Here we are at Chapter 123. Time for what was probably one of the creepiest incidents in the RWBY series. I do not own RWBY or Tales of Berseria. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 123. Enjoy.
Chapter 123: Nightmare
Even in the darkness of the night, the war for Atlas continues unhindered. Atlas soldiers and machines continue to stand against the endless onslaught against the Grimm that the Monstra produces. Soon enough though, that line would break. Meanwhile, back at the Schnee Manor, Klein hooks Nora up to an I.V. in Weiss' old room. A few moments later, Nora groans as she finally comes to.
"Oh, thank goodness you've woken up," Klein takes note of her awakening.
"Ugh... What's..." Nora is still too weak to speak fully.
Klein puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "It's alright, miss. You're safe. You and your friend are going to be just fine.
"My... friend?" Nora wonders what he means by that.
Just then, the door opens and in walks the others, with Ruby, Weiss, Whitley, and Velvet carrying a wounded Penny as Blake opened the door for them.
"Klein, do you think you can help her, too? Penny is... she's leaking," Weiss asks.
"We'll see, but first, set her down over there. I'll take a look at her," Klein points to another mattress set on the floor behind her.
The group put Penny down, and then take note of her green... liquids (or blood to be more precise) on their clothes.
"What happened to her? We know that Penny was at Amity to help deliver the message, but... Salem's forces are focused on Atlas. We knew that they wouldn't think to attack Amity after it was abandoned. How did this happen to her?" Velvet wonders.
"I don't know, but right now that isn't important, we still need to make sure she's alright... She will be alright, won't she Klein?" Blake asks.
Klein scans Penny's body with his scroll, finding the open wound on her lower left side, "To be honest, I can't say how she'll be without even knowing what she is to begin with. Even with what you told me about her, there's only so much I can do here,"
"Just do whatever you can for her, Klein. Please," Velvet says.
Just then, another loud explosion, not too far from the manor, goes off as the battle rages on. A moment later, the power goes off in the manor.
"Oh, isn't that just wonderful," Whitley notes sarcastically.
Ruby then pulls out her scroll when she gets a call, "You guys okay over there? Just saw another bombing run light up the city. Hope it wasn't too close to you guys," it's May on the other end.
Outside, May is flying their airship through the chaos as she makes her way back to the crater to help out with things there.
"No, no, it wasn't too close to us, but the bombing run did take out the power in this part of the city. We're fine though,"
"Well, that's a relief. Sorry I couldn't stick around, but time is running out for the people down in the crater. I couldn't just sit and wait," May replies
"We're sorry we couldn't come to help. Once we take care of Penny and Nora, we'll figure something out on our end," Velvet joins the conversation.
May is about to reply when an Atlas battleship gets taken out by a large aerial Grimm, "Don't beat yourselves up over this. Right now, I don't really know what to do either. I'm just going to do whatever I can. You guys should too. Be careful," May then ends the call.
Ruby sighs and Velvet wraps an arm around her, "Are you okay?" she's worried for her beloved.
Ruby glances at her, "I just... It's all just too much, and it's all falling apart. Penny, the Grimm, the crater, Nora. Everything. How do we fix all of it?"
Klein then sneezes, "Achoo! Uh, one step at a time, my dear. Achoo!" his personality changes again. "You can't possibly be everywhere, trying to fix everything at once. Simply focuses on what's in front of you right now, then worry about the next thing afterwards. If you like, one place to start would be to get the power back on so I can do more work for your friends here," Klein suggests.
"And how do we take care of that issue?" Velvet asks.
"We have a generator at the edge of the estate. That's how you take care of the power problem," they look to see Willow enter the room.
"Oh, so nice of you to finally join us mother," Whitley notes a little snidely.
"Despite appearances, I'm not a fan of drinking in the dark. And besides," she glances at Velvet. "Maybe there is something I can do to help here," her attention then turns to Klein. "Oh, hello Klein," she greets him, who nods back.
Weiss then gets an idea, "The generator... SDC executives have their own auxiliary power sources... in case of power outages such as this. It's extremely unfair, but... in this case, having some company perks can actually help us this time,"
Whitley keeps the ball rolling as he realizes something, "We don't just have company perks. We have the SDC itself. You said that the people down in the crater need a way out, right. We have practically an armada of SDC airships that have been just sitting in the hangars since the Dust embargo. Not only that, we also have a number of automated drones that are controlled by us, not the general, at our disposal. With the General and his army too focused on fighting back the Grimm, they won't notice the airships going down to help the people down there, or have the manpower to stop them. We can get those people to safety while the army and the Grimm are busy fighting with each other,"
Everyone is surprised, one by his smart plan, and two, that he was willing to help so many people down there. Then again, he did call Klein, so anything is possible.
