Sera's dreams were especially vivid that night. She was standing alone on a large beach. The shattered moon was giant in the sky, covering the land with its light.
Sera's bare feet was cool under the white sand and the waves of the black ocean gently lapped against the beach. She looked out across the sea; her violet eyes dark in the moonlight.
"Well? What's the plan here?" a voice asked. Sera turned to see a girl with long aquamarine hair and blue eyes the color of the ocean on its best day. The funny thing was that she recognized her. This was Cerulean, a member of her team from Shade Academy and former significant other.
"What plan?" Sera asked.
Cerulean rolled her eyes. "The plan to take down your mother, duh. What the hell are you going to do? Whine at her to death?"
"What's your problem?" Sera's eyes narrowed.
Her face hardened. "My problem is that you ran off and left us all. Your real team. Then you went and latched onto that blonde girl, completely forgetting about me." She poked Sera in the chest.
"It's not my fault that Salem took my memories! I didn't even know about my old team until months after!" Sera defended herself.
"But that didn't stop you, did it? You could've tried to remember, to search for your old life. But you just sat back and waited for Ozpin to do it; the man you can't even fully trust because he's infamous for holding secrets. And you know he didn't tell you about him finding your old life right away, don't you? He waited until he thought the moment was right."
"Oh, shut up," Sera said. "I don't even care anymore. Who cares if I don't get my memories back? There's more important things at stake."
"If you say so," Cerulean shrugged. "Who says that General Ironwood isn't holding secrets from you, too? You just can't trust any of these headmasters."
"So?" Sera crossed her arms. "I'm not doing this for Ironwood, or even Ozpin."
"Right," Cerulean smirked. "You're doing it for your new team, right? They're what's most important now."
"That's right," Sera met her eyes. "Because I'm not going to let what happened to you happen to them. Not again."
Cerulean's eyes widened in surprise, then her smug demeanor returned. "Well, maybe you're not as awful as I thought you'd become."
"How can you think I've become awful? You're dead," Sera countered.
She chuckled. "Maybe. But they say a piece of everyone close to you stays with you, even after they pass, right?"
"I don't know," Sera admitted.
"Well, maybe you'll figure it out one day." Cerulean smiled, then her form disappeared into sea mist.
Sera took a deep breath, unsure of what to make of what she'd just witnessed.
"Wow," she looked across the ocean again. "I might have issues."
"I'll say," another voice said.
Sera groaned. "Who's here to bother me now?" Then her back stiffened and blood ran cold when she saw who was behind her.
Salem's cold smile sent chills down her spine as Sera stepped away from her. Her vision started to turn red, but when she looked, it was just red light sweeping across the beach. Sera looked over her shoulder to see why, and the shattered moon was transitioning from white to red.
The huntress turned back to her mother, but Salem was directly in front of her. Her glowing red eyes burned into Sera's corneas, and the amnesiac woke up instantly.
She sat bolt upright in bed and scanned the room with wild eyes, her heart beating hard in her chest.
"What's wrong?" Yang asked tiredly. Her golden hair was a rat's nest and her eyes were half-lidded. Once Sera realized where she was, she sighed heavily and put a hand on Yang's head. It was the night after the little party in Amity Arena. Afterwards, team RWBYS had retreated to their room and promptly passed out.
Sera and Yang bunked together on the top bunk opposite of Ruby since there were only four beds.
"Nothing. Just a dream, Yang." Sera smiled lightly and brushed hair out of her eyes.
"Oh, all right," she yawned and put her head down on Sera's shoulder.
Sera chuckled and checked her scroll. It was three in the morning. According to Ironwood, they'd have to be up early to start their huntsmen missions. After a moment's contemplation, she gently untangled herself from Yang and quietly dropped down to the floor. Yang mumbled in her sleep and adjusted the way she was laying, hugging her pillow gently.
Sera smiled and brushed her bangs out of her eyes before kissing her gently. Yang smiled and relaxed in her sleep. The amnesiac smiled again, then silently headed for the shower. After cleansing herself and getting dressed in a clean outfit identical to what she wore the previous day, she opened the door.
"Where're you going?" Blake asked. Sera turned to see the Faunus sitting upright in her bed, a curious glint in her amber eyes.
"Just taking a walk. Woke up early, figured I might as well get ready for the day."
Blake nodded. "All right. Not bringing Yang with you?" She smirked.
Sera glanced at the sleeping brawler and shook her head. "I'm gonna let her sleep. She probably needs it."
Nodding again, Blake relaxed into her bed. "See you in the morning, then."
"See you, Blake," Sera exited the room, then she was alone in the hallway. She didn't know the layout of Atlas Academy too well, but it didn't seem that different from Beacon. Besides, this was a good time as any to explore.
After some wandering around, Sera found a giant training room. The walls, floor, and ceiling were made of large white tiles. She mentally bookmarked this location and continued on her way.
The hallways were brightly lit despite it being in the middle of the night, but fortunately there were no people around.
