The 'Lone' Hero of Vale - Chapter 17
"Link hold up!" Yang had to run at full speed and pull Link by his collar
"Let go!" Link fought off Yang's grip
"What's up with you?" Ruby asked
"Torchwick is going to kill us all if we're not quick and precise." Link fired back
"Ah but if we're too quick we may fall onto one of their traps!" Oobleck replied
"Um... Professor?" Weiss spoke up as she pointed down a hatch of the train
"Doctor." Oobleck frowned
"Right, well what's that?"
"Hmm..." Oobleck knelt and looked closely "That my dear is a bomb."
Ruby looked to her left and noticed white fang members climbing onto the train
"I'll handle them! Just keep analyzing the situation." Link ran right at the white fang members with no weapon drawn.
"Miss Rose." Oobleck nodded
"Right!" Ruby followed Link
"Well well..." Oobleck assessed the situation "I didn't expect them to go-!"
Professor Oobleck was abruptly cut off by the bomb underneath them as it began to charge up and beep.
"Link wait we should wait for-!"
"They're going to attack us regardless!" Link stopped himself by sliding to a sudden halt "You scared? They're only white fang members after all."
"Scared?" Ruby growled with anger as she and Link were face to face, one with a look of anger, the other with a grin of pure sarcasm, but their sudden rivalry was put to a stop as Blake screamed out loud
"Another bomb?!"
"No. No. No." Oobleck sped past Link and Ruby, he quickly opens the hatch and looks in, seeing yet another one "They ALL have bombs!" Oobleck motioned them to continue following
"...They're either trying to kill us right now...or, no! They couldn't have set up these bombs just to lure away any intruders, they're after something bigger." Link mumbled
"Now's not the time!" Yang said as she again grabbed Link by his collar, pulling him along as the rest of team RWBY jumped onto the next train car, seeing as how the one they were on was detaching.
"As you said Miss Xiao Long, now's not the time." Oobleck pointed his thermos at a whole wave of white fang members
"They're all over the place, though I can take out at least one-third of these guys...and I'll do it right now!" Link tightly grabbed onto his sword, but realized he hasn't even fought yet, so charging up his semblance will take time.
"Well then, today?!" Ruby retorted as she, the rest of team RWBY and Zwei ran past Link, they all had their weapons drawn
"What the-!" Link frowned "Move out of the way, give me some space!"
"Your style is TOO slow." Yang nodded as she easily took down a white fang member with just a leg sweep and a gauntlet punch.
Blake said nothing and began to go on a small rampage herself, taking out multiple white fang members, with one of them even doing the wilhelm scream as they were knocked off the train
Weiss was especially swarmed the most due to her family name, though it didn't bother her one bit as with one white glyph and a simple ice charge, she took out those coming towards her while finishing those in front of her with sword slashes.
Ruby followed in her footsteps, she took her position and with rifle blasts gave herself more speed to 'slice' through white fang members, sending some into the train cars while the rest were 'out cold' on the train top "What's wrong Link, you scared? They're only white fang members, why do you need to use your cool move for THEM?"
"Ruby!" Weiss frowned
"Shut it ice queen!" Link now growled with anger as he angrily stomped his way towards Ruby, they both went face to face again
"Come on guys!" Yang got in between Ruby and Link, splitting them apart "You went from awkward fist bumps to hugs and now you're at each other's throats?"
"It's complicated!" Both of them shouted back
"I'm going to prove you wrong." Link pointed at Ruby
"Ditto." Ruby slapped Link's hand away
Suddenly...BOOM! A huge explosion interrupted whatever was going to be said next, Link and Ruby scoffed and 'joyfully' regrouped with Blake and Weiss
"He's leading Grimm to the city!" Oobleck shouted as he stood on the edge of the second to last car "It's these cars, they're detaching and exploding, creating openings for the Grimm!" Oobleck turned to see another car detaching itself "We must act quickly!" Oobleck looked at team RWBY and Link, carefully choosing who he wants to infiltrate the inside and who will back him up on the outside. "You three!" Oobleck stopped dead in his tracks and pointed at Blake, Weiss and Yang "Go below and try to stop those bombs!"
