Over the course of the next few days, Sera Kallisto planned her journey to Haven Academy. It wasn't easy, considering she'd never had to do something like this before. At least, not in this life.

Surprisingly enough, Salem hadn't visited her in her dreams. Maybe she simply didn't want to, or maybe that katana-wielding jackass hadn't made his way back to her yet. Either way, she was glad to not deal with any disturbing conversations.

Sera urged Ruby to go ahead with their plan to leave for Mistral. She was surprised, but she agreed. It was later that Taiyang and Qrow told the scythe-wielder that they knew of her plan and had decided to help them prepare. Yang, however, was a little upset that they were leaving. Since she was still, well, disarmed, she was in no shape to make that trip. Even if she'd held her own when she and Sera were ambushed.

The time leading up to their departure was spent packing and training. Sera pushed herself every day, sparring against Qrow, Ruby, or Taiyang. And Ruby was right, fighting her dad was tough. He always had her on the ropes, and she strained herself to keep up.

By the end of each day, she was beaten and sore. She had learned a few things, though. And she was getting faster, she could tell that much. On the final day, she'd even managed to get an edge on Qrow. She disarmed him, knocking Harbinger out of his hand before flicking the tip of her sword up to his chin.

"Not bad, kid," he laughed.

Sera breathed hard. She blew a strand of white hair out of her eyes and flashed a grin. "Wasn't hard," she panted.

"You sure?" he smirked at her. "You look a little out of breath."

"Shut it," she laughed and lowered her sword.

Qrow picked Harbinger off the ground and sheathed it behind him. "You've gotten better, kid." He complemented.

Sera shrugged and put her sword away. "Gotta improve, right?"

"Progress is progress, Snowball," he clapped her on the shoulder before leading her to the house. "C'mon, I bet Tai's about done with dinner. Grab a shower, and it should be ready."

She nodded and went inside. Ten minutes later, she was out of the shower and dressed in a simple white shirt and black jeans. Sera descended the stairs and found Taiyang setting the table with Ruby trying to steal a bread roll from a fresh pan.

"Hey, hands off!" Tai laughed when he caught her.

"Aw, c'mon!" she whined. "It's our last night here for who knows how long!"

Taiyang set platters of food on the table. "Which gives us even more reason to use our manners and eat properly, like a family."

Ruby groaned and took a seat. "Fine, Dad." When she saw Sera, her face lit up. "About time!"

"The table just got set, Rubes," Yang stepped into view from around the kitchen wall. She ruffled Ruby's hair with a smile on her face. Then she turned to Sera and motioned for her to come over. She did, taking a seat at the table while Tai sat a plate in front of her.

The spread was pretty impressive. Each plate had a big ribeye steak sitting on them, and bowls covered the table with a variety of different foods. Mashed potatoes, green vegetables, bread rolls, and even a bowl of fresh cut fruit.

Qrow wandered into the kitchen with his flask in hand and plopped into a chair. "Oh good, dinner's ready."

Taiyang frowned at his drunken state, but just kept arranging things on the table. He couldn't blame him really, given the situation.

The rest of them sat, with Sera at one side and Ruby beside her, Qrow to their left, Yang to the right, and Tai at the head of the table.

Tai rested his elbows onto the table and interlaced his fingers. "Well, here we are—last night before Ruby and Sera leave for Mistral. It'll be quite the adventure, I'm sure. But for now, let's just have a nice meal and enjoy. Sound good?"

Sera nodded silently. The full realization that she was actually leaving crashed down on her. She picked up her fork and managed to smile. "Yeah. Definitely."

He nodded at her, then gave his daughters the signal. Immediately, all three of them dug in, scooping spoonfuls of food onto their plates. Sera cast a glance at Qrow, and he just shrugged helplessly. When she got the chance, she plopped some potatoes and vegetables onto her plate before digging in herself.

The food was incredible. The steak was perfectly cooked at medium-rare, and Sera decided she might have a new favorite type of food. The mashed potatoes and veggies were great too, but most of her focus was on the cut of meat.

Ruby, Yang, and Tai tore apart their food, and Sera couldn't help but laugh at them. Qrow ate too, albeit much more slowly. Clearly, he enjoyed it though.

They talked and laughed through the meal, swapping stories from their time as huntsmen. Sera was in the middle of explaining what happened when she'd gotten captured by that chainsaw-wielding White Fang member when Tai burst out laughing.

