The next morning, Sera was sitting in the backyard and watching the sun rise. Jupiter laid in her lap and she was plucking at its strings idly, staring into the horizon. The sun made a blanket of purple and orange light wash across the trees and mountains.

A steaming mug of coffee sat on the grass next to her. She picked it up and brought it to her lips.

The events of her latest dream played through her head on a loop. She examined every little detail of the conversation, but only ended up being just as confused as when she had experienced it.

"You know my name? You CAN see me?" she gaped at her black-haired self.

"Yes," she said wistfully, eyes turning sad. "I've been trying to reach you for so long. But that woman… She closed me off. Locked me inside of my own head."

"And you're… me?"

Kassandra smiled softly. "No. You're me. A piece, at least."

"A piece?" Sera blanked. Then her eyes narrowed. "I'm not a piece of nothin', lady. If anything, you're just the past version."

She sighed and rubbed her cheeks anxiously. "We don't have much time before she notices that I'm able to talk to you. If only you knew the whole truth, Sera…"

"What truth? Is it about, well, us?"

"It has everything to do with us. I really don't know how to explain, but I'll try. Look…" she sighed and dropped her hands to her sides. "Ugh, this is hard! You're me and I'm you. Two minds in the same body. I've been locked in our head since you woke up in that red forest. What is it… Forever Fall?" she pondered, eyes searching the darkness behind Sera.

"I… What?" she blanked.

Her mind was reeling. What she was saying made no sense. But… it also made perfect sense, in some weird way she wasn't sure of. When Kassandra spoke, it was like she herself was talking beyond just looking at a version of herself. Kassandra felt like a foreign mind inside her own, like whenever Salem invaded her dreams. But Kassandra felt like she belonged there.

"You knew the name of Forever Fall," Sera said, thinking back to when the blue-eyed girl was searching for its name. It reminded Sera of a computer searching its data for the right info.

Kassandra nodded gravely. "I know your thoughts, Sera. Sometimes I can look through the cracks of this place, see through your eyes. I guided you once. You might remember."

"When I saved Qrow," she thought aloud.

She smirked lightly. "You might be the one in control, Sera. But I have a lot of experience that you might find useful, should you need my help. You care about your friends a great deal. I guess that was something that passed from me to you. I was always willing to do anything to protect my friends." Her expression soured. "And look where it got me. Held prisoner in my own mind, only for that damned woman to use me as her personal slave."

Sera clenched her fists. "She's not using me for anything. Not again. Not ever again."

Kassandra's face turned grim. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. She did it once and… I'm so, so sorry. I couldn't stop it."

Her heart skipped a beat. Breath caught in her throat. Sera lunged forward and wrapped her hands around Kassandra's neck. "You were the one that killed them! Pyrrha and Cerulean! You killed my friends!" She squeezed tighter. Sera was seeing red. She felt even angrier than she had when Phoenix nearly killed Jaune. She wasn't sure how she was able to choke a figment of her mind inside of her own head, but it was working. Kassandra's neck was slender like her own. She could feel the warmth of her skin.

Kassandra made a pained choking sound and put her hands on Sera's forearms. Her eyes bugged out of their sockets. "N-No! That wasn't me. I would never do that to you!"

"Then who!?" she screamed in her face.

Kassandra weakly tried to pull her hands away. Her eyes started to roll back into her skull. Sera tightened her jaw and let go of her neck. She wanted answers more than she wanted to kill the one responsible for the death of her friends.

The blue-eyed girl gasped and doubled over, hands on her throat to get air into her lungs. How this even worked in a fake room in her head, Sera wasn't sure. But it sure did get her point across. She turned away from her past self and put her hands on her hips, chewing her lip indecisively.

Once she recovered enough to breathe properly, Kassandra straightened out and shot Sera a dangerous look. "That wasn't me. I promise you. It was the other one."

"Other what?" She turned to look at her.

"Just... the other. It's been gone for a little while now, though… I think what you did the other night, when you used that strange power, pushed it away. But it's not gone. I can still feel it," she put a hand to her temple. "It's faint. But she's still there." Kassandra took a shaky breath. "She's the one that killed them. That… presence lies in wait to be activated. But you pushed her away, for a short while at least."

