Here we are at Chapter 30. A little shout out to all who have been following my story, thank you for your support. Let's see how the team handles themselves beyond the safety of the kingdom's walls. I do not own RWBY or Tales of Berseria. They belong to their respective owners. Here's Chapter 30. Enjoy.
Chapter 30: Mountain Glenn
Team RVWBY, along with Dr. Oobleck, are inside the airship, holding onto cables hanging above them as the ship flies over a forested region in the southeast section outside the kingdom. The students look out the side of the airship, watching the forest go by as they make their way to their destination. At one point, the airship hits a little turbulence, causing it to shake somewhat. Ruby loses her footing and almost loses her grip on her cable, but luckily, Velvet catches her and keeps her steady, something the little redhead is thankful for as she smiles at Velvet. After that, they all keep a tighter hold on their cables.
"…I guess I just never saw you as much of a fighter," Yang says to Oobleck.
"I admit I fancy myself more of an intellectual, but I can assure you, as a huntsman, I've had my fair share of tussles," Oobleck says, being a little modest.
"Like the mushroom?" Ruby asks, scratching her head.
"Those are truffles, Ruby," Velvet corrects her.
"Like the sprout?" Ruby asks again, still confused.
"And those are Brussels," Velvet corrects her again.
"And besides, given my expertise in the field of history as well as my dabbling's in the archeological surveys, our dear headmaster saw it fit to assign me to this particular…assignment," Oobleck says.
"What does history have to do with this?" Weiss asks.
"Why, what a preposterous question, you silly girl! Why history is the backbone of our very society. AND THE LIVER!...And probably the kidneys if I were to wager," Oobleck says, hand now on his chin.
"Not sure if I'd go that far when it comes to the value of history, but that's just me," Velvet notes.
"Anyway, the southeast quadrant outside of Vale is home to wild forests and deep caves, BUT, it is also the location to one of the kingdom's greatest failures," Oobleck speaks.
"Mountain Glenn," Ruby answers, making Oobleck and Weiss look at her.
"That's right, it was an expansion of Vale…but in the end, it was overrun by Grimm and fenced off from the rest of the city," Yang continues.
"Correct! And now it stands abandoned, as a dark reminder," Oobleck adds.
"And a likely place for a hideout," Blake says.
"Let's see, abandoned city, far from the kingdom, an area known for Grimm activity. If I were some kind of crime group trying to stay hidden, I'd go there," Velvet adds.
Oobleck fixes his glasses and smiles, "Precisely," he says.
After a while longer, the airship finally reaches the destroyed remains of Mountain Glenn. Velvet takes a look out the side of the airship and sees just how bad the abandoned settlement looks. Buildings destroyed, empty streets, and no signs of human or Faunus life. She has seen destroyed villages back home, but never something as bad as this.
"Whatever swept through here wanted to make sure absolutely NOTHING survived," she mentally notes.
The airship then hovers over an empty street, and the group jump out of the airship. Once they land, the members of Team RVWBY draw their weapons, but find no opposition in the area, for now anyway. Oobleck drops behind them, drinking his signature thermos.
"Ladies, you still may be students, but as of this moment, your first mission as huntresses has begun. From this point forward, you need to do exactly as I say. Do you understand?" Oobleck asks, to which the girls all nod before Oobleck notices Ruby's backpack. "Ruby!" he yells, making her flinch back. "I thought I told you to leave all you bags back at school," he reminds her.
"But, uh, you hadn't told us to listen to you yet. So I didn't," Ruby makes a half-truth.
"She's not wrong," Oobleck mutters, hand on his chin, while everyone else just gives him a deadpan look. "Very well Ruby, leave your bag here. We can pick it up upon our return," he commands.
"But, I, wha-," Ruby stutters.
"Young lady, what in the world could you possibly have in that bag that can be so important to bring it wit-," Oobleck begins to question as suddenly Ruby's dog, Zwei, pops his head out from the bag.
"Get back in the bag," Ruby whispers to Zwei, who just barks back.
"Ruby, why would you bring Zwei? He could get killed out here," Velvet says, not understanding why her girlfriend would do something so careless.
