Previously on the 'Lone' Hero of Vale...
"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
"Miss Rose plunged into what she knew was a trap, to protect you?" Ironwood 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."
"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!"
"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?!"
Continuing: The City of Vale
"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
...
"I must not hold back!" Ironwood aims his revolver and fires not just one but three perfect shots, aiming directly at Link's chest. "I can't be reckless, whatever is going on with his face is probably something to stay away from, the rest of his body has not changed much, I should aim for anywhere else except the head in that case!"
"Grrrrr!" Link sprints right into the bullets and his aura easily blocks, repels, and sends the bullets straight into the ground as if they were nothing. "Is that all you have?! A gun and physicality?!"
"WHAT?! It didn't even come close, his aura repelled it completely and by a good couple of feet. This is not normal at all! A person's aura normally defends them right as they are about to be hit with an attack!" Ironwood's eyes widened when Link was right in his path. "S-so fast!"
"AHHH!" Link springs in the air, aiming and delivering a flying side kick...
...To an Atlesian Knight that steps in front of Link, consequently taking Ironwood's spot as the general gets away by sprinting past Link and the Atlesian Knight. The powerful flying side kick alone from Link is enough to knock its head off its shoulders, rendering the Knight useless
Link whips his head back, quickly scanning the area, looking at all the Atlesian Knights first before locating Ironwood hiding behind them
"Very well then!" Ironwood frowns and realizes he himself cannot land a direct shit, but maybe a volume of attacks will work. "Fire! And don't stop until he's down! Forget bringing him in alive!" The older man commands his machinery
All eighteen Atlesian Knights fire their guns at Link and easily make contact with the huntsman in training's body, which would be great for them, had his aura not blocked every single bullet and instead sent them flying back as if he were getting pebbles and specs of dust launched at him, not dangerous projectiles. Link reaches for the handle of his sword but does not bother to get in stance for maximum speed, power, or precision. The student simply keeps a straight face as the small triforce engraved in his left hand lights up brightly, along with all the designs around his sheath, shield, sword, and some of his clothes. In a quick flash, he is already past a row of Atlesian Knights, who had just reloaded their rifles. Link, with this sudden surge of power appears right in front of Ironwood, his arm is fully extended, sword drawn and held behind him, showing it has been swung, the second he looks up to stare daggers into the Atlas general, twelve Atlesian Knights cohesively split in half, leaving Ironwood with only six now
"Die!" Ironwood winds up a punch with his right arm, he throws it and the closed fist, covered by a white glove, lands perfectly on Link's cheek. "WHAT?! A long distance attack to his chest didn't work! Now a direct and close range attack to the head doesn't work either! How do I defeat this one?"
General Ironwood is shocked when his punch has ZERO effect on Link. Despite having more strength than the boy in general, and with his right arm being significantly stronger than his left due to a hidden secret of his but none of this makes a difference. The man plants his feet into the ground and puts his entire body into it as he tries to push the student back with the fist still on his face
"You Atlas scum should have never crossed paths with me after that fateful day... You should have left me alone!" Link raises his left arm and slaps Ironwood's powerful arm off his face as if he were shooing away a fly. "Your turn to die!"
He screams at the top of his lungs, his menacing words aimed directly at Ironwood's face before moving onwards and attacking himself. First, Link jumps up to Ironwood's head level and knees him perfectly on the chin, the force of the knee sends the Atlas general stumbling back. The Atlesian Knights follow the action but are slow to keep up with them both as Link sprints forward to follow up his first attack, he jumps again and extends his left to land another flying side kick to the head. Unfortunately, for the student, Ironwood rolls out of the way and retreats to his Knights once again. Having managed to dodge again, Ironwood gets more of his machinery destroyed when Link continues the chase and slices off the heads of two Atlesian Knights, only leaving the panicking general with five Knights after originally starting the fight with nineteen
"Your toasters won't save you much longer!" Link decides to stop running and stand perfectly in between the five remaining Knights, the blonde student with his sword in hand, extends his left leg backwards, and in a split second, rapidly spins and shreds the remaining Knights with only one powerful spinning slash. "You can send as many toasters as you want, they are only effective on Grimm! Now fight me yourself!"
"I have to get him while he's distracted... and this might be the perfect time" Ironwood sprints and puts his own body at risk by getting in between the powerful slash. "Now with his sword stuck in my body, he'll have to let go and then I can isolate him from his strongest weapon. Or he can hold onto it and take my next attack."
The spinning slash comes to an end when Link's sword connects with the general midsection, on his right side. But when Link abruptly stops spinning, he knows his sword did not connect with human flesh, exposing that Ironwood is not entirely human. The latter cocks his arm back and winds up another punch, with the student distracted and stuck in his spinning slash stance, Ironwood aims for Link's chest, an area not covered by this strange lining and bright white color that is now his skin. The right handed closed fist punch rushes forward with impressive speed and it looks like this intense strike will get the job done, as it does have the power to kill if it lands perfectly
ZOOM!
Link acts fast, removes his sword from Ironwood's midsection, scraping metal on metal in the process and exploding off his feet to swiftly dodge with a perfect mid air barrel roll. The dodge, spin, and roll may have been perfect but the landing is messed up when Link lands flat on his behind. Although, despite this minor setback, he still get up with no issues and quickly enough to keep rushing at Ironwood, proving that speed beats power nine times out of ten
"How is he this fast?! Why is he unfazed by any of my physical strikes or gunfire?!" Ironwood retreats and luckily for him there are more Atlesian Knights coming his way. "I need some backup to take him out and if that does not work... Then I need to get to my ship!"
"Come here!" Link promptly sheaths his sword and proceeds to chase Ironwood, although the chase ends within seconds as the huntsman in training first dashes in front of him, then knicks the revolver out of his hand. "Where do you think you're going?!"
"No way!" Ironwood is stopped dead in his tracks when his enemy grabs him by his left arm and grips his wrist with his right hand, with no intention of letting go. "Is he even the same person anymore?"
"I got you now! AHHH!" Link opens his mouth and lets out a loud cry that rings throughout the city
Elsewhere, A fair distance away from the big fight taking place
"Rain? Hm... That's bizarre, it was sunny moments ago. What is going on around here?" This voice is that of Glynda Goodwitch, one of the most powerful professors at Beacon and practically a second headmaster to the prestigious academy. She notices metal scraps everywhere, assuming it is the doing of grimm taking out Ironwood's Atlesian Knights. "It appears I have a lot to clean up, starting with this. Oh well, I better get to the fight before it is too late."
Glynda reaches for her boot and grabs her weapon, a riding crop named 'The Disciplinarian' and with her immense power, she lifts the scraps of metal off the streets of the city but it does not take long for someone to interrupt her as she receives a call from none other than Professor Ozpin
"Professor Ozpin?" Glynda answers the phone and raises it to her ear. "What's the occasion? Is everything okay? I have arrived in the city like you told me to and I-!"
"Glynda! Good! You arrived in the city? That is great news. Get to the plaza, that is where the Grimm are coming from. And if you see him along the way, find James, immediately!" Ozpin shouts. "I have a feeling he is there. I don't know what he's trying to do but-!"
"W-what?! Slow down, professor. What's wrong? Did you two have a back and forth that didn't end amicably?" Glynda raises an eyebrow. "Is there something going on that I have not been made aware of?"
