RWBY: A Huntress's Amnesia

by SeraKallisto

A young huntress wakes up in the middle of Forever Fall with a big problem: she doesn't remember who she is. Luckily, she's rescued and brought to Beacon for something almost scarier than the Grimm-School. Follow her journey to pick up the pieces of her past, make new friends, and discover who she's really destined to become. And to see her fight monsters and villains, of course.

54. The Cabin Part 3: The Wendighast

Sera sat bolt upright exactly where she'd fallen. Neo was crouched beside her with

a worried look in her eyes, her body language tense.

She rubbed her eyes and glanced around the basement, settling on the strange

black book that'd caused her blackout in the first place. What did Salem say? It was... a

remnant of a weird cult, or something?

Neo's hands flew through a few quick gestures, her eyes hard and anxious. What

happened to you?

Sera exhaled a shaky laugh. "Long, long story. How long was I out for?"

Five minutes.

"What!" she scrambled to her feet. "That's impossible. I..."

I watched hours of Kassandra's memories...

Kassandra flickered into existence beside her, looking exactly as she had in her

head. "Time passes differently in dreams, dude. You oughta know that by now."

Sera ignored her and looked down at Neo. "Let's just get out of here. I have... a lot

to think about."

She nodded, but the worried look in her eyes never faded. Neo glanced at the

strange book on the floor, an uneasy feeling settling over her.

"Oh, yeah," Sera muttered. "We should probably get that..."

She hesitantly picked up the black book and shuddered at its texture. The cover

was smooth like leather and seemed a little close to the real thing for her liking because

of its black color. It wasn't like normal leather-bound books, either. The cover looked

like a patchwork of large pieces sewn together to hold it all in one piece. The thing was

big, too. Hundreds of tightly-packed, irregular pages hinted that the book was

handmade. It was tall, wide, and heavy in her hands.

Sera wondered who in the world could've made it. The strange group of people

that liked "denizens of corruption" or something like Salem said. Whatever the hell that

means. Either way, she didn't like it.

Neo and Kassandra watched her silently as she gazed at the weird book. She

hesitantly reached for its cover.

"Dunno if that's the best idea..." Kassandra murmured.

Sera opened the book, her eyebrows scrunched together as she examined its

pages. When the thing didn't explode, she sighed with relief. She quickly flipped through

several of its pages. Each one was covered in hasty scribbles and very graphic drawings.

That, she wished she hadn't seen.

Much of it consisted of strange rituals that included (ew) bodily harm and

Grimm. When she found a page all about black goo, she froze. The next few pages had

more about it, including injecting the stuff into their bodies. Sera shuddered at scribbled

drawings, the vivid memory of Kassandra in the Brother of Destruction's black pool still

fresh on her mind.

Then she turned to the next page, and she nearly dropped the book. The hastily

scribbled drawing was of a dead body with its belly cut open and guts spilling from the

slash. Another person was... eating them, with blood covering their mouth and chest and

a strangely distinct look of pure satisfaction etched on each of their faces. It was... very

detailed.

Cannibalism. This group of people, this cult, partook in cannibalism and strange

rituals centered around the Grimm. But... why?

Sera gagged at the next pages, seeing images of people transforming into

disfigured black forms that put her on edge just looking at them. The sketches of these

black figures were so unnatural, she wondered how they were even once human. If any

of this was even possible, or had actually happened. If it had, where were they? Salem

said this basement was a remnant, so... could any of them still be around in other parts

of Remnant?

"Human Grimm...?" she murmured, scanning the pages. "Glad that didn't happen

to me..."

Kassandra flickered into existence beside her. "Yeah, you just got the Salem

makeover."

"Shut up. That's only when I transform," she muttered.

Neo raised an eyebrow, wondering if Sera's gone insane. Well, she did kind of

have a thing for crazy people. But the look on Sera's face made her nervous. She'd never

seen her so shaken before.

Sera shut the book hard. She'd seen enough crazy stuff for one day. This text felt

evil, and she could feel its sinister aura just by holding it. It shouldn't even exist, and she

intended to destroy it.

"Fireplace," she thought aloud, then turned and looked out of the door into the

main room of the basement. The firewood was still there, piled against a wall.

Being back in the cabin almost felt trivial after what she'd seen in Kassandra's

memories. Like after all that, she was right back in the blizzard.

Without another word, she left the creepy room behind and grabbed as much

firewood as she could, stacked the book on top of it, then headed for the stairs. Neo

blinked uncertainly and grabbed some too before following after her.

Kassandra stood right where she was, her arms crossed as she watched Sera and

Neo ascend the stairs. Beside her, someone else flickered into existence, and Eras was

standing beside her with a wicked grin on her face.

She flexed her fingers and curled them into a tight fist, grinning at her semi-

corporeal form. "Man, it's good to be out of your head."

"You," Kassandra scowled. "You try anything, I'll-"

"Relax," she chuckled and lowered her fist. Her red eyes danced with excitement.

Kassandra wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. "I'm not after our body. She won

the contest, remember?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I hope you saw that flashback I showed Sera."

"Oh, that prophecy?" Eras asked. "I dunno about all that. The three faces part

sounds accurate, though."

Kassandra pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Great, the psycho is

currently not actively trying to kill us, but doesn't believe in her destiny that was

literally shown to her."

"Did you?" Eras asked.

"...No. Not at first," she admitted.

"Why should I?"

Kassandra sighed. She flickered and disappeared like an after image, and Eras

smirked smugly before doing the same.

Sera arrived at the top of the stairs with Neo close behind her. Apparently, Eras

had decided to make herself known, and she and Kassandra were arguing back and forth

in her head about their future. She did her best to ignore it, but it was starting to become

grating. The longer it went on, the louder their voices became.

Dale and Isaac were sitting on the couches in the cabin and in the middle of some

random conversation when she and Neo appeared. She assumed Bela was still resting on

the bed.

"Finally," Isaac lit up. "It was getting friggin' cold in here."

"It was already cold," Dale said under his breath. When he saw the black book

sitting atop Sera's armful of firewood, he quirked an eyebrow and got to his feet. "The

hell's that?"

"You don't wanna know," she replied as she kneeled by the fireplace. Sera tossed

her firewood into it and held the black book with both hands, her eyes scanning its

strange cover. Before she could toss it into the fireplace too, Dale put a hand on her

shoulder.

"What is that?" he asked again.

"Just a weird book," she shrugged.

He examined her face. "You okay?"

Sera almost laughed. "Yeah. Just a lot on my mind."

"Can we hurry this up?" Isaac rubbed his hands together to warm them.

Dale held his hand out. "May I?"

Hesitantly, she handed the book over. He took it and straightened himself,

opening its cover to flip through the pages.

"Whoa," he murmured.

"What is it?" Isaac asked as he peered over his shoulder. Or tried to. Dale was a

tall guy, so Isaac had to look around him rather than over him.

"Nothing good," he muttered, still flipping through the pages. He shut the book

and glanced at Sera. "What was in that basement?"

She shrugged. "I dunno, basement stuff. But that book was in some room with a

heavy door. Just... laying on the floor."

He shoved the book into Isaac's arms and stomped to the trapdoor leading into

the basement. Before he went down, Dale looked back at them and pointed a finger.

"Don't mess with that thing. I'll be right back."

"Why? What is it?" Sera asked.

"Just..." he said, unable to find the words. "Start the fire, and sit tight."

Then he disappeared, and Isaac looked down at the book in his hands. He

hesitantly opened it, and his eyes widened at its contents.

Sera took the firewood from Neo's arms and stacked it beside the fireplace, then

withdrew a shard of flame Dust from her jacket and sparked it against the stone to light

the fire. She carefully broke off a piece of the Dust, then tossed it into the flames. The

fire grew in an instant from the small explosion caused by the Dust. And now, they had a

fire.

She crossed her legs and sat in front of it, warming her hands by the flames. Neo

sat beside her and did the same, eager to rid herself of the cold.

Isaac sat nearby on a simple chair and fingered through the cult book with a look

of mild revulsion on his face. Apart from the turning of pages and the crackling fire, the

cabin was silent. The blizzard raged on outside, pelting the walls with a hail of hard wind

and snow.

But in Sera's head, two voices were screaming at each other. Kassandra was

trying to convince Eras of their destiny, and Eras just wasn't having it. She didn't know

why Eras wouldn't believe it. Or maybe she did, and she just enjoyed throwing

Kassandra for a loop and the chaos that ensued. The girl was crazy, after all. Sera could

still hear her chanting "goodie little two shoes" over and over like a weirdo.

Through the conflicting voices, she could hear Kassandra demanding why Eras

would allow herself to be controlled by Salem's influence. That convinced Sera to listen

in a little. She remembered when Salem had done something to Kassandra after their

fight ended. That red, dark magic that had entered her head and did who knows what to

her.

She stiffened when she remembered what the witch had said. Sera's fingers

curled into fists. That was how Salem had made her turn against Pyrrha. Sure, Eras was

the embodiment of Kassandra's bitter memories and declining mental state, but that

wasn't inherently evil. She knew Salem had to have influenced her somehow, but it

wasn't clear until she saw Kassandra's memories.

She'd been turned into some sort of sleeper agent, activated by that strange

passcode Cinder used on her. The first thing she wondered was, is it still active? Could it

happen again? If so, why the hell hadn't Cinder thought to use it during their fight in

Haven?

Sera sighed and put her head in her hands. More questions, with no one to

answer them.

"Why did you do that to her?!" Kassandra demanded, her voice shaking.

"It's not like I had a choice! Years and years of being locked in YOUR head!

You'd do the same for a chance at freedom!" Eras screamed.

Back and forth, they argued like some kind of mental tennis match. They shifted

from placing blame for the events in Vale, to Kassandra trying to convince her to believe

their fate, then back again. Petty insults were hurled. And underneath their words, Sera

could read the thoughts and the anger and resentment they held, mostly from Eras. She

blamed Kassandra for keeping her locked away for so long, completely isolated.

All of it made for a very uncomfortable battle of wills within her mind, and it was

giving her a headache.

Sera clenched her fists and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to ignore them both.

"Would you shut up?" she groaned under her breath.

Beside her, Neo looked over with a quizzical light in her eyes. She tapped Sera on

the shoulder. What is wrong with you?

Sera waved her off. The pounding in her skull only worsened. It felt like when

Kassandra had first emerged into her mind. Only this time, it just gave her a splitting

headache instead of causing her to pass out like someone had started drilling through

her brain starting from the inside going out.

Neo furrowed her brow. You're starting to worry me.

"I'm fine," she managed.

She was starting to worry herself. If these two didn't stop, or worse, got into it

when Sera was in danger, she could be in trouble.

Issac looked up from where he sat. "She okay?"

Neo rolled her eyes and signed her response. When she remembered Isaac

couldn't understand her, she raised her flattened palm and shook it slightly in the

universal "So-so" sign.

"Huh," he said, then went back to inspecting the cult book. Isaac sat forward, his

eyes narrowing when he reached a page full of scribbles like they were done by a

madman. "The hell does this say...? Like a whole different language or something."

Neo flashed him a warning look. I'd leave that alone.

He didn't understand her, but her meaning was clear.

"It's just a book," he mumbled, still eyeing the incoherent words. "What harm

ever came from reading a book?"

Neo gave him a look like, "You fuckin' serious?"

Issac's fingertip trailed across the page. He gulped, then read aloud, "Frater Obscuri,

nos, tui fideles, te rogamus, ut nos a somno excites, pertranseat..."

In the middle of her heated argument with Eras, Kassandra snapped to attention

upon hearing the strangely familiar language uttered by Isaac.

The air around the book's pages distorted slightly, then pulsed outwards and

disappeared through the walls of the cabin.

"Stop him," she murmured, then louder, "Stop Isaac!"

Sera blinked uncertainly, only faintly hearing her words through the pounding in

her head. She glanced over and looked at Issac. There was a thousand-yard stare look in

his eyes, transfixed on the pages of the book.

"Issac," she managed, straightening out.

He didn't respond. His lips moved slightly, silently reciting the words of the book

while his eyes moved from side to side as he made his way down the page.

Sera shot to her feet and hurried over to him to snatch it out of his hands.

Instantly, a strange feeling passed into her as soon as she touched its cover. She dropped

it, and the loud thud seemed to snap Isaac out of whatever stupor he was in.

He shook his head. "Whoa. That was weird."

She looked at him accusingly. "No harm can come from reading a book, huh?"

Isaac glanced at the book nervously, then looked up at her. "I dunno what that

was. But keep that thing away from me."

Sera scooped the book off the floor and closed it, ignoring the sinister aura it

held. She gave him look, then turned away to return to the fireplace.

As soon as she kneeled beside Neo, Dale emerged from the basement with his

revolver in hand and a wild look in his sea green eyes.

"Whoa," Isaac said when he saw the gun. "What're you doing?"

"We need to get out of here," he said urgently, walking briskly towards them.

