A small fire flickered within a circle of stones in a small clearing of the forest. Qrow and the others were sitting on fallen logs around the fire while Sera stood with her back leaned against a tree and her arms crossed. Sera and Qrow had just finished explaining, well, everything. The story of the Maidens, the existence of Salem, and Ozpin's plan to make Pyrrha, or rather Sera, the new Fall Maiden. Qrow now wore a bandage around his abdomen to cover the gash that Tyrian's tail had given him, and Sera stood with her arms crossed. She'd made sure to keep it a secret that she was used as a sleeper agent to kill Pyrrha. Jaune might skewer her if he found out.
Jaune took it in stride, since he'd already been told by Sera. Truth be told, he was unsure of the story's truthfulness until Qrow had said the exact same thing she'd explained to him.
The rest of them were silent, processing their words in their own way. The fire flickered audibly. They asked for some clarification on the Maidens, about how the whole process worked. Then Ruby turned her eyes to Sera, and the amnesiac looked to her in silence.
"Is that how you… 'transformed' or whatever it was you did? You took some of the Fall Maiden's power?"
She flinched at the question. All eyes turned to her, and she shied away from their gaze. "…I don't know why I can do that. The only other time it happened was the night the tower fell." She gazed down at her open palm. "But both times, it made me… powerful. You saw it. That fight turned around like that," she snapped her fingers.
"That's why your eyes turn red sometimes? You're tapping into that power?" Ren asked. It was the first time he'd spoken since the fight ended.
"I don't know," she admitted. "That woman, Salem. Ever since I first got to Beacon, she's been visiting me in my dreams. One time, she said that she'd done something to me. Before I had amnesia, I mean. I have no idea what it was she 'did' but apparently, when I 'transform,' as Ruby said, I look just like her. White skin, dark veins, weird scary eyes. And… when it happens, I feel… Angry. Just pure rage that makes me want to destroy everything around. In the fight, I managed to push that anger down and… here we are." She gestured to the campsite.
The others were silent for a long while.
Finally, Nora spoke up. "Who were those guys? They were stupidly strong."
Qrow cleared his throat and pulled his flask from his pocket. Sera yanked it from his hand, and he gave an indignant, "Hey!" She took a swig and gagged at the burning liquid, then handed it back to him. Warmth traveled down and settled in her stomach. Qrow blinked at her and took a long drink before corking the flask and setting it aside. "Careful, kid. You're gonna end up like me."
"Like hell," she pounded her chest weakly to expel the uncomfortable feeling in her stomach from the liquor.
"Anyways," Qrow chuckled. "Those weirdos are likely working for Salem."
"They wanted to take me and Sera back to their 'magical castle' or whatever that psycho said," Ruby added.
Sera nodded. "That's right. Which means we've got people after us, or rather, me and Ruby."
"Why me, though?" the scythe-wielder wrung her hands.
Sera and Qrow glanced at each other. "Those silver eyes," the huntsman said. "You caused quite a ruckus with what you did on top of the tower, kiddo. Seems some very powerful people aren't too happy about one of the silver eyed to be around, and worse, capable of using them."
"So, what? I've just got a target on my back now?" she asked worriedly.
"That's the downside of having those eyes, kid. Some people aren't too fond of the Silver Eyes."
"Don't worry," Sera raised a fist. "They'd have to get through me before they ever get to you."
"And us," Nora affirmed.
Ruby gave a small smile appreciatively.
"I have one question," Jaune spoke up. "Why didn't you just travel with us? Why just follow?"
"Because—" Qrow started.
"Were you using us as bait?" his eyes narrowed.
Qrow flinched slightly. "I wouldn't really put it like that, I—"
"I knew he was there," Sera said from where she was leaning against a tree. "He was just making sure we were safe, Jaune. I asked him to." Okay, that last bit was a lie, but if it took the heat off of Qrow, it was worth it.
"What?" Ruby asked. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"I told her not to," Qrow said. "Didn't want any extra pressure on you guys. Plus, I have to keep my distance anyway."
Jaune blanked. "Why?"
The huntsman sighed quietly and leaned forward to rest his elbows onto his knees. "My semblance isn't like most. Some people can turn into rose petals, some can slow down time—"
"Okay, we're not a hundred percent on the time thing," Sera pointed at him.
"Mine brings misfortune to those around me," he continued. "It's not really something I do. It's just always there. Handy in a fight, but really hard on friends. I've learned to stay away from others, to keep them from being a victim of my own semblance. I guess you could call me a 'bad luck charm,'" he chuckled hollowly.
The fire crackled in the silence that followed.
"I still think your semblance is bullshit," Sera broke the silence with a quiet laugh.
Qrow uncorked his flask and shrugged. "Whatever you say, Snowball."
After a few more moments of silence, Ruby looked up from her lap. "What are we going to do?"
"For now?" Qrow leaned onto the log he sat on. "We get to Mistral and settle in. I need to check in with the headmaster of Haven to figure out a new plan. The other three Maidens are still out there, and one of them is missing. Winter is in Atlas, Summer is in Vacuo, I think, but Spring is nowhere to be found. We need to organize a search party to find her, before Salem does."
Jaune exhaled heavily and leaned onto his knees, his hands holding his face. "Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine."
"Never claimed to be," he said bitterly, then took a swig from his flask.
Sera left her tree and went to sit next to the huntsman. She was starting to get cold being away from the fire. The amnesiac warmed her hands by the flames and stared into the campfire. She was still shaky from the fight and using that 'transformed' state, and frankly, she was ready to crawl into bed.
Ruby shifted on her log and clenched the edge of her skirt. "Can you use that power whenever you want? It seemed pretty useful."
She stiffened and withdrew her hands from the fire. "No. I just got lucky. When that guy had his hand on Jaune and was about to…" The words died in her throat. She bounced her heel anxiously at the dual flashes of memory. One from The Fall, the other from less than an hour ago.
