King of Vale: Mountain Glenn, Underground Tunnels
The charge to stop the train being recklessly driven into what is essentially supposed to be a dead end is being led by none other than Link. With team RWBY behind him and Professor Oobleck and Zwei behind them. The one person team has gone through a rollercoaster of emotions: boredom, excitement, annoyed, frustration, nervous, heartbroken, sad, angry, vengeful, with him currently in between vengeful and angry whilst being partly drunk as well. His desire to stop this train stems from one reason alone, Roman Torchwick and the White Fang having briefly kidnapped Ruby and held her captive in the destroyed underground city, which was additionally being used as an underground crime network, going completely unnoticed until the leader of team RWBY stumbled upon it by accident. Something else fueling him to keep moving and motivating him to stop this train is underlying anger and resentment towards Ruby for breaking his heart without giving the two of them a chance. In return, this coincides with Professor Oobleck's plan to rile up Link in order for him to unleash this anger on the enemy. Although, it is not because of Professor Oobleck's scheming or strategies that his plan works. Finally, when the six students and professor board one of the train cars, which turns into seven with Zwei accompanying them, Link stubbornly charges forward without a plan in motion
"Link! Wait up!" Yang runs at full speed and grabs onto Link by his collar, pulling him back with all her force which proves ineffective. "We can't just rush ahead, we'll get killed!"
"Let go of me!" Link fights off Yang's grip and keeps moving forward. "I'm going to make sure Roman Torchwick doesn't make it out of here as a free man!"
"What's up with you?" Ruby asks, "You've never been this fired up before!" She growls when he does not answer her. "WHAT GIVES?!"
"Torchwick is going to kill us all if we're not quick and stop this train." Link fires back. "We don't have the time to stop and come up with a strategy!"
"He's right." Blake nods in agreement. "Whether the tunnels end with an opening or a dead end like Doctor Oobleck mentioned, this train has to be stopped no matter what!"
"Exactly." Link smirks. "I'm glad somebody gets it."
"Ah but if we're too quick we may fall into one of their traps!" Oobleck replies. "So it is a combination of both. We must get to the front and stop this train while being cautious of what lies ahead."
"Um... Professor?" Weiss cleans her throat to grab everyone's attention as opens the hatch of the train car they are standing on. "You might wanna take a look at this because-!"
"Doctor." Oobleck frowns
"Right. Okay Doctor Oobleck, what is this?" She points down below and there is a metallic item with the width and size of a box but a much complex design, it has red and blue wires loosely connected to it
"Hmm..." Oobleck kneels and looks closely. "That my dear is a bomb."
Team RWBY immediately take multiple steps back, but Link for some reason steps forward and kneels next to Oobleck
"Maybe we could disable it?" Link thinks. "It would be as simple as cutting both of these wires or just one of them."
"What a reckless idea!" Weiss shakes her head. "If you cut any wire and you're wrong, we all get blown up and die."
"Miss Schnee is correct." Oobleck nods. "There is another way to deal with this that should not require risking our lives with unstable explosives, this bomb was crafted by an amateur, it could blow up right now as we speak!"
"What way is that?" Blake asks
However, before Professor Oobleck can answer the cat faunus, Ruby looks to her left and notices a lot of White Fang soldiers climbing onto the train
"We've got baddies!"
"Hmmm... Just keep analyzing the bomb and come up with a plan. I'll handle them!" Link rises up his feet and sprints at the White Fang soldiers with no weapon drawn
"Miss Rose." Oobleck nods. "I know I told him to show me what he can do but, we can never be too safe. Fight with him."
"Right!" Ruby follows Link without asking questions
"Well well..." Oobleck proceeds to quickly assess the situation "I didn't expect them to go-!"
Professor Oobleck is abruptly cut off when the bomb underneath him, Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Zwei charges up and starts beeping
"Easy on us." He frowns
...
"Link, wait! We should wait for everyone else!" Ruby calls out
"They're going to attack us anyway!" Link stops himself by sliding to a sudden halt. "Is something wrong? Are you scared by any chance? They're only sacrificial soldiers after all. Torchwick is the real mastermind behind this train."
"Scared?! Of course not!"
Ruby growls with anger as she and Link turn to confront each other face to face, one with a look of anger, the other with a grin of pure sarcasm
BOOM!
Now their sudden rivalry is put to a stop with that explosion behind them taking and as one of her teammates can be heard
"Another bomb?!" Blake screams. "B-but that means-!"
"No. No. No." Oobleck speeds past Link and Ruby, he quickly opens the hatch and looks in, seeing yet another bomb and coming to a horrifying conclusion, "They ALL have bombs!" He motions for his students to continue following
"They're either trying to kill us right now... Orrr, no! They couldn't have set up these bombs just to lure away any intruders. Not with all the stuff you said they have in the cars." Link mumbles to Ruby. "They're after something bigger, but what?"
"Now's not the time!" Yang successfully grabs and pulls Link by his collar
The blonde huntress forces him along with the rest of team RWBY, trailing them is Professor Oobleck and Zwei, all of them jump onto the next train car, when they turn, they see again the train car detached intentionally and then three to five seconds later, an explosion occurs
"As you said Miss Xiao Long, now's not the time." Oobleck points his extended thermos at the entire wave of white fang members who are now closing in on them, there's dozens, maybe even up to a hundred on top of multiple train cars
"GET THE HUMANS!"
(They're all over the place, not ideal for a move where I dash forward in one straight line. Although, I can take out at least a third of this group or at least half of these guys... And I'll do it right now!) Link swiftly reaches for the handle of his sword, he leans forward and plants his feet onto the train cars, digging his heels as best as he can into metal. The small triforce engraved in his left hand lights up brightly, along with all the designs around his sheath, shield, sword, and even some of his clothes light up
"Well then, today?!" Ruby retorts as she, the rest of team RWBY and Zwei run past Link, with their weapons drawn
"What the-!" Link frowns. "What do you guys think you're doing?! Move out of the way and give me some space or I could risk hitting you!"
"Your style is TOO slow."