Sera soon located the cafeteria, a vast library, and rows upon rows of classrooms. After some contemplation, she headed back to Atlas's locker room and retrieved her equipment. She quickly found the training room again and inspected some controls.
"Hmm…" she looked across the sea of different colored buttons. "What does this one do?" She clicked a large green button, and several walls rose out of the floor, forming a sort of open-roofed room with four entrances in the center of each wall. "Okay," Sera blinked. "What about this one?" she clicked another button, and a legion of Atlesian Knights rose from the floor through a large hole, raising up to Sera's level via a lift.
"Huh," Sera gazed at the robots. "Interesting. Maybe…" She clicked a few more buttons. The walls in the center lowered and others replaced it, forming low walls for cover scattered about the room. A grin spread across the huntress's face. "Perfect."
After another few button presses, the Knights went on the attack. Some had basic rifles while the others wielded shock batons. Sera barely had time to duck under the control board before a volley of Dust rounds hit the wall directly behind her.
She couldn't help but grin as she ducked behind one of the low walls and drew Silver Linings. I've missed training sessions, she thought as she popped up from behind cover and blew several of the bots' heads off. They turned in Sera's direction and lit up her cover just as she ducked down to reload.
The huntress holstered her firearm and unsheathed Amethyst Ivory. She waited for the bots to get closer with their shock batons while the others peppered the ground near her and wall she hid behind. Once the first one got within range, she leaped out of cover and yanked the baton out of the Knight's hands before slicing it apart at the waist.
She slammed the borrowed baton into another's head and decapitated the Knight. Several more tried to swing their own batons at her, but she ducked and cut their legs out from under them. Before she could admire her handiwork, a volley of Dust projectiles slammed into her back. Thanks to her aura, the bullets only felt like dull thuds.
Sera rolled to the side behind a low wall, then to another, working her way towards the Knights.
Once she got there, there was little they could do. She leaped out of cover and went to work, slicing them to pieces before they could even react to where she'd landed. Once the Knights were in a neat pile of scrap metal, she sheathed her sword smoothly.
"Nicely done," a voice said from behind her. Sera whirled around to see none other than Winter Schnee approaching her with her hands clasped behind her back.
Sera hurriedly sheathed her sword and stood at attention in an attempt to look respectful. "Am I in trouble?"
Winter repressed a smirk. "Normally, you would be. But no, you're not in trouble this time."
Sera's shoulders relaxed. "Oh. Good." Then Winter turned on her heel and walked towards the exit.
"Come on, it's time for your first meeting as an official huntress," she called over her shoulder.
"Already?" Sera checked the time on her scroll. Sure enough, it was six in the morning. She'd burned three hours by just wandering the academy's halls and fighting Knights.
Sera jogged to catch up to Winter, who looked over to her with a hint of disdain. "So," Sera interlaced her fingers behind her head. "You still hate me?"
"I never hated you," Winter replied. "I just thought that you were overly cocky and unfit for being on my sister's team. Also, you lack manners that every young lady should have if they wish to be successful and respected."
"Yep, you still hate me," Sera said.
"Nonsense," Winter halted in front of a door to their right. The door hissed open to reveal a dark room with a large holo-board at the front. Clover was standing by the board while the Ace Ops, JNPR and the rest of Sera's team sat in chairs facing the front. Without a word, Sera took the seat beside Yang at the end of the row.
"Sera, glad you could join us," Clover said, an amused light in his eyes.
"Sorry, I was slicing a bunch of Knights to pieces," Sera smirked.
Clover's eyebrows raised. "The training room, then? Good, that's where JNPR is going later today. All right," he turned his eyes to the others. "as you know, our top mission is getting the Amity Communications Tower up and running. That means protecting supply runs from Grimm and bandits and protecting the site itself. Diverting all supplies from Mantle means that there are going to be gaps, and we have to be there to help stop Grimm from getting in through those gaps. But there's still plenty to do in Mantle itself." Then Clover smirked at the younger huntsmen teams. "I think you'll find that people appreciate having a huntsman or huntress around. But you are, of course, free to enjoy your time off however you see fit. Whatever you need to take the edge off."
Sera grinned and elbowed Yang, likely sending off the wrong message to the others. She'd meant that they'd be able to go out into Atlas like they'd talked about.
Clover blinked a few times, then continued. "But make no mistake. School's over. Now, you get to choose what type of huntsman or huntress you are." The Ace Op leader turned to the board. "So, what's it gonna be?"
RWBYS and JNPR glanced at each other with excitement. There were so many possibilities for what they could do.
"Ooooh!" Ruby squealed. "This is our chance to really prove ourselves!"
"You've already done that, Ruby," Clover chuckled. "None of you have anything to prove, trust me."
"Aw," Ruby said. "Stop, you're just saying that." She toyed with the hem of her new cloak.
"And I've already chosen your missions for the day. Jaune and Pyrrha will supervise the children of Mantle on their way to pre-primary school. Nora and Ren will patrol the perimeter of Mantle and shore up our defenses. Ruby and Weiss will patrol the city itself for any Grimm who got through Mantle's wall." Clover looked at each of them respectively as he spoke.