Sera blinked. "Then… Why are you still here? If Salem only needs me and that 'presence' or whatever… Why?"

Kassandra gave a wry smile. "Did you really think she could get rid of me that easily?"

Despite the existential crisis and fact that there was something in her head like some kind of virus, she laughed. She and Kassandra were the same person, after all.

"No. No, I guess not," she said. "But who are we? How are we even alive? I was told that you were a hero from centuries ago. We should be dead."

"You can thank that evil bitch for that. Used some kind of magic that slowed down our aging. And you look like I did when I was about eighteen, so… I'm guessing she somehow dialed our body back by a few years. Weird, huh?"

Sera's eyes widened. "Magic? But that's impossible. Magic doesn't exist."

Then again, she knew that the Maidens existed and the story that explained how they were created. The power she saw Cinder wield was incomprehensible. Would it really be that unreasonable to chalk it up to magic?

Kassandra was about to answer her, but a deep rumbling shook the room like a powerful earthquake and nearly made them lose their balance. An ear-splitting roar of anger washed over them and sent a chill down Sera's spine.

"Get out of here. Wake up!" Kassandra shook her shoulders vigorously. "Let me worry about her. Just wake up!"

Sera stared at her uncertainly. Then something struck her across the face, and she only had a moment to realize she'd been slapped.

She sat bolt upright in her bed with her chest heaving and beads of sweat on her forehead. Sera laid back down, and put her face into her pillow for who knows how long before finally willing herself to get out of bed.

Back to the present, she was holding her coffee with both hands and taking slow sips while she watched the sun rise. Truth be told, she wasn't okay. She'd just learned that she was suffering from some sort of fucked up split-personality disorder, and her true self was locked inside her own head while she was on the outside to be used as Salem's personal sleeper agent.

"You pushed her away," Kassandra had told her. She wasn't sure how. Her past self said that it was because she'd used that 'transformation' when she fought Magnus, Tyrian, and Carrot Top, but could it be true that using it could free her of that mind control? Had Salem intended for her to be able to use that powered-up state? If so, why? If not, then what the hell was it? She wasn't sure, but it was worth finding out. It worked when she took control of herself back on Beacon Tower, after all.

Sera exhaled and shut her eyes tight, setting her coffee down beside her. She picked Jupiter up and started to play aimlessly. She'd reached the middle of the song when she realized she'd been playing a slow, controlled version of Journey to the Center of the Mind.

"Hey," a voice said.

She stopped and glanced over her shoulder to find Ruby standing behind her, a small smile on her face. She did her best to return the smile, but she was just feeling too overwhelmed to do much more than lift the corner of her mouth.

"Morning, Ruby," she murmured.

"You okay? I figured you'd sleep like, all day," she laughed.

Sera set her guitar in her lap and shrugged half-heartedly. "Bad dream. I decided to just enjoy the sunrise."

Ruby sat next to her and gave a worried glance, then repeated, "You okay?"

No, no I'm not.

"Yeah," she put on her trademark grin. "I'm fine, don't you worry."

She didn't look convinced, but Ruby nodded. She turned to watch the sun, and for a moment, everything was all right. Sera appreciated her being there, even if it was just to sit silently.

After a few minutes, the silver-eyed girl broke the silence. "We can go see Uncle Qrow whenever you want. I hear he's doing a lot better."

Sera nodded silently.

"How did you know how to mix those herbs together and stuff? It was impressive."

"I don't know," she lied. "I think it was because I've done it before, just not you know, in this life."

"Right," Ruby laughed. "I keep forgetting you have amnesia. Do… you ever think you'll get your memory back?"

Sera shrugged, trying not to look too anxious about the dream she had. "Who cares, right? All that matters is how we go on from here."

Ruby frowned. She could tell something was bugging her, but she wasn't going to interrogate her for answers. Ruby leaned over and bumped their shoulders together. "Right," she murmured.

She wanted to tell her. She wished she could. But the last thing anyone needed was to hear about her dumb problems. The only people she could even talk to about it right now was Ozpin, Tai, or Qrow. Oz was dead, Tai is in Patch, and Qrow's hospitalized. For now, she'd have to keep it to herself.

