When Sera got back to team RWBY's dorm, it felt like she walked into the middle of an interrogation. Ruby, Yang, and Weiss were confronting Blake about her recent exhaustion and attitude problems, with Weiss seemingly in charge.
"Uh, what's going on, team?" she asked. She'd already been back to the locker room to put her weapons and gear up, so she was just back in her usual white-and-purple clothing. She traded the combat pants for a pair of white jeans.
"We're making Blake confess," Weiss crossed her arms. Sera met the Faunus's eyes, and a quick moment of understanding passed between them.
"What, you're interrogating her? Come on guys," she told them.
"She's right," Ruby murmured.
"No, this is unacceptable behavior, and you all know it. She's practically torturing herself," Weiss said.
"This is stupid," Blake muttered.
"Blake…" Sera said.
"No! I'm done sitting around and letting that criminal do what he wants, and hurt people," she told them all.
"You're still thinking about Torchwick?" Ruby asked.
"Torchwick, the White Fang, and whoever else is in on all this!" she replied.
"Yeah, I'd like to pay a little visit to that mystery girl that was at the docks, too," Sera crossed her arms.
"The one that kicked your butt?" Yang grinned.
"Hey, it was a mutual butt kicking!" she said. "I won in the end anyways."
"Uh-huh."
"Xiao Long, so help me—" Sera started.
"Shut it!" Weiss said. "Gods, your useless bickering is going to drive me insane."
"C'mon, Ice Queen," the amnesiac said. "You don't always have to have a heart of, well, ice."
"Yeah, don't let this all make you give us the cold shoulder," Yang said. Everyone in the room looked over to her, then Ruby punched her in the shoulder. "What? What'd I say?" Yang demanded.
"Anyways," Weiss said with a huff. "Listen—let me once again be the voice of reason in all this. We're students. We're not ready for this level of combat, and we're not ready to track and bring down crime rings."
"And we may never be ready!" Blake shouted. "They're not just going to sit around and wait for us to graduate. They're out there somewhere, planning their next move, and none of us know what it is! Whether we're ready or not, something big is coming."
"Okay, then," Ruby said with a small smile. "All in favor of becoming the youngest huntresses ever to single handedly bring down a corrupt organization conspiring against the Kingdom of Vale, say aye," she belted out at a speed to match her semblance.
"Yeah! I love it when you get feisty," Yang said, pointing at Blake.
"Eh, it could be fun," Weiss shrugged, which ultimately contradicted what she said before.
"Oh, you know I'm in!" Sera grinned and put her arms around Ruby and Yang's shoulders.
"None of you said 'aye'…" Ruby murmured.
"All right, then!" Blake allowed a smile. "We're in this together!"
"Let's get started! Time to plan!" Ruby announced.
"Yeah!" Yang said enthusiastically.
Then Ruby gasped. "I left my boardgame in the library."
"We're doomed," Weiss stated. Ruby zipped out of the room in a flurry of rose petals, slamming the door behind her.
"So," Sera clasped her hands together. "When do we start?"
"As soon as possible," Blake said. "Tomorrow night."
"We don't even have a plan yet," Yang rebutted.
"Ah, I'm sure we can figure one out, though. Can't be too hard," Sera grinned.
"Don't you think that this needs to be taken just a little more seriously?" Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Let me think about it," she brought a finger to her chin. "Nah."
Weiss rolled her eyes. "Do you ever not be a smartass?"
"It's funny you ask—"
The heiress raised her hand to interrupt her. "That was rhetorical."
"You're rhetorical," the amnesiac mumbled, shrugging off her jacket. "I'm tired, aren't you all? Blake?" she said pointedly. They stared at each other for several moments, Weiss and Yang not seeming to understand the tension.
"…Very," Blake finally said, and Sera nodded to her thankfully. "We should get some rest. Long day tomorrow." Then Blake headed into the bathroom, and Sera winked at the others with a grin on her face before going to sit at her spot on the floor.
"What was that about?" Weiss asked.
