Here we are at Chapter 81. Time to see how things go with Velvet's group back in Mistral. I do not own RWBY or Tales of Berseria. They belong to their respective owners. Here's chapter 81. Enjoy.


Chapter 81: Worse and Worse

Ruby and Velvet's group approach Haven Academy late in the evening. Velvet's old friends are with them, but even with all this extra help around, Velvet still feels a certain pressure in the air. Like there is something off about everything around them, but she can't tell what it is exactly.

"Velvet, is everything alright?" Ruby asks.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get going," Velvet says.

They enter one of the main buildings to find Lionheart inside, standing on a terrace over a female statue and two flights of stairs on each side of it.

"Good evening. Thank you for coming...There... seems to be far more of you than last time," Lionheart nervously notes as he looks to the large group.

Qrow glances at the group behind him before looking up to Lionheart, "Eh, you know what they say, "The more the merrier". So, what's going on with the council?" Qrow asks.

"Why... did you bring your weapons?" Lionheart asks.

"What? Leo, we're Huntsmen. We're warriors. Of course we're gonna have our weapons. You okay?" Qrow asks.

Eizen glances at Velvet, "Something feel off to you about this?" he mutters.

"Yeah, and it's not because of your Reaper's Curse," Velvet mutters back.

"Look, it's nice to see you, but we got work to do. Are we getting support from the council or not?" Qrow asks.

While the two talk, Yang Xiao Long notices from the corner of her eye a black bird perched on a balcony railing.

"Mom?" Yang says, gaining everyone's attention.

Everyone turns to the bird. It flies away just as Qrow shoots at it, though the shot misses its target. The bird flies down behind Lionheart, transforming into Raven, donning her mask. Everyone glares at her.

"Raven... This isn't good," Velvet notes, glaring at Raven.

"They... they really are magic..." Nora notes in awe.

"Summer's former teammate, as well as Yang's mother. Summer warned us about her. This won't be good," Eleanor mentally notes.

Raven takes off her mask, "If you're going to shoot me, shoot me. That was insulting," she taunts them.

"What are you doing here?!" Qrow growls.

Raven begins walking down the stairs, "I could ask you the same thing. You've been scheming, little brother. Planning to attack your own sister. I'm honestly hurt," Raven mocks him.

"Mind explaining to us what's going on here, old man?" Magilou asks.

"I...," Lionheart begins, glancing away in fear.

"Leo did what any sane person would in his position - he looked at all the information he had in front of him, assessed the situation, and made a choice. And it seems you all have too," Raven explains, the last comment aimed at Yang as she stares at her daughter.

"You have the Spring Maiden," Qrow says, angry.

"I do. As I'm sure you've already figured out," Raven says.

Qrow lowers his sword, "Then hand her over and let's work together! We can beat Salem!" he asks.

"All that time spent spying for Ozpin and you still have no idea what you're dealing with. There is no beating Salem! Even with all your new little friends here with their strange abilities and skills, it still won't make a difference," Raven retorts.

"You're wrong. We've done things that most people would call impossible, and I know the only reason we were able to do it is because we didn't do it alone! We had people to teach us, people to help us, we had each other. Work with us. At least I know we'll have a better chance if we try together. Please," Ruby pleads with Raven, holding out her hand to her, while Raven glares at it.

"You sound just like your mother," Raven notes.

Suddenly, Raven draws her sword and creates a portal with her semblance behind her. From the portal, a fireball is launched at Ruby, but it gets blocked when Velvet uses her arm blade to slice through it.

Everyone looks back to see Cinder step out of the portal.

"Hello boys and girls," Cinder greets them with an evil smirk.

Behind her, Vernal, Emerald, and Mercury appear as they too step out from the portal.

"Cinder... Well my day just got a whole lot better," Velvet growls.

Cinder and her group line up alongside Raven, while the others tense up.

