Here we are at Chapter 80. Time to see if Blake and her allies can save her parents and Menagerie from the White Fang. I do not own RWBY or Tales of Berseria. They belong to their respective owners. Here's chapter 80. Enjoy.
Chapter 80: True Colors
Blake, Rokurou, Ilia, and Sun race to her home while Sun calls the authorities to inform them of the situation. Meanwhile, Blake tries calling her mother.
"Well, you getting anything?" Rokurou asks.
"No, she's not picking up," Blake says.
"It must be Corsac and Fennec. They've already begun the attack on your home. I know you have security there, but they're attacking with the full force of the White Fang's Menagerie branch. They won't be able to hold them back for long," Ilia says.
"Then we'd better get moving!" Rokurou adds.
As they run through the town towards her home, Blake can see smoke rising into the night sky. Coming up on a hill, she gasps in horror as she sees a part of her home up in flames. Blake and her group run down the hill and eventually make it to the house. They can hear gun fire and the sounds of fighting coming from inside. Rokurou takes out his blades and slices through the wall of one side of the building.
"I'll apologize to your dad later. We need so split up. We can cover more ground that way," Rokurou says.
"Okay. Ilia and I will go this way. You and Sun take the other path," Blake suggests.
"Works for me," Sun notes.
The four nod and split up, heading in opposite directions as they try to find Blake's parents.
…
Meanwhile, in Mistral, Velvet opens her eyes to find herself surrounded by a white void once again.
Velvet sighs as she gets on her feet, "Feels like forever since I've been back here. I can only assume it's because something will happen soon," Velvet says as she turns around to see Summer Rose behind her again.
Summer nods, "Astute as ever, I see. Eventually, a new challenge will rise against you and your friends. However, that's not why I summoned you here," she says.
"Then what is it?" Velvet asks.
"Something has changed. I can't say what, but I feel a new... presence has appeared in this world. One that did not originate from my world," Summer warns her.
"What do you mean?" Velvet asks.
"It was faint, but I could definitely sense that someone or something has come from another dimension. In a way that is similar to how I brought you here from your world. A presence that will likely prove to be a hindrance to you and your friends on your quest," Summer explains.
"Is it something strong enough to be a real threat to us?" Velvet asks.
"I'm not sure. I can only say that you must be careful on your journey, Velvet Crowe," Summer notes.
Velvet sighs again, "Why can't things be easy for once? It would certainly help Ruby a bit," she says.
"Nothing that's important in life ever comes easy, Velvet. But, I have faith that you'll overcome any obstacle that you face on your path as long as you have your friends by your side," Summer notes.
"Yeah, my friends... And Ruby," Velvet mutters.
"Yes, I know you two will be okay if your together... Especially since you've grown much, MUCH closer now," Summer says.
Velvet quickly blushes that the implication, "What are you talking about?" she tries to play it off.
"Come on, I'm sure you can figure out that I know what you and Ruby did together that one night. I am her mother after all," Summer says, showing a slight teasing smile.
Velvet's blush gets worse, "That still doesn't make it any of your business! It's not like I tied her up to the bed or anything. We just... we just..." Velvet trails off.
Summer giggles, "Oh, I'm just teasing, dear. I'm glad that you two have grown so close to each other. It's really helped Ruby mature into a fine young woman," she says, but then looks off to the side. "I must go now. Be careful, Velvet, and keep Ruby safe," Summer says as everything goes white.
Velvet wakes up in the middle of the night, finding herself back in her room, in her bed, and with a sleeping Ruby cuddled up to her side. Velvet kisses Ruby's head before pulling her closer as sleep takes over once again.
"Sometimes, I really wish things could just be slow and boring for a little while," Velvet thinks as her eyes close.
…
Back in Menagerie, Rokurou and Sun race through one hallway, coming across several White Fang members along the way. Sun takes out his staff and starts twirling it around while Rokurou readies his swords. Three of them fire off their rifles at them while the rest prepare swords and spears to fight. Sun gets in front of Rokurou and spins his staff around to block the shots. After the firing stops, Sun ducks low, giving Rokurou the chance to jump over him and slash his swords at their foes, slicing their ranged weapons in two. Rokurou spins around to swing his right blade up, slashing one member before swinging down with his left blade, and finishes it up by spinning around and making a cross slash across his chest. Two attack from behind, but Sun gets in the way as he changes his staff into its nun-chuck forms. Swinging his nun-chucks around, Sun fires off several shots at them, dealing several hits on them before knocking them to the walls. Rokurou runs around him and zig-zags across the floor a few times, slashing through a few more members as he leaves lightning in his wake. The last one tries to run away, only for Sun to jump in his path and makes several swinging with his nun-chucks, taking the enemy down in seconds. The pair look at the damage left in their wake before they nod to one another and continue on their way to find Ghira and Kali.
"They're really serious about killing Blake's parents. Do they really think this will get the Faunus of Menagerie to join their cause?!" Sun asks.
"It's not about their cause. Adam Taurus wants payback against Blake for dumping him, and he'll do that by going after the people she cares about most. This is about revenge," Rokurou replies.