Yang shrugs off his response as she springs into action, easily taking down a soldier who attempts to go one on one with her by throwing a low kick to begin, just for Yang to parry away their kick with her foot, spin, crouch down, sweep the soldier off their feet with a leg sweep and finishing him off with a powerful punch, assisted by her shotgun gauntlet 'Ember Selica', blasting the soldier off the train and effectively killing him
"See?" Yang turns back to Link and winks at him
(All that talk and flash to take out a single soldier.) Link wants to shrug but nods to spare Yang's feelings
Blake sighs and steps forward, ahead of Yang, the cat faunus is conflicted because the White Fang are her people but... They have lost their way and it does not seem like they will recover any time soon. Knowing they are on borrowed time however, she makes her decision and dashes forward, with one quick slash from her blade 'Gambol Shroud', she knocks four soldiers off the train. Surrounded by her former 'brothers' and 'sisters', Blake frowns at their descent into destruction and goes on a small rampage herself. She slashes three White Fang soldiers, incapacitating one while knocking the other two off the train; then, displaying her physical power, she charges at a soldier, twists her body and lands a spinning back fist on another soldier, sending him off the train and flying the farthest
(Now that's more like it, simple, quick, and powerful attacks to take out multiple enemies.)
Weiss on the other hand, has the most soldiers converging on her due to her family name and its history, though it does not bother her one bit as stands in her normal offensive stance with an arched back, perfect posture, left hand and leg forward and a tight grip on her pristine rapier 'Myrtenaster'. The Schnee heiress bends her knees and dashes forward, activating the dust in her rapier that is held in a chamber like a revolver. She leaves a trail of ice behind her and said ice promptly expands outwards into sharp bulky spikes. The lack of space from the ice forces the soldiers off the train, but this is not it. A handful of soldiers evade the attack and charge at Weiss, who maintains her composure and takes out the remaining soldiers with sword slashes swiftly sword slashes they do not even see coming and therefore has no time to react
(I suppose they are making quick work of them, maybe Ruby wasn't wrong after-!)
Ruby follows in her team's footsteps, specifically Weiss' with one big dashing attack that will wipe out plenty of soldiers. She takes her position and with sniper rifle shots from her scythe 'Crescent Rose', blasts herself forward. The blade on her scythe extends outwards in order for Ruby to brutally 'slice' through twelve white fang soldiers with one mighty swing. The impact and power of the swing sends some into the train cars while the rest lie unconscious on top of the train car
"What's wrong Link, you scared?" Ruby looks back to taunt and shout. "They're only measly White Fang soldiers, why do you need to use your cool move for THEM?"
"Ruby!" Weiss frowns. "Stop being a brat and let's keep going or else-!"
"Shut up, all of you!" Link growls with anger as he stomps past Yang, then Blake, and lastly Weiss, to make his way towards Ruby, they both go face to face once again and even clash foreheads. "You think you're funny? I was being sincere when I asked you that?"
"Come on guys!" Yang sprints forward and gets in between Ruby and Link, splitting them apart with a light shove to the latter. "You two went from awkward fist bumps to hugs and now you're at each other's throats? WHY?!"
"It's complicated!" Ruby shouts
"Yes, exactly what she said." Link smirks, "I'm going to prove you wrong about everything you said." He extends his arm and points at Ruby
"Ditto." Ruby reaches to slap Link's hand away but falls short
BOOM!
Another huge explosion interrupts the ensuing tension and forces both Link and Ruby to let bygones be bygones and 'joyfully' regroup with Blake and Weiss. Professor Oobleck on the other hand, has his back turned to the group as he had been watching the detached train car explode. This explosion proves to be stronger than the first one, even creating a hole above them, and allowing multiple types of grimm to emerge; ranging from beasts such as King Taijitu, Death Stalkers, Beowolves, Ursa and unknown grimm to the students. The horde of grimm road and advance quickly toward the train, the explosions and ongoing fighting between the White Fang soldiers and the heroes attracts them to the train
"He's leading Grimm to the city!" Oobleck shouts as he stands on the edge of the second to last train car
"W-WHAT?!" Weiss shouts
"It's the cars! They detach and explode, creating openings for the Grimm!" Oobleck turns to speak to the group of girls and one boy, only to turn when he hears metal sounds and witnesses another car detaching itself
"That's insane!" Blake's eyes widened
"We must act quickly!" Oobleck looks at team RWBY and Link, carefully making his mind up as to who he wants to infiltrate the inside and who will back him up on the outside. "You three!" He stops dead in his tracks and points at Blake, Weiss and Yang "Get inside the train down below and try to stop those bombs!"
"What about-!" Ruby stops to process the decision just made, meaning she and Link will be on the same team for an inexplicable reason. "Us, Doctor Oobleck?"
"We're going to stop this train!" Oobleck places both hands on his hips and poses dramatically
Ruby and Link glance to each other with dumbfounded looks on their faces
"I know... I kinda already said that." Ruby speaks bluntly
"I suppose so." Oobleck softly replies as Yang and Blake nods and promptly enter the train from the inside
Weiss however, is stopped momentarily as a strong hand grabs her arm and prevents her from leaving
"What are you doing?!" Weiss frowns at none other than Link
"Be careful, okay?" Link sternly nods at her, then releases his grip on her
"Oh... Yes, of course. Don't worry about us." Weiss nods back respectfully and follows it up with running off quickly to catch up with her teammates
The remaining group on top of the train cars moves forward. As the train continues towards its destination, Link is about to give his thoughts on what to maybe do, but he along with Professor Oobleck, Ruby, and Zwei notice they have more trouble up ahead. In the form of stolen Atlesian Paladin-290's that jump to the top of the train. Link frowns and points ahead and warns them without using words about the impending danger
"Good eye, Mister Link." Oobleck nods. "We have a problem!"
"We sure do, stolen toasters from Atlas military." Link shrugs and again does not reach for any weapon, assuming Ruby is going to jump in recklessly. But as she was about to do just that, Oobleck stopped her dead in her tracks as well
"Allow me, Miss Rose."
Professor Oobleck takes a sip from his thermos before transforming it into its extended club form, this time it has a small flame burning at its tip, explaining where the fire comes from and how he used fireballs earlier. Zwei barks and jumps with excitement, showing that he is ready for an attack. He does so by jumping and flipping in the air with multiple spins, which prompts Oobleck to swing his club at the little corgi, Zwei is batted and the impact turns him into a powerful spinning fireball. The Paladin is seen shooting at the group, only for it and the soldier inside it to get knocked off the train by the attack. The Paladin tumbles on the train tracks, and continues to roll along the tracks until exploding when it hits a barricade. Another Paladin appears in front of Zwei, with its guns aimed at him. The beloved pet lowers its ears in sadness but not for long when the day is saved by Oobleck, who takes down the Paladin with multiple streams of fire and a few fireballs before swiftly knocking it off the train as well. This entire time, Ruby and Link watch carefully and in disbelief, mostly from what Zwei displayed when he and Oobleck teamed up together in order to destroy not one but two Paladins
"Ohhh YEAHHH!" Ruby pumps her fist in excitement. "Good job! The two of you!"