"What about-!" Ruby stopped to process the decision just made, meaning she and Link would be on the same team "...Us?"
Oobleck in dramatic fashion does a cinematic pose "We're going to stop this train."
Ruby and Link looked at each other with dumbfounded looks on their faces
"I know...I kinda already said that." Ruby spoke bluntly
"I suppose so." Oobleck softly spoke as Yang, Weiss and Blake entered the entered the train car
Before Link could comment on the situation, loud footsteps were heard, and suddenly the whole train shook, it was White Fang members who began to pilot multiple Atlesian Paladin-290s, making them jump to the top of the train.
"Ironwood's toasters." Link shrugs and again did not reach for any weapon, he expected Ruby to jump in recklessly, but Oobleck stopped her dead in her tracks as well.
Oobleck takes a sip from his thermos before transforming it into its weapon mode, a small flame burning at its tip. Zwei barks and jumps with excitement, showing that he is ready for an attack, and does so by jumping and flipping in the air, which prompts Oobleck to bat him, turning him into a small fireball. The Paladin is seen shooting, only for it to get knocked off the train by the attack. The Paladin tumbles on the train tracks, and continues to rolls until exploding when it hits the barricade. Another Paladin appears in front of Zwei, with its guns aimed at him. The day is saved by Oobleck, who takes down the Paladin with multiple streams of fire before swiftly knocking it off the train as well, all Ruby and Link could do was watch.
The time for celebrating a "victory" would have to wait as another Paladin approached them, Oobleck and Ruby looked over at each other nodded, but it took someone else taking charge to finally prove himself
"Enough!" Link frowned as he hopped over Ruby and Oobleck "I'm a lone wolf and it seems I can't change that!" He said and charged the Paladin on his own
"Wait Link! Don't just-!" Ruby chased after Link, but was stopped as Zwei jumped in front of Ruby while Oobleck assuringly patted her shoulder
"Link wants to prove himself to everybody, Blake, Yang, Weiss, and especially you, I may not know all of the details, but I know you two are good friends, I sensed tense friction when we found you. Something must have happened, yes?" Oobleck asks
"W-well yeah..." Ruby sighs
"Whatever you said to him, he wants to prove that you can still trust him. He knows what he's doing, have faith Miss Rose."
Instead of going for his semblance, which involves exact specific moves, he grabs the handle of his sword with his right hand, leaps into the air, pulling his left arm over his face, with the back of his hand facing the Paladin. The triforce on Link's hand lit up a bright flashing gold color, Link closed his eyes and took in a deep breath as a giant flashing beam shot at the Paladin, 2 large triforce's appeared behind and in front the Atlesian weapon, one bright and the other faded. Link opened his eyes and like a flash he appeared right in front of the Paladin, he wasted no time and relentlessly slashed at it, with a variety of slashes too, two handed, one handed, spinning, all with precise power and very quick speed that could even match Ruby's. The final blow completely cut the Atlesian Paladin in half, sending it flying off the train and onto the tracks. Link landed perfectly on both feet, he put his sword away and slowly dusted off his clothes
"You don't need my words anymore." Oobleck said "You two are safe in each others hands." Oobleck spoke these words because right behind them came two more Paladins "Ruby! Take Link and go on ahead!"
"But what about y-!"
"Don't worry, Ruby. It's time...I teach them a lesson..." Oobleck nods and goes to take on two oncoming Paladins, Ruby nods in approval of her teacher, but before she could depart, a dejected Zwei is at her feet with his head down, refusing to follow Ruby
Ruby smiled at her pet and nodded "Go." Ruby watched Zwei run happily towards Oobleck before running after Link, who was stood still, clearly his head wasn't in the game. "Heeey! Come on!" Ruby slapped Link on the back of the head as she ran past him but she quickly stopped about three to four train cars behind the first, she looked on with worry as she realizes the train is on a collision course with a thick concrete wall
"What do we do?!" Blake's voice could be heard as she, Yang and Weiss were climbing out of a train car
Ruby looked at Weiss, who nodded slowly, but then turned back to see Link was barely catching up
"Do it!" Link shouted "I'll be fine!"
