Beacon Academy: Dormitories Rooftop

"Let's go Jaune!"

Link supportively chants as he observes Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos spar on the rooftop, initially with a collision of swords. Although Jaune wins the test of strength, Pyrrha gets the upper hand when she repositions and shifts her body to the side, dragging her sword across Jaune's and making him stumble over with his own body weight and momentum

"You're very strong, Jaune." Pyrrha smirks and retreats towards the middle. "Show Link if you've been able to complete the homework he assigned you."

"Good one Pyrrha, I had completely forgotten about that." Link pulls at his own cringe and cringes

"Alright!" Jaune smiles and rushes forward, doing his absolutely best to copy the five moves Link performed on his days prior

Pyrrha smiles and holds her shield up with her left hand, her weapon Milo remains in its sword state as she brings it behind her shield to give her extra sturdiness. Jaune steps forward and slashes vertically, starting at his right ear, swinging powerfully and ending with the sword on the ground. The attack is blocked. Next is the upwards horizontal slash where his sword comes back from the ground and goes across his opponent's body, but Jaune rushes the sequence and immediately moves onto the third strike, a straightforward jab before the second attack is even finished. He sloppily drives his sword into Pyrrha's shield and nearly falls over

"Okay not bad, now let's see those power slashes!" Link nods approvingly

Jaune nods, raises his weapon Crocea Mors up his ear like a baseball bat, holding it with both hands. He steps forward and swings with full power, even managing to make Pyrrha take a couple of steps backward while generating a stream of air behind her from the power. The second strike is not as fluid however. Jaune attempts to follow up by stepping forward with his left leg, which he would then swing starting from a low position and raising the sword up to Pyrrha's chest with a one handed swing. But the struggling warriors steps forward too much and swings so fast and powerfully, his sword flies out of his hands

"Oh no!" Jaune reaches out but his sword is already falling off the building

"I got it!" Pyrrha's hand glows as the sword stops falling and slowly comes back up to the top of the building, falling gently in Jaune's arms

"Thanks Pyrrha." Jaune breathes out a sigh of relief

"Of course, we'll work on that some more another time, I like the progress you're making." She smiles, then turns back to witness first hand Link clapping. "Time for another quick lesson."

Pyrrha slashes low, she hits the bottom of Jaune's shield so the defensive weapon takes the brunt of her attack. Despite this, her rapid and powerful strike is more than enough to make the slightest contact with Jaune's legs, making for an effective sweep where the latter is on the ground and the former is giggling

"Always be ready to defend yourself at all times." She says sweetly

"Come on guys!" Jaune shrugs. "Both of you love to sweep my legs and drop me to the ground. Whether it's a weapon leg sweep or a standard leg sweep, you both find a way to make it happen, usually after I think we're already done, then we actually end our sparring with me on my butt."

"Fair enough, that is Pyrrha's move that she's been executing on you, I should find my own." Link smirks

"That's not what I meant m-!" Jaune snaps his fingers. "You were sarcastic, gotcha. Sorry, I'm just tired. Do you have feedback on how I did?"

"Yes. Maybe I shouldn't have said copy me move for move but for your first time trying it out in a real setting, that was pretty good. Hmmm adjustments and critique lets see…." Link rubs his chin and thinks carefully. "You did rush some of the attacks and didn't let them come to fruition, your footwork could use a small adjustment. I couldn't tell if you were going to trip over yourself at least twice. And of course hang onto your sword, dumbo."

"Very funny." Jaune rolls his eyes sarcastically

"Jokes aside." Pyrrha nods. "That is some fair assessment on your behalf, Link. Most huntsmen and huntresses usually cannot analyze fights so intricately, but you noticed the finest details."

"Thank you Pyrrha." Link smiles. "Although it helps when Jaune's mistakes are so easily noticeable, it makes me appear to be a better analyst than I actually am."

"H-hey!" Jaune turns away in embarrassment

"I'm just messing with you." Link's smile grows wider as he meets Pyrrha's eyes and the two of them exchange laughs. "Time to rest Jaune, you've earned it. I think I am going to stay up here and enjoy the scenery. I'd like it if you guys stayed to relax a bit, but if you want to call it a night we can."

"I'd like that very much." Pyrrha nods and looks at her team leader. "Jaune?"

"Yeah why not, we're always out here training and never simply look at the sky and the rest of the campus."

"Yeah it really is something." Link sits down with his legs crossed. "If you believe me, I used to think the school was small."

"Whaaat?!" Jaune looks over his shoulder in disbelief. "You have got to be kidding?"

"I must say, I do not believe you." Pyrrha shakes her head

"The truth has been spoken." Link chuckles loudly. "I've never been or seen a combat academy of this size, you could say I was definitely taken by surprise."

"Y-you've never been to a combat academy?" Jaune's jaw drops. "How are you so good then?!"

"Oh you know…" Link scratches his head nervously

"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to." Pyrrha smiles and places a hand on his knee

"It's okay, I can definitely tell you guys some of it for the time being. I fought to survive outside of the kingdoms, that's all. I've been fighting all my life." Link begins, (As much of my life that I can remember anyway.) He shrugs and shakes his head at his own thoughts. "It must be usual to come across students with no history at a combat academy, but I'm one of them. I feel privileged in a bad way sometimes, why did professor Ozpin make ME a one person team? I really don't think I'm that good, unless he-!"

"Sees so much potential in you." Pyrrha bows her head. "I've never heard of a one person team at a school like this, if that tells you anything."

"Oh it tells us plenty all right." Jaune stands up, walks over to Link, and dramatically crouches down to get in his face. "YOU CAN CAST MAGIC!"