"Thank you, Miss Rose!" Professor Oobleck nods while Zwei barks in response
However, the time for celebrating their victory is going to have to wait as another Paladin approaches them. Oobleck and Ruby looked over at each other and nod, but Link does not follow this coordination and springs forward on his own
"Enough!" Link frowns as he hops over Ruby and Oobleck, "Working as a team clearly isn't for me, it never has been and it seems I can't change that, so get out of my way!" He shouts and charges the Paladin on his own
"Wait Link! Don't just-!" Ruby chases after Link, but is stopped as Zwei jumps in front of Ruby while Oobleck places a hand on her shoulder
"Mister Link obviously wants to prove himself to everybody: myself, Blake, Yang, Weiss, and especially you. I may not know all of the details, but I know you two are good friends, I sensed tension between you both when we found you and even now I sense friction. Something must have happened, yes?" Oobleck asks
"W-well yeah..." Ruby sighs
"Whatever you said to him, he wants to prove that you can still trust and rely on him. He knows what he's doing, have faith Miss Rose."
Link does not reach for his shield, nor does he have the intention to use the moved he copied from Adam Taurus, which involves specific stances and movements. Instead he grabs the handle of his sword with his right hand, leaps into the air, whips his left arm over his face, with the back of his hand facing the Paladin. The triforce on Link's hand lights up with a bright majestic golden color. Link closes his eyes and takes in a deep breath as a small flashing beam shoots and hits the Paladin. Two large triforce's appear behind and in front the powerful Atlesian robot, one is bright, the other is faded and both look magical.
"W-whoa..." Ruby gasps
Unable to move is the Atlesian Paladin, despite it being comically bigger than the small triforces holding it in place. The triforces rotate in place, with the one behind the Paladin spinning very slowly, while the one in front spins rapidly. Link opens his eyes and like a flash he appears right in front of the Paladin, he wastes no time and relentlessly slashes at it with a variety of slashes as well such as: two handed slashes, one handed, spinning, diagonal, vertical, and more. All of the sword slashes connect with precision and rapid speed that is hard to come by. Speed that could even match Ruby's. The final blow, a direct jab aimed for the midsection, completely slices the Atlesian Paladin in half, with its top hold being sent flying off the train and onto the tracks while the legs fly back and crash hard against the train. Link nods to himself and lands perfectly on both feet, the one person team smoothly slides his sword back into its sheath and dusts off his clothes calmly
"You don't need my words anymore." Oobleck says with a proud smile on his face, "You two are safe in each other's hands." He turns and knows he has spoken at the perfect time, because right behind them come two more Paladins. "Ruby! Take Link and go on ahead!"
"But!" Ruby calls out. "What about y-!"
"Don't worry, Ruby. It's my time... After teaching you children all this time, it is time I teach THEM a lesson..."
Professor Oobleck nods and runs quickly to take on the two oncoming Paladins on his own, with no fear or hesitation. Ruby nods in approval of her teacher and is about to leave, but before she can depart with Link, it is Zwei at her feet with his head down, appearing sad and whining
"Go." Ruby smiles at her pet and motions for him to go join his new friend
"Arf!"
Ruby, with a warm smile on her face watches Zwei run happily towards Professor Oobleck, she enjoys the short lived moment until deciding to run after Link, who is stood still, showcasing that his head is not where it needs to be
"Heeey! Come on!" Ruby slaps Link on the back of the head when she runs past him but quickly stops herself about three to four train cars behind the first, she looks on with worry, realizing the train is on a collision course with a thick concrete wall, just as Professor Oobleck said... a dead end
"What do we do?!" Blake's voice is heard sudden as she, Yang and Weiss climb out of a train car
"Wow either you guys spent no time inside the train or we took forever taking out those robots." Ruby shamefully blushes
"Never mind that!" Yang points at the dead end. "How do we prevent this?!"
"We don't." Weiss mumbles
Ruby looks at Weiss, who nods slowly, but the latter hesitates and turns back to see Link, close to them but not as close as they would like him to be
"Do what you need to do, Weiss!" Link shouts "I'll be fine!"
Weiss solemnly nods and turns around, she exhales deeply, then crouches down and stabs her sword into the train car. The Schnee heiress summons a white glyph that creates plenty of layers of ice, engulfing and protecting team RWBY with a thick ice shield, the four girls brace themselves for the impending crash... But what about Link?
"I won't let you steal the glory, Weiss. But when I get credit for saving your guys' butt's, you can have the assist."
Link chuckles as he reaches team RWBY and in those dire seconds between making his move and the train crash, the boy manages to plant his hand on the ice barrier. Link's body glows and is now surrounded with a familiar bright golden aura. Familiar because he used it not too long ago when protecting Blake during the food fight against Pyrrha's 'Polarity' semblance of controlling soda cans. Along with his and Ruby's brief fight against Cinder at the CCT system building, where he would have for sure died or suffered major injuries had he taken that direct explosive hit from her
(Are you an idiot or simply trying to get yourself killed? Covering that faunus girl in all black during your stupid food fight almost made you pass out had she not chosen to step out of it. If you cover all four of these girls, their ice shield and yourself? You'll die idiot! Not that I care if you die but if you perish then so would I!)
