Continent of Anima: Forest Behind Kuroyuri
Despite how gray and lifeless the current atmosphere is, the moon shining brightly and calming sounds of a flowing river make for a peaceful environment, which is being enjoyed to the fullest by two friends who only recently reunited after many months. It has been ten straight minutes since Link revealed his voice for the first time since they last saw each other at Beacon, on top of the tower. Despite this, he and Ruby remain in their hugging state, the only major difference being the former leaning into the huntress for comfort, while the latter holds the huntsman tightly, it all feels like a dream. Minor differences occur when Link initially feels that Ruby is losing grip on their special hug, he applies slight pressure to her lower back. And vice versa, when it is Ruby's turn to feel Link's grip on her let up, the silver eyed girl pressed on his shoulder with her crying face, that are now tears of happiness and relief. For this reason, is it difficult for one of them to pull back and break the ice of this new positive silence that has consumed them. However, one of them decides to take matters into their own hands
"R-ru…" Link exhales nervously, but knows that if anyone will be open to hearing him right now and standing by his side, it would be her. "Hello Ruby."
"You…" Ruby picks her head up and smiles whilst gazing into what are still his cold and lifeless eyes. "I have never wanted to hear my name being called out more than ever before until this very moment."
"That's really nice." Link weakly smiles and tightens his grip around Ruby's back more. "And I have really missed you."
"Oh really?" She sarcastically snorts. "It didn't appear that way earlier when I was bawling my eyes out."
"B-be quiet!" Link sighs in embarrassment and rests his forehead on the top of her head. "I was just really angry. I… needed to cool off. That is all it was, I'm really sorry."
"You were angry?" Ruby's happiness sadly moves to the backburner as she moves her head back and remains looking into her friend's eyes. "Why were you angry? Was it what Jaune said?"
"What he said did get on my nerves, yes. But it's not only Jaune." Link looks away and mumbles quietly, "I'm always angry, Ruby. When you think I'm being the old me or hundred percent nice and affectionate like we were yesterday then yes, I am that… but deep down I am still angry." The boy's time for hiding his feelings is over, especially now that he has regained his voice. "When I get very angry, that's how I act, at least when I couldn't speak before."
"Okay, I think I understand." Ruby's eyes and complete attention follow him when his face drops. "But, there has to be some explanation as to why you're so angry, right? Like earlier, if it wasn't Jaune, was it me?"
"N-no! Of course not." He shakes his head. "With all these secrets being held with a bitten tongue or hidden on purpose, it's really time to be open with you about everything. As I should've been at Beacon so here goes. I am not angry at you anymore, I was when everything transpired at Beacon the way it did, but you're the only person who wasn't on my side that I forgave. It didn't take long for me to forgive you and tell myself that the next time we see each other, it will be a positive interaction."
"Wow…" Ruby smiles in jubilation, knowing her friend did not hold a grudge against her all this time makes her feel better about herself on the inside. "What about everyone else? Where do you stand with them?"
"It may not be fair to the rest of our friends and it's awkward considering we're traveling with three of them, but me choosing to forgive you and only you is my decision. If anyone thinks it's unfair then… I don't really care."
"Y-you... don't care?" Ruby gasps. "You don't mean that, r-right?"
Silence
…
…
…
The silence is finally broken, but in the saddest way possible for Ruby when Link is the one to let go of the grip around Ruby's waist and fall back, sitting on the ground backside first and returning to staring at the flowing river with a blank look in his eyes and a deadpan expression
"Link?" Ruby asks, with a worried expression on her face, the huntress sits next to Link and leans her head on his shoulder. "Maybe if you talk it out with them, we can work on repair-!"
"I don't think so, Ruby." Link shakes his head, "Do you understand that Pyrrha…" His sentence comes to a brief halt when he says the name of his deceased friend, "PYRRHA! Team SLVR, who were practically strangers compared to you guys, and Weiss, my former e-enemy." The previously silent huntsman stops again, this time to turn away and hide a faint blush. "Weiss, my former enemy, we disliked each other for a long time and all that we had in common was the mutual respect we had as warriors for one another. We became close friends in the span of a few days due to the fact that nearly all of you didn't believe me! Even you Ruby. You're forgiven but the pain you caused me is still there."
"W-what do you mean?" Ruby whimpers quietly
"I never hurt you, but you hurt me!" Link snaps
The last four words out of the blonde huntsman's mouth send them both into a state of silence, with shock being the added emotion for Ruby. In the span of ten seconds, neither of them know what to say next, Ruby doesn't know whether to move on to another topic, Link doesn't know whether to break the ice again and continue, or maybe they should both stay quiet; the silence carries on for only a few more seconds before Ruby snaps the tension
"Y-you screamed at me, Link." Ruby cowers away slightly
"Oh… crap, I'm sorry." Link sighs and messes with Ruby's hair playfully. "I'm really sorry about that. I didn't mean to yell at you, all of this is still fresh on my mind as you can see. To get back on topic, people like Blake, Yang, Jaune, Nora, Ren, Coco, Velvet, Yatsuhashi, Fox, Sun, and Neptune. These were all people I trusted with secrets and stories I never even told someone like Professor Ozpin who always had an open door for any of his students. I ate meals with them, trained to improve myself and them, laughed, cried, appreciated and loved them but when times got tough and some serious accusations came my way, none of them gave me the benefit of the doubt."
"Why do I get a pass then?" Ruby says with a puzzle expression. "I didn't do well by you just like everyone else, was it my kindness to you recently? Or my pleas from earlier?"
"I appreciate your constant sweet nature and your plea was very good. You are literally the reason I have my voice right now Ruby. But no, that's not why you 'get a pass' like you suggested." Link chuckles. "Why do you get a pass? Because I really care about you, I vow not to let anything happen to you either. Just because you wronged me doesn't mean I will hold onto that hatred forever, as you just heard. You mean a lot to me Ruby, you always have since the moment I met you at that crummy club in Vale. You're my best friend and if I can't stay mad at anybody forever, that privilege definitely goes to you... and it's not even close."
"That is an acceptable answer, young man." Ruby jokingly says while she twists an invisible mustache on her upper lip. "Sorry if this question is dumb, but when you say 'I vow not to let anything happen to you', what do you mean by that? Like with that Tyrian guy?"
"Well." Link smiles as he must admit to certain behavior he's been exhibiting. "I cannot give you a specific answer because I really don't know. When I found you a couple of weeks ago defeating that giant rock monster grimm along with Jaune, Nora and Ren. Something felt… off? I know you can protect yourself. And I know those three will put their lives on the line to protect you. Not to discredit any of you, it's just… everything within me felt strongly towards defending you, Ruby."
"Is that why you've been so protective over me? With Tyrian I understand because he was really weird and wanted to hurt me. By the way, you looked so awesome kicking that guy's butt!" Ruby closes a hand and in a cheery way, swings her fist in the air. "But you were also ready to protect me against Ren or Jaune, despite knowing they would never harm me. Why?"
"First of all, thank you for the praise. I wasn't going to let Tyrian take you anywhere and I wish I didn't let him get away either. Regarding your question, I have lost too many important people in my life, Ruby." Link's smile fades away in seconds, "In fact, WE have lost too many people, important or not. I am not fully aware of what exactly is going on but I have the same mission as you guys. To stop Cinder and whoever this 'your grace' is, I believe her name is Salem? I know we can stop all of them and I know we will get revenge for taking loved ones from us. But I don't want anybody to get hurt or die in the process, Pyrrha…" He balls up his fists angrily. "Pyrrha was the last straw, it cannot happen anymore."
The sad, broken, hate filled huntsman exhales slowly and releases his closed fists. He turns to Ruby with furrowed brows and what appears to be a smirk, which combines to shape into a determinant look on his face
"As for you Ruby. You are more than just 'people' and we want to prevent as many deaths as possible, yes. But it's my personal mission to make sure nothing or nobody harms you ever again." Link nods his head. "There's no vague wording or double meaning behind what I'm saying either. I will protect you with everything I can give because you are very special to me and I will be damned if anything happens to you under my watch."
"Wow." Ruby smiles brightly. "Normally I would counter and say I can defend myself, but for the sake of no invalidating how you feel... that really means a lot, Link. I had a feeling that's how you felt but hearing it from you hits me so differently. It warms my heart how much you care."
"Mhm." The boy agrees with her words, "That geist and Tyrian were only the beginning. Even that village Shion… I know you guys were headed there. I went ahead to make sure the path was clear but-!" Link grunts. "Bandits attacked it, followed by grimm. I tried my best to-!"
