Sera sat up in her sleeping bag groggily and blindly patted around for her ringing scroll. Finally, her hand closed around the device, and she brought it to her ear with her eyes still closed.

"Hello?" she said hoarsely.

"Kid," a gruff voice said, and Sera's eyes shot open when she realized it was Qrow Branwen.

"Qrow?" she whispered, looking around to make sure everyone else was still asleep.

"I need to talk to you, Snowball. Are you alone?"

"Hold on, I was in bed," she muttered while climbing out of her sleeping bag and hurrying to the bathroom. Once the door was locked behind her, she turned and brought her scroll to her ear. "Okay, we're good."

"I've got some good news and some bad news," the huntsman sighed.

"Okay," she blinked. "What's the good news?"

"I had a talk with Junior. He's going to semi-let you out of that deal."

"Semi?"

"That's the bad news," Qrow said. "You still have to help him with one job. Tonight."

"Tonight?" she hissed. "That's a nice head's up."

"Better be glad you're getting it from me. If it was from him, you wouldn't know until an hour beforehand."

Sera sighed and put her forehead against the wall. "What do I need to do?"

"Get some clothes that no one would recognize you in, but don't overdo it, kid. Blend in, like you're one of Junior's goons. A mask of some sort wouldn't be a bad idea. Other than that, just try not to do anything too illegal, and definitely don't get caught. I doubt that even Ozpin could get you off the hook if the cops bring you in," he advised. "Wear gloves. You absolutely do not want your fingerprints to be found."

"It sounds like you're a little too familiar with how this stuff works, old man," she smirked.

"What can I say? I know what I'm doing," he said. "From what Junior told me, you'll really just be a bodyguard, so don't worry too much. 'Sposed to be a Dust deal, but stay on your guard, those things usually go bad."

"Got it," she said. "Any other advice you could give a soon-to-be criminal?"

"I would say to not use your own weapon, but I don't think there's a way either of yours could be traced. Plus, there's not enough time to get any unmarked weapons."

"What about something from one of Beacon's training rooms?" she asked.

"Bad idea. Those would get traced to the school, and cops would investigate the teachers and students. Nah, just use your own gear. It's not exactly easy to track that sword of yours, believe it or not. Not unless someone gets a really good look at it," he said.

"Well, that's good to know," she muttered. "That it?"

"Yeah, think so. If you need anything, or if it looks like things are going real bad, just get the hell out of there," the huntsman said.

"Right," she looked at the floor.

"You okay, kid? Nervous?"

"No. Well, yeah, but there was something else," she tapped her foot on the bathroom floor. "I had another dream."

"…The woman's voice?" he asked quietly.

"…Yeah."

"What'd she say?" he said delicately.

"Well, she neither confirmed nor denied that 'Kassandra' was my actual name. She mocked my desire to be a huntress. And…" she chewed her lip.

"And…?"

"And she said, "You can hate me and train to fight me all you want, but can you protect the ones you love?"

"Brothers of Creation, that doesn't sound good," the huntsman said.

"I didn't think it was that bad actually," she said half-sarcastically.

"Have you told Oz?"

"I haven't gotten the chance yet. Plus… I wasn't sure what to make of it," Sera replied.

"That's okay, in your own time. But don't take too long, yeah?" Qrow said.

"Right," she checked her reflection in the mirror, recoiling at her messy hair and the bags under her eyes.

"I'll think over what you said and check back in on you in a few hours. Just remember what I said and carefully prepare your things for tonight," Qrow told her.

"You got it," she chewed her lip. "I'll try not to get into too much trouble."

"We already know that's not going to happen," he chuckled.

"You're probably right," she smiled.

"All right, kid, I better get going," he cleared his throat.

"No problem," Sera said. "Hey, Qrow?"

"What's up, Snowball?"

"Thanks. For everything."

"Ah, don't worry about it, kid. Just don't get yourself killed, and we'll call it even," the huntsman said.

"Deal," she said with a small smile. Then Qrow hung up, and the amnesiac pulled her scroll away from her ear. She took a deep breath and looked in the mirror once more. "Well," she told her reflection. "I guess I can add 'gangster badass' to the huntress resumé."

Then she turned the shower on to get ready for class.

. . .

The rest of the day went by relatively smoothly. She sparred with other students in Goodwitch's class, took a nap in Port's, got completely lost in Oobleck's, and tried not to die of boredom in Peach's. To her teams, she seemed distracted, but she wouldn't say why.

Once she was out of her last class of the day, she dashed to RWBY's room to browse her closet for anything she could wear that would make it seem like she fit in with Junior's crew. Finally, she thinks she's found it.