"No idea," Yang said. "But they have a point—if we're doing this tomorrow, we should get some rest. We still have to go to class."
"Probably the one time I don't want to go to class," Weiss muttered.
"Nerd," Sera said from across the room. Yang laughed.
"I hate all of you," Weiss went over to her bed.
Yang put her hands on her hips and glanced over at her purple-eyed teammate. "Keep that up and you might just make her hate you, Sera."
"Eh, she hates me anyway," Sera tapped on the screen of her scroll.
"It's true," Weiss deadpanned.
"See?" the amnesiac said, making Yang roll her eyes and exhale a brief laugh.
"Whatever, I'm going to bed," the blond plopped onto her bunk and laid back.
'Well, at least Blake will get some rest. Hopefully,' Sera thought to herself while mindlessly swiping through her scroll.
. . .
Sera woke up in the dead of night in a cold sweat. Her eyes searched the room wildly and her chest heaved to accommodate her pounding heart. Much like every other time this has occurred, she couldn't remember what she was dreaming about. Just mindless drifting through darkness as far as she knew. She hasn't heard that strange woman's voice again, as far as she knows.
After checking her scroll, she saw that it was almost five in the morning. Deciding that she'd rather just get up instead of trying to go back to sleep, the young huntress tiptoed through the dorm until she reached her closet, then to the bathroom. In the mornings, it was always a race to the bathroom for the five girls, so Sera took a nice, long shower to get ready for the day.
She stepped out of the bathroom, feeling nice and refreshed, albeit still tired from waking up early. Since she had a few hours to kill, she decided to not spend it by sitting in the dark and waiting for the others to wake up. Instead, she grabbed her jacket and left the room, heading for one of the training rooms on campus. She swung by the locker room to get her gear, and in the process, someone found her.
Sera was strapping on her weapon holster when she heard footsteps. She closed the locker door and looked to see who was approaching. Her eyes widened at the group of people walking towards her. They all wore matching black and white uniforms. Two guys and two girls.
A tall girl seemed to be in the lead. She had pale skin and flowing black hair with fiery amber eyes. Pretty, yet intimidating. Beside her was a shorter girl with dark skin and green hair about the length of Ruby's. Even with her red eyes, she still wasn't as unnerving as the tall girl. The two boys stood on the outside of their little group. One of them had eyes and hair the color of storm clouds, with pale skin and an odd aura about him. The last guy was tall with shoulder-length blond hair and eyes the color of jade. He was tan and athletic, with an intense look in his eyes.
But when they saw her—that was the interesting part. They all stopped in their tracks, the green-haired girl gaping at her. The lead girl recovered fast, shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts.
"Hi there," she greeted, putting on a warm smile. Sera had the feeling it was a front. She wasn't sure why, but this group of students set of every mental alarm she had.
"Uh, hi," the huntress looked between the four of them. "Can I help you?"
"Maybe so," she said. "We were looking for a few other students, but we seem to have gotten turned around. We're students from Haven, here for the Vytal Festival."
"Oh, okay," Sera nodded. "Well, my name's Sera," she put on a kind smile. "Hey, if you're from Haven, then you know Sun and Neptune, right?"
"Of course," the gray-haired guy nodded. "On team SSSN, right?"
"I think so," Sera said. 'Huh. Maybe I'm wrong. But something still seems off…'
"So, who are you guys?" she asked, adjusting the strap on her shoulder.
"Cinder," the lead girl said, then pointed at her friends in order. "Emerald, Mercury, and Magnus."
"Guess I might be seeing you on the battlefield then," Sera told them, and their expressions slackened momentarily.
"Oh! For the tournament," Emerald said.
"Duh," the amnesiac said.
"I'm sure we will see you there," Mercury said, in a way that seemed passive aggressive.
The more she talked to these people, the more those mental alarms of hers mental alarm went off. She thought back to what Blake had said about having a sort of sixth sense for people, and she wondered if she had something like that of her own.