"C'mon guys, is that any way to greet your old friends?" Mercury taunts them. However, he then notices how outnumbered they are. "Um, I thought there wouldn't be as many of them," he notes to Cinder.

"It makes no difference," Cinder replies.

"Everybody, stay calm," Qrow tries to calm the others down.

However, they hear the doors behind them open up. Oscar looks back and wuickly gets worried when he sees Hazel Rainart behind them, closing the doors behind him as he enters.

"The White Fang is prepping demolition and securing the school grounds. No one's getting in, and no one's getting out," Hazel says.

Outside, White Fang soldiers are seen placing bombs on the CCT tower. Off to the side, Adam Taurus looks on.

"Once the charges are set, move back to perimeter watch. Tonight, Haven falls," Adam declares with an evil smirk.

Back inside, everyone watches Hazel slowly approach them. They turn their attention back to Cinder.

"This was all just a trap?" Weiss says.

"Yep, Reaper's Curse at its finest," Magilou notes, while Eizen grunts.

"Raven, tell me... how long have you been with them?" Qrow questions her.

Cinder laughs a little mockingly, "Ha-ha-ha, aww, don't take it personally, little bird. Your sister was a recent addition. The lion on the other hand... Entrance into the Vytal Festival was a real treat. Leonardo's been sending Salem all sorts of information for a very, very long time. Isn't that right, professor?" Cinder says.

Lionheart looks away in shame, "Enough, please," he pleads.

"It was you...," Qrow begins, getting his attention. "You sit on the Mistral Council. You had information on every Huntsman and Huntress in the Kingdom, and you gave it all to Salem?" Qrow asks, shocked.

"Qrow, I-," Lionheart begins.

"I couldn't find any of them, because you let her kill them!" Qrow realizes.

Lionheart remains silent, unable to say anything to defend himself.

"He sold us out to save his own skin. Now that's the most pathetic thing I've ever heard," Velvet notes angrily.

"Aw now, don't beat yourself up about it, Lionheart, I'm sure Tyrian and Hazel would've found them on their own eventually," Cinder says.

"What is wrong with you...?" Jaune asks, his rage growing. "How can you be so broken inside... to take so many lives, and then come here and rub it in our faces like it's something to be proud of?!" he seethes while the rest watch on with worry. "All with that DAME SMILE ON YOUR FACE!" Jaune shouts as tears fall down from his eyes.

This causes the rest of the group to draw their weapons.

"Everyone, calm down!" Qrow tells them, but they don't listen.

"I'm gonna make you pay for what you did! Do you hear me?!" Jaune yells at Cinder, who just stares at him. "Well?! SAY SOMETHING!" He shouts.

"...Who are you again?" Cinder blows his tirade off.

Jaune grits his teeth and activates his sword's two-hander form and rushes at Cinder. Cinder smirks and conjures up a sword in her right hand and blocks an upward swing from Jaune, smiling evilly.

"Let's help Jaune!" Velvet says, but then suddenly a black orb of energy comes down and blows up in front of them, blowing up smoke and stopping their advance.

When the dust settles, they see a small figure in a dark cloak with its hood up appear, the hood covering most of their face. This stops everything else that's happening around them in the building.

"Who the Hell is this?" Eizen asks.

Mercury looks at Emerald, "Who's that? Are they with us?" he asks, but Emerald just shrugs her shoulders.

The figure glances back at them, "Let's just say I have some business with them, so I'll lend you a hand for now," a male voice says.

The figure then fires off a blast of bright energy at Velvet's old comrades, forcing them all to jump back away from everyone else. The figure gets between them and the others and conjures up a double-edged sword in his right hand, the sword wrapped up in some bandages around the blade.

"Now then, let's begin," the figure says.

Eizen, Magilou, and Eleanor ready their weapons before running at the new opponent. Meanwhile, Ruby goes to help Jaune, but Emerald fires a shot at her, with she blocks with her scythe.

