The 'Lone' Hero of Vale - Chapter 18
Previously on the 'Lone' Hero of Vale...
"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
"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.
Present Time
"I must not hold back!" Ironwood aimed a perfect shot for Link's chest and fired
"Grrr!" Link ran right into the bullet, but 'his' aura blocked it and sent it deep into the ground
"WHAT?! It didn't even come close, his aura repelled it by a good couple of feet, it's not even close the normal amount of distance aura usually comes in as a defense!" Ironwood's eyes widened when Link was right in his path
"AHHH!" Link sprang in the air, delivering a flying kick...to an Atlesian Knight that steps in front of Link, taking Ironwood's spot as he jumps over Link and the Atlas military weapon, just one kick from Link manages to knock its head off its shoulders.
Link then turned back, looking at all the Atlesian Knights, looking for Ironwood
"Very well then!" Ironwood said to himself as he landed on the opposite side of Link "Fire!" Ironwood commanded
All twelve Atlesian Knights fired their guns at Link, and seemingly they made contract with Link's body, until his aura blocked every single bullet and instead sent them back to all of the soldiers, with all twelve being taken out, leaving Ironwood with only seven.
"Die!" Link screamed at the top of his lungs as he was inches away from Ironwood, throwing another powerful kick towards him, aiming the bottom of his boot for his face
But Ironwood managed to dodge again by jumping over what was Link kicking another Atlesian Knight's head off while using another knight for an extra boost, therefore destroying his own protection and only leaving him with 5 Knights
"NOW!" Ironwood frowned and focused a heavy punch with his right hard, knowing he had the power to kill if he wanted to, he dropped down towards Link, with all intent to kill
Link swiftly dodged with a perfect mid air barrel roll, though the landing was botched as Link landed flat on his behind, he still managed to get up quickly enough to keep rushing at Ironwood.
"How is he this fast?!" Ironwood retreated towards his remaining knight's
"Come here!" Link caught up with Ironwood within seconds and slapped the revolver out of his hand
"No way!" Ironwood was stopped dead in his tracks when Link grabbed him by his left arm, gripping his wrist with his right hand, with no intention on letting go
"Ahhhh!" Link let out a loud cry that rings throughout the city
Elsewhere, not too far away from the fight scene
"Rain? Hm...What is going on around here?" This voice was that of Glynda Goodwitch, she noticed metal scraps everywhere, assuming it was Grimm taking out Ironwood's Knights "I thought James stayed put in his ship, why did he..." Glynda promptly shook her head "He wanted to capture somebody personally."
But the moment Glynda even approached what she expected would be Ironwood and his Knights finding the culprit, she was taken back by powerful aura that almost swept Glynda off her feet.
"What is this?!" Glynda reached for her riding crop and formed a shield in front of herself, temporarily blocking the aura from pushing her back any farther "It's so strong, I can't-!" Glynda stopped to focus on making the shield stronger as it was nearly broken instantly "What is this?" She looked closely, wincing and focusing on the two people fighting "That's...James! Is this his doing? No. This energy is too strong, even for James" Glynda took her attention off Ironwood and glanced over at his opponent, who at first was not recognizable due to his eyes and few facial features "That's one of our students, Link the first year." Glynda struggles to keep up as she planted her feet firmly on the ground and was able to hold her current spot before noticing Ruby in her current state "Miss Rose!" This broke all her concentration as the powerful aura broke through Glynda's shield and sent her flying back.
Back to the fight
"I can't break free of his grip!" Ironwood tried to lift his right hand up for a second steel armed punch but could barely even lift the arm "I can't even fight off his aura!"
Link let out another aggressive growl as a lot of aura became visible around his left fist. He let as much aura pile on as possible before nailing Ironwood right in the gut with a quick knee strike before hitting his main attack, a straight punch to the face with his left hand.
The impact of the punch sent Ironwood flying through the air, smashing through the five remaining Atlesian Knights, those scraps of metal luckily broke Ironwood's fall as he hit the concrete and rolled around until coming to a full stop, at which point his aura could be seen being depleted. Ironwood's vision went from Atlesian Knights being on the verge of capturing and killing Link to all of them being down and destroyed while seeing the demonic look in Link's golden, possessed eyes, they looked lifeless and puppet like "I underestimated this kid..." Ironwood finally admits his biggest mistake as he struggles to get to his feet, only barely maintaining balance.
