Here we are at Chapter 64. Time to see how the other members of Team RVWBY are holding up. I do not own RWBY or Tales of Berseria. They belong to their respective owners. Here's chapter 64. Enjoy.
Chapter 64: Multiple Truths
In the forests of Anima, the members of Ruby's group, along with Velvet and Qrow, sit around a campfire as Qrow explains to them the truth about the Maidens. Ruby sits next to Velvet, with the latter holding her close in her arms after being separated from each other for so long. Meanwhile, Magilou sits next to Jaune.
Qrow finishes a swig of his flask, "Really? No questions?" he asks after explaining everything.
"Of course we have questions. This is just…a lot to take in," Jaune says, a little angry as he lowers his head.
Qrow sighs, "Sure, of course," he says.
"So these…Maidens…They're powerful fighters that don't need Dust to use magic," Ruby says.
"Yeah," Qrow replies.
"And there are four of them?" Nora asks, holding up four fingers.
"Yup. Always," Qrow nods.
"Which means that, whenever one of them dies, the power transfers to someone – a female – that they cared about?" Ren asks.
"Whoever was in their thoughts last. Important distinction. Best option is someone we can trust. Regardless, their souls become combined, in a way," Qrow corrects them.
"And that's what you were trying to do to Pyrrha…The night the tower feel. You were trying to turn her into one of them," Jaune says accusingly.
"The previous Fall Maiden, Amber, had been attacked. She was young, inexperienced. And her assailant, who we now know is Cinder, somehow managed to steal some of her power, but not all of it. We were afraid that if we didn't do something, the rest would go to her as well," Qrow explains.
Jaune looks angry at him, "So you forced it on Pyrrha," he says, eyes narrowed.
"We didn't force ANYTHING. We explained the situation and gave her a choice, and she chose. You were there, you heard her," Qrow says, and then faces Velvet. "Pyrrha wasn't the only one we told about this. When we called Pyrrha, we brought Velvet in as well," he says.
Everyone looks at Velvet, "Velvet? What does he mean?" Ruby asks.
Velvet looks solemnly at her, "I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. I needed some time to think about things, and then the incident at the Vytal Festival happened," she says.
"Ozpin took an interest in Velvet because of her unique abilities, and knew that she was keeping some secrets from him. We wanted her to help us protect Amber, and Pyrrha if she became the next Fall Maiden. Of course, that didn't go as planned. However, now I have a question, as I'm sure does everyone else. After the Fall of Beacon, you went missing, so I need to ask: what happened to you after the Fall of Beacon?" Qrow asks.
The mood goes silent as Velvet stares at everyone, especially Ruby. Ruby already knows the truth about her, and of course so does Magilou. But she never told the others. However, it appears that can't last any longer.
"Before I tell you what happened to me, I think it best if I tell you something else," Velvet begins.
"What do you mean?" Jaune asks.
"…The truth about who I am…and where I came from," Velvet says.
…
Meanwhile, back in Patch, Yang is laying on her bed in her room. She had been training with Eizen earlier, and is exhausted from the intense workout. Yang raises her right arm to stare at it, flexing it around a bit.
"To think that I've gotten so used to this so quickly. Atlas sure wasted no expense in making this thing," Yang thinks before she hears a knock at her door. "Come in," she says. A second later, the door opens to reveal Weiss coming in. "Weiss, what's up?" she asks.
Weiss sighs, "Just needed a little break. Velvet never told me how skilled Eleanor was back in their world," Weiss says as she walks in and closes the door.
"Heh, I hear that. Eizen's punches might be even harder than mine. Trust me, I've been hit by enough of them to know," Yang says before she holds an arm out to her. "Come on, there's plenty of room for the both of us. I'm nice and comfy," Yang offers with a smirk.
Weiss rolls her eyes, "You really are a blonde-haired brute, aren't you," she says, but accepts the gesture and lies down next to Yang, who wraps her left arm around her to pull her close as they snuggle close to one another. "I'll admit, I can get used to this," she says with a slight blush.
"I told you…Hey, do you miss being in Atlas? At home with your family?" Yang asks, knowing that subject is a sensitive one with Weiss.