"He really is a monster, huh?" Sun notes.
"Pretty much," Rokurour says.
The pair continue racing through the building. They eventually reach a room to find a few of the Menagerie guards shooting it out with members of the White Fang. They also find Kali hiding behind a table turned onto its side. Just then, Yuma bursts through the ceiling windows, crashing down onto one Menagerie guard, and starts choking him to death.
"Ssshhhh... quiet now," Yuma mutters.
"Hey!" he hears and turns around, only to get a shoe to the face by Sun.
Rokurour kneels next to Kali, "You okay?" he asks.
"Yes, I'm fine, but where are Ghira and Blake?" Kali asks, worried for her family.
"Blake is looking for your husband, but I don't know where they are right now. However, we have more pressing issues at the moment," Rokurou notes as he stands in front of Kali.
Yuma flies into the air, but Sun activates his semblance and has two clones jump into the air and grab him by his ankles. They pull him down to the ground before disappearing, giving Sun the chance to smack him in the head with his staff. Meanwhile, Rokorou blocks a few shots from the rest of the White Fang in the room with his swords. He then dashes towards them, jumping and spinning in the air with his swords out wide. He takes out two of them, and then makes a cross slash at a third before spinning around and swinging his right sword down, knocking the third member to the ground. With Sun, Yuma shakes his head as he gets back up, only to feel the onslaught that is Sun's nun-chucks as he twirls them around, hitting Yuma all across his body. Sun ends it up with a jump kick to Yuma's face, knocking him into a wall before he passes out. Sun turns his weapon back into its staff form and then looks over to Rokurou and Kali as she stands up from behind the table.
"Well, that takes care of these guys," Sun notes, smirking.
"It's not over yet, Sun. We still have to find Blake, Ghira, and stop Corsac and Fennec. No doubt since they'll be nearby, trying to make sure that the Chieftain dies in this attack. We need to find them," Rokurou says and turns to Kali. "Will you be alright without us for a few minutes?" he asks.
Kali nods, "Yes, we'll manage somehow. Just go find my family and make sure they're safe," she says.
Rokurou nods before he and Sun take off to find Ghira and Blake. In another part of the house, Blake slashes her blade across the body of one White Fang member while Ilia electrocutes another with her whip. After taking care of their foes, the two girls continue their search.
"I never wanted this to happen. It wasn't supposed to be this way," Ilia laments.
"Ilia?" Blake asks.
"I wanted the humans to stop treating our kind like animals, like monsters, and yet... we ended up becoming exactly that. And I helped with that. And I helped with this chaos as well," Ilia says, tears forming in her eyes.
Blake places a hand on her shoulder, "And yet now, you're trying to atone for your mistakes. We all have things that we regret, Ilia. Mistakes that we wish we never made. But, what's important now is learning from those failings and growing from them. Making sure we don't make the same mistakes again," she says, trying to comfort Ilia. "Come on, we need to find my parents," Blake says and they continue on their way.
Eventually they turn around a corner that leads to one of the larger rooms in the house. Breaking through the door, they arrive just in time to see Corsac crashing through one of the walls opposite of them. Ghira Belladonna then jumps through, his jacket off and his claws out. However, Fennec then appears and stabs Ghira in the back with his dagger.
"Dad!" Blake yells.
Ghira grabs Fennec and throws him off his back. Corsac gets back up and sees Ilia with Blake.
"Ilia, what are you doing? Don't just stand there, fight! Stop Blake!" Corsac orders her.
Ilia slowly shakes her head, "I'm sorry Corsac... but I can't do that. This isn't what I wanted. This isn't what's right for our people!" Ilia retorts.
Corsac growls, "You traitor!" he yells and grabs his dagger.
He aims it at them and fires off a fire blast with the fire Dust in his dagger at them. Blake and Ilia jump to the side to evade it, and then Blake attacks Corsac with her katana. Corsac tries to stab her with his dagger, but Blake uses her semblance to evade it and come around his side. She takes a few swings, getting two hits in before Corsac jumps away. Fennec sees this and goes to help his brother, but Ilia stands in his way.
"How could you betray your own brothers and sisters to these traitors?! Do you think this will help our kind? By helping the humans that portray us as monsters?!" Fennec says.
"Do you think attacking our own kind will help our cause? Look around you. The White Fang was supposed to unite our people, not divide it and prove the humans right. How does attacking the Belladonnas achieve the White Fang's mission?" Ilia retorts.
"High Leader Taurus ordered us to take out the Belladonna family because they are holding us back. They don't know what's best for our people!" Fennec argues.
"Maybe so... but then again, we're just as bad if not worse than them. Because we've done nothing but prove the humans right; that we are monsters. Well, I'm done with this. I'm done letting the past and my hate control me," Ilia declares.
"Then you will die with them!" Fennec yells and then fires off a blast of air from his dagger.