(Go on then...he killed your friend, FINISH HIM!)
"Grr..." Link let out one last growl before charging at Ironwood again
"L-link no! Don't do this!" Velvet shook her head as she leaped off the ground
"Velvet no!" Coco tried to grab her by a foot at least to drag her back down "Damn! She can't see that Link isn't in full control right now!"
Upon being only feet away from Ironwood, Link jumped up in the air and did something he hadn't done throughout this entire 'fight,' which was grab his sword, the gold on his clothing, sword sheath and on his left hand lit up, he dashed through the strong wind, pushing past the hard rain, ignoring the sounds of the loud thunder that was suddenly heard, his entire focus was on killing the man that killed his best friend.
"D-damn you Oz..." Ironwood sighed "You were right about this kid, I made the mistake of messing with his emotions, and now it seems like...I'll be gone before I can admit fault. Oz, I'm sorry..."
"F-for...R-ruby..." Link said with calmness in his voice rather than the anger showcased earlier as he slightly pushed his sword only inches off from it's sheath
Suddenly, right as Link was about to make the killing sword slice, one in which he did not intend to hold back unlike his last opponents,(Sky, Human Atlas Soldier, etc.) Velvet appeared in front of Ironwood, back turned towards him while her front faced Link, she had her arms held out and her eyes closed, expecting Link not to hold back
(What the hell?! What is she doing? WHATEVER, it doesn't matter, finish them both!)
Link somehow was able to stop despite his unreal speed, he had already posed perfectly and even marked exactly where to slice, but when he stopped right in front of Velvet, he only had his sword halfway out it's sheath
"L-link?" Velvet opened her eyes and noticed everything changed, the sound of thunder faded as the last lightning bolt struck, the rain went from hard to slow and weak, then faded away all together and the cloudiness turned into the sunset setting from earlier. Apart from the weather, Link's golden eyes were gone, and the lining on his face steadily retracted away as as well
"Velvet, I could have hurt you..." Link mumbled with shame in his voice now "Worse, I could've killed you."
"Link I...Um-!"
"Why did you stop?" Ironwood spoke up "This is all it took to stop you? Was that girl Ruby, not special?"
Link growled with anger again, he wanted to strike with his sword or any weapon really, but instead gently pushed Velvet to the side and kicked Ironwood right in the chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending him to the ground
"Link..." Velvet mumbled while looking at Link's body, just five minutes ago he on the verge of death but now he's completely unharmed "Revenge isn't going to bring back Ruby."
"!" Link balled up his fists again "I know that...but maybe I just wanted revenge for me, maybe that's what Ironwood deserved."
"So if I didn't show up, you were really going to..." Velvet began to shake nervously
"Yes." Link mumbled "He would've already been dead if I didn't hold 'him' back..." Link grabbed on his chest
"W-well, Link...I" Velvet struggled to say her words, not knowing if Link would be satisfied
"It's OK!" Link nodded at Velvet "I wouldn't want to talk to me anymore either." Link said before walking past Velvet and not bothering to look back at Ironwood, he also ignored Coco and refused to look down at his fallen friend.
Moments later, Link had walked back to the pavilion, Coco and Velvet followed, but kept their distance from Link, leaving Ruby, Ironwood and the Atlesian Knight's behind, none of them acknowledged the human soldiers or medics arriving to the scene.
"Sir!" A human Atlesian soldier ran towards Ironwood and took a knee
"I'm ok, luckily." Ironwood struggled to sit up
"I wouldn't do that." Glynda's voice was heard as she approached them
"Halt!" The soldier aimed his gun at her
"Stand down." Ironwood commanded
"Yes sir!" The soldier gave a bow "Forgive me ma'am."
"You are forgiven." Glynda nods "Please give General Ironwood and I a minute, I need to ask him a question."
"But the general needs immediate medical-!"
"Go." Ironwood waved his hand
"Yes sir." The soldier turned away and ran towards Ruby now, seeing two medics at her side along with a soldier made him hurry to the scene as quickly as possible.
"Glynda I-!"
