Chapter 17: Mysteries Unfolding
"And here you go." A waitress said as she placed plates of food on RWBY and ZL's table. "Will there be anything else you'll need?"
The six teens were now seated on the upper level of an open air café. The cool breeze danced around as the teens were being served. The atmosphere was relaxing and enjoyable.
"We should be alright, Thank you." Weiss replied before their server left.
"Mmm, cookies" Ruby ogled with a piercing gaze towards the plate of warm, inviting, freshly baked, chocolate chip cookies right in front of her. That was until she started ripping into the pile, shoving cookie after cookie into her mouth as fast as physically possible.
The group sat in silence as they enjoyed their meal before Weiss broke the silence, "Alright," She said before taking a sip of the soup in front of her, "Dust doesn't just randomly combust without any outside forces. So why, may I ask, did it explode when it really shouldn't have?" She questioned sternly.
Given that the event happened to her, Zelda started to try and explain herself, "I'm not sure, when I held it, a burning pain erupted inside me. I don't know how, I don't know why but it felt like I was being burned from the inside out."
Hearing that, Weiss seemed to be mulling the princess' words over, likely trying to make heads nor tails of the meaning. "Link, was there anything out of the ordinary when this was all happening?"
"All that I saw was Zelda's Aura flare up in tandem with the Dust crystal starting to ignite." He stated as he picked at his food.
"T snds lk hr r csd t," Ruby uttered before swallowing the cookies, "Sorry, it sounds like her Aura caused it." She said clearly now.
"That's what I was thinking as well." Weiss said as Ruby beamed with pride, "But you Aura shouldn't hurt you and not to mention you have to make a conscious effort to activate your Aura. Whether it be for manipulating Dust, seeking protection or increasing your extra sensory awareness, they all need you to consciously manifest your Aura where it's needed. Only healing is subconscious in nature." The heiress listed off as everyone listened.
"So we're most likely dealing with something that no one else has seen before?" Blake asked for confirmation.
"As far as I can tell, yes." Weiss responded.
"Great." Yang remarked sarcastically, "Another mystery we have to solve. If we get anymore, we might as well just open a detective agency of our own."
"We still haven't solved any of them." Blake noted with a hint of disdain in her voice.
"Overall this definitely intrigues me." Weiss said in an attempt to bring the conversation back on track. "I'll be looking into this regardless of what happens."
After a small break in the conversation where everyone continued to eat in silence, Ruby spoke up, "Sooo. What now?" She asked, seeing that Weiss got herself an answer.
"Well we still have the rest of Vale to see." Yang suggested nonchalantly.
"There are still a few more hours of daylight left." Blake added.
"Alright, I think we're finished here anyway. Waiter!" Weiss concluded with the call for the bill.
After their lunch stop RWBY and ZL continued their tour of Vale unhindered. Now that it was mid day, the sun was shining bright with a nice breeze flowing through the streets. They were walking along a pedestrian avenue with vendors lining both sides, all having different wares to sell. The atmosphere was one of comfort and relaxation that none could say it didn't feel good.
"So how are you finding the city?" Blake kindly asked.
"It's breathtaking to say the least." Zelda replied in full admiration of the concrete jungle. "The history, the festivities, the culture and the people, it's all so refreshing and enjoyable."
"How 'bout you Link?" Yang asked with arms stretched out around her head.
Link grew a smile, "Definitely different." All in all, he shared his thoughts with the princess. It was a nice change of pace for them to be able to relax without having a world to save. For as long as the two knew, they were training, preparing and fighting against the Calamity but here on Remnant, they had no such pressure. Both knight and princess were relieved from that burden the moment his arrow struck true. Although having this break was nice, both himself and Zelda still want to return to Hyrule, their home. They fought for their home for the last century and they won't abandon it just because they arrived in this new world. It would take the might of the goddesses to stop them from returning to that which they lost.
"If Hyrule is comparable to medieval Remnant, Vale would seem quite different in comparison." Weiss agreed, "But Atlas even more so."
"How so?" Zelda innocently asked.
"Well," Weiss started with a rare lighthearted chuckle, "The city of Atlas is actually a flying city over the city of Mantle."
Both Link and Zelda stopped dead in their tracks hearing the state of Atlas.