Weiss gave a nod of approval as she stuck her sword into the train car, summoning a glyph that then summoned a lot of layers of ice, engulfing and protecting team RWBY...but what about Link?
"I won't let you steal the glory Weiss." Link chuckled as he reached team RWBY and within the dire seconds managed to plant his hand on the Ice barrier. Link's body was surrounded with the bright gold energy he used to protect Blake during the food fight against Pyrrha's manipulation of soda cans along with the fight against Cinder where he would've for sure died or suffered major injures had he taken that hit from her.
(Covering that girl in all black during the stupid food fight almost made you pass out, covering all four of these girls, their barrier and yourself? You'll die!)
(We'll just see about that!) Link said with confidence as the train crashes into the wall, the explosion 'wipes' everything and everybody 'out'
Moments later, among all the debris, team RWBY was fine, no signs of Link though as they were all shaken up and scared, but there was no major damage, much to their surprise, they returned to the central part of Vale, a blaring alarm could be heard over and over again, as well as multiple civilians who were in the area noticed them among all of the ruble. Suddenly, a black King Taijitu emerges from the hole, and multiple Grimm start pouring into Vale. The civilians scream as they flee from the chaos, the sounds of screams and roars fill the air as all team RWBY could do was watch in horror while taking in what's just transpired. The only who was brought back to reality first was Ruby, her expression changes from worried and scared to a look of determination
"..." She said nothing and kept a straight face until realizing they were missing a friend who was there with them when the train collided. "Link?!" Ruby looked around, and so did the rest of her team, they quickly found Link laid out on the ground, not moving at all...he looked dead
"L-link!" Blake slid on the ground next to him, then reached out to touch his neck and wrist, sensing a pulse "He's alive, but he's definitely done for today."
Yang and Weiss nod in approval, meanwhile Ruby turned away and sighed with relief.
"..." Link opened his eyes, he blinked over and over again, slowly regaining his vision before trying to get up, only to feel that he hardly had any strength left.
"Don't move! You've overexerted yourself." Blake mumbled "Ruby come help me, we need to get Link out of here."
"What?" Link weakly spoke "N-no, I'm not l-leaving. I just need to recover for a bit."
"Look at yourself!" Weiss exclaims "I know how good you are but you don't need to act-!"
"Why did you do it?" Ruby turned to face Link, who was barely on his feet thanks to Blake "Why did you put that shield on us? You could have killed yourself! You were breathing heavily by just protecting yourself in the fight against that woman, but you put it on all four of us. Weiss' ice would've protected us enough!"
"Heh..." Link softly chuckles "I don't know why, there, I said it. My body just kind of moved on instinct, trust me, I knew Weiss' ice barrier would've worked." Link looks over at Weiss and nods "Or did I? I guess if I had to come up with a reason now, I hate you guys, but you're still my frie-!" Link stopped and chuckled again "You're still my friends." Link dropped down to his knees and began to breath harder "See I'm feeling better already."
"Hmph!" Ruby frowned and turned to see Grimm coming towards them "We can talk about this later, come on guys."
"Right!" All 3 remaining team RWBY members said out loud as they moved to the pavilion, they surrounded Link in a circle, with all their backs turned on him as they were surrounded by Beowolves, Ursai, and a King Taijitu. The King Taijitu unleashes a fierce roar, signalling the Grimm to attack.
"I can't be useless yet again..." Link planted his hands on the ground and with the little strength he had, lifted himself up
"You've done enough." Yang spoke despite not even facing Link "We know how you feel, but please, just enjoy the show." She lifted her right arm and gave Link and thumbs up
Ruby plants Crescent Rose on the ground before kicking away the Grimm by first picking up momentum from the first few Grimm, scaling their giant structures of bodies before getting the speed needed for her spinning kick attack, Yang leaped into the air, firing off many shots to the grimm on the ground with her with gauntlets before three Giant Nevermores collide into Yang, sending her crashing to the ground. Blake slashes a Beowolf with her sword to the point of death with the final blow being a perfect jab right though it's head before firing on the other approaching Grimm. Weiss slashes three Beowolves, before summoning a glyph to create an ice blade. Yang, still on the ground, sends several cars flying towards the Grimm. As Ruby finishes slashing at a Grimm, she notices the King Taijitu ready for the attack, until she also sees Nora flying on her hammer towards the King Taijitu, slamming it on the head and killing it.