"No, it is much worse. We were supposed to be having a conversation in my office while his army assisted you and the students in the city."
"Right." The professional huntress nods. "I'm sorry, I don't really follow, did the conversation not go well?"
"He never showed up. Meaning he has to be there in the city with his army." Ozpin mumbles. "After he personally asked me to meet in my office. Why would he go against his word so blatantly?"
"That is very unlike James." Glynda frowns and shakes her head. "Has he said anything to you as of late?"
"He has not, no." Ozpin shakes his head. "Have you two spoken sometime in the last couple of days?"
"Y-yes." Glynda sighs
"What did he say, Glynda?" Ozpin anticipates her answer whilst sitting at his desk patiently
"We spoke last night at the landing docks. I found him gazing at the city alone and decided to approach him, to see what was bothering him." Glynda shuts her eyes, feeling conflicted about whether she should air her personal conversation with Ironwood or not, deciding at the very last second to reveal the contents. "H-he... Did tell me what was bothering him. James was and is upset because we have known you for a long time, professor. But the general feels like you are leaving us in the dark, and he does not like your passive approach to everything going on right now."
"I see..."
Silence
"Professor Ozpin?" Glynda speaks quietly. "Are you there?"
"Yes I am, I just need to know... What do you think, Glynda?" Ozpin stands up from his desk, turns around, walks a few steps forward and watches the city all the way from the top of the tower. "About what James said, do you agree with him?"
"Of course... Not." Glynda nods confidently, "I told James as much as he talks about trust, he needs to show it himself. And if he thinks he can doubt you and openly question your methods to other people without putting himself under a microscope, he's sorely mistaken." She raises her crop firmly. "I believe in you, Professor Ozpin. I always have and nobody is going to change my mind about that."
"I am very glad to hear that. Because I will never stop believing in the both of you." Ozpin smiles warmly. "I do not understand why James would start lying to me now, but it is something we need to address when we can all get in the same room together again and talk. But for now, the salvation and reconstruction of Vale is in your hands, Glynda. If James is there, performing a self assigned mission or doing something he should not be, please stop him. Good luck, Professor Goodwitch."
"Thank you, talk to you later." Glynda nods and immediately puts her scroll away when Ozpin hangs up the call. "If James is here, he should be observing from his ship, he's not a huntsman anymore after all." The huntress promptly shook her head. "For his sake, I hope he is in his ship, managing his army and not getting himself involved."
Glynda continues walking through the streets of Vale, she nods at innocent civilians who hide in buildings, houses, behind cars and walls, with every step she takes, there are scraps of metal and dead grimm in her path. A normal occurrence considering what is happening in the city. Until she turns the corner, the professional huntress sees only metal parts on the ground now, all from Atlesian Knights. Glynda gasps upon seeing a small army of Atlesian Knights destroyed with no grimm in sight, thinking the beasts are winning the fight. However, when she sees General Ironwood, she breathes a sigh of relief... For approximately three seconds maximum before she is taken aback out of nowhere by a powerful wave of energy that almost sweeps Glynda off her feet
"What is this?!" Glynda grips onto her riding crop and forms a shield in front and around herself, temporarily blocking this powerful wave from pushing her back any farther, "It's so strong, I can't fight it! -!" She stops attempting to walk forward in order to focus on making the shield stronger as it was nearly broken instantly. "What is this?"
The Beacon professor squints and narrows her eyes to look closely, although it proves to be difficult to focus on the two people fighting with her wincing in pair from squinting and focusing
"That's... J-James! Is this his doing? No. This powerful energy is too strong, even for someone as powerful as James." Glynda takes her attention off Ironwood and glances over at his opponent, who at first was not recognizable due to his eyes and new facial features, but then it registers to the professor who sees past the strange lining, bright white complexion and murderous look in the boy's eyes. "That's one of our students, our first year Link!"
Glynda struggles to stay on her feet, having to plant her feet firmly into the ground whilst maintaining the same powerful shield, needed for the sole purpose of keeping her upright. With time and understand how much power is required, the huntress is able to maintain a steady balance, and then the professor sees the condition another one of her student's is in
"Miss Rose?!" Glynda gasps, this shatters her concentration, soon enough the powerful energy breaks through her firm shield and sends her flying back
Returning to the fight
"I can't break free of his grip!" Ironwood tries to lift his right hand up for a third powerful metal arm punch but panics when he can barely even lift the arm. "I can't even fight off his aura!"
Link lets out another aggressive growl as he now winds up a punch of his own. With low growl turning into a ferocious shout, he proceeds to deliver two powerful physical attacks, first he starts by nailing General Ironwood's gut with a quick knee strike before hitting his main attack. The unloads the punch and plunges his fist into the general's face with a straight punch courtesy of his left hand
"Oomf!"
Ironwood takes both strikes brutally as his wind gets knocked out of him and then, the impact of the punch sends him flying through the air, smashing through the incoming four Atlesian Knights, the heavy man destroys them with his weight and momentum as they effectively break Ironwood's fall. However, he continues traveling and rolls on the concrete as well until eventually coming to a full stop, at which point his aura 'breaks', a universal sign that it's been depleted. Ironwood's vision changes as he replays the events from earlier when he and his Atlesian Knights were on the verge of capturing and killing Link... To now all of them being destroyed while he himself is down and unable to fight any longer. The last image he recalls is when he sees the demonic look in Link's golden, possessed eyes for the first time, how the boy looked lifeless and puppet like
"I underestimated y-you..." Ironwood, the man normally with the strongest pride, finally admits his biggest mistake as he struggles to get to his feet, only barely maintaining balance when he places both feet on the ground
(There we go, you can FINALLY hear me brat. I don't know how the hell you stopped me from taking over completely but I'm going to have to figure out how to overpower you myself, I don't know what you've been able to do but from what I see... You need to go on and kill that man! He killed your new best friend while ANOTHER Atlas scum killed your first best friend, FINISH HIM!)
The Beacon Academy one person team hears the voice but does not acknowledge it, instead he exhales calmly and stares at Ironwood, he looks at him carefully, and knows that the general is at his limit. When he exhales, the wind's intensity slows and that force of energy that was pushing back Glynda Goodwitch is no more, the weather begins to subside as well
"Grrr..." Link lets out one last growl before deciding to charge at Ironwood again
"L-link no! Don't do this!" Velvet shakes her head as she leaped off the ground with all the speed she possesses
"Velvet no!" Coco reaches out to grab her by a foot but this time the rabbit faunus is too fast and slips away from her leader. "Damn! She can't see that Link isn't in full control right now! Whoever that is... Is not Link!"
A short sprint later and when he is only a few feet away from Ironwood, Link jumps up in the air and grabs his sword for only the second time throughout this entire 'fight'. The gold on his clothing, sword, sheath, shield and triforce on his left hand all light up, he dashes through the air faster now that the strong wind is gone, pushing past the last of the hard rain, and ignoring the sounds of loud thunder as no more lightning bolts strike... His entire focus is on killing the man that killed Ruby, his best friend
"D-damn you kid..." Ironwood sighs and closes his eyes. "You were right about this kid, I made the mistake of messing with his emotions, and now it seems like... I will be gone before I can admit I was wrong. Oz, I'm sorry."