She noticed early on that they were looking at her kinda odd, but only when she wasn't looking straight at them. That blond guy was who really creeped her out. The others seemed off, but not to the extent that he did. Maybe it was in her head. Ever since she overheard Professor Ozpin and General Ironwood's conversation, she's been on edge. "…Right," she said. "Who were you looking for again?"
"You probably don't know them, they're more exchange students," Cinder said. "We'll just get out of your hair. I'm sure you're ready to get back to… wherever you're going."
"Uh, yeah. Sure," Sera said uncertainly. These guys were weird, and not the good kind like she was. The four of them walked past her and towards the exit, leaving her on her own, like she thought she was from the beginning. As soon as they were gone, she fumbled for her scroll and brought up Qrow's contact information. She hesitated before hitting the 'call' button. Was she overthinking this, or should she trust this weird feeling she has? Her finger hovered over the button while she tried to decide.
Sera groaned and pocketed the device. She just didn't have enough to go on besides thinking they were weird. Then again, Qrow just might believe her. But he was also on mission, and she didn't want to go and bother Ozpin with this.
Until she knew more, she'd just have to wait. But then again… she could be wrong.
. . .
Sera spent nearly an hour training with her new sword, Amethystus Igneous. There were plenty of test dummies to throttle around, but eventually she just got bored. After that, she hit the gym. She spent another hour just going through the routines of her usual workout. Then she hit the showers, again, changed into her uniform, then went back to the dorms. Her first class of the day was with team JNPR, so she waited outside their door until her friends came out.
"You were just waiting?" Nora asked when they'd started walking to class.
"I mean, yeah. I wasn't about to just barge in on all of you," she interlaced her fingers and rested her hands behind her head.
"Sera, you know you're welcome in our room. You are on our team," Pyrrha said.
"I know, I know," she replied. "I just didn't want to walk in on anything."
"Like… what?" Jaune asked.
"Well, I mean, there's Ren and Nora here. Then you and Pyrrha—" she said.
"Excuse me?" Pyrrha said, clearly flustered. Nora was getting worked up as well, their faces turning as red as their hair.
"Uh, we're not… together-together," Nora said.
"Yeah, and what'd you mean about me and Pyrrha?" Jaune blinked.
Noticing that she had obviously misjudged the situation, the white-haired girl decided to change the subject. "Never mind, I'm just messing with you. I just wanted to watch some more Red vs. Blue until you guys got ready. Uh, things are heating up on Chorus."
Pyrrha's shoulders relaxed, but she still seemed on edge. It absolutely did not take a genius to tell that she was head over heels for the blond idiot. And Nora… holy hell that was a lot to unpack.
"Whatever, let's just get to class," Jaune said.
"Agreed," Ren said, stoic as ever.
A few minutes later, they were sitting in Goodwitch's class and listening to yet another lecture about aura management and the proper time a huntsman should attack or withdraw. Sera was kinda tired of it, but she knew that it was important, so she tried to pay attention. Even if she nearly fell asleep a few… or eight times.
"Okay, students," Professor Goodwitch folded her hands behind her back. "I do hope you've all been keeping up with your readings, because it will take more than just learning about combat to actually know how to excel at combat. You have to have the skill, tenacity, and sheer will to win your battles. And the upcoming Vytal Tournament is no different. You have to be able to utilize teamwork if you wish to win. You and your team must rely on one another and trust each other more than you ever have before. So…" she pressed a button on her desk, and lights shone down on the room's combat floor. "Who's ready to test the bond of your team?"
"Well, great," Sera sat forward excitedly. "Who wants to volunteer?"
Ten minutes later, the first groups of students were ready to square off. The room's combat area wasn't exactly large enough to support a four vs. four fight, so Goodwitch decided to halve the teams and have it be a 2v2.
Sera wanted to fight, and fortunately, she was going to be able to do just that with someone that happened to be the school's strongest fighter. She and Pyrrha were standing on one end of the stage while two other students faced them. As luck would have it, they'd be facing against none other than Cardin Winchester and his teammate Russel Thrush.