"That was YOU?! Thank you for reminding me!" Ruby extends her hand and gently pokes Link's nose. "BOOP!"
"I'm not a pet." Link chuckles at the booping gesture
"I know, you're just so fun to mess with." Ruby giggles. "You have some questions to answer my friend. I did just interrupt your story but what you were able to say correlates with my questions."
"Yes, that sounds about right." Link nods slowly. "What's your first question?"
"Where did you go? After you woke up. My dad and uncle Qrow said you just left, without even saying a word to anybody." She scowls. "Annnd! Why did you leave? I would've loved to have you with me while we waited, recovered, and then started our journey to Mistral."
"I decided to simply leave with nowhere to go really." The boy shakes his head. "My decision to leave was something I had to do. It was selfish, but a piece of me died alongside Pyrrha that day and everything just felt cold, it STILL feels cold. Additionally, the only person I was relieved to see was you, at least you were safe. Your dad, Yang, seeing them felt almost like nothing. After I managed to get off Patch, I decided to travel on foot… somewhere I never thought I'd step foot in again, Garanda."
"O-oh." Ruby's eyes well up. "Why did you go back there? Was Ray on your mind constantly?"
"Her along with her entire village, Amber too and Pyrrha." Link gazes at the ground sadly but contains his emotions well. "I couldn't exactly go to where Amber and Pyrrha died to honor them, otherwise I'd be in a never ending battle against the grimm that keep flowing into Beacon. So I went to the one place I knew nobody would touch after all this time."
"How um…" Ruby awkwardly proceeds, hoping her words don't trigger her troubled friend. "Was it? Did you feel any closure seeing Ray again? Whenever I see mom, it feels nice but-!"
"Not fulfilling, like you can vent and say whatever you want, but not hearing back from them hurts." Link finishes the sentences and receives a nod from the team RNJR leader. "Yeah, I understand the feeling. However, I can't say I understand completely, the happiness I felt did not last long before the anger and sadness consumed me."
"I'm so sorry Link." Ruby places a hand on his knee for comfort
"I had no motivation to fight for a long time after I left your home." Link initially mumbles. "But now I'm out for vengeance. I don't know who killed Ray as their face was under a helmet but we know exactly who killed Amber and Pyrrha. The way I see things now, closure will only be obtained when I take care of the people who murdered Ray, Amber, and Pyrrha. Although Yang is still alive, her life along with Blake's has been tortured by Adam Taurus, his name can get thrown in that revenge list too."
"W-what?" Ruby's eyes widen. "You really mean that, don't you?"
"Absolutely. I've only ever had to kill to survive and that was me fighting back when someone tried to kill me. But this is different now. I'm looking to kill people." Link nods his head firmly, "But I won't give them the dignity of referring to them as people. Cinder might be a human and Adam a faunus, both they're actually monsters pretending to be gods in their own worlds, and they need to be stopped… permanently!" He clears his throat and shakes his head. "Sorry, I need to keep my voice down, any other questions?"
"I don't normally condone going out of your way to kill someone but, the people you named are really bad people." Ruby nervously rubs her arm, "How long have you been in Anima? When did you find us? Why didn't you join us sooner?! J-jus-!" She grabs her arm tightly to shake the nerves. "Just explain all of that to me, please."
"Absolutely." Link shifts and turns his entire body to the right in order to completely face Ruby. "I'm not really sure how long I've been in Anima to be completely honest with you, so long enough. I found you guys the day you battled that pile of rocks controlled by a grimm. You even almost found me first. When you four were inspecting my dust knife that killed the grimm."
"SHUT UP!" Ruby gasps loudly and quickly turns to face Link. "You are the worst! How dare you not reveal yourself then!"
"Hahaha! I wasn't done!" Link roars in laughter at Ruby's outburst. "The answer is a little more sad. I didn't have the courage or guts to come out of hiding and face you guys. Not to say I was scared, but I felt nothing. I was satisfied with following you guys until you got to Mistral and from there? No clue how I was going to continue hiding my identity then. Then somebody got herself targeted by a dangerous psychopath."
"That's not my fault!" Ruby growls, but not at her friend. "Keep talking please, what you're saying is really interesting."
"Basically from what I gathered. Qrow was traveling behind you guys and wiping at the grimm sneaking up on you. On the opposite end, I was traveling ahead of you guys, taking out grimm you would have come across eventually... and a couple of bandits too."
"How did you know about uncle Qrow traveling behind us?" Ruby asks with a puzzled expression
(Does she not know about Qrow turning into a bird?) Link says to himself before thinking of a quick excuse. "Just a theory of mine, I'm probably overthinking it. But the grimm AND bandits bring me to the next talking point. Shion… I was traveling far ahead of you guys strategically to really cover ground and make sure the next village and bits of forest were safe. The forest was okay, but the village was already ransacked by the time I arrived. What I made of the situation was this: bandits raided the village, the people fought back, but ultimately the bandits won, all the chaos and blood shedding drew in the grimm. The only innocent people left or person in this case was that young guy and he looked like he had no time either. I sure got some bandits back for him, it's the least I could do."
"You fought bandits?" Ruby points a finger at Link's cheek. "How many did you beat up?"
"Only a few." Link chuckles. "But that was enough to draw attention from their leader. She sure was something, if I was anybody else I would've frozen up and likely died. Her presence was… commanding and almost scary."
"What did she look like?!" Ruby blurts out loudly
The leader of team RNJR gasps and squeals in excitement as both of her hands move to her face and touch her cheeks. The girl showing she is clearly awe stricken and dying to know more
"Black hair, a red and black top, a black skirt underneath, thigh high boots. A massive sword on her left hip, and quite tall as well, taller than me." Link narrows his eyes and looks directly into Ruby's. "She also wore a mask, but it wasn't a typical flat mask like mine or a white fang mask either. It was as if she had the head of a grimm over her own. That's what her mask looked like, a grimm's head. We were poised to fight but when even more grimm arrived, she and the rest of her... Um, clan? Group? However they are called, all took off whi-!."
"While you fought off as many of the grimm as you could, like a complete badass?!" Ruby leans closer and their faces are inches apart
"Precisely." Link nods. "I went though Higanbana too but that village is probably the most passive and safe village in all of Anima so I moved on and then you know how the rest of the story goes from there. I passed Oniyuri, took out some grimm lingering on the path after Oniyuri and continued walking but something didn't feel right."
"Why's that?" Ruby backs away to rub her chin dramatically, then it hits her like a ton of bricks. "Ohhhhhh, yeah I remember now."
"Heh." Link rolls his eyes. "The deepest pit in my stomach was twisting, my heart, and mind were telling me to go back because there was something in that village I missed. Sure enough, it was Tyrian. For that reason alone, I will say I'm so sorry for not traveling with you guys from the start. The five of us would've defeated him no problem. Especially with your uncle in the picture, he would not have gotten away either. I would've saved you the harm and Qrow from the injury. It's all my fau-!"
"No!" Ruby wags the index finger on her right hand, "You are not going to blame yourself for what happened. Uncle Qrow knows what he's signing up for every time he accepted a mission from Professor Ozpin. Following us and making sure we got to Mistral safely is a self assigned mission and we're going to make it to Mistral with him. Plus… you were cool when you fought that Tyrian guy. I can still picture the entire in my head. Ahhh!" She screams in delight
"Ruby please." Link blushes in embarrassment. "I wasn't that 'cool' trust me."
"Stop it!" Ruby shakes her head rapidly. "As a spectator, it was like a movie. When all hope seems lost, the hero nobody expected to ever show up, SHOWS UP! He totally saves the day, and reunites with his old friends. I just have one thing to say in response to everything you said as a whole."
"Yeah? What's up?" Link asks and turns his head in confusion
Ruby Rose leans closer and in an awkward but firm and loving embrace, she wraps her arms around Link's waist and pulls him in as close as she can. She hugs tightly and occasionally pats the huntsman's back slowly, which reveals to him that the girl's hands and entire body are shaking, but he doesn't know if its fear or nerves
"Thank you for everything you've done for me." Ruby smiles as he eyes well up again, "Watching me and my team's backs all these weeks, protecting and fighting for me against someone as dangerous as Tyrian; even all the grimm you've taken out for us. Thank you for staying, then joining us and lastly, for coming back to me; your honesty and openness always drives me to the brink of tears." She speaks gratefully and radiates nervous energy. "I'm so happy that you're back. I miss all of my friends from Beacon but the people I really miss the most are you, Yang, Weiss, and Blake. Now I've reunited with you."