(F-for...R-ruby!) Link says to himself with calmness in his voice, rather than the anger showcased earlier as he unsheathes his sword when he's ready to strike and kill Ironwood
Suddenly, right as Link is about to execute the final killing move, one in which he does not intend to hold back on, unlike his last opponents: such as Sky and Cardin from team CRDL, An actual human Atlas Soldier, and many more. Regrettably for him, another close friend of his jumps in the fray, none other than Velvet zips and appears in front of Ironwood, her back turned towards the general whilst her front faces Link. The rabbit faunus has her arms extended and closed eyes, expecting Link not to hold back but hoping that with full aura she would survive the attack as well as save Ironwood
(What the hell?! What is she doing? No matter, she's just another peasant, finish them both!)
Link is somehow able to stop himself despite his mythical speed, he is already in the pose for he will cut through Ironwood, and has his sword raised to give an indication as to where he is going to slice, starting from the general's right shoulder and slicing diagonally down to his midsection on the left. None of these plans go through and Link stops himself, inches away from Velvet, the sword still touches Ironwood's shoulder but glowing gold color on his sword, sheath, shield, and clothing goes away, signifying the end of his attack
"L-link?" Velvet opens her eyes and notices how everything changes entirely now. Before the winds were calming down and the rain was slowing down but now, the sound of thunder fades completely as the last lightning bolt strikes, the rain that is already slow, now fades away all together. The clouds depart and allow the sun to shine brightly as it is still mid day. Apart from the weather, Link's golden eyes were gone. In addition, the same applies to the lining and bright skin on his face steadily retract away as as well
"Velvet, I could have hurt you..." Link mumbles with shame in his voice now. "Worse, I could've killed you. Why did you get in the way?"
"Link I... U-um-!" Velvet squeals
"Why did you stop?" Ironwood speaks up "This is all it took to stop you? I thought you were going to channel all that hate and power to kill me?"
Link growls with anger again, he wants more than anything to strike with his sword or any weapon really. However, he knows the general is weak, any form of weapon attack will hurt him badly if not fatally. The blonde student gently moves Velvet to the side and rapidly kicks Ironwood right in the chest, knocking the wind out of him again and sending him crashing to the ground
"Link... T-this isn't you! You aren't a murderer, you are a strong person with a heart of gold." Velvet mumbles while looking at Link's body, just five minutes ago he was on the verge of death but now he is completely unharmed. "Revenge isn't going to bring back Ruby."
"Y-yeah." Link balls up his fists again. "I know it won't bring Ruby back... But maybe I just wanted revenge for me, maybe that's what Ironwood deserved."
"So if I didn't show up, you were really going to..." Velvet begins to shake nervously
"Yes? No? Maybe? I don't know..." Link mumbles. "He would've already been dead if I didn't hold 'him' back... So I supposed Ironwood got the best of both worlds. I stopped whatever that was from fully coming out and killing him, then you stopped me from killing him."
"W-well, Link... I-I-!" Velvet is unsure of what to say that will satisfy Link, so instead she opts to rush forward and hug him. "I'm glad you didn't go through with that. The path of revenge cannot end well for anybody and-!
"It's okay Velvet." Link sighs and looks down at the rabbit faunus, who looks worried but the one person does not know if she is worried for him or worried to be around him. "I wouldn't want to talk to me anymore either so you do not have to if you wish to walk away from me. You also don't have to force yourself to say the right words. There's nothing anybody can say that will make this better, Ruby is gone."
The angry blonde boy speaks coldly before turning his back, walking away from Velvet, and refusing to look down at his fallen friend. Furthermore, he does not bother to look back at Ironwood, he ignores Coco when he walks past her and does not even notice or seem aware of Glynda approaching the scene, though he is aware of her presence
...
It is only a few moments later but Link walks back to where all of the fighting took place, where he and team RWBY started during this fight against all the grimm brought to the city by Roman Torchwick; after a few minutes, he is back at the center of the plaza. Coco and Velvet follow Link but not specifically for him, he was going the way back and decided to simply follow behind. They do cautiously keep their distance from Link, therefore leaving Ruby, Ironwood, the destroyed Atlesian Knights, and Glynda behind, none of them acknowledge the human soldiers or medics arriving to the scene
"Sir!" A human Atlesian soldier runs towards Ironwood and takes a knee to check on his general. "Are you injured? What on earth happened to all of these knights?"
"I'm okay, luckily." Ironwood struggles to sit up. "Our knights got destroyed in battle, they served their purpose and kept the people safe. I would rather they get destroyed than someone like you get injured or worse."
"Yes sir!" The soldier nods. "Do you need some assistance in getting up?"
"Affirmative." Ironwood nods and extends his arm
"I wouldn't do that. You're too injured to 'walk it off' or whatever it is you intend to do." Glynda's voice is heard louder and clearer when she is only a few feet away from them
"HALT! Not another step further ma'am!" The soldier aims his gun at her
"Stand down." Ironwood commands. "This is Glynda Goodwitch, a trusted friend of mine and one of the most powerful huntresses in the world."
"Yes sir!" The soldier salutes the professional huntress. "Forgive me, ma'am."
"You are forgiven." Glynda smiles at him. "You are just doing your job, it's commendable. But if you wouldn't mind, can you please give General Ironwood and I a few minutes, I need to ask him some questions."
"But ma'am!" The soldier hesitates. "The general needs immediate medical-!"
"Go." Ironwood waves his hand, "Check on the people who didn't make it into a building for cover. Or-!" His eyes widen as he looks over to his left, and there is Ruby's body receiving no medical attention. "Check on the injured!"
"Yes sir." The soldier nods at both of them, then immediately towards Ruby, he throws his arm in the air to signal two medics to make their way over to him and check on the young huntress in critical condition
"Glynda I-!" Ironwood frowns. "I don't know what to say. I-!"
"Save it James." Glynda shakes her head and looks down at Ironwood, with her arms crossed and riding crop in hand. "I want the truth, James. And I want all of it! Why did you lie to Professor Ozpin about meeting him in his office and then come here? You know your troops commanded by another office would have handled it just fine. So what happened? How did this happen, why did it happen?"
"Glynda..." Ironwood sits up, still attempting to catch his breath. "You wouldn't understand."
"Whether I understand or not doesn't matter anymore. My feelings in the matter do not matter when you decide to take matters into your own hands and leave behind destruction as a result." Glynda frowns. "The truth James, otherwise I will get my answers elsewhere."
"You mean that kid?" Ironwood raises an eyebrow
"Yes. My options are you, him, and Miss Rose, but-!" Glynda shakes her head. "What are you going to say to Professor Ozpin about Ruby? One of his brightest students, so wise beyond her years, with the most potential out of anyone he's ever accepted into Beacon and now she's dead, because of you."
"I don't know what I'm going to say to Oz."
"How about the truth?" Glynda rolls her eyes
"You want to talk about the truth?" Ironwood frowns. "Don't you dare trust anything that kid says. He's a known criminal and all criminals lie, steal, kill, and move on. The same applies to your 'student', he's been all around Remnant, posing as an innocent kid by day and performing acts of crime by night. Do you ever wonder why he never stayed in one place until now?"
"No, I don't know. And frankly, I do not care, James." Glynda sighs. "We don't know his entire past and that applies to you too. Professor Ozpin refuses to accept an incomplete file with more accusations than proven events as evidence... Neither will I. Link has been nothing but honest to Professor Ozpin and I, so there is no doubt he will tell the truth if I were to ask him. This is me giving you the chance to be a man and confess what you did wrong. Now start with Miss Ruby Rose? What happened to her?"