Pyrrha and Link turn to each other and blink speedily before turning back to Jaune as they both burst out with an amused laughter

"That's a good one, Jaune. I wish." Link sincerely smiles. "I don't know why, maybe one day he will tell me. Rest assured you'll know why the second he tells me."

"Excellent." Pyrrha glances at the moon. "I'd like to know that very much."

"Yeah me too. I wouldn't call myself nosy but I bet everyone would like to know why." Jaune slowly gets up, and pats both Link and Pyrrha on the shoulders as he steps in between them carefully and heads for the door. "Sorry guys, I'm really tired right now, I should go lie down."

"Well in that case I will go with you." Pyrrha springs up to her feet and follows closely behind

"See you guys later, great training sessions as always." Link turns while seated and waves at the team JNPR members

"Byeee!" Jaune does not turn but does throw his hand up wave goodbye

"See you tomorrow in class Link. Have a wonderful night! Don't stay up too late!" Pyrrha calls out as she and Jaune are soon back inside the building

"Such a nice girl Pyrrha is." Link smiles, his heart feels warm and bubbly as he stares up at the shattered moon deep into the night

Some time passes before Link himself gets up and returns back inside, he strolls past the dorms of team RWBY and JNPR, carefully listening to see if anything is going on. Both dorms are quiet, giving Link the confidence and instilling the satisfaction he was looking for. The one man team eventually makes it into his dorm after a second sparring himself with Jaune, Pyrrha, and himself. Once he enters his dorm, which is comprised of a single bed, multiples shelves with books in ever space available, a desk with his own personal coffee machine, and a closet where he has his clothes which is mostly the same outfit: a green tunic, white pants and sleeves, boots, and a green hat. The exceptions are three school uniforms and a set of his regular clothes in black, stored all the way in the back of his closet. Link walks over to his desk and drops all his weapons on the piece of furniture promptly before walking over and plopping into his bed for a much needed night of sleep


The Next Day: Professor Port's Classroom

Professor Port's class went just like any other of his classes normally does. He talks and talks... and talks, mostly about himself and the tales of his time as a full fledged huntsman, where he was one of the best in his class alongside Professor Oobleck. Today's lecture initially started with specific descriptions and facts about the creature of grimm known as a beowolf, before it inevitably turned into Professor Port recalling a time he conquered not one, not two, but a whole pack of beowolves all on his own. Team RWBY is sitting in the second to top row of the classroom. Ruby is the end of the row, drawing instead of taking notes. Yang is barely awake with her elbow pressed on the table and the palm of her hand holding up her head by the chin. Blake is on her scroll looking at articles about robberies and if the White Fang is involved. Weiss is staring at a holographic clock from her scroll, there's exactly one minute left in the class but it's the longest minute ever. Link sits one seat apart from Weiss and below them is team JNPR, whom are all wide awake, with the exception of Nora

"Jaune?!" Link jumps when he sees Jaune right next to him all of a sudden. "What are you doing...? Class is almost done."

"Shhh, I'm gonna go sit by Weiss and ask her out on a date. Wish me luck." Jaune chuckles nervously

"Oh boy, good luck my friend. You are going to need it." Link shrugs

Luckily for Jaune, there is already an open seat in between Link and team RWBY as the former does not want to sit directly next to Weiss due to the events that happened at the docks. Despite Weiss and Blake reconciling, some irreparable damage has been done between her and Link, even though they also seemed friendly at the end of the day. The one person team shakes his head as he tries to snap back into reality and pay attention to the last words from his teacher's mouth, but all that comes from Professor Port is...

"Ya! blah! Yah! blah blah blah! Ya! blah! blah! blah!"

Link yawns and slowly plants his forehead on the desk. Despite there only being a minute remaining, he prepares for a nap, but then he overhears Jaune's attempts at flirting and asking Weiss out on the date

"So, Weiss, ya know... uh, I was thinking after this, maybe we could go grab a bite to eat?" Jaune turns to Professor Port for a second, then turns back around when the coast is clear, "And, ummm, I've got two tickets to that new Spruce Willis movie, if you wanna make the trip to Vale of course. I hear it's awesome though." He stops talking when his words have no impact on Weiss. "Aaaand maybe after that, we could study together? I mean, you're really smart and I'm, uh ya know, not the best at-!"

BEEP! BEEP!

"I'm up!" Link jumps up and sighs again when realizing it was just Weiss and her alarm, but that means class is over at last. "Can't say I hate it, my own alarms annoy me every day."

"And then I-!" Professor Port makes a tackling motion, as if he were towering over a monster, about to attack it, "Uh...timed that one wrong, I guess." He abruptly ends his story as students get up to leave his classroom. "Well, the stunning conclusion will have to wait... Until next time!"

"Good." Link stands up, yawns and fully stretches his arms, back, and pops his neck

"Weiss?" Jaune asks when the Schnee Dust Company heiress picks up her scroll and stands up. "Did you hear me?

"No, no, no, yes." Weiss answers all of his questions effortlessly and without even glancing in his direction

Jaune groans and faceplants into the desk, the rest of Team RWBY walks out of class behind Weiss, and Yang offers comfort and sarcasm in the form of ruffling Jaune's hair while she passes by

"One day. The ice queen is a tough nut to crack, only a crazy person can figure her out." She chuckles

"Hm?" Link turns to see Weiss walking past him now along with the rest of her team in tow, along with Jaune face planted on the desk. "Ouch. O for twenty Jaune."

