Here we are at Chapter 94. The military base slammed its doors in Velvet's group's faces, but let's see if they can't figure out a way around that. I do not own RWBY or Tales of Berseria. They belong to their respective owners. Here's chapter 94. Enjoy.


Chapter 94: Dead End

Velvet and Ruby's group have arrived at the military base, only for the soldiers guarding the place to close their gates, barring them from entry. Of course, no one liked that, especially Yang and Velvet.

Yang grabs the bars of the gate, "Hey! You guys didn't even hear us out!" Yang yells.

"We're huntsmen and huntresses on a mission here. We need to get to Atlas and speak with General Ironwood," Velvet adds. "As much as it pains me to admit that we need to see him."

"Atlas has officially closed its borders and is not permitting entry at this time. Only official Atlas military personnel have access to this facility and to the kingdom," One soldier at the gate informs them.

"Now, we kindly ask that you leave the area and have a good day," the second one adds.

"Hey, listen-," Velvet begins.

"Have a good day!" both guards shout this time together.

Qrow steps up, "Look, the girl is speaking the truth. We're all huntsmen and huntresses on an important mission. I'm a friend of the General's. If you jjst let me speak to Ironwood-," he begins.

"General Ironwood!" the guards interrupt him.

"Yeah, 'General' Ironwood. As I was saying, we need to speak to him. If you must know, we have the missing daughter of Jacques Schnee, Weiss Schnee, here with us, and we're just trying to get her back home safe and sound," Qrow says, gesturing to the ex-heiress.

Weiss appears nervous for a second, a little annoyed at being used as a bargaining chip like this, but a supportive hand on her shoulder by Yang gives her the confidence to step forth for the guards to get a better look at her. They lean in inspecting her for a few short moments, and then lean back.

"Very well. We will allow you to speak with our commander. We will fetch her for you immediately," one guard says and then the two turn and leave, doing a weird military walk back to the base.

Weiss steps back, "Well, they were... really weird," she notes, and everyone nods in agreement.

Maria hums to herself, gaining the group's attention.

"What is it?" Ruby asks.

"Well, I think I have a pretty good idea of who their commander is," Maria replies.

"That's a good thing, right? If they're a friend of yours, maybe they'll let us through," Blake says.

"Actually, we're not really friends. More like... bitter enemies," Maria admits, earning groans and the sagging of shoulders from the group. "You see, I come by this way every ten years or so to go to Atlas to have my eyes worked on... I swear, you big outside cashews on ONE flight, and suddenly, you're on the additional screening list for LIFE!" Maria shouts, angry.

"Great, and with you here, that means we're probably not getting in and getting a ride to Atlas," Velvet dryly notes.

"Oh come now, let's not give up hope yet... Maybe she's dead," Maria tries to keep their spirits up.

"With our luck, not likely," Velvet mutters.

Suddenly, the gates open up in front of them and the two guards return.

"Introducing Special Operative Caroline Cordovin!" the guards yell.

An older woman walks forth, apparently being just as tall as Maria, with short gray hair, and wearing at Atlas military uniform with a gray belt.

Cordovin steps up to Maria, "Witch," she mutters with disgust.

"She-devil," Maria replies with just as much hate.

"Hmph. I see you've chosen larger contraband to smuggle this time," Cordovin notes.

"Oh, Cordo. You know, they say that time changes people, but I see that you still have that stick right up your-," Maria begins, before Ruby stops her.

"Hello, Miss, uh, Cordovin. My name is Ruby Rose, and I was hoping that you would hear what we have to say," Ruby says, trying to keep the situation from boiling over.

"I have already heard what you have to say from your other friends, Miss Rose," Cordovin says, looking behind Ruby to see Team JNR standing a short distance away. "What are you doing here?! I thought I told you to leave!" she yells at them, flipping out.

"AND I TOLD YOU WE WOULDN'T REST UNTIL YOU LET US THROUGH!" Nora shouts while Ren and Jaune hold her back from doing something stupid.

"Nice to see you again as well," Ren replies, trying to keep Cordovin's attention off of Nora.

Cordovin turns her attention back to Ruby, "You civilians are clearly incapable of comprehending the importance of our mission here in Argus. So allow me to say this slowly, with smaller words: This base, that relay tower, the very safety of Argus are all gifts from the glorious Kingdom of Atlas! And it is my duty to uphold them, as only I have the wit and tenacity for such a task," she makes a big speech.

"More like so they could keep you as far away from Atlas as possible," Maria says, much to Cordovin's ire.

