PRE-STORY AUTHOR'S NOTE: Incase you haven't read it because of fanfiction's issues last week, I would ask you to read over the previous chapter, [Calm before the Storm]. Even if you have, a little refresher never hurt anyone.
Chapter 11: Initiation Part 1: Link
"Though I don't know your full story, you have spent your lives working under your king and queen. And today, your abilities will be tested in the Emerald forest." Ozpin said ceremoniously.
Link and Zelda stood behind the stone launchpads overlooking the Emerald forest as RWBY, JNPR stood to the side while Ozpin and Goodwitch stood in front of the two.
"Under normal circumstances, teammates would be made in the forest but that requirement has been waived as of now." Mrs. Goodwitch added.
"Though you may not be on an official, four member team. You will be paired together for your time at Beacon." Ozpin continued.
Both of the Hylians nodded to this as he spoke again. "After you've found each other, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way, do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die." Ozpin finished grimly.
The two teams started to whisper among themselves about Ozpin saying the exact same thing in the exact same way as they had heard before. But when she heard it, Zelda was slightly taken aback but steadied herself after remembering what Link had told her.
"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation. But we will not intervene should anything happen." Ozpin spoke as though this speech was refined over the years, "You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Normally a pair would get one piece, but each of you will need to retrieve one and return to the top of the cliff."
Link remained stoic in his expression, concentrating, while Zelda followed along with what he was saying as well.
"We will regard that item, as well as your time, your kills and your efficiency and will grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?" Ozpin finished.
Both shook their heads and mentally prepared themselves.
"Good, now take your positions." He said as both stepped onto the plates.
"You can do this!" Ruby shouted.
"Knock 'em dead!" Yang cheered.
"Show us what you've got." Weiss said.
"Watch each others backs." Blake advised.
"I believe in you!" Nora yelled.
"Make it out alive you two." Ren said.
"Fight well." Pyrrha added.
"Make sure to land properly." Jaune finished as Pyrrha discreetly looked to her leader.
Once all was said and done, Zelda was the first to be launched. The sudden speed caused her to scream in shock as she was followed closely behind by Link who took a step forward to gain some speed before being launched himself. Both going in slightly different directions, moving away from each other as they flew.
"I hope they'll be alright." Ruby said with some concern.
"Hey, we saw them fight and they're awesome." Yang leaned towards her to cheer her up.
"They do have potential." Weiss commented.
"They can do this no problem. Blake added.
"Yeah you're right." Ruby responded as she perked back up with her normal, optimistic tone again.
"So that's what it looks like from here." Jaune said as he watched as the two flew through the sky, Zelda seeming to have a bit more trouble than Link.
"Yes, it's always quite entertaining." Ozpin said vaguely.
"You're talking about me aren't you?" Jaune deadpanned.
Ozpin for all his humor didn't answer but sipped his coffee in response with a hidden smirk on his face.
In the sky, Zelda had reached the top of her arc and was now beginning to fall back down.
"Where is it, where is it, where is it." She kept repeating as she searched the Sheikah slate for the paraglider.
After a moment that felt like an eternity, she was able to find and open it up but not without challenge. She was only able to grab one handle. Tumbling about. Falling faster and faster. Screaming into nothingness. The winds now deafening. Ground closing in. All hope lost. This is the end.
But then she heard a voice, "Let your instinct and knowledge guide you." it said ethereally.
With a breath in to calm her nerves, Zelda remembered her time learning of the guardians. Remembering the Royal Ancient Lab where she would discreetly frequent to study and understand the mechanical beasts.
"The Skywatcher, along with the Devine beast Vah Medoh, is the only flying guardian we know of." A shekiah scientist explained, "As such, how it remains in the air can be shown like this."
A chalkboard behind the sheikah showed a diagram of the guardian with arrows all around it.
