I don't own Zelda or RWBY. Enjoy.
The smoke filled his lungs, robbing him of precious oxygen. The heat from the fire licked at his skin, burning the hairs on his childish arms. Tears filled his eyes, blurring his vision.
His body felt heavy as he climbed out of the rubble from the collapsed building. The wooden beams were heavy, but not impossible to move. The stone burned to the touch, but he didn't have time to worry about that - not when he had something more important to focus on.
He had to find her no matter what. It didn't matter what happened to him, as long as she was safe. He knew grandma would scold him for thinking like that, but he didn't care. As long as he saved her everything would be fine.
He was the big brother after all. It was his duty to make sure his little sister was safe.
With that final thought, Link pushed the last of the rubble aside and made his way into the burning village.
~XxX~
The noon sun pierced the leaves of the tree, waking Link from his slumber. The branch under him shook as he rose to a seated position, back against the large trunk behind him. He closed his eyes again and let the peacefulness of nature wash over him.
The chirping of the birds, the whistling of the wind as it blew through the trees, and the growl of the approaching Beowolf.
Link cracked an eye open to watch its approach. The beast was moving quickly in a straight line towards him. It was trying to catch him unaware. It failed.
Link opened both his eyes fully, leaned forward, grabbed his sword and belt from the branch they were hanging on and vaulted himself off the tree.
He landed on the ground in a crouch, Aura helping to cushion his fall. He rose to his full height as the beast bounded forwards, only ten feet away now.
He held his blade by its sheath, his grip relaxed but firm. The Beowolf was six feet away now - a few more steps and it would be in range.
The world slowed down as Link's eyes began to glow soft cobalt, the Grimm now moving at less than half its previous speed.
It was within his range now. Link drew a breath through his nose, left-hand drawing and swinging in one fluid, flawless motion. The speed and power behind the swing taking the sword through the Grimm's neck like a knife through butter.
The beast's torso collapsed to the ground as its head was dislodged. The head bounced off the ground three times before coming to stop, already starting to disappear to wherever it was that Grimm went upon death.
The world around Link returned to normal as he exhaled and sheathed his sword. The body of the Grimm was almost completely gone at this point.
With one final glance to his surroundings, Link pulled his fur-lined hood over his head and his scarf over his mouth.
It was time to get back.
~XxX~
Kakariko Village was a moderately sized settlement located about three days walk from the border between Vale and Vacuo. It was also the place Link had been calling home for the past two months.
Kakariko's inn wasn't lavish by any standards, but for Link it was perfect. Good lodgings, good food, and good people - that was all he needed.
The innkeeper nodded to Link as he entered the building and made his way to the counter.
"You clear out the Grimm?" the man asked, setting down a plate of food for Link.
He nodded, taking a seat in front of the man. "Three Ursa, two Boarbatusks, and a Beowolf. Nothing too complicated," Link replied.
The man gave a hum of acknowledgment before reaching below the counter to grab something. He dropped a small pile of Lien in front of Link who looked at it curiously.
"What's this for?" he asked.
"Payment for clearing out the Grimm," the man replied.
"Why? I didn't do it for money."
"I know, but take it anyway. I'm already charging you for room and board, so it would have left a bad taste in my mouth if I didn't at least give you something for taking care of a village issue," the innkeeper said with a small smile.
Link looked at the money for a few more seconds before pocketing it. "Thanks," he replied.
The man waved him off, grabbing a dirty glass and a rag. "No problem," he said, beginning to wipe down the glass. "Oh, and before I forget, Emeric said he finished what you asked for."
Link gave a silent nod, starting in on his food. He'd go see the blacksmith when he was done eating.
~XxX~
The bell above the door jingled as Link made his way into the shop. The interior was what one would expect of a blacksmith's shop; swords and other bladed weapons located on one side and ranged weapons located on the other side.
In the middle was the shop's Dust supply, explicitly more expensive than the rest of the items in the shop. There was the occasional gun and transforming weapon located behind a display case, but they were vastly outnumbered by the more "traditional" weapons of the shop.
The man behind the counter was big - his arms alone almost three times the size of Link's own. The ears on his head perked up at Link's entrance, a smile growing on his face as he saw who had entered his shop.
"There you are! I was wondering if you'd ever show up," the man said, his soft, accented voice catching Link off guard as it tended to do.
A man of that size had no right having a voice as soft as he did.
Link nodded, making his way past the weapons, his eyes scanning each one for but a moment before returning to the smith. "I heard you finished what I asked for. Can I see them?" he asked.
"Straight to business then? Alright," Emeric said, his smile straining for a moment. He turned around and made his way into the back of the shop, coming out a moment later carrying an object wrapped in cloth in his hands.
He set it on the counter before he began to unwrap it. Inside was a scabbard without a blade. The scabbard was dark blue with gold accents around the edges and middle. It was wider than Link's current one but was the same length. Next to it was a small device with four different coloured buttons.
Link looked at the items in front of him before glancing at Emeric, his eyes conveying the desire for an explanation.
Emeric coughed into his hand. "Er, right. I know all you asked for were the arrows, but I thought 'hey, how's he going to carry them around? I don't see a quiver on him' and came up with an idea - a scabbard that doubles as a quiver!"