"Who are you and what have you done with that spoiled brat, Whitley Schnee?" Velvet is perplexed.
Whitley crosses his arms and turns his head away with a grunt.
Ruby gets back on topic, "Okay, but how will we get the order out? Are we even able to do so?"
"I am able to. All I need is to gain access to Father's computer. Luckily, he told me how to unlock it since he made me the heir," Whitley says.
Velvet smiles, "Then we'd better get that power up ASAP,"
With the new game plan set, Velvet, Ruby, and Blake race outside of the manor and run through the courtyard. They quickly reach the edge of the estate, finding a small building where Willow said the power generator would be. Blake and Velvet push the gates open and they move inside, finding the generator. Ruby flips the switch up and a monitor comes on, showing that it's powering up.
"Come on, just start up already," Ruby gets impatient.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine," Blake calms her down.
"Well, nothing has been fine for a long while," Ruby laments.
"You know, there was a time when I sort of thought like you, back in my old world. I was trapped in that prison for three years, stuck with no way out. Not until Seras broke me out. Then there was a time when I was drowning in a pit of despair, only for Laphicet to pull me out and show me the way again. There will always be tough times for people like us, people fighting against insurmountable odds. But, luckily, we have people that refuse to give up, who always see the light at the end of the tunnel. Laphicet taught me that, even though I already taught him so much. And then I met someone else like that. I met you, Ruby. You never give up. You always keep moving forward. You were a little naïve when we first met, but you've grown since then, and yet, that spark you had back at Beacon never gave out. And I'm glad to see that it still hasn't now," Velvet holds Ruby's hand.
"She's right, Ruby. None of us are alone. As long as we stand together, we will always have a chance. You showed me that on more than one occasion. I believed in you back at Beacon, and I still do now," Blake adds.
Their encouraging words cheer her up as she wipes her tears away, "Thanks, you guys," and then the generator comes online and powers up the estate.
Inside their father's study, Whitley goes to work on his computer while Weiss stands behind him. The lights come in in the generator building, and Blake looks back at Ruby and Velvet, only for her eyes to widen in horror.
"Blake?" Velvet wonders.
Inside the manor, the others wait in Weiss' room, only to hear a crashing sound outside.
"What was that?" Klein wonders, while Willow starts to panic on the inside a little.
Inside the study, Weiss gets a call from Blake, "Blake, is everything alright?"
"Weiss, we've got a problem. There's-watch out!" she hears Blake yell before the call goes out.
"Argh! I'll be right back. You can handle this, right?" Weiss asks her brother.
"As long as you can deal with that," Whitley fires back.
Weiss runs out of the room, "Your behavior still needs work,"
Outside, Velvet crashes through a wall, but rolls back onto her feet after hitting the ground. She activates her arm blade and looks up to see the Hound Grimm moving outside the building. Ruby and Blake move in front behind.
"Checkmate!" Ruby yells out their combo.
Blake and Ruby make a pincer attack at the Grimm's rear, but the Hound jumps up onto the wall, causing them to miss. It then drops down on top of Blake, though she keeps its claws back with her blades. Ruby fires a few shots at it, but the shots have little effect on its body. Velvet charges at the Grimm, only for it to pick Blake up and use her a shield. Blake uses her semblance, escaping Hound's grasp, giving Velvet an opening as she twirls in the air with her arm blade. The Hound swings an elongated arm at her, knocking her away. Ruby uses her semblance to fly in with her scythe, but the Hound grabs her face and then slams her on the ground before tossing her aside.
"Ruby!" Velvet activates her Maiden powers and unleashes a blast of fire from her hands.
The flames almost consume the Grimm, but it jumps out of the way from the blaze.
"What is that thing?!" Ruby wonders.
Blake lands next to her, "It's just another Grimm. Just focus," she runs ahead to assist Velvet.
Ruby takes a breath and closes her eyes as she focuses on her Silver Eyes' power. Velvet activates her demon claw and focuses a torrent of ice at the Hound. The Hound climbs up the wall to evade it, which is where Blake is waiting for it. She stabs her blades into its back, but the Grimm grabs her by the head and throws her at Ruby. Ruby opens her eyes just in time to see Blake crashing into her.
"You bastard!" Velvet fires off another blast of ice that hits the Grimm's right arm.
The Hound lands on the ground as it breaks off the frozen arm, only for a new one to grow back in its place.
"Take... the girl," the Hound speaks.
This shocks Velvet, "Did it just... talk?"
The Grimm approaches Ruby and sprouts a pair of wings and is about to fly off with her. However, Velvet swings her demon arm and creates a claw shield to separate the two. The Hound howls and turns back to Velvet. Blake comes in from the side and fires off more shots at it, but they have no effect. Just then, Weiss arrives to help them.