Sera cracked her knuckles and grinned at the two boys across from her. "Oh, I've been waiting for this."
"Calm down, Sera," Pyrrha murmured. "This is a trial, don't let emotions get the better of you."
"Believe me," she grinned. "I'm calm, Pyrr."
"Now," Goodwitch announced and tapped on her tablet. The humongous screen on the wall beside the combat floor lit up to show the four students' names, pictures, and aura meters. "As you all know, the aura meters will measure how long the students can fight until their aura gives out. It's their job to make sure their meters do not dip into the 'red.' In the tournament, this will mean that you've lost. So, if the combatants are ready…" she looked to each team of students, and they nodded to their professor.
Glynda tapped on her tablet again, and the timer on the holo-screen began counting down. "Begin," the professor said simply, then walked offstage.
Sera grinned wider and drew her sword, holding it at her side while Pyrrha got into a defensive position with her shield and lance raised. Cardin and Russel charged them—their weapons raised to attack.
"The plan?" Pyrrha asked. Ever since initiation, both team RWBY and team JNPR sort of viewed her as a secondary leader in case Ruby or Jaune couldn't give orders. So, for situations such as this, they turned to her. She didn't like it, not really. Sera wasn't a leader. Hell, she was hardly a huntress. In her eyes, anyway. But even she had to admit that she could do the job when she needed to.
She thought for a moment while their opponents approached. "Spartan Showdown," she stated, and Pyrrha gave a firm nod. That was their team attack name. Ruby had the idea to use team attacks to optimize their combat efficiency, and Sera had to admit, she liked it. So, she pitched it to JNPR, and well… it took them a while to get used to the prospect. It took hours for them to memorize what each name meant. Personally, Sera preferred working with Pyrrha and Nora. She and Pyrrha were good at fighting in sync, and she and Nora were good together because of Sera's ability to give Nora a power boost with the electric Dust. Jaune and Ren however… Well, that was another story. Jaune was still sloppy with his swordplay, and Ren was, well, Ren. Quiet and gloomy, not real talkative, and their fighting styles didn't mix well.
Back to the fight—Pyrrha rushed forward with her shield raised, with Sera right behind her. The two teams clashed in the middle. Our favorite amnesiac went straight for Cardin, leaping over Pyrrha and deflecting his mace with ease before returning with a swipe of her own. Pyrrha raised her shield to block Russel's daggers, then jabbed downwards with her javelin and struck him in the chest.
Sera followed up by kicking Cardin in the chest and making him stumble back. She drew her double barrel as fast as she could, like she'd practiced, then blasted him with both shells to knock a good chunk off his aura meter.
"You…" Cardin groaned and charged her, his mace ready to strike. Sera tried to deflect it, but she was still holding her shotgun, so she had to do it with just the use of one hand. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, and her weapon was knocked away. It skittered across the floor and towards Pyrrha. Cardin laughed and twirled his weapon in his hand.
"Dunno what you're laughing at, Bird Boy," Sera casually reloaded her shotgun. "I don't need that to deal with your self-righteous ass," she popped the chamber closed.
"Don't be so sure," he smirked, then rushed her.
The huntress grinned. "Switch!"
Suddenly, Pyrrha appeared in front of her to head off Cardin, and Sera rolled to the side and brought her foot up, catching Russel in the chest and knocking him away. She glanced over her shoulder to see how Pyrrha was handling Cardin, a brief smile spreading on her face. She just unleashed the Invincible Girl on the school's number one prick.
Russel got to his feet to see Sera pointing her shotgun at him. She winked, then pulled the trigger. The blast gave her long enough to scoop up her sword and get to Pyrrha. Not that the redhead needed her help.
"Can we finish this?" Pyrrha asked impatiently.
"Almost," she said, eyeing the timer. "We've got to entertain them a little while longer, then we can finish big."
Pyrrha stifled a sigh. Her friend's frequent, needless call for theatrics has surfaced more than once, for better or worse. "Fine," she rolled her eyes with a smirk.