"Wow Ruby." Link smiles and returns the hug with a soft embrace. "Those words were beautiful."
The two friends remain in their hugging position, just like when they first discovered Link's voice returning for the first time in months. What's different this time is Ruby hugging more tightly and with the more dominant hug position, whilst Link simply returns the favor and gently embraces her
"Link." Ruby sighs and gradually lets go of her tight grip. "I think we should go back, we have been out here for… I don't even know how long."
"Not long enough, I could stay here all night with you." Link tightens his hold on Ruby and proceeds to get up, lifting himself and the huntress to their feet. "But I suppose you are correct, let's go."
"Yes." She smiles chipperly and it takes no longer five seconds of silence for the happy girl to ask another question. "SO! What was that about you and Weiss becoming close friends?"
"Oh no, why did I open my big mouth?" Link snickers and turns his head to the side to hide the growing smile on his face. "Yes, we became close friends, bonded really fast, she even stayed over one night. It was really nice and I truly enjoyed the amount of time I got with her."
"So this next question should be easy to answer." Ruby nudges his arm with her elbow. "Do you like her?"
"We were getting close so it was definitely a missed opportunity." He slowly nods, acknowledging what could have been. "The day Beacon was taken over by grimm, the White Fang, and Cinder, I told Weiss I would see her later that night or tomorrow morning so we could spend time together, just her and I."
"Aw." Ruby groans in an irritated way, "That's just the worst. Now with her all the way in Atlas, there's no telling when we'll see her again, more like when her father loosens up and lets her travel." She gasps and elbows Link harder. "You didn't answer the question!"
"I was hoping you wouldn't catch on with my rambling either." Link turns to face Ruby when his smile dies down slightly, "Yes, I was starting to develop feelings for Weiss with each passing day. Her companionship, loyalty, care for me, her eyes, smile…" He trails off but doesn't realize Ruby gushing right next to him
"Awww!" She laughs. "That's so adorable and now it makes me even more sad that we aren't at Beacon anymore. Yang, Blake and I would have NEVER let Weiss live this down!"
"Yes I would have liked to see that too. The banter between you four was always amazing." He chuckles. "But that's all for nothing now. Getting to Atlas isn't in the plans right now. It's going to be hard for you guys to get there and it's impossible for me to enter. It's best to not think of that for a while."
"B-but-!"
"Please Ruby." Link shakes his head. "I'm through with getting my hopes up just to be disappointed, it could be months, a year, or multiple years before we see Weiss again."
"Fine, I'll drop it if I get another question." Ruby raises an eyebrow
"You would have gotten another question for free, silly girl." Link nods in agreement
"This one might be tougher to answer so bare with me here." Ruby sighs. "It's about earlier, after I said everything, some time passed, then you spoke again miraculously. How do you think you managed to speak again?"
Link turns his head to warmly smile at Ruby, he might not have exact answers as to how 'how' he regained the ability to speak again. But what the huntsman does have is great ideas regarding who helped him get there and how. And with that, he begins to explain what happened on both occasions today when he went into one of his many states of shock. Where he froze up entirely and saw a vision of a scene he has witnessed too many times: Cinder killing Pyrrha. Except this time it was the help of Ruby and Weiss that helped erase those thoughts from his head with their calming and angelic voices. Following, is the second vision in the magical world he has seen only once previously, in a dream. This time of course, he was not alone and Ruby was there with him. She did her absolute best to reach out, grab him, and never let go, succeeding in her desperate attempts. The second she touches Link's hand in the vision, he came back to reality and felt as if lightning coursed throughout his body, in a poetic 'wake up' moment
"Oh. my-!" Ruby blinks rapidly, trying her best to process all the new information she has been fed. "I feel honored that you think I helped you regain your voice. I can't believe you went through all that, only today too."
The two friends re-enter Kuroyuri and now must find where Jaune and Qrow are in hopes of getting some rest in a house, building or anywhere that is better than sleeping out in the open
"Before we reach Jaune, can I ask one more question?"
"Of course." Link nods
"How often do you see…" Ruby gulps as she does not want to say the name of their fallen friend. "H-how-!"
"Everyday." Link answers somberly as even he knows that is not the complete answer. "And by that, I mean every single day, multiple times per day. I even see Pyrrha as a ghost sometimes, along with Ray and Amber. They feel so real… as if they were still around. Perhaps-!"
"It's because they're right here." Ruby walks in front of Link, turns, walks backwards and jabs an index finger into his chest, pointing at his heart. "Your memories of them and love for them will always be in your heart. Nobody will ever take that from you, Link."
"That's a nice way to think about it." Link pokes Ruby's forehead gently
He spots a building that has a fire building inside of it, although it is a small and controlled blaze, the fire tells him that it's Jaune's doing. Link grabs Ruby by the shoulders and turns her around to see the building with her own eyes
"Wow. He really found somewhere and started the fire. That's pretty good don't you-!"
"It's okay." Link interrupts Ruby and does not acknowledge Jaune's efforts
"Race you there?" Ruby naively glosses over the rudeness and gets in a sprinters stance
"For old times sake, sure."
Link nods as he also gets in a stance and the two friends take off immediately. While initially neck and neck and despite Link having gotten faster and stronger during their time apart, Ruby pulls away, even without the usage of her semblance; proving to be the faster one after all this time
Kuroyuri: Destroyed Bakery
BOOM!
The doors flings open and Ruby plunges into the building, having rammed the door open shoulder first, she looks around and takes in what used to be a beautiful bakery with colorful cakes, pies, cupcakes and cutely shaped bread. Now it is all run down and partially destroyed as there is a hole in the ceiling. Link enters shortly after and grunts as he loses the race, having thought his speed immensely improved
"WHAT THE-!" Jaune jumps and grabs his sword, but sighs in relief when he sees Ruby. "Don't do that! You almost scared me to death!"
"Ahahahahaha!" Ruby laughs at Jaune's shaky legs. "Come on Jaune, no grimm would use a door!"
"I guess that's true." Jaune sighs and drops back down to a seated position like he was previously
"How's my uncle Qrow?" Ruby asks, hoping for a positive change
"About the same. When he's out he looks dead. Then he wakes up and speaks deliriously, it's a cycle I've gotten used to and it hasn't even been a full day." The former leader of team JNPR says with a sad tone as he watches the fire and monitors it closely
"Well, thank you for keeping an eye on him anyway, it means a lot." Ruby smiles. "So! What made you choose this place? If it rains tonight we are going to be soaked."
"While that is true, I chose this place for a reason. It's the most stable building, has the least damage that is closest to the entrance of the village." Jaune speaks with an imposing tone, having clearly made the decision without asking anybody for feedback
"Sounds good to me!" Ruby runs over and falls to her knees in front of Qrow, who was placed behind a glass counter for extra cover. "C'mon uncle Qrow, just a bit more and we'll be in Mistral before we know it."
"..." Link says nothing and simply shuts the door, then walks over to Ruby to remain close to her
"Hey Ruby." Jaune begins but his eyes remain on the fire. "Since only you can communicate with Link, can you ask him if he can watch the fire while I or both you and I catch some rest."
"He's not deaf Jaune. You can ask him yourself." Ruby snorts and holds back a giggle. "And he's the one running on the least amount of sleep, if anyone deserves some rest-!"
"I know he's gotten no rest but… if he's made it clear that he's not going to sleep, then he may as well help us." Jaune shrugs. "And I know he's not deaf but I've tried speaking to him before, get no answer. Coincidentally as soon as you talk to him, he's suddenly back and gives you a response."
An audible sigh emerges from Link's mouth, the sound of the expression is powerful enough to travel throughout the entire building. The angrier blonde, blue eyed huntsman turn his heads to face the other blonde and blue eyed huntsman focused on keeping the fire small
"Link…" Ruby whispers low enough to exclude her words from reaching Jaune's ears. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to."
"..." Link nods at Ruby, closes his eyes, reaches for his belt, grabs Pyrrha's circlet, and holds onto it with a tight grip as he prepares to speak. "I can understand you perfectly fine, Jaune."
"Wait… w-what?!" Jaune's head snaps and his eyes dart towards Link, "Y-you can-!" He gasps, still not fully grasping what is happening. "You can talk again?!"
"That's right." Link looks away, eyes now focusing on the ground. "And no, I wasn't mute to act 'cool' so you can put that thought to rest."
"Grr." Jaune balls up his hands. "How did you do it then? Or did it just magically come back with no explanation?"
"Yes." Link replies sarcastically
"Then it's time for you to answer my questions, now that you can speak." Jaune turns and stares daggers at Link. "Why did you just follow us for weeks without joining us outright? Qrow gave his answer about misfortune. But what about you, Link?"