"We're in the middle of a blizzard," Sera raised her eyebrows.

"Doesn't matter," he said. "I know what this cabin is, where that book came

from."

She looked down at it in her hands. Without hesitation, she tossed it into the fire.

No one seemed sad to see it go.

Usually when you throw something into a fire, it burns. However, the cult book

was entirely unaffected. In fact, it seemed to absorb some of the flame going into its

underside. The thing just sat on the burning logs, orange flames licking its sides and

around its corners. It didn't even smoke or singe.

"The hell...?" she murmured.

"Leave it," Dale said, tightening his grip on his revolver.

He marched to the front door and pulled it open, a gust of wind blowing it so

hard it hit the wall. A flurry of snow blew into the cabin. The heavy blizzard dominated

the dark forest and obscured the area. The doorway framed the chaos outside like a

portal to a frozen world. Snow swirled and danced in erratic, frenzied patterns, driven

by howling winds that seemed to claw at the edges of the cabin. The blizzard was a wall

of white. A relentless cascade of ice that obscured everything beyond a few feet. Gusts of

wind carried sharp bursts of cold into the warmth of the cabin.

The doorway itself felt like a barrier between safety and the storm's wrath, the

warm glow of firelight flickering just behind, casting shadows that stretched toward the

swirling void of ice and darkness.

"Close it!" Isaac exclaimed over the sound of rushing wind.

He cursed and grabbed the door, forcing it shut with some effort.

Just before it closed, a flicker of blackness appeared in the snow just in front of

the porch. Then the door shut, and it was gone. It happened so quickly, Sera thought it

was a figment of her imagination, like when you're standing in darkness and swear you

see something moving at the back of the room, or a dark figure hiding in the shadows.

"Great. Just... great," Dale muttered irritably.

Sera rose to her full height, her eyes on the tall gunslinger. "What did you find to

spook you so much?"

He removed his hat and clawed his fingers through his dark hair, exhaling a

heavy sigh as he turned to meet her eyes. Dale searched her face, as if debating whether

he should reveal the truth or not. When Sera didn't waver, he sighed again and tossed

his hat onto the chair beside him before taking a seat.

Dale smoothed his hair back and tapped his boot against the floor, his eyes

searching the wooden floor. Sera crossed her arms, awaiting an answer. Neo and Isaac

sat right where they were, also listening with interest to see what the gunslinger would

say.

"A long time ago," he started, never taking his eyes off the floor. "There was a

group of... people."

He said "people" like it was the politest term he could think of, but his voice was

filled with contempt.

"Crazy as it may sound, they worshipped the Grimm. Or rather, the Brother of

Destruction." Dale looked at each of them. "Do you know the tale?"

"Of course," Sera said. She knew the story very well. Not like her life was directly

tied to it or anything. "Light and dark, creation and destruction."

And the fact that I've taken a dip in the pool the Grimm came from, she thought

bitterly.

"Right," he nodded. "These people believed that the Grimm were actually holy

beings, since they were born from the Brother of Destruction, and that they should be

revered as such. Bunch of lunatics."

"I don't know of any Brothers of creation and destruction," Isaac said, completely

lost.

"Tell you later," Sera said, then nodded at Dale to continue.

"Anyways," he cleared his throat. "This group was a cult. That's the only way I can

think to describe it. Since they considered the Grimm to be holy beings and not

monsters hellbent on killing anyone they find. With the Grimm being, heh, the Grimm,

bunch of those idiots got killed trying to 'make contact' with them. So, they devised that

the only way to join with the Grimm was to join with the Grimm."

Remembering the pages she'd seen, Sera asked, "They wanted to become

Grimm?"

"That they did," he said bitterly. "Conducted all sorts of inhuman rituals to try

and achieve that goal. Bein' the bunch of savages they were, nothing was over the line.

Sacrifice, bodily dismemberment, prayer to icons of the Grimm. It was a twisted religion

based on violent, deranged acts directed at themselves and others. One day, they figured

it out, but it didn't end how they'd hoped. And they had to commit one a' the worst sins

to get it."

"Cannibalism," Sera thought aloud. She felt repulsed just thinking about it.

"That's insane," Isaac murmured.

"They weren't exactly the most stable group of individuals," Dale laughed

humorlessly.

"But cannibalism? That's enough to do it?" he asked, astounded.

"No," he sat forward. "They traveled to the Grimmlands and found two things—

the ancient site where the Brother of Destruction resided, and a woman."

Sera's blood ran cold. She already knew the answer, but she asked, "Who?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "All I know for certain is that afterwards, they

became even more violent, more unhinged. It was told that this woman was an ancient

sorceress that'd been blessed by the Brother of Destruction to carry out his 'holy will.'

They worshipped her right along with the Grimm. They called her 'The Ashen Queen,'

and carried her gift of water from the Brother's pool of darkness to pursue their desire of

becoming one with the Grimm."

"It seems like Salem's been busy in her immortal life," Eras chuckled darkly.

Sera resisted the urge to tell her to shut up.

"That's awful," Isaac shook his head in disbelief. He pressed his fingers into his

temples. "I can't even wrap my head around it. Just... why? Why would they even

consider such a thing?"

"Some people are just born twisted. Some of those people are also so charismatic,

they can convince others to do just about anything they want. Especially if the people

they want to manipulate happen to be gullible enough to fall for it, share the same

interests, or are just plain stupid."

"Where are they, then?" Isaac asked. "I mean, if these people were actually crazy

enough to hurt that many people, I think we would've heard of them.

He gave a half-shrug. "Fortunately, there weren't a lot of them around. A handful,

at most. Plus, unfortunately, they were smart. When they wanted to conduct a new

'experiment,' they grabbed a random person in the middle of nowhere. Places that

weren't near any settlements or cities. Someone unlucky enough to be walkin' through

Mistral's wilderness, for example. But there was little chance of actually succeeding in

this unnatural 'transformation' into a human/Grimm hybrid. Most of them died trying,

but the ones that didn't..."

Sera and Neo shuddered. Isaac could hardly believe what he was hearing. It was

just too ridiculous.

A strange revelation occurred to her. Sera couldn't help but be reminded of her

own transformation, and after learning the full truth of Kassandra's past, that

transformation made her feel like even more of a freak. Could that be why Salem had let

this cult take the black Grimm goo? Just to see what would happen to them, and if

they'd achieve a similar state as hers? But Salem couldn't have known about her own

transformation. How could she? All this happened before the Fall of Beacon when she'd

first activated it.

Was it possible that Salem was experimenting with the Grimm and used these

people for it? Is she doing experiments like these on her own, too?

She forced her racing, hyperactive mind to a halt and sighed. More questions with

no answers. Overthinking it wouldn't solve anything. She'd just have to wait and see if

the truth would be revealed to her.

Kassandra offered a very important question, and Sera decided to repeat it.

"How do you know all this?" she asked, her calm tone betraying the anxiety in her

chest.

Isaac blinked, as if he'd been wondering the same thing.

Dale sat back and fingered his mustache, a smirk tugging at the corner of his

mouth. "Who do you think wiped them out?"

Sera recoiled. She wasn't expecting that. But, it did answer her question.

Before she or Isaac could say anything else, the gunslinger continued. "When I

was a boy, I had the unfortunate luck to meet these people. My family owned a small

farm miles away from Mistral, you see. Few people around. Not many visitors. And

made for a very easy target," he tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair. The guy

looked nervous.

"They came for you?" Sera asked, her voice barely a whisper.

He nodded gravely. Then he sighed, shoulders falling as he ran his fingers along

the brim of his hat in his lap. "It was late at night. I was asleep. Long day of chores. Then

a noise woke me, and I heard shouting coming from down the hall. Then a scream.

When I went out..." he trailed off.

The silence that followed was oppressive, the kind of quiet that grew heavier with

each passing second.

Neo signed, What happened?

Dale cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. "Black figures. Taller than any man

and skinny like they were emaciated. And... big claws," he pulled his coat and shirt up,

revealing his bare torso and the scars reaching from his collar bone, under his arm and

towards his back. Five deep gashes, too close together to be from a Beowolf.

"Gods," Isaac muttered, his arms crossed tightly.

He dropped his shirt and reclined in the chair. "They took my parents and left me

with that as a reminder. Probably would've taken me too, but I may have gotten on their

bad side by smashing a chair against one of 'em," he chuckled lightly. "When they cut me

down, they must've thought I'd died. Last mistake they ever made."

"And?" Sera rolled her wrist, gesturing for him to continue.

"The rest is history. Traveling huntsmen found me, patched me up, then taught

me how to use these," he drew his twin revolvers with a sly grin. "Few years later, I

tracked down those monsters and personally sent them to the next world. All three

of 'em."

"Three?" Isaac asked. "Is that all there was?"

"No," he said firmly. "There was nearly a dozen. With some help from another

huntsmen, we found the rest."

"Why was he so nervous to see that book if they're all dead?" Kassandra asked.

Sera repeated the question, and Dale's expression hardened. She couldn't help

but smirk as she put the pieces together.

"You think there's more of them," she deduced.

He shrugged. "It's a possibility. Heard a rumor about something that sounded

like one of those monsters in these woods."

"Hey, wait a minute," Isaac held a hand up. "You brought us here on purpose?"

Neo's eyes widened and she shot a glare at the gunslinger.

"Yes and no," he admitted. "I was on my way here when you happened across my

path. Then, the blizzard came in, and I had no choice. This was the only shelter I could

think of, and I wasn't even sure if this cabin was even linked to them. Then," he pointed

at Sera. "You went into the basement and found that book. Now, I know."

"This is insane," Isaac repeated. "Who are you?"

"Just a man trying to do right by his family," he said gravely.

Sera ran her fingers through her hair. This was all too much in such a short span

of time. Her conversation with Salem, then Eras, her past playing through her head like

a movie, and now this.

Sensing her discomfort, Neo placed a hand on Sera's shoulder worriedly. You

okay? She signed with one hand.

"Long day," she murmured.

"Get some rest," Dale urged. "You three have been through a lot. Maybe join your

friend and take a nap."

"I have some more questions for you," Isaac wagged a finger at him.

Dale chuckled lightly. "Sure, kid." Then he looked at Sera and Neo. "Rest. We'll be

up to keep watch."

"Not like that blizzard is going anywhere soon," Eras noted.

Ignoring her, Sera took her leave and entered the kitchen. She was starving. Neo

followed her, and she could hear Isaac asking those questions he had.

Ω Ω Ω

A short while later, Sera was sitting by the fire with a bowl of canned vegetable

soup. Neo chose a can of potato soup for her meal, and she ate it heartily.

Warming it up by setting the tin can near the flames was certainly something

new, but Kassandra smugly told her that the meal was nowhere near as bad as the stuff

she'd had to eat during her own travels. But it was probably the first meal either of them

ever had cooked over a fire with an evil cult book sitting in its flames.

"Something's bugging me," Eras said.

"What the hell could be bothering you?" Sera thought irritably as she took a bite

of soup. She still didn't feel too strongly about her newest roommate.

"What did he find in that basement to make him so nervous? I mean, we saw it.

The place was pretty barren."

Sera froze. She hated to admit it, but Eras was right. The basement didn't have

anything else in it to indicate that weird cult had been in there. Dale saw the book, so

what could've made him so nervous downstairs?

Her eyes drifted past Neo and towards the trap door.

"Problems for later," Sera thought and returned to her meal.

"Good eye," Kassandra murmured.

Eras didn't respond, but Sera could feel the smug aura emanating from her.

When she and Neo were done with their soup, the huntress put their dirty dishes

away and reclined on the couch. A satisfied sigh left her mouth as she folded her hands

behind her head and kicked her feet up. Her belly was full, she was safe and warm, and

all she had to do was wait for the blizzard to die down.

Still in the same chair, Dale lifted his flask towards her. "You play that guitar?"

She'd been so distracted by the brief moment of relaxation, she hadn't heard him.

Sera looked over at the gunslinger. "What?"

He chuckled and rested the bottom of his flask on his thigh. "That guitar, your

weapon. Can you play it?"

"Of course," she blinked.

"Well...?" he raised an upturned palm.

"You want me to play," she quirked an eyebrow.

Dale looked over at Neo with a humorous light in his eyes. "Was that not clear?"

Neo shrugged, smirking at Sera.

She rolled her eyes and sat forward. Jupiter expanded to its full size in her hands,

and the familiar weight of the guitar sitting in her lap. Her fingers brushed against its

strings, a smile forming on her lips.

Sera turned Jupiter's knobs way down until all the instrument would have a more

acoustic sound. Heavy metal probably wasn't the best for the given situation. Once all

the necessary adjustments were made, she pulled a pick from her pocket, then rested it

on Jupiter's top string. She began to strum, everyone started to listen.

She settled for a slow, easy-listening song she used to listen to when she wanted

to wind down. (I Don't Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith (vocals I had in

mind is a cover by Karis)). It was an interesting choice to hear on guitar, since the

actual song was comprised of several different instruments, including piano. Still, it had

a nice, relaxing tune. And when Sera began to sing the lyrics, a soft smile spread across

Neo's face.