"Very well." Ironwood remains seated and lowers his head in shame. "It only happened about ten or so minutes ago but..."
Kingdom of Vale: Directly in the middle of the City
"HEEEEY!" Yang cups her mouth with both hands when she sees Link. "Haha! There you are! Good you see you again Link! Ya know, we've been worried sick! We thought you got... Well, eaten by the Grimm, I figured you would be too prideful to stay down and watch but nobody saw you leave. Where have you been?"
(D-damn it!) Link tenses up and hands his head in shame. (What do I tell someone who is more emotional than me? 'Sorry Yang, your sister died protecting me', this is not good at all.)
"You were right!" Yang shouts. "You needed a little bit of rest, got your energy back, presumably kicked butt, and now you look good as new!"
"Mhm." Link slowly nods back
But then, he instantly stops dead in his tracks upon seeing that not only was it team three fourths of RWBY greeting him, but team JNPR, half of team CFVY, plus Sun and Neptune are all looking at him, waving excitedly
"So!" Yang chuckles "Where's Ruby?"
Link's head springs up when he is asked this dreaded question, despite already knowing that he has to be to break the awful news, it does not get any easier. Reliving the events themselves are a nightmare considering they just occurred and it pains him even to even fathom breaking the news to her team, let alone, her sister, which then transitions into thinking about how their father is going to take the news as well
(Yang, I'm so sorry...) Link chooses these words but nothing comes out when it is time to open his mouth and answer
"Link, Where's Ruby? Weiss saw her run off but didn't see where she exactly went. Figured she went to go find you since you left first, right?" Yang's smile slowly fades at Link's silence
"I c-can't t-tell you!" Link grimaces and grits his teeth together, knowing he has to tell them but also not wanting to at the same time
"Link." Weiss walks up to him, with worry in her eyes, "Where is our lea-!" She steps herself and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Where is Ruby?"
"S-she..." Link frowns and shakes his head. "I can't tell you."
"You can't tell us?" Weiss gasps. "W-why can't you?"
"N-no..." Blake turns away, absolute horror is plastered on her face as she can read Link like a book
Link, in spite of being at full strength physically, weakly lifts his arm up and points in the direction of the most destroyed street, where he and Ruby fought off Atlesian Knights, then where Link went one on one with Ironwood, and lastly where medics and soldiers currently are, working on Ruby and trying to save her life
"Ruby!"
Yang takes off sprinting at full speed, making it a point to clash shoulders when she passes by Link who shuts his eyes and continue to grit his teeth, Blake follows her teammate, neither of them look back at Link, but Weiss stays behind
"L-link!" Weiss grabs his other shoulder and gently shakes him. "Talk to me. How is Ruby doing? Where is she?"
"Weiss." Pyrrha approached them. "It's okay, go join your team, I will talk to Link, okay?"
"S-sure." Weiss nods her head but does not look at Pyrrha, instead her gaze remains on Link. "See you later, Link."
"Link." Pyrrha gets closer and instantly wraps her arms around him. "If you don't want to go into specifics, that is okay but please answer one question. Is everything okay?"
"N-no... Nothing is okay at all." Link shakes his head. "She protected me. I should be the one over there lying on the street while Ruby is here breaking the news to you guys."
"Breaking what news?" Pyrrha's hug becomes tighter. "What is it?"
"I c-can't..." Link opens his eyes, they are welling up with tears and he is doing his best to hold back from letting them spill
"How bad is she?" Jaune asks. "Were there too many Grimm for you guys to handle?"
"Yeah you could say something like that." Link mumbles, blatantly lying. "There's no point in not telling you guys, when her team comes back it's going to be obvious what happened so... Here's this. I held Ruby in my arms when her body went stiff and cold."
"O-oh my..." Pyrrha gasps and does her best to contain her emotions but Jaune could not even try, he break down instantly in shock
"W-what?!" Jaune looks to where the rest of team RWBY is headed and runs
"N-no Jaune!" Ren grabs onto his leader's hoodie. "It's best to let Ruby's team see her first."
"Yeah, Ren's right." Nora sighs. "Yang is gonna require some space, Blake and Weiss are perfect for that comfort she needs."
"I-I-I..." Link stalls, the words are now failing to come to mind. "I don't know anymore."
"You've said enough, Link." Coco walks up behind Link and puts her hand on his shoulder, she even takes off her sunglasses to reveal the sadness in her eyes
"She was worried after all..." Velvet mumbles to herself, her leader fearlessly approaches Link but the rabbit faunus herself is still hesitant to go near him
Fox, Yatsuhashi, Sun and Neptune remain silent and everyone collectively goes quiet after plenty of sniffling, wiping of tears, and words of sorrow. Coco and Pyrrha soon lets go of Link with their respective shoulder pat and hug, hesitantly as both girls know he needs the support
(What's the plan now kid? You're weak and didn't take your revenge on Ironwood. That's the second Atlas bastard who has taken special people from your life and you did absolutely nothing! So now what?)
(I don't know where I am going to go next but I fully intend on leaving Beacon and the Kingdom of Vale first thing tomorrow or whenever I can get all my things and sneak out of here.)
(Really? Now that's a surprise, I thought you enjoyed it here? But then again you sure do love running. It's what you do best.)
(I do like it here. But I can't stay here and continue facing Ruby's friends. After all, I was the cause of her death.)
('Her friends'? Are they nothing to you now? Hehehe, maybe you are going to be easy to get along with if you can just dump people like that.)
(Shut up, I only said 'her friends' because I'm not sure but after today... I'm going to be nothing to them, that's for sure.)
...
Elsewhere, about fifty yards from the plaza
Team RWBY runs into the small circle of Atlas Soldiers and Vale paramedics, who were only able to remove the bullet from Ruby's chest, an action not seen by the team of Beacon huntresses. The medics patch up her wound but all of their other attempts at resuscitation are unsuccessful
"Oh no." Yang drops to her knees when she and her teammates see the medics shake their heads on Ruby and declare defeat
"Ruby." Weiss' top lip quivers as she holds back tears. "T-this can't be! I knew you were reckless but not to this extent."
"I can't believe it." Blake shakes her head. "What could have caused this?"
"It is a tragedy." Ironwood speaks with deep regret as he is helped to his feet by two soldiers. "We must never forget her time on the battlefield, it may not have been long but... Ruby Rose will be a huntress worth remembering."
"Sir!" An atlas soldier speaks. "What about the culprit who-!"
"Go find him." Ironwood mumbles "We must arrest all suspects immediately."
"No need for that actually." The voice of Mercury is heard as he and Emerald came out from an alleyway, with Roman Torchwick 'restrained' in the form of both hands held behind his back
"We got the man you're looking for right here." Emerald says with a cheesy smile on her face
"How did you find and capture this man so easily?" Ironwood gasps. "Even some of the best police forces couldn't find him."
"Luck?" Mercy shrugs. "He decided to stick around because he thought the Grimm would take all of Vale out. He's a stupid one."
"When in reality he could've ran away. But like a fool he got greedy and wanted to relish in the destruction." Emerald follows up
"Well then, what matters is that you two apprehended him, good job." Ironwood clears his throat and glances at the two soldiers by his side. "Get him on the ship, let Atlesian Knights handle him, and then I will talk to the Vale council about his custody."