Then Cardin and Russel were on top of them, and the two girls had to jump into combat to fend them off. Sera ducked under Cardin's mace and slammed her elbow into the boy's face. She immediately followed up with a wide swipe to his side and pushed Cardin away.
He cursed and fought harder, trying to make Sera step back. But she held fast, blocking his strikes with relative ease. Team CRDL could be formidable when they were working as a team, but individually, Sera wondered how they were even admitted into Beacon. Sure, they were decent fighters, but for advanced combat such as the Vytal Tournament? …Nah.
Cardin was pretty good with that mace, Russel and Dove could move pretty quick with their acrobatics, and Sky… Well, Sky liked to participate. But Sera remembered when Jaune spilled the tree sap on Cardin, and his team abandoned him when the Alpha Ursa showed up. Personality flaws aside, that's how Sera knew she could beat CRDL. When it came down to being faced with an actual threat, they would fold.
Sera laid into Cardin, swinging Amethystus Igneous with expert movement; every attack thrown with the intent to deliver massive damage. She could see his aura flicker every time her weapon struck him.
"How are you so good at fighting? You're a loser!" Cardin said through gritted teeth while their weapons were interlocked in a power struggle.
Sera searched Cardin's face for a moment before she said, in a mock gruff voice, "I'm Batman." Then she placed her foot on his breastplate and pushed him away from her and into his teammate. The impact sent Russel to the floor, and Sera took the opportunity to make her move. The amnesiac bent her knees and turned her body, raising her sword with one hand to chest level, pointing directly at Cardin. As soon as he regained his footing, she charged. Sera flew across the ground almost as fast as Ruby, her sword jabbing into the center of his chest.
Simultaneously, Russel had gotten back to his feet only to be met by Pyrrha coming at him, spinning through the air like an acrobat before bringing her foot onto his mohawk'd head.
Cardin was knocked onto his back, his aura shattered. On the big screen, Cardin's meter had dipped just above the red line, but Russel wasn't quite there yet. Sera took a deep breath and sheathed her sword, and Pyrrha appeared at her side.
"You call that a big finish?" the Spartan asked.
"We're not finished yet," she shrugged.
"Might as well be," Pyrrha said. Then they heard rapid footsteps, and the redhead grabbed Sera's wrists and swung her around, the amnesiac bringing her feet together to kick Russel Thrush in the chest and send him flying directly into Cardin. The force from the kick sent Russel's aura well into the red, and the collision was more than enough to bring Cardin's down as well.
A buzzer went off, and Professor Goodwitch walked out onto the floor. "And that's the match," she tapped on her tablet, enlarging Sera and Pyrrha's icons on the screen. Sera's was near the sixty-percent mark while Pyrrha's hadn't even dropped below ninety. The huntress gaped at her teammate's aura meter.
'If I ever have to fight her… I'll be in trouble,' she thought to herself, glancing over at the redhead.
"Well done, you two," Goodwitch nodded at them. "You should have no problem being accepted to compete. Sera, if you wish to someday be at Miss Nikos's level, you need to practice, and be more aware of your surroundings. As for team CRDL… you should work on your teamwork. Focus on coordinating your attacks instead of just rushing in and hoping to take down your opponent."
Sera nodded, trying not to seem disappointed. She knew she wasn't as good as she wished she was. There was a literal ton of things she could improve on… but fortunately she could do just that in Beacon. She'd just have to do what Goodwitch said—practice more.
"The next groups of students can begin volunteering for combat," Glynda announced. She walked past Sera, but not before stopping and saying to her, "If you don't mind, Miss Amethyst, I'd like to see you after class."
"Uh, sure," she shifted uncomfortably. After she and Pyrrha sat back down, the rest of class went relatively smoothly. They didn't have to return their weapons yet, so they just sat with their gear while they watched the other fights. Nothing really noteworthy happened with the other students' matches, other than Cerulean and her teammate Meallan doing some pretty impressive work against a pair of Haven students.