Sera was excited. She wanted to get out and complete official huntress missions alongside Yang, since their teams were being split up. This was her chance to spend some real time with the brawler since they were "together." And she could tell Yang was thinking the same. The blonde put a hand on Sera's knee and grinned at her, excitement in her eyes.
"Blake and Yang, I want you to join Marrow and clear out Amity's launch zone. More Grimm have gathered there, along with the Grimm that remained after our mission there."
Yang's hand loosened on Sera's thigh, and the amnesiac felt her heart drop. "Oh," the blonde said, trying not to sound disappointed. "You got it, Blake and I are on it."
"Clover," Blake stood. "I insist that Sera come along too, or that she takes my place. Don't get the wrong idea, I don't mind going with Yang, but I'd prefer if Sera was with Yang. Everyone here can tell that they want that, too."
"I know," Clover said. "But Sera is a B-licensed huntress, according to Ironwood and this image of her license," he pulled Sera's license up on the holo-board. "Therefore, she will undertake a more urgent mission than the rest of you. The General says she's up to the task, and that's good enough for me."
Sera shifted uncomfortably in her seat. 'More urgent' translates to 'more dangerous,' she thought to herself. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Harriet will brief you on the way," Clover responded, and Sera felt Yang's grip on her knee tighten.
"I'm going with Harriet?" Sera asked, glancing at the Ace Op in question.
"And Elm. You'll be accompanying both of them for this assignment."
Sera could feel her team's and JNPR's gaze on her. She shook it off and nodded at Clover. "Well, if I have a reputation to uphold, then let's get to it, shall we?"
"Good! That's what I like to hear," Clover nodded. "All of you are to begin your assignments after breakfast. Dismissed."
They filed out of the room and walked towards the cafeteria. Yang bumped her shoulder against Sera's and looked at her with slight worry.
"Day's starting off well, huh?" Yang joked.
"Definitely not going how I was hoping it would," Sera admitted.
"It'll be okay. I hope."
Then they turned a corner and entered the cafeteria. Sera and the others grabbed trays and piled bacon, eggs, and pancakes onto them. RWBYS sat at a line of tables with JNPR beside them, just like back at Beacon. The Ace Ops sat a few tables away, talking amongst themselves. After a moment of indecision, Qrow sat next to Ruby.
"So," Ruby said, trying to sound upbeat. "First day as official huntsmen."
"Can't wait!" Nora cheered as she shoveled pancakes into her mouth.
"I wonder what assignment they're sending Sera on," Pyrrha commented.
"I don't know," the amnesiac said honestly. "But I don't think it'll be fun."
"Look on the bright side," Weiss said, picking at her eggs. "You'll get to show off."
Sera's face brightened. "Weiss, sometimes you truly say the most uplifting things."
"I try," the ex-heiress turned over a piece of bacon with her fork.
"But we have to do some pretty boring jobs," Yang said, devoid of enthusiasm.
Sera put her hand on Yang's under the table and leaned over to her. "I know it put a wrinkle in our plans," she whispered. "But we can visit Atlas later tonight, if you want."
Yang squeezed her hand tightly. "I'd like that."
"Good." Sera popped a slice of bacon into her mouth and chewed.
Yang shook her head, a light smile on her lips. "You're insufferable."
"Love you too," Sera grinned. Their team's eyes widened at the comment. Sera kept munching on her bacon, unaware of her team's and Qrow's looks. Yang was just grinning, trying not to laugh. Once Sera finally noticed that everyone had gone quiet and was looking at her. "What?"
"Isn't that a little, I dunno, early?" Qrow asked.
"What are you talking about?"
"You said you loved her," Weiss said.
"So? I've been telling her that since Beacon when we call each other names," Sera shrugged.
"Oh," Blake said.
"Yeah, what else would I mean in this context?" Sera grinned, squeezing Yang's hand under the table. The brawler interlaced their fingers and gave Sera a quick smile.
Then the two teams and Qrow ate in silence. Sera and Yang held hands under the table the whole time, just enjoying the feeling. After they were all finished, each team of two went in their own direction to carry out their mission for the day. Coincidentally, Yang, Blake, Sera, and the Ace Ops had to go to the airships.
Marrow and Blake boarded one while Elm and Harriet got on the other. Only Sera and Yang remained outside of the airships, facing each other.
Sera smirked, an idea that'll likely get her killed popping into her head. "Well, see you later." She turned to board her airship.
The exact thing that Sera expected to happen, happened. Yang clamped her hand onto the amnesiac's shoulder with an iron grip.
"What," Yang said with a steely tone. "did I tell you about doing that again?"
Sera shrugged as best as she could with Yang's vice grip on her shoulder. "That I shouldn't?"
Yang spun her around and wrapped her arms around the girl, hugging Sera so tightly that she could feel her ribs start to crack from the pressure.