"You want her, you have to go through me first," Emerald says.

Ruby grist her teeth before firing her scythe behind her to propel her towards Emerald. Meanwhile, Yang duels with Mercury, throwing a series of punches that Mercury backflips away from. He then makes a spinning hook kick at her, causing her to move back to avoid it and then block another kick from him with her gauntlet.

"Take out the heiress. Don't waste your power on her. She isn't worth it," Raven orders Vernal, and then draws her sword to block an attack from Qrow.

"Running away was one thing, but THIS... You've crossed a line, Raven," Qrow says, angry.

"Sorry, brother. Sometimes, family disappoints you like that," Raven taunts him.

"We're not family anymore," Qrow says.

"Were we ever?" Raven asks.

"I thought so, but I guess I was wrong," Qrow says.

Qrow then backflips away, but Raven chases him. The pair make a few swings at each other, which get parried by one another. Raven then manages to kick Qrow away before going after him again. Weiss watches them fight, but then notices Vernal approaching her.

"Let's see what the Schnee name really means," Vernal says.

Weiss aims her rapier at her, "I'm more than just a name," she retorts.

Vernal hums, "Hmm, prove it," she replies.

Weiss conjures up a glyph beneath her feet and then slides across the floor towards Vernal.

Meanwhile, Velvet looks back to see Ren and Nora going up against Hazel. Nora jumps up and swings her hammer down on Hazel, but he grabs her hammer and tosses her aside. Ren then joins in and swings the blades on his pistols at Hazel, but he blocks with his arms. She then looks over to her old friends. Eizen creates an earth arte to send earth pillars springing up at the dark figure, but the figure swings their sword, cutting them to pieces. Magilou flies around them and throws a few cards at the figure. The figure raises his left hand and sends out a fire arte to burn the cards away. Eleanor comes in next, making a series of thrusts with her spear at the enemy. The dark figure moves his head around each strike and then swings his sword down on Eleanor, who blocks with her spear. He then conjures a lightning arte and blasts her away. Velvet wants to help them, but then looks back to see Jaune getting pushed back from Cinder and remembers what Cinder has, and what she needs to get. Velvet runs at the pair fighting, jumping into the air with her foot blades out and spins around to swing her foot blades at Cinder, forcing her to jump back away from Jaune.

"You... You have something that belongs to me," Cinder growls a bit.

"Belongs to YOU? Please, the Fall Maiden's power is something you STOLE from its true owner. It never belonged to you," Velvet retorts.

Cinder grits her teeth and charges at Velvet. Velvet meets Cinder's sword with her arm blade, and they both activate their powers. Cinder still possesses most of the Fall Maiden's power though, so her power is stronger, but Velvet's other abilities help to even it out. They jump back from each other and Velvet slides her left index finger across her blade, causing it to be engulfed in flames. Cinder charges at her again, her sword bursting into a blade of pure flames. Cinder swings her sword at Velvet, which Velvet meets with her own blade. Velvet swings her right foot blade at Cinder, who leans back to evade it. Velvet then jumps up and thrusts her arm blade at Cinder, who deflects it with her sword. Cinder then swings her sword, sending out an arc of flames at Velvet. Velvet activates her demon claw and absorbs the flames, stunning Cinder a bit. Velvet then conjures up a fire arte in her demon claw and sends out a ball of fire at Cinder. Cinder jumps back to avoid the attack and goes after Velvet again, who meets her attack in kind. Cinder swings her blade at Velvet's throat, but Velvet leans back to evade it and then deactivates her arm blade to get down on her hands as she starts spinning around with her foot blades out. Cinder blocks a few of her swings, but ends up getting nicked by a few of them before Velvet jumps back up onto her feet and brings out her arm blade again. The pair then parry a few strikes from the other, but then Jaune gets in between them, swinging his sword at Cinder.

"Jaune!" Velvet calls out.