Link nodded his head slowly, following the man's thought process.
"So I made one. I made the arrows collapsible so that they'd fit inside, but had to make the scabbard wider than your current one to fit them all. Like you asked for, I put five of each type you wanted inside."
"How do I get them out?" Link asked.
"Ah, now that's the fun part," Emeric said, grabbing the device next to the scabbard. "All you need to do is push one of these buttons and out pops an arrow."
He demonstrated by pushing the red button. With a small click, an arrow appeared on the left side of the scabbard. Emeric pulled it out. It was made of dark, segmented metal and had a red-tinted arrowhead.
"This beauty here is tipped with a Fire Dust arrowhead. They come out when you push the red button on the remote," Emeric explained. "To put them back in all you need to do is hold down the corresponding button for about three seconds and the storage location should pop out."
Emeric did as he said, holding the red button down for three seconds causing a section on the left side of the scabbard to fold out. Inside was four similar looking, collapsed arrows.
"Now, to get the arrow back in all you need to do is flick your wrist hard and fast like so," he said, demonstrating the motion needed to collapse the arrows. "And before I forget, you should know that the arrowheads will only work once. The shafts should hold and be reusable but you'll have to get the heads themselves remade each time."
Link nodded, expecting as much. "How much extra do I owe you for all this?" he asked.
"None," Emeric replied. Link must have looked confused because he hurried to continue his explanation, "You didn't ask for any of these extras. I did all those myself. Besides, you take care of problems for the village already without asking for anything in return. I'd have felt guilty if I charged you for this. It was the least I could do."
Link was surprised. First the innkeeper and now Emeric. He didn't know if he could handle much more generosity from the villagers.
"Thank you," Link said.
"Don't worry about it," Emeric responded. "Oh, and two more things; the scabbard should fit on your sword belt and the remote should fasten onto the front of it so you have easy access to the arrows inside."
Link nodded his head, a ghost of a smile on his lips before depositing the previously agreed Lien on the counter.
Taking the scabbard and remote with him, Link made his way out of the shop and out into the town. Looking at the position of the sun, he made his way back to the inn with his new gear.
~XxX~
The forest was silent as Link walked through it. No wind blew through the leaves, no birds chirped in the trees, and no Grimm prowled out of sight. The only thing that moved was Link himself.
He didn't know where he was going, just that he needed to keep walking. His feet would take him where he needed to go, and so he walked on in silence with nothing but the sound of his footsteps to be heard.
The trees around him eventually gave way to a clearing. Sunlight broke through the canopy of leaves above providing light to the clearing.
Standing in the center of the clearing, back facing him, stood a girl with green hair. Link couldn't see her face, but he knew who she was. The smile that grew on his face was big and his movements picked up speed.
She was still facing the other way as his walk turned into a run. Soon he would be right behind her.
A movement to the side caught his attention. Turning his head to see what it was, Link watched a raven fly out of the trees and head straight for the girl.
He started moving faster so he could reach the girl before the bird, but with every step, she seemed to be getting further and further away from him. He yelled for her to run away, to get as far from the bird as she could, but his voice was carried away by the wind before it reached her.
Where had the wind come from?
The bird was getting closer.
The girl finally turned around and saw him. The smile that grew on her face upon seeing him was wide and filled with happiness. It completely contrasted the growing look of terror on Link's face. He waved his arms to try and draw her attention to the bird.
It didn't work. She just tilted her head in confusion, her joyous smile turning into one of confusion. She took a step toward him, her mouth opening to ask him what was wrong.
The words never made it past her lips. The bird was right next to her.
It happened in a flash. One second the bird was next to her and the next it was flying out of the clearing. But none of that mattered.
Link had finally made it to her but it was too late. She had begun to fall over, eyes and mouth wide with surprise. Link caught her before she hit the ground, but there was nothing that he could do. Her throat was split open, blood pouring out of the wound and onto the ground around them.
Tears fell from his eyes as he watched the life drain from hers. He held her as he sat there, rain pouring through the canopy above.
"Pathetic."
Link's head snapped up at the voice, tears still running down his face. "Who's there?" he demanded, voice thick with emotion, "Come out where I can see you."
"So, so pathetic," the voice said. "Can't even protect those that matter to you. First your sister, and now her."
"Who are you?" Link asked.
"I'm who I've always been," it said.
"I don't have time for your games. Who are you?"
"Oh fine, ruin my fun," it said. Glowing red eyes, slightly darker than those of a Grimm, appeared in the forest in front of Link. The figure stepped forward just enough for Link to make out its humanoid shape. It opened it's mouth to reply-
Link woke up with a startled gasp, sweat soaking his body and the sheets of the bed beneath him. He crawled out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. Turning the sink, he waited a second before cupping water into his hands and splashing it onto his face.
After repeating the action two more times, Link stared at his reflection in the mirror. Tired blue eyes partially covered by dirty blond hair stared back.
He watched it for a little longer before sighing and going back into his room. He looked at his bed before shaking his head. He wouldn't be able to go back to sleep tonight. Not after having that dream again.
Making his way to the window of his room, Link slid it open and crawled outside, shutting it behind him.
He was going on a run.