Here we are at chapter 32. Now that Velvet has told the truth to the rest of Team RVWBY, they can now focus on their mission in Mountain Glenn. So let's get to it. I do not own RWBY or Tales of Berseria. They belong to their respective owners. Here's chapter 32. Enjoy.
Chapter 32: The Underground
The group sleep around the campfire, while Oobleck sleeps above them, and Ruby keeps a lookout off to the side, with Zwei next to her. Eventually though, Yang opens her eyes.
"Blake, are you awake?" she asks.
"Yeah," Blake replies.
"Why do you think he asked us about being a huntress? Like, what was he trying to say?" Yang asks.
"Maybe he was just curious," Blake suggests as Yang rolls to face her.
"You think?" Yang asks again.
"…No," Blake replies, opening her eyes.
Yang sighs as she lays on her back, "Weiss, are you awake?" she asks Weiss.
"Of course I'm awake! You guys are talking" Weiss retorts, making Yang wince and then roll her eyes. "And I think he…When I said I wanted to honor my family's name, I meant it, but, it's not what you think. I'm not stupid, I'm fully aware of what my father has done with the Schnee Dust Company. Since he took control, our business has operated in a…moral gray area," Weiss explains.
"That's putting it lightly," Blake notes.
Weiss then sits up, "Which is WHY I feel the need to make things right. If I had taken a job back in Atlas, it wouldn't have changed anything. My father was not the start of our name, and I REFUSE to let him be the end of it," Weiss says before laying back down.
"…Well you guys already know about my former partner Adam, but that's not all there is to it. I wanted peace and equality, and I figured that if I became a huntress, I could achieve that. I joined the academy because I heard that huntsmen were regarded as the most noble of warriors, but I guess I never gave it any thought beyond that. I just don't know how I can remedy so many years of hate," Blake voices her worry.
"I believe you'll figure something out. You're smart, and you're not one for backing down from a challenge," Yang supports her.
"But I am! I do it all the time. When you learned I was a Faunus, I didn't know what to do, so I ran! When I realized my oldest partner had become a monster, I ran! Even my…semblance. I was born with the ability to leave behind a shadow of myself. An empty copy that takes the hit while I run away," Blake retorts.
"Then I guess you'd better fix that little issue if you ever hope to amount to something," Velvet suddenly adds without looking back at them, nor opening her eyes.
"Hey, Velvet, Blake is not some kind of coward," Yang backs up her partner.
"And yet when you guys found out that she was a Faunus, she gave in to fear and tried to run away before I had to clean up everything," Velvet says as she finally opens her eyes and rolls over to look at her team. "As long as you let fear control your actions, you'll only end up moving backwards in your life, not forward," she says. Blake can say nothing as she looks away from Velvet's gaze. "You're at least able to admit you have that problem, which is the first step to fixing it. As for my reasons, I pretty much spilled my guts on those…Ruby gave me a second chance at life, and has helped me so much since I first met her. I won't have her face these battles alone. I'll follow her no matter what it takes," she says.
"…At least you guys have something that drives you. I've always just gone with the flow, you know? And that's fine, I mean that's who I am, but how long can I keep that up? I want to be a huntress, not really because I want to be a hero, but because I want the adventure. I want a life where I won't know what tomorrow will bring, and that will be a good thing. Being a huntress just happens to line up with that," Yang says as she then glances at Ruby. "I'm not like Ruby. She's always wanted to be a huntress. It's like she said, ever since she was a kid, she dreamt about being the heroes in the books, helping people and saving the day, and never asking for anything else in return. Even when she couldn't fight, she KNEW that's what she wanted to do. That's why she trained so hard to get to where she is today," Yang says.
"And that's what I like about her so much," Velvet mutters, smiling as she glances at Ruby.
"Geez, get a room, will you," Weiss says, rolling her eyes. "Besides, Ruby is just a kid," she notes.
"She's only two years younger. We're all kids," Blake points out.