"It just happened," she finally said. "If I could use it freely, I'm not sure if I even would. Sure, it tips the scales quite a bit. But it feels… cursed. I don't want to use it, unless I can make it my own."
"Aw, dang," Ruby's shoulders sagged. "It looked pretty cool."
Sera laughed. "It feels pretty cool, too. Gods, I felt stronger than I ever have been before… But if I can't do something about that anger, that rage, I'm afraid one of you might get hurt."
"You handled it before," Nora said.
"But I'm not sure if I'll be able to again," she stared into the fire. Its flames reminded her of her own blazing aura when she'd transformed.
A hand clapped on her shoulder, and she glanced over to see who it was. Qrow smirked at her and held out his flask. She took it wordlessly and took a sip, recoiling at the bitter taste.
"Don't beat yourself up, kid. If anyone can get it figured out, I'm sure you can."
She raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you tell me to not try to use that power?"
"Yeah, but with what we're gonna be up against, you might need it," he took his flask back.
Her shoulders sagged. "I'd rather get strong on my own than use a crutch."
"It wouldn't be," Ren said. She looked at him curiously and raised her eyebrows. "If you make it your own like you said, it would just be an extension of yourself. Like a semblance."
"Some semblances can be crutches though," Ruby murmured. "I mean, there's Yang."
"Yang is a whole different story," Qrow chuckled. "But your friends are right, kid. That weird power could be an extension of yourself, if you let it. Own it, make it yours."
Sera didn't know what to say. She just blinked with uncertainty and sagged onto her log. After a moment, she got to her feet and headed towards her pack to pull out her bedroll. "I'm gonna get some sleep. That fight drained me today."
The others shifted uncomfortably, as if trying to think of something reassuring to say.
"Goodnight, Sera…" Ruby murmured.
Once her bedroll was spread out, she took her jacket off and crawled into it. The others stayed quiet, and she just stared at the fire until she finally drifted off to sleep.
. . .
She immediately found herself in a mountainous landscape with short grass and large hills decorating the horizon. Skinny trees were scattered around that provided little shade, but that didn't matter because it was nighttime. The shattered moon was enormous in the sky and provided plenty of light for her to see a few hundred feet in front of her.
Sera raised her hands and patted her body, finding that she had her body. This was different than any of the other times she'd dreamed. There was no endless void, no fog, and she wasn't a bodiless consciousness floating through it.
"What the hell…?" she gazed across the dark horizon.
A sudden noise drew her attention, and she turned around to find someone familiar in the middle of a fight. A woman with black hair held a short sword and a large round shield as she fended off a pair of Beringel Grimm. She wore a leather cuirass over a sleeveless blue tunic that reached down just above her knees, and a pair of leather sandals with many straps on her feet.
One of them hit her shield with both fists, but she held fast. The woman gritted her teeth and stood her ground, then slammed her shield into the Grimm's face before shoving the point of her sword into its chest. The Beringel roared in agony and stumbled back as it dissipated into a puddle of shadow.
The other Grimm growled at the loss of its comrade and rushed the huntress, and Sera caught a view of her face as she spun to the side to avoid the Beringel.
It was her own face, with sapphire blue eyes.
"Kassandra," she thought aloud.
The woman jumped into the air and landed on the Grimm's shoulders. Her legs squeezed its neck tightly, and the Beringel reared back in an attempt to shake her off. Kassandra's hair whipped in the wind as it turned around in circles and tried to grab her. She comically slammed her shield into the monster's face as it jumped and whirled around, the impact making a loud BANG BANG BANG sound. The Beringel whipped around and Sera got a view of the damage. Its eyes were kind of crooked and the bone plate covering most of its face was cracked.
Sera snickered and moved in for a closer look. 'This chick is a badass,' she marveled, still skittish on the thought that Kassandra was her.
When she got within a dozen feet of the fight, the Beringel moaned and crumpled to the ground while its nose oozed black blood. Kassandra jumped off its back and shoved her sword into its head, and the Grimm melted into darkness.
She yanked her sword out of its remains and sheathed it into the scabbard at her waist. Kassandra took a deep breath and pushed her hair out of her face, then turned directly towards Sera.
The amnesiac froze, her eyes wide. 'Can she see me?'
Kassandra frowned and started walking in her direction. When they were face to face, Sera took a closer look at her. It was like staring at a really weird mirror, but her face and body moved independent of her own. Kassandra had the same curious intensity in her eyes, and her lips pursed the same way Sera's did when she was thinking. She looked older, though. At least a few years. Mid-twenties, maybe? Sera wasn't sure, but it was a little off putting.
When the black-haired girl reached Sera, she didn't stop or slow down. She walked right through her like she was made of fog or some ghostly apparition. Sera whirled around to see where she was going and started to follow her, then halted. Her eyes lingered on Kassandra's backside.
'Huh. My ass is kinda nice.'
Then she started walking.
A while later, she arrived at a sizeable city that was covered in buildings of white marble and colorful rooftops. The streets were crowded with people wearing long tunics or multicolored robes that were clasped at one shoulder. A vibrant market sold fresh fruits and vegetables, and she could smell cooking meat in the distance.
Children ran up to Kassandra and waved or asked her to play, but the black-haired girl just ruffled their hair and made up some excuse to do it later. Eventually, they reached a tall temple-looking structure that had guards in bronze armor and horsehair plumes on their helmets flanking the door. They let Kassandra pass, and Sera followed her into the building.
It was chilling to hear her own voice coming from another person, but it only solidified that this woman actually was her.
"Stupid city guards," Kassandra mumbled once the doors closed behind her. "If they did their job, I wouldn't have to clean up their messes."
Sera assumed she was talking about the Beringels she'd fought. Unless it was something entirely unrelated, and her past self was just complaining about a different incident. That would be a bit on par with Sera as a person.
She followed her through winding hallways until they arrived at a small chamber that looked like some kind of herbalist's habitat. Dried plants hung from the low ceiling and several tables were covered with opened books, mortals and pestles, and all sorts of curious bottles filled with multicolored liquids.
