Here we are at Chapter 125. The aftermath of Oscar's magic trick and the gangs returning to one another, among other things. I do not own RWBY or Tales of Berseria. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 125. Enjoy.

Chapter 125: The Price of War

At the Schnee Manor, Velvet aids Klein in tending to Nora and Penny with their injuries while the others are currently indisposed. Velvet changes Nora's bandages after she just finished working on her I.V.

"How is she, Miss Crowe?" Klein asks as he works on stitching up Penny's wound.

"Nora's stable, and her vitals appear to be getting better. Good thing you came when you did. Thank you, Klein," Velvet replies.

"Well, I can't take all the credit. You've been a big help as well, Miss Crowe. If not for you and your friends' efforts beforehand, she might not have last long enough for me to arrive. Your friend there was in deep trouble. Luckily, she's past the worst now," Klein notes.

Velvet stares at Nora, "Well, I had a little brother who wasn't the strongest, health-wise, and I looked after him a lot. You pick up a thing or two, I guess,"

Klein looks back outside the window, seeing more explosions going off as the war for Atlas continues.

Klein sighs, "If only all this wasn't happening, then we could've been able to get them to a hospital. Sadly, with all the chaos, even if we could and did get them to a hospital, they'd most likely be full of other injured patients. Oh, I've wondered how things could've come to this, but at the end of the day, the only thing I can do right now is help Miss Schnee's friends. So, that's what I'll do,"

"Yeah... And I'll do whatever I have to do as well," Velvet mutters.

Just then, Ruby and Blake walk into the room, "How are they doing?" Blake walks over to kneel next to Penny.

"Better than before. Penny has been unconscious since that... thing attacked earlier, but at least she's not panicking like before and her injury has been sealed up. Nora's slipping in and out of consciousness, but her condition has improved. Those scars of hers haven't healed even a little bit though... I'm afraid they may be stuck like that," Velvet explains, and stares at her left hand. "It's ironic in a screwed-up way. I have all this power, all this ability, and yet... I can't even heal some injuries like this. I can give first aid, but that hardly helps," she notes sorrowfully.

Ruby walks over and gives her girlfriend a side hug, "Hey, you helped out big time, many times before. If it wasn't for you, we'd be in way worse shape right now,"

Velvet sighs, "Thank you, Ruby... How are you feeling?"

Ruby knows what she's referring to, "I'm... I don't know. I just... To think that THAT could've been how Mom...," she buries her face in Velvet's side. "I try not to think about it... But, it's so, very hard," she's almost to the point where she's crying.

Velvet moves her around to embrace her, "Hey, I'm right here. We'll fix this. I know it. Because you're here, and you never give up. That's why I love you so much. And you're not alone. We'll figure this out together,"

Just then, Weiss walks in, carrying a tray with a few cups of coffee, "Here, I think we could all use something to help perk us up a bit," she hands out the drinks to everyone. "Despite what happened with that... Hound, Whitley was able to get the order out to our drones. They've already begun getting the airships out and our on their way to the crater to evacuate the people down there. It will take them some time to get fully set up and get there, but at least that should be one less problem we'll have to worry about. The one good thing about this big battle is that both the Grimm and the Atlas military will be too busy fighting with each other to notice them. Whitley set them on a course that will take them away from the fighting. It'll take them a little more time to get to their destination because of it, but at least they'll get here safely," Weiss sits by the fireplace and looks out the window. "I hope Yang and the others are okay. We still haven't been able to get in contact with them... Where could they be in all this mess?" Weiss wonders about the others, but she worries about her girlfriend most of all.

Velvet and Ruby separate, with Ruby staying by Nora while Velvet stands next to Weiss, "I'm sure wherever they are, they're okay. As long as they're not in the middle of that mess, they should be-," only for a sudden flash of light to cut her off and blind everyone.