Sera made a choking sound as Yang lifted her into the air, her legs swinging as she tried to regain her footing. When Sera looked down, she saw that Yang's eyes were burning red.
"Learned your lesson?" Yang asked, squeezing her harder.
The huntress responded with a strangled choking noise.
"I'll take that as a yes~" Yang set her down. Sera coughed and put a hand on her chest to get air. Then Yang pulled her head up and pressed her lips to Sera's. Still trying to recover from nearly being killed, Sera fought and tried to get away, but Yang held her tight and prevented her escape.
The blonde held her long enough for Blake and the Ace Ops to get uncomfortable. Finally, Yang released her once Sera had begun to go limp in her arms.
"Holy Dust!" Sera gasped. "What are you trying to do, kill me, woman?!"
"Oh, shut up, you baby," Yang winked at her before turning and boarding the airship with Blake. Sera just stood there, her hands on her knees as she tried to get air into her lungs. Yang and Blake's airship lifted into the air before shooting across the sky.
"Holy Brothers," Sera panted. "That girl is going to be the death of me."
"I'll say!" Elm appeared at her side and pounded her on the back, knocking the huntress onto the ground face-first. "That girl's a feisty one!"
Sera coughed and picked herself off the floor, dusting off her coat and pants. "Well," Sera cleared her throat and looked up at the much taller woman. "Let's go, shall we?"
"Never thought you'd ask," Harriet smirked. "Come on, we've got a long flight ahead of us."
"I brought in-flight peanuts!" Elm announced. Sera blinked at the muscular woman.
"Elm, they have those on the airship."
"But I brought mine! More for you two," Elm held up a bag of peanuts.
Sera stifled a laugh as she made her way up the ramp of the airship. This is going to be a long day.
. . .
She and the two Ace Ops were halfway to their destination when Harriet had decided to brief Sera on their current mission.
"There's a large Grimm that's been reported destroying several small villages just a few miles from Atlas. Soldiers have been deployed to eliminate it, but none have reported back."
"And so, it's our job to kill the thing," Sera surmised.
"Pretty much," Harriet confirmed.
"Do we know what type of Grimm it is?" the amnesiac raised an eyebrow.
"We do not," Harriet sighed.
"But we're going to take it down!" Elm pounded a fist into her open palm.
Sera chuckled. "Without a doubt, big guy—er, girl."
"Damn straight," Harriet flashed a grin. "Just try not to get in the way, okay?"
"Pfft," Sera blew air. "Me? Get in the way? Funny."
"Good, then," Harriet stood. "Because we're coming up on our LZ."
"Oh, joy," Sera stood and leaned on the wall beside the door. Harriet smirked and slammed her fist into the door button. The side door slid open and wind roared into the airship.
Elm roared with laughter before jumping out of the ship. Sera peered down at the ground to see a snow-covered forest. The pine trees were thick, and she could only see splotches of snow-covered ground. Elm quickly disappeared into the dense foliage, and Sera looked up at Harriet.
The Ace Op flashed a smile before saluting at the amnesiac, then fell backwards out of the ship. Sera rolled her eyes before diving after her.
Great. Landing strategy time.
Wind rushed past Sera's face and her hair blew up in a plume like white fire. Her eyes narrowed as the trees got closer and closer. She spread her arms and legs out spread-eagle just before plunging through the branches.
The pine needles would've scratched her to pieces if not for her aura. Sera reached out and grabbed a particularly thick branch, focusing her aura into her hands as her body spun around the branch like a professional gymnast. Once she'd transferred all of her momentum into that, she dismounted and dived to the ground, landing swiftly next to Elm and Harriet.
"Well," Harriet said. "That was certainly a better landing for you than yesterday."
Sera shrugged. "There were trees this time."
"I liked your other landing strategy," Elm said. "It showed your strength!"
The amnesiac smirked. "So, where's this Grimm?"
Harriet glanced at the watch on her wrist, then something flew out of Sera's peripheral vision.
The amnesiac ducked and launched herself backwards as a large hammer narrowly missed her head. The head of the hammer slammed into the snow where Sera was standing, making snow fly into the air from the impact.
Sera's eyes went wide when she saw that it was Elm who had swung her hammer at her. "What the…?"
Harriet slammed one of her armored fists into the huntress's chest, sending her flying back and into a large pine tree. Sera shook off her daze and jumped to her feet, drawing Amethyst Ivory and landing in a defensive position.
"The hell are you two doing?" Sera demanded. The Ace Ops only smirked at each other and rushed forward. Sera ducked under Elm's hammer again and kicked her as she evaded to the side. The huntress instinctively brought her sword up just in time to block a punch from Harriet.
Sera's mind was running at a hundred miles a second. Why are they attacking me?! They only would if Ironwood or Clover ordered them to. But… Why would they?
She leaped to the side to evade another attack from Harriet. Her speed semblance was annoying in that regard; every time Sera got away, she was already on top of her again. Harriet smirked and kicked snow into Sera's face to blind her.