"Save it James." Glynda shook her head and looked down at Ironwood "I want the truth, and I want all of it, what happened? How did it happen, why did it happen?"
"Glynda..." Ironwood sat up, still trying to catch his breath
"The truth James, otherwise I will get my answers elsewhere."
"You mean that kid?" Ironwood asks
"Yes." Glynda nods "He's been nothing but honest to Professor Ozpin and I, so there is no doubt he will tell the truth, now start with Miss Ruby Rose? What happened to her?"
"Very well." Ironwood stayed seated and hung his head in shame "It only happened 10 minutes ago but..."
At the Pavilion
"HEEEEY!" Yang screamed once she saw Link "Haha! Good you see you again Link we've been worried sick! We thought you got...well, got by the Grimm. Where have you been?" She smiled and waved at him
"!" Link froze up and hung his head in shame
"You were right!" Yang shouts "You got your energy back, you kicked butt and now you look good as new!"
"Mhm." Link slowly nodded back as he just stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing that not only was it team RWBY, but team JNPR, half of team CFVY plus Sun and Neptune were all looking at him.
"So!" Yang chuckled "Where's Ruby?"
Link's head sprang up at the shock, despite what he already knew, reliving it was a nightmare, and it pained him even to even fathom breaking the news to her team, let alone, her sister. "Yang, I'm so sorry..." Those were the chosen words, but nothing came out.
"Link, where is Ruby? Did she tag along with you?" Yang asked as her smile slowly faded
"!" Link began to grit his teeth together, wanting and not wanting to say the words
"Link!" Weiss snaps "Where is our lea-! Where is Ruby?!"
"N-no..." Blake face turned into one of horror, she could read Link like a book
Link, despite being at full strength, weakly lifted his arm up and pointed to the direction of the most destroyed street, where medics and soldiers were seen
"Ruby!" Yang took off sprinting at full speed, pushing past Link who shut his eyes and continue to grit his teeth, Weiss and Blake followed her, with none of them even looking back Link.
"Link." Pyrrha approached him "Is Ruby ok?"
"N-no..." Link shook his head "She protected me."
"How bad is she?" Jaune asked
"I held her in my arms when her body went stiff and cold."
"I see." Pyrrha sighed and tried to hold back tears, but Jaune couldn't even try, he broke down instantly
"I-I-I..." Link stalled, the words were now failing to come to mind
"You've said enough." Coco walked up behind Link and put her hand on his shoulder, she even took off her sunglasses, revealing a sad look
"She was worried after all..." Velvet mumbled as she was hesitant to go near Link
(So what's the plan now kid?)
(We leave Vale first thing tomorrow.)
(Really? I thought you loved this place)
(I do, but I can't stay here and continue facing Ruby's friends despite being the cause of her death.)
(Her friends? Are they nothing to you now? Hehehe...)
(I'm not sure, but after today, I'm going to be nothing to them, that's for sure.)
To the remaining members of team RWBY
"Oh no." Yang dropped to her knees when seeing the medics near ruby declare defeat, all the could do was remove the bullet from Ruby's chest and patch up her wound, all over attempts at resuscitation were unsuccessful
"Ruby." Weiss' top lip quivered as she held back tears
"I can't believe it." Blake shook her head
"It is a tragedy." Ironwood spoke with deep regret as he is helped to his feet by two soldiers "We must never forget her time on the battlefield, for she a huntress worth remembering."
"Sir what about-!"
"Go find him." Ironwood said "We must arrest all suspects immediately."
"No need for that actually." The voice of Mercury was heard as he and Emerald came out from an alleyway, with Roman Torchwick 'restrained'
"We got the man you're looking for." Emerald said with a cheesy smile on her face
"How did you find this man so easily? Even some of the best police forces couldn't find him."
"Luck?" Mercy shrugs "He decided to stick around because he thought the Grimm would take all of Vale out"
"When in reality he could've ran away. But like a fool he stuck around." Emerald followed up
"Well." Ironwood cleared his throat and looked at the two soldiers by his side "Get him on the ship then you can let the Atlesian Knight's take over."
"Yes sir!" They both nod and take Torchwick off of Emerald and Mercury's hands.
"Hey hey!" Roman frowns as they take him away "Don't touch my hat!"