"We're here to investigate an abandoned urban jungle, teeming with death and hostility, and you brought…a dog," Oobleck inquires, becoming more serious.
"I, uh…" Ruby stutters, stepping back.
"GENIUS!" Oobleck proclaims.
Everyone just look at Ruby, who shrugs her shoulders, until Oobleck zooms by, taking Zwei, and making Ruby spin and fall to the ground.
"Canines are historically known for their perceptive nose and heightened sense of sound, making them excellent companions for a hunt such as ours!" Oobleck quickly shouts for joy while spinning and holding Zwei high in the air, who just barks back in response.
"…I'm a genius," Ruby says, feeling proud of herself, while everyone else just facepalms.
"Yeah, something like that," Velvet mutters.
"So, what are your orders Dr.?" Blake asks.
"Ah, yes, straight to the chase. I like it!" Oobleck replies, dropping Zwei, only for said canine to then jump up and try to lick Velvet's face, much to her annoyance. "As you've been informed, the southeast area has been marked as a recent hotspot for Grimm activity. Now, there are several possible explanations for this behavior. One of which being…Grimm," he says.
"Uh, what?" Ruby asks as everyone just got confused, while she takes Zwei away from Velvet.
"Grimm…A Creature of Grimm approximately one hundred yards from us, at this very moment," he answers.
"WHAT?!" Yang shouts as they all look behind them.
Far behind them is a lone Beowolf, sniffing the ground as if it is searching for something. Immediately, the two teams pulls out their weapons, ready to kill it, but Oobleck stops them.
"Stop!" he tells them.
"Give us one good reason," Velvet asks.
"There are a number of reasons why a Grimm would congregate in this particular area. The most likely of which will be their attraction to negativity. Sadness, envy, loneliness, hatred, all qualities that are likely held by our hidden group harboring ill intent," he explains as they look back to the Beowolf.
"How long do we wait?" Yang asks, hands on her hips.
"It's uncertain. Hours, days, weeks. Why, lone Grimm have been known to stay isolated from the pack for months-and there's the whole pack," Oobleck interrupts himself as the rest of the Beowolf pack join the first one.
"What?" Weiss asks.
"And now they've seen us," he says.
"WHAT?!" Weiss shrieks.
"AND NOW THEY'VE SEEN US!" Oobleck repeats, right into Weiss' right ear.
"I take it tracking is out of the question?" Ruby asks.
"I highly doubt they want to cooperate with us," Velvet notes.
"An accurate assumption, yes," he replies.
"What's the plan then?" Yang asks as the Grimm start charging in at them.
"Show me what you're capable of," Oobleck says.
"Cover your ears, Zwei!" Ruby tells Zwei as she stabs her scythe into the ground, preparing to fire while the dog covers his ears with his paws.
The pack of Beowolves charge at the group. Yang runs straight towards one Grimm and when they get close, she throws a hard right punch, taking it out. Meanwhile, Weiss skates across the ground, slashing her way through a few Beowolves and ends the advance by impaling another Beowolf through its skull with her rapier. She then flips over another Grimm, swinging her sword from above and killing it. When she lands, a lone Beowolf tries to attack her from behind, but a sudden shot from out of nowhere takes it out. Weiss appears surprised and looks to her right to see Yang, left arm outstretched. Yang smiles and winks at Weiss, making her blush but she refocuses on the fight, though she had a small smile on her face. Blake stands idle as a group of Beowolves run at her from all sides. However, when they get close, she uses her semblance and jumps up, slicing one Grimm in half. She then goes and kills another Grimm with her sword. She then fires of her pistol, killing two more. The last two; she takes out by beheading the both of them with a flip through the air.