Sera grinned and got the clothes ready so she could change quickly when the time came. However, Qrow had suggested that she use some sort of mask to cover her face, but she had no such thing. She'd figure something out. It couldn't be too hard of a problem to solve.

Now, all she could do was wait. Her weapons were in her body holster and ready to go, all she had to do was put it on after getting dressed. But the call didn't come until nearly ten in the evening, and all Junior had to say was to meet her at the club. And so, she did. She got dressed in the locker room and strapped her weapons on before heading outside to catch the first airship into Vale.

After nearly half an hour of walking, she made it to Junior's club and walked in. The goons at the entrance hardly gave her a second look, allowing her to pass with ease. Sera stepped into the club, her lip curling slightly at the pounding dance music that seemed to never stop playing. That's when she eyed Junior at the bar, and she made her way over.

"You came," he said, but he didn't seem surprised. "Almost didn't recognize you."

"Of course, I came," she turned her palms outward. Regarding Junior's second comment, she barely recognized herself as well. Her usual wavy white hair was tied back with a thin strand of it still hanging over her left eye and a black beanie on her head. She wore a black cotton military jacket unzipped over a thinner crimson hooded jacket, solid black fitted cargo pants, and a pair of black Atlesian combat boots with red laces.

"At least you're wearing the gang colors," Junior said approvingly.

She shrugged. "Figured I'd dress the part. Couldn't have anyone recognizing me, could I?"

"Probably a good idea. Don't worry, as far as anyone else is concerned, you're just one of mine," he said, and Sera's shoulders relaxed.

"Good," she said. "So," the huntress clasped her hands together. "What's the job?"

"Thought you'd never ask," the gang leader walked behind his bar and searched the shelves. Finally, he pulled out a tall bottle full of honey brown liquid with a wooden cork and set it on the bar. He set a pair of shot glasses between the two of them and uncorked the bottle.

"What're you doing?" Sera raised an eyebrow.

"This is Vacuoan rum. Top shelf. I only save it for jobs like this, and you get the honor of having a drink with me," Junior said while he filled each shot glass before setting the bottle aside.

"I'm a minor," she protested.

"Not in here, you're not, kid. Not anymore, at least," the gang leader picked his glass up and held it out to her.

After a moment of indecision, the huntress rolled her eyes and picked up the remaining shot glass and clinked it against Junior's.

"Cheers," the older man said and knocked the liquor back smoothly. Sera stared into the miniature glass of brown liquid before tipping her head back and pouring it into her mouth. Initially, it tasted fine. Smooth and full of flavor. Then when it hit the back of her throat, she had to stifle a cough and pound a fist onto the bar. It burned her throat and tasted like paint thinner while it went down. The liquid sat heavily in her stomach and made her regret ever coming here.

"Ugh," she looked up from the bar with a frown. "Tastes like nail polish remover."

"I take it that was your first drink," Junior grinned.

"You could say that," she set the glass down gingerly.

"How was it?"

"Awful," she looked up. "I want another."

He grinned wider. "After the job. Speaking of…" Junior corked the bottle and put their shot glasses away before laying his palms on the bar. "You'll be a bodyguard, overseeing the 'transaction.'"

"And what exactly does that entail?" she leaned further onto the bar.

The gang leader shrugged. "We're going to meet our clients, exchange the goods and Lien, then part ways. Then your job is over, and we never have to see each other again."

"That's it?" she raised an eyebrow. "Sounds too easy to me."

"It always does," Junior smirked.

"And if someone shows up? Like, I dunno, the police?" the huntress asked.

"Don't worry about it," the man replied. "We have an hour-long window to get all this done without cop interference. This deal should go down smooth, and you can get back to your training or whatever it is you do."

"…Right," Sera tapped her nails on the bar. Even with the aid of Junior's rum, she just couldn't quite calm her nerves. Something felt off, but for all she knew, it was just stress getting to her. "Who all is going to be there?"

"Let's see," the gang leader said. "Besides you and me, there'll be the twins—" (Sera rolled her eyes.) "And just a handful of my guys. Should be enough just to oversee the exchange."

She raised her eyebrows. "Your normal guys? Enough? In case things go sideways?"

"…Yeah, I should probably bring a few more."

A pair of newcomers appeared at Sera's side at the bar, and she didn't even have to look to know it was none other than the Malachite sisters.

"Ugh," one of them scoffed. "This is the huntress that's helping us tonight?"

"Not even the blond one? She was tougher," the other twin added.