"James." Glynda spoke, she had her arms crossed "One last thing."
"Right." Ironwood walked towards her as they began to mumble to each other
Ironwood turned his head back to see Ruby one more time, this time seeing Yang cry while holding her sister close as Blake and Weiss can continue continue to watch with shock
"I'm sorry...Ruby, Ozpin, everybody." Ironwood mumbled to himself
"James? Are you okay?" Glynda stopped and noticed Ironwood had fallen behind
"My apologies." Ironwood nodded and followed Glynda
After a few more minutes, the soldiers around Ruby departed while the medics continuously apologized to Team RWBY. Ironwood could be seen going back to his ship, slowly and steadily, though Glynda was no longer with him.
"What do we do now?" Weiss asked
"I don't know Weiss, I don't know." Blake shook her head
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm going home." Yang softly spoke
"Huh?" Weiss raised an eyebrow
"There's only one way I'm breaking the news to my dad, it certainly won't be over a call or a message."
"O-oh." Weiss nods "I understand completely."
Blake said nothing and turned back to the pavilion, where Sun was looking at her, hoping for good news, but only got a head shake from her. Blake then looked over and saw Link, who still had his back turned and was still in the same position as before.
It's also a gun...
"You say something Blake?" Weiss asked
"Huh?" Blake shook her head
"You guys that's not funny!" Yang sat up and angrily looked around
"We didn't say anything Yang." Weiss took a step back
I am not a crook...
"It's almost like I can still hear Ruby's voice." Yang's images of her happy times with Ruby made her put her head and arms down on Ruby's chest again
...
...
...
"Ugh...Where am I?" Ruby spoke to herself, her vision was completely pitch black "D-did it work...or am I dead?" She continued the attempt to open her eyes, seeing a orange and red sky "Huh, so I am dead after all, I don't remember this beautiful sky, all I remember is that horrible rain. Damn, I said those dramatic last words to Link in hope of scaring him when I eventually woke up" She chuckled
Out of nowhere, unbeknownst to her teammates, Ruby opened her eyes, and noticed her sister and other two teammates over and around her.
"N-no way...I am alive, so it did work after all."
"H-hey, Yang...you weight a lot you know..." Ruby chuckled softly
"Huh?!" Yang picked her head up and noticed her sister's weak smile, her silver eyes were open once again "RUBY!" Yang with no hesitation hugs Ruby, crushing the air out of her sister
"Yang...please stop." Ruby mumbled and felt her chest, no hole, no bullet "The general...and Link!" Ruby had fire in her eyes once again as she tried to sit up as quickly as possible
"Ruby!" Weiss frowned
"You shouldn't move around so much." Blake followed up with the scolding despite having happiness in her voice
"I know, but anyway, where's Link? Also, what happened to General Ironwood?" Ruby was quick to ask
"Link...he's fine." Yang said "And the general, he wasn't in good shape but he's OK too."
"That's good. Weiss, Blake, a little help please?" Ruby extended her arms "Do they know that General Ironwood...no, I can tell them at another time."
"Alright you can come but you're immediately getting bed rest when we head back." Weiss took one arm
"..." Blake just smiled and took Ruby's other arm, both 'checkmate' partners helped 'red' get to her feet
"LIIIINK!" Yang shouted from afar, catching everyone's attention who was at the pavilion
"Hm?" Link turned to hear her voice "Oh Yang, how I can only imagine what you must be-!"
"Ruby's alright! She's alive!" Yang cheered and pointed to Ruby
"HUH?!" Link wiped his eyes multiple times
"WHOA!" Jaune's eyes widened
"Ruby never ceases to amaze." Pyrrha smiled as she wiped away the tears that almost fell out
"It's no illusion I promise, she's OK!" Yang's smile grew larger
"Guys..." Ruby mumbled at Weiss and Blake
"You always want to show off." Weiss frowned again as she let of Ruby
"I don't blame her at all." Blake mumbled back and followed in Weiss' footsteps
Ruby struggled to maintain her balance but she was able to raise her hand up in the air and wave at all her friends at the pavilion who still weren't ready to accept her death
(So...how did she do it?)
(As if I know? You saw what happened, I tried to KILL Ironwood because I THOUGHT he killed Ruby. One thing is for sure, I'm done here for today.)