(We'll just see about that!) Link says to himself with complete confidence as the train crashes into the wall, the explosion seemingly 'wipes' everything and everybody 'out'
The City of Vale: 'Unknown' Location
Sometime later, among all the debris, team RWBY emerge from rubble that consists of rocks and metal, Ruby and Yang cough heavily whilst Weiss and Blake struggle to get up to their feet, the former of the two girls uses a large block of concrete to help herself sit upright. There are no signs of Link, Professor Oobleck or Zwei as the four girls are visibly shaken, scared, and still out of it. Luckily, there appears to be no major damage to the city of Vale, much to their surprise. When their dizziness and blurry vision subside, the young huntresses realize they have returned to the central part of Vale, the plaza to be exact. Unfortunately, it is not that simple, seconds later a blaring alarm is audibly heard over and over again, as well as multiple civilians who were previously in the area are now snooping around and lingering when they spot the huntresses among all of the rubble. Suddenly, a black King Taijitu emerges from a hole, following the giant snake's actions are multiple grimm who all start pouring into Vale in hordes. The concerned civilians now scream as they flee from the chaos, the sounds of screams and roars fill the air as all team RWBY can do was watch in horror while taking in what is transpiring. The only one who is brought back to reality fast is Ruby, her expression changes from worried and scared to a look of determination and anger
"Ugh!" Ruby groans but makes it a point to herself to keep a straight face, which does not last very long upon realizing they are missing a friend who was there with them when the train collided. "L-link?!"
Ruby cries out and looks around in a panic, her voice cracking brings her teammates back to reality and the first thing they do is look around as well, knowing he cannot be too far from them. After a brief search, Blake and Weiss find Link on the ground, not moving at all... He looked lifeless
"L-link!" Blake slides on her knees to the ground next to him, quickly reaching out to touch his neck and wrist, sensing a pulse thankfully. "He's alive! But he's definitely done for today."
Yang and Weiss nod in relief, Ruby turns away and nods her head, visibly trying to hide her expression
"Whoa!" Link opens his eyes, the huntsman in training blinks over and over again, slowly regaining his vision as he stubbornly tries to get up but it rapidly sinks in that he hardly has any strength left
"Don't move! You've overexerted yourself." Blake snaps. "Ruby come help me, we need to get Link out of here and then we can deal with the grimm."
"What?" Link weakly mumbles. "N-no, I'm not l-leaving! I just need to recover for a bit. Cover me, that's all I ask for."
"Look at yourself!" Weiss exclaims. "I know how good you are but you don't need to act like you're a hundred percent after that stunt you pulled off!"
"Y-yes..." Link chuckles. "I supposed to be more realistic."
"Why did you do it?" Ruby turns to face Link, who is now barely on his feet thanks to assistance from Blake. "Why did you put that shield on us? I saw it glow right before the train crashed. You went out of your way to make sure we weren't harmed at all, but why?! You could have killed yourself! When we fought that woman, the night of the dance. You were breathing heavily by just protecting yourself in the fight against her, but you still put it on all four of us? Weiss' ice shield would've protected us enough!"
"Heh..." Link softly smiles. "I don't know why, there, I said it. My body just kind of moved on on its own, you would call it natural instinct. Trust me, I am fully aware that Weiss' ice barrier would've worked." Link looks over at Weiss and nods "She's strong."
"T-thank you." Weiss mumbles, feeling uneasy about the compliment from a person struggling so much
"Or did I?" Link winks at the Schnee heiress playfully. "I guess if I had to come up with a reason now, I dislike you Ruby, the rest of you I'm on the fence about, but you're all still my frie-!" He stops and violently coughs. "You're still my friends!" The stubborn boy drops down to his knees and begins to breathe harder. "See I'm feeling better already. No more struggle to breathe."
"Hmph!" Ruby frowns and turns to the grimm coming towards them while other monsters attack the city. "We can talk about that later, come on guys."
"Right!"
The three remaining team RWBY members shout out loud as they bring their injured friend to the center of the plaza. All four girls surround Link in a circle, with all their backs turned on him as they themselves are surrounded by Beowolves, Ursa, a King Taijitu, and more. The King Taijitu unleashes a fierce roar, signaling the Grimm to attack
(I can't be useless yet again.) Link rises up to his knees and plants his hands on the ground, lifting himself up to his feet with the however much strength he has in the tank
"You've done enough." Weiss' eyes widened in concern as she looked at him. "Please stop!"
"She's right, ya know!" Yang chuckles with her back turned to Link, "We know how you feel, but seriously, just enjoy the show." She lifts her right arm and gave Link a thumbs up
Ruby Rose embeds her scythe into the ground and uses it as support to kick away at the Grimm around her.
Ruby slams Crescent Rose into the ground and uses it as support to kick away the grimm by first picking up momentum from kicking the first few Grimm, scaling their giant structures of bodies before getting the speed needed for her spinning kick attack. Yang leaps into the air by using a creep grimm as a trampoline, with her flying in the air, the blonde huntress takes advantage and fires many shots from her shotgun gauntlets to the grimm on the ground, this lasts for a couple of seconds until three big nevermores collide into Yang and send her crashing back first into the ground. Blake initially starts off on the wrong foot by blocking a slash from a Beowolf with her sword and slamming her sheath into the grimm's head. Nevertheless, she recovers, takes a few steps back and then sprints forward to stab the Beowolf with a perfect jab in the jaw and through its skull from the jaw of the beast, instantly killing it. Next, the cat faunus crouches down with her right knee touching the concrete and her left leg is fully extended. Her sword retracts and Blake begins firing away at a pack of creeps with her pistol feature. Weiss slashes two incoming Beowolves, wiping them out with ease before brutally stabbing a third one through the chest. In addition, she summons a white glyph under her feet to create a long and sharp ice blade, then proceeds to put this ice blade to great use by killing four more beowolves with a horizontal swing. Yang, who was previously on the ground, is now on the streets of the city, she sees multiple creatures of grimm lined up perfectly for her. The blonde huntress smirks, slams his fist into the hood of a car, the impact of her punch somehow raises the three thousand pound vehicle in the air, and another punch sends flying towards the grimm. Meanwhile, Ruby is in the middle of her own grimm slaying as she takes out a beowolf and creep with rapid spinning slashes in front of the same King Taijitu that roared earlier. The massive serpent readies itself to attack to attack the young huntress
"NORA SMASH!"