"I was tough enough to knock you two on your asses," Sera smirked, memories of turning this bar upside down with Yang coming back to her. "Oh, by the way, when you get the chance, you two should really work on your teamwork. You're sloppy."

One of the twins started to move towards her, but their boss stopped her with the raise of his hand. "If this is all going to go smoothly, you three need to play nice."

Sera scoffed. "We'll see."

The gang leader rolled his eyes, then Junior checked his scroll for the time and tapped his knuckles on the bar top to get the huntress's attention. "All right, it's almost time."

"Groovy," she said unenthusiastically and got to her feet. Illegal Dust deals, shady characters all over, a high risk of being caught, and officially becoming a criminal in the city of Vale. How bad could it be?

. . .

One quick car ride to the even shadier side of Vale later, Sera stepped out of Junior's luxury ride and onto the grimy pavement of the warehouse district. The huntress frowned at her surroundings before making room for her temporary boss to exit the vehicle. Without wasting a breath, she placed a set of stylish Risky Business-type sunglasses on her face to make the night even darker.

"So," she resisted the urge to draw her sword. "What now?"

"Now," Junior straightened his tie and strolled towards one of the many warehouses in the area with the Malachite twins at his feet. "We meet our clients, then sell the product."

"Uh, where is the product?" she followed after the gang leader.

"The boys are getting ready to bring it. We just have to make sure the deal is legit."

"And that's why we're going in alone right now?" she asked.

"Gods, yes," Miltia rolled her eyes with a sigh.

"Oh, I'm sorry. This is my first crime!" she retorted.

"All right!" Junior groaned. "Brothers, if knew you would've been so annoying, I wouldn't have brought you two!"

"Us?" the twins demanded. "What about her!"

"Quiet!"

The twins glared at Sera, but the huntress just stuck her tongue out at them. Finally, they entered the gloomy building. Dim lights on the ceiling barely illuminated the large warehouse, or the people standing in it. A chill shot up the huntress's spine when she saw the few dozen goons milling around on the side opposite of them. They were dressed in dark clothing as if they were trying to cosplay some edgy action movie, and Sera had to suppress a smile at the goofy-looking bad guys.

"Seriously?" she mumbled. "They look even dumber than your dudes," the huntress told Junior.

"Quiet," he responded while they closed the distance between them and the clients.

The guy that seemed to be in charge stepped forward with his hands at his sides. "Xiong. Are we ready to proceed?"

"We are," Junior nodded to him.

"Then let's this over with then, huh?" the man said and snapped his fingers. A shorter guy in sunglasses stepped forward and opened a briefcase, revealing it to be filled with Lien.

Junior's eyes sparkled at the case. "Very good. The merchandise should be here soon."

The man nodded. "Excellent."

Sera had stayed quiet for most of the disturbingly calm exchange, but when they were all hit with a moment of awkward silence, she inevitably decided to speak up.

"So, who're you supposed to be?" she asked the lead man opposite of them. He seemed to raise an eyebrow at her, as if he couldn't believe that a lowly henchman would speak to him.

Not even acknowledging the huntress's response, the gangster turned his eyes to Junior. "Does this… girl speak for you?"

"I speak for myself," she crossed her arms before Junior could respond. Junior nudged her, but she didn't budge.

"You should tell your lacky to cool it, Xiong," another one of the goons said.

Sera instinctively reached for her sword, then everyone in front of her and Junior reached for their weapons as well.

"Whoa!" Junior shouted and raised his arms. "Let's just all calm down." He shot Sera a deadly look.

Rolling her eyes, Sera let go of her sword and crossed her arms. The "clients" reluctantly holstered their weapons, but they didn't stop glaring at Sera. In response, she simply flashed a smile and flipped them the bird while pushing her sunglasses up her nose.

The lead guy (she decided to call him Shades, on account of the pitch-black sunglasses he wore) gave the huntress a look of disdain before turning his attention back to Junior and the Malachite twins.

'Yeah, fuck you, too, asshole," she thought to herself. Then Sera heard a loud clanging noise. Behind them, the rest of Junior's guys were wheeling in crates of cargo through the huge doors. Wooden boxes stacked on top of each other being carried by large forklift dollies.

"There it is," Junior gestured.

"And it's all there?" Shades asked.

"All of it, all in one piece," the Xiong gang leader promised.

"That's a lot of Dust," Sera murmured, eyeing the crates.

"Right," the corner of Shades' mouth upturned. "Dust."

She raised her eyebrows, wondering what the heck that was supposed to mean, when Junior stepped closer to her. "Stay here," he said in a hushed tone while Shades and his goons made their way to the crates.