"A city, the size of Vale?" She asked through her bewilderment.
"Bigger actually." The heiress replied, giving the Hylians time to soak it in. "It's the most advanced kingdom on Remnant and also has the largest military out of the four."
"Wow." Zelda could barely imagine what it could look like, a city in the sky. "Vah Medoh is ginormous but Vale dwarfs it so Atlas..." She whispered to herself in shock.
"Hey, we've still got more Vale to see, we don't need to think about Atlas now." Ruby instigated, drawing their attention to her. "Now let's keep moving." She said, leaving the group to who knows where.
"She's right," Yang started, "The competition will still be there."
"You're never gonna let me live this down, are you?" Weiss begrudgingly admitted.
"Nope!" Yang popped causing a disgruntled groan to escape from the snow queen. Gaining some laughs from the others.
"STOP, THIEF!" A vendor yelled out causing the group to quickly spin around to see where the call came from.
Running away from the livid vendor was someone with a grey sweater and black jeans, sprinting quickly away from the six. Link just barely caught a glimpse at what they were holding but it couldn't be that, could it?
"We have to stop him!" Ruby declared heroically.
"Our gear is still at Beacon." Weiss noted.
"Already on it." Blake said as she tapped away on her scroll for a moment.
"What? Are you really gonna after him?" Zelda asked with concern and uncertainty in her voice once she pieced together what was happening.
"We've dealt with Grimm before, a little robbery like this is nothing to us." Yang reassured with her regular confidence.
"None of us have anything to stop him." Zelda said with worry growing.
"Oh really?" Yang questioned smugly, confusing Zelda before the sound of whooshing air pierced her ears as RWBY's lockers landed side by side in front of them. "Well I guess these will be pretty useless then." She sarcastically remarked as she opened the door and equipped Ember Celica.
"Alright, Wiess, Blake, try and track him from the rooftops." Ruby ordered as she pointed to the connected buildings on either side of them. "Yang and I will chase him from down here.
A resounding "Right." echoed in the group as RWBY started their pursuit.
"Try and keep up." Yang remarked to the Hylians before launching herself forward.
Ruby burst into a bunch of rose petals as she hastily pursued the assailant. Weiss used her glyphs to reach the roof on the right and Blake to the left used well paced jumps and semblance clones to reach her roof. As soon as the two were stable, they started running in the same direction their partners went, leaving the two Hylians standing in surprise. The two in question watched in awe at just how quickly the young team had lept into action. A crowd stood around the two, also in awe at seeing the coordination their hunters-in-training possessed.
"They really are something different." Zelda uttered in amazement, gaining a slight smile from her knight, "Should we follow them?" She questioned with uncertainty.
Link nodded in response as the two started to jog off through the crowd in the direction of their friends.
"You guys see anything?" Ruby shouted towards her friends on the roofs.
"Nothing yet. He got a good head start." Weiss responded as she scanned the crowd below.
"We didn't get a good look at his face either." Blake added on giving her leader food for thought.
Ruby continued to run with everyone else, still trying to think of some way to catch the thief. They didn't know who this person was, they don't know where they went and they don't know what he stole. They were running into this completely blind.
"Yang, I'm going on ahead. If he sees me rush past him, he'll most likely turn around back this way." Ruby laid out her plan.
"And run straight into me. Alright, stay safe." Yang responded before her sister disappeared from sight in another burst of rose petals.
"Something's got into that dolt and I'm not sure I like it." Weiss remarked from above gaining some snickers from her teammates.
"Hey, at least she's learning." Blake lightheartedly pointed out from the other roof.
"Alright, hopefully Ruby's right, let me know if anyone switches back." The brawler stated as she set some ammo into the gauntlets, fully preparing for a quick fight.
The three continued their pursuit, quickly passing by any observers and bystanders. They kept moving, tuning out all that were in their way, only focusing on where that little thief ran off to. In the heat of the moment, all of them missed a hidden individual upon the very roofs the monochrome girls were running upon, lurking alone, hidden in the nearby shadows.