Dale chuckled lightly and sat back, taking a sip from his flask. "Not bad."

Sera smiled at the compliment and kept playing, focusing only on her finger

placement and which strings she strummed. She closed her eyes and just let her hands

move for her to play the song.

Kassandra listened silently, and Sera felt a gentle wave of warm emotions wash

over her. Even Eras was affected. Sera could feel her start to relax, like a ball of tension

had slowly begun to unravel.

Then Kassandra just had to ruin the mood. "You gonna play this for that

princess girlfriend of yours?"

Sera's heart skipped a beat and she hit a stray note, creating a loud TWANGGG

sound. Her eyes shot open, her face visibly turning red at the thought of singing to

Weiss.

Neo jolted when she hit the wrong note, her eyes wide with surprise. She looked

at Sera and raised her eyebrows, and the white-haired girl averted her gaze.

"What's wrong?" Isaac asked.

"N-Nothing," she cleared her throat and tried to get comfortable enough to play

again. Unfortunately, she just couldn't. Her head was too hot and the couch didn't seem

as soft as it had just moments ago.

Neo put a hand on her thigh and she jumped. The mute girl had a worried look in

her eyes as she inspected her critically. Sera knew that Neo knew something was up with

her. Hell, she's heard her talking to herself several times today. She'd tell her, but she

wasn't too comfortable with revealing the intricacies of her psyche in front of strangers.

"So," Dale broke the silence. His finger pointed between Sera and Neo, his eyes

squinting at them inquisitively. "Are you two...?"

"What?" Sera asked. Blissfully unaware, like usual.

"Never mind," he smirked lightly.

A few moments of awkward silence followed, with only the crackling fire and hard

wind and snow that pelted the cabin for noise.

Finding the quiet a bit too stifling, Dale smoothly rose out of his chair and placed

his hat on his head, straightening his heavy coat. "I'm gonna check on Arion. Cold out

there."

Isaac shot to his feet and grabbed his coat. "I'll go with you, in case you get lost,

old timer."

"I'm twenty-five," Dale grumbled as he made his way out.

The door opened and let a gush of freezing air blow into the cabin, then they were

gone. Sera furrowed her brow, trying to figure out what the heck he was talking about.

She glanced over at Neo, but the mute girl was staring into her lap with her fingers

curled into fists.

Out of nowhere, Eras said, "I'm gonna sort through your memories a bit more.

This chick is interesting and I wanna know what the deal with you two is."

"Who said you could?" Kassandra said irritably.

"Too late I'm already in there."

Kassandra sighed.

Sera stared at the fire. At the moment, she didn't really care if Eras wanted to dig

through her head. Maybe she'd find something to fix that bitchy attitude of hers. Beside

her, Neo kept glancing between her and her own clenched fists.

She was just so tired. She'd only left Raven's camp yesterday, and so much has

happened between then and now. It almost didn't feel real.

"Get some rest, Sera," Kassandra said gently. "I can feel how exhausted you are.

When you're tired, we're all tired."

"Yeah," she managed. Her eyelids were getting heavier by the second. "Yeah,

okay."

The huntress signed to Neo that she was going to sleep, then laid across the couch

right where she was. Neo scooted over to give her room and Sera curled up with her

hands bundled into her coat.

A soft smile tugged at Neo's lips as she watched the purple-eyed girl nestle into

the couch. She reached towards her, as if to touch her shoulder, then withdrew her hand

just before she could. Neo curled her fingers into a fist and held it against her chest in an

attempt to repress the ball of anxiety that'd formed there as soon as Dale asked that

damn question.

She sighed mutely and closed her eyes as she tried to navigate her complicated

feelings towards Sera. When she was a child, her family life was... complicated. Back

when she still went by the name Trivia, and she was utterly alone in the world. That is,

until a man with orange hair found her. She'd never felt truly herself until then, and

afterwards, she never looked back. Roman showed her what it truly meant to have a

home, and it was nothing like the oppressive manor she'd grown up in.

"Lady Browning's Preparatory Academy For Girls" still left a bitter taste in her

mouth from everything she'd gone through in that hellscape of a school. Leaving it was

the second-best choice she'd ever made, and the first was agreeing to be Roman's

partner in crime. The next few years were the best of Neo's life, until that fateful night in

Vale.

In just one night, Neo lost everything she considered as home. And it was the

fault of Cinder Fall and Salem. So, she vowed her revenge against both of them. She

wanted to tear apart everything they've built, just to make them feel a fraction of her

own loss. And Sera was how she was going to accomplish it.

The several months after the Fall of Beacon were terrible. The only thing that

kept her going was the thought of seeing those Maidenly flames fade from Cinder's eyes

after she ran her through with Hush. And then she'd gotten an idea—Cinder, and Salem,

had other enemies. She'd caught wind that some huntsmen from Vale were journeying

to Mistral, and she decided to follow them in hopes that they were just as angry as she

was. Seeking the help of the enemy of her enemy turned out to be a pretty good

investment on her part.

Roman had given her a place in the world, and after losing both him and her

home, she knew she'd never get them back. The only way forward was revenge. But

when she actually found the huntsmen she'd been looking for, she was pleasantly

surprised to discover that they were the same upstarts she and Roman had faced in the

past. Neo knew they weren't going to accept her outright, but all she needed was a

chance.

Sera had given her that chance. An opportunity to prove herself. She'd taken her

in, and despite their grievances in the past, she defended her in front of the only friends

she'd ever known and took the time to just get to know her. And in doing so, Sera

partially isolated herself as well. It was nice, and she enjoyed their time together greatly.

Even when Sera would purposefully annoy her. And it was all because of their shared

goal of finding and killing Cinder. Neo knew it was a temporary alliance at best, but

perhaps it didn't have to be.

She'd planned everything as soon as she knew for certain that the Beacon

students would be going after Salem's forces. It was simple, but effective: accompany

them until they found and defeated Salem and Cinder. The only thing she hadn't

expected was to associate Sera with the feeling of kinship she'd shared with Roman, and

for those sentiments to grow into something more. Her feelings for Sera went beyond

simple affection; they're tied to her yearning for the safety and validation she lost when

Roman died. The days and weeks she spent alone with her created a tangle of emotions

that she was acutely aware of. Genuine gratitude for welcoming her into their group,

burgeoning romantic attraction based on their simple connection to each other, and

perhaps dominated by a longing for the sense of security she'd had with Roman.

Neo had no friends, even as a child. She had to create her own, using her

semblance. Then she met Roman, and everything changed for the better. When she lost

him, her whole world was turned upside down. Now, her only friend was sitting right

beside her, and she couldn't help but think that she was meant to be there. She's never

been on the right side of the law thanks to Roman's penchant for petty crime, but maybe

she could change that now. Maybe her time with Roman was just a step towards where

she belonged. Plus, as a young girl, she'd always kind of dreamt of being a huntress.

She smiled lightly, took one last look at Sera, then curled up on the opposite side

of the couch to finally get some sleep too.

As soon as her head hit the arm rest, the sound of glass shattering made her eyes

shoot open and she sat bolt upright. Someone screamed in just the next room over, and

Neo shot to her feet and grabbed Hush from where it leaned against the wall. Sounds of

crashing and objects bumping into walls.

That doesn't sound good... Neo thought.

Sera had only been asleep for mere minutes when the scream woke her in an

instant. She quickly looked around and found Neo standing by the couch with her

parasol raised towards the room Bela had gone into.

"What's happening?" she asked.

Without taking her eyes off the door, Neo raised one hand and signed, I don't

know. Or rather, she signed the letters 'IDK', which pretty much meant the same thing.

Sera stood and slung Jupiter over her shoulder, hurrying to the room. She

reached for the doorknob, and an ear-piercing screech made her stop in her tracks.

"What the hell is that?!" Kassandra exclaimed.

Sera set her jaw and stormed into the room, finding it entirely trashed like a

Beowolf had decided it didn't like interior design. The bed was disheveled with a long

gash on its blankets, the window was shattered and let freezing air inside, and random

pieces of furniture were splintered or destroyed entirely.

She saw the creature in seconds, pinning Bela against the floor while she groaned

and tried to fight it off. It was tall, skinny, and humanoid. At first, she thought it was one

of the Apathy Grimm she'd heard about in Beacon. It looked almost identical. But this

creature's arms and legs were much shorter and more human-like, and lacked the

standard natural bone armor of other Grimm.

She knew what it was. Hell, she'd just spent who knows how long talking and

thinking about it—one of the human/Grimm hybrids, created through committing some

of the greatest atrocities known to man. And it put her on edge even more than the

Nuckelavee she'd faced.

"Get this bloody thing off of me!" Bela hollered, her voice laced with a mixture of

defiance and pure fear.

Sera blinked to tear herself out of the temporary shock that'd overtaken her, then

kicked the thing in the ribs to knock it away from Bela. It landed on its side and let out

an awful screech that made her skin crawl and blood run cold. The thing scrambled on

the ground, frantically turning in every direction until it flipped itself upright with

insect-like reflexes and bared its gleaming fangs at them.

It was probably the most twisted, evil Grimm she'd ever laid eyes on. Its skinny

form reminded her of a cross between an Apathy and a Nuckelavee's humanoid body.

The thing was tall, creepy, and downright unsettling to look at. Just as she'd seen before,

there was no white bone anywhere on its body. Only inky black skin and a small pair of

beady red eyes that held a strange look of intelligence about them. Its maw opened wide,

much wider than any human could, to reveal lines of long and thin pointed teeth. Blood

stained the tips of its long black claws, and Sera wasn't sure where its fingers ended and

its nails began, if it even had nails at all.

The Grimm's grotesque body convulsed in jerky, unnatural movements as it

looked at them, as if every muscle beneath its leathery skin was fighting its own

existence. Each movement was punctuated by an unsettling twitch and barely audible

crack, like its skeletal body was barely holding itself together. Still, Sera got the feeling it

could move pretty damn quickly when it wanted to. That much was clear when she'd

knocked it to the floor. Each breath came in shallow, ragged gasps that echoed like a

death rattle in the darkness. Its skinny arms spread open in a defensive position, then it

released a low hiss in their direction as its black head twitched from side to side, its

hollow, soulless eyes darting between each of the girls with sinister intent.

Bela scrambled away from the creature and used the wall to stand, a fearful light

in her wide blue eyes. A line of blood trickled from her arm and onto the floor,

presumably from where the Grimm first attacked her in her sleep and she was unable to

use her aura.

"What is that?!" Bela exclaimed, and the Grimm's head jerked in her direction. A

blood-chilling roar erupted from its throat, and a wave of paralyzing nausea hit Sera like

a truck.

It leapt at them, and the only reason she didn't get pounced was because

Kassandra acted for her. In an instant, she willed their body to swing Jupiter and knock

the creature straight into the wall across the room.

The Grimm hit the wall so hard the impact splintered the wooden wall. Another

blood-curdling screech left its mouth as it rolled across the floor and turned upright

faster than any creature should've been possible. It stood on all fours, looking up at the

huntresses with a hateful glow in its inhuman eyes.

"Thanks," Sera blinked, her chest rising and falling heavily as she tightened her

grip on Jupiter's neck.

"Eyes open!" Kassandra chided. But Sera could sense her unease from the

freakish creature. The thing made her nervous, too.

She shifted on her heels, trying to predict what the hybrid would do next. It

seemed to do the same for her, its calculating gaze eyeing her critically. Great, the thing

was smart.

Deciding that she didn't want to get any closer to it than she had to, Sera quickly

slid a shard of electric Dust into Jupiter and brought her hand down hard to blast a

power chord from its internal speakers. A bolt of violet lightning arced across the room

in an instant, but the Grimm was faster than she initially thought.

With rapid, inhuman reflexes, it jumped to the side and landed straight on the

wall, clinging to its surface as its body jerked and its eyes stared straight at Sera.

And it can crawl on walls. Terrific.

Behind her, Bela was clutching her side and leaning against the wall for support.

It was clear that she didn't want to go anywhere near the thing. Neo stood at Sera's side,

her parasol pointed at the Grimm.

"Where are the others?" Bela asked in a hushed tone.

"Outside. They-"

The sharp crack of a gunshot suddenly pierced the silence, and the Grimm's head

jerked in its direction. A loud, bone-chilling screech identical to the one the hybrid made

erupted from outside, followed by another gunshot.

Before she could even react, the Grimm in the room with them scuttled across the

wall and launched itself out of the window, and the three of them were alone.

"Shit..." Sera murmured, then slung Jupiter over her shoulder. She turned to Neo

and pointed a finger at her, "Keep Bela safe. Go into the basement and keep that door

shut. Don't open it under any circumstances."

You're not going out there alone, Neo signed quickly.

"I can still fight," Bela grumbled as she pushed off of the wall. She swayed where

she stood, and more blood dripped from her fingertips as she clutched her side.

