Here we are at Chapter 25. We're nearly at the one of my favorite parts, the school dance. I do not own RWBY or Tales of Berseria. They belong to their respective owners. Here's chapter 25. Enjoy.

Chapter 25: Knocking Some Sense In

A few days have passed since Velvet's match with Mercury. The school dance is coming closer and so everyone is getting ready, ranging from finding clothes to getting dates. Though the last part is driving Velvet closer to complete insanity. Of course, she still gets requests to be someone's date to the dance, and each one ends with the same result: soft rejection for the girls, harsh rejection for the boys. However, an even more pressing issue is Blake. Blake's obsession with stopping Torchwick is seriously worrying the others, and so far their attempts at getting her to slow down have yielded negative results.

Currently, Velvet is sitting with Ruby, who looks mopey while laying her head on a table in the ballroom. Yang walks by, carrying large speaker on her shoulder with ease, and then drops it next to them, making their chairs and the table bounce up. Yang wipes up her hands as she walks by.

"So, have you guys picked out dresses yet?" she asks.

"You're joking right?" Velvet replies.

"What's the point? Who cares about the dance if Blake isn't going," Ruby says, still feeling down.

"Oh, don't worry. She's going," Yang says confidently, and the turns to face Weiss. "Weiss! I thought we agreed. No doilies!" she yells.

Weiss walks up to her and puts a finger in her face, "If I don't get doilies, you don't have fog machines," she retorts.

Just then, a door opens up and Sun and Neptune walk in.

"You're dance is gonna have fog machines?" Neptune asks.

"Maybe, as long as I get my doilies," Weiss says, glancing at Yang.

Neptune points at her, "That's pretty cool," he says.

"Forget it, Neptune, I already have a date," Weiss replies, looking away from him, and making him slouch in defeat.

"You ladies all excited for dress up?" Sun playfully asks as he walks up, making Weiss slouch and frown at his presence.

"Hell no," Velvet groans.

"Laugh all you want. I'LL be turning heads tomorrow night," Yang says, confidence filled her voice as she crosses her arms.

"Okay…What are you two wearing?" Weiss asks Neptune and Sun.

"Uh, this," Sun motions to his clothing.

Neptune puts a hand in front of Sun's face, "Ignore him, for he knows not what he says," he playfully says.

Sun pushes the hand out of the way, "Hey, I may have moved to Mistral, but I grew up in Vacuo. It's not exactly a shirt and tie kind of place," Sun says.

"Yeah, we've noticed," Yang deadpans.

Sun rubs the back of his head, "So, uh, what does Blake think of all of this? She still being all, you know, Blakey?" Sun asks.

"Obviously," Weiss says, crossing her arms.

"I still can't think of a way to change her mind," Ruby says.

"Guys…" Yang says, walking in front of them. "…Trust me. Blake WILL be at the dance tomorrow," Yang proclaims as she walks away.

Velvet leaves her seat and quickly catches up to her, "I know what you're doing. I'm coming with you. The two of us together should be able to talk some sense into her," Velvet says, and Yang nods as they leave.

…

Blake is in the library, working on one of the computer stations as she continues her search on what the White Fang and Torchwick are planning. As she is working, Blake sees a red dot appear on her screen. The red dot moves along the screen, her eyes following it, and eventually falls onto her right hand. She moves her hand, and it disappears, before she looks back to find the culprit, but sees no one responsible. Feeling slightly irritated, Blake turns back to her screen and continues researching, only to see the red dot appear on her right hand again. Blake looks back again, seeing nothing, and turns back around. A second later, the same red dot appears on her screen again, and starts moving across the screen. She watches it for a moment before she gets angry and pounds her fists onto the table. She stands up and turns around, angry, but then sees the red dot on the ground in front of her. Blake begins following the red dot until it turns around a bookshelf in front of her. She follows it around the bookshelf until she looks up to see Velvet with her arms crossed, scowling, and Yang holding a red light pointer at her, a big smile on her face, spooking Blake.

"Hello~!" Yang sings to her.

"What are you-," Blake begins, but Velvet grabs her left arm.

"We need to talk. NOW," Velvet replies, before pulling Blake away with them.

…

The three end up in an empty classroom, with Yang sitting crossed legged on the front desk, Velvet leaning against it next to her, and Blake pacing in front of them.