"There's a point where it tips." The man slowly and creepily sang to himself as Blake passed by his view on the opposite side of the street. "There's a point where it breaks." Now Weiss quickly passed by his hiding spot, completely oblivious to his presence. "There's a point where it bends," Yang's shotgun blast sounded from the streets below. "And a point we just can't take," He said, now with a growing smirk, "anymore." The man chuckled to himself as he finished his lyric. Stepping out of the shadows revealed Darvin to the world. "You've all come this far already, now let's see what you do with this mystery. Care to find out?"
Now his wisps of colorful smoke started to envelope himself as Darvin continued chuckling to himself, now louder as he started walking the opposite direction of the pursuit. With a smile on his face, he began to slowly sing once again, "There's a line that we'll cross and there's no return. There's a time and a place, no bridges left to burn, anymore." And with that, he disappeared from Remnant, leaving everyone none the wiser.
"Were those huntresses?" Someone in the crowd asked.
"If they're going after that thief, he's in big trouble." Another said.
"I'd say, if he knew what's good for him, he'd have stayed out of crime." A third man said.
Link and Zelda continued their light chase of RWBY throughout the crowd riddled streets of Vale. Most everyone on the avenue was talking about the four and the thief they were chasing. To Zelda, it was a surreal experience. Running through the middle of a crowd but not being stopped let alone recognized gave her a freedom she has not felt before. No requirements, no expectation, just herself living her life.
"If they make things safer I don't care what they do." A vendor said to a fellow merchant.
"I just enjoy the money they bring in." His friend responded.
"Yep, can't argue with the Vytal." the first man agreed.
As of now, the crowded street started to become less crowded, there were less shops and vendors but things were slowing down so ZL could now speed up. Now the two broke into a sprint to try and catch up with RWBY.
"Do you see them Link?" Zelda asked.
Link did a quick scan of the area around them but couldn't see their vibrant colours. With a sigh he shook his head in response prompting Zelda to let out a sigh of her own.
"Well, they couldn't have gone far." Zelda concluded receiving a nod from Link as they continued their seemingly futile chase.
Hurdling over a barrier, Blake caught a glimpse of the assailant making a sharp right turn down a side street.
"I saw him!" She shouted, getting the attention of Weiss and Yang.
"How far up?" The brawler questioned.
"Turned into a side street four blocks ahead on your side Weiss." The Faunus relayed.
"Right," Weiss said as she jumped over a hurdle of her own, "We'll keep chasing him while you get Ruby in case he slips by us again." she planned out.
"Right, good luck." Blake said before the freezer burn duo peeled off into the alley.
After a minute of running Blake was able to see Ruby standing with Crescent Rose unfolded in an attempt to be intimidating which turned out to be more cute than scary. Seeing no point in the roofs anymore, the Faunus jumped down in a graceful landing just before the red reaper.
"Oh, hi Blake. Did we get him?" Ruby asked curiously as she shifted her weapon back to its compact form.
"No, he went down a side street." Blake responded.
"Yang and Weiss?" Ruby questioned.
"Chasing after him." Blake answered, "We should be there if he gives us the slips again."
"Right, well what are we waiting for." Ruby said before bursting into rose petals.
Blake released a small chuckle accompanied by a fond smile as Ruby popped into existence again.
"Uhh, where did he go exactly?" Ruby sheepishly asked causing Blake to slightly giggle again.
"Four huntresses. Fuck." The thief said to himself with disdain filled anger while running down twisted alleyways, the huntresses hot on his heels. "He said there was going to be resistance but this is just fucking absurd."
As the street narrowed, Weiss with the help of her glyphs ran down a magical staircase, now side by side with Yang.
"Nice of you to join me, think you can give me a boost?" Yang asked but the thief paid her no attention. The only goal in his mind was somehow getting away from these damn huntresses.
"Send him my regards." Weiss remarked before the sound of a shotgun blast rang throughout the alley.
With a quick look behind him, the thief's eyes widened at the sight of a fast approaching Yang with a fist ready with his name on it.
"OH FUCK!" He exclaimed as he skidded and ducked just in time to avoid being cloth lined into oblivion.
Not wanting to meet either of these damn huntresses, the thief made his way into an offshoot that luckily was right where he stopped.
"Thank the gods." He said with relief before he scampered into the tight alley.
Through the mix of alleys and service routes, the thief kept on running. Weiss and Yang both continued chasing after him, unrelenting in their pursuit, straightaway after straightaway, turn after turn, right, left, right, right. No matter what, they continued to track him down and he knew that he was going to be caught sooner or later.