She needed a distraction to keep her mind off of things, so she got to her feet and put Jupiter's strap around her shoulder.

"Hey, Ruby. You want to explore the city a bit?" she held her hand out to the younger girl.

Ruby smiled and took her hand.

. . .

The next few days passed without incident. Sera didn't have any dreams like the past two; she was back to floating through an endless void as a bodiless entity. During the day, she explored Mistral and got accustomed to its winding streets and multiple levels of the city. She and the others enjoyed their break from the road by hanging out, watching local television, and eating to their hearts content. They were on the road for months eating scraps or the occasional tavern's stew.

Sera needed a cheeseburger.

One day, Qrow came back from the hospital looking far better than he had after his injury. The venom was completely expelled from his system, and in no time, he was back to full strength. Sera waited to tell him of her disturbing dreams, though. She still wasn't sure what to make of them. More than once, she wondered if they were a trick.

Then Qrow told them it was time to meet the headmaster of Haven, and tension once again filled the air. Professor Leonardo Lionheart was to meet them in Haven's courtyard so they could talk about how to move forward with the battle against Salem. And more importantly for the moment, finding the Spring Maiden.

They were walking through a narrow, dimly lit street when Qrow laid the plan out. And to talk privately with Sera.

"Okay, here's the deal," he murmured so the others wouldn't hear. "We don't know if we can fully trust Lionheart, so let's play things close to our chest, yeah?"

"But he's a headmaster. Didn't Ozpin say he trusted the headmasters to guard the vaults or whatever?"

"Well, yeah. But Leo's a little… well, you'll see. We're not going to tell him anything about you, besides the amnesia if it comes up."

"Keeping secrets?" she chuckled dryly. "I've only been doing that since you found me. How hard can it be?"

Qrow smirked and patted her on the back. Then the alley they were in opened up to a clear blue sky, and she could see Haven just a few hundred feet away. It wasn't as impressive as Beacon, but it certainly looked more comfortable than the large castle and enormous, empty courtyard. Haven was made up of low, wooden structures and a few taller buildings scattered around. Students were still on break, so no one was in the main courtyard when they reached it. Still, though. Something felt off.

"Wow," Ruby commented as she and the rest of RNJR made their way through the courtyard at a casual pace.

Qrow and Sera hung behind and examined the campus. Mostly, Sera was trying to figure out why there was some sort of heavy presence in the air.

"It's too empty," Qrow murmured. "There should be guards, teachers, something."

She nodded and put a hand on her sword's hilt in case something jumped out at them. "Wasn't Lionheart supposed to meet us out here?"

Qrow's expression was hard to read. His eyes were narrowed ahead of them and his hands were in his pockets. "Stay on your guard."

"Way ahead of you," she muttered, tightening her grip on Igni.

They made it through the front entrance undisturbed. The halls looked cozy and filled with warmth from how they were designed, but that didn't make her relax any. Sconces hung on the walls to provide light. Tapestries that depicted beautiful scenes of Mistral sat between the sconces. Ruby and the others seemed to enjoy the architecture of Haven, but they seemed to start noticing something wrong with the school.

"Where is everyone?" Ren asked.

Qrow walked ahead of them briskly, his eyes on the wide oak double doors at the end of the hall. Sera let her friends go ahead of her so she could watch the rear. Noise could be heard behind the door, like someone rummaging around.

"Get ready," Qrow drew Harbinger and held it in front of him. The others pulled out their weapons as well. Just as Sera drew her Boomstick from her shoulder, Qrow swiftly kicked the door open.

"Wah!" a bearded man yelped and fell backwards. He had graying hair and earth-tone clothes, and a long lion's tail flitted in the air anxiously as he landed on his back.

Oh, she thought. Lion-heart. Makes sense.

Lionheart sat up with wild eyes and looked at each of the huntsmen before him. Ruby and the others had yelped when the door was kicked open, but Sera was standing there with her shotgun pointed at Lionheart and a surprised look on her face. When he settled on her, the headmaster's eyes seemed to widen with acknowledgement.

"Qrow!" he exclaimed and got to his feet. "You were supposed to meet me out front." Lionheart dusted off his suit irritably.