"Hi Link!" Ruby waves and stays back to chat with her other blonde friend

"Hey Ruby." Link smiles and walks with team RWBY as they exit the classroom

"What have you been up to recently?"

"Oh just training with Jaune and Pyrrha. He's a fast learner if you can believe that. Other than that, attending classes and being bored like you guys." Link smiles

"Yeahhh we love to hear that." Ruby jumps in excitement. "For both actually."

"Sooo." Link nudges Ruby's arm. "Your turn to answer a question, what are you up to today?"

"T-today?!" Ruby looks around nervously. "N-nothing! We're just going to spend the rest of the day in our dorm studying!"

"Right... you're not a very convincing liar." Link chuckles. "Come on, you can tell me, what's up?"

"Okayyy but only because you're trustworthy." Ruby inhales, exhales, then opens her mouth. "We are going to-!"

"Come on ruby, we have to go, now!" Blake was in front of them which made both Link and Ruby jump

"B-but-!" Ruby whines as she is pulled away by her elbow, just as she finally get the opportunity to talk with Link one on one

"No buts, we have business to handle. Remember, team leader?" Yang chuckles

"I know." Ruby sighs. "Sorry Link, can we hang tomorrow?"

"We can spend time together whenever you'd like. Buuut..." Link asks while following both team RWBY and as Blake and Yang drag their leader. "What kind of business?"

"None that concerns you." Weiss turns around and snaps at him. "Team RWBY business only!"

"Lying to me won't make it any better. First Ruby, now you, you're all terrible liars" Link frowns and crosses his arms

(Ooooh, you gonna kill her...?)

(WHAT?! Are you crazy? She and I may not like each other but I would never consider killing her... psycho.) Link chuckles internally

"But Weiss..." Ruby starts. "Maybe some extra help would do us gr-!"

"We can't trust any non-team member with our plans and-!"

"Don't bother." Link shakes his head and completely shuts down Weiss' inevitable words of negativity. "If it involves you and your loud mouth, the plans better not be stealthy. Otherwise they will be ruined."

"WHAT?" Weiss gasps and stops to soon be face to face with Link

"You heard me." Link raises an eyebrow and walks up to Weiss, the two frenemies are only inches away from each other. "You can trust me, but you choose not to? Are you that hateful of someone like me?"

"I can assure you that I am not-!"

"Come on Weiss!" Yang laughs

Now the blonde powerhouse of team RWBY pulls Weiss away as Blake deals with Ruby, the four girls walk away. Link stops following them shortly after, respecting their wishes to do their business as a team and not forcing himself in between. He walks away and heads to the dormitories to get changed into his regular clothes which takes him about fifteen minutes due to his own self walking slow to enjoy the walk. A handful of minutes later, about ten minutes to be exact, he finds himself at the front of Beacon Academy, as soon as the doors shut behind him, the one person team breathes in the nice fresh air

"Yo Link." A familiar voice was heard, it's Sun Wukong who went out of his way to help Blake during her time of need

"Hey Sun." Link turns and waves. "How's it going? You guys didn't bring your uniforms?"

"Nah, I purposely left those back at Mistral. What's going on is us, we're on an infiltration mission."

"Really? Who are you spying on?" Link turns his head in confusion

"You'll see soon enough, maybe. Anyway, Link, you didn't get to officially meet him the last two times you were in the same room as him, the first time you, RWBY, and JNPR decided to have the most epic food fight we've ever seen. And the second time, we asked about you at the library, but you ran off to hang out with team CFVY. So finally, officially, this is my pal Neptune." Sun shoves Neptune in front of him to greet Link

"Hey." Link smiles at him and extends his hand

"What's up?" Neptune chuckles and shakes Link's hand but then instantly backs up. "So this is him right?"

"What do you mean by that?" Link's eyes dart around nervously

"Would I ever lie to you?" Sun turns to Neptune, who frowns. "Don't answer that. Yes this is THE one man team from Beacon and you should've seen him at the docks, he toyed around with white fang soldiers like they were absolute bums."

"I see." Neptune leans forwards to get a closer look at Link. "So if we draw him in the tournament, we're going to forfeit? R-right?"

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Link brings his hand up to put some space in between him and the blue haired boy, then wags his finger. "I'm really not as amazing as everyone claims I am."

"If you say so, I'll be the judge of those humble words." Neptune grins

"He's in too. Let's go Sun and friends!" Sun nods

"Sweet." Neptune grins before he shakes his head crazily. "Sun and friends?"

"That's right. I came up with the plan, you two are in. So sun and friends it is!"

"In?" Link asks. "What did I totally not agree to participate in?"

"RIGHT we still haven't told you." Sun smacks his own forehead. "Remember that night on the docks, when me and Blake were fighting that Torchwick guy?"

"Umm, yeah, what about that?" Link's eyes widen, the topic the Mistral student brings up now peaks his interest

"Well we kinda think team RWBY is gonna get some revenge on Torchwick, I know that they've got something planned, because I have my ways of bothering Blake until she spills something. Now Neptune and I want in on those plans."

"And how exactly are we going to make it in on their plans without them saying no to us?" Link asks. "We do need four yes' and Weiss is kind of an automatic no."

"Simple." Neptune speaks up "We won't take no for an answer."

"Well that's a plan." Link shakes his head. "If we were psychopaths, they would all have to agree guys."

"Oh please." Sun adjusts his shirt confidently. "From what Blake tells me, Weiss likes Neptune and you as well Link."

"M-me? But how? We literally went at each other today." Link shrugs. "Are you being sarcastic?"

