Not sure how many of you have heard, but Billy Kametz the voice of Naofumi Iwatani in The Rising of The Shield Hero, Shinei Nouzen in 86, Hiroto Kuga in Gundam Build Divers: Rerise, Josuke Higashikata in JoJo's Bizarre Adventures: Diamond is Unbreakable and various other games and anime passed away at the age of 35 due to stage IV colon cancer. I regret that I didn't go to Anime Boston in 2019 and never got to meet him, and I also am sorry for Erika Lindbeck the voice actress he was dating until he passed.
He will be missed and I think I'll send my thoughts to his family and friends. He was a great voice actor and I'll be watching as many of the series he stared in for a long time.
Alright, well now let's see how Team's RWBY, GARM, JRN and their allies deal with that that arrogant old lady 'guarding' Argus. Let me tell you all, that things will be different when it comes to canon, especially with how they manage to get by her.
But first, onto the reviews.
Jack Smith 1: Yeah, I wouldn't hold my breath on that. Now as for Kalani, you have given me an idea.
54godamora: Glad you liked it and it wouldn't be complete without Yoda's theme.
Old Glory: Yeah, I seem to be really misinformed. Let's just not talk about my beliefs about gun control and all that. Thanks for the words about the way I'm writing.
BlindFaunusGirl: Force Persuasion on Cordovin? Yeah, you'll have to wait and see what happens.
Darth Cody: Yeah, that was a first thought come first moment. The part about March being called out on his profanity. As for the idea for the training when I reach Atlas, I'll send you a PM soon so we can discuss it.
Luffy L Deathwalker: It's not Allison Keefe I hate, it's Esdeath I hate. She's a complete psycho and enjoys her work when it comes to killing. Put her in a fight against the Doom Slayer, Vader, Luke, Anakin or Galen, I don't think she would last five minutes against them. Well, I could be wrong. I don't mind the idea of Johnny Young Bosch of being part of the cast, one of my favorite roles of his, aside from his work in Power Rangers is his role as Bumblebee.
Alright onto the chapter, disclaimers are the same as always.
Dedicated to Billy Kametz (1987-2022)
Chapter 90: Dead End
The moment they arrived at the military base off the coast, the gates were slammed shut right in front of them before they could even step foot into the base. The large group stood outside of the gates while Yang put her hands on the bar and yelled at the two identical guards standing on the other side. "Come on! You didn't even hear us out!" she yelled.
"Our orders are clear: The Mistral-Atlas border is closed!" the first guard repeated.
"Please!" the second guard began.
"Have a good day!" the first guard finished.
"But couldn't you just…" Kara started before both guards answered at the same time.
"Have a good day!" they both said at once.
"Hey, if you don't wanna believe that I'm friends with the General, then fine." Qrow said as he walked up to the gate. "But look, we have Weiss Schnee with us and we're trying to get her home safely." With great reluctance, Weiss looked down before she walked up to the gate where the two guards stepped up and bent down to inspect her before they stood straight up and went to fetch their commanding officer, ran in sync and chanted 'hup, hup, hup' and 'Atlas, Atlas, Atlas'.
"They were… kind of—" Blake started.
"Super weird? Uh, yeah." Ruby agreed.
"They're like a couple of living clankers, the way they were in sync." Rex observed. "What are the chances that the commanding officer will actually here us out this time?" he asked Cody.
"Rex, their commanding officer has a large superiority complex and believes that Atlas could take on the world and win, not to mention they look down on the people of Argus and those who weren't born in Atlas." Cody answered.
"Hmm…" Maria mused to herself.
"What's wrong?" Oscar asked.
"Well, I… may know this commanding officer…" the Grimm Reaper began.
"That's good, isn't it? If she's your friend, then maybe she'd be more willing to help us." Ruby said hopefully.
"I wouldn't exactly call us… friends." Maria admitted.
"Acquaintances?" Weiss asked.
"Colleagues?" Blake guessed.
"Enemies?" Yang said.
"That's the one! I come through here about once every ten years to get my eyes checked in Atlas. You bring outside cashews on one flight, and suddenly you're placed on the additional screening list for life!" Maria exclaimed.