"NORA SMASH!"
Nora landed on her feet as Jaune and Ren regrouped on foot while Pyrrha also made a flashy appearance from the air
"Let's move!" Pyrrha commanded 'her' team as she, Nora and Ren moved out, meanwhile Jaune simply groaned as he stayed behind
"Alright then! Who's first?!" Jaune said with a confident smile
Jaune turns around to notice a giant Ursa standing behind him.
"Oh-oh-okay, you're first, huh? Okay, no, that's fine." Jaune tightly held onto his shield but had a weak grip on his sword.
Jaune lets out a mighty scream and then proceeds to slash the Ursa several times before it falls.
"So uncoordinated, all his hits were off, but luckily despite that Ursa's size, it was one of the weaker ones." Link mumbled to himself
"Totally cool!" Ruby said with a bit of admiration
"Totally dumb!" Link said with a confused look on his face
A few feet from the fallen Ursa, Sun and Neptune arrive, flashing their badges which did not look real at all.
"Nobody move! Junior detectives!" Sun said as he showed off his badge first
"We have badges so you know it's official!" Neptune followed in his team captain's footsteps by showing off his badge
"Speaking of dumb..." Link chuckled as he finally enough strength to get up and at the very least stretch "That's much better."
A fleet coming from the Atlesian Military, consisting of dropships deploying Atlesian Knight-200 units and the flagship of James Ironwood. Sun and Neptune first reaction is shock as they see the fleet in awe before they drop their badges on the floor. As Ruby looks up in the sky, an Ursa takes the opportunity to attack her from behind. However, it is quickly gunned down by a drop ship's machine gun, Ruby turns back to the ship and waves.
(To your right! Top hand corner! Look who's shown up for some...fun!)
(Huh?) Link looked exactly to his right, top hand corner, and notices another Ursa downed, this one from a Knight's punch. But as the Ursa was out of Link's sight, he saw Cinder, Emerald and Mercury. Although Cinder is quick to leave the scene, Emerald and Mercury stay to fight off the grimm and further cover up their tracks
"Now's my chance..." Link mumbled "With all this commotion, I can take out Cinder's cronies right now!" Link pulled his sword out of it's sheath and slowly, briskly limped towards Emerald and Mercury
"...Link, where are you going?" Ruby watched him limp away as she took out a Beowolf, then put Crescent Rose in it's storage mode and slowly trailed Link
Despite wanting to see team CFVY in action upon seeing them arrive, Link knew he had look at the bigger picture, stopping Cinder. He walked around the chaos, all the gun fire and and blasts were ignored until he finally reached Emerald and Mercury, more or less, he was in their general direction, and could see them splitting off into different alleyways
(You idiot they know you're after them.)
(Yeah but look at me, at least at 30 percent, why wouldn't they just take ME out?)
(Ah you're trying to lure them to come to you, not bad at all, but as you know, there's always someone who has to ruin a perfect plan)
(What?)
Link got no response but quickly knew what 'it' or 'he' meant, he turned to see more Atlesian Knight-200's coming his way, but they weren't going for the Grimm up ahead, they were surrounding Link
"Damn, of course, I forgot Ironwood is still after me, I'm such a fool that I forgot." Link slaps his forehead with his head and counted all the Knights around him "Twelve around me right now, but there's more coming right now." Link looked past the one's around him, and saw seven more, eight including Ironwood himself "So he's here to finally capture me after all."
"Hold!" Ironwood shouted as he approached the Knights already around Link "This is your last chance boy! Su-!"
"GO TO HELL!" Link frowned and planted his hands together as the Atlesian Knight's aimed their guns "No good, I don't have the energy to summon that cloak."