"Damn it, where is she?" Kassandra muttered and tapped her foot anxiously.
Sera wasn't sure what to do, so she just inspected the room while her past self waited for some mystery woman to show up. She tried to read some of the books to see what they were about, but all of them were in some ancient language she couldn't decipher. When she reached for the vials and bottles, her hand passed right through them. 'Just a memory,' she had to remind herself.
Then the door opened, and she turned around. Her blood ran cold at what she saw. A tall woman with white skin and red eyes walked into the small room with her hands folded at her waist. Snow white hair cascaded down her shoulders. She walked like she was nobility. Sera recognized it, it was how Weiss always walked. Prim and proper, full of herself.
"Kassandra," the woman said cooly, and her voice made Sera's skin crawl.
Salem.
"There you are," Kassandra exhaled. "I killed those monsters you like you asked. Now what?"
Salem smiled with closed lips. It sent a chill up Sera's spine. "Excellent. You've proved your strength once again, Kassandra. I think you might be ready for more… invaluable tasks."
"Like what?" Kassandra quirked an eyebrow.
The witch smiled wider. "I'd like you to come with me. This horrid settlement has kept you here for too long, has it not?"
"Well, it has started to get boring around here," Kassandra admitted. "Where are we going?"
"You'll see when we get there," Salem put a hand on her shoulder. Sera could see Kassandra shift with discomfort. Then the black-haired girl nodded her head.
. . .
Sera woke with a start. She sat up fast and searched the forest around her, chest heaving rapidly while sweat beaded her forehead.
She saw her friends still asleep in their bedrolls, and Qrow was sitting against a tree with his eyes closed.
The huntress fell back onto her pillow and stared up at the blue sky as she mentally replayed the events of her dream. "What the fuck…?"
Once she recovered from the disturbing dream, she crawled out of her bedroll and sat by the fire. Pulling out a tall and narrow tin pot with a lid on it and shallow spout, she poured water from a canteen and set the pot near the smoldering fire. After she grabbed some spare wood and got the fire going again, she sat near the flames and munched on graham crackers until the water was boiling, and she made coffee.
By the time everyone else was awake, she was sitting on a log and sharpening her sword with the whetstone she'd brought. Jaune poured coffee into a metal cup and sat next to her.
"Guys," Ruby said.
She looked up from her sword and over to where the younger girl was kneeling by Qrow. The huntsman looked pale and feverish, taking ragged breaths. How hadn't she noticed before?
Sera set her sword down and hurried over to him, kneeling on the other side of Ruby. She put the back of her hand to his forehead. His eyes moved constantly under their lids.
"He's burning up," she said. Looking down at the bandage around his abdomen, she saw something purple staining it. She peeled it down, and her eyes widened at what she found.
The area around the cut was sickly green and looked kind of gross. The cut itself oozed with puss and more of that purple substance. She remembered when Tyrian's tail had been severed and spilled burning liquid onto the ground.
"Poison," she muttered, eyes rolling. "Great. Just what we need."
"Actually, I think it's venom—" Ren said. Nora nudged him with her elbow.
Sera quickly removed his bandage and pulled her pack over to her. They didn't have much in the way of first aid, but she cleaned out the wound as best as she could and looked to Ruby. "Boil some more water," she said.
"On it," she nodded firmly and zipped over to the fire in a flurry of rose petals.
Sera turned her attention back to the wound and exhaled sharply. "Look what you did, old man."
"Don't go counting me out just yet," he chuckled hoarsely. She looked up to him and tried not to look worried.
"This isn't good, you know."
He shrugged half-heartedly. "Eh, I'll be fine."
She knew he was trying to downplay it for her and Ruby's sake, but he did look pretty nervous about the injury. Sera wasn't sure how long he'd last before the venom ran its course.
When she unbuttoned his shirt, he winced at the dull pain that flared up in his chest. Her eyes scanned his chest, and she didn't like the way his veins were visibly dark for several inches above the gash. She didn't exactly know too much about how venom worked, but she knew that if it reached his heart, things wouldn't exactly turn out good.
"What's your diagnosis, doc?" Qrow chuckled wryly.
Sera tapped her boot anxiously and swept her hair back over her head. "Not good, old man. Not good."
Ruby knelt beside her with the pot of boiling water and a few strips of cloth and bandages. Sera dipped the cloth into the water and let it cool for a moment, then went to work to clean and dress the wound.
She wasn't sure how she knew how to do this. She'd never tended to an injury like this in her life, but her hands moved on their own while she stared intently at his abdomen. Ruby's eyes trailed up the dark veins going up her uncle's chest. The longest one resided just below his ribcage.
"Hey, don't worry Ace," he said to Ruby. "A little cut isn't going to do me in."
"The venom might, though," Jaune muttered. Sera shot him a look.
"Okay," she exhaled and started to wrap him in a bandage. "We need to get moving. I doubt there's anything back in that town, but are there any close by?" She looked to Ren and Nora.
They shifted uncomfortably, but when Sera narrowed her eyes expectantly, Ren sighed. "Yeah, there is. It's a few hours away, but we should be able to reach it by noon."
Sera rose to her full height. "Good. Then let's get moving." She looked at Qrow. "You're not walking with that. It'll only make the venom travel faster."
"When did you get so good at medical care?" Qrow laughed dryly, then winced as if he were in pain.
She didn't respond. Truth was, she had no idea. "Come on, let's make a stretcher."
They packed their things and put out the fire before going to work. Jaune and Sera found strong sticks to support it while Ruby and Nora put together a cloth he could lay on. Once it was all said and done, they had a rather nice stretcher for Qrow to lay on. Ruby helped him over to it before picking up the front end while Jaune grabbed the back.
Every half hour or so, they stopped to examine Qrow's bandages and occasionally change them. At some point, he went into some sort of half-conscious state and murmured incoherently. His fever worsened, he gradually became paler, and sweat constantly perspired on his forehead.