"You were placed on a screening list because you brought outside food on a single flight?" Rose asked in disbelief. "Sounds like someone takes their job to seriously and is dead set on following Ironwoods orders to the letter. Something tells me she won't be listening to us."
"Now, now, let's not give up hope yet. Maybe she's dead!" Maria suggested.
She was proven wrong when the gates suddenly opened up and the two guards introduced their commander, special operative Caroline Cordovin, a short-statured elderly woman around Maria's age with white hair and brown eyes dressed in the standard Atlesian officer's uniform. Cordovin stepped forward and glared at Maria. "Witch." She began and looked at the group behind her. "Hm, I see you've chosen larger contraband to smuggle this time."
"Did she just call us contraband?" Wrecker asked.
"Oh, Cordo. You know they say time changes people, but I see you're still the same she-devil with that stick right up your—" Maria started before Ruby interrupted her.
"H-hello! Miss, uh, Corodvin. My name is Ruby Rose, and I was wondering if you would hear us about—" Ruby began before Cordovin cut her off, indicating that she had already heard the same thing before from Jaune and the others.
"And I told you we wouldn't rest until you let us through!" Nora exclaimed as Ren and Jaune held her back from charging forward.
"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." Cordovin explained, with her guards agreeing with her.
"These people don't need your protection." Rex said as he walked towards the commander. "How many battles have you fought? How many of your fellow soldiers have paid the ultimate price for defending your kingdom and Argus?" he asked.
"None." Caroline answered.
"Then you have no idea what the battlefield is like. I've been a soldier all my life and fought enemies more advanced than your wind-up toys that could have easily been hacked at Beacon!" Rex started.
"Just who do you think you…" one of the guards started to say before Rex continued.
"I've seen brave men vaporized, disintegrated, blown up and fall to their deaths in the line of duty! Your task isn't as important as you think and we need to get Atlas, right now! So, you either get out of our way or we'll force our way through!" the 501st captain threatened.
Caroline growled. "You're just like the rest of these Argus ingrates! This city wouldn't even be here if it weren't for our ancestors, and what did we get in return? The entire world is ready to put a knife to our throats!" she snarled, ignoring Rex's words.
"With all due respect, Commander," Faye began. "We don't blame Atlas for what happened at the Fall of Beacon. I may not have been there, but the fact that many of your planes were used by an enemy that managed to infiltrate your own forces and used your own weapons against the Vale Military hasn't exactly helped in proving that your Kingdom isn't to blame for what happened. But it was your planes the Empire was using to attack Vale."
"And let's not forget that it was partly Ironwoods fault for what happened at Beacon." Boba added.
"Are you implying that the General was responsible for the Fall of Beacon? The thought of that suggestion is ridiculous!" Caroline snapped.
"Well let's see." Wrecker said as he listed off the reasons. "He brought a small fleet to Vale as a means of increased security, went behind Ozpin's back and brought more ships and personal to Vale after the Breach, refused to listen to us when we said that the forces that attacked the Round Table hadn't retreated and let's not forget that he didn't send any forces to help retake Vale from the Grimm and droids. Did I forget anything?"
"No, you didn't Wrecker." Weiss answered. "But no one's happy about the Atlas borders or embargo, but I know that General Ironwood is just worried. It's why we need to talk to—" she started to explain before Cordovin rudely cut her off.
"The General is no coward! Atlas is strong. If all the kingdoms plan to make us their enemy, then so be it! Atlas will prevail!" she exclaimed, her guards repeating the same thing at the same time.
"Are you that stupid?" Galen spoke up, completely tired of Caroline's superiority bs.
"Excused me!?" Caroline answered as if she was offended. "Just who do you think you are?"
"Does the title of Demon Lord mean anything to you? It probably doesn't, but I earned that title during the battle of the Round Table. I also happen to be a Jedi and a very powerful one at that. But you must have sent here so the rest of Atlas could be rid of your exaggerations of the 'great' Kingdom of Atlas and how serious you take your damn job!" Galen started.
"You're…" the commander began before Galen continued.