"No, I'm serious!" Sun nods rapidly. "Blake and I think the same thing too you can ask her yourself! Weiss might appear to hate you on the outside but trust me, she envies your fast progression as a warrior and your early accomplishments."

"That is a lot of information to take in, wow." Link blinks as he looks at the ground in shock

"If they say no, Sun can convince them." Neptune smiles. "Being good friends with one of the four members helps our chances."

"Make that two." Link mumbles. "I'd like to say I'm good friends with Ruby."

"Their leader? Perfect! Even better." Neptune nods

"Now come on..." Sun waves and runs off, with Neptune and Link following closely behind

"I assume we're going to their dorm, yes?" Link asks

"Mhm." Neptune nods. "We're on our way right now, haven't you been there?"

"Plenty of times. But why are we still outside?" Link frowns

"Don't worry, just follow me!" Sun shouts loudly as he continues sprinting

After a long sprint around the school and making it to the dormitories. Sun is able to locate the team RWBY dorm and by their dorm it's actually their window that's coincidentally open

"Woo..." Neptune pants and slumps over. "I'm gassed."

"Not much of a runner now are you?" Link, calm and with plenty of energy, pats Neptune on the back

"Negative." Neptune slowly nods. "Who needs cardio when you finish fights quickly?"

"Fair I suppose, if you actually back up your words and-!"

"Shhh." Sun puts his index finger on his lips as he quickly scales the tree

"What the...?" Link frowns again

"We gotta listen in on their plans." Neptune nods

"The doors to our rooms barely seclude any sound, but since we're here already..." Link sighs, pulls out his hook shot, and aims for the a high branch

"Wait up." Neptune grabs onto Link's arm. "Okay go."

"Let's fly."

Link nods and fires the hook shot into a tree, the strong chain struggles to carry two people upwards but some slowly and briskly rising, both he and Neptune jump and land on the same high branch. Neptune takes no time to compose himself before taking off and landing on a concrete ledge across the tree, which barely holds him in place and makes him laugh nervously

"Fool." Link mumbles, clearly amused at Neptune's near failure, but jumps on the other side of the window across from the team SSSN member. He maintains perfect balance on the ledge. "Where's Sun?"

"Shhh..." Sun says, he hangs from the tree on the highest branch, above Sun and Neptune


Minutes Later: Inside Team RWBY's Dorm

Team RWBY's prepares for their personal mission, revealing new outfits as each girl is doing their own thing. Ruby is tying her shoes tightly, Weiss grips her rapier Myrtenaster and takes practice swings, Yang is sliding on her shotgun gauntlets Ember Celica, and Blake is wrapping her signature bow around her black cat ears

"Alright, guys, today's the day!" Ruby happily leaps off her mattress and onto the floor, arms raised excitedly. "The investigation begins!"

"I'm glad to see we're taking this so seriously." Weiss sighs

"Hey, we've got a plan, that's..." Yang shrugs. "Moderately serious."

"Right." Ruby nods. "Everyone remembers their roles?"

"Yes." Weiss said, stepping in front of Ruby. "You and I will head over to the CCT and check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies." She then whips her hair and reveals a cocky smirk. "Seeing as I'm in the family, gathering that information shouldn't be a problem."

"The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning." Black steps forward with her hands behind her back, mouthing her statement very professionally

"I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale." Yang crosses her arms. "Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard."

"Fantastic! We'll meet up tonight near Yang to go over what we found." She says joyfully. "Let's do this!"

"Yeah!" Sun drops down, hanging upside down, with his tail grabbing onto the tree branch

"Sun!" Blake shouts as she and the rest of her team jump back in shock

(So much for our cover...) Link sighs

"Here we go." Neptune nods confidently. "Just relax and watch him work his magic."

"How did you get up there?" Yang asks

"Ah it's easy." Sun chuckles, "I do it all the time."

"You do what?!" Weiss snaps in anger, Sun's words register in a more perverted way to her

"I climb trees all the time." Sun's smile grows wider as Weiss shoots him a nasty glare, "So!" The monkey faunus' tail lets go of the tree branch and he safely lands inside team RWBY's dorm. "Are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?"

"W-woah.." Neptune looks down, there is a lot of height separating him from the solid ground

"Shh..." Link shook his head as he carefully lowered his voice to a whisper. "Relax, don't look down."

"We..." Blake steps forward, extending her arm imposingly towards Sun. "Are going to investigate the situation..." She then waves her hand across the room to imply only she and the rest of the team are participating. "As a team..."

"Sorry Sun, we don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to." Ruby throws her hands in the airs shamefully, along with showing off a smile

"Pfft that's dumb. You should always get friends involved." Sun laughs and points behind him. "That's why I got Link and Neptune to join me."

Team RWBY, thinking Sun was joking, walks over to the window, Ruby and Weiss look to the left, Blake and Yang check the right, and to their surprise, Sun is telling the truth. Both Link and Neptune, backs against the wall, are trying their best not to fall; Link mostly has no issues, while Neptune wobbles

"Sup." Neptune nods and winks at Yang

"How did you two even get up here?" Ruby and Yang both say identical words at the same time

"I have my ways."

"..." Link doesn't speak, but does show Ruby and Weiss his hookshot and frowns at Neptune's silly response

"Seriously though can we come in now, we're like, really high up right now."

Neptune looks down nervously before being dragged in by Yang. Link slides down a couple of steps, then majestically leaps off the ledge and perfectly lands inside the dorm

"Okay then, how do we do this?" Ruby thinks but doesn't struggle much as she decides how to divide the extra people joining them. "Now that we have three additional people, here's how we're going to do it. Sun you can go with Blake since you two already have good chemistry and teamwork. Neptune, you can go with Yang since she doesn't have a partner." The leader of team RWBY drags Neptune towards Yang, the blue haired boy gives Weiss a brief smile and wink. "And Link can tag along with us."