"Yes sir!" They both nod and take Torchwick out of Emerald and Mercury's hands
"Hey hey!" Roman frowns as they take him away. "Take my cane but don't touch my hat!"
"James." Glynda speaks firmly and crosses her arms. "Another word, please."
"Right." Ironwood walks towards her as they begin to mumble to each other
Ironwood turned his head back to look at Ruby one more time, this time the new sight is Yang crying and burying her face in her sister's chest, Blake and Weiss can only continue to watch in shock, the reality of the situation has not quite hit them yet
"I'm sorry... Ruby, Ozpin, everybody." Ironwood mumbles to himself
"James? Are you there? I'm speaking to you." Glynda stops and notices Ironwood has fallen behind and is not replying to her words. "James?"
"My apologies." Ironwood nods and follows Glynda. "Yes, speak."
After a few more minutes, the soldiers around Ruby departed while the medics continuously apologized to Team RWBY. Ironwood could be seen going back to his ship, slowly and steadily, though Glynda was no longer with him.
"What do we do now?" Weiss asks. "What does this mean for our team?"
"I don't know Weiss, I really don't know." Blake shakes her head
"I don't know about you guys but I'm going home." Yang softly mumbles as she lifts her head. "I cannot proceed like we're back to normal."
"Huh?" Weiss raises an eyebrow
"There's only one way I'm breaking the news to my dad, and it certainly won't be over a call or a message."
"O-oh." Weiss nods "I understand completely. Would you like us to fly home with you?"
"You don't have to but... That would be nice." Yang sniffles and wipes away tears. "I would really like that. One last team RWBY mission."
Blake says nothing about this but instead turns back to the plaza, where Sun had been trailing them but not directly getting in their business. He is close enough to be visible to Blake and looks at her, hoping for good news, only to receive a head shake from the cat faunus. Sun drops his head sadly and gives Blake an understanding nods before making his way back to break the definitive news to at least Neptune
"It's... customizable... sniper... also... a... gun."
"Did you say something, Yang? Blake?" Weiss asks
"Huh?" Blake shakes her head. "N-no."
"You guys! That's not funny!" Yang whips her head to stare at both of her teammates
"We didn't say anything, Yang." Weiss takes a step back. "Nobody knows who said that."
"N-not... a... crook..."
"It's almost like I can still hear Ruby's voice." Yang sighs and looks down at her sister once more
The blonde huntress in training closes her eyes and imagines all the happy times and life changing memories she made with her dear sister Ruby, she remembers how she's been taking care and looking after her since she was one. The happy thoughts do not last long enough as sadness takes over and makes Yang put her head and arms down on Ruby's chest again
Unknown Location
"Ugh... Where am I?" Ruby mumbles to herself, her vision is completely pitch black. "D-did it work...or am I dead?"
The young huntress continues to attempt opening her eyes, at last being successful but something is immediately not right. There's no Link, Ironwood, Atlesian knights, buildings, streets, cars, grimm... There is no sign of her being in Vale. What she does see is a orange-red sky with a pink sun, solid gold trees that move and look like regular trees and baby blue clouds
"Huh, so I am dead after all? I don't remember this beautiful sky in Vale or anything else from here. All I remember is that horrible rain." She momentarily frowns when sitting up, "Dang it, I said those dramatic 'last words' to Link in hopes of scaring him when I eventually woke up. O-oh well." She chuckles
"Ooooh, it's someone new!"
"Huh?" Ruby's head whips around in every direction until spotting a shadow approaching her in the distance
This strange shadow who at first is slowly making its way towards Ruby now sprints at her, slowly forming and revealing itself to be a person as they get closer and closer
"S-stay back!" Ruby stands up and reaches for Crescent Rose to protect herself but her weapon does not detach from her belt. "R-right, if this is the afterlife, weapons won't work anyway."
"Heyyy!"
The mystery shadow is revealed to be an unfamiliar girl, she has beautiful green eyes, straight brown hair, a light skin tone and is taller than Ruby by a couple of inches, she smiles politely and softly giggles
"You look so cool, don't tell me... You're a huntress?!"
"Hehe, yeah I sure was." Ruby laughs nervously
"Don't say was." The girl pouts. "You might be in this magical world but who you are still follows you here, what's your name?"
"Ruby Rose."
"Oooh, a short first and last name and they're both so pretty." The girl giggles and then really gets in Ruby's face to admire her eyes. "Are your eyes silver?! Wowww."
"They sure are." Ruby smiles. "Your eyes are nice too. Can you tell me what this place is? I have an idea but..."
"You aren't completely sure yet, understandable." The girl backs away to give Ruby her space, "I don't really know what this world is called, it's really beautiful. Behind me is my entire village. We all showed up here and 'set up shop' as people say." She looks away and sighs. "If you have an idea what it's for then I'm sorry, I hope it didn't hurt too much."
"It did at first but then my friend caught me and he was with me for my last moments." Ruby looks at the sky and smiles brightly at the sun. "I'm nervous... And scared, I don't really know what being dead is like."
"It's okay to be scared." The girl glances into the sky with a big smile on her face but tears trailing down her cheeks. "Nobody is ready to go but when it happens, it's up to us to decide what we do going forward. This is the reality of my situation."
"H-how do you do it? You said your entire village too? H-how did that happen? How are all you handling this-! What the?!"
GLOW!
Ruby's entire body shines with a bright white 'energy', it is so illuminating that it could almost be confused as aura. Nevertheless, she looks up at the slightly taller green eyed-brown haired girl but she appears just as confused
"W-what's happening?!"
"I-I-!" The girl's eyes widened. "I don't know. I have never seen anything like that before."
"It has to mean something then, but what?" Ruby gasps, not when it gets brighter but when she lifts her hands to look at them, they slow begin fading disappears
"Ohhh my!" The girl gasps as well but her smile returns immediately. "Ruby..."
"Yeah?" Ruby nervously glances at her but even the girl and the previously visible world is beginning to disappear. "W-where are you going?"
"It's not me, Ruby." She sweetly laughs. "I think... It's you. It was too soon for you to join us."
"I-I'm not dead? Is that what you're saying?" Ruby's eyes widened. "Looks like my plan did work, just later than I thought it would. Everyone must be so scared right now."
"That is what I'm saying." The sweet girl raises her hand and waves excitedly. "Welp, looks like I'll see you later. Hopefully not soon, you seem very sweet and deserve a long life."
"W-wait what about my questions?" Ruby panics as her hands and arms disappear
"I can answer one, hurry!"
"Okay!" Ruby thinks quickly and quickly blurts out. "What's your name?!"
"Hehehe." The girl turns her head, smiles and blinks, playfully batting her eyelashes. "My name is Ray. I will answer any question you want whenever we see each other again, I promise!"
"Ray..." The young huntress smiles back. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Ray nods. "Goodbye, Ruby Rose. And good luck in your adventurous huntress life."
The two girls wave to each other as fast they can and with the biggest smiles they can make, until the white light grows too powerful and blinds the entire setting...