Speaking of alleyways, Ruby was in one as well, she watched the Atlesian Knight's firing their guns at Link, and again, Ruby froze up with fear, she even closed her eyes, and began to hope for the best. Luckily, the best was indeed happening as Link managed to grab his shield, blocking as many bullets as possible, though he was hit regardless.
"I can't keep this up..." Link continued to turn and turn, holding up his shield, trying to block every bullet.
"Why is the general after Link?" Ruby finally opened her eyes and rushed in carelessly
"It's over." Ironwood spoke as he managed to get through the circle of Atlesian Knights, aiming his revolver at Link
"Go on! DO IT!" Link fell to both knees from pain and exhaustion "Finish the job Ironwood!"
"As you wish!" Ironwood, from only a few feet away, fired his revolver, aiming a direct shot at Link's head
"YAHHH!" Ruby'd cry could be heard as she appeared and stood in between Link, swiping away the bullet with Crescent Rose, in it's scythe form.
"Ruby!" Both Ironwood and Link said at the same time, meanwhile the Atlesian Knights aimed their guns again
"Hold fire!" Ironwood raised his hand as all the Knights proceed to not fire, but instead just aim
"Why are you after Link?!" Ruby asked
"We don't know who caused this, and until we get a clear name and identification, we must arrest all suspects!"
"O-oh..." Ruby slowly retreated her scythe back into it's storage mode
"You're full of crap Ironwood!" Link shouted as he got up to both feet "Don't believe him Ruby, he's only after me!"
"Huh?" Ruby look at Link, then at Ironwood, not knowing what to or who to believe anymore
"Why would he only be arresting me then?!" Link growled "If your statement were true, you would have to arrest five more people, Professor Oobleck, Weiss, Yang, Blake and Ruby! You only want to arrest me though, how convenient!"
"He's right." Ruby looked at Ironwood with fire in her eyes
"Even when you're near your limit you still find a way to be clever." Ironwood scoffs "Does she know your past?"
"Of course not, we've never had the time to have that conversation." Link responded
"Your past?" Ruby asked
"He was a mercenary for the White Fang and multiple criminal organizations." Ironwood spoke calmly
"Yeah and what?! You don't know what it's like not having anything worth fighting for except money!" Link fell to one knee again, breathing heavily "Plus it's clear to me that you don't care about how much good I'm doing now, all you want to do is label me for who I WAS!" Link did not fall down, but instead got back up
"Good? Look around, does this look good?" Ironwood points at the partially destroyed Vale
"Then go get the guy who caused this! I'm sure Torchwick is hiding somewhere around here."
"I can't do that, I must bring you in at once."
"I see..." Link nods "If you don't catch Torchwick you'll just blame me for this!"
"That's preposterous!" Ironwood shook his head "You're going WAY too far now."
"Can you blame me?!" Link shouts "All you want it to take me down. So why don't you just...Do it?"
"Very Well!" Ironwood rushed in and charged at Link, reaching for him with his right hand
"No you don't!" Ruby appeared in front of Ironwood and with both of her hands, she gripped Ironwood's, using the speed of Ironwood along with her own, she managed to not out strength but she used her speed to counter what would've been Ironwood's brute strength, Ruby spun Ironwood around and sent him crashing into his Atlesian Knights.
"I have no choice." Ironwood sighed and hesitantly ordered the Knights to fire
"Link!" Ruby commanded her former lover
"Right!" Link and Ruby got back to back, both ready to defend
"Fire!" Ironwood stood behind the dozen Atlesian Knights
"Now!" Ruby and Link bounced off each other, Ruby deflected bullets with repetitive scythe spins while Link did the same, only with his sword instead
Elsewhere
"Where are they?" Coco looked around, she could only see Weiss, Blake and Yang
"Maybe they ran into a really strong grimm." Velvet mumbled
"Maybe." Coco replied as she noticed the nineteen knights and general Ironwood "Yatsuhashi, Fox, stay here, Velvet and I are going to see what's going on over there."
Fox nods and gives no reply
"Do not get caught in the crossfire." Yatsuhashi said bluntly but in a very calm fashion too "Stay safe."
