and held onto Yang tightly, pouring all of her sorrow from everything she's been through into it. When they separated, Yang smiled and pulled her to the table. "Come on, let's get some cake before Nora eats it all."
"Yes, ma'am," Sera smiled wide and let Yang haul her to their friends.
They all laughed and ate cake, just enjoying the moment while they could. It's been since Beacon that they were all together like this, aside from that one night in Mistral. But this—this was truly a throwback to Beacon.
They joked and laughed and talked with each other. Ruby and Qrow sat in the bleachers, but that was okay. They were having their own conversation. At a certain point, a large hologram board appeared, and an entire list of missions appeared for them to peruse through.
"Hey, Ruby!" Weiss called. "You should look at this!"
Ruby gasped. "A mission board? It's an app now?" Then she rushed to take a look at it, excitement on her face. "Can we ride a Megoliath? Stop an underground crime ring? Do I get to go undercover?" She shook Penny up and down rapidly in her excitement.
"Maaaaaybeeee?' Penny said while Ruby shook her.
"Hey, you guys smell that?" someone said. Sera turned to see that it was Marrow, with Vine and Elm at his sides. "Smells like fresh meat to me."
"That's odd, I don't smell meat," Vine said.
"Neither do I," Ren shook his head.
"Great, there's two of them now," Sera groaned. Pyrrha and Yang laughed.
"Let me get this straight," Elm said. "You've only been official for an hour now, and you're already looking for huntsmen work?"
"To be fair, we've been official huntsmen for a whole…" Weiss looked at her scroll. "Fifty-seven minutes."
"I'd like to remind you all that the real mission here is ensuring the successful launch of the communications tower," Vine pointed out.
"True, but we can also keep training and improving by helping where we can," Ren said.
"Ah," Elm sighed. "The enthusiasm of youths!"
"Well, it's hard to argue with that," Marrow shrugged. "Okay, let me show you how it works." He scrolled through the list. "Ooh, here's an important one. Who wants to volunteer?"
Sera and everyone else's hands shot up immediately.
"Great," Marrow said. "We need someone to escort children to pre-primary school in Mantle. There's no danger, but the parents fret and that attracts Grimm."
Everyone's hands except for Jaune's and Pyrrha's lowered.
"Perfect, thanks!" Marrow said. "Juan? Jim? John?"
"It's Jaune," Pyrrha crossed her arms.
"Right, right," Marrow said. "Jaune and Pyra—"
"Pyrrha."
"Jaune and Pyrrha will do that one."
"Wow, my first huntsman mission," Jaune said with a hint of excitement.
Then Elm shoved the boring Marrow away and grinned wildly at them. "Next, a massive Sabyr is loose in the Mantle sewers."
"That sounds neat," Sera commented.
"I know!" Elm said enthusiastically. "We need two brave warriors to flush it out and kill it."
Everyone's hands shot up again.
"What? Why didn't we get that choice?" Jaune asked.
"Guess you weren't meant for it, Jaune," Sera grinned, earning a laugh from her friends while Jaune looked like a sad puppy.
Sera sipped juice from the cup in her hand and looked at each of her friends. They're more important than some lost memories. Protecting them—that's the real mission.
I hope these new chapters going with Volume 7 are doing well for everyone. I'm trying to make Pyrrha a part of the story, but JNPR just isn't doing all that much this season.