"What is that thing?!" Weiss yells as she readies her rapier.
"Some new Grimm, I don't know!" Velvet yells before smashing her claw into the ground, freezing the ground in front of her as it approaches the Hound.
The Hound flies up into the air with its wings, howling again. Velvet then fires off a few fire artes at the Grimm, causing it to fly around in the air to evade them.
Weiss calls Klein, "Klein, there's a Grimm here. There might be more around. Keep everyone together and stay quiet," she then ends the call.
However, while Klein is remaining calm, Willow is only becoming more panicked and terrified.
"Please, madam, try to calm down. Take a breath," Klein says.
Willow looks like she's about to take his advice, only for another crashing sound from outside to spook her even more.
"I-I-I-I'm sorry. I can't-I can't do this!" Willow freaks out and runs out of the room.
"Madam Willow, please wait!" Klein calls out in vain.
Just then, Penny wakes up, but her eyes are red now. She stands up like some simple robot, but Klein takes notice of her.
"Miss, please, take it easy now-," Klein begins, only for her to push him into a chair.
Before Penny can leave though, her powers flare up, "No... Not again!" she panics as she clutches her head.
Outside, Weiss sends out some ice shards at the Hound, but they miss. She then tries to make a summon, only for several Centinels to pop out from underground and destroy her summon. As the fighting continues, they all hear Penny scream and see a green light coming from Weiss' room, which the Hound notices.
Velvet's eyes widen, "No, it's here for Penny!" she swings her claw with ice around it, but the Hound flies off towards the Manor. "No!"
"Velvet!" Blake slices through a Centinel with her katana. "You and Ruby go stop that thing. We'll handle the Grimm here!"
Velvet and Ruby nod before heading out to catch the Hound. Weiss sends out some more ice shards to skewer a few more Centinels. They get ready to join the others, only for another hole to come out in front of them and a Cenitaur Grimm to pop out. It roars at them and shows off its scythe arms.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Weiss mutters with disdain.
As they approach the Manor, Velvet calls Klein, "Klein, do you hear me?"
"Yes, Miss Crowe, I hear you," Klein replies.
"Listen up, the Grimm is heading to the manor. You need to keep everyone together and keep quiet. Is Penny okay?" Velvet says.
"Miss Polendina is alright, I think. Miss Valkyrie helped her calm down. However, Master Whitley has yet to return and Madam Willow has run off," Klein replies.
"Oh for the love of-where the Hell did she go?!" Velvet curses.
Velvet and Ruby finally reach the manor, with Velvet kicking the front doors open. They slowly move inside, looking for any signs of the Hound. It's all quiet, too quiet, until...
"Above you!" they hear and look up just in time to see the Hound falling down on them and they jump out of the way.
Ruby uses her semblance to fly around and swing at the Grimm's side, but the Hound jumps up, only to get blasted by a shot of fire from Velvet. Ruby fires a few more shots at the Hound, but it starts climbing on the walls to the second floor. Velvet tries to trap it in ice by sending out a wave of ice through her demon claw, but the Grimm swings around with its elongated arms to evade it before landing on the second-floor balcony. It roars at them and then escapes, heading deeper into the manor.
"This thing is pissing me off," Velvet notes.
"Are you two alright?" Willow calls out over the comms.
"Miss Schnee? That was you. How did you know?" Ruby asks.
"I believe my daughter told you that I hid cameras in every room of this house. I'm watching it right now. It's outside Winter's old room," Willow replies.
"Okay, just calm down and focus. What's it doing right now?" Velvet asks.
"I don't know... It's acting strange..." Willow says.
"Okay, well, do you see where it's going?" Ruby asks.
"It looks like it's heading for... Oh no," Willow's eyes widen in horror.
With that, the pair race to track down the Hound, and split up halfway to cover more ground. Meanwhile, Weiss and Blake continue to fight the Cenitaur. It rears its head back and spews acid at them, causing them to jump back.
"This just gets more and more disgusting," Weiss notes.
The Cenitaur starts swinging its scythe arms at them causing them to evade the attacks. Blake comes around, using her semblance to get behind it and throws her chain-scythe at the Grimm. The Cenitaur knocks it away with its scythes and turns back to her for another attack, but that gives Weiss the chance to make her summon, summoning out her Queen Lancer summon. Blake dodges the Cenitaur's attacks and blocks one of its scythes, but then the Grimm howls in pain as the Queen Lancer shoots a few spines into its back. The Cenitaur spews acid at it, melting the summon away, but that gives Blake the chance to jump up and slice its head off with her blades. With the threat down, the pair head back to the manor.