"No problem, come on Velvet." Coco holds her handbag closely and with a tight grip as she begins to walk "Why is my stomach feeling twisted? We're winning the fight after all, what gives?"
"Coco is worried." Velvet follows her team leader but also looks at her with worry "Something bad must be happening if Coco isn't confident."
"Stay behind me at all times." Coco turned to face Velvet "We don't know what we're up against, and I refuse to let my teammate get hurt because of my bad calls."
"Got it." Velvet nods
Back to Ruby and Link
"Link how are you holding up?" Ruby turned to check on Link
"Don't worry about me-! Watch out!" Link reached for his back pocket, grabbing a throwing knife and instantly launching it at the Knight that was about to get a clear shot on Ruby. The knife went into the skull of the Knight, and for a brief moment it stopped, but then fired again, this time Ruby was prepared and blocked the bullet
"Man these things are strong..." Ruby began to get tired as well
"She's been hit, but luckily her aura has not depleted yet."
"Do not hold back!" Ironwood coldly spoke, despite him only wanting to take out Link, it was Ruby's persistence that made Ironwood even more angry
The Atlesian Knights aimed their guns at both Link and Ruby, then began to fire mercilessly and relentlessly, Ruby scythe slash along with Link's sword slash and shield protection could not hold off all of the bullets, they took multiple hits to the lower half of their body and their midsections too. Despite all the damage taken, Link's aura was still not depleted, unfortunately, Ruby was at her breaking point. The twelve Atlesean Knights in the front retreated to reload their weapons, so the seven around Ironwood took their place, and began to fire now too
"Link!" Ruby frowned as she pushed Link out of the way with a shoulder charge, Link planted his hand on Ruby's forearm as he tried to grab her for leverage to stay on his feet, but instead quickly hit the ground, this resulted in Ruby being hit yet again "Ah!" Ruby cried out as her left leg, in the calf area was shot, she dropped down to one knee and a faint but visibly red color could be seen going across her body
"Ruby!" Link quickly turned, but as he did, he was shot as well.
As they were both hit, Coco and Velvet approached them, Velvet gasped at the sight of Ruby and Link, seeing how injured there were made her run towards them, but Coco had to forcefully hold Velvet back.
"What the hell is happening?" Coco's eyes were full of fear, though they were covered by her sunglasses
"How can she stay so calm?" Velvet looked at Coco with worry
"You're done here." Link mumbled to Ruby "Her Aura...it's been depleted completely, damn it!" Link switched his position to being behind Ruby to being in front of her, shield held firmly, ready to take all hits for her.
The seven Knights continued to fire at them, and all Link could do was continue playing defense, he continued to take hits, to the back, to the arm, etc. Until finally, the bullets stopped...Link's aura depleted within the final shot
"I lucked out..." Link sighed as he fell back and started to breath softly
Link did make a crucial mistake though, he overlooked the situation and thought it was over, but out of the 20 enemies, only 19 were stalled briefly, he looked up and noticed Ironwood aiming his revolver right at him, before Link could even move or say anything, his eyes closed, with the final image he saw being...a rose pedal.
A rose pedal...?
Link quickly opened his eyes and looked around, all of the Atlesian Knight's were backed up, guns still aimed, but no shots were fired anymore. He then looked at Ruby and noticed she was standing as Ironwood had a shocked look on his face as his head was lowered...with shame?
"She did it..." Link wiped his eyes clear to make sure, and noticed something odd, Ruby did not have Crescent Rose in her grasp
"I never knew how much...you would...burden me." Ruby said, clearly struggling to say her chosen words.
"You did it! But h-!" Link stopped himself once realizing what had really happened, there was a small pool of blood right under Ruby, she took Ironwood's bullet, but surprisingly, the bullet did not go through her and out her back, it was still lodged in, Ruby stood in front of Link while he was on his back, barely sitting up.
"You should look at yourself right now..." Ruby faintly smiled "You big dummy."
"You protected me?!" Link said, with clear as day fright coming from his tone of voice "But why?!"