"Really? You let a jobber like that get the jump on you?" he laughed good-naturedly.

"Hey!" she laughed indignantly. "He ambushed me and kicked me in the face! What was I supposed to do?"

"I dunno, kick him back?" Ruby giggled.

Sera crossed her arms. "I think I did, actually. Weiss saw it! I like, brought my boot down on his head."

"Whatever you say, Snowball," Qrow slurred, then hiccupped.

She puffed her cheeks out. "I did too!"

The others laughed at her response. Sera crossed her arms indignantly and mumbled under her breath.

"And then you…" Ruby caught her breath in between laughs. "Then you knocked yourself out!"

"You what?" Tai chuckled.

Yang said, "It was in the middle of a fight."

Sera nodded. "When I think I started to discover my semblance. Speaking of," she shifted in her seat. "It happened again. The other day when Yang and I were fighting, that guy with the sword was about to hit her and…" She imitated an explosion with her fingers. "Everything slowed down again, and I made it in time to stop him."

"Huh," Qrow said, then took a swig from his flask. Sera rolled her eyes, still detesting how much he drank.

Tai sat back in his chair. "Adding that to what you've said before, it seems like you're getting closer to being able to use it. It's just strange that it only surfaces in times of stress like that. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time," he glanced at Ruby's direction, at her silver eyes.

Then the scythe wielder gasped. "You can slow down time!? That's so cool!"

Sera blinked. "I'm not so sure that's what it is. Every time it happened, it's like… I dunno. It feels like super adrenaline. Does that sound weird? I just… have no clue what goes on."

Taiyang rubbed his chin uncertainly. "Maybe. I don't really know either, to be honest. I've heard of a lot of adrenaline-like semblances. Surprisingly, it's pretty common. But none of them could move like that through a slowed-down world. Perhaps there's more to it."

She tapped her nails on the table. "I dunno. It's weird. It's weird, right?" she repeated, looking at her friends with a curious expression.

"That's one word for it," Yang chuckled.

"I'll figure it out," she promised. "Especially if it can balance out a fight."

Qrow nodded. "It could help in a pinch, that's for sure." He took a swig from his flask. "Those combat-based semblances sure are handy."

"Qrow," Tai said.

"Bah," he waved him off.

"Anyways…" Yang said. "You two should've seen the food fight we had in the cafeteria."

Ruby gasped excitedly. "It was so fun! Everything was all like, bam! Whoosh! Slam! I totaled the entire room with my semblance!"

Sera smirked. "Yeah and got everyone covered head to toe in food. That part, not so fun."

Yang pounded on the table. "I got knocked into the stratosphere!"

"…Okay, that was funny," Sera laughed.

The rest of the meal went by smoothly, apart from the tension that hung over them all like fog. She tried to ignore it, but every few moments she was reminded that after tonight, she'd no longer be staying in the Xiao Long house. It had become like a second home to her, and she knew this wasn't exactly the case, but she liked being a part of their family. It felt almost natural, even if it wasn't permanent. So, for tonight, Sera was going to enjoy this to the fullest.

Once they were finished eating, she and Ruby helped clean up the kitchen with Tai while Qrow and Yang went to watch TV. She could hear the news feed filtering into the kitchen, and she listened intently to what was being reported.

The cleanup of Vale was going slowly. It took days for huntsmen to clear out individual sectors of the city due to how many Grimm were still holed up. At the end of the report, she heard a death count being listed. It was primarily civilians, but she recognized a few names here and there that sent a dagger of regret into her. When she heard the name of Cardin Winchester and his team, she froze and dropped a plate into the sink with a loud bang.

"Whoa!" Ruby jumped. "You okay?"

Sera held onto the counter in front of her for support, eyes staring into the smooth surface while she tried to control her breathing. "Fine. Just fine."

"You know someone in that list?" Tai asked gently.

"Yeah," she nodded, still staring at the counter. "Cardin."

Ruby's eyes widened slightly. "Wait, Cardin? I mean no offense, but… why are you torn up over him?"

She could understand Ruby's disdain for him, but she didn't know what Sera did. She straightened herself out and took a deep breath, finally stabilizing her uncomfortable breathing. He'd cleaned up his act, and even found a girlfriend that was a Faunus. It surprised her immensely, and she'd even started to like him more because of his improved attitude. If he'd only recently passed, then Cardin had stayed in the city to help clear out the Grimm.