"From what we figured out, these propellers create strong winds pushing up against the earth, these winds are strong enough to keep it afloat." He said as he pointed to below the propellers, "If they were to stop, the guardian will fall out of the sky.
Zelda wrote down what he was saying in one of her notebooks.
"Something else we were able to find out about is that as the surface area facing the ground increases, the speed in which an object falls decreases, to a point."
Zelda initially didn't think too much of the last part of the explanation originally, it was a concept that they couldn't fully grasp yet, but now it might just save her life.
Still holding onto the one end of the paraglider, she opened up her arms and legs to slow her fall. The air resistance started having a noticeable effect as she slowed slightly, just enough for the other handle to be within her grasp.
After a moment of struggling and fiddling, Zelda was able to get her hold on the paraglider. With it now leveled, her speed dropped dramatically as her grasp tightened, not wanting to let go again. Her body moved from free falling to holding on for dear life, it made her feel as if she suddenly weighed a ton but that feeling dispersed as quickly as it came.
With a few deep breaths, Zelda was able to calm herself down as she took in the landscape below her, slowly gliding as she did so. Now she waits to reach the ground, and with her grip secure, she has nothing in her way. Her thoughts wondered as she found it was quite tranquil being above it all, nothing to disturb her thoughts, watching all the creatures that called this place their home. There was a peace that fully encompassed her until she saw something quickly pass in the sky.
Looking out of the corner of her eye, off in the distance, she could see her blue clad knight soaring through the sky.
"Be careful Link." Zelda said with a hint of worry.
For the Hero of the Wild, he took to flying through the air much better than the princess had. Revali's gale helped in that aspect giving him some experience in the air. As he flew, Link looked quickly around at his fast moving surroundings. With the ground fast approaching, Link unsheathed the Master Sword and held it out in front of him, struggling against the air rushing past him. With eyes narrowed as he concentrated on his fall, Link waited and waited, he continued to wait for that perfect moment. Just before he reached the trees, his eyes widened for he found his moment. Turning his body in midair, the knight was able to perform an aerial spin attack where with his sword, he acted as a makeshift propeller before he collided with the trees. Continuing to spin, Link cut through branches and leaves as he fell until his blade embedded itself into a tree. The force shattered the tree near instantaneously but slowed him enough for him to land in a crouch, the tip of the blade, hovering just above the ground.
Rising from his landing, Link took in his surroundings before starting to walk north. With his sword still drawn and shield by his side, he progressed cautiously but remained visibly relaxed. After what happened when they first got here, he wasn't taking any chances. Though his ears may look to be that of those who live here, the magic only visually changed them and that doesn't mean his hearing's been impaired in the slightest. With nothing but the sounds of nature chirping throughout the forest, he could tell that there was no danger yet, and thus, he walked.
After a minute or two of walking, Link heard a sound from his left. Concentrating on the noise, the sound turned to a low growl, a growl that sounded familiar to the Grimm that Link had first faced. Out of the shadows of the forest came six beowolfs as Link turned to meet them. They all growled in what Link could describe as anger, rage, disgust even, all this hatred on the emotionless beasts. In response to the Grimm's declaration, the Master Sword shawn with the blue glow of powers Devine. After a moment of growling, the beowolfs parted as a loud roar echoed throughout the trees, a number of hidden birds scattered away at the sound. In the middle of the beasts was a large bear like Grimm and it immediately took notice of Link.
"It seems that Link will be the first to make his mark." Ozpin remarked as he looked at his scroll where it showed Link and the Grimm from an aerial view.
"I'm interested in how he will handle them." Glynda commented as she watched her scroll. Her drones sent to follow the actions of the two Hylians during their initiation. If she was to be their combat instructor, she'll take this opportunity to assess what they know and what needs to be worked on. "And that Sword." she finished.
RWBY and JNPR were huddled together, also watching Link as he prepared for the fight.
"Finally we can see him fight Grimm." Yang said gleefully.