"You weren't there!" Qrow said incredulously.

Lionheart looked puzzled. He pulled a pocket watch from his vest pocket and flipped it open. "Oh! Dear me. Time seems to have slipped away from me, old friend."

"You're joking," Qrow pinched the bridge of his nose. "Where is everyone?"

"Ah, I've given the faculty express time off during the break—"

"What?" Qrow exclaimed. The sudden yell made Sera jump. "Who's guarding the relic?!"

The headmaster's face morphed to one of shock and surprise. "Qrow, the children—"

"Are already filled in," he said, still clearly agitated.

Lionheart brought his hand up to pinch his chin. "You… Filled them in?"

"Well," Sera announced as she holstered her gun. "This is going swimmingly, huh?"

Professor Lionheart sighed heavily. "You all better come sit. Welcome to Haven Academy," he gave a warm smile that betrayed the anxious look in his eyes.

And so they did. Sera and her friends sat on a pair of cushioned benches that faced each other near Lionheart's desk while Qrow took the seat in front of the headmaster.

Lionheart nodded at them kindly. "I hear you all have been on quite the journey to get here, students. I'm glad to see that you've made it safe and sound."

"Barely," Sera muttered to herself. Nora elbowed her.

The headmaster ignored her. "And you all were present during the Fall of Beacon?"

"Yes, Leo," Qrow said impatiently. "We've been over this."

"Which of you battled the new Fall Maiden?" he asked.

Sera flinched. All eyes went to her.

"Uh, I did," she raised a hand. "And two others. They're not here."

"I see," the headmaster looked at her sadly. "It's amazing that you're still here to tell the tale. Were you there when Professor Ozpin… passed?"

"N-No," she replied. She didn't like being asked questions that she's answered a dozen times. She shot a look at Qrow, and he nodded, clearly receiving her message.

"Leo," he cleared his throat. "Who's guarding the relic?"

He turned his attention back to his old friend. "For the moment, I am. The faculty have been running themselves ragged making preparations for the coming school year and overseeing the defenses on campus. I gave them time off to relax before they keeled over. Surely, you understand."

Qrow sighed heavily and ran his hand through his hair. "Great. Just great."

Lionheart shifted in his chair and picked up a steaming cup on his desk. Apparently changing his mind about drinking whatever was in the cup in front of his visitors, he set it back down and interlaced his fingers. "The relic is safe, I assure you. No one has any way to get inside, thanks to Ozpin's defenses."

"I know how this vault works," Qrow snapped.

Jeez, Sera thought. Someone's cranky.

The huntsman leaned forward and met Lionheart's eyes. "Anyways. I think I've found her."

Lionheart's eyes widened. "Spring?"

Jaune spoke up, "Spring? As in the Maiden?"

Qrow took out his scroll and tossed it onto the desk. A map of Remnant appeared on a large hologram in the air. He pointed at a certain area in Mistral. "I hear she's running with a tribe of bandits around here. If we can organize a group of huntsmen, we can find her, bring her here."

"Bandits? The only bandits around here are—"

"I know," Qrow interrupted. "Now, about that search party…"

Lionheart sighed and gazed down at his desk. "I can try to speak to the council about it, but I doubt they're going to send a large group of huntsmen off to fight bandits without knowing why. In case you haven't noticed, there are Grimm attacking the city almost constantly. We need every huntsman and huntress we can get to defend our borders."

"This is more important—" Qrow started.

"I will try to convince them," Lionheart said. "But I make no promises. Mistral's council is… difficult to manage."

"Tell them anything. Whatever gets huntsmen out there as fast as possible," Qrow urged.

Lionheart met his eyes. "I will try," he repeated. Then he glanced over to the students, like he forgot they were there, then returned his eyes to Qrow. "There is something I need to discuss with you. Privately."

Qrow looked over to them and gave a curt nod. They wordlessly got to their feet and exited the headmaster's office. Before the door closed, Ruby smiled kindly and said, "It was nice meeting you, Professor Lionheart!"

"And I you," he nodded. But he looked… shaken. Disturbed, even.

The doors closed, and they stood in a small circle outside of the door.