The amnesiac cursed and wiped the snow out of her eyes just in time to see Elm's hammer slam into her chest. Sera's back collided with another tree, and her aura visibly flickered.
"Come on! Let's see what you can really do, purple eyes!" Elm shouted. Sera spat onto the snow and got to her feet.
"Why are you two doing this?" she demanded.
Harriet shrugged. "Ironwood's orders."
"Why would he…?"
"Why do you think?"
Sera's eyes narrowed. Because of my relation to Salem. So, all that talk about having me on his side was just crap? And now… Now he's trying to get rid of me?
"Fine, then," Sera gritted her teeth as she gripped her sword tighter. "Then I'll show you exactly why the new Fall Maiden is scared to mess with me."
Harriet grinned, and that struck Sera as a little odd. Nevertheless, the amnesiac charged them. As soon as her foot pushed off of the snow, she took a deep breath, and everything around her slowed to a halt.
Sera smirked to herself and ran to the spot between Elm and Harriet. Without a moment's hesitation, she attacked. Her sword was a white blur as it struck the Ace Ops' frozen forms. After nearly a full minute, Sera was only beginning to feel winded.
She sheathed her sword and yanked Elm's hammer out of her hands before tossing it over her shoulder and out of reach. Sera cracked her knuckles, cranked her arm and activated Ember Celica, then stood with her fists raised. Just like old times.
She punched each of them in the chest and face for as long as she could before she got tired. She could tell that her semblance was about to come to an end, so she wanted to finish big.
Sera punched each of them in the gut with Ember Celica and fired a round into them. Rolling her shoulders and clearing her throat, Sera stood just in front of the Ace Ops. She breathed deeply, and when she exhaled, each of the Ace Ops crumpled to their knees, their auras shattering.
"Damn," Elm panted. "Ironwood wasn't kidding about your semblance."
"Nope," Sera pumped her arm and ejected a shell from Ember Celica. Harriet got to her feet, but Sera drew Silver Linings in an instant and pointed it at her face. "Don't try it."
Harriet grinned, then she was gone. Sera whirled to find where she'd gone, but the Ace Op had just disappeared. Then before she could turn back to Elm to make sure she wouldn't do anything, the large woman slammed into her and knocked her sideways.
Sera grunted as she hit the ground. She tried to get to her feet, but Elm punched her back down. Harriet appeared in front of her. The amnesiac glanced up just for Harriet to punch her across the face with her enhanced weapons.
"Well, now," Harriet sighed. "that couldn't have been your best, could it?"
"I certainly hope not," Elm retrieved her hammer. Sera wished Nora was with her, or at least she wished she had the Valkyrie's hammer.
Sera groaned and picked herself off the ground. Her aura was still intact, but man, it did not feel good to be hit by Elm's hammer and Harriet's exo-suit fist.
"Lady, you ain't seen nothing yet." Sera got to her feet and into a stance that mimicked Yang's. She waved them forward in the universal sign for "come at me."
Harriet grinned and rushed her. Sera dodged her first punch and delivered one of her own, blasting her with the gun in Ember Celica. Elm came out of nowhere during their altercation and tried to hit Sera with an overhead swing, but the amnesiac surged backwards to evade it. Harriet immediately took the opportunity to slam an elbow into her ribcage.
Sera grunted and bent to the side to dodge Harriet's follow up and caught her fist. The amnesiac held her armored fist with one hand and used her free hand to punch at Harriet's arm with Ember Celica. She saw Elm coming in from her right, her hammer ready to swing, so Sera quickly spun Harriet around and moved her in the path of the hammer while she was still stunned.
Harriet gasped as she was flung several feet away by the force of the hammer.
"Harriet, I am sorry!" Elm told her. Without hesitation, Sera rushed Elm and sent a punch her way. The muscular woman blocked it with the shaft of her hammer. Before Sera could react, Elm dropped her weapon and grabbed Sera's wrist.
Elm laughed as she locked arms with the much shorter huntress. Sera gritted her teeth and dug her heels into the snowy ground. They were in a power struggle, trying to get the upper hand.
"Come, let's test our muscle, eh?" Elm grinned. Sera said nothing. If these two want to toy with me while trying to kill me, fine. But I'll show them something they'll never forget.
The huntress narrowed her eyes when it looked like Elm was about to get the upper hand. Sera reached inside her mind to access the power she's only used a handful of times while simultaneously holding Elm back for as long as she could. Soon enough, she felt a mental twinge as she latched onto the mental power within.
Sera took a deep breath through her nose as she closed her eyes. The dark power in her mind expanded as she accessed it, and she opened her eyes.
Elm's face faltered and her hands slackened, which gave Sera the perfect opportunity to kick her in the chest and send her backwards. Sera exhaled and brought her left arm up to inspect. Sure enough, her skin was as white as the snow, and black veins webbed up her arm and down her fingers. Her nails were blackened, and she would put money on the fact that her eyes were just like Salem's now.