"You have got to be kidding?" Weiss frowns at the predicament she's in. "Him?! Of all people? We couldn't even get the riff raff?"

"Believe me." Link shakes his head. "This isn't ideal for me either, I was forced into tagging along in the first place."

"Everyone good?" Ruby asks

"Locked and Loaded." Yang grins, her partner Neptune gives no answer but maintains his smile

"Ready when you all are." Blake nods, her partner Sun also says nothing but he has a confident grin on his face

"I have an objection Ruby. Why don't you go with Yang? After all, she is your sister." Weiss lifts her finger, almost as a demand, but her little crush for Neptune makes her questions come out with a lot less authority

"But Weiss, I thought you and Link disliked each other. Why would both of you work well alone?" Ruby points out

"We could make it work." Link nods confidently

"Right!" Weiss nods. "Just what I was thinking. I know we dislike each other, but we can set our differences aside. And besides, Neptune can come with us, he'll make sure we stay... c-cool?"

"Pfft! Nah!" Ruby cracks up with laughter. "Too risky, we don't want anything going wrong, no time for experiments. I'll be the peacekeeper." She grabs Weiss by the collar and runs out the dorm, dragging her disappointed teammate along with her

"But! But-!" Weiss extends her arms out to Neptune

"Oh boy." Link sighs, "Good luck everybody." He says before and following

With all the dragging and running from Ruby and Weiss and catching up done by Link, along with no words being said by anyone the entire time. All three students are now outside, in their view, was a giant tower the size of a monument, if not bigger

"Wow!" Ruby jumps excitedly. "I forgot how big the transmit tower looks so close!"

"You should see the one in Atlas." Weiss smiled

"I have and yes it looks even better than this one." Link mumbles, he gets no reaction or answer from Ruby, but a glare from Weiss

"You've been to Atlas?" Weiss asks, her glare warms up for a second

"Once. It wasn't a particularly fun time. Don't know if I would ever return"

"Hmph!" Weiss whips her head and hair to the opposite side of Link's face

"So umm." Ruby cringes as she thinks of how to defuse the situation. "The tower in Atlas... That's the first one right?"

"Correct. Atlas developed the Cross Continental Transmit System to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another. It was their gift to the world after the Great War."

"Oooh look at me, my name's Weiss!" Ruby smiles and begins to walk like a sophisticated person, "I know facts, I'm rich!" She giggles and covers her mouth, to her impression, she makes Link chuckle too

"Don't be a pest!" Weiss puts her hands on her hips and stops walking to frown at both of them. "Besides Ruby, the only reason we're here is because you like the tower so much. We could have just as easily made a call from the library."

"I know I know, sorry." She giggles more. "But the tower is so cool! Oooh! I'm going to take a picture!"

Ruby grabs her scroll from one of the many pockets she has, but she reaches and pulls it out too fast. No proper grip followed by a slip later, her scroll flies out of her hands, bouncing against the concrete a few times until it bounces on someone's feet and comes to a full stop

"Oh!" The voice of Penny is heard as she stands directly in front of Ruby, Weiss, and Link

"Oh she's back." Link looks directly into Penny's eyes, sensing immediately that something is different about her. (Is it possible that she's perhaps a bit... too artificial? Her attacks were very coordinated in typical Atlas fashion... But it would make total sense if that were the case. At first I couldn't see it but now it seems a little obvious...)

"You dropped this." Penny speaks, her works come out in a dull fashion, her expression is blank and deadpan as she extends her hand, intending to return the scroll

"Penny?" Ruby jumps back

"Umm, uhh..." Penny looks around nervously

"What are you doing here? Where have you been?! We haven't seen you since the night at the docks!"

"I'm sorry." Penny shakes her head. "You must be confused." She speaks calmly at first, but then coincidentally hiccups at the same time dropping the scroll back in Ruby's hands

"Uh, I've got to go now." Penny quickly walks away

"Ruby." Link nods his head towards the already bizarre girl who just acted one-hundred times weirder

"Huh?" Ruby follows Link's gesture and realizes what he's asking of her, "R-right." She nods

"What was that about?" Weiss asks

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out. You go make your call, I'll meet up with you later!" Ruby runs off

"Wait!" Weiss sprints forward and protests for Ruby to come back, but her team leader is already long gone. "Ugh!"

"I could stay if you want me to?" Link looks at the Schnee. "Technically Ruby and Penny can be their own team."

"As tempting as that sounds." Weiss shakes her head. "I only have to make a call, realistically I could have done this task alone and we should have split you and Ruby up with Blake and Yang's teams."

"Are you sure about that?" Link asks again

"What?! D-didn't you hear me? I can do this alone, go!" Weiss stomps off

"I know." Link chuckles, "Just messing with you!" He jogs away to catch up with Ruby who is doing her best to stop Penny from walking away

"Penny!" Ruby rushes next to her as they go down concrete steps. "Penny! Where have you been? It's been weeks!"

"There seems to be a... misunderstanding." Penny completely shuns Ruby, does not turn to face Link and simply keeps walking

"What?!" Ruby sighs and slides down the rail to avoid the concrete steps, "Is everything okay? Penny please stop!" Ruby grabs Penny's arm, "Look I don't know what's wrong, but you have to listen to me. Those guys we fought at the docks, we think they're up to something big, something bad! I need to know what happened to you on that night. It could involve them in some capacity and you could be crucial to our investigation. Please..." Ruby then grabs Link and pulls him so close to her that they're practically touching faces. "As friends."