'How many have died because of Salem…?' she held onto the counter tightly, eyes narrowing as she got angrier at the thought. 'I'm going to stop her, even if I die trying.'

Ruby and Tai were watching her warily, but when she just went back to cleaning, they just did the same. Of course, they did occasionally glance over at the white-haired girl in case something was wrong. Taiyang could partially figure out what she was thinking. He recognized the look of angry determination on her face. He should, because he made that exact same expression when he heard what happened to Ruby's mother.

When the kitchen was spotless and Sera had calmed herself down, she went into the living room and sat on the couch next to Qrow and Yang. She was still angry, but those feelings were pushed to the side so they wouldn't get to her and ruin the night.

"Let's watch something else," she picked up the remote. "This is depressing," she grumbled and flipped through the channels.

The two of them said nothing, and Ruby and Tai silently entered the living room and took their own seats. When Sera found a particular movie, she smirked and sat the remote down.

"This is a good one," Qrow commented, ignoring the strange aura emanating from Sera.

With a muted sigh, the huntress relaxed into the couch and watched the movie to take her mind off things. After just a little while, the five of them were laughing at the film and having a pretty good time.

Everything was nice, and Sera was glad to be there.

. . .

It was a few hours past midnight now, and Sera was sitting on her bed and idly plucking the strings of Jupiter as she gazed out the window. She couldn't sleep, no matter how hard she tried. Once she'd finally given up on it, she just grabbed her guitar and decided to get a little more practice in.

Moonlight filtered through the window and washed over her while she gazed up at it and gently ran her pick over Jupiter's strings and shifted her fingers on its neck to play a quiet song.

Her mind lingered on Cerulean and Pyrrha, but not on their final moments. She remembered her and Pyrrha's training sessions and the many times they'd spent being with their friends. Watching team JNPR dance before she and Weiss put on their rock show, sparring on the roof for hours and hours, and dozens of other things that she'd come to cherish from her time in Beacon.

She replayed the events of the night she and Cerulean spent at the fair riding carnival rides and playing games until the blue-haired girl had kissed her out of nowhere.

Then she was brought back to what her mind-fucked-self had said to her on top of Beacon Tower, and Sera's face tightened with sorrow as she looked down at her lap. She held onto Jupiter tightly and forced herself not to cry again. What was she going to do, just cry and cry every time she remembered that awful night?

Taking a deep breath, she began to pluck the guitar's strings and shakily sing a quiet tune while images of Pyrrha's and Cerulean's faces flashed through her head.

The more she played, the more confident she got as she expressed her emotions through Jupiter. It was a trick she'd learned after the train had crashed onto Vale's surface from Mountain Glenn. Whenever she was feeling down, she'd just play music to get out all of the bad shit going on inside her.

Her voice grew a little louder and became steadier the longer her fingers flew across Jupiter's strings. Finally, she was singing her own version of Gone Away. She'd always liked that particular song, and now that it had an even deeper meaning to her, it just felt even more appropriate to play. Putting her own spin on it with her voice was new, and even if she didn't sound as good as Weiss, she thought she sounded pretty decent.

She froze for a moment when she thought of the heiress. Qrow had told her that Weiss helped save her life after she'd been stabbed, and she was determined to stay even when her SDC goons were trying to pull her away. Hell, Weiss might even be here in Patch if her dad hadn't forced her back to Atlas.

'I wish she was here…' she thought to herself sadly and held Jupiter tighter. She and Weiss might have despised each other in the beginning and even had some sort of rivalry going, but after everything they'd been through since Initiation Day, they'd actually gotten kind of close. Well, only kind of. Still, the longer she thought about it, the more she wished the Schnee Dust Company hadn't taken her to Atlas.

Sera looked out the window and to the broken moon in the sky. 'I wonder what she and Blake are up to…'

Taking a deep breath, she started to play again. Jupiter's strings rang out through the room, slowly increasing in volume until it could be heard outside her door. She made sure to turn the guitar's volume to its lowest volume just so she wouldn't wake anyone.

When she reached a comfortable part in the song, she started to sing again. Her violet eyes focused on her fingers to place them correctly on Jupiter's strings.

Her mind went back to Cerulean and Pyrrha, as well as her friends that she might not see again. And even though she tried her hardest not to, tears began to spill down her cheeks, and her voice started to shake as she sang.

When she finished the song, she set Jupiter down and put her face into her hands before falling onto her side, then cried herself to sleep.

. . .