"That was… weird," Jaune stated.

Sera glanced at the door, remembering what Qrow had said about not trusting the headmaster. She wasn't sure what they were talking about in there, but she knew it couldn't be good. And the way Lionheart looked at her when he first saw them all, what was that about?

"Let's get back to the house. We can talk about it there," she said.

Ren nodded. "I'll prepare a meal. I think we could all use it."

"Pancakes!" Nora said hopefully.

"Ren, you are awesome," Jaune patted his shoulder.

The ninja gave a small smile, and the five of them left Haven Academy with their stomachs rumbling.

. . .

Ren cooked a full-course meal of exotic food while the rest of them waited patiently, or in Nora's case, impatiently. He set aside a tower of golden-brown pancakes for her, and she threw her arms around him in glee and kissed his cheek.

While they ate, they discussed the weird social cues that Lionheart made during their conversation. He'd been skittish and on edge the whole time, but no one could figure out why. Maybe he had social anxiety. Nevertheless, it was strange.

After dinner, Sera decided to go for a walk to clear her head. Sitting in her room alone didn't sound too appealing, so she figured she'd visit the nearby market and see if they had anything interesting.

The others asked if she wanted company, and she turned them down politely. She needed more time to think about her latest dream, and possibly suffer another existential crisis or two.

She made her way through the dimly lit streets with her weapons on her person. After all, Lionheart did just say the city has been attacked by Grimm a lot lately. When she made it to the market, she was surprised it was so busy despite it being almost nighttime.

The amnesiac looked through rows and rows of booths set up with all sorts of goods for sale. Clothes, armor, weaponry, ammunition, dust, and tons of other things that suited civilian life. She was admiring a certain set of clothing when the shopkeeper drew her attention.

"You like that piece? I admit, it's a bit raunchier than many other outfits around here," the woman mused. She was tall and looked like she belonged on a beach. Tan skin, long dark purple hair, and dark eyes that matched. A tropical violet flower rested in her hair.

Sera returned her attention to the school uniform in her hands. It was black and red with a giant red and yellow eye on the left side, under the collar. A long pair of red ribbons hung from the neck that reached down to the cropped bottom. The short skirt hung below, with a set of suspenders hanging across the top.

"What's raunchy about it?" Sera wondered.

The shopkeeper laughed. "It's dust-infused. When you activate it, the uniform transforms and, ah, is pretty revealing."

Sera's cheeks burned and she set the uniform down where she'd found it. Beside it was a weapon that looked like half of a giant pair of scissors. What a weird sword, she thought.

"Guess you changed your mind," she laughed. "I'm Lavender."

"Sera," she responded, looking at anywhere except for the dust-infused school uniform.

"Nice to meet you," she smiled kindly. "Looking for anything in particular?"

"Just browsing," she shrugged. "Needed to clear my head."

Lavender nodded in understanding. She eyed the golden bracelet on Sera's wrist with wonder. "That's a beautiful piece. May I?"

"What? Oh, sure," she held her arm out. Lavender's hands ran across the gauntlet-like bracelet, her eyes bright.

"Who made this?"

"A weaponsmith from a small village," she shrugged.

Her eyebrows raised. "Really? Is it a weapon?"

Sera smirked and tapped the Omega symbol on the bracelet. Pyrrha's shield expanded to its full size, and Lavender made an "Oooooh," sound while she examined it.

She collapsed the shield and smiled smugly. "Cool, huh?"

Lavender nodded and gave a kind smile. "Curious, though. Why do you have it? I mean, I can see your weapons. A shield seems a bit impractical."

Sera's expression saddened and she ran her fingers across the golden surface of the gauntlet. "It was a gift. From a friend."

The shopkeeper frowned. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," she forced a smile. Eager to change the subject, she motioned to the tables full of merchandise. "Have anything particularly good?"

Lavender smiled gently and looked through her things. "Let's see… Tons of clothes, a few choice weapons. Not sure you need any more of those, though," she laughed.

"Girl, I could always use more weapons." Sera laughed.

"I have an idea," Lavender said kindly. "I can order something special for you. Customized for you personally, with that symbol on it," she pointed at the bracelet. "It's yours, right? Every huntsman and huntress have their own personal emblem."