"Why?" she asked, determined not to follow orders.

"Just do it," he said sternly. His voice was rather calm, but his face was intense.

"Uh… Sure," she glanced over at the goons. One of the crates was open, and she could see the shining Dust crystals resting within. Sera's shoulders relaxed slightly, but the feeling of uneasiness never left her. Something was… off.

As soon as Junior left her, the huntress gripped her sword and watched the criminals, tensing up at random. Shades talked with Junior indistinctly while inspecting the wooden crates. Strangely enough, those crates looked like they'd had holes punched in the sides of them, near the bottom. That was weird.

Her violet eyes inspected each gang member standing around—gauging their weapons and trying to figure out who could be a threat. It was something that Weiss had taught her to do, strangely enough. Even if someone was an ally, it was never a bad idea to make a plan for taking them down.

"Okay…" she murmured. The supposed transaction was taking too long for her taste. For nearly five minutes, she just stood there, waiting. Every so often she'd catch Junior glancing over at her as if to make sure that she wasn't coming near. But she had to admit, the longer she stood there, the more she wanted to just stroll on over and check things out. Unfortunately, all she could do was wait.

The gang members unloaded crates and inspected merchandise or just stood around doing nothing while their bosses talked with each other. Sera was about to just pull her scroll out to check the time… but then she saw something.

She was watching some guys sorting through a crate's contents when a flicker of movement caught her attention. She hadn't really noticed until then, but none of them were touching the tall, narrow crates that were still sitting on the forklifts. The ones with the holes cut in them. Sera was just idly tapping on her sword hilt when she saw what she thought was a hand through one of the holes.

"Oh, hold the hell on," her eyes narrowed. Without hesitation, the huntress marched over towards the two gangs and drew her sword.

Two of Junior's goons were laughing at something one of them had said when they noticed a very angry-looking girl marching towards them with a very scary-looking sword.

"Uh, hey boss?" the guy said in an urban accent.

Junior looked away from Shades to see Sera approaching. "Oh, great," he rolled his eyes. Shades waved his hand, and his guys drew their own weapons. The huntress didn't care. "I told you to stay back there, kid!"

"You're shipping people?" she demanded, never slowing.

"It's not what it looks like," Junior reasoned. But she didn't stop. His shoulders sagging, Junior pointed two fingers at her, then all of his goons unsheathed their weapons as well. "Take her down, boys," he announced.

"Good fucking luck with that," she murmured.

Junior's goons weren't rushing in like their boss expected them to. In fact, they seemed reluctant to engage the huntress-in-training. However, one of Shades' guys must've been feeling ballsy, because he immediately came at her with a short sword. He had a cocky grin, like he didn't think she'd be a challenge. Then again, she was dressed like she was in Junior's gang.

He swung his sword, but Sera knocked it aside effortlessly before slamming her own sword into his side to send the gang member flying.

"Bro!" another of Shades' guys shouted, then ran at the white-haired girl.

There wasn't even a fight. She just drew her double-barrel and blasted the poor guy away. Luckily, these goons seemed to have aura, so her attacks weren't fatal. Sera didn't want to add "murderer" to her new list of crimes. The guy rolled like a barrel back to the feet of his boss. Shades pushed his sunglasses up on his nose, his lip curling before looking up at the huntress.

After seeing their comrades defeated so easily, the rest of the darkly dressed goons decided to get their act together and stage an assault. A dozen of them came at her brandishing their weapons and yelling, but truthfully, Sera was just glad to get some real-world combat experience. Even if it was against a bunch of jobbers.

She deflected their attacks fairly easily, but she knew it wouldn't be long before they overwhelmed her. Several of them were swinging at her with various types of sharp or blunt weapons. Blocking or parrying most of the blows, she let her aura handle the rest of their attacks.

Similar to Junior's guys, these opponents weren't all that tough. They had weak aura and frankly low, street-level combat skill. In short, they weren't really a threat. Sera parried, dodged, counter-attacked, and fired blasts from her shotgun to take down her opponents. She'd gotten so in the groove of her combat routine, it completely threw her off when one of her opponents actually managed to land a hit to the side of her face.

Sera's eyes narrowed at the mustached man like she couldn't believe what had happened. The man grinned as if he was thinking, "Yeah, get some," but the huntress simply aimed her shotgun and blasted him away from her.

Finally, Junior's goons decided to jump in and help their business partners. Sera leapt into the air and brought the blade of her sword onto one of them, then immediately followed up with a flurry of quick strikes. Less than a minute later, she was surrounded by the bodies of groaning or unconscious gang members. She turned her attention to the two gang leaders and the Malachite Twins and spun her sword in her hand.