Ruby braces herself for the new challenge, that is until she spots Nora Valkyrie flying in the frame, on her hammer 'Magnhild', she skyrockets towards the King Taijitu, flips mid air, and slams her hammer on its head, killing it with one strike. Nora roughly lands on her feet as Jaune and Ren regroup with her on foot, while Pyrrha also makes a flashy appearance by dropping from the air and landing in a kneeling position with her sword 'Miló' held and shield 'Akoúo̱' held low. The red haired huntress rises to her feet and raises her right arm commandingly
"Let's move!" Pyrrha commands her team as she, Nora and Ren spread out; on the other hand, Jaune simply groans, staying behind to mope
Ren and Nora get to work, with the latter slamming her hammer into a creep and sending it flying into a building, while her close longtime friend stomps on a creep, kicks another creep, and then slashes at a Beowolf three times with his bladed machine guns 'StormFlower'
"Alright then! Who's first?!" Jaune speaks confidently as he runs around by himself, looking for a grimm to pick a fight with
Jaune is stunned into silence when a massive THUMP is heard behind him, the blonde student turns around and notice a ginormous Ursa standing behind him
"Ohhhh o-okay, you're first, huh? Okay, no, that's fine... This is totally fine." Jaune tightly held onto his shield but had a weak grip on his sword
Jaune lets out a mighty scream and then proceeds to slash the Ursa several times in the chest and midsection until the student is exhausted and cannot swing for a brief period anymore, luckily for the him, the grimm topples over in defeat
(T-that was... So uncoordinated!) Link mumbles to himself (He didn't utilize anything Pyrrha and I taught him and all of his hits were off. But who am I to judge? He's killing Grimm and doing his absolute best, while I'm sitting over here on my butt because I can't even fight right now. G-good job, Jaune.)
"Totally cool!" Ruby says with a lot of admiration for her friend
"Y-yes... totally cool." Link slowly nods, despite the lack of skill displayed
A few feet from the fallen Ursa are Sun and Neptune who arrive just in the nick of time. They flash and show off their badges... Which did not look real at all
"Nobody move! Junior detectives!" Sun smirks as he shows off his badge first
"We have badges so you know it's official!" Neptune follows suit in his team leader's footsteps by showing off his badge next
(Now that is actually dumb,) Link chuckles as he finally gains enough strength to get up and at the very least stretch his body. (That's much better.)
Sun and Neptune are immediately upstaged by an incoming fleet of ships courtesy of the Atlesian Military, consisting of dropships deploying multiple Atlesian Knight-200 units and the flagship of James Ironwood. Sun and Neptune's first reaction is shock as they see the fleet in awe, the students then drop their badges on the floor. When Ruby looks up into the sky, an Ursa takes the opportunity to attack her from behind. However, it is quickly gunned down by a drop ship's machine gun, Ruby turns back to the ship and waves in gratitude
(KID! Look to your right but don't make it too obvious! Top right hand corner and this is something you'll definitely wish you had all your strength for. Look who's shown up for some... Fun!)
(Huh?) Link uses his eyes, does not turn his head and looks exactly to his right, top right hand corner, noticing another Ursa downed, this one from an Atlesian Knights punch.
But as the Ursa was out of Link's sight, he spots Cinder, Emerald and Mercury. Although Cinder is quick to leave the scene, Emerald and Mercury stay to fight off the grimm as an effort to cover up their tracks
(Now's my chance...) Link mumbles (With all this commotion, I can take out Cinder's cronies right now! It might not be Cinder herself but it sure is a good star.) The boy pulls his sword out of its sheath and slowly, briskly, and steadily limps towards Emerald and Mercury
"...Link? Where are you going?" Ruby watches him limp away in the process of taking out a Beowolf with a shot from her sniper rifle. When the huntress confirm her kill, she deactivates Crescent Rose, slides it on her belt so that it is resting on her back, and slowly trails her injured friend
Moments Later
Despite Atlas Military arriving to save the day along with team CFVY and Professor Port. The new arrivals, plus the confirmations of Professor Oobleck and Zwei being safe by having entered an Atlesian Paladin when the train collided. None of this intrigues Link enough to stay behind and keep watching, like Yang requested him to do. Despite wanting to see team CFVY in action when they arrived at the scene, Link knows that there is a bigger picture he must handle, stopping Cinder. He walks around the fighter and avoids the chaos by going through alleyways, his mind is focused on the intended targets so much so that the gunfire and blasts are easily ignored and blocked out. Until he finally reaches Emerald and Mercury, more or less. Link is in their general direction and can see them splitting off into different alleyways tactically
(They're clearing out some Grimm but clearly pretending because they are in no hurry to return back to everyone else. Where could they have possibly gone? Oh well, they've split up, I better target one of them and move in.)
(You idiot! They most likely know you're after them. You're not exactly sneaking up on them.)
(Y-yeah but look at me, at least at thirty percent, why wouldn't they just take ME out?)
(Ah, I see... You're trying to lure them to come to you in order to start a fight. Not bad at all. What is your plan if they do focus on you and try to take you out?)
(It's simple and I've worked it out in my head. If it goes in my favor, I can successfully take out Emerald and Mercury and justify it by explaining my past. If it doesn't go my way and I fail, there is no way they could justify killing me. Even if they have clever lies and tricks up their sleeves, team RWBY, JNPR, CFVY, they would never believe that garbage and take matters into their own hands!)
(That plan is pretty stupid and yet, it could have worked. But as you know, there's always someone who has to ruin a perfect plan! Good luck, brat.)
(What?)
Link receives no response from the 'demon' but it immediately clicks what 'it' or 'he' meant, as he turns to see Atlesian Knight coming his way. The problem is they weren't going for the Grimm up ahead or Emerald and Mercury hiding in alleys, they surround Link and close in on him
(Damn, of course, I forgot Ironwood is still after me, I'm such a fool that I forgot.) Link slaps his forehead with his hand and counts the Knights currently around him, (Twelve around me right now, but there's more coming right now.) He looks past the one's around him and spots seven more, eight including General Ironwood himself. (So he's here to finally capture me after all.)
"HALT!" Ironwood shouts as he approaches the Knights already around Link. "This is your last chance boy! Su-!"
"Shut up already!" Link frowns and concentrates carefully, trying his hardest as the Atlesian Knights aim their guns at him. (No good, I don't have the energy to summon that protective cloak.)
"Are you absolutely certain that this is how you want to go?" Ironwood raises an eyebrow
"What are you doing anyway?!" Link has a look of disbelief in his eyes. "There are creatures of Grimm all over the city but you're more focused on capturing me? Is this for your pride and reputation or what? Did you run this plan of yours by Professor Ozpin?"
"No." Ironwood shakes his head. "If Professor Ozpin can make decisions that go against everything I stand for and go out of his way to keep me in the dark in the process, I can do the same with my army. You are still a wanted criminal after all. Your status as a student of Beacon Academy was never going to protect you forever."