"No, you can't. You've had a concussion, and now you're bleeding. Let Neo patch

you up, or you're not going to last two minutes out in that cold. There's not any time for

arguing, just do it!" she ordered.

Neo grabbed the huntress by her uninjured shoulder and hurriedly pulled her out

of the room with Sera on their heels. The main room was just how they'd left it, and Sera

zipped her coat while the others headed for the basement. As soon as its door closed, she

marched to the door.

In a moment of indecision, she grabbed a walking stick that'd been leaning

against the wall, broke it in two over her knee, and tore off a strip of cloth from a

blanket. She wrapped the cloth around one end of the stick, then stuck it into the fire to

create a makeshift torch. With her new source of light in hand, she approached the front

door.

The cold wind hit her in an instant and nearly knocked her off her feet, but Sera

just clenched her teeth and pressed on. More gunshots rang out, slightly muffled by the

blizzard's powerful gale force winds. There was a shout that sounded like Isaac, then

another inhuman screech of a Grimm.

Sera went around the cabin as quickly as she could, stomping through two-feet

deep snow with Jupiter in her hands. As soon as she turned the first corner, she saw

Dale standing in the snow with both revolvers in hand. His back was to her, his pistols

pointed towards the stable.

"Dale!" she shouted as loud as she could over the rushing wind and snow.

He whirled around and pointed his guns at her, a wild look in his wide green

eyes. When he saw it was only her, he sighed heavily and glanced behind him.

"Where's Isaac?!" she asked when she reached him.

His posture was rigid as his eyes darted back and forth in the light of her fire,

almost like a cornered animal. Just barely loud enough to hear over the blizzard, he said,

"They got him."

Her eyes bulged. "What?!"

"Dragged him into the woods," he muttered, still eyeing the trees around them.

"We have to get him!" she told him. Sera drew Jupiter and transformed it into an

axe, ready to charge in and mount a rescue.

Another loud screech penetrated the darkness and stopped her in her tracks,

followed by a strangled cry for help.

"Please! Help!" a voice that sounded like Isaac's came from nearby, but

something was... off. The voice was too hollow, too sharp, like a recording playing on a

warped, cracked machine. It was so inherently wrong, but almost convincing enough to

make her follow it.

"No!" Dale grabbed her shoulder. "You go out there, you're as good as dead.

They're watching us right now, hoping that we're dumb enough to go after him. He's

gone, Sera. There's nothing we can do. The only reason they haven't attacked is because

of that," he jabbed a finger at her torch.

"I have to try," she said.

"Then you're dead," he countered.

She flashed him a dangerous look. "Someone under my watch has been hurt, and

I'm not going to just sit back and let him die. I'm going after him, and you can either

help me or go hide."

He tightened his jaw. After a brief stare down, he spun one of his revolvers and

held it out to her.

"You don't want to get close to those things, they'll tear you apart."

Sera blinked and slung Jupiter over her back, then took the revolver. It sat

comfortably in her hand, and she held it at her side with her finger resting on the trigger

guard.

"Come here," Dale ordered, then turned and marched towards the stable. Sera

followed him, not wanting to be left alone with the Grimm supposedly watching her.

When they made it to the stable, he held his hand up for her to stop, then ducked

inside. Sera used the barrel of the gun to hit her wrist, and Pyrrha's shield expanded to

its full size on the arm she held her torch with. She raised her torch and lit up just a bit

more of the dark area, but the rushing wind worried her that the flame would be snuffed

out.

Sera eyed the darkness beyond her torch light, every nerve in her body tingling

with nervousness. A low tree branch suddenly shook, and she wasn't sure if it was from

the wind or the Grimm.

A chill ran up her spine and the hairs on the back of her neck stood straight up, as

if she'd suddenly been pulled into ice water from below. Sera turned slowly, her breath

hitching in her throat as she looked up.

On top of the small stable, a black figure crouched low to the roof on all fours. A

pair of hollow, glowing red eyes looking right at her. Before she could even raise Dale's

revolver, it pounced and knocked her into the snow.

Claws dug into her sides, but her aura protected her from harm. Sera instinctively

punched the creature across the face, and its head twitched and jerked at the impact

before roaring in her face. Sera got over her fear and narrowed her eyes, yelling at the

monster pinning her down as if to match its guttural screech.

Its maw opened wide as it reared its head back, eyes burning with starving

hunger. Before it could lunge and sink its teeth into her neck, the door to the stable flew

open, and a loud BOOM made Sera's ears ring. The Grimm was knocked forward and off

of her as if shoved from behind, and she heard the telltale racking of a gun loading its

next shot.

The Grimm screeched loudly and jerkily flipped upright, hissing at the man

who'd shot it. Black blood poured from its back and stained the deep snow, and the

Grimm didn't even seem fazed by it.

Sera grabbed her torch and waved it in front of her. The creature hissed and

retreated a few feet, its eyes following the flames.

Dale shot it again, and his round hit the creature in the chest. The Grimm hit the

snow and roared in defiance, then scrambled to its feet and retreated into the woods

before either of them could attack again. As soon as it passed into the darkness, it

disappeared completely. The gunslinger grabbed Sera and hauled her to her feet.

She panted hard, her eyes wild with fright as she tightened her grip on the gun in

her hand. Dale slid a couple of rounds into his rifle to replace the ones he'd fired. Now

that she had a better look at it, she saw that the gun was a lever-action rifle of blue steel

and a cedar stock. Simple, yet effective.

"Those things are creepy!" Kassandra exclaimed.

"Yeah, don't let that happen again," Eras chuckled humorlessly. Even she

sounded nervous.

Dale clapped her on the shoulder and marched towards the treeline. "C'mon, kid.

Your friend won't last long, if he's even still alive."

Sera narrowed her eyes and followed him, her grip tight around her revolver.

"Why don't they like fire?" she yelled over the blizzard.

"They're beasts," Dale said. "Scares 'em a bit, but it don't last long. It does buy

you time to finish it off, though."

"Great," she muttered.

They went into the treeline, and darkness surrounded them. They walked

carefully, keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of movement. Luckily, the blizzard

hadn't hidden the Grimm's footsteps in the snow just yet. Black blood accompanied it,

giving them a pretty good trail to follow.

"Hurry," Dale urged, then started to jog.

Sera kept pace with him and held her torch high to provide as much light as she

could. They didn't have to go very far, thankfully. The black blood on the ground began

to intermix with red as the Grimm's trail collided with another that looked like

something was being dragged through the snow.

She perked up at the sight of it. If they really were taking Isaac somewhere, then

maybe he was still alive. Sera walked as fast as she could through the densely packed

snow to catch up.

"Wouldn't get my hopes up," Dale muttered.

Sera ignored him and kept going. Fortunately for her, the snowfall seemed to let

up a bit. Just enough to not completely blind her or nearly be knocked over by the wind.

Her stride became a bit more confident, despite the two feet of snow she had to walk

through.

The darkness was the worst part, only underlined by the danger she and Dale

were in by walking headfirst into the claws of some highly dangerous Grimm. Even with

the warm glow of her torch, she felt like she was walking blind into a wolf den whilst

covered in steak-scented perfume.

Dale stopped and held his arm in front of her. "Wait."

"What?" she asked, her eyes scanning the wilderness surrounding them.

"Up ahead. Tree on the right, just beside the trail."

Sera looked where he'd indicated, holding her torch up higher to provide more

light. Then she saw it. The head and neck of a humanoid body peeking around a thick

tree. The sight alone made her jump and her heart skip a beat. It was just so damn

creepy.

The Grimm stared at them unwaveringly with blank, hollow eyes devoid of any

sense of humanity. The longer she looked at it, the harder her heart pounded in her

chest. It never moved, never wavered. It just kept staring.

"Might be close," Dale murmured. "Guarding its territory. Could be a cave, or

another building nearby."

"Hopefully the latter," Sera mumbled. "What do we do? Just stare at it? Thing is

giving me the creeps."

A low hiss came from the Grimm as its jaw opened just wide enough to show off

its gleaming fangs. Sera hoped she was imagining it, but she could swear the thing was

smiling.

"We're goin' in," Dale gripped his rifle tighter. "Keep your eyes on it. Don't lose

track."

"Yeah, I'll try," she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Not like these things were

pitch black in the middle of a dark forest or anything.

He took a single step forward, and the Grimm disappeared behind the tree.

"Welp, good luck with that," Sera turned on her heel.

"What about your friend? This was your idea. What, big bad huntress scared of

the dark?"

She stopped, sighed, and turned around. "Fine. Come on," Sera steeled herself

and pressed on, walking deeper into the forest with Dale close behind.

Not even a few steps later, and the Grimm decided to screw with them again.

There was a flash of movement just out of the corner of her eye and Sera whirled

towards it, pistol raised.

From within the next thirty feet, she heard Isaac cry out, "Help me...! They're

everywhere!"

It was that same hollow imitation that had called out before. She didn't know

how, but these Grimm were imitating human speech. It had to have something to do

with the fact that they were, y'know, once people. Still, it was disturbing beyond all

comprehension. A grotesque parody of humanity.

A chill ran down her spine and made her shudder. "That's not Isaac."

"No," Dale muttered. "Come on. Keep moving."

"Keep moving," the voice said, this time mimicking Sera's voice. Then a

discorded, guttural laugh followed right after. Hearing it in her head from Kassandra or

Eras was one thing, but this sinister imitation elicited an emotion she hasn't experienced

since the night of the Fall—genuine fear.

As much as she didn't want to, Sera turned away and kept walking. Every nerve in

her body was on high-alert, like the thing was right behind her and breathing down her

neck. She never stopped looking over her shoulder just to make sure it wasn't there.

"Why aren't they attacking?" Kassandra asked.

With a disturbing realization, she held her torch tighter and the paranoia she was

feeling seemed to triple. The Grimm could've repeated any of their words, but it had said

keep moving. The thing wanted them to go deeper into the woods. She wasn't sure if it

was to lure them farther away from the cabin, or because it wanted them to get closer to

their goal.

"It's luring us," she said.

"Fuck, that's creepy," Eras said.

"You part of the team now or something?" Sera asked in annoyance.

"Kassandra raised a good point earlier—the three of us are in this together. And

I don't have any plans to become lunch to some abominations in the middle of

nowhere."

"Well, that's progress, I guess," she muttered. "Don't get your hopes up. I do not

trust you, and I don't forgive you. Not after what you've done."

More than ever, she was actually glad Kassandra, and by extent, Eras, were there.

It was actually comforting to not be alone in her own head during her midnight hike in

the dark, scary forest. At least her "roommates" weren't arguing anymore. For now.

Another flicker of movement snapped her out of her mental conversation and she

pointed the revolver towards it.

"Fuck, I hate this," she muttered.

Dale trudged again, keeping his rifle raised at waist-level. "Just keep calm. These

Grimm are expert hunters."

"Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better."

"Hey, at least your friends are probably better off than we are."

Ω Ω Ω

Neo was holding the trapdoor to the basement shut with every ounce of strength

she could muster. Something on the other end of it was screeching and trying to pry it

open, and it was taking everything she had just to keep it closed.

At the bottom of the stairs, Bela held one hand to her side and the other gripping

her pistol. Neo managed to bandage her injuries and stop the bleeding, but it still hurt

like hell. Almost as soon as she patched Bela up, something started trying to get in.

After it banged on the trapdoor, Neo raced up the stairs and grabbed its handle.

Then from the other side, she thought she'd heard Sera's voice, so she opened it. When

she peeked her head out, there was one of those freaky Grimm just a foot away staring

right at her. If she could scream, she would have.

Neo ducked into the basement and slammed the door shut, and the Grimm didn't

like that very much. Now, she was doing everything she could to keep it out.

"Where the hell are the others?!" Bela demanded.

Neo frantically shrugged her shoulders as best as she could, her fingers just

barely holding onto the handle as the Grimm yanked at the door.

Hurry the fuck up! Neo mentally screamed, hoping Sera would hear her.

Ω Ω Ω

Sera stared at a small opening to a cave with her torch held in front of her. She

didn't even see it until Dale pointed it out to her. It was so well hidden between two

snow-covered boulders, she would've just walked right past it. The narrow entrance

looked like a doorway to another world, dominated by the darkness within.

"C'mon. Probably not much time," Dale said.

"...Right," she murmured.

She went first and squeezed through the narrow entryway with her torch held

towards the cave. As soon as she was inside, Sera stepped aside to make room for Dale.

The place felt empty, but the smell was what gave it away. Like something had been

dead for quite some time. The stench made her cover her nose, her eyes scanning the

darkness in front of her just beyond the reach of torchlight.

Dale squeezed into the cave and recoiled. "Jeez. Smells about right. Looks like we

found it, kid."

"Shh!"

He smirked. "They already know we're here, don't worry. That torch is the only

thing keeping them back. For now."

"Oh, trust me, I'm plenty fuckin' worried," she muttered.