"Speak for yourself. I'm two years older than you three, in case you forgot. Not to mention that I've been in plenty of battles so say that I'm no longer a kid," Velvet says.
"Okay, aside from Velvet, we can't really call ourselves kids anymore. I mean, we're here in an abandoned city teeming with Grimm and loaded with powerful weapons and abilities. I doubt any KIDS would really be doing that," Yang says.
"It's the life we chose," Blake adds.
"It's a JOB. We all had this romanticized vision of being a huntress in our heads. But at the end of the day, it's a job to protect the people. And whatever we want will have to come second," Weiss says.
"I don't care what it is. I just want to help Ruby. As long as she's happy, that's enough for me. I know that may seem selfish to some, but it's everything to me. It's my life, and I'll live it my way," Velvet adds, glancing at the sleeping Dr. Oobleck.
Later that night, Ruby switches places with Yang, who takes the next watch, while she sleeps.
…
In her sleep, Velvet wakes up to find herself back in the white void. She sighs and turns around to see Summer standing behind her again.
"At this point, I really don't care how often this occurs. So what is it now?" Velvet asks as she stands up.
"I'm here to warn you. You're first trial against the darkness that seeks to hurt Ruby is approaching. I want to to be ready for when it comes," Summer says.
"Hey, I won't let anything happen to Ruby. I made a promise didn't I," she states.
"Oh, I'm sure. The gallant demon that saves her beloved princess," Summer says, chuckling.
"I still don't get how you can be so okay with me dating your daughter," Velvet deadpans.
"Oh, Ruby was always so shy back when she was little. It's brings me so much joy seeing her branch out like this. Though, I must admit, I was a little surprised to see that see wasn't really interested in men," she innocently notes, acting like Ruby.
"Okay, change of subject. Care to tell me anything about this upcoming threat I'm supposed to face?" Velvet asks.
"I'm afraid I can't, for that will always elude me. Just be careful. Whatever awaits you and the others in the future, you'll only succeed if you face it together," Summer says.
"…Don't worry. That's what a team is for, right?" Velvet replies, smiling.
Summer smiles back, "Of course…It's time for me to go. Until the next time we meet, Velvet Crowe," she says as everything goes white again.
…
Velvet slowly opens her eyes and lifts her head as she looks around. She sees Yang still on night watch, Weiss and Blake sound asleep, Oobleck on the floor above them, and Ruby's sleeping bag empty…Wait.
Velvet's eyes widen, "Where's Ruby?" she wonders worriedly. Velvet gets up, trying not to wake the others and walks over to Yang. "Yang, where is Ruby?" she asks the blonde.
Yang turns to her, "Huh? Ruby is sleeping on her bag, right? She's over the-," Yang points at Ruby's spot, but shuts up when she sees that the team leader is missing. "Wait, where's Ruby?" she asks.
"That's what I'm asking you. You're the one on watch, you didn't think to look back every once and a while to check on the team?" Velvet asks, irritated.
"Okay, look, Zwei's missing as well. Ruby probably just went out to take him for a walk so he can do his business," Yang tries to theorize.
"Do…do you really think so?" Velvet asks, not feeling so sure.
"I'm sure. If you can't get back to sleep, then sit and wait for her to get back…Look, I'd probably feel a little worried to if I didn't see Weiss where she's supposed to be, so I can understand your worry, but don't worry. Ruby will be back, safe and sound, and you can feel better knowing she's sleeping near you again…But make sure it's not in the same sleeping bag, okay?" Yang says.
Velvet sighs, "Okay…Geez, it's not like we're gonna do something while we're out here. I have at least some sense of propriety," Velvet retorts as she turns and walks away.
Velvet sits on her bag, watching the campfire die out as she waits for Ruby to come back. However, with each passing minute, her worry grows. She waits and waits, listening and watching for any sign of her girlfriend's return. After around ten minutes though, she can't shake the feeling that something is really wrong and that Ruby is caught in the middle of it. She hears footsteps and looks to her left to see Yang walking back to camp.