"Damn, I really hoped it wouldn't come to this." He said with regret turning to conviction. "But it's what needs to be done." As he finished those words, he pulled out a dagger that reflected the little light hitting it from above.
The chase was going on for only a few minutes but it was starting to feel like eternity and this guy wasn't gonna give up without wearing the two out.
"How much more can this guy give?" Yang asked disgruntledly.
"If he stooped to petty theft, he shouldn't have much left." Weiss remarked with directed animosity.
"Let's just hope Ruby and Blake will be here soon." Yang said.
Both Link and Zelda continued to run along the avenue. Now there was nearly no one around, only a few people giving them curious glances but returning to their own business nonetheless. The shops and stalls gave way for a more industrial style of buildings the further along they went.
"Link?" Zelda questioned with slight worry in her voice. "I think we might have gone too far."
Link stopped and turned to the princess to take in her words. They had been so focused on trying to catch up with RWBY that he hadn't realized just how far they had travelled. The two of them were now surrounded by buildings that looked nothing like Hyrule's or what they've seen of Vale so far. It was eerie to say the least and everything about this place was rubbing him the wrong way. The buildings were starting to become run down, abandoned and deserted for who knows how long. Now if to become more skeptical of this place, dark clouds started to roll over, casting the surrounding area into a menacing and foreboding grey.
"Do you feel that?" Zelda asked with concern.
Link nodded with a hard, stone faced expression. They could both feel that something was wrong, they didn't know why, they didn't know how, but something was affecting them. Link slowly brought the sheikah slate out and pulled out the Master sword. If something felt wrong to Link, it meant there was to be a fight. The sense of impending doom felt as if it was coming from one of the few warehouses. With a slow step forward, the knight gradually moved towards one of the building's doors on the right side of the street, weary of what could be on the other side.
Now at the door, Link could hear rushed footsteps from the other side, just barely audible. Slowly opening the door, he looked inside to see nothing there. It was a large, empty warehouse that has been deserted for seemingly years. The footsteps became louder as Link slowly stepped inside but now he could hear they were coming from somewhere else, off to the side and approaching quickly. Zelda herself stood a few meters behind Link, waiting to see just what was going on, herself hearing the footsteps coming towards them.
"I don't think we're alone." Zelda noted but Link didn't respond. He was busy tracking the sound. Slowly turning his head to the right, Link followed the footsteps as they were seemingly parallel to one of the building's walls. Before he could write it off completely he heard the distinct blast of Ember Celica. Eyes now widened as Link turned back around and started to run out to see what was going on out there.
"Link, was that?" Zelda quickly asked before being cut off by a knife to her throat.
She was spun around and held tightly as she came face to face with her captor, the thief with his knife at her throat now held Zelda hostage. Link immediately brought his sword to bear as the captor just barely dodged the knight's mighty swing, hiding behind the princess like the coward that he is.
"Nobody move!" The thief barked out, halting Link's advance.
"Zelda!" Yang and Weiss shouted in surprise from just down the street.
"Stop right there!" The thief shouted again, stopping the pair as well. "Don't do anything unless you want me to slit her throat." He said while applying pressure to the knife. Her Aura flared to protect herself before withering away unexpectedly. "Good, no Aura."
"Let. Her. Go." Link said sternly with a ferocity that no one has seen from the silent knight before.
"Not a chance pal, she's my only chance to get out of here alive." He said with more pressure on the knife causing Zelda to wince in pain.
"I will do what I must, without hesitation." Link said sternly again, anger burning in his eyes with the shining Master Sword pointing right at the thief.
"Not before I can kill her where she stands." He said in response.
Link internally cursed at himself, but didn't show it. The thief was right and as of right now there was nothing he could do without risking the princess' life.
"I was tasked with finding everything about this arrow and anyone who knows of it. If four huntresses were chasing after me, you obviously would have some idea about what this little thing is." He said towards the girls as he shifted himself around Zelda to get a free hand while still holding her tight. He grabbed what Link and Zelda hoped to never see again but wanted to find everything about it.
"I-impossible." Zelda uttered quietly as she strained her neck to see the arrow with wide eyes locked on it.