"Ruby, Link..." Penny sighs and leaned closer to the both of them. "It isn't safe to talk here."


Elsewhere: Beacon Tower, Professor Ozpin's office

DING!

Elevator doors open and entering the room is none other than James Ironwood, The Atlas military general and the headmaster of Atlas Academy. Awaiting him is a furious Glynda and observant but calm Professor Ozpin who eyes him and never intends on breaking his gaze. He slowly walking forward, thinking carefully of what he wants to say and does not want to say, but ultimately what he will do is answer questions that will most certainly be asked by two of his closest allies and dear friends

"We want answers James, now!" Glynda demands. "Why are you after our student?! We let you slide yesterday because of formal introductions but now, it's time to answer us."

"You will not get any specific answers." Ironwood snaps. "That is private and restricted to Atlas military only."

"With how long we've known each other James, why are we choosing to keep secrets from one another now?" Professor Ozpin mumbles and observes his friend, the wise man drinks out of his mug, presumably coffee

"..." Ironwood growls angrily. "That's not my intention, Professor Ozpin. Apologies for the scene I caused, luckily there were not any students around to witness what transpired. I lost my head when I spotted a wanted criminal on your school grounds.."

"Why were you fighting an inexperienced first year student? On our grounds too of all places." Glynda frowns. "A first year student who by the way, held his own against you, a General."

"How did you know his name already, James?" Ozpin put down his mug and sighs

"I have my ways of explaining things, it's all about timing. That kid is a tricky case and has been a pain to all of Atlas military for over a year now. So until I gain further evidence, now's not the time to question me! What you should be doing is-!"

'We will be doing no such thing." Ozpin replies

"Huh?" James backs up. "Why not? You're harboring a criminal!"

"Then why don't you tell us everything he's done?!" Glynda crosses his arms. "And don't bother lying, you said his name out of anger and have been tracking him for over a year so this clearly isn't just your ordinary criminal."

"He had done many things in the past... it's all been criminal activity committed as well. Please you must expel him from your academy and turn over to authorities immediately. He's a danger to all of us!"

"And how do you know he's truly a criminal...?" Ozpin stands up, the headmaster of Beacon massages his temples calmly. "People are framed, faunus' are framed, innocent until proven guilty, isn't that the saying? So what makes you so sure about Link?"

"Our investigation was postponed when he disappeared from our radar after a horrific incident where he slaughtered innocent people Oz... Ever since then, he's continued to get past us. Who knows if he repented for what he's done and seen the error of his ways, frankly it doesn't matter. A criminal must pay for his or her actions, even if they want to take back what they did wrong." James sighs. "But now that I've found him, I'm going to keep an eye on him. I was Atlesian knights and my men at his dorm, around the clock."

"And wouldn't you need permission for that?" Ozpin asks in a calm, composed tone. "This isn't your school James. I wouldn't fly to Atlas and tell you how to run your school, so please don't undermine my authority just because you are also the General of Atlas military."

"Oz..." James looks directly at him. "You don't understand what you're up against with this kid. He's the right age of a student but his mentality is different, he's not right in the head. He WILL hurt innocent people."

"He's my student James. And I have yet to hear anything about him or from him either. What I do know is he has a past written about him by someone with little credibility, we don't know if it's true or not. However, what I do know is that he is one of the most talented sixteen year old's Beacon has ever seen. For someone as strong as he is without training at a primary academy school, attending beacon is what is best for Link. I doubt your methods would work at all, so it's best that we don't execute any of them."

"You're too passive, you have to spy on someone mysterious like him, otherwise he's going to always keep us guessing and we'll never figure him out! We don't have any time to waste-!"

"Well I doubt he's that mysterious either." Ozpin shakes his head. "He very clearly talks and opens up when he makes friends and companions. He's already befriended three teams from Beacon and he is very social too. But to bring it back to your earlier point, or should I say demand? I better not see any Atlas soldiers or Atlesian knights roaming my school James, is that clear?"

"But Oz-!" Ironwood reaches out with his arm

"That is the end of this discussion." Ozpin gets serious. "Just go for the time being James. We can discuss this situation another day."

"Very well then." Ironwood sighs in disappointment and heads to the elevator.

"Oh and James..." Ozpin spoke

"Yes Oz?" Ironwood replies, the Atlas general puts his hand in between the elevator to stop it from closing

"I wouldn't advise getting on Glynda and I's bad side by disobeying our wishes. And I would not get on Link's bad side if you two were to have another physical altercation. Not knowing his full potential, he will-!"

"I have my ways of doing things Oz, the same way you run this school differs from the way I run man." Ironwood shakes his head. "If that boy gets in my way or causes any trouble, I will not hold back." The general removes his hand from one of the elevator doors and watches as the elevator shuts itself and takes off downward

"What exactly do you mean by that? 'I would not get on Link's bad side', do you know something I don't?" Glynda asks

"No, just merely speculation on my behalf. I can sense that Link is a troubled young man, the kind of person who will let emotions take over him. Knowing how James acts, he will likely do something to get in Link's head."

"What should we do if anything happens between those two again? We can't have James' men and Atlesian knights in the dormitories for one student. Or what if they fight on campus again like the other day? There is no guarantee that we will know in time to stop it next-!"

"We can only wait and see." Ozpin cuts off Glynda, then drinks out of his mug once more. "You are correct however, there's no telling what will happen next and if any one of us will be around to stop it."