Cordovin growls, "Ugh, this city wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for our Atlesian ancestors. And yet, how are we repaid for that kindness, with a world ready to slice a knife across our throats," Cordovin says, slicing a thumb across her neck.

"Hey, we were at the Fall of Beacon when it happened. We were students there. We know it wasn't Atlas' fault for what happened during the Vytal Festival," Velvet says.

"No one is happy about the Dust embargo or the closing of borders, but Ironwood is just worried. If we could just talk to him-," Weiss adds, only for Cordovin to interrupt her.

"The General is not a coward! Atlas is strong! If the world palns to make us it's enemy, then so be it. Atlas will prevail!" she cheers.

"Atlas will prevail!" her guards cheer with her.

"Do you guys really have to keep doing that?" Yang asks, her patience decreasing with the behavior of the two guards, as is everyone else.

Cordovin takes a calming breath, "If Miss Schnee has truly come to her senses and wishes to return home, then the Atlas military will happily escort her back to her family. But the kingdom will not be responsible for her friends of... questionable character," she says, glaring at Blake for her Faunus heritage, making Blake feel bad, while Yang and Velvet show subtle looks of anger that she would say something like that to Blake's face just because she's a Faunus.

"And our 'character' means what exactly?" Velvet scowls.

"It means we're done here. Now run along," Cordovin says, smirking, and shuts the gates on them once again.

And with that, their plan of getting to Atlas just got put on hold. Weiss holds her arm, looking worried.

"Guys, I know we need to get to Atlas and talk to Ironwood, but I don't-," Weiss begins, before Yang gently takes her hand in her own, planting a kiss on it.

"Hey, we promised you that we wouldn't leave you alone, and we'll keep that promise. Especially me," Yang says, pulling her girlfriend a little closer to her.

Weiss smiles, "Thank you, Yang," she replies and kisses her cheek.

"Okay, so what do we do now, seeing as how they won't be letting us through since we're not rich Atlesian snobs, or military dogs?" Velvet asks.

"I don't know, but we'll figure something out. We always do," Ruby says, and then sees her uncle walking off, hunched over. "Where are you going? We need to come up with a plan," Ruby asks.

"Come up with a plan? The plan was to get to Atlas, and that plan just got slammed into our faces. You kids go back to the house. I'm going to get a drink," Qrow complains and walks off.

Velvet rolls her eyes, "Well, he sure is being helpful right now," she notes, making Ruby sigh.

Team JNR join them, "Look, I'm sure we'll come up with a plan, even without Qrow. I mean, we got Ozpin with us, and he always seems to have the answers," Nora notes.

However, the mentioning of Ozpin only makes the rest of the group glance away, aware that Team JNR haven't learned what they have after the train crash.

"Hey guys, what's the matter?" Jaune asks.

"Well... there are a few things... you should know," Velvet says.

Back at Saphron and Terra's house, Ruby's group has just finished informing Team JNR about the truth regarding Ozpin and Salem. Suffice to say, they don't take it well, especially when Jaune smashes his armored fist into the wall by the stairs, cracking it.

"Jaune!" Ruby yells.

"Everything we've been through was for nothing!" Jaune shouts.

"You need to calm down. No, it hasn't," Velvet retorts.

"Really?! Because from what you just told us, it sure sounds like it was all for nothing," Nora counters.

"If Salem can't be killed, then what's the point in this? How are we supposed to win if she can't be stopped?" Ren asks, crossing his arms.

"Look, if we give up now, then Salem DOES win. This isn't the time to be quitting, not after everything we've been through, everything we've... EVERYONE we've lost," Velvet retorts, thinking about Pyrrha.

Seeing everyone starting to lose their cool, Oscar steps up to try and defuse the situation.

"Look, none of us like the situation we're in. None of this is good, we know that. But, we're not the bad guys here. We're all on the same side," Oscar says.

"Are we sure about that?" Jaune asks, and turns to face Oscar while everyone else watches on. "He's in YOUR head, isn't he? Did you already know about this?" Jaune asks, his anger growing as he stalks towards Oscar.

"He didn't know any of it!" Weiss tries to stop Jaune while defending Oscar.

Jaune grabs Oscar by his shirt and pins him against the wall by the stairs, "How much longer can we even trust him? How do we know it's really him?! What if we've been talking to that liar this whole time?!" Jaune yells, shaking Oscar.

"Jaune, you need to stop!" Ruby says as she grabs his left arm.