"We're going there already?" Link responds coldly. "I told Ruby why and answered her questions. You can ask her about our conversation, if she wants to tell you then that is her decision, I will respect what she decides to reveal or not. Otherwise, I have no interest in talking to you, Nora, or Ren."
"B-but we're your friends!" Jaune shouts
"Are you?" Link mumbles and at last looks up and meets Jaune's dagger eyed stare with a calm glare. "I can tell you're lying, you hate me… don't you? You wish I didn't come back."
"Stop it!" Ruby slaps Link's arm but gets no reaction. "That's not true, right Jaune?"
"It's not that simple." Jaune shakes his head. "You are my friend and you helped me a lot during our time at Beacon, but I do have hatred for you. I don't know about the last part of your sentence. I think I'm happy to have the extra hands, power, and what you bring to the table as a huntsman. Everything about you as a warrior is incredible, but you as a person is another story."
"ME as a person?!" Link growls and his tight grip on Pyrrha's circlet increases. "That coming from you is very ironic. You were there when I 'attacked' you, isn't that right? You felt the 'impact' of my strike? Come on Jaune. You know-!"
"I can see why you went mute. And I'm surprised you came back." Jaune continues to stare. "If I were you, I wouldn't want to show my face or talk to anybody from Beacon ever again. Especially after what you did."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Link promptly removes the circlet from his belt and holds it in his lap
"If you knew about that vile woman Cinder, with Mercury, and Emerald…" Jaune's eyes move to see what Link is holding, but he doesn't quite see what it is. "Why didn't you say that when you told us about your past? Why did you only speak up about Emerald when it was time to free yourself from guilt?"
"What guilt? You and Pyrrha were fine. You needed a couple of days of rest, Pyrrha recovered in no time. I said what I said because it was the truth and I was fully aware of Emerald's semblance." Link fidgets with the accessory, "Why didn't I say it during my story? My story was more about me, I didn't want to go into detail about Adam, Cinder, even allies like Carter, any of them. It was about me and the people I lost: Ray, Morgan, Liam, Hiroku, everyone from that village!"
Link lets out a loud grunt as he raises his hand and it becomes apparent to Ruby and Jaune what he has in his hands, one of the few items from Pyrrha Nikos that survived the fall of Beacon. Ruby gasps, Jaune gets angrier, and Link gently squeezes the circlet
"Why didn't I tell anyone what I knew during the Vytal Festival? I don't know. I acknowledge that I'm not perfect and I made plenty of mistakes. That is one of them, you and Ruby heard it here first, I was wrong and I'm sorry. You were all getting along with Emerald so well, particularly team RWBY, and assumed I had to bite my tongue about her because she was a 'new friend' to everyone. Mercury kept to himself and just fought, and Cinder remained the most stealthy of them all. I am sorry for not speaking up sooner about those three and how dangerous they really were."
"Sorry doesn't undo all the damage you did, it doesn't bring back Beacon or all of the people who died during the big battle, including Professor Ozpin, Penny, or Pyrrha!" Jaune shouts. "If you just spoke up sooner, Beacon, along with Vale, wouldn't be in ruins right now. We would all be in class right now, not on a journey to stop the people who destroyed our school and killed our loved ones."
"Just spit it out already." Link raises the circlet to his face and sighs. "What's your true message? What are you implying?"
"It's all your fault!" Jaune begins. "Beacon falling, Vale getting destroyed, Penny, Professor Ozpin, other students, soldiers, and innocent people! They all died! And last but not least, Pyrrha! You're the reason she di-!"
SMACK!
Link is on the verge of slamming his fist into the glass display counter inside the bakery, but at the very last second, the angry boy opens his hand and only strikes the side of the counter with his palm. He is seething with anger and ready to unleash all of the pent of anger within him. Especially over someone he already has tension with, who just stated it was his fault Pyrrha was killed
"If you aren't done, now you are!" Link puts Pyrrha's circlet back on his belt and resists the urge to lash out with physical violence. "Pyrrha was an incredible girl, an amazing person, and a truly incredible warrior. She thought she could help Beacon by taking on Cinder herself, I'm not blaming her at all, she has all my love and respect. You were with her before she fought Cinder, weren't you?"
"Even if he was…" Ruby whispers. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Listen carefully Ruby. It's time to question Jaune now." Link crosses his arms. "What happened before Cinder obtained her maiden powers. You went to the vault with Pyrrha, didn't you?"
"W-what?!" Jaune's eyes widened. "How did you know about the vault?"
"I've never been there but… After talking to Pyrrha, she let some details slip that helped me piece where Amber was and when I tried to access the vault, then I got redirected to Ozpin's office. That's where Professor Ozpin, Qrow, Glynda, Ironwood, and I ALL spoke." Link narrows his eyes as he stands up. "You think I didn't tell them? Or at least tried to before that idiot Ironwood cut me off. I talked… Now it's your turn, Jaune. Tell me what happened in the vault."
"I want to hear this too." Ruby stands up and walks over to be next to Link
"You Link, are only hearing this because Ruby said she wanted to hear. We went down to the vault, I questioned what it was, Pyrrha answered, I asked if she's been here before and why Beacon even needs a vault. I got no answer but that's when I saw that machine, and that girl Amber, she was completely unconscious. Professor Ozpin told Pyrrha to get to the pods and me to stand guard if I wanted to help. I did just that, despite not knowing what was going on. The next thing I knew, Pyrrha was screaming, I turned around to see what was wrong with her. Then Cinder arrived and killed that poor girl with a bow and arrow shot to the chest. After that, Professor Ozpin told Pyrrha and I to go look for Glynda, Ironwood, Qrow, and to bring them back to the school because 'the tower cannot fall'. We left after that… and that's it."
"Oh no..." Ruby looks down at the floor and rubs her arm nervously. "That's terrible."
"Alright then." Link smirks, he emanates a sudden surge of confidence, "You want to assign blame Jaune? You want to say Pyrrha dying is MY FAULT?!" The smirk vanishes off the boy's face. "Why didn't you stand guard and stop that arrow from killing Amber? You had one job, to make sure nothing happened to Amber or Pyrrha and you allowed yourself to get distracted and somebody died because of it. You can stop an arrow, Jaune. So why didn't you?"
"Why you-!" Jaune stands up last, he and Link are now staring each other down. "You tricked me! You little-!"
"I'm not done!"
Link steps forward when suddenly, he is grabbed by the left arm courtesy of Ruby. She tugs his arm back at first, then tries to pull him back with a pleading look in her eyes. Despite having the strength to drag her along, Link remains in his current position, having only taken one step forward
"You brought up what I did wrong which is completely fair. I could have done things better at Beacon and I should have, but I didn't. I own my mistakes and accept responsibility, but what about your mistakes?" Link struggles to lifts his arm due to Ruby grabbing it, but when successful, he points a finger at Jaune. "I tried telling everyone who would hear me out, some of you didn't even give me that chance. Was it late to mention new things for the first time 'conveniently' after I was accused of attacking someone? Yes. That wasn't a good look for me, but I have nothing to gain from lying to you guys. When it was time to listen to me and cast judgment, a majority of my friends chose not to believe me. Although, you had no problem believing Yang, despite the similarities in our situations... Isn't that right?"
"Yeah." Jaune sighs. "Is this really the time to bring up what happened during the tourna-!"
"Not. Done!" Link shouts. "You can say I didn't speak soon enough all you want. When I actually tried to speak, nobody listened except for Weiss, Skylar, her team, and Pyrrha. Then guess what? I was labeled a liar, sick monster, and a murderer when you guys didn't even die or come out of that fight with life threatening injuries! My friends turned their backs on me and the public tore my reputation to shreds. Jaune, you can believe what you want and act delusional as if all of this is really my fault, but this is the truth... Pyrrha wanted to fight Cinder because she wasn't afraid, and thought it was best for Beacon, Vale and all of us."
"Don't you dare talk for her!" Jaune's sight moves down to Link's belt, specifically eyeing Pyrrha's circlet that she wore proudly on her head every day. "Where did you get that? Ruby... I thought Qrow gave you all of Pyrrha's remaining items."
"He did but, L-link…" Ruby tears up. "Link picked that up after Cinder… you know."
"Wait a second." Jaune turns to face Ruby in disbelief. "He was on top of the tower too? Why didn't you tell me?! Nora? Or even Ren? I thought you were the only one up there who saw it?!"