Sera woke up the next morning with bags under her red and puffy eyes, and her hair was a rat's nest. She didn't get to sleep that long, only a few hours if she had to guess, but she still woke up at the crack of dawn like she has been ever since getting to the Xiao Long house.

She didn't feel like getting up yet, for obvious reasons. What really surprised her was that she didn't have any dreams, like at all. No floating through and abyss of darkness, no weird flashbacks to her 'previous life,' and no ominous visit from Salem. It was actually pretty refreshing.

'Maybe I cried too hard,' she mused.

About an hour or so later, someone knocked on her door. She'd spent that time just laying in bed and appreciating its warmth, knowing full well that she'd be sleeping in a bedroll on the cold ground for the foreseeable future.

"You up, kid?" the voice of Qrow came through the door.

"…Yeah," she mumbled into her pillow, staring ahead at the wall.

"Ready to go? I think your friends are going to be here soon."

She glanced over at her travel pack and weapons leaning against it, apart from Jupiter laying beside her, then to the set of clothes she'd put out to wear for today. Sera sighed heavily, her eyes shutting tight while she hugged a pillow against her chest. 'I don't want to leave…' she thought bitterly.

"…Yeah," she said a bit louder. "Just let me take a shower."

"Okay, kid," Qrow said. "We'll be downstairs, whenever you're ready."

She rolled out of bed and moped over to the bathroom. Once she was out of the shower, she pulled on the outfit she'd picked out and stared into the mirror. Violet eyes with prominent dark bags under them stared back at her. She almost couldn't believe how tired she looked.

As for her outfit, she wore her usual long jacket over a zippered violet hoodie with a black long sleeve shirt underneath. White pants with a new violet belt rested on her left hip and hung down across her thighs, almost like an old-fashioned gun belt. Her old silver buckle with the Omega symbol was in its middle and reflected the sunlight in her bedroom. She'd even gotten a new pair of black laced boots, and leather straps ran across their sides and across where her foot met her ankle and had simple silver buckles on their outer sides.

Once she tied her boots on and took a few test steps, she nodded to herself and slipped her body holster over her shoulders before grabbing her pack and Jupiter, then took one last look around her room before heading downstairs.

True to what Qrow had said, he and the others were waiting downstairs when she reached the first floor. Ruby and Yang sat at the table eating breakfast, and the adults were standing to the side pensively with their arms crossed.

"Morning, Sera," Tai nodded. "Sit down and eat, you'll need it for the road."

She nodded absently and took the chair between Yang and Ruby. A plate of bacon, eggs, and toast sat in front of her with a tall glass of juice, and she dug in. Sera ate rather slowly, staring into her plate.

"You okay?" Yang asked, worry clear in her eyes.

Sera nodded and took another bite of fried bacon. The blond wanted to press her for a better answer, but she just went back to her meal. If Sera wanted to talk, she would. Yang had come to know her well enough for that, but it didn't stop her from worrying about the amnesiac.

On the other hand, Ruby seemed rather stoic. She wore a new outfit that Sera hadn't seen before, but it resembled the one she'd used that night they set out to find answers on the White Fang, when they ended up fighting Roman Torchwick in that Atlesian mech.

Qrow and Tai were still off to the side, having a whispered conversation. About what, she wasn't really sure, but she had a feeling it had to do with her.

She'd almost cleaned her plate when a knock came to the door. All eyes went towards it, and Ruby jumped out of her seat in a flurry of rose petals to go see who it was. Distant conversation came as soon as the door swung open, and Sera recognized Jaune and Nora's voices.

Oh gods, what was she going to say to Jaune? She was right there when Pyrrha had sent him away in that locker.

Sera held her fork tightly, her knuckles turning white as she stared down at the table. When she heard footsteps approaching the kitchen, she squeezed her eyes shut and prepared for the worst.

The footsteps halted just feet away from her.

"Sera?" Jaune asked.

Here it comes…

A hand clamped onto her shoulder and made her jump. She shook her head and kept her eyes shut tight.

"Sera, I'm so glad you're okay," he said.

She faltered, her eyes slowly opening before she looked up at the team leader. Jaune had his trademark grin on his lips, but his eyes were full of emotion. She broke at the sight of him and her face tightened with anguish in an instant.

"Jaune, I'm so… so sor—"

He immediately hugged her fiercely and buried his face in her shoulder. Sera's eyes went wide at the embrace and her eyes softened before she hugged him back. Immediately, she broke down and cursed herself for doing this again.