However, Jaune loses it and lets go of Oscar, only to throw a punch to Ruby's face, knocking her to the ground. The action actually manages to get Jaune to snap out of it, looking on in shock at Ruby, realizing what he just did. Ruby holds her face as Yang and Weiss kneel next to her, but now Velvet flips out.

"You son of a bitch!" Velvet yells and activates her demon claw, clamping it down on Jaune's skull and slams him against the wall. "I get that you're upset. I'm still pissed at Ozpin, too. But, that's no excuse to take your anger out on Oscar, or Ruby. They had nothing to do with this, and you're just throwing a tantrum like a child, so get. A. GRIP!" Velvet says and then releases Jaune, himself falling onto his hands and knees.

Jaune takes a few breaths as Nora and Ren join him by his side, and he looks over to Ruby, who gets helped up by Yang and Weiss. Thought it was only for a moment, Jaune had seen the look of hurt on Ruby's face. Not from the punch itself, but from the fact that it was Jaune who punched her in such a way, one of her friends. Jaune looks away, guilty, and gets up to head upstairs.

Velvet deactivates her demon claw and turns to her girlfriend, "You okay, Ruby?" she asks.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Ruby replies and looks to Ren and Nora. "Will... Will Jaune by okay?" she asks.

Nora hesitates. "I'm... I don't know," she says sadly and walks up the stairs.

"I think it would be best if we had some time to ourselves to think," Ren adds and goes up to join them.

The rest of the group watch them leave before Blake speaks up, "Maybe we could all use some space, and some time to think about things," she suggests.

Deciding to listen to Blake, Ruby heads outside into the backyard, with Velvet in tow. She pulls out her scroll, and tries to call her uncle for help or advice. Unfortunately, he doesn't answer, and she gets angry.

"Ugh, where are you?!" Ruby yells, throwing her scroll onto the ground.

Velvet wraps an arm around her shoulders for support, but apparently, they aren't alone.

"You know, I came out here to escape from all of the yelling. I'm too old for that nonsense," they hear and look over to see Maria sitting in a wooden foldable chair next to a small table with a plate of assorted fruits on it, sitting under a tree in the backyard. "Has everything calmed down now? Or do I still need to wait out here a while longer?" she asks.

"Sorry. Yang, Weiss, and Blake went out to get food for tonight. And Jaune, Ren, and Nora are upstairs, trying to think about what we told them, what we learned from Jinn," Ruby says, moving to sit on the back porch, with Velvet beside her.

"And you didn't think to go with them?" Maria asks.

"That's kind of difficult right now, with everything that's going on. We need to get to Atlas, but what are we supposed to do? What are we supposed to tell Jaune and the others when we don't have a plan right now? Qrow's out getting drunk, as usual, and Ozpin still hasn't returned. But, even if he did, I doubt any of us could trust him. I know I couldn't, not after everything he kept from us all this time," Velvet says.

"We still have Jinn to ask, but we only have one question left that we can ask her, and I don't think we should use it here. Not now... *sigh* I feel like I'm letting everyone down," Ruby laments, causing Velvet to lightly pat her head in support.

"You know, you two don't give yourselves enough credit," Maria notes.

"Oh, thanks," Ruby says, lightening up a bit.

"She wasn't complimenting us, Ruby," Velvet dryly says.

"Huh?" Ruby bolts up.

Maria rolls her shoulders a bit, "If I must explain everything to you, it would just defeat the purpose. But, if you're tired of not knowing anything, why don't we start with those eyes of yours?" Maria suggests.

Ruby stands up, "Oh yes- I mean, I would be honored," she says.

Maria shakes her head, "Sit back down, child," she says, and Ruby does so. "Now then, first, let's go over what you know already, before we met. Tell me," Maria asks.

"Um, well, I was told by my uncle that Silver-Eyed people are supposed to be legendary warriors..." Ruby begins.

"And she once turned a giant Wyvern into stone at the Fall of Beacon," Velvet adds.

"Is that all?" Maria asks, not impressed.

"Look, if I already knew everything, then I wouldn't be asking for help," Ruby argues, crossing her arms.

"Yelling," Maria points out, and Ruby calms down. "It's not your fault. I had my father to teach me, and even he didn't have all of the answers. But what he told me back then makes sense, given what I've seen lately," Maris says.

"Your father? Was he a huntsman?" Velvet asks, curious.