Ilia gets pushed back, but then Sun comes out of nowhere and kicks Fennec in the chest. Rokurou joins the fray and slashes his blades at Fennec. Fennec tries to counterattack, but Rokurou swings his left blade, knocking his dagger out of his hand. Sun runs around Rokurou, swinging his staff around and hitting Fennec several times. Rokurou then comes back in and kicks Fennec in the face, followed by Sun swinging his staff down on Fennec's head, knocking him out cold as he falls to the ground. Meanwhile, Blake and Ilia continue their fight with Corsac. Blake uses her semblance to jump around Corsac, taking his eyes off of Ilia who comes in and swings her whip at him, shocking him a bit. Blake then joins in and kicks Corsac in the face. Ghira helps them by grabbing Corsac from behind and giving him a German suplex to the ground. Corsac staggers to his feet, only for Blake to punch him in the face, followed by Ilia wrapping her whip around him and shocking him until he passes out. With the fighting over, the group breathe a sigh of relief. Just then, Kali comes in through another pair of doors, dragging an unconscious Yuma with her. Kali sees that her family is safe and drops Yuma to run up to and hug her family. Rokurou and Sun sheathe their weapons as the family have a moment. Outside the Belladonna home, local Faunus walk up to see what's going on, while the Menagerie guard keep them at a safe distance from the burning building. A moment later, the see Ghira walking out of the front doors, carrying a Menagerie guard and a White Fang member on his shoulders.
Behind him, Blake and her friends come out, along with a few more Menagerie guards while taking a few hand-cuffed White Fang members with them out of the building, including Corsac and Fennec.
"Get in there! Check for more survivors!" one guard says as more enter the building.
Blake then looks out to see the Faunus of Menagerie around her home. She looks to Rokurou, Sun, and Ilia who nod to her and then she takes a deep breath before walking down the stairs. Ghira sees her go and is about to stop her, but Kali stops him as they watch their daughter. Blake stands before the Faunus.
"Humans didn't do this," Blake begins, pointing at her home. "We did this: Faunus. We did this to ourselves. We are just as capable of hate and violence as the humans, but I don't think any of us would jump at the chance to point that out. So why are we letting Adam do it for us?! By doing nothing and staying silent, we let others speak and act in our place. And if we're not proud of the choices they make, then we have no one to blame but ourselves. This is the message that Adam Taurus will bring to the world if no one stops him. But we can stop him! You have to understand that all of you are looking for simple answers to a very complicated problem. And I can't give that to you. I don't know how to make hate go away, I don't. But I know that this kind of violence is not the solution. I understand that to ask you to leave your homes and protect Haven Academy is asking you to put your lives at risk. But that's what's at stake. So I'm going, and I'll stand by myself if I have to," Blake says her speech.
"I'll stand with you!" Ilia suddenly calls out.
Blake turns around with a surprised look on her face as Ilia walks up. Ilia then looks down in slight shame.
"If... if you'd have me," Ilia says hesitantly.
"Isn't that the White Fang girl?" one Faunus mutters.
"I thought she hated the Belladonnas," another adds.
Despite some of the crowd's murmuring amongst themselves, Blake smiles as her old friend wants to join her. Ilia goes to join Blake, but Saber tries to stop her. However, Rokurou stops him by grabbing his arm.
"Let her go," Rokurou says.
"Are you crazy?! Have you forgotten how much trouble she's caused for us?!" Saber yells.
"What she did before doesn't matter. What she does NOW does," Rokurou replies.
Saber then looks to Blake, "Are you just going to forgive her? After everything she did?!" he asks.
"I am," Blake replies.
Saber looks to Ghira, who nods to let Ilia go. Rokurou releases Saber while Ilia continues to walk down the steps to stand next to her friend.
"What does she think she's doing?" Saber asks Ghira.
Ghira smiles, "She's learned a lesson that evaded me until I was much older: That there is strength in forgiveness," Ghira says.
Blake puts a hand on Ilia's shoulder, sharing a smile together.
"I'll go!" they hear as a ram Faunus steps up with his hand raised high.
"I'll go too!" a female aquatic Faunus comes up and joins him.
Just then, more and more Faunus raise their hands and join up for the cause for Haven. Blake and Ilia smile as they see all of the Faunus join them. Just then, Rokurou and Sun join them.
"Now this is what I'm talking about," Rokurou notes.
"Thank you, Rokurou. For everything. You too, Sun," Blake thanks them.
The boys smile, but then Sun points at Ilia, "You stabbed me," he notes.
Ilia looks away in shame, but then Sun pinches her arm, "Ow!" she yelps.
"There, now we can say we're even," Sun playfully replies.
Kali and Ghira then join them, "We'd better get moving. The Fall semester at Haven is only two weeks away," Ghira notes.
"We'll need weapons, training for our people, and a means to transport them all to Haven," Kali notes.
Blake, Sun, and Rokurou look at each other and smile, "I think we know a ship captain that owes us a favor," Blake says.
And that's the chapter. Blake, Sun, and Rokurou save Menagerie from the White Fang, but now they have to save Haven Academy. Meanwhile, Summer Rose returns with an ominous warning for Velvet about a new threat that's not of her world. Will Blake's group make it in time? Will Velvet be ready for this new threat? Until then, please Read and Review.