The others watched in silence as the huntress cried into his shoulder and held him tightly. Jaune's armor dug into her chest uncomfortably, but she didn't care. She tried to apologize and beg his forgiveness for letting the events at the Fall of Beacon play out the way they did, but the words wouldn't come out. Sera just kept sobbing into his shoulder and holding him tightly.

"It's okay," he said, his voice breaking slightly. "I'm glad she was with you when it… when it happened. At least she wasn't alone."

'It was MY fucking fault!' she wanted to scream.

Someone else put their hand on her shoulder, and she looked up through tear-filled eyes to find Nora looking at her sadly. She gave a small smile, and Sera just reached out to her and pulled her into the hug. Nora immediately wrapped her arms around them and squeezed tightly, nearly crushing them both with her immense strength.

She saw Ren too, but he was standing a few feet away with a rather sad look on his face. She had to admit, it was the most emotion she'd ever seen him use.

Once Sera finally settled down, her friends untangled themselves from her and let her sit back into her chair. She wiped her eyes and took a shaky breath before smiling up at them.

"It's good to see you three again."

"And you," Ren nodded.

Jaune gave a small smile and put his hand on her shoulder. "You ready to get going?"

She nodded pensively and got to her feet. She started to reach towards her empty plate, but Tai stopped her with the wave of his hand.

"Don't worry about it. I'll get it when you leave."

Sera retracted her hand and looked at them all before collecting her things. "Well… Let's get this show on the road, I guess." She walked towards the door with her shoulders sagging.

The eight of them made it outside and stood in front of the house, with Qrow, Yang, and Tai staying near the door. Sera, Ruby, and the remainder of team JNPR stood in front of them with their travel gear ready. Sera shifted the pack on her shoulders and held its strap tightly.

"Well, this is it," Ruby broke the silence.

Tai smirked lightly. "Just be sure you stay safe, kiddo. That goes for all of you."

"We won't let you down," Nora nodded determinedly.

"You better not, or I'll be coming for you," Qrow chuckled dryly. He looked at Sera and casually slipped his hands into his pockets. "Keep an eye out, kid. I'm trusting you with my niece, you know."

The corners of her mouth lifted into a small smile. "What am I, some rookie? She'll be okay. I promise."

Ruby groaned and furrowed her eyebrows. "You know I can protect myself, right?"

"Eh, you're still kinda sloppy," Sera shrugged.

"Why you…!" the scythe wielder started to lunge at her, but Nora stopped her with a firm grip to her shoulder.

"Save it for the Grimm, Ruby," she laughed.

Tai cleared his throat, and all eyes went to him. "I know you all haven't really done something like this before. Mistral is a long way away, but if you keep each other's backs and remember your training, you'll be okay." He looked at Sera. "I know you didn't get very long to fully recover from The Fall, but you'll always have a place here. I know Ruby and Yang wouldn't mind having you."

The sisters nodded in agreement and smiled at her. "Yeah, you're not just going to leave me behind and forget about me, Snowball," Yang laughed.

Sera didn't know how to respond. Instead of trying to express herself with words, she rushed forward and wrapped Taiyang into a fierce hug and buried her face into his chest. Tai chuckled and hugged her back, squeezing her tightly for a few moments.

Then she went to Yang and did the same, hugging her as hard as she could with a smile on her face.

"Whoa, easy!" the blond laughed and wrapped her arm around her shoulders. "I'm gonna miss you too."

Sera blushed hard, her cheeks burning bright red as she stepped away from them with a smile on her face. "Duh, I can't get rid of you that easy, Xiao Long. Who's going to make fun of you for all your future screwups?" She stood just in front of Yang and Tai, already missing the comforts of the large house. "Thank you. Seriously. I don't know what I would've done if Qrow hadn't taken me here, so just… ugh. Thank you." She looked to Tai. "I'll find a way to repay you somehow for being kind enough to have me here."

"Bah," he waved it away. "Don't worry about it. Just make it to Mistral safe and sound and I'll consider it repaid."

"Hey, what about me?" Qrow chuckled dryly. "Don't I get a hug for bringing you here in the first place?"

She gagged at the thought. Purposely, of course. "Keep dreaming, old man. I think I'd rather get stabbed again."

The huntsman laughed and flipped the bird at her. "Miss you already, brat."