They could only move so fast with the litter, but Sera and Ruby urged the others to try. The sun rose high into the sky and warmed the landscape, and Sera had to remove her hoodie and coat to avoid getting too hot. The others were rather surprised to see her without her beloved jacket on, but she could care less about how cool she looked at the moment. Still, being in only a violet tank top did make her feel far more exposed, and she could practically feel the others staring at her like they expected her skin to suddenly turn white and covered in dark veins.
"How much longer?" She looked over to Nora carrying their map.
"I'm not sure," she groaned. "This map isn't very detailed, but—"
"Guys," Ren said. Ruby and Jaune halted and looked ahead of them. They'd arrived at a fork in the road, with a wooden sign pointing in each direction.
One of the names was scratched out, like the sign before they reached Oniyuri. The other pointed to the right, up towards a nearby mountain range.
Sera hurried to the sign and inspected it closely. The scratched-out sign read "Kuroyuri," and the other pointing up to the mountains said "Mistral." Ruby and Jaune set Qrow onto the ground gently and went to her side.
"We're close," Sera muttered. She looked back at Qrow, who was tossing and turning uncomfortably on the litter. Ren and Nora stood further back with unreadable expressions.
Jaune glanced towards the mountain range. "We can't carry him through the mountains. It'd take too long."
"We don't have a choice," Sera replied. "It's either go through the mountains or go to whatever Kuroyuri is, and judging by the last place we went to with a scratched-out name in the sign, I'm not liking our options."
"We'll do both," Ruby turned to them with a determined glint in her eyes. "Maybe we can find medicine in Kuroyuri, and another team can go to Mistral to get help. We have to split up."
Sera didn't like that idea too much. Splitting up never goes well. The last time she did that was in Vale, and two of her friends died, Yang lost her arm, Blake got stabbed, and she was left alone at the top of Beacon Tower. But… there wasn't much of a choice.
"Okay," she relented. "Team A will go to there and hunker down, Team B goes to Mistral for help. Any volunteers?"
"I'm not leaving my uncle," Ruby said.
"Me either, Rubes. I owe him that much," she grimaced.
"We'll go to Mistral," Jaune said. Ren and Nora approached him silently and stood by his side. "You can count on us. Right, JNPR?"
"Yeah," Nora said, looking rather down. Ren's face was unreadable, but he looked past them and towards the distant village with sad eyes. Sera would have to ask about it later. For now, there was a job to do.
"Okay, make it happen, team," Ruby nodded determinedly. She gave them a big hug and went over to check on Qrow.
"Watch them," Jaune put a hand on Sera's shoulder.
"I will," she promised.
He let go of her shoulder, then the three members of JNPR turned and ran up the path towards Mistral. Sera hurried over to where Ruby waited and lifted the back end of Qrow's stretcher.
They moved as quickly as they could towards Kuroyuri, but Qrow wouldn't stop moving and threatened to spill over almost constantly. After what felt like an eternity, they arrived at yet another ruined village that laid in shambles.
To be honest, it was kind of depressing. There were old claw marks from Grimm here and there. Fire damage ruined most of the buildings. An old cart was turned on its side with a wheel missing and had spilled decayed vegetables that were nothing but wilted patches of leaves. Narrow human-made streams of water ran through the village, but the water was dark and gross looking. The few trees within the village were either splintered or dead with no leaves on them. It was like a wasteland.
"Jeez…" Sera murmured.
"Let's just find something to help Qrow," Ruby said, her shoulders sagging as she looked ahead so Sera couldn't see her face.
They found a place to set Qrow down where he'd be safe and visible in the open, then searched the area. After nearly twenty minutes, they found nothing. There was an old pharmacy, but everything in it had been taken or was too expired to be of any help. It wasn't much of a pharmacy—more of an herb shop.
Sera groaned and tossed a broken bottle of dusty herbs aside. She ran her hand through her hair and tried to think of a solution, but none appeared.
Then she saw a shelf with a wide glass container, like a terrarium. Live plants were inside. She rushed over to it and rested her hands on the glass. Different herbs stood in a row with healthy soil housing their roots. She wasn't sure how, but she knew what to do.
A grin spread across her face, and she tapped her wrist to expand her shield, breaking the glass with ease. After she collapsed her shield, the huntress grabbed leaves and snapped off pieces of roots and shoved them into her pocket. Only certain ones, though. Something told her she only needed those.
Sera grabbed a mortar and pestle off of a counter before dashing outside and towards Qrow. She knelt by his side and went to work. Putting the herbs and roots into the bowl, she ground them up as quickly as she could before taking a handful of the powder and shoving it into her mouth. She chewed it up into a pile of mush while unraveling Qrow's bandages to expose his cut.
"Kid?" he asked hoarsely, then coughed weakly. "How…?"
"Shut up," she grumbled and took the herbs from her mouth. "This might sting a bit." She pushed the mush into his cut and spread it through the wound. Qrow groaned at the sensation and clenched his jaw, but he stayed still enough for her to work. Sera wrapped his torso in a bandage again and grinded more herbs into the bowl. When she was done, she took the pile of ground leaves, put a small root in them, chewed them up to get them mushy like before, then put it to Qrow's mouth. "Eat this."
He swallowed the herbs and shivered. "Bleh. Tastes awful."
She smirked. "Might save your life, though."
His breathing slowly steadied and he relaxed into the stretcher. "Jeez, where'd you learn that?"
"I have no idea," she admitted. "I just knew what to do. It was like my body just moved on its own."
"Huh. We'll have to talk about that later."
"Sure, old man," she scoffed. Not that she knew what she'd say.
"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby zipped over to them with her scythe in her hands. "Wait, are you better?"
He flexed his fingers and raised an eyebrow at his hand. "A little, I think. My chest isn't hurting as much. You can thank Sera for that."
"What'd you do?"