Keeping his rifle pointed into the darkness, Dale grabbed her torch and tossed it

in front of him. It flew for ten feet and lit up the rest of the cave, including three

shadowy figures and the (hopefully just unconscious) body of Isaac. He was strewn

across the floor by the deepest wall of the cave, turned away from them. Sera couldn't

see his face, so she had no idea if he was actually okay. His bow laid nearby. Why the

Grimm had brought it to begin with, she had no idea. Maybe Isaac just wouldn't let go.

"Great," she muttered, eyeing each of the monsters.

There was a loud screech from just behind them, and something pushed through

the entrance to the cave.

"Move!" Dale grabbed her arm and pulled her into the torchlight, then pointed

his rifle at the Grimm.

A fourth creature slipped into the cave and blocked their exit. It crouched low to

the ground and hissed at them, its black claws scraping the rocky floor as it moved to the

side.

"Four of them," Dale muttered, looking between each of the creatures with wild

eyes. "Great. Just great."

"We have to get Isaac and run," Sera said as she pointed her gun at the Grimm.

The three that'd been in the cave already stalked towards them on all fours, each

pair of their hollow red eyes filled with hunger. They were surrounding them.

"I am not dying here," Sera muttered. She raised her shield and widened her

stance, pointing her gun at the nearest Grimm.

"We aren't," Dale said as he drew his other revolver and took aim, his rifle held to

his hip to point it at another creature.

One of the Grimm grew impatient. It pounced at them with supernatural speed,

and Sera instinctively whacked it away with her shield in a resounding SMACK. It flew

backwards and hit the ground hard, but just like the others, it was quick to get up. Then

the others hissed and rushed in.

She wasn't going to lie, seeing those Grimm scuttle towards her so fast made her

want to turn tail and run. It was only partly because of their overly creepy appearance,

but mostly due to their origin. These creatures were once people, and they achieved this

grotesque, unnatural form through ways that she didn't even want to think about. And

now they were heading straight for her.

"Calm down," Kassandra said. "Remember who you are."

The Grimm were ten feet away. The crackle of pistol and rifle fire erupted from

Dale's weaponry and two of the Grimm were flung backwards. Behind them, the newest

Grimm pounced, and Dale whirled around to shoot it right in the chest.

"Wake up!" he shouted at her.

Sera blinked and joined the fight. She let her instincts take over from when she'd

practiced with a revolver before. In the blink of an eye, she fan fired three shots and hit

each of the Grimm in front of her and knocked them to the ground. Then they exploded.

Where each of the rounds hit, a red flash of light erupted from the wounds and

blew them to pieces. Sera blinked and looked at the gun in her hand. Must be the one

with explosive rounds, she figured.

"There ya go!" Dale laughed. He spun and shot the fourth one in the face, and it

crumpled to the ground.

Sera looked across the four smoking bodies. Huh. She thought they were gonna

be a bit tougher than that after everything she'd learned about them. Maybe at the end

of the day, they really were just Grimm. Then again, through her own experience and

Kassandra's, she was quite the skilled huntress now. Plus, the man helping her

specialized in slaying this kind of Grimm.

Dale holstered his revolver and slung his rifle over his shoulder as he hurried to

Isaac and crouched beside him. He turned the huntsman onto his back and pressed two

fingers to his neck.

As Sera got closer, the more she saw of his wounds. Isaac's coat was torn apart

and revealed his bare, bloody chest. His skin had been ripped open and bled profusely.

Cut to ribbons, it looked like.

"Gods, is he alive?" Sera gasped.

"Barely," Dale muttered. He grabbed Isaac's arm and hauled him up and over his

shoulder, grabbed his bow, then rose to his full height and looked at Sera. "You lead the

way. We need to get him back to the cabin. Fast."

Without hesitation, she scooped up her torch, ran to the cave entrance and

squeezed through. It took a while for Dale to get through with Isaac, but once he did,

they hurried through the forest to get back to shelter.

Not even two minutes in, an ear-splitting screech tore through the darkness.

"The hell? I thought we killed them!" Sera said.

"Gotta be more," Dale huffed.

She groaned and walked faster through the knee-deep snow with Dale struggling

to keep up behind her. That's when she remembered—he wasn't a huntsman. He had no

aura to protect him from the cold. Gods, the guy was probably freezing.

Something moved in the trees beside her and she stopped in her tracks. "Another

one."

"Keep moving," he said, his voice strained.

Then another flicker of movement on her left. And another. How many of these

things are there?

"Not good," Kassandra murmured.

"Yeah, no shit!" Sera hissed.

"The three of you aren't going to make it like this. Not with the condition Isaac's

in," she warned.

Sera stopped. Dale walked a few more feet, then looked back at her.

"The hell are you doing? We have to move!"

"We'll never get there," she said. Sera shoved her torch into his free hand, and he

looked at her like she was crazy. "I'll buy as much time as I can for you to make it back,

then book it to the cabin. Got it?"

He blinked, then nodded gravely. "All right, kid. Don't die."

She smirked. "Try my best."

Without another word, Dale turned and trudged through the snow with the torch

held high. Isaac never moved on his shoulder, and she took one last look before turning

to face the Grimm stalking them.

She closed her eyes and focused her aura, tapping into her latent power to let it

wash over her and change her body. In no time at all, violet light lit up the dark forest as

her skin paled and her eyes morphed. She felt stronger, her tiredness seemed to fade

away completely, and the fear of these Grimm dissipated like a snuffed-out flame.

The air changed, growing heavier as she felt several pairs of eyes look at her. It

was... strange. Before, she could practically sense the Grimm picturing her as their next

meal. Now, it was... she didn't even know how to describe it.

A dark head emerged around a tree, its glowing eyes staring right at her. Not out

of hostility, or hunger, but almost... reverence. The rest of the Grimm appeared, taking a

few steps towards her with one clawed hand raised.

Another one emerged from the trees, approaching her cautiously. Then another,

and another until she was completely surrounded by former humans.

"Ashen Queen," one rasped, its inhuman voice cracking with a guttural

undertone.

Sera blinked. "No way..."

"Ha! They think you're Salem!" Eras cackled.

"Not funny," she grumbled.

Nevertheless, the Grimm weren't attacking her. They circled her, glowing red

eyes scanning every inch of her body like they couldn't get enough. It was creepier than

she wanted to admit.

One by one, they repeated "Ashen Queen" in raspy, low voices as they stalked

around her. Sera wasn't sure what to do about it. She wanted to distract them, and it was

working. But this wasn't what she was expecting.

"Uh..." she turned in a circle, tightly gripping the revolver and ready to fire at a

moment's notice.

The Grimm jerked and twitched even when they were standing still, like the

muscles under their thin leathery skin were constantly straining. Their heads jerked

from side to side and their arms and legs randomly spasmed, a subtle clicking or

popping noise ringing out from their bones and joints.

"What are you?" she asked, glancing between each of them.

Silence. The creatures just kept staring right into her eyes with blank stares that

held just a modicum of intellect. She wanted to shrink away from their gaze just from

how unnerving it was, but she held her ground. They might take it as a sign of weakness

and pounce.

Now that she was looking at them up close, mere feet apart and not trying to eat

her face off, she was convinced that there wasn't even a speck of humanity left in these

creatures. They could mimic her speech as much as they wanted, but that was the closest

they'd ever come to even grasping what it means to be human.

They didn't deserve to exist. Not after what they'd done to themselves and others.

Not anymore. They were Grimm. Evil, twisted, and completely soulless.

Sera set her jaw and clenched her fist tightly. The Grimm tensed and let out a

chorus of low, bone-chilling hisses as if they sensed her intentions. If she wanted to

attack, she'd better make the first move before these creatures did it for her.

Faster than she even thought herself possible, Sera aimed from the hip and shot

the Grimm that's been in her face for the last few seconds. The gunshot resounded

through the forest and the Grimm hit the ground. As soon as it did, its chest exploded

and sent black goo flying everywhere.

The other Grimm roared angrily, their teeth and claws gleaming in the dim light

of the shattered moon filtering through the trees. One of them jumped at her, and she

sidestepped and raised her shield to smack it aside. Another one took a swipe at her, and

her shield was there in an instant to block the hit. Sera dropped to one knee and swept

its legs out from under it, then pointed her revolver to blast it in the chest while it was

still falling. The creature was thrown back and rolled through the snow, then screeched

in her direction before exploding just like its comrade.

"Pretty cool," Eras commented.

Sera rolled through the snow to duck under the claws of the third Grimm. She

shot to her feet and kicked it in the ribs, slamming her calf into its side with as much

force as she could muster. A sickening crunch was the immediate response, followed by

a pained screech as the creature hit the snow.

The fourth one got a lucky hit. As soon as she'd hit the third, it pounced her and

shoved her into the snow. Black claws tightened around her biceps as it put its full

weight on her, effectively pinning her to the ground.

Sera gritted her teeth and struggled to throw it off of her, but the thing was

stronger than it looked. The Grimm roared in her face, its eyes glowing so brightly they

carried a red trail when as its grotesque head jerked from side to side.

The Grimm she'd kicked recovered quickly and crawled across the snowy ground

to reach her, a terrifying screech erupting from its throat.

"Get off!" she screamed and raised her knee between its legs.

It froze, its claws slightly wavering around her arms as a quiet, prolonged squeak

hissed from the creature's maw. It sounded so much like a deflating balloon, Sera

couldn't help but laugh. Apparently, not everything was that different from when this

Grimm was once a man.

Sera capitalized on the opportunity to shove it off of her. Just as she did, the

other Grimm came into view right above her ready to bite her face off. She rolled to the

side, and the Grimm hit the snow where she'd been laying. She jumped to her feet and

slammed her shield into its face in a back-handed smack that sent a loud CRUNCH

through the trees. When the creature was flung to the ground, she planted her foot on its

chest and fired her revolver into its face.

The Grimm went limp under her boot as it melted into shadow. A detonation

from the revolver's explosive round threw dirt, snow, and black chunks of sour-smelling

meat and blood raining in every direction.

The one she'd hit in the family jewels struggled to get to its feet. It looked up just

to see the barrel of Dale's gun pointed in its face, right between the eyes.

Sera smirked lightly. "Bingo."

She squeezed the trigger and blew its head clean off.

With a heavy sigh, she shoved the revolver into her waistband and ran towards

the cabin.

"Good job!" Kassandra said. "For a second, I thought they were gonna get you."

"They're just Grimm," she muttered. In the back of her mind, she wondered who

those people were before they decided to join up with a crazy, manic cult. They could've

been parents, or even younger than her.

It was sad.

She shook it off. These people knew what they were getting into. Remnant was

better off without them.

"You did the right thing," Kassandra said gently. "There's no telling how many

people they've hurt, or how many more they were going to hurt if you hadn't stopped

them."

"They got what they damn well deserved," Eras added.

Gods, she had an angel and devil on her shoulders like in those old cartoons.

Sera spun the revolver on her finger and smoothly shoved it into her belt, then

turned to march through the snow and away from the melting forms of the hybrids.

Ω Ω Ω

Getting to the cabin took no time at all, now that she didn't have to worry about

getting jumped from the shadows. At least, she hoped that was the last of those Grimm.

She and Dale killed, what, eight? That had to be all of them.

When she made it to the cabin, she saw Dale lean Isaac against a tree. Isaac

groaned uncomfortably, clutching his chest with both arms. At least he was alive.

"Kid!" Dale said when he saw Sera approaching. Then he saw the state she was in

and did a doubletake. The gunslinger reached for his revolver and Sera held her hands

up.

"Whoa, whoa!"

He blinked in surprise and lowered his gun. "What the hell is that?"

"What?" she raised an eyebrow, then looked down at herself. She was still pale.

"Oh. Right."

"What are you?" he asked sternly.

"Long story," she said as she kneeled by Isaac. Despite his dark complexion, the

guy looked pale and feverish. "That's not good..."

"No, it isn't," Dale muttered, still glancing at Sera like she was about to attack.

"Stop looking at me," she said.

"Sorry, you're just..." he gulped. "That's not right."

"I'll tell you later," she promised, then returned her attention to Isaac. "How you

doin'?"

"Dunno," he winced. "Chest feels like someone took a blender to it."

She shrugged. "Yeah, sounds about right."

A loud screech erupted from their left, and all three of them jumped. Dale drew

his revolver and Sera raised her shield, but there was no immediate threat. When she

saw there was nothing there, she realized it had come from inside the cabin.

"Shit," she muttered, then handed the pistol Dale had lent her back to him. "Keep

watch over him, I'll go deal with that."

"What happened with the others?" he asked as she turned towards the cabin.

"Dead," she kept walking.

Dale and Isaac traded glances, then turned their heads to watch her go.

"Women," the gunslinger chuckled and patted Isaac on the shoulder.

"Ow," he hissed.

"Oop. Sorry, bud."