Both Professor Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch soon find themselves standing side by side and glancing out to the entire campus of Beacon Academy. With a new dilemma on their hands, the two smart and strong professors must find a way to keep the peace while finding a solution to the problem at the same time


Approximately an Hour Later: The City of Vale

The day goes on, Penny, having told Ruby and Link where to meet up later, fears she is being watched and doesn't want to put her friends in danger. The scared girl looks around, worried, nearly convincing herself that her new friends had either forgotten her words or that something happened to them

"Hey." Ruby mumbles as she taps Penny's shoulder with a big smile on her face.

"O-oh!" Penny jumps in shock, now knowing she wasn't stood up or anything worse happened, smiles back

"Come on, let's go for a walk." Link waves them over as he marches forward

"Right." Ruby nods and walks with Link as Penny follows along too

The two huntresses and single huntsman find themselves strolling on the exact same sidewalks they walked on weeks ago when Blake Belladonna went missing for two entire days

"I wish I could help you, Ruby. But the truth is, I don't know anything about those men."

"Well..." Ruby sighs at the answer she was given. "What happened to you that night? We were all together, and then you just disappeared! Were you kidnapped?"

"Oh no!" Penny's eyes widened upon hearing these words. "Nothing like that!"

"Well then where did you go?"

"Well, I've never been to another kingdom before. My father asked me not to venture out too far, but..." Penny looks at the ground sadly. "You have to understand, my father loves me very much and... he just worries a lot."

"Believe me I know the feeling." Ruby rolls her eyes at the thought of her overprotective father, which makes Penny smile

"But why not contact us at all, to let us know you were ok?" Link finally speaks up. "I understand if they stop you from meeting us physically but you have a scroll, yes?"

"Well Mr. Link I do have a scroll but it is not that easy. I was asked not to talk to you... or Ruby... or Weiss... or Blake... or Yang, anybody really."

"Huh?" Link shakes his head in disbelief. "But why? You made new friends. What's the harm in that?"

"Yeah!" Ruby agrees. "Was your dad really upset?"

"No, it wasn't my father, it was ge-!"

Before she can continue, Penny is cut off by a megaphone, announcing something to the people of Vale. She, Link, and Ruby hear the sound of megaphones announcing something. Instinctively, they head to the sound of the voice just around the corner and look at the platform in the center of a plaza

"That voice..." Link frowns and recognizes it immediately. (Is he really following me everywhere? Is Penny a spy? Or perhaps someone else is following me more discreetly.)

"The AK130 has been a standard security model of Remnant for several years."

"Ironwood..." Link growls in anger, which rises to great lengths immediately, but ultimately nothing come of it when the three students discovery that it is just a hologram that stands in between six Atlesian Knights

"And they have done a fine job, wouldn't you agree? WOULDN'T YOU ALL AGREE?!"

Citizens gathered around the presentation at the center of the plaza begin to clap in unison

"But, the kingdom of Atlas is a kingdom of innovation. And 'fine'... well that's just not good enough is it?" The Ironwood hologram stands firmly with both arms behind 'his' back as two wide pods open and the visible Atlesian Knights bow down

"I present to you, the Atlesian Knight... Two-Hundred." Hologram Ironwood finishes talking as the new Atlesian Knights kick the old ones to the ground, "Smarter, sleeker and admittedly, a little less scary." As soon as the last part was said, three of the new Atlesian Knights individually begin making dumb gestures such as a thumbs up, the second one dances and the third one ultimately ends off the goofy showcasing by flexing its 'muscles'. "These models will become active this year but won't be alone. The Atlesian Military has always supported the idea of removing physical soldiers from the battlefield. However, there are still many situations that undoubtedly require... a human touch. So our kingdom's greatest minds, in cooperation with the Schnee Dust Company, are proud to introduce!"

The Ironwood hologram vanishes and another hologram appears, it's something out of this world, an actual behemoth. Its features include strong piston legs, large guns for hands, and a rectangular head, the giant creation stands at least twice as tall if not thrice the size as the Knights below it.

"Now, we couldn't have them here for you today, but these mechanized battle suits will be seen defending the borders of our kingdom within the year!"

More clapping ensues, indicating that the people of vale love this plan along with all the new changes announced. Alongside their love is Ruby, she has her eyes glued on everything, the old Atlesian knights, the new ones, and of course the massive robot at the end

"Woah.." Her eyes widen as she admires everything

"I may not like Atlas, but it looks awesome." Link sighs in disappointment. (Old toasters, new toasters, it's all the same when it's controlled by one man.)

"R-ruby, L-link, maybe we should go somewhere else." Penny says with fear in her voice as she senses something

"What do you mean?" Ruby's admiration stops

"She's right! Real soldiers!" Link looks closely, noticing two Atlas soldiers running straight at them

"Over there!" A soldier points in their direction

"Unless they're after me, run!" Link looks at Penny

"Mhm." Penny looks around nervously before taking off

"Why would they be after you, Link?" Ruby asks

"No reason." Link shrugs

"Goodbye Ruby! And Link!" Penny shouts whilst sprinting away

"Penny? Wait! Where are you going?" Ruby calls out

"Ruby go! Stick with Penny!" Link said as he gets in a stance, and readies himself for long ranged combat by reaching for his bow. "I can handle these guys."

"No Link! You're not fighting Atlas military! There's no time and it's dangerous! Come on, we can lose them!" Ruby grabs onto Link's collar and tries to drag him. "Link please!"

"Okay fine!" Link nods and breaks the grip Ruby has on his collar but does run behind her as the faster girl speeds around the alleyway

"Down here! They went this way!"