"Well," Sera rolled her shoulders. She could feel the power surging through her limbs. She was a bit taken aback at the way her voice changed, but she'd noticed that it did that when she turned into this "form." Sera holstered Silver Linings and slowly drew her sword, for dramatic effect. "Shall we?"
Harriet appeared out of nowhere, trying to land a blow on Sera. The amnesiac sidestepped and cleaved into her side, putting a large dent in her aura. Harriet cried out when she collided with the snowy ground.
Elm had apparently recovered from her initial shock and retrieved her hammer again. When Sera saw it coming towards her, she activated her semblance again and stepped just inside of Elm's swing. She promptly ended her semblance and caught the hammer's shaft with one hand. Flashing a quick grin, Sera wrapped both hands around the hammer and slung Elm across the clearing, landing her right beside Harriet.
The huntress ran towards the pair of Ace Ops after retrieving her sword. But just as she began to swing, Harriet cried, "Stop!"
Sera halted her swing and looked down at them. Harriet and Elm got to their feet, dusting the snow off their clothes with grins on their faces.
"You've more than proved the strength of the power you possess," Harriet told her.
Sera kept her eyes on them, never relaxing. "Then why's Ironwood trying to have me killed?"
They blinked in surprise. "Killed?" Elm asked.
"What are you talking about?" Harriet added.
"You two attacked me out of nowhere, then when I asked why, you said something like, 'why do you think.'"
They blinked again.
"Ironwood ordered us to test that 'transformation' of yours. He didn't order us to take you out," Elm said.
Sera blinked as understanding flooded over her. She slapped herself in the forehead. "Idiot," she scolded herself. "Well, this is awkward."
"Don't worry," Harriet chuckled. "I can kind of see why you'd be confused."
Sera smiled uncomfortably, then a question popped into the forefront of her mind. "What about the Grimm?"
"There is no Grimm," Elm waved away the thought. "That was just code so you wouldn't suspect us."
"Right," Sera said. "But why couldn't Ironwood or Clover just say that we were going to spar or something?"
They shrugged.
"Naturally," Sera sighed. "Well, what now? Head back to Atlas?"
"My thoughts exactly," Harriet smiled and put a hand on her hip. "After all that, we deserve a break."
Then an ear-splitting roar pierced through the trees, and the three huntresses whirled around towards the sound. It sounded close.
"I thought you said there was no Grimm," Sera gripped her sword tighter.
"There wasn't," Elm hefted her hammer.
"Well, there is now!"
"Just calm down," Harriet raised her fists. "We can take it down, then head back to Atlas."
"Why not just leave?" Sera asked. "We're in the middle of the forest. A single Grimm couldn't be that bad."
"We would," Elm said. "But there's a village about a kilometer behind us."
"Seriously? You had us dropped off so close to civilization? Why, if we were supposed to be in the forest for a big fight?" Sera asked. She was acutely aware that she was still in her "transformed" state.
"In case anything happened. Like an injury," Elm answered.
"Awesome," Sera muttered. "What could this thing be?"
"In this area? I have no idea," Harriet admitted. "There's usually only Beowolves and Ursa around here."
"That sounded bigger than an Ursa," Elm observed.
The Grimm roared again, much closer this time. Sera could hear snow crunching under large and heavy feet.
Harriet rolled her shoulders. "Who cares? Let's take it down before it finds that village."
"I agree," Elm hefted her hammer.
"Whatever," Sera rested Amethyst Ivory onto her shoulder. "As long as you two stop attacking me."
The trees across the clearing fell forward and slammed into the ground, and that was when they saw it. The Grimm was massive; easily more than twice as large as the Manticore that Sera fought on the train. Except this one was different.
The large Grimm had a bulky canine body with not one, not two, but three heads with powerful jaws. Each of the heads were armored, as well as its large chest, back and four powerful legs.
"What is that?" Elm murmured.
The name popped into Sera's head. Cerberus. She'd never seen this type of Grimm, but she recognized it. "A Cerberus Grimm."
"You've encountered one before?" Harriet asked, her eyes never leaving the beast. It had just taken notice of them and lowered itself to the ground in a hostile stance.
"Never," Sera admitted. "Unless I fought one before I lost my memory."
"Well, let's hope you remember how to fight it! 'Cause here it comes!" Elm raised her hammer. Sure enough, the Cerberus roared with all three heads and ran at the huntresses. Its large and powerful paws pounded the ground as it cleared the distance between them in several long strides.
Sera leaped into the air with her sword raised and met the Grimm head on. She tried to hit its center head, but the two outer ones snapped at her without hesitation. Each of the Grimm's heads were roughly the size of a truck, if that was an indication of the creature's size. The huntress was forced to abandon her attack and jump off of the Grimm, kicking it in its center face for good measure.
Elm rushed from Sera's right, slamming her hammer into the Cerberus's side and making the beast yelp. Its left head wheeled on Elm and bit onto her hammer's shaft. Elm held her ground, fighting to yank her weapon free.
