The 'Lone' Hero of Vale - Chapter 26


"Yeah! Go get em' Jaune! Wooo-!" Ruby nudges Link, who sits to her right, and is fast asleep, "Grrr! WAKE UP!"

WHACK!

A loud smack is heard as Ruby shouts to a fatigued Link

"Ow!" Link jumps and angrily glances at Ruby, "Why? That hurt."

"You're missing the match!" Ruby points at the arena, where at this exact moment Pyrrha was taking on both Brawnz and Roy from team BRNZ, delivering a kick to one as she swiftly dodges and blocks the discs of the other, she throws her javelin to distract the latter while she somersaults back to use both feet to land a blow on Brawnz

"Pyrrha is incredible, what else is new?" Link blinks and wipes his eyes

"Okay okay, I'm sorry I sabotaged your coffee on purpose, but at least watch the fight, you need to know how a team of four coordinates their attacks and well... fight as a team."

"Wait, that was on purpose?" Link frowns and then realizes a flaw in Ruby's comment, "I guess sparring with you guys meant nothing, interesting that you say that." He looks straight ahead, and does his best to hide a smirk

"Wha... I never, no! You-!" Ruby nervously looks at her teammates who were all glaring at her

"Relax." Link's smirk is very visible now as he shakes his head, "You're right, I should watch this fight, and I will, but after this one I'm taking off."

"What? But what if you're called on next?" Weiss asks

"Let me know." Link reaches for his scroll, "You do raise a good point though, we are getting near the end of the first round, there's only so many more teams to get picked before we move on the 'doubles' round."

"It is getting to that time as well, this next fight may be the last of the day, or the entire round actually. Are you sure you're even in the tournament?" Yang asks

"Why else would I be pushing myself so much?" Link shrugs, "Lucky me, I guess I will be last after all."

"Pushing yourself?" Blake looks over at Link, "You mean..."

"It... is still a work in progress."

"What is?" Ruby slaps Link on the arm, "Did you come up with another cool move?"

"No. Nothing new." Link shakes his head, "Do not worry about it, when it's done I will show you."

"Awesome, make sure I get the exclusive premiere." Ruby nods and looks back at the action

May jumps down from the branches just as her teammates look up, behind them is Nora coming down like a meteor, with lots of speed and momentum as she slams her hammer into the ground and sends her enemies back at the feet of their shook teammate.

"Here it comes, one more attack should finish the job... what are they doing?" Weiss frowns

"It looks like they are, discussing strategy?" Link shrugs

"Why? Just have Nora hit them with her hammer." Yang smirks

"Oh Jaune..." Ruby sighs as the tron shows Jaune shouting at Ren and Nora while Pyrrha has a confused look on her face

"Looks like he wants Ren and Nora to attack." Blake scowls as from a distance she eyes Pyrrha who jumps into the mix to mumbles something to Jaune, then all of team JNPR look up and the sounds of a booing crowd finally snaps them back into reality

Jaune very clearly shakes his head and points his shield at team BRNZ, which prompts Nora to leap over her team and land right in front of BRNZ. She whips her hammer so fast that collides with all four of them before they could even react. Team BRNZ get sent flying in the air as they soar straight into the forcefield, which each member landing in an awkward position.

"Ow, look at that girl's arm-!" Link gets cut short as they all flop to the ground, "Never mind."

"Ouch." Ruby shrugs and momentarily cringes

"Welp, that's your cue." Yang snaps her fingers at Link

"O-oh, right thanks." Link nods and gets up from his seat

"Oh perfect an open seat." Emerald's conniving voice is heard as she approaches RWBY and Link

"Actually now that you mention it..." Link frowns and doesn't budge

"Hi Emerald!" Ruby waves her over

"Don't be rude." Yang glances at Link, "Give the lady your seat."

"Right, 'rude'... whatever." Link rolls his eyes and quickly walks away without saying goodbye.

"What's up with him?" Emerald turns to face Ruby

"No clue, he was just chipper a minute ago." Ruby's smile drops as she turns back to see Link walk away, his pace only got quicker

"I can go find out what's wrong if you want." Emerald says with an innocent smile on her face

"No no." Yang shakes her head, "I'm sure he's fine. He's a call away too if we're reeeeealllly worried."


Moments later, after a trip back to beacon

"I need to do it soon." Link sighs as he slowly walks down the courtyard, "The more I wait the more Emerald butters them up and gets close enough to where they'll call her... ugh, a friend."
Link enters Beacon and is met with a loud reception, not for him but by students inside watching the tournament.
"Who is up?" Link walks around a group of eight people watching Sun's team, SSSN go up against team NDGO, an all female team from Shade academy, "Hmm, I've always wanted to see Sun in a full length fight."