The soldiers begin to slowly catch up, but get stalled when a honking car almost hits them both, to which the soldiers react with no expression. The soldier about to take the direct hit manages to brace his hands against the hood, which somehow stops the car going at a moderate speed. The soldier next to him on his left simply stands there and watches the events unfold. As soon as the car is completely still, the second soldier takes off after the two girls and boy again. The driver of the vehicle gets nasty looks from the soldier who had nearly took the impact of a moving car front first

"Looks like Penny's really fast!" Link says he as he is at the very back, behind her and Ruby

"Link!" Ruby looks back and sees the soldiers closer to them than before. "Jump ahead!"

"Got it!" Link does not question the command and simply speeds past Ruby. The boy glances at a wooden tower, which looked flimsy but also held lots of boxes. (Chop it down Ruby!)

Without having to bark out an order, that is exactly what occurs. Ruby grabs Crescent Rose from her belt and hanging on her back, she slashes through the weak wooden support legs, and knocks down the boxes to slow down the soldiers

"Nice one!" Link nods

"Thanks." Ruby nods back and looks at Penny, she is still running with no intention of stopping. But there were many alley exits up ahead, meaning she could go anywhere. "Link! How much do you weigh?"

"Why does it matter?!" Link replies

"Never mind! Just follow the rose pedals!" Ruby leaps on the wall with a rapid spring and runs along the walls with precision and speed. Within seconds and like a flash she is right next to Penny, with the former's arms around her waist. "Hang on penny!" The spontaneous girls shows a combined look of pain and focus as she springs off another wall, carrying Penny through the alley really fast, being able to do so by using her semblance, 'Petal Burst'

"Oh crap!" Link's eyes widen as he can only see rose petals where Ruby and Penny once were, even his precise vision doesn't see the two of them. (She wanted to carry Penny and me? She's crazy, I think Penny is going to be too much weight for her as it is.)

Ruby slightly faints as indeed Penny is too heavy for her, and the two girls drop to the ground. Penny instantly hits the ground like a dumbbell being dropped in water. Ruby on the other hand, keeps going until she lands in the middle of the street

"Ruby!" Link sprints as fast as he can, he fears for his friend as a truck can be heard in the distance

"Ruby?" Penny sits up, looks around, doesn't spot her friend next to her, but instantly jumps to her feet when she hears Link's voice and Ruby's name being mentioned

"Damn looks like I'll have to slice through the truck to stop it!" Link sighed and shut his eyes, the triforce on his left hand began to glow as he placed a tight grip on his sword handle.

But before Link could person the move he's been practicing a lot lately, it was Penny who acted faster and with less intention of violence. She runs into the middle of the street and pushes Ruby out of the way, standing directly in front of the truck with no fear. The girl exhales and digs her feet into the pavement, arms fully extended

SMASH!

The truck collides direct into Penny...s hands and is even lifted in the air for a brief couple of seconds, Penny by herself with just her bare hands, stops a vehicle easily weighing about ten to fifteen thousand pound vehicle from harming her or Ruby

(I should have come to the conclusion sooner, but that basically confirms it.) Link nods to himself as he jogs towards them. (She's definitely more than just an innocent little girl. Just what on earth are Atlas doing?)

"P-penny?" Ruby mumbles

"Are you okay?" Penny asks the driver calmly, who happens to be a familiar face to Ruby. It's the owner of the 'From Dust Till Dawn' store that was robbed by Roman Torchwick

"Uh huh." The old man driving the truck replies with slow nods

"Umm uhh..." Penny looks at her damaged hands and closes them tightly

"Did you see that?"

"Do you think she's okay?"

Penny flees the scene once again, this time pushing past Ruby as more people get closer and some of them even call the police

"Penny come back!" Ruby shouts

"Go after her." Link nods as he walks in front of the truck and helps Ruby to her feet by grabbing her arms and lifting her up. "Go before she gets away and these soldiers get you."

"What about-! Link no, you can't!" Ruby exclaims when she sees Link looking in the direction of the soldiers. "They'll arrest you."

"Go Ruby. I promise, they'll stop chasing Penny and nothing bad will happen to them or me."

"O-okay. Goodluck!" Ruby nods and runs after Penny as Link simply watches her run

"Do we need to call the police?"

"Did she stop that with her bare hands?"

"Hey! Kid!" The two soldiers catch up and grab Link by his shoulders. "You were running with Miss Polendina. Where is she? Wait, you look like someone we've seen before!"

"Get your hands off of me!" Link pushes them both away with a quick thrash and swinging of his arms, one of the soldiers stumbles back, while the other hits the floor backside first

The one man team from Beacon Academy then grabs his bow and shoots an arrow at the truck, scaring the people looming around to make them run away, along with frightening the truck driver to make him drive away

"You are under arrest! Surrender now." The soldier on the ground says as he stands back up, his comrade regains his footing and the two soldiers soon stand firmly side by side

"I don't think so..." Link put his bow away and closes his eyes to inhale and exhale calmly

"Listen to your superiors!"

"That's an order!"

"Oh... and who are my superiors? Because I sure don't take orders from you!" Link frowns and opens his eyes, both of them flash gold, with his left eye showcasing strange lining going up and down his cornea. He grabs onto the handle of his sword with his left hand, reaches behind him to slide the shield in his hand and bring in front of him, ending this sequence by getting into a defensive fighting stance

To Be Continued...


(9/25/17) Edited: More dialogue between James Ironwood and Ozpin + minor edits within the Link, Ruby and Penny scene