Hello people. Well we already got one chapter with Velvet bonding with Yang (sort of), and one with Weiss. So now we have one with some bonding with Ruby. I know that she's done that in previous chapters, but they didn't really focus on those two, so here we are. I do not own RWBY or Tales of Berseria. They belong to their respective owners. Here's chapter 9. Enjoy.

Chapter 9: An Upgrade

As another day goes by, Ozpin is currently working in his office, taking care of paperwork for this semester before he has to start on the work scheduled for next semester. A few minutes later, Professor Goodwitch walks, holding some papers in her arms.

"Good afternoon, Professor Ozpin," she greets him.

"Good afternoon, Glynda. Do you have something for me?" he asks.

"These are the papers regarding the dorm setup for the exchange students coming next semester for the Vytal Festival. I thought it best to get this taken care of now while I had the time so we'll be ready later," she says, handing him the papers.

"Ah, thank you Glynda. I can always count on you to support me," he says, but notices a despondent look on her face. "Is something wrong?" he asks.

Glynda sighs, "I've been thinking about that girl, Velvet Crowe, a little bit. There's something about her that troubles me," she admits.

"Such as?" Ozpin encourages her.

"For one, video footage in the training room shows her absorbing Dust crystals into her semblance and using it in ways similar to Miss Schnee's weapon, not to mention another person's aura," Glynda replies.

"I'll admit it is a rather unique ability, but nothing too serious, don't you think?" Ozpin inquires.

"Yes, but she had that ability before her aura was unlocked? That shouldn't be possible unless that is not her semblance. Which begs the question of where and how she got those powers," Glynda says, her voice growing more anxious,

"Glynda…you do know we have seen abilities far more unusual than that…let's not forget what's at stake here," he reminds her.

"I know, it's just…She is not like the other students here. The abilities she's shown, the experience in combat…I almost shudder to think what she went through before we found her. You and I both know she was lying about how she got to the Emerald Forest and why. And not knowing the real reason unnerves me a bit," Glynda continues.

This makes Ozpin glance down in contemplation, "Well…It's not like we're exactly honest ourselves. So I say we don't really have the right to pry. We need to earn her trust, and it's obvious that won't happen for quite some time," Ozpin muses.

"You're not thinking about telling her, are you?" she asks.

"…No. I can tell she's been through a lot. That is definitely true. For now, it would be best to just let her be. She's slowly bonding with her teammates, and I'd hate to put them in that situation, especially young Miss Rose," Ozpin says, clasping his hands in front of his face.

"I worry about her too. She's a good girl…I'm afraid of what will happen with her should things get out of hand with…" Glynda trails off.

"We can only prepare for whatever happens as best as we can, Glynda. It's about all we can do at this point…" Ozpin advises her, to which she nods.

…

"Another moment of this, and I'm going to seriously maim him," Velvet thinks, groaning silently.

Currently, Velvet along with her team are sitting through another one of Professor Port's stories about his youth, trying to listen as he talks about killing Grimm in the most unrealistic of ways imaginable.

"The Beowolf was cunning, and I only had a ruler and some duck tape at my disposal. The Grimm lunged at me, which is exactly what I was hoping for…" Port rabbles on.

Velvet tunes him out, chin resting in one hand as she pretends to look like she cares, but is having trouble doing so. She glances at her teammates, seeing Weiss taking extensive notes, Blake listening while glancing at her book, Yang trying to stay awake, and Ruby listening with the occasional note being written down.

"…And with the Grimm thoroughly subdued with the duck tape, I used this chance to beat it to death with the ruler…The moral of the story is that a huntsmen must be creative and use whatever he or she has at their disposal," Port ends his story. Just then, the bell for the end of class goes off. "Ah perfect timing, well then see you next class. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and stay vigilant," Port says.

The students all sigh in relief at finally having their freedom back as they leave the room. Team RVWBY leave to head back to their dorm to change for lunch. Ruby walks beside Velvet.

"Hey Velvet, can I ask you something?" she asks.

"Shoot," Velvet says.

"Where did you get your weapons? Did you make them yourself?" Ruby asks.

"No, I didn't make them. I…got them back home as a means of defending myself. They've come in handy over time," Velvet replies.