"What?" The voice of a student catches Link by surprise

"Huh? Oh sorry." Link claps his hands together, "I didn't realize how high I was spe-!"

"Oh crap! You're Link!"

"Yes?" Link scratches his head, "What can I do for you?"

"Kick butt in the tournament." Another one of the eight shout as she flashes a big and bright smile for him

"Will do." Link nods and trails off, "Sun and Neptune are goofballs, but I think their team is gonna pull off the win, which gives me time to-!"

Just as Link was about to turn a corner and head for the dorms, team JNPR steps foot inside, and within seconds all four members get a standing ovation from everyone inside

"Back so soon? I swear I just got here, but then again I lose track of time pretty quickly." Link does a one eighty and makes his way towards JNPR

"Thank you! Thank you!" Jaune smiles and he waves and dramatically takes a bow

"We will do just as well in the next round." Pyrrha nods at all the cheering students

"Hell yeah we will!" Nora shouts

"..." Ren says nothing, he simply follows along with Pyrrha and nods

"Yeah, good win." Link chimes in just as the crowd disperses

"Link? What are you doing here?" Nora asks

"I did tell team RWBY that I was on my way back and that if it was my turn-!" He stops himself, "But I've just seen Sun's team is up so I'm fine." He nods and looks at Jaune, "Explain to me what you were saying to your team."

"Uh..." Jaune nervously chuckles, "We'll get the team attacks down soon."

"You're retiring the names, right?" Ren asks

"No!" Jaune shouts

"Oof." Nora shrugs and skips away

"Nora wait up." Ren waves to Link then follows his best friend

"What are you guys going?" Link turns to look at Pyrrha

"Oh, well Ren and Nora really want to go to the fair." Pyrrha says with little enthusiasm

"I'm trying to convince Pyrrha too but it's not working, help me." Jaune laughs

"All I'm saying is after a long and hard fought match we really should relax first, there is always time to visit the fair later." She slightly shrugs

"But the fair is relaxing!" Jaune sighs

"Hm..." Link rubs his chin, and then looks up at Jaune and Pyrrha, who both stare at him, "O-oh, so I am the decision maker?" He smiles, "I agree with Pyrrha, I know when I finish my fight, win or lose, the last thing I will want to do is strain my mind with other activities."

"Don't let me stop you from having fun Jaune. I can go with you, Ren and Nora another day, please enjoy yourself." Pyrrha nods and gives Jaune a warm smile

"What will you do then?" Jaune asks

"Right now? Hm, good question, I think I will just take a talk around Beacon. What about you, Link?"

"Me? Oh, I was headed to my dorm but I don't want to just sit there and do nothing, I was actually going to come and say hi to you guys before taking a walk around Beacon myself, walk with me?" Link motions for the exit

"Of course, goodbye Jaune." Pyrrha walks with Link and turns back to smile at Jaune once again

"Want anything from the fair?" Jaune shouts out, "Some cotton candy?"

"Hm, I'm not fond of sugary treats, but sure!" Pyrrha replies as she and Link leave

Jaune watches them leave, and lets out a big sigh

"SO!" Link claps his hands together, "I know you want to relax, but I need to know who is going to next round out of your team?"

"Everyone unanimously chose me." Pyrrha chuckles, "Then they said I could choose."

"Annnnnd you chose Jaune." Link looks at Pyrrha on cue

"Yes, I chose Jaune."

"Really?" Link raises an eyebrow, "There a good dynamic there?"

"Of course. Jaune has improved a lot since he started, and I think he's doing amazing as our leader..."

"But...?" Link asks

"He's trying too hard to impress us." Pyrrha sighs, "Ruby told him about the day her team successfully defeated Roman Torchwick in the Atlesian Paladin with near perfect team attacks, and let's just say Flower Power and Arkos did not exactly catch on with the rest of us."

"What? Why would he come up with such horri-!" Link stops himself as Pyrrha glares at him, "I mean... horribly good?"

"You tried." Pyrrha laughs

"Yes, I did indeed try." Link sighs, "Anyway, I always wanted to be the last one fighting, but now I kind of regret wishing for that, my name has yet to be called, surely I am going to be last."

"Why did your mind change?"

"Spotlight is bigger, more attention, more pressure, but at least I might get Team SLVR, if they're even in the tournament." Link suddenly starts to get ahead, but his pace never changes, it was Pyrrha who slows down.

"Team SLVR?" She asks

"Crap I just gave it away. That slash going across Weiss' arm-!"