Sera shoved the door open and scanned the cabin's interior. One of the hybrids

was frantically yanking at the trapdoor to the basement and screaming its head off in

frustration. She whistled, and the Grimm's head whirled towards her, turning in a

complete one-eighty with a disgusting crack-k-k.

"Eugh," she shuddered.

Its maw opened wide and roared at her, then the unnatural creature threw itself

at her with the speed akin to Ruby's semblance. Sera raised her shield, and the Grimm

crashed right into it. Its claws gripped the edges of her shield, and the two of them

became locked in a fight for dominance. The Grimm tried to yank her shield away, but

only succeeded in pulling her forward.

The Grimm screeched angrily and tried to bite at her over the shield. She ducked

and brought her head up hard, hitting the creature under the chin. It was just enough to

let her wrench her shield out of its claws, so she slammed the circle of gilded metal into

its chest and sent it reeling.

Before the creature could recover, Sera surged forward and delivered an earth-

shattering kick to the side of its head. The Grimm flew into the fireplace, landing face-

first in the flames.

The scream that ripped from the creature's throat was so loud and blood-

curdling, Sera was forced to cover her ears just to try and block it out. She gritted her

teeth and planted her boot between its shoulders, shoving its head further into the fire.

The Grimm flailed desperately to try and get free, but she wasn't moving. The claws on

its arms and legs slashed through the air and nearly hit her, but the most it could do was

slice a chunk of her coat off.

"Hey!" she said indignantly and shoved her heel deeper into the Grimm's back.

With a sharp cracking sound, the creature went still and began to melt into

shadow. Sera unclenched her jaw and lifted her boot from the Grimm. As it dissipated

into inky darkness, she saw the black book emerge from its remains, still sitting in the

fire completely unharmed.

She bent down and experimentally poked its cover, surprised to find that it was

cool to the touch. Knowing that her aura would protect her from the flames, Sera

grabbed the book and held it in her hands. There had to be a way to destroy it.

The trapdoor opened and Sera whirled around, raising her shield to guard from

an attack. When she saw Neo's head poke out, a grin spread across her face and she

closed the distance between them.

"Gods, am I glad to see your annoying ass," she muttered and pulled the shorter

girl into a hug.

Neo smiled awkwardly and patted her shoulder. When she pulled away, she

signed, Where are the others?

"Outside. Bela?"

Neo hooked a thumb to the basement. Still hurt, so she's staying down there

until everything's good. She glanced at what remained of the Grimm in the fireplace.

Last one?

"I don't know," she admitted. "That one makes nine that we've killed."

She frowned and raised an eyebrow. Thought cowboy guy said he killed them all.

Sera shrugged. "Apparently, there's more."

Neo crossed her arms.

"Yeah, I know. I don't know where they came from."

She pointed at the book in her hands, lifting her eyebrows.

Sera blinked. "That'd be dumb."

The mute scowled.

"Whatever, let's just go," Sera rolled her eyes. Still, maybe Neo had a point. That

book has had a sinister aura ever since she found it. If it had some sort of dark Grimm

aura that could free Eras from within her head, it wasn't too crazy to say that it

summoned those Grimm too. And Isaac probably didn't help by reading from it. She

didn't know what those words meant, but it couldn't have been good.

Neo gestured to the trapdoor and raised her eyebrows again. It was probably

Neo's favorite facial expression, apart from frowning at her.

Sera looked down into the basement. "Hey, Bela! You okay down there?"

"That bloody thing dead yet?" her voice echoed from deep inside.

"Yeah, it's toast!" Sera hollered back, then laughed at her joke. "Just stay down

there until we know the coast is clear, got it?"

Bela grumbled irritably, but it sounded like she agreed.

Sera tossed the book onto a couch and motioned for Neo to follow. The two of

them hurried outside and to where Dale and Isaac were, finding the boys exactly where

she'd left them. Dale looked like he was downright freezing. Despite the torch fire, the

guy shivered like he'd been dunked in ice water. Isaac was faring similarly, but at least

Dale's chest wasn't cut to ribbons.

Fortunately, the blizzard had subsided quite a bit. A light snowfall rained down

on them, and the wind died down enough to not make it feel like ice daggers were being

blown through her clothes.

Sera crouched next to Isaac and inspected him. He was paler than before, and

shivering from cold and possibly blood loss. When he saw her, a small smile formed on

his face.

"Hey," he wheezed. "How's Bela?"

"A little hurt, but alive," she said. "Feel okay to move?"

"Might sting a bit, but yeah," he managed.

Sera nodded to Dale, and the two of them grabbed hold of Isaac and hauled him

to his feet. Isaac groaned the whole way, his face tight with discomfort as he put his

arms around their shoulders.

"Neo, watch the trees," Sera said as she and Dale carried Isaac towards the cabin.

Dale handed her the torch, and Neo walked behind them with her parasol at the ready.

Helping Isaac to the cabin felt like it took ages. They had to move slowly to

minimize pain and prevent his wounds from being opened further. Even when they were

being careful, Isaac still grunted and groaned with nearly every step. Not that she

blamed him.

All the while, Sera felt like she was going to get pounced on again, but knowing

Neo was there brought her at least a little comfort.

"Was that all of them?" Sera asked hopefully. They were just feet from the porch.

"Hope so," Dale said. He looked over at her, taking in the sight of her pale skin

and red eyes. Before she could notice, he looked away.

They made it over the threshold of the cabin and carefully laid Isaac onto a couch.

As soon as he was secure, Dale went to work carefully removing his coat and shirt to get

a better look at his injuries.

Sera almost threw up. Isaac's chest was cut up way worse than she thought.

Nothing looked fatal, thankfully. It's like Grimm were trying not to kill him, but to keep

him alive as long as possible while they cut into him.

Neo signed, It's green...

"Boil water and find clean rags," Dale said.

Wordlessly, she hurried into the kitchen to do as she was told. Sera grabbed a pot

and filled it with water, then returned to the main room to sit it on top of the fire. She

grabbed a handful of rags from a closet and sat by the fire, waiting for it to come to a

boil.

Meanwhile, Bela emerged from the basement and limped towards Isaac. While

they spoke to each other about what each of them went through and checked each

other's wounds, Bela sat down heavily beside him and clutched her side.

Once the water was boiling, Sera hastily dipped the rags into them one at a time

to sterilize, then handed the first to Dale to let him get started.

Ω Ω Ω

It took a while, but finally, they were able to clean and dress Isaac's wounds. Sera

changed Bela's bandages and gave her a similar treatment, just in case what Neo used

wasn't exactly clean.

Once they were set, they gave each of them a couch to lay on. Sera didn't think

it'd be the best idea to put them in bed rooms, after what happened to Bela. Now, the

five of them were trying (emphasis on trying) to relax after everything they'd been

through so far.

The blizzard had all but gone away, and Sera was glad of it. She'd been scared

that it would last for days, but the storm's lifespan only lasted hours. However, the fear

of being attacked again never subsided.

Dale went to work nailing wooden planks over the broken window, but Sera had a

feeling one of those Grimm could get through it pretty easily if it wanted to. Plus, there

was more than one window. If they needed to, they could retreat into the basement

where there was only one entrance. But the fireplace was in the main room, and they

needed to stay warm if they wanted to survive the night.

Isaac and Bela remained on the couch clutching their wounds. Hopefully their

aura would take care of them soon, but until then they were unfit to fight. Bela

stubbornly stated that she could still fight, and Sera told her, "Yeah, you can fight plenty

right where you are. Just don't get up." Bela grumbled to herself and set her pistol on

her lap, ready to shoot at a moment's notice.

For a while, everything was quiet. They ate to keep their strength up, but even

something as simple as eating soup was almost too painful for Isaac.

Once Sera was finished, she decided to check the cabin for things they could use.

Then she remembered something—there was a shed just outside. There might be extra

supplies they could use to reinforce the cabin.

As soon as she made her way towards the front door, Dale sat up in his chair and

shot her a look.

"What're you doing?"

She took hold of the door handle and glanced over. "Checking the shed outside.

There might be supplies out there. Y'know, more stuff to lock this place down with."

"I don't think it's a good idea to go out there alone," he said, and Neo bobbed her

head in agreement.

"I'll be fine. You two need to keep an eye on them," she glanced at Bela and Isaac.

"It's like, right there. I think I can handle it."

Dale looked like he wanted to argue. He set his jaw and looked at her with hard

eyes, then sighed and held one of his revolvers out to her. "Just be careful. Those

things'll see a lone person and won't hesitate to attack."

She smirked and took the gun, shoving it into her belt before going to the door

again. "Back in a flash," she spread her arms and flashed a confident grin.

Without another word, Sera slipped outside and into the cold. Light snowfall

rained down and added to the already deep, densely packed snow. The shattered moon

hung high in the sky and provided light in the dark forest, but it was still near

impossible to see clearly through the trees ringing around the cabin.

"Well, this whole night really has gone to hell," Kassandra commented.

"I know," Sera said. "Let's just focus on surviving until tomorrow so we can

make it to Argus. If the others are there, there's no telling how long they'll stay in the

city before leaving for Atlas. We need to hurry."

"Yeah," she agreed. "Just keep your eyes open. I don't feel like getting jumped

again."

"I have a feeling we could handle it," Eras murmured.

Sera blinked in surprise at her comment. She smirked lightly and made her way

through the snow and to the nearby shed. A thin chain held the door shut, and she

quickly cleaved it in two with Jupiter's blade. Once she was inside, darkness completely

enveloped her and dominated her vision. Sera took another step, and a string hanging

from the ceiling hit her in the face. She scrunched her eyebrows and fumbled in the dark

to take hold of it, and when she pulled the cord, a single light bulb flickered to life.

"Whoa," she murmured when she saw the interior of the shed.

It was small, with only about eight-by-twelve feet of space, but the walls were

covered in various tools and items used for general maintenance. Hammers, screw

drivers, shears, wood cutting axes, shovels, and all sorts of other tools and equipment.

She even spotted an old leaf blower. A tall shelf sat against the farthest wall with even

more equipment. A box of spray paint cans was tucked under a shelf with plastic crates

of random junk beside it.

Sera walked deeper into the building and scanned the walls for things she could

use. More hammers and nails would help with boarding up the windows, but other than

that, none of the tools were any better than the weapons they already had. Until...

"Oh, wow..." she thought aloud when her eyes fell upon a three-foot long piece of

hardware with a faded red body and handle and a gleaming silver chain with razor-

sharp teeth around the blade.

A chainsaw.

An excited giggle escaped Sera's mouth as she hurried towards it and lifted the

woodworking tool from its place on the wall. Her eyes gleefully roamed its length as a

huge grin spread across her face. She's used a chainsaw weapon once before, back when

she and team RWBY were on the White Fang train under Mt. Glenn. That Faunus's

weapon was far different than this one, though. This was the real deal, not some crude

imitation in an attempt to look threatening.

Sera experimentally pulled the ignition cord... and it sputtered weakly. She

frowned and gave it another try, then the chainsaw revved to life in her hands, its engine

sending vibrations up her arms. She squeezed the trigger inside its handle and it roared

louder, its shiny teeth spinning rapidly along its blade.

"Groovy~" she smiled, already imagining this thing sawing through a Beowolf's

chest.

"You've got to be kidding," Eras said unenthusiastically. "These things are

impractical as hell!"

"Shut up, don't care," Sera cackled and revved the saw again. She glanced at the

lines of tools hanging on the wall, then at the box of spray paint cans she spotted earlier.

The pieces began to form together in her head, and the grin on her face grew even wider.

This was going to be fun.

Ω Ω Ω

Approximately half an hour later, Sera kicked the door to the shed open and

stepped into the snow with an excited, almost manic gleam in her eyes as she

brandished her newest tool of destruction.

Thanks to spending so much time with Ruby in Beacon's workshops and her own

experience with weapon crafting in Janus's smithery, she modified the chainsaw as best

as she could with the limited tools at her disposal. She wasn't sure how long she'd use it,

but for now, it was an adequate substitute for Igni's razor sharp blade. Sure, Jupiter

packed a punch, but she had a feeling this this thing would cause a hell of a lot more

damage when she needed it.

The chainsaw was now more like a sort of gauntlet. Sera removed the standard

grip, hollowed its inside, and spliced a new trigger inside of it where her hand went. To

do this, she removed its engine entirely and replaced it with a sort of makeshift

generator powered by a shard of electricity Dust that went inside of a compartment on

its outside. Whenever she needed to exchange crystals, she could just reload the weapon

as easily as she would a shotgun shell in her old Boomstick. If she had enough Dust, it

could run for as long as she wanted it to.

She sharpened its chain to give its teeth an even sharper edge, too. Now, she

figured it could cut through just about any Grimm that dared to challenge her. As for the

rest of it, she used that spray paint to give it the personal Sera Kallisto touch. Its body

were now as white as the snow around her, she gave its blade a nice pitch black shade,

and she painted its chain purple. She couldn't resist drawing a purple Omega in the

center of the blade, and adding a few bits of purple paint to its body's trim to even

everything out. All in all, she was pretty satisfied with the results.