"Atlas isn't as 'great' as you claim it to be. All of you Atlas natives seem to think that you're better than anyone else on the planet and not even one of you has done a damn thing for the city of Mantle below you. You preach that you're the best kingdom in the world, but all you do is step on those who you believe are inferior to you, like the Faunus and those from other kingdoms. If Atlas keeps this up, you'll be destroyed when the Empire returns." Galen finished.
"Well said, kid." Fordo praised.
Cordovin sighed. "If Miss Schnee has truly come to her senses and wishes to return to her family, then, of course, the Atlas military will escort her home. But the kingdom will not be responsible for her 'friends' of… questionable character." She said, glancing at Blake, Lop, March, Ahsoka and Grogu.
"Just what the hell does that mean?" March demanded.
"It means we're done here." Cordovin said before the gates to base closed, and she started to leave. However, just as she and her guards walked away, she heard the groaning of the gates which sounded liked they were being ripped off their hinges and thrown into the base. She turned back to see that it wasn't Kara, Faye, Grogu, Ahsoka, Ruby or Galen, but Jaune himself and he was angry.
"You're nothing! You're nothing but a weak old lady who thinks her kingdom is the greatest kingdom in the world! But you're nothing but a joke! It's because of your kingdom that I nearly lost the woman I loved to the bastards responsible! Either you listen to us and let us travel to Atlas or you're entire base will be reduced to nothing!" he snarled as his eyes turned from dark blue to yellow.
"Arrest that man at once! Kill him if you have too!" Cordovin shouted to her soldiers who rushed out of the buildings with their weapons ready to gun down Jaune. They didn't get the chance before Jaune suddenly collapsed and fell to the ground, where Wrecker picked him up and threw him over his shoulder before he just walked away with the others. "Stand down, all of you!" Caroline ordered as the large group walked away, with Galen casting a glance at the elderly commander.
Once they were away from the base, Jaune returned to his senses. "What happened? What are we doing here? Did we get the base commander to listen to us?" Jaune asked.
"You mean you don't remember ripping the gates of their hinges and threaten Cordo by wrecking her entire base?" Maria asked.
"I did what?" Jaune asked.
"Jaune, what was the last thing you remember?" Cody asked.
"I remember thinking about how Pyrrha could have died and how that old woman wouldn't listen to us. I was getting angry and I just…" Jaune began.
"Wanted to kill her?" Ahsoka guessed. Jaune nodded and Ahsoka sighed. "Jaune, you tapped into the dark side of the Force. I've seen it before, with… Anakin."
"What?" Jaune asked bewildered.
"The anger you had inside must have built up to a point where you couldn't control it anymore and you unleashed it on something or someone." Galen answered. "I should know, that's happened to me before, back when I was Vader's apprentice."
"So, what are we going to do now?" Ruby asked.
"We go back to the house and plan our next move. Oscar, better tell Ozpin it's time for the others to know the truth." Galen replied before he looked to Ruby. "They need to know the truth and we can't keep this hidden from those we trust."
"What exactly are you talking about?" Zett asked.
He soon found out when they returned to Saphron's home and were told about Salem, Ozpin, the gods and everything else. "So, all this time, you were leading us in a losing battle against Salem and everything we did was for nothing!?" Jaune demanded.
"I…" Ozpin began before he was cut off as something wrapped around Oscar's throat and began to choke the two of them. "Mr.… Arc… please… wait…." Ozpin gasped as Jaune's grip became tighter and tighter.
"You lied to us! Force Pyrrha to take the burden of the Fall Maiden when she didn't want any part of your secret war! You used us to do your dirty work, when you it was all your fault to begin with! I don't care if you can reincarnate, but at least we won't be able to listen to anymore of your lies!"
"Jaune stop it! Don't do this!" Lop shouted.
"Why shouldn't I!?" Jaune shouted back, his eyes turning yellow again. "Ozpin had a job and he failed to complete it because he fell in love with the person he was trying to stop, and it cost him his life and now she knows about the relics! He should die for what he's done to the people! Salem can't be killed, so why don't we just do ourselves a favor and turn him over to her!"
"Look, we already know Salem has a weakness, but the Gods didn't give Ozpin a clue to what it is. We just need to find it and I think I have a good idea what it is." Galen said, putting a hand on Jaune's shoulder.
"You think that makes everything better? How long will it take for us to find that weakness? Salem will have already destroyed us all before we find the answer. We should just save ourselves!" Jaune snarled.