"I knew something was going to go wrong with this chick, Junior," Miltia groaned.

"Why don't you ever listen to us?" Melanie added.

"Just shut up and go take care of her," Junior pinched the bridge of his nose.

Sera grinned and held Amethystus Igneous at her side. "Really? The wonder twins? Yeah, okay."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Melanie demanded.

"Exactly how it sounded," the huntress twirled her sword before resting it on her shoulder.

"You little…!" Melanie rushed at the white-haired girl, attempting to bring her bladed heel down on Sera's head. In an instant, the huntress stepped aside to avoid the attack, then brought her weapon's hilt up, slamming it into the woman's chest. Melanie recovered mid-air, landing swiftly on her feet. Sera flashed a grin and pointed her weapon at the white-dressed girl. She made sure to keep the gang bosses in her peripherals at all times.

"Ugh," Melanie groaned. "A little help, Miltia?"

"Fine," the red-dressed girl rolled her eyes. A pair of long, black and red claws grew from her forearms, and she ran to assist her sister. She was on top of Sera in an instant, swinging her odd weapons.

Sera deflected the claws as quickly as she could then swiped widely at her opponent. Unfortunately, Melanie was there to block her sword followed up by slamming her foot into the huntress's side. Sera slid backwards from the force of the kick, then thrusted her sword, dashing towards the twins at a speed that rivaled Ruby.

"Yeah!" Sera cheered while she zoomed forward. Her sword rammed into Miltia's torso, sending her backwards and into her sister. The twins recovered quickly, rushing at the huntress. Sera reacted instantaneously. She spun and swung her sword to meet the sisters' blades, their weapons clashing and making sparks fly.

"That all you got?" she smirked, then dislodged their blades and went on the offensive. She somersaulted, bringing her foot down on Melanie while swinging Amethystus Igneous at Miltia. Unfortunately, they were fast, and managed to evade or block her attacks.

The Malachite sisters positioned themselves to be on either side of her—Melanie in front and Miltia behind her. "How long do you intend to keep this up?" one of them asked.

"Long enough to make you two remember the words 'badass motherfucker,'" she said.

"What?" Miltia asked.

Sera quickly popped a red crystal into the hilt of sword and grinned at the sisters. Amethystus Igneous blazed to life, its blade lighting up with violet flames. The twins tightened their stances and their eyes narrowed.

"It is officially party time," she flashed a grin.

The sisters rushed her, trying to land a hit with their blades. Sera dashed to the side, swinging her sword with one hand while simultaneously drawing her shotgun with the other. She managed to hit one sister in the side before aiming her shotgun to blast the other one and send her flying back. She rushed Melanie, whom she'd hit with her sword, and threw a flurry of attacks at her. Each hit landed and took a chunk out of her aura.

Melanie barely had time to recover before Sera turned her shotgun on her, blasting the last of her aura away before quickly reloading.

"You bitch…!" Melanie cursed, then looked up in time to see Sera's foot coming down onto her head. The sister hit the ground with a thud, but Miltia was already on the attack. She slammed into the huntress to knock her away from her sister.

Sera grunted and plunged her sword into the ground to bring herself to a halt.

"You know," she said while pulling her sword free. "I've heard that you two were supposed to be dangerous, but she went down like a sack of potatoes," Sera pointed at Melanie.

Miltia gritted her teeth and dashed forward. Her claws were a flurry of black and red against Amethystus Igneous, but Sera didn't budge. She grinned while blocking the woman's strikes just like she'd practiced.

She kicked Miltia away before swiping at her, catching her in the side and making her groan. In a sudden desire to get the fight over with, she drew her shotgun and blasted Miltia in the chest before immediately throwing a storm of sword blows her way. Once her aura was depleted, the huntress quickly flipped over Miltia and slammed the hilt of her sword onto her head. The woman crumpled to the ground and Sera sighed while holstering her shotgun and turned to Junior and Shades.

"So," she announced. "Who's turn now?"

"This is ridiculous," Shades sneered. "Xiong. Thanks to your not-so-loyal lacky, our deal's off. After this, the boss won't be calling on you anymore." Then the creepy guy turned away stormed out of the warehouse, his henchmen limping after him.

Junior just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I just can't get a break from huntress brats."

"Maybe stop getting into such bad shit?" Sera said loud enough for Junior to hear from thirty feet away.

The gang leader pulled out a metal baseball bat, which Sera recognized from her and Yang's first fight with the Xiong family. "You do know this means our deal's off?"