"If you guys are going to tell me to stop, you may as well just save your breath," Blake says as she walks by, arms crossed

"We don't want you to stop Blake. We want you to slow down. You're not helping anyone by acting like this," Velvet retorts.

"We don't have the luxury to slow down," Blake replies, scowling.

"It's not a luxury, it's a necessity," Yang adds.

"The NECESSITY is stopping Torchwick," Blake says as she looks at them.

"And we're going to, but first you have to sit down and listen to what I have to say," Yang says, patting a spot on the front desk.

Blake thinks for a moment before she sits on the desk, "Fine," she reluctantly says.

"Ruby and I grew up in Patch, an island just off the coast of Vale. Our parents were huntsmen. Our dad taught at Signal, and our mom would take on missions around the kingdom. Her name was Summer Rose. And she was like…super mom. Baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters. And then…one day she left for a mission and never came back. It was tough. Ruby was really torn up but…I think she was still too young to really get what was going on, you know. And my dad just kind of…shut down. It wasn't long before I learned why…Summer wasn't the first love he'd lost…she was the second. The first…was my mom," Yang solemnly confesses, shocking both Blake and Velvet. "He wouldn't tell me everything, but I learned that the two of them had been on a team together with Summer and Qrow, and that she left me with him just after I was born. No one had seen her since," Yang says, feeling a little down at the memory.

"Why did she leave you?" Blake asks, getting a little curious along with Velvet.

Yang sighs, "That question…Why?" Yang says before standing off the desk wand walking up to the chalk board. "I didn't know the answer, but I was determined to find out. It was all I thought about. I would ask anybody I could what they knew about her," Yang continues, picking up a piece of chalk and starts drawing something on the board. "Then one day, I found something. What I thought was a clue that could lead me to answers. Or maybe even my mother. I waited for dad to leave the house, put Ruby in a wagon and headed out. I must have walked for hours. I had cuts and bruises, was totally exhausted, but I wasn't gonna let anything stop me. When we finally got there, I could barely stand, but I didn't care. I had made it…And then I saw them, those burning red eyes. There we were, a toddler asleep in the back of a wagon, and a stupid girl too exhausted to even cry for help. We might as well have been served on a silver platter…But, as luck would have it, our uncle showed up just in time…My stubbornness should have gotten us killed that night," Yang ends her story, putting the chalk piece down.

Blake stand up, "Yang…I'm sorry that happened to you, and I understand what you're trying to tell me, but this is different. I'm not a child, and this isn't just a search for answers! I can't just-," Blake begins.

"I told you, I'm not telling you to stop. I haven't. To this day, I still wanna know what happened to my mother and why she left me, but I will never let that search control me. We're going to find the answers we're looking for, Blake, but if we destroy ourselves in the process, then what good are we?" Yang says.

Blake then gets irritated, "You don't UNDERSTAND, I'm the only one that can do this!" Blake continues to not listen to her.

However, before Yang can argue back, Velvet suddenly grabs Blake by her shirt and pins her to the chalk board, looking livid.

"YOU ARE AN IDIOT!" She shouts.

"Velvet, what are-," Blake begins.

"You want to stop Torchwick, well so do I. So do all of us, but if all you think about is stopping him, then the second you find him, he'll kill you in mere seconds! How would that help anyone, huh?!" she yells.

"I can stop him. I'm the only one that can stop him," Blake tries to retort.

"So what? The rest of us are just wasting our time, trying to help you, and that we shouldn't even try to stop him together? As a team? As your FRIENDS!" Velvet counters.

At this point, Blake gets scared, "What? N-no, it's just-," she begins.

"Listen Blake, if you continue down this path, the only thing you'll accomplish is getting yourself killed, and leaving your friends in pain from your death. Do you want Ruby, Weiss, or Yang to go through that?" she interrupts her.

This makes Blake hesitate, "…No, I-I would never want to put them through that," she replies.

"Look Blake, you can't go down this road. It doesn't end well for anyone," Velvet adds.

At hearing this, Blake gets a little angry, "What do you know? You've never been in my position before, so what gives you the right to say that?" she demands.

"Because I once thought of nothing but REVENGE for my brother long before I came here!" she yells.

"…V-Velvet…" Yang mutters, finally regaining her voice in this exchange.

"W-what?" Blake asks, stunned.