"You seem much more energetic about this than you normally would be." Her partner commented.
"Yeah, you're not one to have this much energy, that's mostly for Ruby and Nora." Weiss added.
"Yeah, wait," Ruby said in agreement before she processed it all.
"So, you guys have seen them fight, what can we expect?" Jaune inquired.
"Link's good with a sword, like REALLY good." Ruby proclaimed.
"Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if he were to put away his shie-." Yang added.
"Link just put away his shield." Nora shouted causing everyone to look at Yang as she held a look of sheer flabbergasted surprise and bewilderment.
True to what she said, Link indeed had just moved his shield back to its spot on his back. The beowolfs started to encircle Link but he held his ground, sword in hand with a glare that could kill. A glare boring right into the Ursa's skull.
As they came around, one of the Beowolfs charged at the knight, lunging for his back, but Link stayed where he was. Everyone watched with anxiety that he wasn't doing anything but what happened next shocked all that were watching. At a speed greater than what anyone could have guessed, Link quickly slashed above his head and a cut Beowolf landed opposite of where it lept. The fatal blow killed it instantly.
The now deceased husk quickly started to evaporate into black smoke and embers. The remaining Grimm started growling in pure anger, quickly learning that they can't attack one at a time. In near perfect unison, three more beowolfs all sprinted towards Link, their fangs ready to dig into their Hylian meal.
Unfortunately for them, Link had other ideas. In a rapid series of slashes that became a blur to the naked eye, the second wave fell silent, the Hero of the Wild standing over them all. A thick black smoke rose from the carcasses, separating the remaining Grimm from himself. Until the smoke dissipates, Link was left to wait. The hero was never one to let such weak enemies best him, he learned from his battles and he won't let them win.
Although he couldn't see the remaining creatures of darkness, he can still hear them on the other side. In a swift motion that no one saw coming, Link thrust his sword into the smoke, cutting it down the blade. On the other side, as the smoke parted was the second to last beowolf, jaw open with the glowing Master Sword penetrating right through the back of its head.
Withdrawing the blade, the beast fell to the side as Link slowly started to walk over its corpse towards the two remaining assailants. In what could be described as desperate haste, the last beowolf charged towards Link head on. That was its last mistake as Link effortlessly executed a downwards slash, knocking the Grimm off to the side, the beowolf let out a pained howl as a result of Link slicing its front leg off as it skidded along the ground. With a spin off the blade, Link plunged the blade into the wounded Grimm, killing it in an act of mercy.
Link now turned to the Ursa in front of him. It waited where it was, letting him kill the beowolfs in peace, but now, it was their fight. The two looked upon each other, the morning sun shining between the two. The Ursa let out a blood curdling growling roar before it started lumbering towards Link. Link charged as well, both coming together as the Ursa reared back onto its hind legs and brought its paw to smack the knight. Link managed to roll to the side before the hit landed and slashed at the arm. Unfortunately for him, the blade connected but was unable to do any visual damage, only aggravating the giant bear even more.
The Ursa retaliated with another swipe, this time connecting with the hero but before he could be pushed back, Daruk's protection activated as Daruk appeared and surged the mystical shield out, pushing the bear back. The Ursa was now stunned for a moment and Link took this opportunity and slashed again at the black bear Grimm, this time at its raised underside. Now the beast cried in pain but it was still fighting as it swiped for a third time, this time Link had no protection as he was pushed back a good four or five metres, heels digging into the dirt as he came to a stop.
Link internally cursed himself for using the last of Daruk's ability at such an inopportune time as he audible huffed from it. That hit, even with all his strength, took off more of his health than he would've wanted. Without the sheikah slate, he couldn't tell how much he lost but he could tell at least three of those hearts were taken at the minimum. For six minutes he would have to fight like he had before all this, fight smart, hit hard, and move fast.
"What was that?!" Jaune exclaimed as everyone looked to each other, everyone wanting to know what they were seeing.