"Oh, wait," Sera dug through her pockets, turning them out and patting her jacket to search for whatever she was looking for. "I think I have something for you. Hold on, I know I put it somewhere…" She pulled her empty hand out of her pocket and held her middle finger out at him, a playful smirk on her lips. "Ah, here it is."

Qrow scoffed and waved her away. "Smartass."

"Never claimed to be a dumbass," she shrugged. Then she made a show of pocketing the invisible object in her hand and turned to her friends. "We ready?"

Jaune was in the middle of laughing when she asked. He stifled the rest of his laughter and picked up his bag. "Yeah. Yeah, I think so," she chuckled.

Ruby rushed forward and hugged her family members, saying her goodbyes while she still could. Qrow ruffled her hair, Yang gave her a hug and a fist bump, and Tai hugged her for a count of forty seconds before finally letting go.

"Stay safe," he said to her warmly.

"I will," she nodded. Ruby turned to her friends and gave a fierce smile. "Okay, let's go to Mistral."

"Should be a fun trip," Nora grinned wickedly.

"Full of who knows what kind of danger," Ren said calmly, but even he had a small smile on his face.

Jaune clapped his hand onto the ninja's shoulder. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

Sera smiled, looking at each of her friends. She was glad to see them again, but even more glad that she and Ruby weren't making this journey alone. Who knows what would happen if they did?

"It's show time," she clapped her hands together.

Then, they set out.

. . .

It had only been a few hours since they made it off the island of Patch, and she was already tired of walking. Going to Mistral would be a breeze if they had an airship, but instead, the five of them had to hike across Anima to make it to Haven Academy.

Thankfully, no Grimm had attacked, so the trek had been relatively easy so far. They swapped stories and joked to make the time go by faster, but when the sun started going down, Sera was ready to fall into bed.

A small fire had been built in a clearing off the main path, and their bedrolls were arranged in a circle around it to keep warm. Jaune had volunteered to take the first watch, sitting just a few feet away from them all with his back against a tree. His sword rested along his knees, and his shield laid just beside him on the ground.

Once the others were asleep, Sera slipped out of her sleeping bag and grabbed her pack before going over to Jaune. She chewed her lip anxiously at what she was about to do, but when he saw her sit beside him, the team leader smiled warmly and gave a friendly nod.

"Can't sleep?" he asked.

Sera shrugged and set her bag in her lap. "I wanted to talk to you. About that night."

He stiffened. "What did you want to talk about?"

Exhaling carefully, she tried to find the right words. "It… wasn't a good fight. I still have nightmares about it. I keep thinking: what could I have done to prevent it? It should've been me that died that night, not…. Not Pyrrha."

"Don't talk like that," he shifted. "I know you did your best. You wouldn't be here if you hadn't. Pyrrha just… got unlucky, I think. She's the strongest person I've ever known, always throwing herself in front of danger so no one else had to take the hit. I have a feeling that might be what happened then, too."

Sera couldn't bear to meet his eyes. That wasn't what happened at all. She killed Pyrrha that night, not Cinder. That… evil fucking woman might have dealt the final blow, but Pyrrha wouldn't have survived even if Cinder hadn't interfered. She knew that much.

"I'm sorry, Jaune," she murmured. "I should've shoved her into that locker with you. Then you'd both be okay."

"Hey," he put his hand on her shoulder. Still, she couldn't meet his eyes. The white-haired girl just stared into the fire, its flickering flames doing nothing but reminding her of Cinder's blazing eyes as Pyrrha blew away in the wind. "Even if you had sent her away with me, you would've just died instead. You would've been alone, but you were there for Pyrrha when she passed. That alone is the one good thing that happened that entire day."

Sera hugged her knees to her chest and put her face into her arms. Jaune's hand on her shoulder was reassuring, but even that couldn't make her feel any better about her part in Pyrrha's death.

She sighed heavily and opened her bag, pulling out the golden headpiece that their friend always wore. Jaune's eyes widened at it, his hand falling from her shoulder.

"Qrow went back and grabbed her things after he took me and Ruby down from the tower," she ran her thumb along the flickering gleam from the fire in its shiny metal surface. "I have all her things. Her armor, her weapons…" she took one last look at the headpiece before holding out to Jaune. "She would've wanted you to have it."

He took the metal piece gently and held it in his lap, staring down at the gilded headpiece. "Thank you, Sera. But…" he handed it back to her. "You were her friend, too. Especially towards the end. And I…" his face tightened. "I'm just the idiot that couldn't take a hint from the most amazing girl I've ever met. I don't deserve any of her things."