City of Vale: The Streets
Out of nowhere, unbeknownst to her teammates, Ruby slowly opens her eyes, her blurry vision gets in the way but eventually she can make out that she is in Vale and not the dream world she was in moments ago. Once she regains enough vision to identify places, she moves on to looking at people and she instantly notices her sister and, Weiss, and Blake over and around her
"N-no way... I am alive, so it did work after all." Ruby chuckles softly and knows she has to alert them as soon as she can. "Y-yang... Y-you w-weight a lot, y-ya know..."
"Huh?!" Yang picks head up, initially looking at Blake and Weiss for answers, but when neither of them talk, the blonde looks down and notices her sister's weak smile and partially open eyes. "RUBY!" She tightly hugs Ruby without hesitation, crushing the air out of her sister
"Yang... P-please stop." Ruby winces and finds it lifting up her arm to be a hassle as she feels her chest, no hole and no bullet. "The general...and Link!" With fire in her eyes, the huntress attempts sitting up as quickly as possible
"Ruby!" Weiss frowns. "You are one more wrong move away from dying again!"
"She's right, you have no aura and your body is frail. You shouldn't move around so much." Blake also scolds her leader, despite the happiness in her voice
"I know, but-!" Ruby gasps. "I can't believe I didn't ask straight away. Where's Link? Also, what happened to General Ironwood?"
"Link... He's fine." Yang said. "He's beating himself up because he thinks you actually died. And the general, he wasn't in good shape but he's okay too."
"That's good. Weiss, Blake, a little help please?" Ruby extends her arms "Do they know that General Ironwood... No, I can tell them another time. I wouldn't want my entire team attacking him or anything like that."
"Alright you can come but you're immediately getting a lot of bed rest when we head back." Weiss takes one arm
"She means it in a nice way of course. Weiss was just really worried." Blake smiles and takes Ruby's other arm, both 'checkmate' partners help their leader up to her feet and team RWBY walks back to the center point of the city
...
Minutes Later
"LIIIINK!" Yang shouts from afar, catching everyone's attention who is at the plaza
"Hm?" Link turns to hear her voice. "Oh Yang, how I can only imagine what you must be feeling, if it's sadness I understand. If it's anger, I better get ready for the pummel-!"
"Ruby's alright! She's alive!" Yang cheers and points behind her, Blake and Weiss are gently carrying Ruby
"HUH?!" Link blinks multiple times. (T-that's impossible!)
"WHOA!" Jaune's eyes widened as he wipes them to quickly get rid of the tears
"Ruby never ceases to amaze." Pyrrha smiles, she also wipes away tears from her water eyes
"It's no illusion I promise, she's OKAY!" Yang's smile grows larger
"Guys..." Ruby mumbles at Weiss and Blake. "Allow me."
"You always want to show off." Weiss rolls her eyes but with a sincere smile, she lets go of Ruby
"I don't blame her at all. It's not every day that someone dies and comes back." Blake mumbles and follows in Weiss' footsteps
Ruby has some trouble maintaining her balance but she is able to raise her hand up in the air and wave at all her friends at the plaza who were very much denial about her apparent 'death'
(Explain that one, brat! How did she do it?)
(Why would I know? You saw what happened, I tried to KILL Ironwood because I thought he killed Ruby. I was even ready to leave Beacon and Vale all together because I thought Ruby didn't make it. One thing is for sure, I'm done here for today.)
"Whoa!" Ruby slightly stumbles back but is caught by her teammates as they hold her up "Heh, thanks guys."
"We're not done yet, you have a lot of explaining to do regarding how you even got yourself in that position!" Weiss nods, despite her bossy tone
"But my bed rest...?" Ruby chuckles
"Why-! You little-! Fine!" Weiss shrugs. "AFTER you rest you can tell us what happened."
"H-hey, where's Link?" Blake looks to the center of the plaza, where everyone is currently, team CFVY, JNPR, Sun, Neptune, Emerald, Mercury, Port, Oobleck, Zwei, Glynda, Atlesian Knights with an apprehended Roman Torchwick, even General Ironwood and his human soldiers, but Link is nowhere to be seen
"What the-! He was just there!" Yang frowns as they help Ruby make her way back to regroup with the rest of their friends and classmates
"Velvet, where did Link go?" Ruby asks
"H-he took off. One moment, he's sad about you... ya know. Next, he's happy to see that you were okay but then... He just ran off" Velvet sighs
"Was he... Angry or happy?" Weiss follows up with a question of her own
"Both." Coco speaks up as she slides on her sunglasses again. "He looked happy to see Ruby being alive but then that smile quickly faded, almost as if he felt guilty."
"Why would he feel guilty?" Yang asked. "O-oh, probably because he scared us to death."
"I'm not sure it was that." Blake mumbles. "Ruby what-!"
"We can ask him later..." Ruby cuts off Blake and nods crazily. "Can we go back to our dorm? My back and chest are really killing me right now."
"Of course." Weiss nods. "We should all be heading back soon anyway."
"OH NO!" A loud scream is heard but it is nothing serious, it was just Roman Torchwick being dramatic. "I can't believe that you caught me, you've really taught me the error of my ways."
"Ugh..." Ruby shakes her head
"OH HEY RED!" Torchwick laughs. "How are you still alive? I figured you'd be dead after-!" Before he could finish his sentence, the two Atlesian Knights restraining him quickly pulled him away. "HEY! I said watch the hat damn it!"
Emerald and Mercury approach team RWBY and the six of them smile at each other. Team JNPR is seen exchanging smiles, with Pyrrha still trying to calm down Jaune. Sun and Neptune bump fists despite not doing much of anything. Team CFVY smile at each other as well, and Professor's Port and Oobleck do the same, while Glynda watches Ironwood like a hawk
Hours Later: Beacon Tower, Professor Ozpin's office
The sound of elevator doors opening can be heard, Professor Ozpin is looking out of the window from the highest point in Beacon Academy
"How did it go Glynda? I hope nothing went wrong. You have not sent any messages or called after what occurred with gen-!" Ozpin turns to face not Glynda but Link
"Professor Ozpin." Link nods. "Good evening."
"Link... This is a pleasant surprise." Ozpin is surprised to see the young man but does not show it with his emotions, instead the Beacon headmaster smiles. "What can I do for you?"
"I come here to tell you first before anybody else. I intend to enter the Vytal Festival tournament and I will give it my all, through qualifying matches and the real tournament."
"I see." Ozpin happily nods. "That is very good news for Beacon, you are one of the top rookies alongside Pyrrha Nikos."
"Also, about today-!" Link stops himself from saying any more, he wants to tell Professor Ozpin about what had just happened, but instead shakes his head. "Never mind."
"Is there anything else you would like to tell me?" Ozpin asks. "Anything about your mission that I should or need to know?"
"N-no sir, that is all." Link nods and quickly turns his back
"Mister Link, I already had a close ally lie to me today, I was not expecting this from an honest student such as yourself too." Ozpin mumbles. "I know what happened between you and the general."
(W-what? But how? Professor Ozpin wasn't even there? Maybe Glynda told him everything.)
"You do not have to say anything right now but I would like to speak to you sometime between now and the start of the tournament. For the time being, I will simply warn you." Ozpin speaks up as Link hits the button for the elevator. "You and I spoke about this 'demon' inside you. We had a good conversation about it, would you say so?"