Harriet was a blur as she sprinted towards the Cerberus. She delivered a series of sharp punches to its body and heads before it could even register that it had been attacked.
Sera clicked a button on her sword's hilt and transformed the weapon into its rifle form. She sent a volley of Dust rounds into the Grimm's hide. The Cerberus roared in her direction and dug its paws into the snow.
"Uh-oh," Sera thought aloud as the Grimm pounced. She had just enough time to roll to the side before it landed on the ground with an earth-shaking thud. The amnesiac came up fast on one knee. She fired directly into the Cerberus's left head and made the Grimm roar at the over-penetrating rounds.
The Grimm spun towards her and snapped at Sera with its jaws. Luckily, Elm leaped into the sky and brought her hammer down on the Grimm's back. Sera heard a loud cracking sound and she had a feeling that it was the armor on its back.
Cerberus roared and craned two of its necks to attack Elm while the final head stayed focused on Sera. The amnesiac slammed the butt of her rifle into the head and jumped to her feet. Harriet sprinted up one of its legs and landed on its back beside Elm, using her armored fists to damage its heads.
Sera leaped towards the Grimm to assist them and activated Ember Celica. After punching the right head across the face, planted her feet on the Grimm's head. The beast did exactly what she was hoping it'd do when something lands on someone's head: it raised its head straight up and whined indignantly. Sera used the momentum to push off of its head and fly straight up. Once at the arc of her jump, she shouldered her rifle and cocked Ember Celica with a backwards thrust of her arm.
With a grin, she straightened her body into a dive as she fell back down to the ground. As soon as she got close enough, she slammed her fist into the Grimm's middle head. The Cerberus's outer heads roared as their twin went slack. Sera didn't know if she killed the head or just knocked it out, but she sure as hell hurt it.
"Nice one!" Harriet complimented as she evaded a swipe from the Grimm's paw.
Sera hit the ground with a thud and ejected a shotgun shell from Yang's former gauntlet. "I think it's gonna take a lot more than that, though!" she called to them.
Elm slammed her hammer into the Grimm's side again and made it stumble. "Why not use your semblance again and end this quickly?" She asked.
Sera glanced at her arm, still white and filled with thin black veins webbed across it. "I don't know how long it'll last; I can only use it in short bursts before having to rest. And I used most of it earlier against you two."
"Well, can you try?" Harriet asked. "I'd rather get this over with quickly!"
Sera rolled her eyes before evading another attack. "I thought you two were top huntresses!"
"We are!" Elm deflected the Grimm's paw away from her. The center head shook its daze off and growled at Sera. Apparently, she'd only knocked it out after all. "But we're supposed to be testing you, remember?"
"I thought I passed that!" Sera transformed her weapon back into a sword.
"Well, here's another test," Harriet told her. Sera sighed and ran in front of the Cerberus.
"Hey, ugly!" she called up to it. All three heads turned to her and snarled. The huntress glared up at it, her sword tight in her hand. The Grimm rushed towards her, its paws raised and jaws open. As soon as it got within three feet of her, Sera thought a single word. Stop.
The Cerberus halted directly in front of her, all six of its glowing red eyes trained on Sera.
The huntress glanced over at Elm and Harriet. They were frozen, watching with interest at Sera the moment before she used her semblance.
Sera turned her attention back to the Grimm and drew Silver Linings. I don't have much time, she thought. Only a few seconds more. She fired the entire cylinder at the beast, sending three Dust rounds towards each head. The bullets froze in midair just inches away from its faces. Without taking the time to reload, she holstered the gun and readied Ember Celica, then fired all of its shells at the Cerberus. Once it emptied, she drew her sword.
Sera gripped its handle with both hands sliced across each of its heads as powerfully as she could. She didn't get to for long, though. She'd only hit the Grimm a handful of times before she felt a tug in her mind.
Sera exhaled sharply as her semblance ended. A wave of nausea washed over her, and she only had the energy to jump to the side as the Grimm resumed movement and sailed past her. However, immediately, the Cerberus roared in agony and fell forward.
The amnesiac panted heavily and rose to her knees. She dug her sword into the ground and tried to pick herself up, but Harriet appeared at her side and stopped her with a touch.
"Just sit here for a minute, kiddo. We'll take it from here." Then she and Elm rushed to the Grimm, their weapons aloft.
"Yeah," Sera panted. "Wait till I wear it down to swoop in and kill it. Good job, team."
She decided that being on her knees was too tiring, so she fell back and sat in the snow. Her chest rose and fell heavily, and she felt like she wasn't getting enough air, so she tried to relax. She breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth, and soon enough she started to feel better.
The last time she'd pushed herself like that, it was down in Haven's vault while fighting Raven and Cinder. By time Sera felt strong enough to sit up, the Cerberus was dead and melting into shadow. It was slow to disintegrate, but finally it was completely gone, its remnants blowing in the wind.