…

On the battlefield, Winter and the Ace-Ops prepare to deliver the bomb into the Monstra. However, before they reach their target, that same flash of light blasts them off their feet. The blast was so large and powerful that it kills the Monstra, and takes out a large number of the smaller Grimm still on the main battlefield, and even some of the stragglers in the city. When the light fades, all that is left is the destroyed remains of the Monstra as it begins to disintegrate into dust.

…

On a rooftop, Innominat watches on as the flash of light dissipates and shows the decaying remains of the Monstra.

"Well, that was certainly unexpected, but not unwelcome. Of course, even that won't kill Salem, but even that will keep her out of action for the time being. Which gives me some time to do what I want to do without her getting in my way. Now then, let's see how much despair I can make out of all this mess," Innominat mutters before he jumps off the rooftop to go have some fun.

…

Meanwhile, back at the site of the dead Monstra, Yang, Lailah, and the their friends managed to find Oscar and Jaune gives him a hand with his aura aid. As they look around, Yang gets a call from her scroll and answers it. The scroll shows Blake, Ruby, Velvet, and Weiss on the other end.

"...Blake? Guys?" Yang mutters.

Blake speaks up, "Yang! Oh, thank goodness you're okay. We've been trying to contact you guys forever. Are you guys alright?"

Yang's first focus is Weiss, "Weiss... I mean, y-yeah, we're fine. We're okay, and we're up here in Atlas. What about you guys? Are you okay?"

"We're... we've been better, but we're okay. We should meet up if you guys are up here in Atlas," Blake replies.

Meanwhile, Jaune checks on Oscar, "Are you okay?"

Oscar looks off into the distance, "I'm sorry... Hazel. He sacrificed himself to save us. He was never truly a bad person to begin with. Just someone in a bad place, and Salem used his anger and grief to make him do what she wanted. He was just another one of his victims,"

Lailah offers a quick prayer before speaking, "It is saddening, but that is exactly why we must keep going. We can't let his sacrifice be for nothing. We have to go,"

"...Alright, we've sent you the map. If you stick to it, you should reach us while avoiding the Grimm and the Atlas military... whatever is left of them. We'll see you soon," Blake replies to Yang.

"Alright, we'll see you soon," Yang waves back to them, giving Weiss a long look before ending the call. She looks to the others, "We need to get moving. Now,"

A little later, the group make their way through the city, keeping to the alleyways and the shadows as they avoid the Grimm and any military in the area. Soon enough, they find the entrance to one subway station that was shown to them on the map the others sent to them. Moving down, they find that the subway station there is surprisingly empty. They figured the civilians must've moved to other areas to get away from the entrance where Grimm could reach them.

"Come on, if we keep moving this way, we should reach the sector where the others are at," Yang points the way forward.

Some of them using their scrolls for light, they move through the subway tunnels, weapons still at the ready in case there are some surprises waiting for them in the shadows. During the walk, the group talk about a few things.

"Wait, so you're from Velvet's old world, but you were originally Pyrrha Nikos here. And when you died, you were reincarnated as a Seraphim," Oscar goes over what Lailah just told him.

"Yes, more or less. Maotelus saw fit to bring me back to aid him in protecting his world, now that my time as Pyrrha Nikos in this world had passed," Lailah replies.

"Pyrrha Nikos...," Oscar hears Ozpin mutter sadly, reminded of another of his students that suffered in his war with Salem.

"You do not need to worry about me. It was comforting that Hazel was there to help you escape," Lailah notes.

Oscar thinks back to Hazel's sacrifice, "Hazel was seeking revenge for his sister. Salem lied to him by telling him that she was trying to create a new world order, but what she really wants is to destroy this world so she can die, so she can be released. I bet she made the same lie to all of those that work for her. When Hazel realized the truth after I talked with him, he helped me escape. It would've been nice if her were still here with us. We could've really used someone like him,"

"It is sad that Hazel was lost. I could tell that deep down, he was a kind soul, just troubled. But, at least we still have help from each other, and from other sources... such as Ozpin," Lailah says, surprising Oscar. "I know the truth about him, and about you. I can sense him too. I can feel his presence within you, especially now that he's returned,"

"Wait, what?!" Yang and the others stop when they hear this.