"It that you talking, or Maul? Is that what Pyrrha would want?" Fives asked.
Hearing Pyrrha's name made Jaune return to his senses, and he released Ozpin/Oscar from his grip. He looked to his hands and gasped. "I… I need to get some air." Jaune said as he walked out of the house to clear his head.
"He's not doing so well, is he?" Rex asked.
"No, he's not. Something's gotten to him, but he hasn't told us anything." Echo answered.
"So, what are we going to do? If the Commander won't let us through to Atlas, how are we going to reach Ironwood?" Hevy asked.
"Maybe we could all use some space to think things over." Blake suggested.
"Sounds like a good idea to me." Rose agreed as she helped Oscar to his feet. "Come on Oscar, let's go get you some clothing fitting a Huntsmen."
After Rose left, Ruby headed outside to the backyard porch with her Scroll to her ear. After they failed to convince Caroline to hear them out, he went to go get a drink feeling stupid that he almost got everyone at the farm killed because he had too much to drink. "Where are you, Uncle Crow?!" she said frustrated before she threw her Scroll into the yard.
"You know, I came out here to avoid the yelling." Maria said from the table nearby with a plate of fruit on it.
"Sorry. The others went to get food for tonight." Ruby apologized.
"Why not go with them?" Maria asked.
"I don't know." She said before siting on the porch. "I don't know anything… What do I tell Jaune and his team when we don't have a plan? Qrow's out drinking, Ozpin has no idea what Salem's weakness is and I have no idea how Ironwood will take this news. We only have one more question to ask Jinn, but I feel like I'm letting everyone down. Maybe Weiss should have been the team leader instead of me." Ruby told Maria.
"You know, you don't give yourself enough credit." Maria told the young Huntress and Jedi who chuckled. "That wasn't a compliment."
"Uh… what?" Ruby asked.
"If I have to explain it to you, it will defeat the purpose. But if you're tired of not knowing anything, how about we discuss those eyes of yours?" Maria suggested.
"Oh! Yes, ma'am, I would be honored!" Ruby said excitedly as she stood up.
"Sit back down, for Pete's sake." Maria told the young girl. "Let's start with what you do know. Tell me."
"Uh, Silver-Eyed people are supposed to be legendary warriors. Or something. And at the Fall of Beacon, I turned a giant Wyvern into stone." Ruby explained after she sat down.
'So that's how it happened.' Galen thought as he listened from the door with Grogu in his hands.
"Oh, boy." Maria said with a shake of her head.
"Look, if I already knew everything I wouldn't be asking for help!" she huffed with her arms crossed.
"Yelling…" Maria reminded the young girl who looked back up with a sorrowful expression on her face. "It's not your fault. I had my father teach me, and even he didn't have all the answers. But what he told me makes sense, given what I've seen."
"Was he a Huntsman too?" Ruby asked.
"It wasn't really 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 Huntsman or Huntress that day." Maria told Ruby.
"You must've been proud." Ruby said with a smile.
"Heh, he would've scolded me for showing off. He'd never been able to find much information about our abilities. Just legends of warriors whose eyes shone like mirrors, reflecting the light of the world onto darkness. He found so little, in fact, that made him cautious. How could such powerful bloodlines be so rare? Unless something was actively seeking to destroy them." Maria answered and questioned.
"Salem…" Ruby said grimly.
"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 most powerful tools. And I ow a lot more to Master Yoda who helped me fake my death after he saved me." Maria explained.
"What is your Semblance?" Ruby asked as a lemon dropped from the tree, which Maria caught before it could hit the plate of fruit.
"'Preflexes'! A silly name I came up with. Hard to explain, but I can sense everything better than most and redirect attacks almost before they happened. Combine that with my training and secret ability to turn Grimm to stone, or blind them, or vaporize them. And that's how you become the Grimm Reaper!" she said with a smile.
"So, how do I laser beam monsters with my eyeballs?" Ruby asked, only to get a smack on her head with Maria's cane. "Ow! What did you do that for?"
"First of all, you need to stop thinking like that! I want you to think of all the times you've triggered your powers. What did those moments have in common?" Maria asked.