After class, she said goodbye to team JNPR and waited patiently for the room to empty. Finally, only she and Goodwitch remained. The professor gestured for her to come onto the stage, and so she did. When she came to a stop at the center of the combat stage, Goodwitch turned and paced in front of her.
"Sloppy. Lazy. Careless, disorganized, and downright thoughtless. You may have won, but had you been fighting with anyone other than Pyrrha, I guarantee that your aura meter would have been lower," she listed without wasting a breath.
"I know," Sera said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "I need more practice."
"You may be a capable huntress when fighting the average Beowolf or someone such as the members of team CRDL, but you need to be ready if you plan on making a career out of this. That means no more goofing around, making witty remarks at your opponent, or showing off. You need to be precise, efficient, and have the skill to back up those taunts you love to throw," Goodwitch narrowed her eyes.
"Why aren't you giving other students this sort of constructive criticism?" the amnesiac muttered.
"Because most other students aren't a special case like you, are they?" Glynda replied.
"Why? Because none of you trust me?" she snapped.
The professor stared at her student, studying her face. "Because Professor Ozpin wants you to be ready for anything. We don't know who came to you in your dream, so the headmaster would like you to be prepared," she said carefully.
Sera crossed her arms, tightening her jaw. She remembered back to when she overheard their conversation in Ozpin's office. "You're putting too much faith in the hope that she won't turn out how we think she will." Ironwood had said. She had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but she knew it wasn't good. What could she even do? She was a lone girl, barely a good huntress, and didn't even know what her semblance was.
How was she a threat?
Goodwitch sighed. "I assure you; we only have your best interest in mind. If we didn't trust you, then why would I be pushing you to improve? Sera, Ozpin only wants you, and the rest of his students, to be safe."
She sighed and unfolded her arms. "What can I do to improve?"
Goodwitch almost smiled. "You can ask your teammates for help instead of just occasionally sparring with one of them. Miss Nikos can help your swordplay and general combat senses. But you can go further than that."
"How? I know how good Pyrrha is, but could she actually help—" she stopped herself, feeling stupid for asking that. She was training Jaune. That guy was almost hopeless, but now he can actually kind of handle himself.
"What is it?"
"Nothing," she shook her head. "What else can I do?"
The professor blinked before scrolling through her tablet. "Yang can help with hand to hand, Ren and Blake can assist with aura, and Miss Schnee could teach you how to properly utilize Dust for that sword of yours. Your other teammates can help with general practice. I'd recommend sparring a few times with Miss Rose to get you acclimated to combat that's a little more fast-paced."
Sera considered her words, running through all the possibilities and even what it would be like for her to go through with all this. Finally, she looked up to her professor.
"Weiss, though? Do I have to?" she said, faking a whining tone. Glynda smirked and tapped on her tablet again.
"You may return your gear and head to your next class now. But remember what I said. You'd be wise to follow my advice," she said to her.
"Wait," Sera said before Goodwitch could leave. The professor turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow. "Why are you so nice to me? I mean, no offense, but you're kind of a hard ass to pretty much everyone."
"First of all, language," she said. "Second… I feel for you. Dropped into the middle of all this with no memory of who you are, and no idea of how to move forward. I know it's not easy."
"Oh, it's not so bad," she half-lied. "You're sort of wrong about one thing, though." The professor quirked an eyebrow, and Sera allowed a small smile. "I'm gonna become a huntress. I might have gotten here for weird reasons, but I've decided that I want to follow through with all this. I'll be a huntress."
"Well, that is good to hear," she nodded. "I look forward to watching you grow as both a person and a huntress, Sera."
She opened her mouth to once again ask why she and Ozpin still called her Sera when they were in private, but instead she just nodded and left the classroom. Goodwitch watched her leave, not knowing what to do about this girl or everything else going on.
. . .