"Alright Weiss, it's your…" Yang trails off as she finds no sign of Ruby and looks at Velvet. "Ruby still hasn't come back yet?" she asks.
"No. I don't care if that dog is trying to mark his territory across the entire abandoned city, it shouldn't take this long. I'm getting worried," Velvet says.
Just then, Zwei suddenly runs back into camp, barking like crazy and waking everyone up.
"Zwei, what's wrong boy?" Yang asks as she kneels to him.
Weiss and Blake wake up and look around to see no sign of Ruby.
"Wait, where's Ruby?" Weiss asks.
"Gather your weapons," They hear behind them and look to see Dr. Oobleck standing near them. "Your leader may be in danger," he says.
"Zwei, can you take us to Ruby?" Yang asks her pet.
Zwei nods and starts running out of the camp, with the rest of the group following close behind him. They follow him through the dead city for a few minutes, until finally, the see Zwei stop in front of a large hole in the middle of the street. Next to the hole…is Ruby's scythe.
"That's Ruby's!" Velvet says as Yang picks it up.
"But, that does that mean...that she fell down there?" Weiss asks as they all look down the hole.
"Fell…Of course. Of course! OF COURSE! Why didn't I think about that earlier?!" Oobleck yells, walking around the others and holding his head.
Meanwhile, Velvet is thinking of something entirely different, "No, I will not leave her to fight off whatever may be down there by herself," she decides and walks closer to the hole, ready to jump.
"Miss Crowe, what are you doing?!" Oobleck yells.
"…I'm saving my girlfriend," she declares and then jumps down the hole before anyone can stop her.
Everyone's eyes widen at seeing Velvet perform such a crazy stunt.
"They say that love makes people do crazy things, but I didn't think they meant it literally," Yang notes.
…
Velvet falls deeper into the abyss, the darkness making it a little hard to see. However, she eventually falls out of the hole and sees herself falling towards an underground city below. Seeing the ground floor coming up fast, Velvet activates her demon claw and pulls out a gray Dust crystal. Absorbing the crystal, wind starts forming around her demon claw. She aims her claw below her and fires off a torrent of wind that slows her descent until eventually, she lands safely on the ground. She deactivates her demon claw and looks around. It surprised her to find a second city directly beneath the first one. However, much like the city on the surface, this one is just as dead and abandoned, but even more so in a way.
"Maybe I should have stayed up top long enough to hear Oobleck's story about this place…Nah, I've got more important things to do right now than engage in some history lesson. Don't worry Ruby. I'll find you as soon as possible," Velvet thinks and starts moving through the underground.
For a while, she doesn't find much, just more destroyed buildings and underground chambers. She moves from building to another, trying to stay out of site while also keeping an eye out for Ruby, but also for anyone or anything that's not Ruby. After moving through the shadows for a short while, she suddenly hears some voices up ahead around one building. Moving quietly closer to the source, she peaks around the corner to find a group of White Fang soldiers patrolling around and making small idle chatter.
"So, any idea when the boss is supposed to send the train in to Vale? I'm getting tired of waiting," one soldier asks.
"Better make sure he doesn't hear that, otherwise when we do get it moving, he'll have you tied up on the front car and have you go splat when we reach the destination," another one answers.
"Train? Vale? What the Hell is going on here? If I follow them, maybe I can find out what they're planning, and hopefully find Ruby," Velvet thinks as she follows them from the shadows.
The White Fang members continue their patrol, never noticing Velvet tailing them from behind. Eventually though, one of them breaks off, apparently to take a leak. The others keep going, and Velvet decides to make use of this opportunity. The lone soldier does his thing, but just as he goes to return to patrol, a demon claw suddenly grabs his skull from behind. The soldier is thrown into one of the buildings and loses his weapon. He looks up to see Velvet standing over him, her claw still active.
"What the He-," he begins before Velvet's claw wraps around his skull effectively shutting him up.