Back at the manor, Whitley has just finished with sending out the orders for the SDC airships. However, the second he leaves the room, he spots the Hound coming around the corner. He makes a break for it and it gives chase. Whitley comes around a corner, but the Hound is hot on his tail. It gets close enough to pounce, only for a Boarbatusk summon to smash into it and pin it against a wall.
Willow comes around another corner, "RUN!" and the pair run for their lives as the summon gets taken out by the Hound.
They continue running through the halls, trying to get away from the Hound. Just as it's about to reach them, the Hound gets blasted back by a fire arte. The pair look back to see Velvet with her demon claw out.
"Go! Now!" Velvet yells.
The pair run past her and he deactivates her demon claw, focusing more on her Maiden powers. The Hound roars and charges at her. Velvet kneels down and freezes the ground before her, but the Hound jumps along the wall and pounces on her. Velvet rolls out of the way and then flips in the air with her foot blades out, sending arcs of fire at the Grimm. The Grimm gets hit by a few of them, but keeps pushing forward and manages to grab Velvet by one of her legs. He swings her around and smashes her against a wall. However, Velvet swings her other foot blade around to cut the Grimm's fingers off, freeing herself as she lands back on her feet. Just then, the Grimm runs and crashes through the glass window, using its wings to fly around to another part of the Manor, and crashes in right in front of Willow and Whitley. The pair panic as the Grimm approaches, only for an ice wall to block its path. They look back and see Weiss and Blake behind them.
"I didn't forget you," Weiss smiles.
However, the moment is cut short when the Hound starts breaking through the ice wall. Willow and Whitley run for it while Blake and Weiss stay behind and prepare to face the beast. As the Hound makes a hole in the ice, they all hear a loud scream. The Hound perks up and then runs away from them, making the pair worried.
"That was Penny. It's still looking for her," Blake worries.
Inside Weiss' room, Penny is losing control, "I'm sorry... I-I can't-," she holds her head.
"Penny... Please!" Nora weakly begs.
Just then, Penny's eyes go red again. She begins walking away, pushing Klein down as he tries to stop her, and then exits the room.
In the main room, Willow and Whitley stop at the stairs to catch their breaths. A moment later, Penny walks by them like some mindless robot.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Whitley asks.
"I must open the vault... And then self-terminate," Penny replies as she heads down the stairs.
The Hound suddenly shows up and attacks Penny from behind, but even in her current state, she stops its attack with her hands. That won't stop the Hound though.
A third arm grows out of its back and grabs Penny's head, "Take! The! Girl!" it says, smashing her into the floor with each word.
After the attack, the others regroup and spot them, "Get away from her!" Velvet aims her demon claw at it. However, the Hound picks Penny up and holds her close with a claw at her throat. "What the-?"
"That's enough," she looks back, as do the others, at Ruby, who's eyes shine from her power and send the Hound falling out the window behind it while dropping Penny.
Penny tumbles down the stairs to her friends, and they rush to her side to check on her. However, they don't have much time to do so when the Hound climbs its way back up.
"...Take... the girl," only now, its head is gone, revealing a Faunus head and body underneath, the face horrendously disfigured... and a lone Silver Eye remaining. "Take... the girl," the Hound speaks as it stands up. The mere sight of him horrifies the group, and even Velvet is a little disturbed by its true appearance. The Hound starts walking down, reaching out to Penny as its body moves and bends inhumanely and bone cracking is heard all over. "Take the girl!" the Hound gets closer as the others carry Penny away. However, Velvet remains where she is. "Take the girl!" the Hound's normal head returns.
"Like Ruby said... That's enough," Velvet's powers flare up.
The Hound pounces on her, but Velvet grabs its arms with her demon claw and begins to freeze them, the ice spreading over the body. The Hound howls and grows a third arm to attack Velvet, but she fires off more ice from her right hand, freezing the third arm. The ice spreads over the Grimm's body. Velvet expands her power, creating an ice storm around her that super freezes the Grimm's whole body solid in seconds. With the Hound frozen solid, Velvet finishes it off by swinging her claw, smashing it to pieces. With the threat gone, Velvet deactivates her powers, and then falls onto her knees, mentally tired.
"Velvet!" Ruby rushes to her side. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Ruby... I'm fine," Velvet stares at the shattered remains of the Hound, the ice and the Grimm underneath beginning to disintegrate.
As they're checking on Penny, Blake looks back at them "What... was that thing?" as they stare at the bones left behind from the monster.
Ruby stares at the bones, "That... was a person,"
A terrifying thought occurs to Velvet, "That person... had Silver Eyes. Was that... was that how Summer Rose died?"
And that's the chapter. Velvet and her friends managed to save Penny from the Hound, but uncover a dark truth because of it. When next they meet, Velvet will have questions for Summer Rose. While one threat has been dealt with, how will Velvet and her friends deal with the rest? Until then, please Read and Review.