"Why do you have, That?" Link hissed with utter disdain.
"Oh, you DO know what this is? Tell you what, if you tell me what you know about this single arrow, I might think of letting her live." He said as he angled the knife straight. In his opposite hand held tightly was the mysterious arrow that brought them to Remnant.
"Link, what is that?" Yang questioned after herself and Weiss slowly moved towards him with no sudden movements to agitate the assailant.
"Something I hoped to never see again." Link answered cryptically before turning back the now kidnapper with determined rage, sword raised with the tip towards him. "Now. Why. Do. YOU. Have it?"
"I was just ordered to retrieve it but seeing your reaction, I'm now personally interested to know just what this little arrow can do." He said as he eyed the arrow in his hand in a new light.
"Is this another part of Torchwick's plan?" Blake asked as she landed from the roofs behind the thief.
The thief turned his head in an instant, inadvertently releasing some pressure from the knife. "Ha. That puppet. No. I'm working for someone outside of his chain." he said with a strained laugh slightly shocking RWBY at the term, puppet. "If I was under him, he'd have me running those pesky Dust operations. But if you aren't going to tell me anything useful." he turned back to Zelda, reapplying the pressure. "I'm sure you'll do just fi-GAHHH!" he started before being interrupted by a sudden gunshot.
From a nearby roof, with a smoking barrel, stood Ruby Rose with Crescent Rose aimed straight for the thief's leg. The shot hit true, right through the muscle in his calf. It was a non-lethal shot that caused the kidnapper to fall to a knee while dropping his knife, releasing the princess in the process.
Zelda quickly jumped away as Link moved in and swiftly knocked the man unconscious with the pommel of the Master sword before anyone else could react. The man fell to the hard asphalt as Link stood above him, the mysterious arrow in a loose grasp of the unconscious man. Through heavy breaths, Link bent over and picked up the arrow. He stared inquisitive at it for a moment before placing it within the Sheikah slate for safekeeping until they could figure out why it was here. People were looking into this arrow and they don't know who. Trust is the most important thing the Hylians now have.
"Are you alright." Ruby asked Zelda as she jumped down and sped towards the group.
"Yes, thank you." Zelda said, appreciating the reaper's sharpshooting.
"That's good, so what do we do with him?" Yang asked as she lightly kicked the sprawled out body.
"The police are already on their way." Weiss reported as she got off her scroll.
"Good, I want to know just who he's working with." Blake said with some hate.
"As do I," Zelda added calmly, "I just wish we weren't put in this position to begin with.
As if a lightbulb had suddenly lit up in her mind, Yang relayed the idea she just came up with. "Hey, if you're gonna be going to Beacon, making a personal weapon to defend yourself with might be a good idea." As her words left her mouth, Link and Zelda looked at her with intrigue and Ruby started to beam brighter than the sun."
"Can I help, can I help, PLEEAAASSSSEEEEE!" Ruby cried out.
Continuing the plea, Ruby kept on insisting that she help out as the heiress approached the Hylian duo, "I wouldn't argue with her on this, she's nuts with weapons." Weiss stated with a small chuckle for the princess.
"Well," Zelda said, turning to Link for guidance. He gave a knowing smile and nod to her hesitation which resolved her answer. "I don't see the harm in that."
"Yes," She said with a fist pump, "This will be my best weapon ever created next to my own." Ruby said as she stroked Crescent Rose. Already multiple design ideas were running through her mind and as the others laughed at their weapons nut's geekiness.
A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS, hope you all enjoyed. This ended up being a more sporadic chapter with perspective shifts every few hundred words. I tried to make it where these section come together for the chapter climax. I think I did an okay job at the execution of it which lead me to my next point.
This is technically the first chapter that I wrote that I actually put pieces of my story's climax into. Next chapter, we'll be checking in on Hyrule. Oh yes they are not forgotten and won't be. How they react, well, you'll just have to wait and see.
Oh one more thing, if there is anything you want to see in Zelda's to be weapon, I'd like to hear what you have to say. I've already got a basic idea but hearing other people's thoughts will be much appreciated. Also for anyone wondering about Darvin I won't say much about him here but playing the 'This will be the Day' intro at x0.25 is about the tone I was thinking of for that monologue. Bye.