"The only family I've ever really had there was my sister, Winter, who is in the military, and my butler, Klein, who's been more like a father to me than even my real father. My mother was always too drunk to really care, my little brother is a backstabbing weasel who's always being my father's little pet…and my father doesn't care about anyone other than himself and his money. It took getting beat by Eleanor and Zaveid to figure out what was truly keeping me there than from doing what I truly wanted to do. It wasn't my father holding me back…it was me," Weiss says.
"What do you mean?" Yang asks, getting curious.
"I was afraid of what my father would do if I disobeyed him, but I never realized until much later that I shouldn't be focusing on what he wanted, but on what I wanted. And what I wanted…" Weiss begins before she moves up to kiss Yang fully on the lips. She separates a moment later, seeing a surprised look on Yang's face and smiles. "…Was to be with you. Eleanor helped me realize that. Coming to Beacon helped me realize a lot of things, but you were the first one aside from my sister and Klein to show me true warmth and love before. I admit we didn't get along at first, but you never gave up on me, and helped show me what being part of a real family is like. You were the first one who wanted to be with me for me, not for my name, fame, or money. I will always love that about you. You look to people for who they are, and nothing else. You have no idea how happy that makes me feel," she says as she snuggles back up to Yang.
Yang slowly smiles back, "I told you. I want you to be happy. I don't care about your last name or your money. I care about Weiss Schnee, and that's all," she says.
"Thank you, Yang. Let's just rest up for just a little bit longer, then we should head back downstairs," Weiss suggests.
"Yeah, sounds like a plan," Yang agrees.
A little while later, the two girls return to the living room to find the others sitting around on the couches, having drinks and making light conversation. Zaveid is the first to notice them.
"Hey, took you guys long enough. Done with your little alone time together?" Zaveid teases them.
"We TALKED. That is it, you dolt," Weiss says, already annoyed by him.
"So is a full-fledged kiss a part of that 'talk' as well?" Zaveid asks.
Weiss quickly blushes madly, "W-w-w-w-what are you talking about?!" she stutters.
Eleanor glares at Zaveid, "Zaveid, you didn't use your wind artes to spy on them, did you?" she interrogates him.
"What, I didn't spy on them…much," Zaveid says.
Weiss balls up her fists, "You…you…you…" she mutters in anger and then pulls out her rapier from out of nowhere. "You PEEPING TOM!" She yells in rage as she aims her weapon at him.
Zaveid starts to freak out a bit, "Hey, hey, it was just a joke! No need to explode here, ice queen," he says, hands up in defense.
"I DON'T CARE!" Weiss yells and goes to kill him. Crashing sounds are heard in the house before Zaveid bursts out through the front door to get away, with a livid Weiss on his tail. "Get back her so I can castrate you!" she yells.
Meanwhile, Taiyang, Eleanor, and Eizen watch with semi-worried expressions on their faces. However, Yang just has a smile on her face.
"That's my girl," Yang mutters.
…
Back in Anima, Velvet has just finished telling them truth about her origins to the others. Of course, Ruby already knew, but the others were all having a hard time taking all of that in after what Qrow had just told them. Hell, even Qrow was having a hard time wrapping his head around it, and he's seen plenty of crazy things in his time as a huntsman.
"So, you're…a demon who used to be human?" Jaune asks.
"Yes," Velvet replies, and engages her demon claw. "Back in my world, when a person succumbs to malevolence, they turn into a demon. Usually, they take the form of some kind of monster. However, in the cases of me and my friend Rokurou for the most part, we managed to maintain our human appearances, and our sense of reason. However, I'm different from most demons, a rare breed called a Therion. I eat other demons and become stronger with each demon I consume. I 'eat' them with my claw, absorbing their strength until there is nothing left. Kind of like how I absorb Yang's aura during our sparring match. I absorb their souls, and aura is the manifestation of our souls, so I can absorb it," Velvet explains, then deactivates her claw.
"Okay, but you said you died and then were brought here by Ruby's mother. How can that happen?" Nora asks.
"To be honest, I still don't know myself. It's not like I talk to her all the time, only when she wants to talk. But if she's dead, then I really did die back in my world. Either way, I'm here now, and that's what's important. Summer Rose brought me here to protect Ruby, and I agreed. But as I spent time with her…" Velvet begins before she looks at Ruby. "…I ended up falling in love with her. Something I don't regret for a second. I'm here to protect Ruby under my own will, and that's all that matters to me," Velvet says.