Sera blinked. "I—"
BOOM
They turned towards where the noise had come from, but it sounded far off. Sera still got to her feet and drew Jupiter, though. "What the heck was that?" she asked.
"I don't know," Ruby said.
BOOM
A tree fell in the distant forest. The amnesiac glanced over at Qrow. "What do you think, old man?"
He stared towards where the tree had fallen. "Get ready."
ROOOOOOAAAARRRGGGHHH
Sera gripped her weapon tightly. "I don't like this."
"Me either," Ruby's voice cracked.
Qrow unsteadily got to his feet and went to lean against a nearby tree. "Whatever it is, you can handle it. Just stay calm and keep an eye out for each other."
BOOM
It was getting closer.
Sera quickly made sure all her gear was ready to go. Shotgun loaded, shield at the ready, and a dust cartridge in each of her weapons. Ruby cocked her sniper rifle and scoped in to see if she could get a bead on whatever was coming for them.
Pounding footsteps got louder and seemed to shake the ground and made trees shake. The hair on the back of Sera's neck stood up and the beat of her heart was like a tiny jackhammer against her ribcage. She wasn't sure what was in the trees, but it was big, and it creeped her out.
Then she saw it. Something so massive that it pushed trees aside just by walking through them. At first, she thought it was a horse. But it was far too large. Then she saw a humanoid figure sitting atop the horse, only its waist melded into its back to form one fucked up creature.
Sera recognized it after a moment. She'd had a class in Professor Port's over this type of Grimm, only it was far too large and dangerous to keep captured like his Boarbatusk and Creeps.
A Nuckelavee.
She had to admit, it looked way creepier in person. Its misshapen head twitched from side to side like some kind of psychotic wackjob's (Aka, Tyrian). A pair of curved horns stuck up from the top of its head that matched the bone armor on its face and body. Long, narrow arms dragged across the ground with clawed fingers at the ends of them. White armor decorated its exposed ribs and all over the horse beneath it, which snuffed the air as it breathed slowly. The entire monster looked like it was partially a skeleton. The humanoid figure was skinny and twisted like a corpse with bony spines protruding from its arrow-covered back. The horse's mouth was entirely bone, and its hollow nostrils blew visible puffs of air. Its ribs were bony as well, and its chest was completely devoid of flesh.
It was by far the most grotesque Grimm she'd ever seen.
Sera didn't know too much about the Nuckelavee, but she remembered that they were insanely strong and infamous for destroying ill-defended villages.
The horse's eyes stared at them intently while the humanoid figure hissed quietly. Sera shuddered as a chill went up her spine.
"Ugh, this is an ugly one," she muttered.
"And scary looking…" said Ruby.
Qrow drew Harbinger and tried to stand up straight. He winced and leaned back against the tree with one hand clutching his bandages. "I'm not sure I'll be much help with this one, kiddos."
"Just stay back, Uncle Qrow," Ruby gave a small smile at him. "We can handle this."
Sera said, "Won't be easy, though. You remember the lesson we had on these things?"
Ruby nodded and aimed down the scope of her rifle. "Go for the heads."
"That's right," she said.
The Nuckelavee started to walk towards them, its head twitching more quickly while its arms dragged beside it.
"What's the plan?" Sera shifted, hands tightening around Jupiter's neck.
Ruby pulled the trigger of Crescent Rose, and a bullet hit the humanoid body's shoulder. The figure jerked back and whirled its head towards them before letting out an ear-piercing screech in their direction. The Nuckelavee galloped towards them, hooves pounding the stone ground so hard they made small craters.
"Or you could just do that!" Sera sucked her teeth in a sharp inhale and rushed over to Qrow. "Distract that thing! I'm going to get the old man to cover."
"I can go myself," Qrow grumbled, but he put his arm around her shoulder so they could limp away.
Ruby disappeared into rose petals and flew towards the Grimm. Sera could hear gunshots from Crescent Rose and sounds of exertion from Ruby, but she kept her eyes in front of her.
They disappeared around the corner of a small building, and she helped Qrow to sit on the ground with his back to the wall. She grimaced and looked towards where the Grimm was, but before she could rejoin the fight, Qrow grabbed her hand.
He looked up at her with a serious light in his eyes. "Watch after my niece."
She smirked lightly. "You kidding? Nothing is going to happen to that girl."
Qrow chuckled and let go of her hand. "Good. Now go kill that thing, or you're gonna have another stab wound."
"If you can even do that," she gestured to his bandages. Another trio of gunshots rang out from Crescent Rose. Sera hefted her axe and returned it to its guitar form before putting its strap over her shoulder. "Don't worry. That thing is going to regret making me look at its ugly mug."
Without another word, she turned and raced back to the fight. Ruby was doing pretty well, given her opponent. The Nuckelavee could barely even touch her. She zipped around with her semblance, flying through its enormous legs and spinning like a deadly tornado to slash it as much as she could. But with every hit she landed, the Grimm only seemed to get more pissed off. Its head thrashed around and screamed at Ruby while its long arms tried to grab her, extending outwards like one of those sticky-hand toys. It would've made her laugh if it wasn't so terrifying.
Sera ran towards the monster with Jupiter in her hands. While its attention was on Ruby, she slid on her knees underneath it and brought her guitar pick down hard on its strings to emit a loud power chord of heavy metal noise.
The Nuckelavee screeched into the air and thrashed its arms around as the sound hit its ears. While she was still sliding, she slung Jupiter to her back and drew her shotgun to blast it in the leg. The Grimm roared again and tried to stomp her, but she wasn't there. She leapt away from it before it could hit her.
The amnesiac jumped to her feet and went to eve-level with the monster. Its cold eyes sent a chill up her spine, but she still shot it in the chest to blow off a chunk of its body.
She wished she saw the arm coming, but it slammed into her before she could even react. She was sent flying through the air until she hit a tall building, and Sera grunted at the impact as air was knocked out of her lungs.
"Sera!" Ruby shrieked. She shot at the Grimm and pegged it in the horse's body until it turned to her and pawed the ground.