"Was from an attacker." Pyrrha nods, "I could tell right away, but I knew it couldn't have been you, otherwise you would not have come back with her."

"Their names are... well actually I didn't get their names, Weiss had to tell me, their leader is a girl name Skylar, followed by a guy called Leo, another girl named Violet, and lastly a guy called Ryker. Hence the team name 'SLVR'."

"But Weiss only had a small slash, did you stop the assault before it got worse?" Pyrrha starts walking again, keeping up with Link

"Not really, they could have really hurt her way before I even got there, but it's like they were playing mind games with her, oh and they were all faunus, and clearly very anti-schnee considering who they chose to target. It was like they thought nobody else would show up, I just so happened to be around... clearing my head of anger."

"Were you planning on keeping this a secret?" Pyrrha asks as both of them stop walking now

"Yes. Mostly because I had no idea what Ruby or Yang would've done if they found out within minutes after it happened... you could throw Nora onto that list as well. Now that it's just you and I, in a one on one conversation, I trust you and I know you won't do anything crazy." Link smiles and nods

"Thank you, for trusting me with even more sensitive information." Pyrrha returns the smile as they keep walking, "How do you think you will do in the tournament? You must be excited."

"Excited? A bit, before we went on our own missions, I had no interest in the tournament. However, after everything that happened to Ruby, I kept drilling it in my head that it was my fault and I needed to get stronger. I mean why does anyone join a tournament like this?"

"Representing and honoring their academy is a huge honor." Pyrrha mumbles, "Yes, many want to test their abilities for when they eventually graduate and go out on their own, but some just want the privilege to represent where they came from, their home."

"Vale isn't my home, nor is Beacon." Link coldly replies

"Or is it?" Pyrrha keeps her smile present, "You met all your friends here, you are improving at an faster rate than I am, you're stopping crimes from being committed, the people of Vale called us heroes for what we did, doesn't that mean something to you?"

"A hero?" Link chuckles, "I've always wanted to be called that, no matter how cliché or corny it is."

"I personally would not label it corny, but I understand what you mean, because there are some people who become a hunter or huntress simply for the glory, but-!"

"They're better off getting a comfy desk job somewhere if that's their reason. I do this to help those who can't help themselves, it's not how I started, but my mentality and intent very quickly changed after certain events, losing my family, my mercenary friends, Ray..." Link stops speaking and shortly closes up his hands, releasing all his anger as his fists get tighter, "It's been tough letting new people in, but you guys managed your way in."

"I admire that you put others before yourself." Pyrrha slowly reaches out and gives Link a comforting squeeze to his forearm, "Some very bad people are the reason those things happened to you, but you haven't quit and won't stop until they have been stopped for good. Right now, your journey may be at a standstill in your mind, but realistically you are making more progress now than ever before. You are improving your skills and honing your craft... to the point where you are so strong while not even knowing what your semblance is."

"What?" Link shakes his head, but then smirks as he remembers that Pyrrha was the only one figuring him out that day, "So you got it too. I have the ability and skill I have now, but what is my semblance, maybe it's..." He clutches his chest, "No... it must be something else."

"No, you may be onto something." Pyrrha follows Link's action and lightly grazes her hand on his chest, "Have you told anyone about this theory?"

"No. I mention it to Blake occasionally since she seems to be the most... not informed, but definitely the most knowledgeable. It doesn't add up, if this is my semblance then why can't I control it?"

"Semblances don't always settle in once discovered, Jaune still does not know what his semblance is. I could only help him unlock his aura." Pyrrha mumbles and then process to grab Link's left hand whilst closing her eyes

"What are you doing?" Link asks

"Hm..." Pyrrha frowns as she lets go promptly, "Your aura is completely fine, you have plenty of it, and you haven't shown any other signs of having a different explanation. Your body is calm, nothing seems to be locked up or tense..."

"Enough Pyrrha." Link chuckles, "I asked you to walk with me so we could clear our minds, and all we've done is talk about the tournament and my semblance."

"I am more relaxed then I was before, maybe this is just our way of doing so, keeping still does not seem to benefit us."

"Got that one right." Link nods, "SO! Less business and more... personal."

"Oh no." Pyrrha nervously smiles

"Oh yes!" Link claps his hands again, "Progress?" Link tilts his head and smiles at her

"Progress with what?" Pyrrha replies with a hint of sarcasm and blatant confusion

"The other blonde swordsman that is not me." Link rolls his eyes

"Oh, well..." Pyrrha shakes his head, "You can be the judge of that, Jaune is my really good friend, that is all I will say."