"Eh, don't care, honestly," she shrugged. "That deal was off the minute I saw you trying to sell people."

"All you had to do was stay over there and mind your business," Junior shook his head.

"Yeah, but you know me, Junior," she held her sword in front of her. "Just can't help sticking my nose where it doesn't belong."

"I'm picking up on that," he tightened his grip on his bat.

The huntress eyed the gang leader in front of her. In Goodwitch's class, she's fought other students who like using club-like weapons, and she's discovered that they didn't pose much of a threat.

"Are we going to stare at each other or are we going to fight?" she held her sword tighter.

"Read my mind," Junior raised his bat and spun it in his hands, transforming the weapon into a missile launcher before resting it on his shoulder.

"Uh-oh," Sera's eyes widened. A rocket fired from Junior's launcher and flew directly towards her. The huntress straightened her sunglasses and smirked while widening her stance and sheathing her sword (after turning the fire off, of course).

'If this works, I'm never going top it,' she thought to herself. As soon as the missile got close to her, the huntress fell backwards and placed her feet on the bottom of the missile while simultaneously focusing aura into the bottom of her soles so that they'd stick to the metal. Then, she just allowed her body to go weightless for a moment. The rocket pulled her away in the blink of an eye and the huntress swung herself upwards to stand on the rocket. It was like a skateboard from hell, and she loved every second. Sera rode the rocket in giant upward spiral, screaming out in joy. (Totally a straight-up DMC3 reference.)

"WOOOOO-HOOOOO!" she hollered, wind rushing through her hair. At least, as best as it could with her new beanie on.

Junior Xiong could only watch the huntress fly around like a lunatic. Finally, Sera figured out how to steer the thing. She smiled mischievously and aimed it at the gang leader. By time Junior saw what was happening, it was too late. She drew her sword, holding it at her side while blasting towards Junior. The last thing he saw before impact was her annoying smile.

Sera launched herself backwards at the last moment, somersaulting rather gracefully then landing on her feet. The missile blasted Junior backwards, making him roll end over end.

"Did you have to throw that back at me?" the gang leader groaned while picking himself off the ground.

"Hey, you shot it at me first!" she pointed her sword at him.

"Not the point, kid," he transformed the launcher back into a club.

"Whatever, are we going to fight or not?" she rested Amethystus Igneous on her shoulder, tapping its hilt with her fingertips.

"It's about time for someone to beat some manners into you," Junior readied his bat.

"We'll see, old man," she held her sword with both hands.

After a few heartbeats, the two of them ran at each other. Sera was ready to get this over with. Fighting two gangs at once, the Malachite Sisters, and now the leader of one of those gangs? She was ready to pop open a People Like Grapes and kick back.

She swung her sword to meet his bat, then tried to swipe at his side. Turns out that Junior is pretty quick with his weapon and managed to block the huntress's attack with ease. He knocked her sword away from him and slammed his bat across her torso, sending the huntress away from him with a loud DING!

"Okay," she mumbled when she got back to her feet. "I kind of felt that one." Unfortunately for Junior, that hit ticked her off, too. She dashed across the ground with her sword pointed at Junior, hoping to run him through. However, thanks to his aura, he survived.

Junior's aura visibly flickering, he dusted himself off before turning his attention back to Sera. At least, he thought that's where she was. Junior looked side to side, but the huntress was missing. Could she have run? No, she was too pissed to do that. So where was she?

The gang leader heard what could only be described as a taxicab whistle, then looked up slowly to see his opponent standing on the ceiling a few dozen feet above him. She had her arms crossed and was looking down at Junior with a grin plastered on her face.

"How the hell…?" he trailed off. Junior quickly transformed his weapon into its launcher form and aimed it directly upwards. Sera released her aura and fell, turning upright mid-fall and drawing her shotgun smoothly. Junior's rocket flew with a resounding boom, and he hoped this would be the end of the fight.

Unfortunately, as soon as the missile emerged from its tube, the huntress aimed her shotgun with one hand.

"Skadoosh," she murmured, then squeezed the trigger. The pellets from the blast collided with Junior's missile and made it explode prematurely. The gang boss was blasted backwards, his aura completely shattered from the explosion, and Sera landed triumphantly on the warehouse floor. She smugly holstered her shotgun and strolled over to where Junior laid, unconscious.