On her right hand, she had her new chainsaw around her wrist and held a handle

on its inside to keep the weapon secure. As a bonus, she fashioned a sort of belt around

the inner ridge of its opening that she could use to tighten it around her wrist to keep it

extra secured. On her left wrist, she could wield Pyrrha's shield and fight with a

chainsaw/shield combo. It was like Kassandra using her own sword and shield in her

past, but now, Sera had significantly improved the ancient fighting style. Even if

Kassandra didn't want to admit it.

"This is so cool," Sera grinned, practically shaking with excitement.

"And tacky," Kassandra noted.

"Oh, shut up," she laughed. "Come on, you know it's cool."

To emphasize her point, she revved the chainsaw and experimentally slashed

through the air and straight into a tree. The saw's blade sliced through its trunk like a

knife through butter in one smooth stroke, and the tree fell on its side with a loud

BOOOOM.

A/N: Yeah yeah, not realistic to how chainsaws actually function,

but c'mon this is RWBY. Plus, we're going off of The Evil Dead chainsaw

logic here.

"Come on, tell me that's not cool!" Sera laughed triumphantly.

"...It's kind of cool," Kassandra admitted.

"Damn right it is!" she giggled and cradled her new saw to her chest. After

turning it off, of course.

"I approve," Eras noted.

Sera ignored her. Mostly because she was the first one to smack talk her baby.

She removed the chainsaw and clipped it to the back of her belt, then headed

back to the cabin. The saw bounced in place behind her and she had to be careful to

avoid catching her sleeve on its teeth. She'd have to tinker with it more in the future to

try and make it collapse into a more suitable form for transportation. For now, she just

had to deal with it.

As soon as she entered the cabin, she was met by Dale and Neo standing at the

door with their weapons at the ready. When they saw that it was only her, and she

wasn't in any sort of panicked or hurried state, they relaxed.

"The hell was all that noise?" Dale asked. "Sounded like more Grimm roaring,

then we heard a crash."

Sera grinned and held her new chainsaw aloft, noting its subtle purple trim and

the Omega symbol on its blade. "Oh, you know, just me putting together this badass

piece of hardware."

His eyebrows raised in surprise. "A chainsaw?"

"It was in the shed," she said excitedly and bounced on her heels. "Hoo boy, this

thing'll tear those things apart if they show their ugly faces again."

Dale chuckled lightly and shook his head. "If you say so."

Neo signed, Was there anything else in there?

"Just a bunch of tools, really. Nothing too exciting," she shrugged as she tossed

Dale's revolver back to him.

Figures.

"I think it's pretty cool," Isaac said from his spot on the couch.

He and Bela were looking a little better, thankfully. At least, Isaac didn't seem

like he was in constant pain, and Bela was looking a little less high strung.

"See? I knew it was-"

A familiar loud, high-pitched screech erupted from outside and Sera's heart

skipped a beat. It sounded like it'd come from close by, maybe not even twenty feet from

the cabin's walls.

"You've gotta be kidding me..." Bela muttered, tightly gripping her pistol.

Dale rushed to the window and pulled the curtain aside to look outside. He

squinted and looked from side to side for any sign of the Grimm, but it didn't seem like

he saw anything. She didn't blame him. Not like it was pitch black outside or anything

like that.

"How are they not all dead?" Sera demanded. "We killed like nine of them!"

Neo brandished her parasol and stood like every muscle in her body was ready to

attack. Sera hadn't really considered it, but she had a feeling Neo could decimate these

Grimm if she wanted to. The girl was just too fast and deadly with that umbrella. Plus,

she could probably dodge anything they threw at her.

Then there was Dale, the quick shot gunslinger that'd proved how lethal he was

with those revolvers. The guy could probably shoot the wings off of a fly if he wanted to.

And with the explosive capabilities of just one of his pistols, she knew the Grimm didn't

stand a chance.

Bela could probably cover both herself and Isaac with her pistols, but Sera knew

she'd have to keep an eye on them. Isaac clearly wasn't well enough to use his bow yet,

so he was pretty much out of commission.

Then there was Sera with her new chainsaw, and one or more willing test subjects

to see just how effective it was. She's already killed several of these creatures single

handedly and knew their capabilities.

Without wasting a second, she flared her aura and reached deep inside herself to

unlock her latent abilities. Violet flame-like aura danced along her skin as her body

changed. In just a few seconds, she'd transformed.

She had to say, she was pretty proud at how fast she'd gotten the hang of this

powered-up state. Not so long ago, using it would fill her with so much rage, she was

barely able to contain herself. Now, she pretty much had complete control over it and all

its benefits. Increased strength, speed, and reflexes, as well as a stronger aura. She'd

noticed in Raven's camp that when she used it, whatever tiredness or exhaustion she

had would either fade away entirely or lessen to let her fight harder. It was like a second

wind. But using it for extended amounts of time also put a lot of strain on her body and

tired her out faster, so it wasn't really without its drawbacks. Nevertheless, she wanted

to get this over with as fast as she could.

"How many do you think?" Sera asked.

"Hard t' say," Dale replied, still staring out the window with his eyebrows knitted

together. "Could be one, could be half a dozen."

Bela sat forward and winced, clutching her arm with her pistol hand. "They're not

all going to rush in here, are they?"

"No telling. These things are unpredictable," he murmured.

"Finger on the trigger, Sera," Kassandra warned.

"But I don't-"

"You know what I mean," she sighed.

Suddenly, Dale jumped backwards and away from the window with both

revolvers pointed at it. Sera slapped her wrist to expand her shield, but nothing was

attacking. Instead, Dale was just standing there with his guns raised and a wild look in

his eyes. She glanced at the window, and her heart skipped a beat at what she saw.

Three faces, peering into the cabin with their hollow, glowing eyes. Each of the

Grimm were staring right at Sera with strange blank expressions on their inhuman

faces. The others slowly turned their heads to look at her, then back at the Grimm.

Sera stepped to the side, and the hybrids' eyes followed her. She moved again and

got the same result.

"Why're they so interested in you?" Dale muttered, never taking his eyes off the

Grimm.

She didn't respond. Sera already knew why. She just wished she was wrong.

These Grimm thought she was Salem, probably because of her appearance. And she

wasn't sure how to process that information. If they still served Salem, was it possible

that they were currently serving her? As in under orders to attack her? If so, that witch

was in for a rude awakening.

Another two pairs of eyes joined the Grimm at the window. A flicker of movement

out of the corner of her eye made Sera look to the side, and the window right beside her

had another trio of the creatures staring at her with blank, hungry expressions. They

were just watching her, like she was an animal in the zoo and they were waiting for her

to move. Eight so far. How many more, she wondered?

"Bela," Sera said in a quiet, calm tone. "Take Isaac into the basement. Isaac—do

you think you can walk?"

His face tightened as he tried to stand. With some help from Bela and a fair

amount of groaning, he managed to get to his feet. Fortunately, the Grimm kept their

eyes right on Sera.

"Slowly," Dale warned.

"I've got it, I've got it," Bela grumbled, but her voiced was tinged with anxiety.

Each footstep from the two of them felt like a loud boom in the dead quiet of the

cabin. The closer they got to the trap door, the more nervous Sera became that the

Grimm would just jump through the windows and attack. But they stayed right where

they were, staring at Sera coldly with their unnaturally stretched jaws baring gleaming

fangs.

After what felt like an eternity, Isaac's head disappeared into the basement, and

Bela followed soon after. The black-haired huntress took one last look at Sera, Neo, and

Dale, then carefully shut and latched the trapdoor.

She resisted the urge to back away from the window and raised her arm to hold

her chainsaw aloft, and all eight pairs of eyes followed the motion. Sera yanked the cord,

and the saw roared to life in one stroke.

Low, threatening hisses came from the Grimm as their breath fogged the glass.

Their hollow eyes glowed a little brighter, and one pressed its hand to the window to

reveal its long, sharp claws. Each one was nearly a foot long, like narrow spikes of

obsidian growing out of their black hands.

"Eight to three," Dale chuckled nervously as he adjusted his grip on his revolvers.

"And there's no telling how many more of them are out there," Sera murmured.

She stared right into the eyes of one of the Grimm, silently willing her own irises to glow

a bit brighter. She hoped it looked threatening, but the creatures didn't waver.

Neo stepped closer to Sera with Hush held tightly in her hand. She glanced

between each of the Grimm nervously, her expression visibly disturbed by the

nightmarish creatures.

"If we survive this," Dale glanced at Sera. "You need to tell me whatever the hell is

going on with you. I've never seen them act like this before, like... like they're drawn to

you."

"Promise," she said, her finger resting on the inner trigger of her chainsaw. "First,

let's just kill these things, yeah?"

He smirked and took a step back, presumably to put some distance between

himself and the Grimm so he could shoot more accurately. "Yippee ki-yay," he muttered.

Neo nudged Sera to draw her attention, then held up five fingers. Sera nodded,

and the mute lowered her pinky.

"Four," she repeated, and Neo lowered her ring finger. Sera nodded at Dale, and

he returned the gesture. "Three. Two. One...!"

As if on cue, all eight of the Grimm suddenly disappeared. Their heads moved

away from the window so quickly, it was like they were never there. Immediately after,

Sera could hear a strange, light scratching against the walls. Her eyes widened and

whirled her head from side to side to try and find them.

"Not good..." she thought aloud.

Neo quickly signed, I think I liked it better when we knew where they were.

"No kidding," Dale muttered.

The scratching came from all around them, like the creatures were crawling in

different directions on the cabin's walls. The three of them turned in circles trying to

find them and cautiously backed towards each other until they stood in formation, each

looking in a different direction.

A flicker of movement caught her eye, and Sera quickly glanced towards a

window to see one of the Grimm peeking through it. Only its eyes and forehead were

visible over the top portion of the window, but she could feel the sinister aura emanating

from its gaze.

"There," she pointed.

Dale whirled to the side and fired twin shots at the Grimm's face, but it ducked

just before the bullets could break the glass. As soon as the sound of shattering glass

rung out, a chorus of high-pitched screech-like roars filled the entire cabin from just

outside its walls.

Sera revved her chainsaw as a way to sort of combat their guttural screams. She

clenched her jaw and raised her shield. These things were starting to piss her off. They

stalk the cabin all night, nearly kill Isaac and wound Bela, and to top it all off, they kept

looking at her in some sort of perverse and unsettling way that made her skin crawl.

"Come on!" she yelled and brandished the saw, giving it another rev to emphasize

her annoyance for the creepy Grimm.

Towards the bedrooms, she heard a loud bang and the sound of splintering wood.

In front of them, something rammed against the door and nearly knocked it clean off its

hinges.

Dale wheeled towards the bedroom and kept his guns pointed at its door. A split-

second later, the door flew open and a black figure leapt into the main room. The

gunslinger put a round right between its eyes with a quick shot from his revolver, and

the creature crashed into the wall as it began to dissipate.

Before Sera could complement his quick reflexes, the wall jolted like someone

had run a battering ram into it. She turned her head just in time to see a wide crack

splinter the center of the door, pushing inwards like something was pushing through it.

A humanoid black head shoved through and hissed at her, its long black tongue falling

from its mouth as its eyes burned with hatred.

"Ew," Sera scowled.

"Kill it!" Kassandra urged.

She narrowed her eyes revved her chainsaw as she stomped towards it. The

Grimm's eyes glowed brighter and it forced its hands into the small crater it'd made,

then shoved the door apart until it cracked and fell to pieces. The hybrid spread its arms

and screeched into the air, its entire body twitching and cracking disgustingly. She

didn't let its terrifying display deter her from approaching.

The Grimm launched itself at her with its unnatural insect-like reflexes, claws

extended and fangs bared with its burning red eyes trained solely on her. Sera

sidestepped at the last second and slammed her shield into its body, sending the

creature tumbling across the floor and right to Neo's feet. The mute scowled, and the

Grimm screeched at her as it tried to flip upright.

With a single thrust from Hush, the Grimm went silent.

Sera gave Neo an approving nod, then returned her eyes to the door in case any

more uglies wanted to jump out at her. She could still hear them crawling over the outer

walls, but where would the next one come from? Or were they all going to rush in at

once? Sera tightened her jaw and shifted on her heels in anticipation, ready to jump at a

moment's notice.

Then the noise came to an abrupt halt, and everything went quiet.

She glanced from side to side with an eyebrow raised and her chainsaw held in

front of her. Dale immediately reloaded his guns and pointed one in front of him and the

other held near his chest, his eyes flicking in every direction to check the area.

Neo lowered her parasol and quirked an eyebrow, then signed with one hand,

Where did they go?

"Oh, I'm sure they're still around," Sera muttered and took a step towards the

door.

"Careful," Dale warned. "Probably waiting for someone to do that."