Sera took the headpiece back and looked down at it. "No," she shook her head and looked up at him with a small smile. "You were the best thing about her time in Beacon, I know it. But you're right, you were an idiot for not being able to take the hint. Everyone knew that she liked you. It was in her eyes. Every time she looked at you, there was nothing but adoration and respect. All I did was train with her." She exhaled a laugh and looked into the fire, trying not to break down at the mere thought of their friend. "Hell, I doubt I'd even be half as good at fighting now if it wasn't for her. Pyrrha might have been the one who fell that night, but she was the sole reason I even survived, and I am never going to be as good as she was. And I'm not just talking about fighting."

Jaune smiled lightly, his eyes visibly misty. "Pyrrha Nikos," he shook his head. "I don't think anyone's going to live up to her name."

"Maybe not," she half-shrugged. "But I'll be damned if I let what happened to her happen to someone else. Next time, I'll be the one throwing myself into the danger so no one else takes the hit," she smirked lightly as she put her own spin onto what he'd said about Pyrrha just a few moments ago.

"You won't have to," he put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly once more. "Because next time, all of us will be there with you."

She nodded and leaned into her friend with Pyrrha's headpiece in her hands. Jaune put an arm around her shoulders, and for the moment, they just enjoyed the moment. Of course, there were no sort of romantic implications. The two of them just needed the comfort of a friend.

"There has been something bugging me, though," Jaune said carefully. Sera looked up at him with an eyebrow raised, watching his eyes stare into the fire in front of them. "What exactly was happening in that underground room under the tower?"

Sera tensed. For a moment, she just looked into the fire while she wrestled with the decision to tell him the truth or not. She'd been sworn into secrecy by Professor Ozpin, but… Ozpin was dead. And Jaune of all people deserved to know the truth.

"Okay," she pulled away from him and leaned onto the tree. "But you have to promise to not tell the others. Not until the time is right for them to know."

Jaune searched her face for a moment, then nodded.

Sera chewed her lip indecisively. It wasn't too late to change her mind, but if she did, she risked Jaune being angry at her and telling everyone what little he knew about the Beacon Vault. She exhaled heavily and brought her eyes to Jaune's.

"That woman in the room… her name was Amber, and she was the Fall Maiden."

. . .

Once she was finished, Jaune just stared at her blankly while mulling over her words. She didn't mention Salem or any of the events that came after he was sent flying away in that locker, choosing to say only what Ozpin had told her. They didn't want the power of the Maiden to fall into the wrong hands, and Pyrrha was the number one candidate to become the new Fall Maiden.

He stared into his lap in deep thought, and Sera resisted the urge to ask what he was going through his head. 'In his own time,' she thought.

After about a minute, Jaune looked up to meet her eyes. "That's why Pyrrha died? Because Ozpin wanted to make her this 'new Maiden' and put all that responsibility on her?"

"I'm sorry," she said, her eyes threatening to spill tears. "You saw me in there, I tried to do it instead." Her eyes narrowed and she looked to the side. "But that woman. Cinder. She messed everything up. I don't know what the hell is wrong with her. But the next time I see her, I'm going to kill her." She met Jaune's gaze. "I'm going to make her pay for what she did."

He nodded and held his sword tighter. "I'll help you. You can count on it." He clenched his jaw and stared into the fire. "She's going to pay."

"You're gods-damned right she is," she nodded firmly. "But remember what I said. The others cannot know about all this. We'll tell them eventually, but for now, we have to play our cards close to our chest. I wasn't even supposed to tell you at all, but you deserved to know, Jaune. You more than anyone."

"Thank you," he rested his head against the tree. "I promise to keep this to myself. But when we see Cinder again, she's going down."

Sera smirked and held her hand out. Jaune clasped firmly and gave a tight-lipped smile. When they separated, he leaned against the tree and looked up into the night sky, as if imagining Pyrrha's smiling face.

"You better get some sleep," he chuckled. "You look like you're about to fall over."

She shrugged and sat her pack down in front of him. "I will if you promise you'll take her things. But I'll keep carrying it, if you want."

Jaune chuckled dryly. "Sure, Sera. I'll think about it."

The amnesiac nodded and went to her bedroll, then collapsed into it and allowed her heavy eyes to finally close.

'Whenever I see that bitch again, she's going to get much worse than a blast from Ruby's weird laser eyes.'

End of Volume 3