The amnesiac fell from the building and landed on one knee as she tried to catch her breath. "Okay, that hurt…" she groaned. Shaking it off, she got to her feet and ran to help Ruby.
The Nuckelavee galloped towards the scythe-wielder while its human-ish head screeched at her. Ruby blasted to the side with Crescent Rose's recoil, then used the same trick to fly towards the Grimm. She swung her scythe in wide fluid motions and did a pretty good job of cutting it up, but the creature seemed to ignore the pain and shot an arm up to grab her out of the air.
Sera's heart sank as she saw its arm wrap her up like a hellish tortilla until they were face-to-face. The Grimm screeched in her face and slammed her onto the ground with enough force to blast a crater into the ground.
"Hey, you big ugly hunk of glue! Look at me!" Sera screamed at the top of her lungs and brought her hand down on Jupiter's strings. Another intense soundwave made the monster roar loudly, and Ruby went flying out of its grasp. Even after taking a hit like that, Ruby recovered in the air and landed on her feet.
"Thanks!"
Sera ran right up to the Grimm and swung her guitar into the horse's side. It made a high-pitched scream of a neigh and stuck its foot out. She avoided the powerful kick and dashed to the side to hit it again.
Big mistake.
One of the Nuckelavee's arms slammed into her chest and sent her sprawling. She planted her axe into the ground and used it to slow herself, then rushed forward again.
'I'm getting really tired of being thrown around,' she thought bitterly. The huntress scrambled up the Grimm's leg until she was on its back while it was distracted by Ruby. When she landed on top of it, the humanoid body bent backwards with a sickening crunching noise and screamed in her face.
THUNK
"Shut up!" she grumbled after she whacked it on the head with Jupiter.
The Nuckelavee twisted and contorted in a way no human body was capable of and sent both of its arms in her direction. She smacked one aside and ducked under the other, but while she was preoccupied with its overly creepy limbs, the Grimm took the opportunity to grab her shoulder with its teeth and bite down.
Sera screamed. Not because it hurt, but because this thing was touching her. She punched it in its monstrous face, but it only chomped down harder. She yanked away and struck it in the cheek, but it just wouldn't let go. Her aura flickered, teeth sinking closer and closer to her skin. The horse part of the creature started to run, its massive hooves thundering across the ground while its primary body assaulted the amnesiac.
"Get off!" she shouted, panic clear in her voice. If this thing managed to break her aura and bite into her shoulder, well, that wouldn't exactly be too good for her.
Ruby screamed her name. Her aura kept shimmering as it weakened. In a last-ditch effort, she slapped her wrist and slammed her shield into its chin. It shuddered at the blow, but didn't release her.
Then an enormous hammer appeared in front of her eyes and collided with the Nuckelavee's head. It screeched loudly after it let go of Sera's shoulder and screamed at the newcomer loud enough to shake her to her core. When it was struck, the horse let out a bone-chilling scream and cantered around. It tossed its head and cracked the stone below it with its hooves.
"Nora!" Sera gaped at the orange-haired girl.
She grinned and gave a two-fingered salute. "You just gonna stand there?"
"Uh…No," she managed as she looked back at the Nuckelavee's humanoid body flailing wildly. One of its horns were now broken off from Nora's hammer. Sera reared back and smacked it across the face with Jupiter for good measure. The Grimm froze in a twisted position and looked at her with its glowing, soulless eyes and sent a shiver down her spine. The thing was just too creepy.
It screamed in her face, and she didn't even resist the urge to leap down from its back. She landed smoothly and raised her shield in case it tried to attack again, but a stream of gunfire rang out and a volley of small rounds hit its chest. The Grimm hissed and turned towards the source of it, and Sera saw Ren staring down the monster with hate-filled eyes.
Sera retreated back to put some distance between herself and the Nuckelavee. Jaune, Ren, and Nora had returned to them. She figured it was because of the Grimm, but if that was the case, they hadn't gone to get help like they were supposed to.
"Look who decided to show up!" she stated after finally reaching them.
Jaune shrugged, a playful smile on his face. "Yeah, well, we figured you could use a hand."
"I had it!"
"It didn't look like you did."
She mumbled about stupid creepy monsters, crossed her arms and glared at the Grimm, which was currently trying to land a hit on Ruby and Nora.
"What is that thing?" Jaune marveled.
Ren tightened his grip on his pistols, his face unreadable apart from his eyes. He looked angry. More than she'd ever seen him express. "That's what destroyed my home."
Sera transformed Jupiter into an axe and held it at her side. "You heard him. Let's break this horse."
Jaune looked at her with a pained expression. "Seriously?"
"I'm out of quips for this thing! Leave me alone," she mumbled.
Without a word, Ren sprinted towards the Nuckelavee and fired his pistols at it. Green bullets sparked across its body, but they didn't seem to do much damage. That's one thing Sera never really liked about Ren's weapon—it just didn't do much against larger targets.
He didn't waver, though. Ren leapt towards the monster and fired on full auto. When he was bashed aside by one of its arms, he recovered immediately and attacked again.
"Ah, hell," Sera muttered and ran to help him. Jaune followed close behind with his weapons at the ready.
Ruby flew through the air and slashed at the Grimm with wide strokes, then then zipped away before it could hit her. The Nuckelavee screamed with frustration and tried harder to get ahold of the silver-eyed girl, but she was just too fast.
"Plan! What's the plan?!" Nora shrieked as she dived to the side to avoid the Grimm's hooves.
Sera examined the situation quickly. Now that all of them were here, it should be much easier to take this thing down. But the Nuckelavee was proving to be extremely resilient, shrugging off their attacks like they did nothing. But when Nora had hit it in its humanoid body, it seemed to be in pain.
Then the smaller body started to turn like a blender, spinning its long arms in circles in an attempt to hit all of them at once. Sera dove to the ground, narrowly avoiding its limbs. Ren just somersaulted over the swinging appendage and kept firing, beelining it for the monster. He slashed with his blades and shot it in the humanoid body, but the attacks didn't seem to do any damage at all.