She kept going, her eyes glued to the doorway and her nerves practically

screaming at her to stay away. Just before she could peek out, something skinny and

black dropped from the ceiling of the porch and landed in front of her. Sera's heart

skipped a beat and she tried to jab the Grimm with her chainsaw, but it pounced

immediately after it'd landed on the floor. It'd all happened so fast, she didn't even have

time to blink.

The thing slammed into her and knocked her on her back, holding her arms to

the floor as it screamed in her face and blew droplets of spittle onto her.

"Ew!" she silently screamed.

In the same instant that she'd been tackled to the floor, the rest of the creatures

spilled through the doorway and windows, crawling on the walls and ceiling faster than

she could follow. They looked like insects coming out of a pitch-black hole, and the sight

reminded her of ants crawling out of a mound.

Gunshots crackled to life as soon as Dale had a target, but there were too many of

them to help Sera. Neo ducked under the claws of one and kicked another, then drove

the point of Hush through the one that'd swung at her and danced away to put some

distance between herself and the Grimm.

Dale fired shot after shot to try and take them down, but he was quickly getting

overwhelmed by their numbers. Sera couldn't exactly do a headcount due to the

situation she was in, but she'd seen at least six or seven of the creatures enter the cabin.

And that wasn't counting the one currently trying to bite her face off.

She tried to kick the Grimm off of her, but the thing was too quick to land a direct

hit. Its claws dug into her wrists and pinned her shield and saw to the floor, and the only

reason it hadn't bit into her face or neck was because she was fast enough to avoid it.

In an attempt to wrench its hand off of her, she let go of the inner handle of her

chainsaw and grabbed the Grimm's wrist. Its eyes flicked in the direction of her hand

and it let out a surprised screech, then dug its claws deeper into her to try and subdue

her.

Among the sounds of fighting and loud gunshots, she heard the telltale noise of

bodies hitting the floor. It seemed like Neo and Dale were at least taking some down, but

there were still a lot left. And they were in confined by the cabin, which had a room

much too small to fight comfortably. The Grimm took up most of the space and the

furniture got in the way. Fortunately, Dale and Neo seemed perfect for the job.

The gunslinger kicked one of the chairs and knocked a hybrid off its feet before it

could get out of the way, and Dale immediately capitalized on the opportunity to put a

bullet between its eyes. Neo somersaulted backwards and kicked another Grimm to the

floor, then drove her heel into its neck and killed it instantly. That was two more down,

only about... several more to go.

Sera ripped the Grimm's hand off of her and punched it across the face,

effectively toppling the creature so she could roll into a kneeled position. Unfortunately,

another hybrid was already on the case. From beside her, the other Grimm screeched

and leapt at her with its claws raised and teeth bared. Just before it could hit her, she

slammed her shield into its face with a resounding BONG!

The Grimm crumpled to the floor and inadvertently sent her chainsaw sliding

across the floor, and she jumped to her feet to finish it off. As it started to recover from

the blow to its face, she grabbed it by its near exposed collarbone and drove the edge of

Pyrrha's shield into its face, resulting in the most brutal decapitation she's ever

performed.

Black blood spattered against her cheek and she pushed the hybrid's headless

body to the floor. The upper portion of the creature's head still sat on the topside of her

shield, staring at her with a lifeless gaze as its glowing eyes dimmed. Sera flicked her

shield down to throw its halved skull away from her, then rose to her full height to face

the remaining Grimm.

A nasty gash was on Dale's bicep, but he looked more pissed than hurt. He pistol-

whipped a Grimm and blasted it through the chest with the other revolver, then spun to

the side to fire two rounds into the nearest creature's head and caused its skull to

explode on impact.

Neo spun and kicked a hybrid in the stomach, and when it doubled over, the

blade of her parasol sliced its neck open. A split second later, its head fell back, removed

from its neck, and its body slumped to the floor.

"Jeez," Sera thought.

"Forgot how effective she was," Kassandra noted.

Sera smirked lightly and bent down to pick up her fallen chainsaw. And once

again, a Grimm had to get in the way. Just as her fingers closed around the handle at the

top, something grabbed her ankle and yanked her off her feet.

She crashed against the floor and rolled on her side to look at what'd gotten the

jump on her. One of the Grimm had apparently dropped from the ceiling to attack,

biding its time to wait for the right moment. She hadn't even considered that one of

them might try something like that. Jeez, they really were smarter than the average

bear. Grimm. Whatever, minor reference to some old cartoon she'd watched with Ruby

in Patch.

"Get off!" Sera hissed, then kicked it in the face as hard as she could manage.

Its grip loosened and black blood gushed from its nose, but it didn't seem too

deterred. The thing roared in outrage, its red eyes glowing even brighter, and tried to

take advantage of the state she was in by pouncing. Sera gritted her teeth and threw her

fist, landing a pretty gnarly blow across its distorted chin that sent the Grimm flying into

the wall beside her.

"Yeah, fuck you!" Sera shouted triumphantly, then rolled to her feet and scooped

her chainsaw off the floor. She fixed it to her wrist and exhaled the breath she was

holding, then yanked its cord to make it roar to life. She turned her glowing red eyes

towards the Grimm that'd jumped her and tightened her jaw. It'd scrambled to its feet

and sat low to the floor on all fours, glaring at her with hatred in its eyes and its

gleaming fangs bared. Every muscle in its body twitched, and she wasn't sure if it was

because it was about to pounce again or its own fucked up anatomy.

"Come on!" she readied her weapon, giving it a few quick revs as she circled to the

side, putting her back towards the wall so she could see the rest of the fight. Plus,

nothing would be able to ambush her again.

The fight was going rather quickly, but that didn't really come as a surprise. Neo

was twirling and slashing in a deadly ballet of pink and white. Sera didn't think any of

the Grimm had even landed a blow on her, and she wasn't sure if she should be more

impressed or terrified. Dale, on the other hand, was sporting a few more gashes on his

tattered cowboy clothes. It didn't seem to deter him any though, and instead made him

fight even harder. In the span of time that she'd been struggling with this same hybrid,

they'd eradicated all but three of the creatures. Including the one with its sights set on

her.

Before she could assess the situation any further, the Grimm right in front of her

decided to attack again.

It screeched angrily and jumped at her, claws and fangs ready to strike. Sera

brandished her saw and shield just before it collided with her, bracing her feet against

the floor to meet it head on. The Grimm grabbed onto her shield and tried to yank it

away so it could sink its teeth into her neck, but she saw it coming as soon as it tried to

grab her. Using what leverage she had, and relying on the creature's grip on her shield,

Sera spun and let out a grunt of effort to throw the beast. It collided with the wall and

cracked the wood, screeching in agony upon impact before it fell to the floor like a sack

of potatoes. She narrowed her eyes and lunged towards it just as it scrambled to its feet,

then sunk the blade of her chainsaw directly through its chest with a gross, wet THUMP.

The Grimm let out a pained whimper at being impaled. The sound reminded her

of a deflating balloon, and Sera had to resist the urge to crack a smile. She stifled it and

leaned closer until she was eye to eye with the monstrosity, a disgusted scowl on her

face.

"Jackpot," she muttered.

The hybrid tightened its jaw and started to let out another ear-piercing screech,

but before it could, she revved her chainsaw and yanked it upwards, quickly slicing

through its torso, neck, and straight through its skull until its entire upper half was

cleaved in two. The chainsaw threw splatters of black blood all over her, but she'd just

kept sawing, completely unfazed.

It slumped against the wall and fell to the floor, a pool of dark blood forming on

the wooden planks while the red glow dimmed in its eyes. Sera tightened her jaw and

spit on the floor, then turned away from the mutilated Grimm just as it began to

dissipate into smoke.

Across the cabin, Neo quickly somersaulted into the air and slashed the blade of

her parasol across another Grimm's neck. She landed nimbly and flicked the blood off of

Hush, then sheathed its blade, and opened her parasol. The Grimm's head fell from its

body just as she rested it on her shoulder, a small smile on her face when she glanced

over at Sera.

Dale sidestepped the final Grimm's swing and spun his revolver before firing a

trio of rounds into its chest, and the creature's death rattle exhaled from its inhuman

mouth as it crumpled to the floor. The gunslinger sighed heavily and holstered his guns,

then fell onto the splintered remains of a couch and laid his head back.

"Please tell me that was all of them," he sighed, turning his head to look at Sera

and Neo.

Sera shrugged and flicked her chainsaw to the floor to try and get as much Grimm

blood as she could off of it. She wiped her face with her sleeve and collapsed her shield

as she made her way back over to them. "I fuckin' hope so, dude. I don't think I can take

anymore of this."

The trapdoor to the basement suddenly creaked open, and all three of them

poised to attack. What could she say? She was a little jumpy after what she's been

through.

Bela peeked out through the two-inch gap of the door, her bright blue eyes

darting around to assess the damage. "...Is it over?"

Dale exhaled a laugh and lowered his revolver, then leaned his head back again

and sat his hat on his face. "Almost got shot, miss," he murmured.

Sera relaxed and removed the chainsaw from her wrist, then used her foot to

throw open the trapdoor and reveal the forms of Bela and Isaac just on the other side.

"It's over."

Bela blinked. "Gods, you look awful."

"You don't look so hot yourself," Sera muttered as she made her way to the

nearest chair and plopped down, taking a deep breath to let her nerves calm. Once she

was settled and her heart stopped pounding so hard, she exhaled and released her hold

on the aura keeping her all Salem-like. When her skin and eyes returned to normal, she

closed her eyes and clenched her fists, silently thanking whatever deities that would

listen that everyone had survived (mostly) unharmed.

Once everyone was nice and chilled out, they went to work trying to secure the

cabin again. She and Dale nailed boards over the door and windows to keep the cold

(and more Grimm) out. Neo threw a few more logs onto the fire and went to find Sera a

change of clothes, since hers were covered in cannibal blood.

Isaac and Bela were ordered to take it easy, but only Isaac was receptive to that

idea.

"Who went and made you the boss?" Bela muttered after Sera had pushed her

onto the couch.

"I did," she stated, crossing her arms as she looked down at the stubborn girl. "I

don't care if you don't like it, you're gonna listen. Got it?"

Bela grumbled to herself for a bit, then said, "Fine."

"Good," she nodded. "Now get some sleep. This time, try to not let anyone get the

jump on you."

The girl looked like she wanted to argue, but she just crossed her arms stiffly and

threw herself back against the couch, muttering about uppity huntresses and chainsaws.

Sera just smirked and went to keep putting the building back together.

Once it was all said and done, she was a little more than utterly exhausted. When

Neo came back with an armful of fresh clothes, she quickly changed and returned to the

main room. She was just glad they were mostly in her color. A little musty from sitting in

a closet for who knows how long, but better than nothing.

An even warmer white winter coat with fur inlining, a pair of black leggings (also

with fur lining), a long sleeve thermal purple shirt, and even a matching scarf and

beanie. Definitely more than she expected, but she had no complaints. Once she was

garbed in clothes far more suitable for the cold climate, she couldn't help but smile as

she sat back in her chair.

It has been one hell of a day, from learning more of Kassandra's past, Eras

surfacing in her head, then having to deal with all those fucked up monstrosities of some

Grimm. She was tired.

Sera just hoped that really was the last of those creatures.

Unfortunately, Dale wasn't ready to let everyone get some rest just yet. As soon as

she sat down, he stood from where he'd been kneeled by the fire and dusted his hands

off.

"So," he cleared his throat, his sea green eyes turning to her almost accusingly.

"You gonna tell us about that little power-up you have now?"

Isaac and Bela glanced towards her, like they'd been wondering the same thing.

Neo stiffened and shot her a worried look, but Sera just signed a quick, It's okay.

She took a deep breath and interlaced her fingers, trying to gather her thoughts

before she looked up to meet each of their faces. Sera knew she had to spill, but she just

hated the thought of saying all this again. She doubted it'd be the last time, either.

"Okay. But uh, try not to fall asleep. It's kind of a long story," she said, her voice

low.

"We got all night," Dale shrugged, his arms crossed.

Once again, she glanced at them, then stared at the floor. Neo put a supportive

hand on her shoulder, and she took a deep breath.

"So... Everything started back in Forever Fall Forest, just outside the City of

Vale..."

End of Volume 6, Part 1

A/N: Kinda crazy chapter, huh? Hope the horror fans out there

appreciated the nods towards The Evil Dead. Speaking of, new weapon to

add to Sera's arsenal. So far she's got Jupiter, Pyrrha's shield, and the

chainsaw. When she gets Igni back, and a few little additions for the Atlas

Arc, she'll be a walking armory lol.

More Eras and Kassandra interactions will follow, too. Writing

three personalities in one head will certainly be interesting. Already had

the idea in mind for a while, but thank you Johnny Silverhand for giving

me even more inspiration for it.

More things will change from here on out, and by that, I mean more

events from the show will be altered to be more, well, hopefully better.

Including a certain showdown with a large Grimm in the city of Argus,

and a certain villain that deserved better treatment than what they got.

Till next time!