Velvet drops Blake and steps back, her body shaking, "Remember when I told you guys that my brother died. Well…he was killed as part of some ritual back home…and by someone I once considered family," she says, not meeting their eyes.

"Velvet…what do you mean?" Yang asks.

"I mean my innocent little brother was killed…by my brother-in-law, Artorius," she admits.

This shocks the other two, "What?! Why…why would he do that?!" Blake asks.

"He wanted power and performed a ritual that required a sacrifice, and my brother was his choice. Then, I was thrown into a cell for nearly three years. During that time, all I could think about was killing him and getting my revenge. To make him pay for what he did. My little brother, Laphicet, was a sweet and innocent boy who didn't deserve that. Soon enough, I managed to break free and so I went off to find him, and take my revenge," she says.

"Velvet, I'm…sorry that happened to you, but what does that have to do with-," Blake begins.

"Shut up!" Velvet stops her before she calms down a little. "Revenge was the only thing on my mind at that time. I didn't care about anything, or anyone, else. However, it all changed when I took in the boy who I named after my brother. This Laphicet began to show me the way. I nearly lost myself in my thirst for revenge, but he saved me. He helped me remember what was important. He saved my life, and my soul," Velvet says as she looks up and they are stunned to see signs of sadness in her her eyes. "That's what I'm getting at, Blake. If you continue down this path, you'll only become a shadow of your former self. You'll become no better than the one you're trying to stop, or worse, kill yourself in the process. You don't have to face this alone. You have friends by your side, so stop pushing them away. We all care about you Blake, so don't think you're alone in this," Velvet says as she walks up and surprises Blake by hugging her, followed by Yang who joins the embrace. "You don't need to bear the world's problems on your shoulders, especially alone," she says.

"Blake, we're not asking you to stop. Just please, get some rest. Not just for you, but for the people you care about," Yang finishes as they separate. "I really think you should come out to the dance. I'm…kind of going with Weiss, but if you feel like coming out, I'll save you a dance," Yang says as she winks at her. Velvet takes this chance to leave the room, but Yang calls out to her. "Velvet, about…about your brother. Did…Did you…" she hesitates to ask.

Velvet stops at the exit, but doesn't look back at them, "…I did what I had to do. Let's just leave it at that. I don't want to talk about it anymore. Word of advice, Blake; don't end up like me," she says and leaves, leaving the other two concerned, and a little scared.

Velvet quickly makes her way back to the dorm room, wanting some alone time and to just rest after having to talk about her past to Blake and Yang. She knew she had to tell Blake in order to get her head back on straight, but it still didn't make it any easier. Eventually, she makes it back to the dorm room, and opens the door to find only Ruby inside, sitting on her bed, studying.

"Oh, hey Velvet, where did you and Yang go?" she asks.

"We…went to talk with Blake. Try to set her straight. We've done all we can, the rest is up to her now," she says and flops onto her bunk, feeling exhausted.

Seeing that something is wrong with Velvet, Ruby closes her textbook, and jumps down to sit next to Velvet on her bed.

"Is everything okay?" she asks, concerned.

Velvet glances up at Ruby and sighs, "I…I told Yang and Blake a little bit more about my past. About how Artorius killed Laphicet, and my thirst for revenge, my desire to kill him for it. I just, I wasn't quite ready to tell them that, but I had to in order to make Blake see that she was making a huge mistake with obsessing over Roman Torchwick. But, that didn't make it any easier. I'm just tired from it all," she says. Understanding the situation, Ruby takes the initiative and wraps her arms around Velvet as she lays down with her, surprising Velvet. "W-what are you doing, Ruby?" she asks, flustered.

"You would always do this for me when something was bugging me. I always felt better when you would hold me. It's time I returned the favor," Ruby replies.

Admittedly, Velvet felt at ease in Ruby's arms, and slowly wrapped her arms around Ruby's waist, breathing a heavy sigh of relief at the close proximity of the two.

"Thank you, Ruby," Velvet says as she closes her eyes.

Ruby smiles for a moment, "Velvet, can I ask you something?" she asks.

"What is it?" Velvet asks without opening her eyes.

"I know that dances aren't really your thing, but I was wondering if maybe…well, I was hoping that…" Ruby trails off as she starts to blush.

This time, Velvet opens her eyes and looks up at her, "Ruby, just tell me what it is," she insists.