(Of course he's going rogue, how perfect of a time for me to be drained of all my energy and power, when I needed it most.)
In the same conversation involving alleyways, Ruby is in one as well, and she gasps in horror when witnessing the Atlesian Knights firing their guns at Link. The young huntress stiffens and goes frozen with fear, she closes her eyes, and begins hoping for the best. Luckily, the best possible outcome that can happen is occurring for now, Link having already had his sword out, grabs his shield and begins blocking as many bullets as possible with shield blocking and sword slashes; although, he is still hit regardless
(I can't keep this up.) Link continues to spin and turn, holding up his shield and swinging wildly with his sword, trying to block every bullet. Eventually, the boy falls to both knees in exhaustion but at the corner of his eyes, he sees his most familiar ally. (R-ruby? O-oh no! I hate that she has to witness this... You better not rush it either.)
"Why is the general after Link?" Ruby opens her eyes when the gunfire momentarily ceases and moves in recklessly
"It's over." Ironwood speaks as he manages to get through the circle of Atlesian Knights, aiming his revolver at Link. "Now, do you want me to arrest or kill you?"
"Go on! Do it!" Link struggles and pushes through immense pain to get up to one knee in defiance. "I would rather die than be locked up in an Atlas prison!"
"As you wish!" Ironwood, from only a few feet away, fires his revolver, aiming a direct shot at Link's head
"YAHHH!"
The sound of Ruby's cry can be heard as she appears out of nowhere and stands protectively in front of Link, she deflects the bullets with rapid spin from Crescent Rose in its scythe form
"Ruby!"
"Miss Rose!"
Both Link and Ironwood speak in shock at the same time. As for their predicament, the Atlesian Knights aim their guns again, now at both the former and Ruby
"Hold your fire!" Ironwood raises his hand and instantaneously, all of the Knights proceed to not fire but instead remain with their guns aim
"Why are you after Link?!" Ruby shouts. "He didn't do anything wrong!"
"We don't know who caused this, Miss Rose. And until we get a clear name and identification, we must arrest all suspects." Ironwood speaks calmly
"O-oh..." Ruby slowly nods and returns her scythe back into its inactive stage. "I guess that's fair?"
"You're full of crap Ironwood!" Link shouts as he gets up to both feet. "Don't believe a word he says Ruby, not about me at least. Do you know why he's doing this? He's only after me!"
"Huh?" Ruby looks at Link, then back at Ironwood, not knowing what or who to believe anymore
"If you aren't sure of who you trust, think about this. Why would he only be arresting me then?!" Link growls. "If your statement were true Ironwood, you would have to arrest five more people: Professor Oobleck, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna, and Ruby Rose! You on the other hand, only want to arrest me! How convenient!"
"He's right." Ruby looks at Ironwood with fire in her eyes. "Why are you lying, general?"
"Even when you're near your limit you still find a way to be clever." Ironwood scoffs. "Does she know your past, boy?"
"Of course not, we've never had the time to have that conversation." Link responds. "I was actually going to break the ice on that AFTER this mission ended. But thanks for putting me on the spot."
"Your past?" Ruby asks. "O-oh right, the 'unclear past' as Professor Ozpin said."
"What Professor Ozpin didn't tell you is that your 'friend' Link here, was a mercenary for the White Fang and multiple criminal organizations." Ironwood speaks calmly
"Even if that's true, which it isn't... So what?! You don't know what it's like to not have anything worth fighting for except money! To have countless people ripped away from you by criminals and your own army!" Link falls to one knee again, breathing heavily. "Besides, it's clear to me that you don't care about how much good I'm doing now, all you want to do is label me for who I WAS!" He rises back up to his feet, to the chagrin of the Atlas military general
"How much good are you really doing? Look around, does this look good?" Ironwood points at the partially destroyed City of Vale
"Then go get the guy who caused this! I'm sure Roman Torchwick is hiding somewhere around here." Link scoffs
"I can easily get that done. But first, I must bring you in at once." Ironwood frowns
"I see..." Link nods. "If you don't catch Torchwick, you'll just blame me for this! Just like you blamed the destruction of an entire village on me!"
"That's preposterous!" Ironwood shakes his head. "You're going WAY too far now with these ridiculously broad assumptions."
"Can you blame me?" Link narrows his eyes. "All you want is to take me down. You don't even care about the destruction of the city or prioritizing the person who caused this... You. Only. Want. ME! So why don't you just take me out like you've been dreaming about?"
"Very well!" Ironwood does not command his Atlesian Knights to shoot, but instead sprints himself and charges at Link, reaching for him with his right hand
"Oh no you don't!"
Ruby, with the advantage in speed, is in front of Ironwood in no time and with both of her hands, she grips Ironwood's. The strength advantage most definitely goes to the general, but the young huntress cleverly uses the speed and momentum of Ironwood along with her own, then manages to not out strengthen the bigger older man, instead she uses her speed to counter what would've been Ironwood's brute strength. With the created momentum between the two, Ruby miraculously spin s Ironwood around and sends him crashing into his Atlesian Knights, wiping two of them out with his weight and the ensuing crash
"It appears I am left with no choice." Ironwood growls, stands to his feet, sighs and hesitantly orders the Atlesian Knights to fire
"Link!" Ruby calls out to him. "Get ready, we're in for another wave of gunfire!"
"Right!" Link nods and presses his back against Ruby's, who also nods at this plan to go back to back, both ready to defend and not let anyone come in between
"Fire!" Ironwood retreats behind the Atlesian Knights as more show up to expands the circle to twelve
"Now!" Ruby and Link bounced off each other, Ruby deflected bullets with repetitive scythe spins while Link does the same, only with his sword for some illogical reason
Elsewhere
Audible cheers go towards the direction of Team CFVY, primarily to Coco Adel. The entire team of upperclassman make short work of the grim they took out but notably, Coco stands out after she effortlessly destroys three Beowolves, a Death Stalker, a Boarbatusk and three Nevermores with her minigun disguised as a small black purse. Yatsuhashi shields Velvet from any debris and grimm body parts from the Nevermores that scatter around whilst Fox stands still and watches, nonchalantly
"Hey... where's that blonde kid? And the girl with the funny voice?" Coco looks around, not seeing Link or Ruby anymore. She finds team RWBY, but only Weiss, Blake and Yang who have regroups to find more grimm together
"Maybe they ran into a really strong grimm." Velvet mumbles
"That could be possible... But I don't think Ruby or Link are the type to be held up by a Grimm." Coco grumbles as she notices the dozen AtlesianKnights, general Ironwood behind them, and seven more knights approaching them. "Yatsuhashi, Fox... You two stay here. Velvet, you're with me. She and I are going to see what's going on over there."