"Like the Geist!" Jaune shouted as he blocked the Grimm's arm with his shield.
A lightbulb flashed in Sera's mind. He was right. If they took care of the horse and the arms, they could get a shot at the rider. "Nora!" she shouted.
The hammer wielder froze and glanced over at her.
Sera pointed at the Nuckelavee. "Break its legs."
The smile that spread across Nora's face was borderline insane. Her eyes lit up with glee and she blasted towards the Grimm in a pink explosion from her hammer. Nora cackled like a mad woman and slammed into one of its back legs. Sera could hear the bones shattering from a hundred feet away. The horse threw its head back and screamed that same chilling whinny that was really starting to give Sera a headache.
The humanoid body shrieked in agony, its body convulsing disgustingly while its arms flung themselves in several different directions to hit Ruby, Ren, and Nora clean out of the air.
Ruby landed with a loud thud across the wide courtyard and struggled to get to her feet. Nora flew directly into a tall clock tower and flew straight through the wall. Ren landed on his back just feet away from Sera.
Before he could mindlessly bum rush the Grimm again, Sera grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back. He tried to yank away, but her grip was like iron.
"What are you doing?" she demanded.
"Let go!" he tried to hit her with his bladed pistol. She knocked his hand away and the green handgun clattered to the ground.
"Ren, stop!" she held his arm tighter. His eyes were wild with a mixture of rage and fear. "You're not going to help anyone by getting yourself killed!"
He fought harder against her. Jaune cried out when the Nuckelavee managed to wrap him up in one of its arms and bring him to its face.
"That monster killed my parents!" Ren seethed. Ruby was on her feet now and trying to free Jaune from the Nuckelavee. Nora flew out of the hold in the tower she'd created and brought her hammer down on the horse's head, only for it to snatch her weapon out of the air and shake her from side to side like a dog with a toy. A really big, really evil, and extremely creepy dog.
"Would you hold back if that thing was Cinder?!" Ren yanked his arm harder.
Sera slapped him across the face, and Ren froze. He looked at her with a blank expression. That seemed to do the trick.
Her own eyes were blurry and her nose wouldn't stop sniffing, but she glared at him with a stern expression until he calmed down.
Ren blinked. "I'm sorry. I don't know what—"
"Yes you do," she said, her voice cracking. "I get it. I do. But if that was Cinder," she pointed at the Grimm. "I wouldn't be rushing in to get myself killed. I'd protect my friends, so that what she did wouldn't happen to anyone else. Do you get what I'm saying?"
The Nuckelavee screeched again.
He nodded, and Sera let go of his arm.
"Good. Now let's kill this thing before it kills us and our friends. We still need to get Qrow some help." She picked up Ren's pistol she'd knocked out of his hand and held it out to him grip-first.
Ren nodded and took the handgun. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," she wiped her eyes and drew her sword. "You can make it up to me later. I'm thinking a stack of pancakes when we get to Mistral. Maybe some groveling, if I'm feeling generous."
He gave a small smile, then the two of them rushed into battle. While they were preoccupied, the others hadn't made much progress on the Grimm. Even with its shattered leg, it only seemed to fight harder.
Sera hit the switch on Igni and the sword blazed with violet flames. If there was one thing she'd learned from the Hydra and Deathstalker, fire helped turn Grimm into a pile of barbecue.
She slid under its body and swiped into its front leg at the knee, and the sword cleaved it clean off. The Nuckelavee shrieked as it fell to the ground with a loud crash. Stone cracked underneath its heavy body. It tried to stand, but with two legs out of commission, there was no way it could get upright. Its remaining front and back legs kicked wildly while its arms flailed about to attack the huntsmen, but only hit air. The horse chomped and bit in their direction ravenously.
"Keep going!" Jaune shouted. His shield was missing and he held a large sword with two hands. Sera could only presume he'd finally utilized his weapons' new function, which consisted of sheathing his sword and his shield collapsing to form a new, heavy blade around it.
Nora fired at the Grimm with her grenade launcher to draw its attention. The humanoid head whirled in her direction and screeched loudly before launching its arms at her.
Sera was there in an instant. Just before the appendages could reach her, she slid underneath them and brought her flaming sword up in a deadly arc to sever the arms in one fluid motion.
The Nuckelavee shrieked and flailed the skinny stumps of its severed arms while its remaining legs kicked across the ground to push its body. It was trying to get away.
"Ruby, Jaune, legs!" she cried.
"Got it!" Ruby launched herself towards the monster. Before it could kick her away, she hooked her scythe around the skinniest part of its remaining front leg and pulled the trigger. Crescent Rose kicked in the opposite direction, and black blood splashed onto the ground.
Its last leg weakly pushed the monster away from the huntsmen and towards the forest. Jaune ran towards it with a tight expression on his face and brought his sword down hard, slicing through muscle and bone to completely sever its final leg.
The horse screamed and threw its head wildly, but Nora shut it up quickly with a downward smash of her hammer. Its skull caved in and started to billow with black smoke, and she pulled her weapon free before resting it across her shoulder.
Now, only the humanoid body remained. Its armless form spasmed and its head twitched from side to side rapidly, eyeing the approaching huntsmen wildly. It screamed at them in a final effort to ward them off, but none of them wavered.
Ruby pointed her gun to finish it off, but Sera put her hand on it and lowered the weapon to the ground. She looked at her curiously, silver eyes wide with surprise.
"Ren," Sera said calmly.
The ninja approached the Nuckelavee with a steely calm look on his face, like an officer who'd just cornered the criminal they'd been chasing for years.
The Nuckelavee seemed to shrink away from him. Then it roared in his face loud enough to blow his hair back and make Sera cover her ears, but Ren stood unfazed. He pulled a dagger from his waistband and stabbed it in the chest. The Grimm shrieked in response and flailed its body, but Ren snatched its remaining horn and yanked its head down so that they were face-to-face.