"Had a little more fight in him than I expected, honestly," she rested a hand on her hip. An idea flickered to life in her mind, and a smile slowly spread across her face. She patted the boss's pockets until she found her target and… Bingo! She held Junior's wallet aloft before rifling through it and pulling out just a few of his numerous Lien cards. "Might as well get paid for this botched job. Plus, the price of you being a prick," she took a couple more cards. "It's not like I'm taking that much," she thought aloud before tossing the wallet onto his chest.

"Now," she turned to the tall wooden boxes and clasped her hands together. "Time for a jailbreak."

Sera blasted open the lock of one crate with her shotgun and pulled the door open. And at what she saw inside… the huntress almost dropped her weapon. There were four people—two adults and two children. A family, from what she could tell. They were grimy and clearly exhausted, as well as trembling. From fear or tiredness or hunger, she wasn't sure.

"Hi," she said quietly, slowly holstering her shotgun into her body holster. "I'm a huntress… sort of. But I'm here to help," she raised her hands to show she wasn't holding anything, then reached towards them as a show of good faith.

The captured people looked at each other cautiously, then the one she assumed was the dad nodded at his family and took Sera's hand. She tried to give a reassuring smile, then pulled him to his feet. The man stepped out of the box and examined his surroundings. That was when Sera noticed a canine-like tail protruding from his lower back. She looked at the family, who were now cautiously stepping out of the crate as well and noticed that they had identical canine tails too.

"Of course," she murmured. 'Of course, they're Faunus. I bet all the Lien I just stole that the rest of the people in these are Faunus, too.'

"Thank you," the mother of the family took her hand and looked directly into the huntress's eyes. "You've saved our children's lives."

Sera gave a small smile. "I'm just doing my job. No reason to thank me."

"Nonsense!" the father insisted. "How could we repay you?"

"Ah, don't worry about it. Just make sure to take care of those two," she smiled at the kids.

The youngest, a girl about the age of seven, gazed up at her with huge eyes. Sera couldn't help but ruffle her hair to make her smile. "Why are you dwessed like a bad guy?" she asked, trying her best to pronounce the words correctly.

She smiled lightly and leaned in closer, lowering her sunglasses so the girl could see her eyes. "I'm undercover, trying to stop the bad guys," she whispered. The little girl lit up, smiling for probably the first time since her family was captured. Then the strangest thing happened. The little Faunus girl rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Sera's waist in a tight hug. After a few seconds, she put her hand on the kid's head and said, "Okay, I have to go help the others now. But I'll be right back. Promise." And when she was released, the huntress went to go rescue the others.

Sera quickly went to work opening the rest of the crates, and her theory was right. All of the people inside were Faunus, ranging from children to middle-aged adults. From what she could tell, they were all just civilians. This was evil. She never even imagined she'd have to deal with something like this, but here she was freeing kidnapped people. By time she was done, there were at least twenty standing in the warehouse.

Apparently, Junior and the Malachite Sisters had regained consciousness and decided to flee the scene. They were missing from where Sera had left them, and a few moments after she noticed they were gone, she heard a car speeding away from the warehouse. She guessed it was the one she'd arrived in.

"All right!" she announced, getting the attention of all the freed Faunus. "I'm going to get you all out of here as soon as possible so you can get back home. Just sit tight, and I'll call someone to come help."

The Faunus murmured to each other, muttering about food and being tired, and she couldn't blame them. She just hopes that she can keep her promise.

Sera stepped away and brought her scroll out, frantically tapping the screen before bringing the device to her ear. It rang four times before he finally answered.

"Finally!" she said.

"Jeez, what is it, kid?" Qrow said, his voice as gruff as ever. "Did you repay that favor?"

"See, the funny thing is…" she trailed off, cleared her throat, then began explaining the situation. Once she was finished, Qrow didn't say anything for a solid ten seconds.

"I'm on the way," then he just hung up before she could say, "Wait I didn't tell you where I was!"

Sera looked at her scroll, the words "Call Ended" flashing on the screen.

"Well… Okay," she blinked. After checking the time, she mentally noted that it was near midnight. And it was well past midnight when she heard the telltale engines of an airship. But as soon as she heard, she took off running.

Qrow Branwen was stepping off the airship when he saw a figure in black and red running at him. He just sighed and took a swig from his silver flask before walking towards the amnesiac.

"Qrow!" she said.

"Calm down, Snowball," he pocketed his flask. "Where are they?"

"Just inside," she hooked a thumb towards the warehouse.

"What about the Xiong gang?"

"They hotfooted it out of here a while ago. Got their butts kicked by yours truly," she gave a small bow.

"Huh. Not bad, kid," he frowned.

"Whatever, not important," Sera said. "We need to get those people out of here!"