Ruby takes a deep breath, "I know this is a lot to ask…but will you…will you come to the dance? Yang and Weiss will definitely be there, since they're running the place basically. Hopefully, Blake will show up if what you said to her works, and I'll be going as well. I would really appreciate it if all of us were there. You never had a chance to really enjoy events like this back in your world, so I think you should try to enjoy them now. We only get one school dance after all," she says.

Velvet looks a little stunned, but relaxes as she moves up to stare Ruby right in the eye, "Ruby, I'm…not sure I'd be good company at the dance," Velvet tries to dissuade her.

"Velvet, please. For me?" she asks again.

Velvet looks right into those pleading eyes of her, and can't help but want to make her smile.

Velvet sighs, but then smiles, "Alright, I'll go to the dance. Just for you," she relents.

Ruby smiles and the two of them rest their foreheads against one another as they slowly fall asleep, arms still entwined around their bodies.

…

The next day, Ruby is on her way back from class when Yang comes up to her.

"Ruby, we need to talks. It's about Velvet," she says, looking serious. She takes Ruby to a balcony with no one around so they can talk. "Listen, yesterday, Velvet and I went to talks some sense into Blake. At which point, Velvet…said some things that have me concerned," she says.

"…You mean about her brother and Artorius," Ruby replies.

"Wait, you knew about that?" Yang asks.

"Yang…I know everything about Velvet. About her past, about what she did, about how she ended up coming here. Everything. She told me because she believed I needed to know, since I'm the leader of the team, and the first person her who became her friend," Ruby explains, trying to word her answer correctly to not give anything away.

"Well, if you already know, then maybe you should think about your crush on her. Maybe it might not be a good idea. I think you need to-," Yang begins, before Ruby suddenly slaps her across her face, shocking her.

When she looks back at Ruby, she sees her starting to tear up, "First, I'm sorry for doing that. Second, it doesn't matter what she did in the past. What matters is that she's our teammate, and more importantly our friend. And here you are, trying to get me to push her away again. Can't you see how much pain she's gone through in her life? Have you forgotten all she's told us about herself? All we've been through together?" Ruby says, starting to cry.

"Ruby, I-," Yang begins.

"Shut up! Yang, what would you do if you were in her position? If someone we knew and loved suddenly killed me, and locked you up? What would you do, huh?!" she asks. Yang tries to speak, but no words come out of her mouth. Deep down, she honestly didn't know what she would do if someone did that to Ruby. All she did know…was that she would lose it, and nothing good would come of that. Deep down, she could see where Ruby and Velvet were coming from. "Yang, I love you. You're my sister, and I know you're just trying to protect me, but I'm not a little girl anymore. I can take care of myself. More importantly, we can't judge Velvet based on just ONE thing she did in the past. Focus not on her past, but on what she's done since she came her. About what she'll do now. She may have done some things in the past, but that was the old Velvet. The Velvet I know, the Velvet I've come to care about, the Velvet that is here with us now, is someone who tries to be a loner, but she actually cares about her friends, and tries to help them when she can. She always been there to help me, and us. Even back then, she travelled with people she learned to care about. Velvet is a good person Yang, just like you, and just like me. That will never change. And you can't make me stop liking her," she declares in tears.

Thinking about it and seeing the value in Ruby's words, Yang relents and softly hugs Ruby, who returns the embrace.

"Okay Ruby. I'm sorry. I guess learning about that part of Velvet's past just scared me a bit. But you're right, that was the old Velvet. This Velvet is our friend, and someone that I think…No, someone that I KNOW I can trust with my sister. And you're right, I can't make you like or not like someone. That part of your life is yours alone, and I'm sorry for trying to control it. I'm sorry," Yang says a she looks at Ruby and wipes her tears away.

Ruby smiles, "Thanks, Yang," she says.

"Hey, that's what big sisters are for," Yang replies, smiling back.

And that's the chapter. Velvet has revealed a little bit about herself to Yang and Blake, and Yang is coming to terms with the fact that her baby sister isn't a baby anymore. Off topic, I'm going back to college in a few days, so updates for my stories will be less frequent because of school work, but I'll try to update them as soon as I can while I'm there. Next chapter is the dance. What kind of chaos (both good and bad) will occur next? Until then, please Read and Review.