He stabbed it in under the ribs, and it screamed again.
Then in the neck, then the stomach, then into its collarbone. All while keeping its head steady.
"Jeez," Sera muttered. Then again, she couldn't blame him. His words still stung. "Would you hold back if that thing was Cinder?!" But she knew that if it was Cinder, she'd probably do far worse than just stab her.
"Ren?" Nora asked in a small voice.
He looked back at her, eyes softening at his partner. Then he faced the Nuckelavee and pressed his dagger under its neck. Its glowing eyes bored into him shakily.
Then he sliced.
The Grimm gave a hollow shriek as it was beheaded. Its body started to dissipate into shadow until it was a big smoking pile of darkness. Ren turned around with the Nuckelavee's head in his hand, frowning at it in disdain.
"Garbage," he muttered.
Sera stepped forward and lowered the barrel of her shotgun at its slackened, lifeless face. Then she pulled the trigger, and it was blasted away into a disgusting modern art piece on the ground.
Ren nodded at her appreciatively and let go of the horn in his hand as it melted into shadow.
"Thank you," he murmured.
She holstered her gun and nodded grimly. "We watch each other's backs. Even if a certain someone is being a stubborn ass," she smirked.
"You're one to talk," Ruby chuckled.
Before she could give an indignant, "Hey!" A flicker of movement caught her eye, and Sera looked over to see Qrow limping into the courtyard.
"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby rushed over to him and let the huntsman lean onto her for support.
"Hey, Ace," he ruffled her hair weakly. "Guess you guys had things handled, huh?"
Sera spread her hands as she walked towards him. "Was there ever any doubt?"
"Well, a little."
She crossed her arms and frowned at him. "Like you were any help."
The others hurried to her side and gaped at the huntsman.
"You're feeling better?" Nora asked.
Qrow smirked and ruffled Sera's hair. She considered pushing his hand away like usual, but she decided to let it slide. "Just a little. Thanks to Snowball here."
"Where would you be without me?" the corner of her mouth lifted into a small smile.
He opened his mouth to reply, but a chorus of engine noises interrupted him. The six of them looked up in disbelief as a trio of airships descended to the ground and landed smoothly.
They looked like sailboats. Sera couldn't quite figure out who'd want to make a boat fly. A flying car? That would be cool. A flying sailboat? Kinda lame. But if it got her the hell out of there, she wasn't going to complain.
Airmen jumped out of the sailboats and rushed over to them. They had no weapons, so none of the huntsmen raised their own.
"Are you okay?" one of them asked over the noise of the airships.
Ruby helped Qrow over to them, and the soldiers started to assess his injury and bring him to an airship. The other airmen motioned for Sera and the others to get onboard, so they rushed over and jumped on.
In no time, the airships lifted into the sky and flew away from Kuroyuri. Sera and Ruby knelt down on either side of Qrow while a medic examined the huntsman. He unwound the bandages and seemed rather surprised at the mush that covered Qrow's injury.
"Who did this?" he quirked an eyebrow at the students.
"Uh, I did," Sera raised a hand with a shy expression on her face. "Did I make it worse?"
"Worse?" the soldier asked. "Kid, you might've saved his life. This medicine seems to have slowed the venom enough for him to stabilize. Nice work."
She smiled at that. Sera didn't even know how she put that herbal medicine together, but it was enough to save her mentor's life. Now, she could hold that over him forever.
Luckily, Mistral was right there. As soon as the airships went high enough, an enormous city was laid out before them. It was built on a mountain range, with layers of buildings leading up to their peaks. The city of Mistral was even more beautiful than Vale.
After a short flight, the airships landed in the city and Qrow was rushed off to the hospital. The students were given an address for a house that the headmaster of Haven was letting them stay at for the duration of their visit. Needless to say, Sera was surprised that they were getting a whole building to themselves.
With Qrow in the hands of actual medical care, a huge weight lifted off her shoulders. She walked with a clear head and a big smile on her face all the way to the new house.
Once they got there, she was the first to claim a room. The house was gorgeous, with a spacious kitchen that made Ren happy, a large living room with a trio of wide couches, and a backyard big enough for them to use for training.
A long hallway had several doors that led to bedrooms, and she took the one at the end. There was a twin bed in the far corner, a wardrobe against the left wall by the door, and a set drawers beside a door to a bathroom.
Sera smiled to herself and dropped her bag to the ground. She set Jupiter against the wall and pulled her body holster off, then fell onto the bed.
A real bed. With pillows and blankets and everything. It was too good to be true.
In no time at all, she was falling asleep. Sera was tired, sore, and has been on the road for literal months. This girl needed a nap.
As she drifted off to sleep, flashes of her previous fight filled her head. It was mostly of the Nuckelavee's terrifying face, but she was too tired to let it get to her.
Once again, she found herself in an unfamiliar landscape and in control of her body. Only this time, she was in a small room devoid of light. Kassandra was standing with her back turned to her, body rigid and fists clenched. Sera walked to her side and took in the view of her side profile.
Kassandra's eyes were shut tight, and her eyes shifted uncomfortably under their lids. She looked focused. On what, Sera wasn't sure.
The amnesiac frowned and walked around to face her head on. She waved her hand in front of her face but got no reaction.
"Damn, what's up with me?" she muttered.
Sera put her hand on Kassandra's shoulder, eyes widening when she made contact. The girl's body was tense under her fingers. She could even feel the fabric of her tunic. It felt like it was made of cotton, and the cloth was soft to the touch.
Then Kassandra's sapphire eyes shot open and met her own, and she jumped backwards.
"Gah!" she exclaimed. When she recovered, she gazed at the woman curiously.
Kassandra stared at her in silence, like she was waking up from some sort of trance. She looked at her own hands and curled her fingers. Then she met Sera's eyes again, and the purple-eyed girl stiffened.
"Sera," she said.