"Whoa!" Ruby slightly fells over but was caught by her teammates as they held her up "Heh, thanks guys."
"We're not done yet, you have a lot of explaining to do." Weiss nodded despite still sounding bossy
"But my bed rest...?" Ruby chuckled
"Why-! You little-! Fine!" Weiss shrugs
"Hey, where's Link?" Blake looked back to the pavilion, where everyone was there, team CFVY, JNPR, Sun, Neptune, Emerald, Mercury, Port, Oobleck, Zwei, Glynda, Torchwick, even Ironwood and his soldiers, but Link was nowhere to be seen.
"What the-! He was just there!" Yang frowned as they helped Ruby make her way back to regroup, where they were met first by team CFVY
"Velvet, where did Link go?" Ruby asked
"He took off, one moment he was happy to see that you were OK, but then...he just ran off" Velvet sighed
"Was he...angry or happy?" Weiss asked
"Both." Coco spoke up as she put on her sunglasses again "He looked happy to see Ruby being alive but then that smile quickly faded, almost as if he felt guilty."
"Why would he feel guilty?" Yang asked "Oh it's probably because he scared us to death."
"I'm not sure it was that." Blake said "Ruby what-!"
"We can ask him later..." Ruby cut off Blake and nodded crazily "Can we go home, my back and chest are killing me."
"Of course." Weiss nods
"OH NO!" A loud scream is heard, but it's nothing serious, it was just Roman Torchwick shouting "I can't believe that you caught me, you've really taught me the error of my ways."
"Ugh..." Ruby shakes her head
"OH HEY RED!" Torchwick chuckles "How are you still alive I figured you'd be dead after-!" Before torchwick would finish, the two Atlesian Knights restraining him quickly pulled him away "HEY! Watch the hat damn it!"
Emerald and Mercury approach team RWBY as they smile at each other. Team JNPR is seen exchanging smiles, with Pyrrha still trying to calm down Jaune, Sun and Neptune bump fists despite not doing anything, Team CFVY smile at each other as well, and Port and Oobleck do the same while Glynda watches from afar.
Beacon Academy, Ozpin's office
The sound of elevator doors opening could be heard, Ozpin had his back turned towards the window
"How did it go Gl-!" Ozpin turned to face not Glynda, but Link
"Professor Ozpin." Link nods
"Link..." Ozpin doesn't act surprised but instead shows a smile "What can I do for you?"
"I am entering the the Vytal Festival tournament."
"I see." Ozpin nods "That's good news for Beacon, you are one of the top rookies alongside Miss Pyrrha Nikos."
"Also, I..." Link wanted to tell Ozpin about what had just happened, but instead just shook his head
"Is there anything else you would like to tell me?" Ozpin asks
"No sir, that is all." Link nods and rises turns his back
"I'll warn you now." Ozpin spoke up just as Link hit the button for the elevator "If what happened with you and the general is a sign of things to come, the match you are in will be stopped and you will be pulled from the tournament."
"How did you-!" Link turned his head but then as the elevator doors opened, he saw Glynda entering Ozpin's office "Right...Glynda was there."
Link and Glynda exchanged no words, just a simple nod as they walked the opposite paths
Central Vale
Cinder, Emerald and Mercury stand a top the roof of a building, looking over Central Vale
"All in all, I'd call today a success." Cinder spoke with an evil smile
"Yeah, but those stupid kids really made a mess of things. What are going to do about...him?" Emerald ask
"What about him? He's merely another pawn who will try but fail to stop us."
"Why did we stop Ironwood from taking him on?" Mercury spoke up "That kid and Ironwood would've only kept fighting until one dropped dead, less problems for us right?"
"We need both of them alive you fool. If one of them dies our entire plan could be triggered or ruined early." Emerald shook her head "But forget them, what about the white fang?"
"Yeah a lot of faunus didn't make it out the tunnels." Mercury shook his head
"They will listen to us..." Cinder mumbled
"You're wrong." The deep voice of none other than Adam Taurus was heard as he walked back Mercury, Emerald and Cinder "You're nothing but scum to them, but they will listen to me." Adam looked over Vale, his mask hiding his eyes which were closed "If anybody is going to take out that kid, it's going to be me, because at his rate, if he continues the way he is, he will be stronger than me."