"But…how do you expect us to believe you after telling all of this? Or how you kept this a secret from us for so long. Blake kept her Faunus heritage a secret for a little while, but she told us soon enough. Why couldn't you do the same?" Jaune asks, angry at more secrets being kept from him.
"It's for the same reasons I told Yang, Weiss, and Blake when the time was right. You've lived with Faunus your entire lives, but have you ever lived with a demon that has hurt hundreds of innocent people. Would you still look at me the same way?" Velvet retorts. Jaune just looks away, unable to find a good answer. "Humans fear what's different from them, especially for people in my case. I couldn't have any extra problems getting in my way with watching over Ruby. I don't expect you to like or trust me because of it. What you do with what I've told you is your choice," Velvet adds.
"And that's something that's bothering me a bit," they hear Qrow say and look to him. "You said that you were out for revenge against your brother-in-law, Artorius, for what he did to your little brother, Laphicet. Along the way, you learned what he was really after and stopped him from basically controlling the entire world. However, that's not what's bothering me. What IS bothering me is that during your quest for revenge, you got a lot of innocent people hurt or killed, and some villages were destroyed because of you. Can you expect me to trust you after telling me that?" Qrow asks, narrowing his eyes at Velvet.
Velvet glares right back, "I don't care what you think about me. If you want to fight me, then I'm game anytime. I'm here for Ruby, not you. I don't expect to be forgiven for what I've done, and no amount of atonement will make up for the lives I've ruined. I'm going to Hell, no matter what happens, but I've changed since then. My friends, and Laphicet helped me realize what is really important in life. And I've changed even more since coming to Remnant and meeting Ruby and the others. Ruby knows exactly what I am and what I've done, and yet she still accepted me for who I am. I will always be grateful to her for that…Besides, are you and Ozpin really in any position to judge?" Velvet asks back.
"What are you getting at?" Qrow retorts.
"While I was training with Summer Rose, she told me many things, including the truth about the Maidens, and about Salem," Velvet replies.
"…Salem…" Ruby mutters, remembering Velvet saying that name during her fight with Tyrian.
"You sent you students into a war they never knew they were fighting. You sent nthem against an enemy they never knew existed. You sent them…to their deaths. They chose to become huntsmen, they knew there would be risks…But they didn't know just how great those risks truly were. Now, I've used people to get my way, I won't deny that. But, at least they knew what they were getting into. You and Ozpin and his other followers kept your students in the dark. You can say that it was to protect the Maidens or the world from Salem, but that still doesn't lessen the amount of blood that's on your hands. You're just as guilty of using people for your own ambitions as I am, and you're just as responsible for their deaths as Salem is," Velvet explains. Qrow looks away, clenching his fist. The truth is, Velvet isn't exactly wrong in her argument. Perhaps if they knew more about the real dangers, then some of those students and huntsmen would still be alive today. "However, we can't focus on that now. We need to focus on stopping Salem. And part of that…is getting to Cinder," Velvet says.
"What do you mean?" Ren asks.
Velvet looks at her left hand, "The reason Tyrian called me the Fall Maiden…is because I have a part of the Fall Maiden's power. I absorbed it with my power at the Fall of Beacon, on top of Beacon tower after she…" Velvet trails off, thinking about how Cinder killed Pyrrha. "The fact remains that she still has most of it. But we can't allow her to get all of it. That only leaves one option…for me to become the next Fall Maiden," Velvet declares.
"But why? After everything that's happened, why would you want to become what Ozpin tried to get Pyrrha to become?" Jaune asks.
"Would you rather Cinder remain as the Fall Maiden. I can absorb her power. It's the only way. At least the power of the Fall Maiden will be with someone you know and trust. And after that, we can focus on the real goal…getting the Relics and keeping them out of Salem's hands," Velvet says.
"Wait, first Maidens, then Relics, what's next mystic dragons because we already got one back home," Magilou asks.
"Yeah, what is she talking about?" Ruby asks Qrow.