"I tried to tell you Jaune!" Ruby cries out. "When I brought up Link after you told me to stop wearing my mask, you and Nora didn't want to hear about him!"
"Come on now!" Jaune aggressively says. "How was I supposed to know you were going to tell-!"
"Be quiet and don't raise your voice at Ruby!" Link takes another step forward and his tone immediately silences both Jaune and Ruby. "You thought I went mute for fun? That's hilarious, Jaune. No! I witnessed yet another death of a very close friend, up close and personal too. This was after Cinder tossed me aside like I was a pile of trash! Do you know how horrible that felt?! To try and save Pyrrha when I'm only a few feet away from her, but ultimately be able to do nothing about it except watch? It's an experience I wouldn't want anybody to go through, especially not you. I know how much she meant to you, and…"
The room goes quiet momentarily as the monster that screeched earlier releases the same cry again. This time, all three warriors place hands on their weapons as the sound is much closer than before, although it is extremely difficult to gauge how close it truly is
"I know what you're going to say next." Link lets go of the grasp on his sword. "The same thing you, Nora, and Ren discussed the previous night. You want me to give you her most beautiful accessory, likely for you isn't that right?. The answer is still no."
"Pyrrha meant everything to me." Jaune sighs, as suddenly he drops his toughness and anger. "To have items from her still remaining is a miracle. It was more shocking in a relieving way to see you with it if anything. Please, I'm not going to ask much from you Link but it would really mean the world to me if you let me-!"
"I already said no twice and one of those instances was verbally." Link shakes his head
"Link…" Ruby pulls on his arm. "Please calm down, this isn't you."
"Truth be told, I don't know who I am anymore, Ruby." Link closes his eyes as he still faces Jaune, "Pyrrha meant everything to me too. You loved her, yes. But so did I." The boy reaches for his belt and pats the circlet, which sits ominously next to Ray's canteen, "This is all I have left of her and I just can't let you have it. You might think melting her weapons and combining them with your armor and weapons is a 'cute' way to honor her." He says sarcastically before opening his eyes. "But I think it's disrespectful."
"What did you just s-say?!" Jaune anger skyrockets and his voice even breaks at the end
"You think I didn't notice your upgraded gear, Jaune?" Link's eyebrows are furrowed and despite speaking such disrespectful words, the huntsman does not show any hesitation. "You had no right to do that."
"Stop it!" Ruby pleads with Link by pulling on his arm harder. "Pyrrha wouldn't approve of you saying these things. We all came together: Me, Nora, Jaune, and Ren and we decided it would be a good way to honor Pyrrha. And it was also to help Jaune in the long run as it would always keep her close to him in spirit and become a part of Jaune's development as a huntsman."
"Group effort or not." Link wags his head slowly. "We hang onto memories and special items someone left behind, not melt them and use them for our own selfish desire."
"GRAHH!" Jaune roars and marches over to Link and Ruby. "How dare you call me selfish?! You didn't love and care for her the way I did!"
"Don't come any closer unless you're ready for a fight." Link remains calm, composed, and cold as he raises his right arm and lifts his hand, signaling Jaune to stay back. "You want to honor Pyrrha? We fight and take down the people who took her from us. That's how we don't let her death go in vain."
"In that case, since you have it alll figured out. You're right Link, I didn't want you to come back." Jaune shakes angrily and it does not help that his foe is still calm. "You changed. In a horrible, despicable way!"
"That may be so." Link scoffs at the insulting words. "At least I'm not a liar. I can say that I tried my best and my hardest. When everything happened the way it did, no punches were pulled and my voice was prominent, but people chose not to listen. With that being said, did you try your best Jaune?"
"L-link." Ruby mumbles. "I told you both the time for this conversation was when we made it to Mistral, not here. We have to get to Mistral and get my Uncle Qrow help."
"Believe me Ruby, I wanted to stick to that idea. I really did, but if Jaune wanted all of this to come out now, then so be it. Did you try your hardest Jaune?"
"Of course I did." Jaune nods. "I fought so many grimm at the school, I tried my best to prevent Pyrrha from fighting that woman but-!"
"Then we have very different perceptions of trying our best. Were you driving your sword through an elevator shaft while dodging scraps of metal crashing down at high speeds? No, but I will tell you and Ruby what was going on while I was doing that."
Link reaches for his belt and opens the brown pouch with all of his projectiles, smoke bombs, a 'new' item being a metal baton and Ray's pendant. The real new item that he pulls out looks to be a scroll given to them at Beacon. However, when the boy tosses it to Jaune and the latter opens it…
"Why do you have Pyrrha's scroll?" Jaune catches it immediately puts it away in his back pocket
"You can keep that." Link exhales deeply as he continues, "I was going to give it to you when we got to Mistral but now's as 'good' a time as any. I picked it up before entering the tower. So let me say this again, while I was fighting my way to the top of the tower in hopes of backing up or saving Pyrrha…" He narrows his eyes once again. "You were crying and sending voicemails."
Jaune's hand remains on his sword and shield, with the angrier and less composed blonde unsheathing his sword and holding it with both hands. But something is preventing him from attacking. Perhaps it's Link's words, his attitude or body language, but something tells Jaune to not attack the person insulting him
"I'm not here to fight you Jaune." Link shakes his head. "I know we were friends at one point, but right now… I don't see you the same way I used to, especially after you blamed me for everything! I should kill you now for even putting me in the same sentence as the cause of Pyrrha's death!"
"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean by not seeing you the same way." Jaune frowns. "And I have the right to blame you and say it was your fau-!"
"Shut up!" Link cuts him off by raising his voice. "I wasn't done yet. What I said applies to so many of my beacon 'friends' and classmates who are scattered around the world now. Although, you sure put yourself in a great position for people I should hate be-!"
"That's enough!" Ruby lets go of Link's arm and takes matters into her own hands by stepping in between them, "I'm glad to hear you aren't going to fight but we still need to be united ALL OF US and-!" She gasps and her eyes widen. "NORA?! REN?"
Ruby points at the shattered window of the Kuroyuri bakery, both Jaune and Link switch their sights and the three of them see Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren running through the destroyed village, frantically looking around and clearly trying to find them
"What are we waiting for?" Jaune asks. "They could be in trouble!"
"R-right!" Ruby nods
"And Qrow?" Link points to the unconscious man behind the counter. "Do we bring him out with us or leave him here?"
"Did you clear out the building, Jaune?" Ruby turns to him, then slaps on his chest rapidly and lightly
"Of course." Jaune says confidently. "Qrow is in no danger if we leave him there for a few minutes."
"You did something right, good job."
Link says as he rushes to open the door, allowing Ruby to go first, then purposely cutting in and exiting awkwardly as Jaune had intended to leave next. The three of them quickly meet Ren and Nora by the big dead cherry blossom tree previously used to keep Qrow seated upright. Ren and and Nora turn when they hear the footsteps approaching them, with the former smiling when seeing his friends alive and healthy
"What are you guys doing here?" Ruby throws her arms out in confusion
"W-wa-!" Link stops to compose himself, he feels plenty of nerves and rising anger talking to Ren and Nora. "W-was the path up the mountains too dangerous?"
"Link!" Ren says in shock. "You can speak?"
"Welcome back to the talking world!" Nora smiles
"Nevermind that." Jaune grunts. "Did you hear that noise? From a monster, we heard it twice! What was that?!"
(...what on earth is that thing?) Link does not alert anybody with words but he does point behind Nora and Ren, everyone turns to see what he is pointing at
Smoke and literal dust from freshly destroyed buildings hides the appearance of is in the village with them. Soon enough however, the mystery of the giant prints on the ground heading up to Kuroyuri has been solved. It's a grimm but not just a regular creature. This one is much bigger and dangerous, with forelegs shaped like claws and its hindlegs shaped like hooves that left those hoofprints behind. Notable features are an exposed ribcage and a white bony unnatural mouth with glowing eyes. This creature also has an uneven body fused with the horse. This main body is slumped over, but despite no head being seen for now, two other features are visible. First, two long thin arms, each with two large sharp claws. The second, is sharp bony spikes along its spine and a variety of weapons buried deep into the creature. Slowly, the body rises, revealing a head with long curved horns on its head that reach as far up to be level with a long javelin stuck in its spine, and a mouth that looks sewn shut. The creature's mouth opens, revealing its only being 'held' together by thin strips of flesh. This, along with its bones and eyes all glow red. The monstrously big grimm known as a Nuckelavee is seen further into the village, it twitches violently and lets out an ear piercing roar!
GRRRAWRRR!