Later that night
(All this time you spent ditching class and now you're in one in the nighttime...)
(I'm not interested in sleeping, nor hearing from you, begone.)
Link took a deep breath and looked around his surroundings, he was in a lecture hall, sat down in the front row, staring off into the empty space, darkness, experiencing loneliness despite the fact that it's what he wanted
"You know, you have a comfy bed in your dorm." A loud knock was heard on the door that was almost completely closed as Ruby walked into the lecture hall, carefully 'closing' the door behind her and taking her time going down the steps to reach the front row, where she sat right next to Link
"Why are you here? If anyone needs a comfy bed right now it is you." Link said without looking at her
"Hey I remember that look, when we first met, you refused to acknowledge me, Yang and Weiss."
"You're dodging my question."
"As are you." Ruby took no time to think of her response as she raised her hand pointed right at Link's forehead before flicking it
"Ow." Link shrugged as he rubbed his forehead "Alright then, me first, how did you do it?"
"Do what?" Ruby asked
"Survive. You had no aura and took a shot directly to the chest, it's a miracle that the bullet didn't pierce through your back."
"You'll be the first I tell." Ruby looked up at the ceiling
"Really?" Link raised an eyebrow "Nobody asked you how?"
"I never answered them." Ruby nods "I survived...because of you."
"Huh? What do you mean because of me?"
"I'll show you." Ruby pulled up her sleeve on her left arm and showed Link "I noticed this during our fight, when you took Weiss' energy, you leave this on them." Ruby pointed directly to her forearm, where a small and faded triforce is visible.
"How did she notice?"
"If you're wondering how or when I noticed, when Weiss was in her pajama's, I could her part of her back, and noticed it just barely, though by the time it was morning, it was gone."
"She's right..." Link nodded "The mark disappears in about 12 hours or so."
"But I didn't even..." Link stopped himself and though carefully "I've never experienced my cloak of protective energy kicking in on instinct, it's only when I focus and channel all my energy together"
"I took a chance." Ruby said with full confidence "I didn't just push you out of the way to protect you...well I mean, I did but um..." Ruby chuckled
"Your intentions were to protect me." Link nods "I know that, but you knew I'd try to stay on my feet by grabbing onto you."
"Yeah, you're always trying to be the hero so I just kinda knew you'd want to stay up and keep fighting." Ruby smiled "If I tell anyone else this, they'll call me a fool."
"How come?" Link asked
"Well, I didn't know if your energy would kick in even if you didn't focus and charge it up yourself, so in reality I could've taken a bullet with no protection and surely died." Ruby laughed "That does sound like me though, so it is fitting."
"So that's how I passed out." Link closes his eyes as a weak smile appears on his face
"Hm?" Ruby looked at Link
"I knew my aura was depleted if not near depletion, but I wasn't at the point where I'd pass out. The reason I passed out was because the last bit of energy I had was transitioned into...you. It was nothing like what I used to protect Blake or the time we confronted that woman, it was weaker and not even visible, but that's why the bullet didn't go through your chest and out your back, the little bit put into you stopped the bullet from completely puncturing your body...or any major organs, I hope."
"Yeah that's pretty much it." Ruby nods childishly "I can safely say..." Ruby hovers her hand over where the hole should have been "I could feel it inches away from my heart, that's something that sticks with you...forever."
"Aren't you just glad it's all over now?" Link asked as he lied back and kicked his feet up on the furniture.
"Yup." Ruby nods again "What a semester it has been huh?"
"Quite eventful indeed."
Awkward silence...
"You were afraid I'd get hurt because of you." Link speaks up
"What do you man?" Ruby looked over at him
"That's why you broke 'this' thing between us off before it became serious, you were afraid I'd get hurt because of you..."
"How did you..." Ruby closes her eyes and shakes her head
"When in fact the opposite happened, you got hurt because of me. I was trying to prove that you could trust me and what do I do? Almost get you killed, some friend I am."
"Stop blaming yourself!" Ruby snapped "I chose to jump in and help you when you were already hurt and tired! I chose to take that last hit for you! So stop blaming yourself, I made the choice to protect a friend."