"I'll let it slide this time because I'm not as nosy as some other people." Link chuckles, "How is Jaune by the way? I've still been kind of distant, I'm working on getting together with everyone like we did before, but I haven't really spoken to him or Nora in a while."

"They are doing great. I was just about to bring that up as well, they have all missed you so much, and Ren wishes to train with you very soon... and so have I. Regardless of our small talk during first semester, I missed it, you never realize how special some things or people are until you lose them momentarily or permanently."

"Are you trying to make me shed a tear?" Link shakes his head and walks up to Pyrrha for a quick hug, "What you said about me earlier is kind of burned in my head, if trouble ever strikes us, I'll do my best to put others safety ahead of me. So if anything were to happen to you, Nora, Ren or Jaune and you need help, tell me. Whether its dealing with Cardin for the ninth hundred time, some personal issues, you name it. Not like I have anything going for me, so why not help others who deserve-!"

"Nothing going for you?" Pyrrha's smile slowly form as she remembers Link's embarrassing question earlier, "Aren't you after the hearts of 2 girls? I did not expect you to be such a player Link."

"Don't even start." Link shrugs, "I've been distant from both of them as well, this morning I was able to catch up with team CFVY for RWBY's match, but that was really it in terms of me and Velvet. As for Ruby, same thing, sat with her team to watch your team, then Emerald came in and I just wanted to go."

"Now here you are, walking with me and not watching Sun's match."

"Is that a bad thing? Talking with you has been great." Link glances up at the sky, the light orange of the now slow setting sun catches his eye

"I need to work on my sarcasm." Pyrrha sighs, "I agree, talking has been good, and I will be sure to take you up on that offer. Talking to Nora usually just involves her doing all the talking. Ren is quiet to the point where I have to start the conversation..."

"And Jaune is Jaune." Link nods, "Don't even crack into the iceberg that is team RWBY either." He smiles, and then what really catches his eye is an Atlas ship that lands nearby, a similar model to the ship that invaded Garanda over a year ago, "How long have we been out here? I've just been lost in our conversation."

"About fifteen minutes?" Pyrrha looks at her scroll for the time, but then keeps her eyes on it, "Huh, looks like Sun's team was successful."

"They weren't the favorites but they got the job done, good for them." Link keeps his eyes on the ship even in its stationary position as he and Pyrrha circle back around to the entrance of Beacon, where other students run past them, "Huh? What's going on?"

"A fight." Pyrrha looks around and sees broken concrete scattered around the courtyard as well as a broken lamppost slumped over

"Qrow!" Ozpin's voice is heard as he shouts at a man that Link vividly remembers as the drunken hunter that almost killed him

Qrow in the distance is seen giving Ruby a fist bump along with a few mumbled words, nearby is Glynda who fixes the damage done to the courtyard with her 'telekinesis'. As the situation slowly dies down, students around disperse and the 'culprits' head inside, one being Qrow, the other being a woman that looks very similar to Weiss. In front of them are Ozpin, Glynda... and Ironwood

"Link?" Pyrrha looks at him nervously

"Yeah?" Link asks as he gets glares from Ironwood and Qrow, with the latter stopping to get a good look at him

"Qrow!" Ironwood shouts

"Right..." Qrow rolls his eyes and stuffs his hands in his pockets as he follows

"Hm..." Link shakes his head as he keeps his eye on Winter, "Not as tall, and that person's voice was very... manly. I can definitely cross this woman off the list." Link balls up his left hand, "Though Ironwood still fits the description."

"HEY!" A voice rings into Link's ears as Ruby slows down before she tackles him

"Careful!" Link plants his feet firmly into the ground and easily catches her

"Sorry." Ruby chuckles, "So did you see it, uncle Qrow whooped Weiss' sister!"

"He did not!" Weiss angrily stomps towards them, "It was a draw, tell her Link."

"Tell her what? I didn't see it."

"Pyrrha?" Weiss turns to her

"I was with Link the whole time, we got here just as it finished." Pyrrha nods

"Ah! I can only imagine what would've happened if Uncle Qrow was serious." Ruby jumps with joy

"Shut it." Weiss shakes her head

"So that was your sister?" Link looks at the group of five entering Beacon

"What do you have planned?" Pyrrha narrows her eyes

"Nothing... right now."

"Don't even try." Weiss shakes her head again, "My sister will rip your apart."

"Sure she will. If I could fend off Qrow a year ago and he handled your sister, then I'm sure I can take her." Link shrugs

"How about none of that happens?" Pyrrha nervously looks around, "Want to go to the fair?"

"No thanks Jaune." Link rolls his eyes, and in the process gets a nasty look from Pyrrha

"I wanna talk to uncle Qrow. But that depends on how long Professor Ozpin chews him out. Ugh!" Ruby sighs and walks away

"I..." Weiss thinks carefully, "Will wait out here for my sister."