"Okay. You ever thought about getting them modified or upgraded?" she asks again.

"No. Why?" Velvet replies.

Ruby fidgets with her hands, "Well, I was wondering…Would you like me to make a new weapon for you? It can even be a stronger version of them," Ruby offers.

"You want to make me a weapons? Can you even do that?" Velvet asks, raising an eyebrow.

Yang pops in, "You bet. In fact, it was Ruby who designed her own weapon, Crescent Rose," Yang mentions.

Velvet looks back to Ruby, "You made your weapon?" she asks, a little disbelief in her voice.

Ruby nods, "Yep. That's why she's my sweetheart," Ruby replies, hands clasped together with a goofy smile on her face.

"Yeah, Ruby's a real weapons freak," Yang teases her.

"Hey! I just really like weapons okay!" Ruby retorts.

"I think 'like' is a bit of an understatement," Weiss adds, smirking.

"Come on, not you too, Weiss!" Ruby pouts.

"I'm surprised she doesn't sleep with her scythe," Blake says, smirking as well.

Ruby looks at her with a look of betrayal and then hangs her head in defeat. A moment later, she picks herself back up and looks back at Velvet.

"So, what do you think? Wanna give it a shot?" Ruby asks.

Velvet looks up and thinks about it, "I'm fine with my current setup, but then again there may come a situation where my blades may not be enough. Hm…" Velvet continues to think until Ruby gets in front of her and does her puppy dog eye routine again.

"Please…" she stresses, adding tears in the corner of her eyes for added effect.

Velvet looks away, but Ruby keeps the look going as she inches closer to Velvet.

Velvet winches, "Again, that is not fair," she thinks and sighs, "Fine. Let's see what you got," she relents. Ruby replaces the look with a smile and giggles as she walks ahead of the team. "I swear, that look should be illegal," Velvet notes.

Yang snickers, "You're telling me. Can't tell you how many times that worked on me. Hopefully, someday you'll build up an immunity to it," Yang says and they continue on their way.

The team return to their dorm and get changed for lunch. However, as they're about to leave, Yang notices Ruby and Velvet are not following.

Aren't you two coming with us?" she asks.

"Uh, no I kind of want to get started working on some designs for Velvet's new weapon and I need her here to get her input. You three go on ahead. Just bring us both back something to eat, okay?" Ruby informs them.

"Oh, okay, sure. We'll bring you back something to eat," Yang says as she, Weiss, and Blake take their leave.

"Oh boy, Velvet's in for it now," Yang says.

This makes both Weiss and Blake curious, "What makes you say that?" Weiss asks.

"You haven't seen Ruby when she's in 'weapon geek' mode," Yang adds.

…

Velvet sits on her bed as she watches Ruby pull out a sketchbook and some pencils before she sits beside her.

"So before I can actually forge your weapon, I need to get an idea of what it would look like. So, first, what would you prefer your weapon to be like?" she asks.

"…Well, I'm pretty used to my blades. I'd like to keep my foot blades since they're in my boots anyway, but I guess we can do something about my gauntlet blade. I guess I'd like it to be as light as it is now, or at least close to it so it doesn't way me down," Velvet starts off.

Ruby jots down some notes and starts sketching out some ideas.

"Okay, well luckily I can find metals that are strong, but light as well. How about the blade itself; would you like it to be a little longer? That would give you better reach with it," Ruby suggests.

"I guess that could work. As long as it doesn't get in the way of how I usually fight," Velvet says.

"Oh, don't worry. I can make a blade that will adjust its length to your preference. That will give it more versatility," Ruby says as she draws some more designs. Velvet tries to sneak a peek, but Ruby moves her sketchbook out of her sight. "No, I want it to be a surprise, so no peeking," Ruby says, causing Velvet to lean back. "How about a gun modification as well. A running gimmick with huntsmen weapons is the ability to transform between a blade and a gun. I can probably do something similar to Yang's Ember Celica. How does that sound?" Ruby asks.

"That could work I guess. I'm more used to fighting up close and of course I have my semblance to handle ranged attacks, but if you can make it work, I guess it'll be fine," Velvet decides.