Sera stabbed her sword into the ground again and hauled herself to her feet. She transformed Ember Celica back into a bracelet and popped another cylinder into Silver Linings before returning the weapon to its holster.
Elm and Harriet rejoined her with a mix of relief and worry on their faces.
"You alright?" Harriet asked.
"Yeah," Sera got unsteadily to her feet and sheathed Amethyst Ivory. When she brought her arm up to put the weapon away, she saw that her skin tone had returned to normal. Probably happened when the semblance ended. "Can we leave now?"
Ten minutes later, the three huntresses were safely aboard an Atlesian airship and flying back to the academy. Sera was given a bottle of water and a protein bar from a box once she sat down.
"Feeling better yet?" Harriet asked once Sera was on her third protein bar.
"Starting to." She finished the rest of her water. "When I overexert myself like that, it's pretty rough. Back at Beacon, when I was still practicing with my semblance, sometimes I'd sleep for a whole day. The fact that I'm not unconscious right now says a lot," Sera said with some pride.
"It was interesting to witness," Elm said. "I was sure that Grimm was about to get you, then the next second you were gone, and it was on the ground."
Sera shrugged. "Sums up most of my fights."
"And that… power you used. Your skin turned white, and—"
"I know," Sera interrupted. "I don't like using it. Every time I do, the only thing I can think about is that this power is only possible because of her."
"Salem," Harriet frowned. Sera nodded in response.
"I understand why you're aversive towards your inherited power," Elm said with meaningful eyes. "But it is not healthy to harbor such dislike for yourself, no matter what it is."
"Then what do you suggest I do?" Sera quirked an eyebrow.
"Make it your own," Harriet told her.
Sera smirked. "You know, I'm pretty sure someone else told me that same thing. So much has happened…" she her fingers through her hair. "I don't even remember who it was."
"Well, it's good advice." Elm chuckled.
"If—no, when you see Salem again, that'd be one hell of a way to throw in her face how much you reject her." Harriet grinned.
Sera thought about it. "That's not a terrible idea," she smiled, imagining the look on Salem's face.
"Good," Elm stood and grabbed her hammer.
"Come on, kid." Harriet got to her feet as well. "We're home."
Home, Sera almost laughed. She remembered her time in the Xiao Long household with Tai, Qrow, Ruby and Yang. That was the most at home she's ever felt. Yeah, that was home. Atlas—that's just temporary.
"Yeah," Sera stood and joined the Ace Ops near the door. "Good to be back."
. . .
"They did WHAT?" Yang demanded. Sera had only just made it back to her team's room when her teammates bombarded her with questions about her 'License-B huntress mission.'
Sera sighed and climbed up to the bunk that she and Yang shared. "Don't worry, I handled it."
"What, you just fought off two Ace Ops by yourself?" Weiss asked.
"Yep." Sera yawned. "And a big Grimm. Had to use my semblance to the point of exhaustion."
"So, that's why you're so tired?" Blake asked.
"Mostly." She glanced at her team standing by the beds. "Plus, I have been up since like three in the morning."
"What kind of Grimm?" Ruby asked. Sera met the scythe wielder's silver eyes.
"Some sort of three-headed dog. It was huge—bigger than a Manticore."
"Strange." Weiss pinched her chin with two fingers in thought.
"What?" Sera sat up and leaned onto her elbows.
"I've heard of that kind of Grimm—a pilot for my father's company once reported something similar after a delivery flight to Vacuo."
"Of course," Sera fell back with a sigh. "Probably a Grimm from my past."
"What makes you think that?" Yang asked.
"Because I recognized it. I didn't know how, but I knew what it was—a Cerberus."
"Interesting," Blake said.
Ruby checked her scroll. "Guys, it's time for lunch. We better go get some before Nora eats it all."
"You four go ahead," Sera grabbed a blanket. "I'm gonna stay here." When Sera turned over and covered herself up, she heard the door open.
"Be back soon, Sera," Ruby said.
The amnesiac gave a wave and let her hand fall back to the mattress. The door closed, and she let out a sigh. Then she felt someone climbing onto the bed and lay beside her.
Yang put an arm over Sera and put her chin over her shoulder. "Mind if I stay?"
"Not at all." Sera turned her head to look at her. "So, how was clearing out the mines with Blake?"
Yang rolled her eyes. "About as boring as I thought it'd be. That Marrow guy suggested that we split up because we fight together too much."
"But you two are like, partners in crime," Sera yawned.
"That's what we told him." Yang smirked. "Let's just say that he won't comment on it anymore."
"That's good." Sera murmured sleepily. "Glad you got that sorted."
"I still don't like that Harriet and Elm just attacked you," Yang sighed.
"Just following orders." Sera closed her eyes. She could feel herself slipping away into sleep, and the extremely comfortable bed and blankets, plus the warm embrace of a lovely blonde wasn't helping.
"Tired?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Okay, you can sleep." Yang laughed.
"Yay…" Sera nestled into her pillow.
The last thing she felt was a soft kiss on her cheek before she slipped into unconsciousness.