"Now then, you're going to tell me where this 'train' of yours is, that is, unless you want to become the newest member of Mountain Glenn's list of victims," she threatens him.
"I-I'm not scared of you. You can't make me say anything!" the Faunus tries to resist.
"Oh, believe me, I can make you say…plenty," she mutters darkly with a somewhat evil looking grin on her face.
A few minutes, and a few broken bones later, Velvet moves through the abandoned city, now knowing where she needed to go. Eventually, she jumps on top of one old building and looks on to see a shocking scene in front of her. Before her is a train with several cars hooked up together. She sees White Fang soldiers all over the place, loading crates into the train cars while others guard the area. She even sees a few Atlesian Paladins walking around, just like the one she and the team fought against back in Vale. She looks around, and her eyes widen when she notices a distinct red cloak down below. It is Ruby, apparently being interrogated by Roman Torchwick of all people. She can't hear what they're saying, but when she sees Roman move his cane a little too close to Ruby, she decides to move right then and there. Even if she's outnumbered and outgunned, she won't let anyone harm Ruby. Velvet activates her demon claw and takes out two ice Dust crystals this time, and absorbs them. Jumping into the air, she raises her claw and when she gets close, she slams it into the ground. The attack releases a huge shockwave of ice that freezes anyone near her in place.
"What the Hell is going on here?!" Roman yells out.
In all the panic, Velvet uses the opportunity to fire off a few ice shards at the soldiers near Ruby and Torchwick. Torchwick manages to avoid the attack, but his soldiers aren't so lucky, as they get turned into Faunus-cicles. With her Ice abilities just about out, she coats her claw in ice spike and rushes them. When she gets close, she swings it at Torchwick and then fires off some gauntlet shots to get him to back off and retreat.
"Velvet!" Ruby shouts for joy.
"Ruby, are you alright?!" Velvet says as she turns to her.
Her answer is Ruby jumping onto her in a huge hug. After regaining her footing, Velvet hugs her back.
"Oh, thank you Velvet. I knew you'd come for me," Ruby says.
"Of course I would. What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't," Velvet replies.
The tender moment is short lived as a few shots ring out over their heads. The two look back to see several White Fang members running towards them, firing their rifles at them. Velvet conjures up a fire arte and fires it out at them, sending them all flying in an explosion of fire. The Velvet nods to Ruby and the two move to get away as more White Fang members show up to attack. However, just as they are about to fire, a surprise shot rings out, blowing them all away. Velvet and Ruby look forward to see Yang as the culprit.
"Ruby!" Yang yells as she goes to take Ruby into a bone-crushing hug while the others join them.
"You are just as crazy as our leader is," Weiss notes to Velvet, who shrugs in response. Weiss then turns to Ruby, "Are you okay?" Weiss asks, concerned.
'I'm fine. I'm fine! But listen, Torchwick's got all sorts of weapons and robots down there!" Ruby says.
"What?" Blake asks as she hand Ruby her scythe.
"Androids, mechs, they're all loaded up on the train cars," Ruby explains.
"Ah, that's ridiculous. These tunnels are sealed. Th-these tracks lead to a dead end," Oobleck says.
They then here a loud screeching noise, followed by Roman's voice.
"Get to your places, we are leaving now," they hear him say.
The train's horn goes off as it begins to move away from them.
"Well, it sounds like they're going SOMEWHERE!" Yang says.
"We need backup. Let me call Jaune," Ruby says. She pulls out her scroll, but can't make the call. "I can't get through," she says.
"That means that there's only one thing left to do," Velvet notes as she looks back at the train.
Ruby readies her scythe, "We're stopping that train," she declares.
And that's the chapter. I have something special planned for the fight on the train for Velvet, just have to figure out exactly where it's gonna go. Will Team RVWBY stop the train? Will they stop Torchwick? Do we even want to know what happened to that poor White Fang member that Velvet interrogated? Until then, please Read and Review.