"Okay. Don't worry, I'll do something light like with Blake's pistol," Ruby notes as she jots down more designs into her sketchbook. "Okay, I should have all I need here. The next part will be building it. Luckily, they have a forge here and metals that students can use for their weapons. It'll take some time, but I should have it done soon enough," Ruby says as she closes her sketchbook. "Thanks Velvet," she thanks her.

"For what?" Velvet asks.

"For giving me this opportunity. I love weapons and it was so much fun building Crescent Rose. It's been a while since I last forged a weapon, so thanks," Ruby says.

"Um, okay," Velvet replies, a little confused.

Ruby stretches her arms and lays back on the bed, "All this designing and sketching has made me a little tired. I think I'll take a little nap. Wake me up when the others get back, okay?" Ruby says as she starts to doze off.

"Um, Ruby, don't you think you should-," Velvet begins, but sees Ruby already asleep and stops. "Or not." Velvet takes this opportunity to gaze at Ruby as she sleeps, hearing the light breathing from her. Velvet uses her left hand to stroke some strands of hair off of Ruby's face, who unconsciously snuggles into her hand. Velvet can't help but let a small smile appear as she watches Ruby sleep. "She certainly is unique, I'll give her that."

…

A few days later since then, Ruby has spent any extra time she had to work in the forge, creating Velvet's new weapon, so the rest of the team did not see her much, though they understood why. For now, Velvet is in another class, History of Remnant, watching the teacher zip around the room. The teacher as spikey green hair, wears glasses, a white long sleeved shirt with a loose yellow tie, and a cup in his hand. The teacher, named Dr. Oobleck, zooms around the room as the students attempt to keep up with his speed, both with his feet and his mouth. Her teammates Weiss and Blake are with her, along with Team JNPR, though Jaune is currently sleeping.

"Yes. Yes, prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, more popularly known as the Faunus War, humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing Faunus population in Managery," Dr. Oobleck quickly says before taking a drink from his cup.

"I'm starting to think all the teachers here are nuts in one way or another," Velvet thinks as she tries to keep up.

"Now, while this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events. Why the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day," Oobleck quickly continues as he takes another sip of his drink. "Now, have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?" he asks his class. Velvet Scarlatina is also in this class, but makes no movement. However, when another random student in the class raises his hand, she hesitantly raises hers. "Dreadful, simply dreadful. Remember students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence. I mean, I mean, just look at what happened to the White Fang," Oobleck says.

"While I can sort of understand their anger, I don't agree with what they've been doing lately. Even I wasn't that bad back home," Velvet notes as she listens to the lecture.

"Now, which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorists believe to be the turning point in the third year of the war?" Oobleck asks his students until Weiss raises her hand. "Yes?"

"The battle at Fort Castle," she answers.

"Precisely! And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?" Dr. Oobleck further asks.

By this point, Jaune is still asleep until Cardin, from the seat behind him, flicks a folded up piece of paper onto Jaune's head that causes him to stir and wake up.

"Hey," Jaune says, recovering from his beauty sleep.

"Mr. Arc, finally contributing to class. This is excellent, EXCELLENT! What is the answer?" Oobleck asks him when he gets right in front of Jaune's seat.

"Uh, the answer…," Jaune begins while eyeing Pyrrha from behind Dr. Oobleck for some help since he did not know the correct answer. "…The advantage the Faunus…" he hears Pyrrha grunt and looks over to see her pointing at her eyes. "…over that guys stuff…," he looks to see Pyrrha forming circles around her eyes with her hands. "…Uh, binoculars," he finally answers, thinking he got it right.

Most of the people in the class laugh, except for Velvet and Pyrrha who facepalm, and Dr. Oobleck who shakes his head.

"Very funny, Mr. Arc. Cardin, perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject," Oobleck motions to Cardin, who is leaning back in his chair with his legs on the desk.

"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier," Cardin says, making Oobleck shake his head at Cardin's racial comment.

"You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you Cardin?" Pyrrha rhetorically asks, getting irritated at Cardin.

"What? You got a problem?" Cardin begrudgingly asks back.

"No. I have the answer. It's night vision. Many Faunus are known to have nearly perfect sight in the dark," Pyrrha answers correctly, making Cardin growl in anger.