Maria smiles, "It wasn't an official title back in his day. I only knew him as an old soldier, and an excellent teacher. I never attended one of those fancy academies of yours, but I scored higher on the license exam than any other huntsmen or huntress that day," Maria explains.

"Hmm, I had Artorius, my brother-in-law, to teacher me how to fight, before everything went to Hell back home. As for this," Velvet holds up her palm as her maiden powers activate, conjuring up a small flame in her hand. "I had Summer Rose teach me a few things, but I'm still learning. There's still so much about this power that I don't understand," Velvet says as he powers deactivate.

Ruby takes her hand in hers and looks back to Maria, "Your father must've been proud when you passed," she says.

"He would've scolded me for showing off... He had never been able to find much information about our abilities, just myths and legends about people like us. In fact, he found so little about them that it made him cautious. How could such powerful bloodlines be so rare... unless something was actively trying to destroy them," Maria says.

Ruby knows what she meant, "Salem," she mutters.

"Indeed. And now I know that it must've been her people that she sent after me all those years ago... I tried to keep my powers a secret, but as you know, it wasn't enough. I owe my life to my training and my semblance. At the end of the day, those are still your greatest tools. You both possess incredible powers, but you mustn't become over-reliant on them," Maria says.

"What is your semblance?" Ruby asks, curious.

A fruit falls from the tree above her, and Maria skillfully catches it in her hand, "Reflexes! A silly name I came up with, yes. It's hard to explain, but I can sense everything around me better than most, and react to attacks almost before they happen. Combine that with my training, and my Silver-Eyed abilities to turn Grimm to stone, or blind them, or vaporize them, and that's how you become the Grimm Reaper," Maria explains, putting the fruit on her plate.

Ruby smiles, "So, how do I vaporize Grimm with my eyeballs?" she eagerly asks, earning a roll of the eyes from Velvet, and a hit on the head from Maria's cane. "Ow!"

"First, you stop thinking like that. I want you to think back to all of the times that you've used your power before. What did those moments have in common?" Maria asks.

Ruby thinks for a moment, "Um, I... don't know. I think I was... scared or stressed? Is it emotional?" Ruby asks.

Maria nods, "It's emotional, but more focused than that. Think. What was it you wanted?" she asks.

Ruby thinks back to Pyrrha and Jaune, what those moments were like.

"I... I wanted to protect my friends," Ruby says.

"Precisely! It is the desire to protect and preserve life that fuels the light inside of you. And believe me, it IS light. Preservation is an extension of creation, or at least, an enemy of destruction. The Creatures of Grimm where created by the God of Darkness, but your light comes from his brother," Maria explains.

"The God of Light," Velvet mutters.

"Yes. I never fully understood the light itself, but I did know how to use it. Though, it would only activate and work on Grimm. Then Jinn showed us her vision. Were you paying attention?" Maria asks.

Ruby thinks back to the vision, when the God of Light confronted his brother, and created a great light that burned the Grimm around him away. Then she remembers his eyes, their color.

Ruby gasps, "The God of Light... His eyes," she realizes, and stands up. "So, where do we start?" she asks, eager to begin her training.

"I'm afraid it's not so simple. The light will only activate in the presence of Grimm. Which means the only training you'll get will be a trial by fire," Maria notes.

"But... that can't be right," Ruby says. Maria hums in response, for her to elaborate. "You said that my powers will only activate near Grimm, but... I used it at the battle at Haven. It reacted to Cinder," Ruby says.

"Hmmm, interesting. Perhaps, there was something there you just didn't notice?" Maria asks.

"It was Grimm," Velvet says, gaining their attention. "Down in the vault, I saw it. Her left arm... It was Grimm," she says, surprising them. "She could use that arm to absorb the power of the maidens into herself. I think she had something similar before, when she was trying to get the Fall Maiden's power. However, I was able to absorb her powers with my demon arm, and then I killed her, so she won't be a problem anymore. But, that is why your power reacted to her Ruby," she explains.

Just then, Yang opens the back door, "Hey guys, we got a problem," she says.

Ruby and Velvet walk inside to meet up with their team and Team JNR, "What's wrong?" Ruby asks.

"What's going on?" Jaune asks.

"It's Oscar... He's gone missing," Blake says, making everyone look worried that the farm boy has now disappeared.


And that's the chapter. Velvet and the gang have to put their plans on hold, especially after telling Team JNR the truth about Ozpin and Salem. To make matters worse, Oscar has now gone missing. Will the group be able to find him in time? Will they still be going to Atlas with Team JNR? Until then, please Read and Review.