Ren is the first to grab his bladed machine guns StormFlower, Nora follows with her mallet Magnhild, Ruby with her scythe-sniper rifle Crescent Rose, Jaune with his upgraded sword and shield Crocea Mors, and lastly Link with his unnamed sword and shield, the five of them are ready to fight despite the initial shock of the grimm's entrance
(It doesn't see us yet.) Link says to himself confidently. (Maybe we can come up with a quick strategy or-!)
"AAAHHH!" Jaune charges forward brashly with his sword and shield risen
"No! Stop!" Link reaches for him but when Ren, Nora, and Ruby follow suit with their weapons in hand, forcing him into action. "Damn it!"
The five huntsmen and huntresses sprint further into the village and initiate the attack on the Nuckelavee, a foe much more formidable than the geist controlling rocks and boulders a few weeks back, maybe even greater than Tyrian. The creature of grimm's head snaps at the group of five and immediately attacks with a long ranged attack: both of its extremely long arms extend even further and strike with 'open palm' strikes
"Gah!"
"Gruh!"
"Oooh!"
"Ahh!"
The four warriors who make up team RNJR are sent flying in a particular order: Jaune, Ruby, Ren, and Nora. They are all sent perfectly back to the same tree the five former Beacon students reconvened at moments before. Ruby lands back first on the concrete, with Jaune following shortly after. The two warriors both rise to one knee and witness Ren and Nora arriving seconds later. Ren manages to touch the ground with one hand, performing a fluid back handspring and corkscrew twisting mid air to land on both feet, eventually lowering himself down to one knee willingly. Nora on the other hand lands the most brutally, she lands on her back at first but the impact and speed of the landing make her flip over and land stomach first
"Where's Link?!" Ruby looks around
Ren points at the Nuckelavee with both arms stretched and hands completely pushing back with all their force. Link is holding his own in this initial struggle, with his right leg extended backwards and left knee bent forwards, both hands on his shield, and he's shaking vigorously, his shield blocking the palm strikes with sheer force
"Rahhhh!" Link's voice having just come back has plenty of anger and energy to release; his scream echoes throughout the entire village
"We gotta help him!" Nora springs up to her feet. "He won't hold on forever."
Right as the bubbly huntress says that, both of the Nuckelavee's hands stop trying to send Link flying with a straight forward strike, the four long claws hook over Link's shield to grab it and essentially him. The massive grimm swings its arm and launches Link back to team RNJR but rather than being sent low, he's flying in the air. With his free left hand, Link reaches for his belt and grabs the hookshot next to his pouch of projectiles and fires it immediately at the dead tree. A loud pierce is heard as the blade of the hookshot stabs into a tree branch. Link whips in place, but soon finds himself above team RNJR
"You okay?!" Ruby shouts
"I'll live." Link, with the tap of a button retracts his hookshot and drops down to the ground feet first
"Spread out!" Jaune rises to his feet, "If we're all in the same place it has the capabilities to wipe us all out with one attack." He nods and looks around for responses
"Let's do it!" Nora sprints away as she begins to fire pink colorful grenade blasts at the Nuckelavee, luring it to her so that everyone else can split up
Everyone spreads out except Link, who puts his shield away and reaches for the metal baton in his brown pouch, with the tap of a button multiple times, the baton extends and transforms into his bow, switches to its crossbow state, and then its final form, a semi automatic rifle. He takes a few steps back and begins firing shots at the body and head of the fused body with the seemingly elastic arms. The Nuckelavee turns its attention to Link and one of its arms stretches towards him. Only for the grimm to be shot by Ruby from behind. Despite this attempt to frustrate this horse-ghoul hybrid creature, it focuses both arms on Ruby now
"Damn it, it may not have a soul but it sure has a brain!" Link continues to fire at the grimm's head and body, but his bullets seemingly do no damage despite connecting
"Gyah!"
Ruby lets out a battle cry, jumping over a palm strike from the swing of one arm, rolling through her jump and launching herself in the air with a shot from crescent rose. The silver eyed girl has enough elevation to get a perfect shot at its head, but the same arm she just dodged comes back around and grabs the girl, then slams her to the ground!
"RUBY!" Link shouts and fires as fast as he can at the arm holding her down
Horrific timing occurs when Ruby is held to the ground, right as Link's shots catch the attention of the Nuckelavee. It's Nora, who happens to be right next to Ruby and in the middle of sprinting. The girl who benefits from electricity fires more grenade blasts at the Nuckelavee, only to get punched by the two clawed hand and driven further away. The grimm's punch transitions into a grab as it holds Nora down too
"Over here!" Ren uncharacteristically shouts as he sprints in a circle and fires Stormflower at the horse's body
The Nuckelavee lets go of both Ruby and Nora, then turns around when it senses the bullets from Ren. It uses both free hands to grab both of Ren's and prevent more shots, wrapping completely around both of the bladed machine guns and up to Ren's forearms
"Guys!" Jaune shouts as he has been unable to attack due to only having a short range weapon, "Keep moving, go in a circle!" He turns to Link and clears his throat. "Your strength is with your sword, let's see more of that!"
(So you want us to spread out but now you want me to get inside, almost like you want me to take damage from this thing for your own benefit.) Link growls and promptly disassembles his rifle. (I might be playing right into his hand but if he thinks I'm going to get hurt or let anything happen to Ruby, guess again!)
Nora fires more grenades at the Nuckelavee to make it let go of Ren. When the grimm attacks Nora, she runs in a circle like Jaune calls out. Next is Ruby, who fires at the monster's back with crescent rose and the same sequence occurs. When it's time to turn around and attack Ruby, it's Ren who fires to the back of the Nuckelavee. This cycle carries on until Jaune gets the first clean melee attack when his sword slashes through the horse's right hindleg… for no significant damage to be done. The Nuckelavee uses its left hindleg to kick Jaune in the face with its hoof, the blonde flies back and lands near Ruby
"You okay?" Ruby helps him up to his feet
"Y-yeah, thanks." Jaune catches his breath for a moment before he puts his sword back in its sheath
"What are you doing?"
"I think you know." Jaune smirks and unclips the shield that also acts like a sheath from his belt
The former team JNPR leader holds the combined weapon in front of him. He squeezes on the handle of Crocea Mors and suddenly the shield changes and morphs into thick side blades. Ruby smiles in approval and fires more shots as Jaune runs in. He takes advantage of Ruby's distraction and immediately lands another successful slash on the same right hindleg
GRAWRRR!
The horse body of the Nuckelavee screeches out in pain and gets away from Jaune by shuffling until it's directly in the middle of team RNJR, who surround it and get ready to attack in the same way that's been successful thus far. Before they can initiate however, the fused torso and head rise up completely straight, the head cocks to the side as if it 'eyes' Jaune. Following this, it extends both arms and swings them around like a mary go round carnival ride, the rotary attack swings rapidly and connects with Jaune first, then Ren, Nora, and Ruby in that order. As it continues to spin in a rapid circle, there's still one huntsman on his feet who was not caught in the attack…
"Get up everybody!" Link sprints forward and jumps on one of the spinning arms, despite the velocity making it impossible to stand let alone run on something going this speed, the huntsman accelerates up the arm and in no time he jumps on the body of the horse, stands face to face with the fused body of the Nuckelavee
"What is he doing?!" Jaune shouts. "That's not what I had in mind when I said to use his sword more."
Link concentrates as he raises his sword in the air, after a few moments, the blade itself briefly glows in the huntsman's signature golden aura for a second. The creature of grimm roars in anger at the unwanted person on one of its bodies. Both of the Nuckelavee's arms race to grab, slash, launch, and ultimately kill the huntsman. The left arm plunges down but the razor sharp claws are blocked by a shield and a boy with a sturdy stance; The right arm of the monster follows suit…
(Now they can see what I've picked up during my time away.) Link says to himself as he smirks
The huntsman swings his sword and what follows is a powerful and thick wave shaped like a crescent moon, which also spins furiously as it travels. It shoots out of Link's sword and makes direct contact with the Nuckelavee's right arm, slamming it away. The blocking and deflecting of both arms leaves the body and head open for a strike
"GET IT NOW LINK!" Ruby chants as she gets up to both knees and watches carefully
Link uses Ruby's voice as an extra surge of confidence as he begins his direct with with a vertical slash that connects with the Nuckelavee's neck and cuts down all the way to it's stomach, followed by a horizontal slash, cutting the Nuckelavee from the bottom of where it's fused with the horse body and trails upwards across the chest of the torso with the human like shaped head, and is ended with a direct jab to the chest, a starting combination seen from Link many times. This time however, Link displays tremendous hand and arm speed as his singular jab turns into a series of rapid jabs that change angles diagonally, upwards and downwards, with straight forward jabs mixed in. One sword jab! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven! Eight! Nine! Ten! Eleven! Twelve! Thirteen! and finally a fourteenth jab! Each one pierces and stabs the grimm in different angles and directions. The creature appears to be weakened, but it's arms return to the picture after their momentarily isolation
"Damn!" Link retreats promptly by backflipping off of the monster and lands in between Jaune and Ruby
And it was at a perfect time to leave as the Nuckelavee's arms both swing furiously at the same time, its hands clasped together on the spot Link was previously standing and the sharp claws grind together too, had Link stayed… he would have been minced meat
"When and where did you pick up that kind of agility?" Ruby gets up her her feet and nudges Link's midsection with her elbow
"Oh you know, running off for many months." Link sarcastically responds. "I trained a lot during that time and rather than hacking apart trees or bushes, there was plenty of grimm to use."