"Very adult of you, Snowball," Qrow meandered towards the warehouse with his hands in his pockets.

She was so glad that she could finally help the Faunus, she didn't even mind that Qrow was calling her by the nickname she hated. Once the huntsman was inside, all of the Faunus turned to the newcomer, their eyes wide.

"Hey everyone, this is the huntsman that's going to help you all out! Just do what he says and you'll all get home!" Sera announced. The group of Faunus seemed to relax at her words. "Trust me," she said determinedly.

Qrow cleared his throat and stepped forward, and Sera let him take the stage. Reluctantly, the Faunus followed Qrow's instructions. Minutes later, they were forming lines to board the airship he'd brought. It was a pretty tight fit, but all of them managed to get on.

Sera could hardly contain her excitement as the airship lifted into the sky and rocketed away from the shady side of Vale. She passed through the airship, checking on the freed Faunus while making her way to the cockpit.

Qrow looked over at Sera taking the seat beside him, then returned his attention back to the brightly lit city. "You did good tonight, Sera," he said.

The huntress raised an eyebrow at him. "Did you just call me by name? No 'kid,' no 'Snowball'?" she asked.

"Don't let it go to your head," he laughed lightly. "A lot of people were in danger. Who knows where they might've ended up?"

"I just wish I knew what I was getting into," she sat back in the co-pilot seat.

"You couldn't have known, but now maybe we can get the cops and other huntsmen to bear down on that gang even more now. If I were you, I wouldn't let it get you down."

"I guess you're right," she relaxed a little. "What now, though?"

"Now, I take you back to Beacon so you can get some sleep. Ozpin will know what to do with these guys," Qrow said, and the bright lights of Beacon Academy came into view.

"As long as they get home," she looked out across campus.

"They will," the huntsman patted her shoulder.

. . .

When they landed, Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch were waiting with hard expressions.

"Uh-oh," she mumbled. Sera straightened her jacket and went to meet the professors.

"Well," the headmaster took a sip from his coffee mug. "It seems you've had an eventful night."

"That's putting it mildly," she chuckled nervously. "Am I in trouble?"

"That's putting it mildly," Ozpin said.

"Ha…" she scratched the back of her head.

"But… Seeing what you've accomplished tonight, we might be able to lighten the punishment a little," the headmaster said with a sly smile.

"It's the least you could do, Oz," Qrow said after he stepped off the airship.

"She's lucky she's not being suspended," Goodwitch crossed her arms, and Sera flinched a little.

"In all seriousness, you acted just how a huntress should in that situation and saved a few dozen innocent people. That's definitely something to be proud of, Sera," Ozpin said. "You may return to your dorm, if you wish. Glynda and I will make sure these people get back home… Wherever that might be."

Sera took a last look at the airship before nodding. She was tired, and that makeshift spot on the floor in RWBY's dorm was calling her name. "…Okay," she said.

"I know you feel responsible, but believe me, there's nothing to worry about," the headmaster smiled kindly.

"Go on, kid," Qrow said in his usual light-hearted tone. She sighed and began walking towards the dorms. After everything that had happened tonight, ending it like this just seemed anticlimactic.

"And remember you still have class tomorrow," Goodwitch called after her.

"Yep!" she raised her hand, still walking.

They watched her go strolling back towards the main campus with rather bewildered expressions. Ozpin's lip curled slightly, "How did she come to be in that warehouse tonight?"

Qrow sighed. "That's a long story, Oz. In short, she owed that gang leader a favor, and tonight he called on that favor. Unfortunately for him, she found out what was actually going on, then put a stop to it. So don't think that she was out there going rogue, or something."

"Then how did she end up owing this gang leader a favor?" Goodwitch turned to him with her green eyes narrowed.

"Information."

Professor Ozpin exhaled. "She was hoping they could dig up some information on her."

"But why? That's what we're doing," Glynda said.

"I guess she was getting a little impatient," Qrow shrugged. "You can't really blame her, Oz. She's been here for months with no update."

"These things take time, Qrow," Goodwitch said a little more sternly.

"And time is something that we might not have much of!" the huntsman replied.

Ozpin didn't respond for several moments. "We have a few theories."

"About her?" Qrow asked. "What kind of theories, Oz?"

The professor turned his eyes towards the shattered moon in the sky. "The kind that may very well alter our perception of what it means to be human."

. . .

This chapter feels kinda rushed. Was it rushed? I kind of just wanted to get Junior's favor out of the way before it was too late and this was the best idea I had. The fight with Junior probably could've been fleshed out a little more. Then again, it's not like that gang is all that tough, so…