"Don't try and stop me! I have to make her pay for what she did to Pyrrha!" Jaune retorts before charging at Cinder again.

"That idiot," Velvet mutters.

Meanwhile, Weiss jumps around in the air on her glyphs as she tries to avoid Vernal's weapons. However, she accidently jumps back into a pillar and falls to the ground. Vernal comes in and takes a swing at her, but Weiss moves away and creates an ice wall to protect her. She then tries to summon her Armas Gigas summon, but then Vernal fires off a strong blast from her pistols, cutting through both the ice wall and the Armas Gigas. Weiss is stunned, but then gets knocked to the ground by one of Vernal's thrown pistols, and then flies back to her to catch it.

"Don't think I'm going to let you take the easy way out," Vernal notes, smirking evilly.

Back with Velvet's group, Magilou and Eizen conjure up balls of red and green energy before firing them off at the dark figure. The figure suddenly disappears and then reappears behind them, swinging his sword. Eleanor intervenes, blocking the attack with her spear. Eizen comes in, throwing a few swings of his fists at the enemy, but the figure flies around each strike and then sends out a blast of energy, knocking Eizen back.

"This guy's tough," Magilou notes.

While all these battles occur, Lionheart watches from above on the terrace. However, he then notices Oscar approaching him from behind.

"Young man, I don't know who you are or what you think you're doing, but for your sake, I suggest you leave. Now," Lionheart warns him while readying his weapon on his left arm. Oscar, however, doesn't listen, taking a few more steps toward Lionheart. "I'm warning you!" he threatens him, but Oscar prepares to draw his cane. "If that's what you want, then so be it!" Lionheart yells. Lionheart rotates his weapon, having a glyph appear above it which then conjures a flaming rock that launches at Oscar, who crosses his arms in front of him defensively as the attack explodes. Oscar is unscathed, though his aura shimmers a bit. He continues to proceed up the steps and then draws his cane.

Lionheart widens his eyes in shock, "Ozpin?" he gasps at finding out who his opponent really is.

Oscar smirks, "Not quite," he says and then charges at Lionheart.

Oscar makes a few swings, forcing Lionheart to block with his weapon. However, one swing pushes Lionheart up against the railing behind him. He moves to evade another swing from Oscar, but then gets knocked down the stairs, almost losing his footing, by another swing. Oscar jumps towards him, making a downward swing at Lionheart before swinging his cane a few more times, getting a few hits in. He then makes one more swing that knocks Lionheart back a few more steps.

"This can't be... I knew you would be back, but... you made it here! You found Qrow! How?" Lionheart asks.

"Leo... what happened to you? Why would you betray humanity to serve Salem?" Ozpin asks mentally, knowing Lionheart can't hear him.

"...Wait. You can't have had this form for long. You're... not really Ozpin right now. Boy. Child. If I deliver you to Salem, she'll have to be pleased with me, and I can finally get out of all of this! I can finally be free!" Lionheart thinks and aims his weapon at Oscar again, more determined to fight now.

"What do I do?" Oscar mutters to Ozpin.

"What any true huntsmen would do... Fight," Ozpin replies, and then Oscar moves forward.

Back with Velvet and Jaune, Jaune gets sent to the floor by Cinder, but Velvet jumps over him, swinging her arm blade at Cinder, who meets it in kind with her sword. They clash and Velvet ends up behind Cinder, swinging one of her foot blades around at her face. Cinder ducks beneath the attack and spins around to swing her sword at Velvet again, but Velvet activates her demon claw and catches the blade with it. Velvet then swings her right foot blade up across Cinder's body, dealing some damage before she kicks her away. Cinder growls, but then notices Jaune coming up behind her. She sends out a fire blast at him, knocking him back to the ground. Velvet attacks her rear, but Cinder jumps over her and lands behind her.

"While I could never forget the one aside from Ruby that's caused me such humiliation, I am starting to remember you now, blondie. You're the dense one who doesn't know when he's out of his league," Cinder notes, creating another sword in her right hand.