Fox nods and gives no verbal reply
"Do not get caught in the crossfire." Yatsuhashi bluntly speaks but in a very calm fashion too. "Stay safe."
"We sure will, come on Velvet." Coco holds her handbag close with a tight grip as she begins to walk. "Why is my stomach feeling twisted? We're winning the fight after all, what gives?"
"Coco is worried." Velvet follows her team leader but also looks at her with worry. "Something bad must be happening if Coco isn't confident."
"Stay behind me at all times." Coco turns to face Velvet. "We don't know what we're up against and I refuse to let my teammate get hurt because of my bad calls. If it's the worst case scenario, forget about what I said regarding your weapon, use it if you must."
"Got it." Velvet nods. "Are you worried something could be wrong?"
"Yes... But I hope I'm wrong."
...
Back to the ongoing battle between Ruby, Link and the relentless Atlesian Knights
"Link! How are you holding up?" Ruby turns to check on him
"Don't worry about me-! Watch out!" Link reaches for his back pocket, grabs a throwing knife and launches it at the Knight that was seconds away from firing a clear shot on Ruby. The knife surges and plunges into the skull of the Knight, and for a brief moment it stops, but then fires again. This time however, Ruby is prepared and blocks the bullet
"Man these things are strong..." Ruby begins to breath heavily as well
(She's been hit, but luckily her aura has not depleted yet.) Link sighs in relief
"Do not hold back! Eliminate the criminal!" Ironwood speaks coldly, despite him only wanting to take out Link, it was Ruby's persistence that makes the general even more angry
The Atlesian Knights, with their guns still aimed at both Link and Ruby, fire away mercilessly and relentlessly. Ruby's scythe slashes and spins, along with Link's sword slash and shield blocks cannot not hold off all of the bullets, the two students take multiple hits to the lower halves of their bodies and their midsections too. Regardless of all the damage taken, Link's aura is somehow not depleted completely. Unfortunately, Ruby is nearing her breaking point. The twelve Atlesian Knights in the front retreat a few steps to reload their weapons, so the seven knights around Ironwood take their place, and began to fire away too
(Damn! This is it! I won't be able to keep going at this pace any longer!)
"Link!" Ruby frowns and takes control of the situation by pushing Link out of the way with a shoulder charge
Link plants a hand on Ruby's forearm, attempting to grab her for leverage and stay on his feet, but instead quickly hits the ground. This heroic and brash decisions results in Ruby letting down her guard and being hit yet again
"Ah!" Ruby cries out as her left leg was shot, directly in the calf area. She drops down to one knee, with a faint but visibly red color flowing across her body, indicating that her aura has met it's limit for the day
"Ruby!" Link quickly turns and crawls to his friend, but he is shot in the shoulder
As they both get hit with bullets, Coco and Velvet approach the scene. Velvet gasps at the sight of Ruby and Link, seeing how injured they were makes her run towards them and grab onto her weapon, but Coco has to forcefully hold Velvet back by gripping the collar of her shirt
"What the hell is happening?" Coco's eyes are full of fear, though they were covered by her shades. "Why is Atlas doing that to these kids?"
"How can she stay so calm?" Velvet looks at Coco with worry. "Or is she scared and hiding it perfectly?"
"You're done, R-ruby." Link mumbles to Ruby, (Her Aura... It's been depleted almost entirely, but how? She had more than me when we started? Damn it!) The one person team inhales deeply and switches his position from being behind Ruby to being in front of her, shield held firmly, ready to take all hits for her
The seven Knights continue to fire at them and all Link can do is continue playing defense, hoping something would change eventually. He continues to take hits, to the back, to the arm, leg, and so on. Until finally, the bullets stopped... And Link's aura nears its depletion as well
(I lucked out...) Link sighed as he fell back and started to breath softly
The blonde student does make a crucial mistake though, by overlooking the situation, and thinking it was over but out of the twenty enemies in front and all around him... Only nineteen were stalled briefly. He looks up and notices Ironwood aiming his revolver right at him.
BLAST!
The revolver is fired, the bullets looks to be traveling in slow motion, it is as if time slows down for Link to contemplate his life decisions while realizing he doesn't have the time or quick enough reflexes to pick up his shield and block this bullet. Before he can even move or say anything, his eyes close and he accepts his fate, with the final things he saw being... An ominous rose petal
(A rose petal...?)
Ten seconds pass and Link slowly opens his eyes, he looks around and realizes he is not in the afterlife, but still in the city of Vale. Strangely, all of the Atlesian Knights are now backed up, their guns still aimed, but no shots are fired anymore. He then looks at Ruby and notices she was standing in front of him, as Ironwood has a look of shock on his face, the older man then lowers his head and growls like, he was feeling ashamed
(She did it...) Link wipes his eyes clear to make sure he is not imagining anything. The boy then notices something odd, Ruby does not have Crescent Rose in her hands
"I never realized how much trouble... You would... Be for me." Ruby chuckles, clearly struggling to say her words of choice. "D-dummy!"
"You did it! Great job Ruby! How did you-!" Link cuts himself off upon realizing what really happened
There is a small pool of blood right under Ruby, leaking and falling down her chest. She bravely took Ironwood's bullet but surprisingly, the bullet did not go through her and come out of her back, it is still lodged inside. Ruby stands stiffly in front of Link while he is on his knees, struggling to rise up to his feet
"You should look at yourself right now, were you scared? Did you think you were gonna die or something?" Ruby faintly smiles. "You big dummy. You won't go that easily."
"Y-you... Why did you do this? W-why didn't you whip out Crescent Rose like before?!" Link speaks in disbelief, the cracks in his voice also tell the bigger story as he is frightened. "Why would you just jump in front of me? You knew you had no aura... I don't understand! Why?!"