Qrow sighs, "I guess Summer told you about that as well, huh. Figures…This world's been around for a long time, long enough that people have created dozens of gods. But if you believe Ozpin, two of them are actually real. They were two brothers. The older sibling, the god of light, found joy in creating forces of life. Meanwhile, the younger brother, the god of darkness, spent his time creating forces of destruction. As you can imagine, they both had pretty different ideas about how things should go. The older one would spend his days creating water, plants, wildlife. And at night, his brother would wake to see all the things that the elder had made and become disgusted. To counteract his brother's creations, the god of darkness brought drought, fire, famine, all he could do to rid Remnant of life. Life always returned. So one night, the younger brother went and made something – something that shared his innate desire to destroy anything and everything," Qrow explains.
"The creatures of Grimm," Ruby realizes.
"You guessed it. The older brother finally had enough. Knowing that their feud couldn't last like this forever, he proposed that they make one final creation…together, something that they both could be proud of, their masterpiece. The younger brother agreed. This last great creation would be given the power to both create and destroy. It would be given the gift of knowledge, so that it could learn about itself and the world around it. And most importantly, it would be given the power to choose, to have free will to take everything it had learned and decide which path to follow – the path of light or the path of darkness. And that is how Humanity came to be," Qrow says.
"But…What does that have to do with us?" Ren asks.
"Well, that's the kicker. See, the four gifts to mankind – knowledge, creation, destruction, and choice – aren't just metaphorical. Each of them exists in a physical form, left behind by the gods before they abandoned Remnant, and each of them is extraordinarily powerful. If someone were to collect all four, they'd be able to change the world. That's exactly what the enemy wants. The huntsman academies were created to train generations of Humanity's protectors, but they also serve another purpose – guarding the relics. When Ozpin's predecessor founded the schools, he built them around the relics to act as a fortress. Not only would they be easier to defend, but they would constantly be surrounded by trained warriors. The hope was that hiding them would keep mankind from using them against itself…and, of course, keeping them out of HER reach…So yeah, there's that," he finishes the story.
"Salem…" Ruby says.
"That's right. Not much is known about her. Quite frankly, that's not what matters. What matters right now is that she wants the relics, and if she gets them, it's not going to end well," Qrow says.
"And that's why we need to head to Haven. To find the bad guys, save the academy, and retrieve the Relic. Sounds easy enough," Magilou says.
"But shouldn't we be in more of a hurry to get to Haven?" Nora asks.
"Because it's not that simple. The headmaster at Haven will be on his guard after the Fall of Beacon. We also need to be careful because Salem has now sent people after Ruby and Velvet because of their special powers. If we rush in, we'll get caught under our feet and then we'll be in real trouble. Look, I had the same questions, too. But ol' Ozpin would always put his foot down. 'We can't cause a panic.' Heh, can't tell you how many times I've heard that," Qrow says before taking out his flask again. "Salem's smart. She works from the shadows, using others to get what she wants, so that when it comes time to place the blame, we can only point at each other," he continues before sipping his flask, and then looks up at the broken moon. "She's trying to divide us – humanity, and so far she's doing a pretty dame good job," Qrow says before hanging his head with a sigh.
"Alright, so what should we do?" Ruby asks, getting his attention as they all look at Qrow.
Qrow chuckles, "I don't really know," he says, making them all look at each other, feeling nervous, before looking back at him. "Ozpin has put a lot of trust in the headmasters. Like I said, the schools are an important part of stopping Salem. Atlas is going to be on high alert after the last attack, and Vacuo is – well, Vacuo. It'll be hard to hire thieves and scoundrels to fight against other thieves and scoundrels. Take that, add in the fact that Cinder and her crew claim to be from Haven, and I think it's likely the next target. So, we're on our way to the headmaster. Haven't heard from him in a while, even before the attack. I'm hoping he has the answers," Qrow says.
"Well, before that I think it's time I introduce you all to someone," Magilou says out of the blue.
"What? Who?" Jaune asks.
"Come on out, Bienfu," Magilou says and then a small ball of light flies out of her body and lands in front of her. A second later, a small purple figure with a big top hat that covers half his face except for his eyes appears. "Everyone, meet my lovable sidekick, Bienfu," Magilou introduces everyone.
"Hello, everyone. Nice to meet you," Bienfu waves to them.
The others stare at him for a moment until, "…What the Hell is that?!" they all yell.
And that's the chapter. Velvet and Qrow reveal their own truths to the others, and Bienfu finally joins the party. Meanwhile, Zaveid gets on Weiss' last nerve. What will happen next? Until then, please Read and Review.