She faltered. Ever since she got to Beacon, she used the tattoo on her shoulder as her 'personal emblem.' She wasn't sure if she should actually make her own. At this point, she might as well keep using the same symbol. All her other stuff had the Omega on it, anyway.

"Sure," she nodded kindly. "What were you thinking?"

"Hmm," Lavender scanned her body. Clothes, weapons, anything she could find. "You don't have any accessories, do you? Apart from that bracelet, I mean."

Sera shrugged. "I've got this belt buckle," she showed it to her. She'd worn it since her first semester. "I used to have a necklace, too. But I… Gave it to someone." It was true enough. She'd placed her necklace on the gravestone of Summer Rose, and she didn't regret her decision one bit. Still, she did miss the comfort that wearing it brought her.

"How about this?" Lavender smiled excitedly. She just loved decking out people with gear that suited them. "New necklace, maybe a new jacket? That one's looking a little… worn."

Sera looked down at herself. Sure enough, the ends of her coat were frayed and ripped in various places. There was a long cut on the back of her left sleeve. Where it came from, she didn't know.

"What did you have in mind?"

Lavender's smile widened.

Over the course of the next half-hour, they discussed all the things that Sera liked fashion-wise. There wasn't a lot for Sera to say, she was rather simple when it came to her clothes. Her tattoo brought a new level of interest, and Sera could see the woman's eyes brighten with ideas. When Lavender was satisfied with the information she'd been given, she jotted it all down and started counting up the price. The receipt nearly made her faint on sight. Fortunately, she had just enough of her leftover money from Vale and what she'd made during the journey to Mistral.

As she was walking away from the tent, Lavender smiled and waved goodbye at her as she was counting up the Lien. "Your stuff should be here within the week! Thanks for doing business!"

She kicked a rock off the path and grumbled about vendors bleeding her dry. Even if she knew that it would be pricey due to all the gear being custom made just for her, the transaction still depleted just about all her money.

Sera decided to cheer up by rewarding herself with a certain fizzy concoction she hasn't had in literal months. After a brief walk through the dark alleys of Mistral, she arrived at a tall vending machine with the Pumpkin Pete logo and mascot on it. She smiled at the machine and eagerly put her Lien into it. The logo made her a bit sad, though. It was a running joke back in Beacon about how Pyrrha was on the cover of a cereal box.

Behind her, on top of a low building, someone dressed in a black outfit with black twin tails watched her from above. Emerald-green eyes peered down at her, filled with mirth for the white-haired huntress.

Ker-plunk!

Sera smiled and bent down to grab the glass bottle from the vending machine. For a moment, she admired its beauty. Dark purple liquid within the glass, a purple cap, and a purple logo on the front that read People Like Grapes.

She twisted the cap off and flicked it down the alley with the snap of her fingers. Tipping it up, the sugary drink to splashed her tongue, and she squealed with delight at the flavor.

"Gods, I missed you!" she hugged the bottle.

Something hit the ground behind her, and she turned around to find a short girl looking up at her. She wore a black jacket/corset garment that was tucked into a pair of tight-fitting black pants with the coattail hanging behind her. Bright green eyes looked into her violet ones, and a pair of long black twin tails hung past her shoulders.

"Who're you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as she took a sip from her favorite beverage. "Huh, you look kind of familiar…"

The strange girl smiled at her and winked. She pulled a black parasol out and spun it in the air before resting it along her shoulder. As soon as the parasol touched her, the girl's feet shimmered with pink light. It traveled up her body and changed the color of her clothes to white, pink, and brown. When it reached her head, her hair changed from pigtails and turned long and straight, one side pink and the other brown. Her eyes turned the same color, monochromatic pink and brown.

Sera's eyes widened and she drew her shotgun. "You!" she pointed the gun at Neo.

The ice cream-themed girl ducked under her first shot and knocked the gun aside with her parasol before kicking Sera in the chest. Her back slammed into the vending machine, and a waterfall of glass bottles fell from its slot.