The Nuckelavee lets out another horrific screech from the pain that makes Jaune, Link, and Ruby cover their ears in pure instinct. Ren, seeing that Link has done some serious damage, runs up the cherry blossom tree for high ground and fires from one of the branches. His bullets only aggravate the Nuckelavee, who swings one of his arms at the tree. Ren attempts to jump out of the way, but the huntsman is caught and immediately slammed against a tall building's wall; he is firmly held there as the hand digs into the wall. The grimm's free arm bends and it's claws grind against each other, letting the rest of RNJR and Link how it's going to attack and likely finish off the trapped Ren
"RUBY!" Nora shouts and nods as she runs at her
The lack of coordination is no issue however, Ruby gets into an attacking stance and spins for momentum. Nora jumps onto the scythe and Ruby fires a bullet to make her and Nora spin faster in the process, the bullet provides a major assist as they spin rapidly. With a mighty swing, Ruby sends Nora soaring in the sky, in time for her to prevent the Nuckelavee's second hand from killing Ren. The second claw is about to make contact, but Nora gets in the way and blocks the attack. Luckily, only her mallet Magnhild takes the brunt of the attack, which is also now into the wall of the same building; the only difference is Nora being higher up than Ren
"What do we do?" Ruby whispers. "We can't just leave them up there."
"No, of course not." Jaune strategizes carefully, eyeing Link and then Ruby. "Okay. Link you're with me, we're going to attack its le-!"
"Yeah its legs. I don't want to hear your voice anymore than I need to!" Link calls out. "Ruby! You keep your distance and keep blasting this thing. If anyone's gun is going to do any significant damage, it's your sniper rifle."
"You got it!" Ruby nods
"I was going to say-!" Jaune groans and hesitantly nods. "Alright, let's do this!"
The Nuckelavee twitches and jerks its left arm, flinging Magnhild and consequently Nora up in the air a short period before she is slammed into the ground, the impact of the collision is enough to 'break' her Aura and reduce it significantly. Ren retaliates by slashing at the wrist of the hand holding him to the wall with his bladed machine guns. He follows by stabbing them into the grimm's hand and firing repeatedly at the arm. At the same time, Jaune and Link are rushing to the hindlegs of the grimm's horse body. Link reaches the left leg first and slashes his sword through it, Jaune arrives seconds later and does the same move, a dashing slash to the right leg. It roars, but the attacks do not cause the grimm to eventually release Ren, its the huntsman himself who flashes his physical strength when he digs the bladed machine guns further into the skin of the grimm and uses the leverage to shove the hand off of him. He lands brutally on his back but quickly bounces up his feet and runs in, firing bullets and slashing at its arms twice. Unfortunately, the Nuckelavee easily disposes of him and knocks him back with punch to the face; Ren is on his back again and appears to be down
"Ren, don't worry about that thing right now! We can't beat it alone!" Jaune calls out to him
"Go check on Nora she might be hurt!" Ruby cups her hands and shouts louder than Jaune
"Grrr!" Ren does not relent when he stands up, with a bloodthirsty look in his eyes and runs in yet again with a full sprint
"REN! Knock it off!" Jaune screams
"He can't." Link shakes his head. "You aren't blind are you?"
"What do you mean?" Jaune turns at the sound of his voice
"I know that look in his eyes. This is personal, he wants revenge." Link narrows his eyes on the grimm and the next way to attack
The Nuckelavee grabs Ren, swings him around, and slams him on the ground, causing him to lose his grip on his machine guns. But that's not it as next, it picks Ren up and swings him over its head, raising him high in the air before slamming the huntsman to the ground. The normally calm and wise boy lands next to Nora, his aura also breaks and depletes as he collapses next to her. Both of the injured friends stand up at the same time, with one worried about the safety of her friend, while the other only cares for revenge. The front left leg of the Nuckelavee kicks off the ground, indicating it's about to take off and charge at them. Ren looks at it and gets in a neutral stance, waiting for the beast to come at him. Regardless of her friend being ready to fight, Nora takes matters into her own hands and tackles him out of harms way, the land under a familiar building to the two of them just as the monster is about to run at them
"Link!" Jaune shouts
"What?!" Link cups his ear sarcastically
"There's no leading this guy, what do I do?" The taller blonde shrugs and gives up on trying to properly lead his former friend, ultimately deciding to simplify the commands. "Do whatever you want to that thing, just work with me so we can keep it distracted, I'm going to attack the front!"
"Say less." Link nods
Jaune runs in front of the Nuckelavee, the monster rises entirely on its hindlegs and comes down with its forelegs to crash on top of Jaune! In spite of this attempt to squash the blonde, he withstands the attack by holding the combined sword and shield in front of him with both hands. Link on the other hand, with a big leap finds himself on top of the horse body again, this time behind the head and body of this bizarre monster
"C-come… on! I can't hold it forever!" Jaune lets out a cry of struggle
Link plants his feet as well as he can on this thing: right foot forward, left leg behind, torso twisted to the right, the huntsman's right arm grasps his shield behind him and left arm holds his sword across his body. But this time he can't afford to remain composed and take his time as Jaune is on limited time. The boy acts swiftly and unleashes a powerful spinning slash, rotates in place three times and slashes the Nuckelavee's back with every spin. The monster screeches in pain as Link's direct melee attacks to the fused body nearly detaches it from the horse, but its survival instincts kick in just in the nick of time. First, the forelegs crush through Jaune's defenses and knock him to the ground. Second, both of its arms turn to punch and claw the pesky huntsman on its back, who jumps off the horse's body with his shield raised, but the arms collide with the shield while he's mid air and the impact sends him crashing to the ground. The latter's aura also breaks, making it three out of five warriors with depleted auras
"Jaune! Link!" Ruby cries in worry but frowns and fires away with Crescent Rose
The huntress lets out a yelp as the monster extends one arm surges over to grab and attempts to snatch her. Ruby evades by firing bullets to launch herself in the air. She lands on a rooftop and continues to fire at it. Although this sequence does not last long either, when she has to jump out of the way again after a second attempt from the Nuckelavee to snatch her. The former even has to use her semblance 'Petal Burst' to get away, but rather than just get away, she makes a detour to grab Link and dash with him over to where Jaune is just now rising to his feet. Seconds later, Nora and Ren emerge, the girl has her mallet ready to swing, the boy next to her doesn't have his bladed machine guns but he does have a curved dagger in his hand
"Are you with us Link?" Jaune asks with a serious tone. "If not, you can always go to the bakery and check on Qrow. We can finish this thing off."
The secondary leader of team RNJR gets no response as Link is barely sitting up whilst the rest of them are already on their feed
"Ren." Ruby mumbles and smiles when she draws his attention. "I know how much this victory will mean to you, we're going to help you get there! Jaune and I can take care of its arms!"
"Perfect." Nora says with no sarcasm or smirk present for a change. "I'll take care of the horse."
"And I'll…" Ren squeezes on the handle of the dagger. "I will take care of the rest."
"Not without my help you're not…" Link gets up to his feet and marches forward, still hurting from the attack. "I didn't come all this way to be useless!"
"NO!" Jaune angrily shakes his head. "We already came up with a plan, you can't disrupt it by-!"
"Shut up Jaune!" Link turns back, the look in his cold dark blue eyes makes Ruby gasp. "I'm not going to disrupt your plan, I simply want to make your lives easier. Everyone except Ren, get in position, DO NOT ATTACK and as soon as I'm done, you take out the arms and the horse, understood?"
"W-what are you going to do?" Nora asks nervously
"Just get in position and be ready." Link turns to Ren. "As for you, just standby and be ready to chop this thing's head off!"