"Yes, professor." Link mumbles
"I agree. However, seeing the events that transpired today, it is obvious that you do not have a lot of control over this 'demon' unless what happened today was a one time ordeal. Regardless, if what happened with you and the general is a sign of things to come, if this 'demon' comes out in a match you are involved in and does anything close to what you did to James, that match will be stopped and you will be pulled from the tournament. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir." Link nods and watches the elevator let out a ding before it opens its doors, it is Glynda Goodwitch, the person Ozpin was expecting
Link and Glynda exchange no words but do respectfully nod at one another as they walk opposite paths, with the former entering the elevator to leave and the professor enter the office of her longtime friend and boss
Central Vale
Cinder, Emerald and Mercury stand atop the roof of a building, looking over Central Vale that is now completely abandoned but has been rebuilt in no time, mostly due to Glynda's efforts
"All in all, I'd call today a success." Cinder speaks proudly, with an evil smirk on her face
"Yeah, but those stupid kids really made a mess of things. And what are we going to do about...him?" Emerald asks
"What about him?" Cinder smirks. "He's merely another pawn who will try his hardest but fail to stop us."
"That power he showed is something we didn't know about him, I don't think anybody knew." Mercury shakes his head. "But once our plan is executed, you'll be able to take him out easily."
"She sure will." Emerald nods at Cinder
"But... Why did we hand over Torchwick to them so soon?" Mercury frowns. "If everyone was made aware of what happened between that kid and Ironwood, more chaos could have ensued."
"Too risky." Cinder shakes her head
"I get that. And I don't know what exactly would have happened but if Ironwood and the kid somehow kept fighting until one of them dropped dead, less problems for us, right?"
"We need both of them alive, you fool. If one of them dies, our entire plan could be triggered or ruined." Emerald scoffs at her 'teammate'. "But forget them, what are we going to do about the white fang?"
"Yeah a lot of faunus didn't make it out the tunnels." Mercury sighs
"They will listen to us..." Cinder mumbles
"You're wrong." The deep voice of the infamous Adam Taurus is heard as he approaches Mercury, Emerald and Cinder. "You're nothing but scum who used fear to coerce them to work with you and your luck has run out. But luckily for you, they will listen to me." The cold blooded man looks over Vale, his mask hiding his current tightly shut eyes. "If anybody is going to take out that kid, it's going to be me, because at his rate, if he continues the way he is, he will be too strong to take out in a one on one fight. Besides, I just found out he got close to my darling Blake, who has a lot to pay for after she abandoned me, along with her brothers and sisters of the White Fang."
Nighttime: Beacon Academy, Professor Port's Classroom
(You spent all year skipping countless classes and making up for it with extra assignments... Only to end up here at night and when classes are not in session anymore. Coward.)
(I'm not interested in sleeping right now... Or hearing from you, go away.)
Link takes a deep breath and looks around the classroom, taking in his surroundings. He decides to take refuge in Peter Port's classroom, down by the front row, staring off into space. With the darkness, he begins to experience loneliness despite the fact that this is what he wanted
KNOCK! KNOCK!
"You know, you have a comfortable bed in your dorm." Ruby's giggles are heard as she is the one who loudly knocks and then sneaks into the dorm herself. The huntress walks into the classroom, carefully 'closing' the door behind her and taking her time in going down the steps to reach the front row, where she slides in and sits right next to Link
"R-ruby hi! Why are you here? If anyone needs a comfy bed right now it is you." Link speaks coldly, without looking at her as well but deep down, he is relieved to see her doing well
"Hey I remember that look, when we first met at that creepy guy's bar. You refused to acknowledge me, Yang and Weiss." Ruby stares in the same direction as her friend. "And you weren't doing it to be rude either, you were just in your own world."
"You're dodging my question."
"As are you." Ruby takes no time to think of her response as she raises her hand, aims for Link's forehead and roughly flicks it with her index finger
"Ow." Link shrugs as he rubs his forehead. "Alright then, we'll answer each other's stuff. Me first, how did you do it?"
"Do what?" Ruby asks
"Survive. You had no aura and took a shot directly to the chest, it's a miracle that the bullet didn't rip through your back."
"You'll be the first I tell." Ruby's vision steers off in a different direction
"Really?" Link raises an eyebrow. "Nobody has asked you how?"
"They have, I just never answered them." Ruby smiles. "I survived... Because of you."
"Huh? What do you mean because of me?" Link turns his full attention to Ruby now
"I'll show you." Ruby pulls up her sleeve on her left arm and shows Link. "I noticed this during our fight, when you took Weiss' aura, you left this on her." Ruby points directly to her forearm, where a small and faded triforce is visible on her skin
(How did she notice?) Link's eyes widened
"If you're wondering how or when I noticed, when Weiss was in her pajamas, I could see part of her back and noticed it just barely." Ruby chuckles. "Although by the time I looked at the same spot again the next morning, it was gone."
(She's right...) Link nods. (The mark disappears in about ten to twelve hours.)
Silence consumes the room momentarily, with the young leader of team RWBY staring at the white board on Professor Port's wall, while Link's attention remains on her
"But that was not even my intention, so when did it-!" Link stops himself and thinks carefully. (I've never experienced that protective 'cloak' kicking in on instinct, it's only when I focus and channel all my aura.)
"I took a chance." Ruby giggles with complete confidence. "I didn't just push you out of the way to protect you... Well I mean, I did but um..." She nervously scratches her head
"Your intentions were to protect me." Link nods. "I know that, yes. But you knew I'd try to stay on my feet by grabbing onto you, and that's how you executed your plan to really protect me."
"Yeah, you're always trying to be the hero so I just kinda knew you'd want to stay up and keep fighting." Ruby smiles. "If I tell anyone else this, they'll call me a fool. I know you won't so I know I can tell you and feel secure about my decision."
"How come?" Link asked
"Well, I didn't really know if your aura would kick in... Ya know, if you didn't focus or summon it yourself. Which means that, in reality, I could've taken a bullet with no protection and surely died." Ruby laughs. "That does sound like me though, so it is fitting."
"So that's how I passed out when you jumped in." Link closes his eyes as a weak smile appears on his face
"Hm?" Ruby looks at him. "What do you mean?"
"I knew my aura was depleted, if not near full depletion, but I wasn't at the point where I'd pass out if I continued pushing myself. The reason I passed out was because the last bit of aura I had was transitioned into you."
"Hehe erm..." Ruby throws up hands in the air playfully. "Yeah."
"Figures." Link nods. "It was nothing like what I used to protect Blake or during the dance, when we confronted that woman, it was weaker and I couldn't even see it. But that's why the bullet didn't go through your chest and out of your back. The small amount of aura I had that was used to protect you, stopped the bullet from completely puncturing your body... Or any major organs, I hope."
"Yeah that's pretty much it, my organs are fine, my squishy guts remain intact." Ruby nods childishly "I can safely say..." She hovers her hand over her chest. "I could feel it inches away from my heart, that's something that's probably going to stick with me, forever."
"Aren't you just glad it's all over now?" Link asked as he lies back and kicked his feet up on the desk
"Yup." Ruby nods again "What a semester it has been huh?"
"Quite eventful indeed."
Awkward silence...
"You were afraid I was going to get hurt because of you." Link speaks up
"Huh? I don't follow." Ruby looks over at him
"That's why you broke off 'this' thing between us before it became anything serious. You were afraid I'd get hurt because of you..."