"Ozpin is back?!" Jaune adds.

"Look, I know how you all feel about him right now, but he saved my life. When we were tortured, he took it... so I wouldn't have to," Oscar then takes out his cane. "He entrusted me with this. And the massive amount of power he had stored within it. Kinetic energy that he had stored up lifetime after lifetime in the cane he built,"

"So, that's how you did that back there? You released all of that stored up energy?" Jaune asks.

"No, not all of it, but most of it. We have to be careful with how we use the rest," Oscar holsters his cane. "He trusted my judgment and it saved us. I want to reciprocate that trust, there's a lot to sort out, but Oz really does want to help us," Oscar says, leaving the others hesitant about what to do about that.

"Thank you, Oscar," Ozpin thanks him. As they walk, Oscar can feel Ozpin staring at Lailah. "To think that Pyrrha would be reborn like this... Perhaps if I had been better prepared, if I had tried something different, she might not have had to be reincarnated in the first place."

Just then, they hear what sounds like a baby crying up ahead. They move to the source of the crying and find a large number of Atlas citizens taking shelter at one section ot the subway system with some lighting still operational.

The group put their lights away, "All of Atlas is down here," Jaune notes.

They walk through the area, noting the looks of fear and worry on the people. Mothers holding their children, husbands holding their wives. One could feel the dread in the air like they were walking through a tub of whip cream.

"They have nowhere else to go after all. Mantle is no longer safe, and there are too many people in the crater and not enough protection there to deal with even more refugees. This is the only safe place for them right now. The question is... how long will this remain a safe place for them?" Lailah notes with worry.

"Even though Salem got taken out of the picture, she'll be back. We know that. What will we do when she does? The military has taken a beating, and there's still straggler Grimm everywhere. How do we fix this?" Yang worries.

"We fix it together, Yang. Nothing will get solved if we just focus on what we can't do and what we don't have. Focus on what we do have and what we can do. These people will need you, need all of us, now more than ever. For now, let's focus on getting back with the others. We'll be able to do more when we're all together. All of us," Lailah replies.

…

Soon enough, Yang's group finally make it to the Schnee Manor. After traversing subway tunnels, sneaking by Grimm and soldiers alike, they finally see their friends after what feels like a lifetime. Just as they arrive at the front doors, Ruby opens them up, and smiles at seeing her sister and the others again. Ruby leaps into her sister's arms, the two of them swinging around. Tears of joy fall from their eyes before they separate.

"I'm glad you're okay, little sis," Yang replies.

The sisters let go, allowing Ruby to greet Jaune and Ren. Meanwhile, Yang turns around to hug Blake, and then hug Velvet. However, when she finishes with them and looks back at Weiss, Weiss appears hesitant to approach, looking away shamefully. Yang walks over to her and gently cups her cheek to get her girlfriend to look at her.

"I'm sorry for how I acted back in Mantle. I shouldn't have done that," Yang apologizes.

Weiss starts to tear up, "Yang, no, you were only doing what you thought was right. You don't have to-," but she stops when Yang puts a finger on her lips.

"And you were doing the same thing. So, we're even, okay," Yang then leans in and kisses Weiss, which she lovingly returns. A few seconds later, the separate. "I'm glad you're okay. But then again, I always knew you could handle yourself,"

Ren walks into the manor, "Um, where's Nora? Is she okay?" Ren looks around and then at the others.

Blake sighs, "Come with me. It's... better if you see for yourself,"

Just then, Ruby turns to Oscar, "Oscar, you're... you are okay, right? What happened to you?" Ruby takes note of his disheveled appearance.

"I'm okay, I'm okay. I'll explain later," Oscar calms her down.