"Fair enough." Link nods with approval "So...are you going to tell your team that Ironwood did it?"
"They still think it was a powerful Grimm." Ruby shook her head "When they were on me I was already 'patched up' so they didn't see the wound, all they saw was the blood. I don't plan on telling them yet, the last thing I want to do is stress them out, especially Yang and Weiss."
"One almost lost her sister while the other one is from Atlas herself, I doubt Weiss would even believe you."
"Exactly." Ruby sighs "So for now, they can just stick with the powerful Grimm story, I won't change it yet."
"You should head back, your team will worry."
"Sure thing." Ruby nods and sits up "But...now it's my turn, tell me Link, why did you run away after you found out I was OK?"
"Just as I was about to sit up to get up to leave, Ruby had to ask that question" Link sighs
"I was overcome with emotion, I blamed myself for your presumed death, and truth be told, I was ready to leave...but I knew running away would fix nothing, Grimm and crime won't follow me out of Vale, it's here to say and it's our job to get rid of it."
"Hmm...I like that answer." Ruby gives a thumbs up, but right as they were about to leave, the could hear both doors slam open
"Who is in here?!" Professor Port shouts
"S-shit!" Link grabbed Ruby and fell back, hiding them both from Port's vision
"Hmm..." Port shook his head "I must be hearing things again."
"Again?" Both Ruby and Link mumble
Port walks around the entrance portion, reassuring he heard nothing until finally leaving and slamming the doors completely shut.
"Well that was easy." Ruby chuckled
"Yeah, sure was." Link sighed with relief
"Whoa..." Ruby softly spoke when realizing she and Link were practically in each other arms
"Hey." Link sarcastically winked
"Oh boy here we go again."
"You act as if you hate it." Link smirks
"No it's not that, I just hate contradicting myself." Ruby shrugs
"Well, number one, just admitted to liking it, so ha! Number two, you don't have to contradict yourself ya know."
"Alright then I won't!" Ruby shouts
"Cool, fine by me!" Link shouts back, the both turn their heads away as if they were children at the playground arguing over who gets to ride the swing.
It only took about half a minute before Link and Ruby broke their silence, but not with words, just like Yang said to Ruby at the dance, "Let him know how you feel, and if you can't in words, do it in another way." she tried taking action yet again, but it was Link who had to guide her to the end of the tunnel, though unlike at the dance, this time, the end of the tunnel did not showcase or promise for a kiss, but instead Link's hand popped up into a fist
"You are the worst." Ruby chuckles and bumps her first with Link
"Yes I am." Link smiles
"So does this mean that..." Ruby sighed and turned away, she knew the damage was done already and it could take a while to repair it
"Probably not." Link shook his head
"Ok." Ruby nodded
"Is it one for the future?" Link asked
"Maybe..." Ruby turned her head and blushed "Mom would love him if she were still...but Dad, not so much."
"We should go before Ozpin comes to check this place himself." Link let go of Ruby as she did the same
"I heard you're entering the tournament, that's pretty cool."
"Who told you that?"
"Professor Ozpin, he and I had a talk...about what happened earlier today."
"Got it." Link nods "Yeah I am."
"Awesome!" Ruby cheers "If we get matched up, team RWBY will be ready! We won't overlook you like we did the first time."
"I look forward to that...if it happens." Link nods as they got up and walked out of the lecture hall
Link walked Ruby to her dorm, where Weiss was immediately waiting for her, she knew Ruby sneaked out to go see Link, but she wasn't angry, at this moment all Weiss wanted to do is keep her leader and friend safe from any future harm. Link was forced to say his goodbyes quickly as Weiss took Ruby inside within a minute, leaving Link all alone again, he walked to his dorm quietly and slowly
(So...NOW what's the plan?)
(Same one as before, I need to stop Cinder before she and whoever she has at her disposal destroy Beacon)
(Lame. You went from fighting for a girl to now rejecting that same girl)
(Didn't I say I had no interest in listening to you? Go away.)
Link shrugs as he enters his dorm, shuts the door behind him and immediately goes to bed, not even taking his weapons off him.
(Yo, this chapter was supposed to go up yesterday and was much shorter, but after some revising and editing, it went from 4k words to 6k words xD)
(Edited on 8/7/2022)