"Huh," she quirked an eyebrow. "Wish I knew I could've just hit it…" Then she aimed her gun again and pulled the trigger. Neo opened her parasol and absorbed the blast effortlessly. She spun her weapon and smugly wagged her finger at Sera.

"You little...!" she threw her bottle into the air and quickly reloaded her gun. When its breach snapped shut, she stuck her hand out and caught her soda. Not a drop was spilled.

Neo whistled with false amazement and spun her parasol again. Sera narrowed her eyes at her and pointed the barrel of the Boomstick at her head. "What do you want? Come to kill me off before Cinder could?"

She shook her head and walked casually to the side. Sera followed her, pointing her gun at her while they circled each other slowly.

"Then what do you want? Because there is nothing worth talking about with you. Not that you even can talk," she smirked.

Neo frowned at her and put a hand on her hip. Then she gestured between the two of them and made a peace sign with her fingers.

Sera laughed. "You want peace? Why in the actual hell would I make peace with you?"

She made a series of gestures with her hands, but Sera had no idea what they meant.

"I don't know what you're saying," she tightened her grip on her shotgun.

Neo rolled her eyes and pulled her scroll out. She turned it towards Sera with an image of Cinder on the device. When the amnesiac looked up from the scroll, Neo slid her index finger across her neck in the universal 'kill' sign.

She faltered. "You want to kill Cinder?"

Neo nodded.

"Why? Weren't you and her all buddy-buddy with each other? Plus, you tried to kill me, and you almost killed Yang!"

She turned her palm up and let it fall down, like she was saying, "All in the past." Or maybe "Just doing my job."

Sera didn't lower her gun. "Again, what the hell do you want? Why would you want to kill Cinder? I mean I get she's like, a raging cunt. But still."

Neo pulled a black bowler hat with a red band around it out from behind her and set it atop her head. It was Torchwick's. She remembered what Ruby said about how he'd died, eaten by some Gryphon on one of the Atlesian frigates.

She lowered her gun. "You have five minutes, or I blow your head off."

Neo smirked, like she was amused by Sera trying to do that. Then she started typing on her scroll, fingers flying across the screen. Sera stared at her the whole time, remembering their past fights and just how outmatched she'd been against this tiny girl. First was in the shipyard when Blake had run off, and the second was on that train under Mountain Glenn. If that mysterious figure hadn't shown up, Yang probably would've died at the hands of this girl.

Now she was offering to make peace in order to kill Cinder Fall. Sera didn't know how to feel about that.

Neo held her scroll out to Sera. Her body language was relaxed and non-threatening, but the huntress knew she could attack at any moment.

She took the scroll and started to read while Neo waited patiently. When she was finished, she tossed the device back at its owner, and Neo fumbled to catch it.

"You blame her for Torchwick's death. Her plan got him killed, basically," she said.

Neo nodded sadly and removed the hat from her head, running her fingers along it lovingly. She placed it on her head again and looked at Sera with hard eyes.

The huntress sighed heavily. "Why should I trust you?"

She typed on her scroll for a brief moment before showing it to her.

Enemy of my enemy. You want her dead for what she did to you. So do I.

Sera ran her fingers through her hair and took a long drink from her soda. In just a few moments, the bottle was empty. She tossed it behind her, and it landed straight into a nearby trashcan. Sera was a lot of things, but she wasn't a litterer. Except for when she flicked the bottlecap down the alley. That didn't count, because it was cool.

She didn't know what to do. On one hand, this girl was partially responsible for the Fall of Beacon. There's no telling how many people she's killed, both before and during the Fall. Neo was dangerous and unpredictable, and she nearly killed her and her friends numerous times.

But… They could use all the help they could get against Salem. Without any real huntsmen on their side, Qrow was their heaviest hitter. Judging by Cinder, Tyrian, and Salem's other minions, they were probably hopelessly outnumbered. With a smirk, she thought, Fight fire with fire.

"Fine," she finally said. "But I don't trust you. At all. You do one thing to make me doubt you, and I'll take your head off. Got it?"

Neo nodded earnestly and twirled her parasol.

Sera dragged her palm down her face and groaned. "I can't believe I'm doing this…" she grumbled. "Come on," she walked down the alley at a brisk pace, and Neo followed close behind with a skip in her step.