"I guess if I had to come up with a reason now, I may not like you right now but you're still my...f-friend." Ruby slumped over and closed her eyes momentarily, she began to think about about everything she experienced with Link, her initial resentment, then the immediate change of heart, the fist bumps, the hugs, even their first kiss, all culminated with their brief rivalry where they constantly tried to one up each other. "Hmph!" She raised her head and opened her eyes
Link growled with anger as he got up "I still don't understand, why?! Why?! Why risk your life for me?!" Link balled up his fists when he got no answer "I never asked you to protect me!"
"I don't know why, there I said it. My body just moved on instinct...dumbo." Ruby's final two words were heard faintly as she fell back
"N-no!" Link's eyes widened with anger and shock as he caught Ruby and fell to his knees as she fell all the way back, only being held up by Link's arms
"I wanted to end all crime in Vale..." Ruby mumbled before stalling herself, thinking carefully about her next words "I wanted to end all crime in the whole world...that's been my dream and my goal ever since I became a Huntress, that is what I wanted, but..." Ruby's voice began to get weaker so she stopped herself, her eyes began to shake as they got watery, she reached out with her right hand and gripped Link's tunic "D-dang it...don't you dare not carry out my dream! O-okay?"
"!" Link's eyes widened to their fullest, hearing Ruby's last words, watching the hand that was just on him weakly flop to the ground, the moment she closed her eyes, Link's became teary as well, seeing her head turn, neck going stiff and body going motionless made the tears in Link's eyes trickle down his cheeks.
Ironwood shook his head and looked up, glancing at what he considered a #1 priority to capture dead or alive, he saw Link cradle Ruby closely, hugging and mourning his friend.
"She..." Ironwood closed his eyes and the quick memory of Ruby jumping in front of him only to repel him away with her speed came back into his mind "Plunged into what she knew was a trap, all to protect you?" Ironwood opened his eyes and stood up straight "To give her credit, she is a huntress worthy or respect." He turned his back on Link now "This is the way of this cruel world that I am trying to fix, friends die but it does not have to be that way if you would all just follow my commands." Ironwood walked away from Link, to shield himself behind the seven Atlesian Knights originally around him
"Shut it!" Link said with a weak tone as he painfully pulled Ruby away from himself, softly laying her down on the cold concrete, watching her hand flop once again. "Even though I thought I hated you..."
The wind now became stronger than ever before despite it being a beautiful day outside, and within seconds, it got cloudy, plus it began to rain hard as well. These were not the only changes though, suddenly Link and Ruby were both covered with golden energy
"I can't and will not forgive you...EVER!" Link said with anger in his voice now as the golden energy surrounding them grew larger and brighter.
Link, gripping Ruby very tightly still, starts to to shake non-stop until he finally rose his head, his eyes were golden, but he was not in control, this was clear when the strange lining kicked in around his cheeks, his eyes looked like those of a possessed monster
"I'm going to kill you!" Link said, with his anger turning into pure hatred as his caressing of Ruby slowly comes to an end and he allows her to rest on the cold hard ground.
"!" Ironwood backed up despite not being attacked "But his aura was completely depleted and he was clearly out of energy earlier, what is going on?" Ironwood continued to back away as Link slowly ascended to his feet. This sudden emergence of Aura was visibly seen as all of Link's wounds began to heal within seconds. "This kid...just what the hell is he?!" Ironwood said to himself
Hidden in the alleyway, Coco watches with a blank expression on her face, though her eyes told a completely different story, meanwhile Velvet was in complete shock, she was scared and the horror on her face was evident.
Link's anger became more apparent, his growls and grunts were louder, but suddenly, the gold energy disappeared, and all that was seen now was Link, his facial features remained the same for the most part, the lining on his cheeks was as far as the 'transformation' went, with the limit being Link's jaw, the rest of this monster within Link was suppressed
"Grrrrr... COME HERE!" Link aimed his sights for Ironwood, giving him another cold and fierce stare before taking off, proceeding to charge right at the Atlas military general
"He's coming!" Ironwood held his position and drew his gun out.
...
...
...
To Be Continued...
(Yo, for anyone wondering what Link's inner demon STILL looks like, the cover of the story says it all)
(Edited on 8/7/2022)