Meanwhile, Ruby fires off a few sniper shots, killing a few Grimm that are running at her, though a few are still standing. Taking the scythe blade out of the ground, she twirls it around to aim the barrel behind her and fires, shooting her towards her enemies. When she gets close, she fires off another shot, using the recoil to spin her around in a tempest of steel as she rips through the remaining three Beowolves coming at her. When she stops, Zwei quickly runs up to her, and she happily pets him. However, she doesn't notice two more Beowolves running at her from her left flank. Luckily, Velvet does and activates her demon claw, swinging it to use her semblance, and creating a claw shield to protect her. The Grimm end up bouncing off of the shield, and Ruby looks at Velvet, offering her a smile of thanks. Velvet smiles back before she gets serious again and runs at the Grimm. She swings her claw, shredding the body of one Beowolf, and then conjures up a fire arte and blasts away another one. A third Beowolf jumps at her, but she catches its skull with her claw and slams it into the ground, crushing its head and killing it.
Velvet walks up to Ruby, "You okay?" she asks.
"Of course. I've got you here, don't I?" Ruby replies, making Velvet blush a little bit.
"Excellent work, girls, but remember that this is merely the first battle of many during our stay here. It appears that our targets are not in this area, so, shall we continue?" he asks and turns to head further into the dead city.
As they continue through the abandoned city, Velvet uses her arm blade to slice through a pair of Beowolves while Dr. Oobleck inspects some plants. Why he's doing this, she doesn't exactly know, but chooses to leave him to his devices as she fires off her gauntlet gun a few times, killing two more Grimm. A little later, the team have taken out the rest of the Grimm in the area, though the Doctor didn't aid them in the combat.
"Good job, girls! Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any signs of criminal operations in this sector. Oh well moving on," he says as they are surrounded by the disintegrating bodies of Grimm before turning around to continue forth.
Velvet deactivates her gauntlet blade and rejoins the group as they continue on their mission.
"Hey Doc, you know, I was actually looking forward to seeing pro huntsman in action. Like fighting, or at least, helping us fight," Yang says, aggravated.
Dr. Oobleck looks back to them, "Ah, but I am in action. Scouring the ruins of this once great city for any signs of irregularity. Not every mission is filled with daring and heroism, young ones. Sometimes, it's just a heightened form of extermination. Remember, this is a job, and you all signed up for it. I do hope you understand that," Oobleck explains to them.
"Well, yeah…O-of course!" Yang retorts, but Dr. Oobleck is not so sure.
The team continue to follow Dr. Oobleck, taking out any Grimm that cross their path along the way. At one point, Dr. Oobleck watches as Velvet use her foot-blades, spinning around to decapitate one Grimm and then stabs the left foot blade into the neck of another. She then jumps back and activates her demon claw. She pulls out a fire Dust crystal and absorbs it into her claw, encasing it in fire. When a group of four more Grimm charge at her, she jumps into the air, reels her claw back, and then smashes it into the ground, causing a large explosion to occur and take them all out in one shot. With the battle over, she deactivates her demon claw, and Oobleck decides to walk up to her at this point.
"Tell me, Velvet, why do you want to become a huntress?" he asks her out of the blue.
"Huh?" she replies, confused, as she turns to face him.
"You certainly possess the skills and abilities to become a skilled huntress, but that won't matter if there is nothing driving those skills. So, why do you want to become a huntress?" he asks again.
Velvet looks away, thinking about his question, "Truthfully, I never really thought about it. I originally came here just to keep my promise and protect Ruby. Becoming a student at Beacon just helped with that goal. But…I never gave it any thought at all. I guess that makes me a poor excuse for a huntress…" she thinks, but then hears some laughing behind Dr. Oobleck and looks to see Ruby, playing with Zwei by having a whole chicken on the end of her scythe suspended above the corgi, with said dog trying to get it. This makes Velvet smile, "…No…I've always had a reason, I just didn't see it clearly enough," she decides.
"Miss Crowe, your answer, if you will. Why do you want to become a huntress?" he asks again.
Velvet turns her back on him, "Look behind you," she replies.
Oobleck raises an eyebrow, but does as she asks, and sees Ruby playing with Zwei, "…Are you saying that your team leader is the reason why you want to become a huntress? I fail to see your reasoning, I'm afraid. If you're saying that you want to become a huntress just because of one person, then perhaps you need to rethink your reason for becoming a huntress," he says as he turns to face her again.
"No offense, Dr. Oobleck, but if that's what you've come to conclude, then you're missing my point," Velvet counters as she glances back at him.