"I… was scared and stressed. Is it emotional? Like unlocking a Semblance?" Ruby asked, rubbing her head.
"It's emotional but more focused than that. Think, what is it you wanted?" Maria asked again.
"I wanted to protect my friends and the boy I love." Ruby answered as she clenched her hands.
"Precisely! It is the desire to preserve life which fuels the light inside you. And to make no mistake, it is light. Preservation is an extension of creation, or, at the very least, an enemy of destruction. The creatures of Grimm were made by the God of Darkness, but your light comes from his brother." Maria told the young huntress.
"How do you know that?" Ruby questioned.
"I'd like to know that myself." Galen said as he walked onto the porch with Grogu in his hands. "Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I've been wondering about Silver Eyes myself, but back to what Ruby asked, how do you know about all this?"
"I've always known how to use the light, but never why it only worked on the Grimm. Then, Jinn showed us her vision. Were either of you paying attention?" Maria asked the two.
Ruby closed her eyes and thought back to when the God of Light destroyed all the Grimm in the Land of Darkness and his transformation into his dragon form, revealing his silvers eyes. "The God of Light… His eyes! Okay, where do we start?" Ruby asked, standing up.
"Something tells me it will only be practice unless we got a hidden cache of Grimm somewhere in the city." Galen joked.
"True, the light will only work in the presence of Grimm. Meaning, the only practice you'll get will be a trial by fire. But what you can do is focus on creating a state of mind that you can tap into when you need it, like your connection with the Force. Don't think about your light as a mean of destroying evil, but as a way to protect the people of Remnant." Maria answered.
"But that can't be right. You said the light only reacts to Grimm, but… something inside me told me it would react to Cinder. How can that be?" Ruby asked.
"I'm going to guess it had to do with her Grimm arm. It looked like it was made of the same essence that the Grimm are created from and the reason she had it was because she lost one of her arms at Beacon. There might have been something else we weren't seeing?" Galen surmised.
"Ruby! Galen!" Yang shouted as she, Weiss, Blake, Arthur, March, Ren and Nora were waiting at the door.
"What's going on?" Ruby asked.
"It's Jaune. He's missing." Blake answered.
Back at the military base, Caroline sat in her quarters and looked at a picture she took months ago. It was of her and her son, a fighter pilot of the Atlas Air Force who survived both the Fall of Beacon and Battle of the Round Table. A misfiling of intelligence reported her son was killed at Beacon, but after returning to Argus before his return to Atlas, he told her that he would have been killed had it not been for the Demon Lord who saved his life.
"So, he is the Demon Lord you spoke about? I'd never thought I would meet him. Perhaps, maybe I should hear them out, even after what those 'children' said to me. That captain, spoke the truth. But I just can't let them into Atlas, not until the threat has been neutralized." She said to herself as she looked out the window at an F15 sitting in the hanger. "Perhaps, I might have found someone who can help with this problem."
What is this threat that Caroline is talking about and why is she thinking of asking Galen for help, even reconsidering hearing out what Ruby and her friends were trying to tell her? Well, that's a little bit of something on my part, consider it an early act of redemption on her part.
Now, it seems Jaune has tapped into his anger. That's not a good thing. Someone needs to help him out, someone in the spirit world. Should it be Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon or someone else. I'll leave it to you, the readers to suggest who you'd want it to be.
Now, onto more of the voice cast.
Mobius One-Troy Baker
Winter- Elizabeth Maxwell
William Bishop-Paul Mercier
Jose Gutierezz- Phillip Anthony-Rodriguez
Ironwood-Jason Ross
Jacque Schnee-Jason Douglas
Raven Branwen-Anna Hullman
Sienna Khan-Monica Rial
Whitley Schnee-Howard Wang
Shinn Kazama-Chris Patton
Mickey Simon-John Sawsey
Robyn Hill-Cristina Vee
Steven Blumm- Jack Bartlett
Fiona Thyme-Michele Sontag
Joanna Greenleaf-Marissa Lenti
May Marigold-Kdin Jenzen
Artoria Penwolf-Michelle Ruff
Joan Arc-Erica Harlarcher
Serra Keto-Kari Walhgren
Alright, that's it for now, see you all next time.