"He didn't say anything about that." Blake said in wonder.
"Is that his semblance?" Ruby asked.
"I don't know, but what was that thing?" Weiss said, referring to Daruk's spirit.
"I don't care, that was awesome." Yang called.
"That is quite interesting." Pyrrha added on.
"He looks somewhat upset with himself though." Ren observed.
"Wait, I think I saw him use that when I launched into you guys last night." Nora admitted.
"Wait, that's why the two of them weren't affected by you?" Weiss asked as Nora shrugged her shoulders in uncertainty.
Away from the students, Glynda and Ozpin stood in slight shock, "Now this is something I haven't seen before." the headmaster conceded.
"He is turning out to be quite the fighter." Mrs. Goodwitch admitted, "He may even make the Vytal festival at this rate."
While the observers were continuing to mull over Link's spiritual protection, the knight himself placed his sword back in it's sheath and retrieved the Ancient bow on his back. Finding the quiver, he found that he had ten ice arrows at his disposal. Notching an arrow, Link took a steady aim, the Ursa roared in retaliation as it charged again, jaw wide to bite down on the knight. He fired the arrow, hitting the front right leg of the Grimm, freezing it in place, halting its movement. Even though he hit his mark, Link was taken by surprise when the ice only went to the shoulder of the Ursa who was now swiping with its free paw forcing Link to roll away.
Now it was undisputed that these Grimm are different from the monsters of Hyrule. Whenever Link used ice on regular monsters, they froze entirely, these were somewhat immune to their effect but Link could use this.
As he dodged the strike, Link retrieved the Master sword again and upwardly swiped at the swinging paw which was able to stun the Ursa again as it reeled to the side in presumed pain. Retrieving his bow once again, Link fired off another ice arrow. This time it was aimed for the opposite rear leg as it was now open. The shot connected, freezing the Grimm in place. Now that it was secured, Link jumped back before he started sprinting towards the beast's left side. Master sword in hand once again, Link slid underneath the creature's flailing attack and sliced at its hidden underbelly. With a roar of pain, Link was up and standing at the Ursa's back.
Now back to running, Link noticed a nearby rock and started towards it. As he ran, the sound of ice breaking could be heard from the Ursa, time was limited, Link had to act fast. Quickly, he ran on top of the rock and pushed up into a Jump from the peak. Once in the air, Link activated Revali's gale as the Rito's spirit lifted him higher into the air before he would come down in a skydiving fashion. Upon reaching the apex, Link retrieved his bow and notched his third arrow and pulled back.
Time slowed as Link took aim, the head of the Ursa now looking to him. With a small breath in, he fired, the arrow speeding straight towards the earth. The Ursa, in one last act of defiance, opened its jaw to roar only for the arrow to dive straight into the waiting maw, stopping the entire beast, frozen in time. Seeing the iced Grimm, Link retrieved the Master Sword one last time as he fell. Doing a forward spin in the air, Link put all his power into the swing as he held the blade toward the ground as he dove head first. As blade met ice, Link plunged the sword straight into the Ursa's skull, shattering the entire beast into millions of ice crystals that floated down around a downwards facing Link.
Looking to the sky, Link was able to catch a glimpse of the princess gliding down, not terribly far from where he was.
"Daruk's protection is ready to roll." Daruk's spirit called out giving Link a slight smile as he rose from his crouch and started walking towards Zelda.
A/N: And now the initiation is underway. A bit of original information I created was Zelda's flashback. I feel it fit her character that she would be one to look for, and be proactive, about learning of the guardians. If the Calamity didn't happen, it feels like at least some technological advancements would be made given how futuristic the ancient Sheikah were. Other that that, I hope I was able to do Link's fight justice and show just how powerful he is without it becoming boring. There will be questions for him about the champions in the future but for now, they have an initiation to complete.
Favorite and follow if you enjoyed and I'll see you next week. Bye for now.