"What do you mean?" he asks.
"Look at Ruby, look at how she's smiling," she says. Oobleck loks back and sees the smile of Ruby's face as she plays with Zwei. "I want to protect that smile, Dr. Oobleck. Ruby wants to help others, and that smile is one way she can do that. That smile, that joy, can spread to other people as well. I want to protect that smile, and others like it. Ruby wants to protect the people, but then who is going to protect her? I will. By protecting her, I will be protecting others, and helping them to smile again. She breathes light and hope wherever she goes, and I never want that light to go out. That's why I want to become a huntress, Dr. Oobleck. If I can protect that one special life, then I can protect the whole world. I want to do everything I can to help her achieve her goals. That may seem selfish, or maybe not good enough for a huntress, but it's everything to me. That is my reason. SHE is my reason," Velvet says and walks away.
Oobleck looks back between the two of them, "Huh…not a bad reason at all," he mutters.
He then walks over to Ruby, who is still playing with the chicken and Zwei. However, the second she notices him, she quickly puts her scythe and the chicken away.
"Sorry! Uh, are we ready to keep going?" she asks.
"…Nope, I believe that will have to do for today. It's going to be dark soon," he says while looking up before throwing his bag over to Yang. "You four, set up camp in that building. Oh, and please do make sure there are no more of those…creatures," he starts, turning to them. "Your leader and I are going to secure the perimeter. Come, Ruby," he says and starts walking away with Ruby, with Zwei in tow, while the others set up camp.
Velvet and the others walk into an abandoned building, finding a big space on the first floor (what's left of it) and begin to set up camp there. While the others set up the sleeping bags and the supplies, Velvet goes out to get some firewood. With Velvet gone, Yang makes her opportunity.
"Hey, guys," she says, getting Weiss and Blake's attention. "I think when Velvet gets back with the firewood, while Ruby and Dr. Oobleck are gone, we should ask her to tell us more about her past," she says.
"You sure that's a good idea? What if that only makes things worse between us? I remember what she said to me back at Beacon, about what happened with her brother, and how she'd been locked up for a few years. I admit while I am curious about it, I don't want to ruin Ruby's chances with her. They seem really happy together," Blake says.
"I just want to know the truth. Ruby says she already knows everything about Velvet's past, but she still accepted her anyway. If I can know the truth as well, it will at least make me feel better about all of this," Yang explains.
Weiss puts a comforting hand on her shoulder, "We'll find out what's really going on, but make sure you think about your sister in this. Remember, it was your idea to get them together, so don't you dare go back on that, especially when your plan succeeded…that felt weird to say," Weiss says.
"Hey!" Yang retorts, but then calms down. "I'm not going to try and break them up. Ruby has never been very sociable, but now she has an awesome girlfriend. I won't ruin that, I promise," she says.
Just then, Velvet returns with some firewood, "Got the firewood. I'll set it up," she says and puts the wood together and gets a fire going in the center of camp.
"Listen, Velvet, we need to talk. It's about what you said to Blake the night before the dance. About you being locked up for a few years. It doesn't fit with Ozpin's story about you applying to Beacon two years ago. We're asking you Velvet, will you tell us what's really going on? Please, you already told Ruby everything, you can tell us. We're a team, so we need to have no secrets between us," Yang asks.
Velvet looks away, unsure of what to do, "I…I don't know. If you learn the truth about me, you all may try to keep me from Ruby, and I can't allow that to happen," she says.
Blake then joins in, "Velvet, we promise we won't do anything of the sort. We see how much you two care about each other. If Ruby was able to accept you, then so can we. You helped me get past my issues with being a Faunus, so let me help you with this," she says.
Velvet looks at all of them for a moment and then sighs, "Promise me you won't try anything after I tell you the truth?" she asks.
They all nod, "We promise," Weiss says for them.
"Fine…Best if I start from the beginning," Velvet says.
And that's the chapter. Looks like Velvet will finally tell the rest of the team about her past. How will they take it? Will Yang keep her cool after learning the truth? Until then, please Read and Review.