Ruby sighs while Velvet walks up next to her and notices Lailah behind Oscar, "You... you were here before. You helped me back at the school against Innominat. Who... what are you?"

Lailah smiles, "I'm a Seraphim, a new name for the Malakhim you knew back in your world, Velvet. My name is Lailah... but you actually knew me once as someone else,"

"Really? But... who?" Ruby asks. Lailah takes a moment and uses her power to give them a brief glimpse of herself as Pyrrha Nikos, shocking everyone who saw her, Ruby most of all. "P-Pyrrha..., but-,"

"It's true. She's Pyrrha, or at least, she was, before she became Lailah," Jaune tells them.

"It's good to see you again, Ruby, Velvet, everyone," Lailah greets them.

Ruby starts to cry a little, "Pyrrha, I mean Lailah... I'm sorry. I should've gotten to you faster. If only I hadn't-," Ruby stops when Lailah suddenly hugs her.

"It was never your fault, Ruby. I made my choice, and I was prepared for the consequences of that choice. You couldn't have known what would happen that day. None of us did. But, I knew that you, and Jaune, and Velvet, and everyone else would go on and will one day succeed. So, don't be sad. Just keep moving forward," Lailah comforts her.

Ruby cries again, but returns the hug. When they separate, Velvet them hugs Lailah, "It's good to see you again. But, you could've told me sooner who you really were,"

Lailah chuckles, "Oh, well I couldn't do that just yet. One, because it wasn't the right time, and two, because it wouldn't be as much fun,"

They separate, "But still, how did you, I mean... How are you here now, as you are now?"

Lailah is about to explain her origins before they all hear a beeping noise, and pinpoint the source as Ruby's scroll. Ruby pulls it out and finds May on the other end, herself already back at the crater.

"Kids, the cargo ships you sent. They're here, but... but they didn't come alone!" May yells.

"May, what are you talking about? What's going on?" Ruby asks worriedly.

"Oh, gods... RUN! Everyone, get into the mines, now!" May shouts, pointing behind her, before they hear an explosion and then the connection goes out on them.

"What the Hell is going on down there?" Velvet asks.

Just then, an alarm goes off and everyone checks their scrolls, "This is an emergency CCT broadcast," a female robotic voice says before Ruby makes a large screen from her scroll so everyone can see.

It shows the SDC cargo ships on their way to the crater... only to get shot down by Atlas military airships.

Everyone is shocked by the scene, "No... Those ships were going to get the people on the crater out of there. They were going to save them," Velvet mutters.

The screen then shows Ironwood standing under one light in a dark room, "I have always promised to protect this kingdom. It's technology, its future, from those who would see it destroyed. Our enemy is crippled, but one individual still denies Atlas its salvation. The Protector of Mantle," Ironwood says, prompting Velvet to clench her fists, as does Jaune while the rest simply watch. "Penny, wherever you and your friends are, I need you all to listen. I know how much Mantle means to you. So, I'm going to give you a choice. You can bring yourself to Atlas Academy and do your duty; help me save as much of Atlas as possible, and Mantle will be left to fend for itself. Or... you can all watch as I destroy it," he continues, making them widen their eyes in shock. "I have one bomb. That's all it will take to wipe Mantle off the face of Remnant. If there is no Mantle, then there is no reason for you not to work with me. Neither of us wanted it to come to that... but one of us is willing to do it. If anyone tries anything other than what I've ordered, Mantle... is gone. You have one hour to respond. I hope you will live to the title I gave you," Ironwood says and then the screen goes blank.

"So, you've gone and done it, Ironwood... You've finally become just like Artorius," Velvet mutters in anger.

And that's the chapter. Yang and the others reunite with Ruby and Velvet's group, and Ruby and Velvet learn the truth about Lailah, but the happy moment is short-lived when Ironwood threatens to destroy Mantle if Penny doesn't surrender to him. What will our heroes do now? Will they be able to stop Ironwood and save both Atlas and Mantle? Until then, please Read and Review.