"General Lagune was inexperienced, and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched and the general was captured," Blake adds.

"He underestimated his enemy, and it costed him. Maybe if he bothered to learn more about the Faunus, like a certain else me know, he wouldn't have been humiliated like he was," Velvet finishes, glancing at Cardin.

This makes Cardin growl as he stands up with his hands clenched.

"Mr. Winchester, please take your seat," Oobleck instructs him before moving in front of Jaune who was laughing at Cardin. "You AND Mr. Arc can both see me after class for additional readings," he says, much to Jaune's dismay. "Now, moving on."

After the class ended, the two teams leave the room, but Pyrrha holds back.

"You guys go on ahead. I'm gonna wait for Jaune," she says, to which they nod and leave.

"Jaune's been having a lot of trouble with his classes, hasn't he?" Velvet asks Ren.

"Yes, but that's normal. Give him a little time and he'll catch up. Don't worry," he replies.

"He got into Beacon Academy. He should be doing better than this. As your leader, he needs to be held to a higher standard," Weiss comments.

"Was that for Jaune or our leader?" Blake asks.

"More so for Jaune than Ruby. The dolt still has much to learn, but at least she's doing a lot better than when this semester started," Weiss answers as they continue on their way, while Velvet thinks on this.

The group return to their dorms, but just as they're about to enter, Ruby suddenly rushes towards them while carrying a briefcase, sliding on the floor as she passes them to stop. She then moves right in front of Velvet.

"Velvet! Velvet! Velvet! I finally did it! I made you're new weapon. It's ready now!" She shouts, full of excitement.

"Um…okay. That's good news," Velvet replies.

Ruby grabs her hand, "Come on, you have to get changed and then we're heading to the training room so you can test it. Let's go now!" she says and drags Velvet into their dorm room.

"Still think she can be held to a higher standard?" Blake asks Weiss as a joke.

Weiss just laughs nervously.

…

A few minutes later, Velvet and Ruby are in the training room, with Velvet in her usual attire. Ruby sets up some training dummies and then grabs the briefcase to give to Velvet.

"Here you go Velvet, you're new weapon," Ruby says and opens the case.

Velvet looks inside to see a gauntlet slightly bigger than her own. The gauntlet has what looks like a gun mechanism on top with small caliber Dust rounds around the body of it. The gun barrel is black, the middle of the body is silver, and the rest is red. Velvet puts it on and flexes her fingers, allowing a 2 ½ foot segmented blade to pop out. The blade itself is black in color, but with a dark red edging added to it. Velvet takes a few swings and is surprised to feel how light it is.

"The whole thing feels so light. How did you do this?" Velvet asks.

"Oh, like I said, they have metals here that are strong, but not too heavy, so it wasn't too hard. The blade is segmented like you asked, allowing it to go up to three feet long in length. This is just the default length. The gun mechanism is similar in ammo loading to Yang's Ember Celica, but has around the same power as Blake's Gambol Shroud. This way, it gives you another option when you fight. So, what do you think?" Ruby asks, hands clasped together.

Velvet holds the blade close to her face and smiles, "I think this will do nicely. Thanks Ruby," she says.

Ruby gets a huge smile from this, "Awesome! I'm glad you like it. Now all we have to do is give it a name and then test it out. I decided to leave that to you since it's your weapon," Ruby says.

"Name it?" Velvet asks.

"Yeah, lime how I named my scythe Crescent Rose. Huntsmen usually name their weapons. So, what would you like its name to be?" she asks.

Velvet looks upon her new weapon and thinks over some ideas. Eventually she decides on one.

"I'll name it…Lethal Pain," she decides.

Well, that's chapter 9. If you're wondering what Velvet's new weapon looks like, look up Gaius Van Baelsar from Final Fantasy 14 and check out his left gauntlet. It's basically a combination of that with Velvet's gauntlet, plus the added details above, so I do not own his weapon. I decided to use the name of her mystic arte because I thought it would fit, So just in case, I don't own the name. Also, I'm trying to figure out what would be a good ability for Velvet's TRUE semblance since it isn't her demon arm, and yes, she will have a semblance. Give me some semblance ideas in your reviews please. Anyway, until next time. Please Read and Review.