"I guess if I had to come up with a reason now, I may not like you right now but you're still my... F-friend." Ruby slumps over and closes her eyes momentarily
She begins to think about everything she experienced with Link, her initial skepticism, then the immediate change of heart, the fist bumps, the hugs, even their first kiss, all culminating with their brief and very recent rivalry. Where they to constantly tried to one up each other
"Hmph!" Ruby raises her head and opens her eyes, showcasing life
"I still don't understand, Ruby." Link growls with anger as he slowly gets up with wobbly legs. "Why?! Why would you risk your life for me like that?" He balls up his fists when he does not get an immediate answer. "You should not have even jumped in here in the first place. Y-you could've ran off and found Glynda or another professor to expose General Ironwood's abuse of power!"
"I don't know why I did it. There, I said it. My body just kind of moved on on its own, you would call it natural instinct... S-s-s-s-silly!" Ruby winks at her obviously mimicking of Link's words, but her final word barely comes out and faintly as the huntress closes her eyes and falls backwards
(N-no!) Link's eyes widened with shock... And anger, he leans forward, catches Ruby in his arms and falls to his knees with her due to his lack of stability. The huntress completely falls down, only being held up by Link's arms before her head hits the street they are on
"L-link..." Ruby mumbles. "I wanted to end all crime in Vale..." She smiles warm but momentarily stalls herself, thinking carefully about her next words. "I-I'm dying, aren't I? Heh, I didn't realize it would be this stress inducing and painful."
"N-no, you're not dying, s-shut up! Don't say that." Link shakes his head and gently holds her in his arms
"I wanted to end all crime in the whole world... That's been my goal and was going to be official once I became a professional huntress which was my ultimate d-dream, but..." Ruby's voice starts to become weaker, she stops herself and her eyes begin to shake and well up with tears. The young huntress reaches with her right hand and grabs a hold of Link by his tunic, "D-dang it... Now I pass on my dreams and goals to you, L-link! So don't you dare not carry them out! O-okay?" Her eyes slowly close soon after these last words
(R-ruby...) Link's eyes widened to their fullest extent, hearing Ruby's last words and watching the hand that was just grabbing seconds ago weakly flop to the ground. The moment she closes her eyes, Link's eyes well up with tears as well, watching her head turn, neck go stiff and body now motionless makes the tears in Link's eyes trickle slowly down his cheeks
Ironwood shakes his head and looks up, he glances at the person he considered a number one priority to capture. Dead or alive. The Atlas general watches Link cradle Ruby and hold her closely, hugging and mourning his friend
"She..." Ironwood closes his eyes and the quick memory of Ruby charging and jumping in front of him, only to use his own power against him and send him away with her speed comes back into his mind. "Miss Rose plunged into what she knew was a trap, to protect you?" The older man opens his eyes and stands up straight. "I will give her all the credit and props in the world, she is a huntress worthy of respect." He turns his back to Link now. "This is the way of this cruel world that I am trying to fix, friends, allies, comrades, they die but it does not have to be that way if you would all just follow me and listen closely." The Atlas general walks away from Link, the seven Atlesian Knights originally around him follow to keep him shielded and guarded
"Shut... Up!" Link mumbles with a weak tone as he painfully forces himself to pull Ruby away from himself, he softly lays her down on the cracked concrete, and her hand flop once again. "Y-you sick Atlas monsters killed Ruby... the same way you killed my best friend!"
Suddenly, wind picks up and it becomes stronger with every passing second despite it being a beautiful day outside with no wind or clouds even. Within seconds, it is now cloudy and additionally it begins to rain heavily as well. These were not the only changes however, as seemingly out of nowhere, Link and Ruby are both covered with a golden energy , a known technique to the former, who has used this cloak to protect himself and others in the past, but something is different about it this time around
"Ironwood, I can't and will not forgive you for this... EVER! You will pay for this!" Link growls again, with pure anger in his voice now as the golden energy surrounding them grows larger and brighter
"W-what is that?" Ironwood narrows his eyes, but this is unlike anything he has ever seen before
Link places his hands on Ruby's shoulders, feeling her lifeless body, he begins to shake uncontrollably until this bright golden energy disappears faster than it appeared. The one person team lifts his head, his eyes are visibly golden, a familiar sight, but he was not fully in control. This Is clear when the strange lining kicks in and spreads out of his eyes, trailing outwards and onto his cheeks first, then to the rest of his face; along with a pasty bright white color engulfing and his complexion, making him look as if he were possessed. Link's eyes, while glowing with a magical golden color, are anything but magical... He has an evil look in his eyes, like he has the intention to take a life, the way a monster would
"I'm going to kill you... IRONWOOD!" Link shouts, his voice deepens slightly and his anger converts itself into pure hatred as his caressing of Ruby swiftly comes to an end and he allows her to rest as peacefully as she can
"N-not good." Ironwood backs away despite not being in immediate danger. "But his aura was completely depleted and he was clearly out of energy earlier, what is going on?" He continues to back away as Link slowly ascends to his feet. "This criminal... just what the hell kind of power does he have?!"
This sudden resurgence of energy and aura is visibly seen as all of Link's wounds began to heal within seconds. Just a few feet away from all of this are Coco and Velvet, still hiding in the alleyway, the former watches with a 'clear' blank expression on her face, though her eyes tell a completely different story... They shake with fear. Meanwhile, Velvet is in complete shock, she is very scared and the terror on her face was evident, watching Link become something she knows nothing about is horrifying
Link's anger is audible in the form of growls and grunts that grow louder and louder when his head whips back and forth to look at Ruby, then Ironwood repeatedly. The boy does this to channel even more hatred than he already has for the Atlas general. His facial features remain the same, besides the lining that spread across his entire face. Although Link shows he still has control, when the lining does not spread any further than his jaw and this is as far as the 'transformation' went, the rest of this 'demon' within Link is successfully suppressed. The student aims his sights on the general and stares at him coldly
"Grrrrr... COME HERE!"
Link's shouts with all his might, the rough tone and intensity in his voice stuns the Atlas General in place, along Coco and Velvet who are even more scared now than they were before. The furious huntsman in training takes off and charges full speed at the Atlas general, with every intention to kill him
"He's coming!" Ironwood, forced to hold his position, reaches for his gun and has little time to prepare the enemy
To Be Continued...
(Author's Note: Yo, hello everybody! Just a quick message here: For anyone wondering what Link's inner demon STILL looks like, the cover of the story says it all!)
(Edited on 8/7/2022)