After classes, Sera and the members of team RWBY regrouped in their dorm room to finalize their plan. Apparently, Ruby and the others had come up with a divide-and-conquer strategy. Ruby and Weiss would head to the communications tower so Weiss could procure some documents regarding Dust robberies from the Schnee Dust Company. Blake would head to a White Fang rally to see if they announce what their future plans and/or goals are. And finally, Yang and Sera would head to Junior's club to get some information out of him about Roman.
The four girls on the team had also decided to dress in different outfits, so, Sera said to hell with it. She'd do the same. All in all, she liked their new attire. Ruby's made her look more grown up. Weiss's had a more classic look with her white and black coat/skirt. Blake's was simple, yet elegant. Yang's outfit made one word come to mind: "badass."
The huntress came out of the bathroom wearing a violet sleeveless V-neck shirt under an almost black sleeveless cotton military jacket, a pair of black combat pants, and a pair of tall black harness boots with violet laces and soles. She also wore a new necklace with a silver Omega-symbol pendant, and forearm-length violet fingerless gloves with silver plated knuckles.
"You call that blending in?" Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Is that what we're going for?" the huntress faked a surprised expression while popping the collar of her jacket.
"I hate you," the heiress sighed.
"I think it looks good," someone's voice said. Someone who wasn't present in team RWBY's room. All five of the girls turned towards the source of the voice, and they jumped back in surprise when they saw who it was. Sun Wukong was hanging upside-down outside of their window with a broad grin.
"Sun!" Blake exclaimed. "What're you doing?"
"How'd you get up there?" Sera marveled.
"Oh, it's easy I do it all the time," he shrugged.
"You what?!" Weiss demanded.
"I climb trees all the time!" Sun replied, not seeing the implication of what he'd said. Then he did a flip and landed upright inside the huntresses' dorm. "Are you guys finally going after that Torchwick goon? Sick, I've been waiting to get another go at that guy," the Faunus slammed a fist into his open palm.
"We're going to investigate the situation. As a team," Blake gestured to her friends.
"Sorry, Sun. We're trying not to get any friends involved," Ruby apologized.
"Pfft, that's dumb. You should always get friends involved. That's why I brought Neptune!"
The five girls looked out the window to find Neptune standing on the thin ledge on the building, his back braced to the wall while he tried to keep his balance.
"How… did you get up there?" Weiss asked.
"I have my ways," Neptune said coolly. "Seriously though, can I come in? We're really high up."
After they got the blue-haired boy indoors, Ruby groaned and began to re-distribute who was doing what. Which wasn't that hard, in all honesty. Sun would go with Blake since he was also a Faunus, but there was a little debate as to who Neptune would go with since everyone else already had a partner.
"What do you mean he can't go with us?" Weiss demanded. "He can't go with Sun and Blake, Yang and Sera are going into a gang's hideout, so why can't he go with us?"
"Well, he could go with me and Blake. If he wanted to like, possibly get beat up by a bunch of human-hating Faunus," Sun said.
"…I think I'm good, bro," Neptune said.
"Right! So why can't he just go with us? Or you could go with Yang and Sera, and Neptune and I could—" Weiss said.
"Pfft, you know we can't let you be happy, Weiss," Ruby cackled, then grabbed Weiss by her collar and dragged her out of the room.
"But…!" Weiss exclaimed.
"…I think your sister might be a psycho," Sera told Yang after Ruby and Weiss were gone.
"You get used to it," she shrugged.
"All right, then," Blake said. "Sun and I will go to the rally, you three go to meet Yang's 'contact' downtown."
"And we'll meet back up at MgRonald's for dinner," Sera said.
"Ugh, MgRonald's? Can't we go somewhere a little, I dunno, classy?" Yang said.
"Like where?" the amnesiac blinked. "That's about as classy as it can get."
"How about that retro diner in the nicer part of Vale?" Yang offered.
"How about this? You two can argue about this after you leave," Blake said impatiently.
"Fine," Sera and Yang said simultaneously. Blake rolled her eyes, then led Sun out of the dorm room. Once the door closed, Sera looked between Neptune and her blond teammate. "So, how are we getting there?"