"How did you..." Ruby closes her eyes and shakes her head
"When in fact the opposite happened, you got hurt because of me. I was trying to prove that you could trust me and what do I do?" Link rolls his eyes. "Almost get you killed, some friend I am."
"Stop blaming yourself!" Ruby snaps. "I chose to jump in and help you when you were already hurt and tired! I chose to take that last hit for you! So stop blaming yourself, I made the choice to protect a friend and I do not regret it."
"Fair enough, I respect your decision too. If the roles were reversed, I would do the same for you." Link nods in approval. "So... Are you going to tell your team that Ironwood almost killed you?"
"They still think it was a powerful Grimm. They didn't see the medics take the bullet out of my chest." Ruby shakes her head. "When they were on me I was already 'patched up' so they didn't see the wound either. All they saw was the blood. I don't plan on telling them yet, the last thing I want to do is stress them out, especially Yang and Weiss."
"One almost lost her sister while the other one is from Atlas herself, I doubt Weiss would even believe you."
"Exactly." Ruby sighs "So for now, they can just stick with the powerful Grimm story, I won't change it yet."
"You should head back, your team will worry." Link nods at her
"Sure thing." Ruby nods and stands up. "But... Now it's my turn, tell me Link, why did you run away after you found out I was okay?"
(Just as I was about to sit up to get up to leave, Ruby had to ask that question.) Link sighs in annoyance. "I was overcome with emotion, I blamed myself for your presumed death and truth be told, I was ready to leave. But I knew running away would fix nothing, Grimm, crime, and Atlas hunting me down won't follow me out of Vale, it's here to say and it's our job to get rid of the first two while I deal with the third one."
"Hmm... I like that answer. But please don't feel bad, I'm fine and your aura saved me. There's nothing to blame yourself for, eleven times out of ten I would always jump in to help you when you were surrounded by those robots. No regrets." Ruby gives her friend a thumbs up. "Second question, it has to do with what I experienced when I was 'dead' for a short period of time."
"H-huh?" Link blinks, confused as to what is coming next
"I was sent to a magical world, I wish I could describe to you detail for detail. The sky was orange, it had blue fluffy clouds that looked like cotton candy, golden trees, a pink sun, literally something out of a fairy tail. I went there and somebody was there to greet me into this new world. They were the nicest person I've ever encountered too."
"Whoa, this all sounds too good to be true but... I believe you. Who was this person? Were they a girl or guy? Young or old? What did they look like? What was their name-!"
Sadly for them, right as they were about to enter another conversation, both of the doors to the classroom are swung open widely
"Who is in here?!" Professor Port shouts. "I heard you!"
(S-shit!) Link grabs Ruby by her arms and falls back, hiding them both from Port's vision
"Hmm..." Port shakes his head. "I must be hearing things again. I need to tell Barty I'm going to require weaker coffees going forward."
"Again?" Link mumbles
"Who's Barty?" Ruby snickers. "Sure he doesn't mean Doctor Oobleck."
Professor Port walks around the entrance portion, assuring himself that he heard absolutely nothing before finally leaving and slamming the doors completely shut behind him
"Well that was easy." Ruby chuckles
"Yeah, sure it was." Link sighs
"Whoa..." Ruby says this to herself when realizing she and Link were practically in each other arms
"Hey." Link sarcastically winks
"Oh boy here we go again."
"You act as if you hate it." Link smirks
"No it's not that, I just hate contradicting myself." Ruby shrugs
"Well, number one, you just admitted to liking it, so ha! Number two, you don't have to 'contradict' yourself or even force yourself to live by this unrealistic goal of not being interested in boys during your time at Beacon."
"Alright then I won't contradict myself!" Ruby shouts
(Did she even hear the second part of my sentence?) Link groans and gives in. "Cool, fine by me!" He jokingly shouts bac
Both students turn their heads away as if they were children at the playground arguing over who gets to play on the swing next and who has to wait their turn. It only takes about half a minute before Link and Ruby break their silence, but not with words, rather with actions
"Let him know how you feel, and if you can't in words, do it in another way. Just like Yang told me at the dance."
Ruby nods and tries to take action yet again by leaning close to her friend so that their faces are practically inches apart. Suddenly, she stops advancing, leaving it up to Link to guide her to the end of the tunnel. However, unlike at the dance, the end of the tunnel this time does not showcase or promise for a kiss, instead Link 'ruins' the moment by raising up his fist and offering Ruby and fist bump
"You are the worst!" Ruby laughs uncontrollably and bumps her first with Link's
"Yes I am." Link smiles
"So does this mean that... We... You and I..." Ruby sighs and turns away, she knows the damage is done already but it does not hurt to see what her close friend thinks. "We're staying friends, right?"
"Yes of course."
Link nods his head, not understanding that he unknowingly just rejected Ruby as in the one person team's head, his main concern was whether he and the young huntress would even remain friends after what occurred during and at the end of their mission
"Okay." Ruby sadly nods
"Is it one for the future though?" Link asks, with a soft smile present
"Maybeeee." Ruby turns her head and blushes. "Mom would love him if she were still around... But Dad, not so much."
"We should go in case Port comes back or worse, someone like Professor Ozpin comes to check this place himself." Link slowly lets go of Ruby and she does the same
"I heard you're entering the tournament, that's pretty cool." Ruby smiles
"Who told you that?" Link's head snaps to her in shock
"Professor Ozpin, he and I had a talk... About what happened earlier today with General Ironwood."
"I see, he mentioned it to me when I told him I was entering the tournament. He wants to talk to me about that incident too, sometime before the tournament begins." Link nods. "I will let you know how that conversation goes, when it happens of course. But yes, I am going to enter the tournament."
"Awesome!" Ruby cheers "If we get matched up, team RWBY will be ready! We won't overlook you and get outclassed like we did the first time."
"I look forward to that... If it happens. I hope not for the sake of both of us advancing far but we shall see." Link nods as they stand up and walk out of the classroom together
...
The two friends walk together and after a short distance, Link accompanies Ruby back to the dormitories and eventually to her dorm. Weiss is waiting for her at the door with both arms crossed, knowing her leader snuck out to go find and talk to Link. For once, she was not angry, at this moment all Weiss wants to do is keep her leader and friend safe from any future harm after today's horrific events. No words are exchanged between the three students but Link does manage to say goodbye to Ruby with a quick trading of hugs and waves between the two friends; the boy even smiles at Weiss, who awkwardly waves goodbye to him. The end of these exchanges leaves Link all alone again as he walks to his dorm quietly and slowly
(NOW what's the plan? The girl lived after all, are you still going to leave Beacon and Vale?)
(No, of course I'm not leaving. The worst case scenario did now happen, as for the plan? Same one as before, I need to stop Cinder before she and whoever she has at her disposal cause anymore havoc on the world. Now that she's at Beacon with Emerald and Mercury, I imagine this school is their next target.)
(How boring. Do you realize that you went from fighting for a girl to the point of risking your life for her, to now rejecting that same girl.)
(What are you talking about? Anyway... Didn't I say I had no interest in listening to you? Go away.)
Link shrugs at the 'demon' as he enters his dorm, shuts the door behind him with a hard slam and immediately goes to bed, not even taking his weapons off his back
(Yo, this chapter was supposed to go up yesterday and was much shorter, but after some revising and editing, it went from 4k words to 6k words xD)
(Edited on 8/7/2022)