"..." Ren does not respond with words but does nod his head in approval
"How are Ruby and I supposed to get in position without getting attacked ourselves?" Jaune looks around
"Ren can do more than just standby in that case!" Nora elbows her close her against his arm
"Yes." Ren kneels down and hovers his hand over the ground. "I won't be able to hide two people for long without my full aura, you'll have to be fast."
"Spread out!"
Jaune's shout feels like a faded whisper as he and Ruby sprint away whilst Nora climbs up the same building she and Ren were slammed into earlier. Ren closes his eyes and touches the ground, within seconds, Jaune and Ruby's clothes, weapons, skin, and entire body shimmer with a desaturation effect as they are masked into the dark gloomy environment. The duo of Ruby and Jaune stop at opposites of the Nuckelavee's arms and are safely hidden before the monster notices them
(Time to put an end to this!) Link steps forward with absolutely no near, the Nuckelavee eyes him and him only
"Hurry up Link!" Jaune shouts as the desaturation effect around him begins to fade
"Trust him!" Ruby nods confidently and watches
The huntsman bends his knees forward and confidently grabs the handle of his sword as his eyes glow a bright golden color, a sight also not seen by team RNJR in quite some time. The small triforce engraved on the back of his left hand lights up, along with the intricate designs around his sheath, shield, sword, and lastly, parts of his clothes. The Nuckelavee screeches, which makes everyone except Link rush to cover their ears in pain, and in the process break's Ren's semblance from shielding Ruby and Jaune…
SLASH!
The powerful attack heard is followed by yet another…
GRAWRRR!
Link is on the opposite side of the Nuckelavee, leaning forward even more whilst his left arm is across his body and the blade of his sword is touching the ground. Black smoke and ooze is also flowing and dripping off his blade. The roar of the Nuckelavee, which normally comes from a place of anger, this time its a roar of agonizing pain as it drops to the ground on stumps, thoroughly unable to move. The huntsman's attack cut through not just one or two but all four of the horse legs, leaving the monster stuck in one place
"G-go! NOW!" Link signals to Jaune and Ruby with a thumbs up
The next sequence is too easy for team RNJR, it begins with Ruby shooting the trapped Nuckelavee, who takes the bait and slams one of its arms in Ruby's direction. The huntress avoids getting slammed to the ground by blasting herself in the air yet again, she spins in the air to maneuver herself in the right position, then comes crashing down hard, using shots from crescent rose to give herself more speed. Ruby plunges down, using the tip of her scythe to pin the arm into the ground. Next up is Jaune who cautiously gets closer to the monster, he gets some assistance from Ren, who throws his dagger perfectly into the Nuckelavee. Its attention turns to Jaune and the other arm attacks him the same way it tried to attack Ruby. The blonde huntsman backs away from the strike, releases the sheath from his sword so that it's only the exposed blade and stabs the other arm
"NORA!" Ren shouts
From the roof, Nora is waiting patiently with her back turned, and as soon as she hears the voice of her closest friend, the girl smiles and drops down. Freefalling casually, she fires a shot from Magnhild for more speed, spins, and smashes her mallet into the horse's head, killing the bottom half of the monster. Restrained and on the brink of death, the Nuckelavee roars continue but they do not faze anybody anymore. Ren walks up to it and takes his dagger back, he stands before it with pure anger in his eyes; the monster roars into Ren's face, but nothing comes of it
"For my mother." Ren says to himself as he cuts off the Nuckelavee's left arm, "For my father." He effortlessly cuts off its right arm, "For everyone you have slain." He closes his eyes and slashes the already butchered torso caused by Link and definitively separates it from the dead horse body
(Finish it off Ren…) Link watches with satisfaction
"For myself!" Ren opens his eyes and swings the dagger with all his might, beheading the grimm in the process; the screeching comes to an immediate halt
The Nuckelavee dies promptly and disintegrates into a massive cloud of black smoke as if somebody were burning down an entire building. Ren drops the dagger and lets out a sigh of relief. He is then tackled by a giggling Nora who knocks him down and hugs him
"Link!" Ruby sprints behind them and runs by Link. "Come with me!"
"Don't have to ask me twice." Link nods, lightly jogs and gladly follows Ruby as he recovers from exerting so much energy
The two friends run back to the bakery, which was not too far from where the battle took place, luckily for them nobody ran or got launched in the direction of the building. Ruby blasts the door with a shot from crescent rose and a few seconds later, Link is behind her as they enter together, what they see next makes the two friends jubilant. It's Qrow and he's on his feet, with major help from the display case, which he uses to keep himself up
"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby hops over the counter and gently hugs her uncle
"It's quiet." Qrow chuckles, "Good job, kiddo." His eyes move to Link. "Thank you for helping my niece, and don't worry I won't have a heart attack when you speak. I know you regained your voice, heard you earlier arguing with the other kid. Good to have you back."
"Thank you." Link weakly smiles. "We should head back and get going, you want us to carry you?"
"I appreciate the offer but I'd rather suffer with just Ruby helping me than to be humiliated by having two kids carry me." Qrow chuckles
"Uncle Qrow…" Ruby snickers. "We've been carrying you this entire time."
"You know what I mean." Qrow weakly messes up her hair
"Over here! There's three of them!"
Link grabs his sword and shield, then turns around, twirling the sword effortlessly in his left hand, the new voice startles all three of them but the blonde huntsman is ready to defend them and re-enter battle if needed. He exits the bakery and confronts a handful of men in brown uniforms with air tanks, gas masks, and no present weapons; however, they do have medical supplies in the forms of a real stretcher and first aid kits
"Who are you guys?!" Link pushes forward and forces the unknown men to take a step back
"Whoa whoa, we're from Mistral! A girl with orange hair pointed us in this direction and another blonde kid said to look for a bakery."
"Oh, you're not here to hurt us?" Link hesitantly puts his shield away but holds onto his sword. "Any funny business or lies and-!"
"Kid. We're being serious."
Link nods and sheaths his sword as the men head inside, place Qrow on a real stretcher and ease him out of the bakery door. Ruby comes out last and walks side by side with Link as they follow the men in brown back to the dead cherry blossom tree. What they see next is two massive wooden and metal ships that are much bigger than any Vale ships, even bigger than Atlas ships; including General Ironwood's personal ship
"Awesomeee!" Ruby cheers
Ren and Nora board one ship with a group of men, while Link, Ruby, and Jaune board the other ship, the men carrying Qrow place him in the same ship as the latter group of huntsmen and huntress. The ships rapidly rise in the air and then underwhelmingly move steadily in the air in a slow manner. Regardless, this way of traveling is more ideal than walking, with Qrow's injury getting worse
"How did you find us out here?" Jaune asks to the first man confronted at the bakery
"You kids are the reason really. We were on patrol and saw the smoke. Everyone looked at each other and we know that nobody's been out here for years, so we thought something had to be wrong."
"What if we don't make it in time?" Ruby says, she is crouched on both of her knees by Qrow
"We're going to make it." Link says whilst sitting next to Ruby, shuts his eyes, and puts an assuring hand on her shoulder
"That's right." Jaune chuckles and points. "Look."
Ruby looks up and sees the beautiful city of Mistral before her own eyes, Jaune smiles, Qrow even turns his head, and with squinting eyes he lets out a painful chuckle
"We made it, Uncle Qrow." Ruby tears up as she grabs Qrow's hand without fear of potential poisoning
The two ships fly side by side, on the second ship are the childhood friends Nora and Ren, who sit on the edge, their legs dangling over the ship. They sit very close together, with Ren putting his hand over Nora's, and the girl responds by scooting closer and resting her head on his shoulder. Back on the first ship, Jaune smiles as he admires the view and Ruby cries happily as she rests her head on top of her uncle's chest. Link keeps his eyes shut and breathes in the fresh spring air, something that feels much different than the air they have been breathing the past two days. For the first time since he spent a night with Weiss Schnee in his dorm many, many months ago, he feels some positivity as the two ships fly into the city. But the huntsman knows that this is only the beginning to a long journey ahead of them, where the goal is to stop the people causing all this chaos, havoc and destruction. Lastly, there's Link's personal goal, which is revenge for any friends who have ever been harmed along the way, especially fallen friends who are no longer with him
(Author's Note: Chapter's 8, 9, and 10 have been re-written and edited if anyone is interested in giving the story another look from the beginning. It's been a lot of fun to fix those early chapters because I know they need work and hopefully I'm making them so much better for you guys. Thank you for reading, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and look forward to more edits and re-writes of previous chapters while I write the next one.)