Back with Ruby, Ruby swings her scythe at Emerald, who jumps away to the wall behind her, pushing off of it to swing her sickle blades at her. Ruby fires off her scythe at the ground, sending her into the air and over Emerald. Ruby twirls her scythe in the air as she falls, swinging it down on Emerald, who narrowly evades the strike. Ruby fires off another shot at Emerald, who evades it, with the round flying past Weiss as she continues her fight with Vernal. Weiss attempts to summon again, but Vernal fires a shot to stop her, hitting her in the back. Weiss creates a glyph to block another shot and attempts to summon again, but Vernal gets in close and fires her pistols again, taking out the rest of her aura while making her scream. Jaune and Velvet notice and glance over to her.

"Weiss!" Velvet yells and runs to her aid.

"Are you gonna let her die to?" Cinder asks, mocking Jaune.

"Stop messing with me!" Jaune shouts, tears forming in his eyes.

"If that's what you want," Cinder says and has her sword now fully engulfed in flames.

Velvet fires off a fire arte that nails Vernal, keeping her away from Weiss.

"Weiss, are you okay?!" Velvet asks. Weiss groans in pain on the ground, and Velvet growls as she eyes Vernal. "You're gonna pay for that," she mutters darkly.

Vernal fires off her pistols at her, but Velvet swings her claw around, creating a claw shield with her semblance to block the shots. She then takes out an ice Dust crystal and absorbs it. Jumping over the shield, she fires off an ice shard at Vernal, who rolls out of the way to avoid it. However, Velvet lands near her and smashes her claw onto the floor, coating it in ice and encasing Vernal's feet in ice. Velvet then swings her claw at her, with Vernal holding up her pistols to block it, but she gets sent flying anyway. Meanwhile, Ruby looks over, seeing Jaune and Cinder run at each other, dreading that what happened to Pyrrha will now happen to him. That dread is too much.

"NNNNOOOOOO!" Ruby yells as her power erupts from her Silver Eyes like before, coating the area in white light.

However, Emerald attacks from behind and knocks her out with a blow to the skull, stopping her power from going all out.

"Ruby!" Velvet yells as she runs to help her.

Cinder falls onto the ground, clutching her left arm. Jaune sees this and tries to take her down by thrusting his sword at her face. Cinder barely avoids the attack, only getting her mask nicked a bit. Jaune loses his footing and falls onto the floor, losing his sword in the process. Cinder gets back on her feet, enraged as her Maiden power activates. She then steps on top of Jaune to hold him down.

"Did you think you actually had a chance against me?! YOU?!" Cinder shouts. Jaune struggles to reach for his weapon while Cinder calms down and deactivates her power. "You're just a failure with a death wish," she notes, looking down on him with contempt.

"...If I die buying them time, then it's worth it. They're the ones that matter," Jaune says defiantly.

Cinder looks to Jaune's comrades as they fight against her allies and the mysterious figure aiding them, before smiling evilly back down to him.

"You think so?" Cinder says.

She then notices Weiss slowly getting onto her hands and knees, and begins to slowly proceed toward her while she conjures a spear in her right hand.

"No... NOOOOOOO!" Jaune yells as he can do nothing but watch, reaching out in vain.

Cinder throws the spear and it impales Weiss through her abdomen, with Weiss gasping in shock. With this, everyone else stops their battles and looks back to her, her friends widening their eyes in shock. The spear then disintegrates as Weiss goes motionless and slumps forward onto the ground.

"Weiss... no," Velvet mutters in disbelief.


And that's the chapter. The battle for Haven begins, and when it seems like Ruby's group has the upper hand in numbers, a new player enters the stage to turn things against them, and now Weiss is severely injured by Cinder. Who is this new player and why are they helping Cinder's forces? Will Velvet and her allies make a comeback? Will Weiss survive? Until then, please Read and Review.