"I'm going to my dorm." Link frowns as he keeps picturing his deceased friend's death in his head

"Link..." Pyrrha starts, "Are you-!"

"I won't lash out on anyone." Link laughs and waves as he walks away, "I just have to clear my head is all."

"What happened to him?" Weiss asks

"Ever since the Atlas ship landed, his mood dropped."

"O-oh..." Weiss sighs

"He knows I'm here for him, but he needs to know everyone else is too." Pyrrha nods to Weiss, "He's already overwhelmed as it is, his old memories constantly come back to him, and he just told me that he wants to deal with our problems before his... I don't want him to snap."

"I don't want to say it's his fault but how are we supposed to help him if he does not reach out?" Weiss puts her head down

"It's a tough situation. One that we have figure out as we go..." Pyrrha sighs, "I am going to go now, my team wanted to go to the fair, and I hope they are still there, goodbye."

Weiss does not reply, but instead they exchange waves.


Link's dorm

"What am I doing?" Link chuckles nervously as he fumbles out of his normal clothes and switches into a 'new' change, which turns out to be his tunic, but instead of green, it is now pitch black, "Ozpin can't bail me out if I'm attacking Atlas military, so I won't do that, but I need answers."

Link quickly makes the necessary changes, from his clothes with brown boots and white sleeves and leggings to darker colors, making him stand out and portraying himself in his old mercenary attire.

"For all I know they could be done already, I need to hurry." He speaks lowly as he straps his sword and shield to his back and clips his pouch of various items on his side, but does choose to leave his bow behind, "Let's do this!"

Link locks his dorm and opens a window, but then looks back at his stuff, and on top of his desk rests his steel mask, no dents or holes due to it being 'retired' for a long time

"Yeah..." He runs back and quickly puts it on, then glances at himself in a mirror, all black besides his gauntlets, pouch, weapons and mask, then as fast as he enters his dorm, he proceeds to leave by leaping out of the window, using his hook shot to fire and grip to a tree branch, making his landing easier.


Courtyard

"B-but..."

"Not now Weiss, I'm already angry, I do not wish to take it out on my sister." Winter whips open the doors to Beacon as she and Weiss exit, they are met with dead silence... because there are absolutely no students on the courtyard anymore

"Whoa." Weiss shivers, "That's weird, no way everyone went to the Colosseum or back inside at once."

"You're right." Winter cautiously walks towards the ship, and slows down even more when she sees a figure in all black standing about twenty feet away, in the same spot that she and Qrow faced off.

"Here goes nothing." Link roughly pulls on his mask, but it barely budges, "Good."

"Wait a minute, is that?" Weiss recognizes the clothing pattern and weapons, but had never seen Link in his mercenary clothes before

"..." Link remains silent as he slowly turns around, revealing his mask to Winter, who quickly recognizes him based on Atlas military files and initial looks

"Y-you... you're here!" Winter pulls out her sword

"Who? Who is here? Who is this person?" Weiss asks as she too draws her sword

"This person is too dangerous for you Weiss, go get General Ironwood now!"

"Who is it?!" Weiss shouts over her sister

"The twilight demon!" Winter smirks, "It is what we have him listed as, though the young man does have a name."

"Twilight demon?" Weiss mumbles to herself, "Link!"

"How nice of you to give me such a generous name." Link coldly mumbles, "It totally doesn't make me look like a monster."

"We label what we see, boy." Winter holds her position

"Why don't you fill your little sister in on what I've supposedly done?" Link says with a firm tone, his hands remain by his sides and go nowhere near his weapons

"Besides all your mercenary jobs involving taking out multiple Atlas personnel, raiding villages, and let's not even bring up the slaughter of an entire village... because that alone is enough to put you away for the rest of your life." Winter slowly approaches Link

"What?" Weiss takes a step back and shakes her head, "Are they still saying Link did it? Or did Link actually... no!"

"You're going to take misinformation that a young up and coming writer wrote and portray it as fact, how more pathetic can you get?"
Link's eyes glow momentarily as the wind around the courtyard starts to intensify
"Hundreds of murders caused by Atlas military, and here you are saying that I did it! How dare y-!"

"Not another word!" Winter whips her arm up in the air, then brings down her sword and points it right at Link, "Capturing you is my mission as well as any Atlas military figure who has whereabouts on you, I am done talking!"

Winter springs into action with a straightforward charge, and within seconds she lands brutal sword jabs to Link's chest, with the latter not doing a single thing about it

"What the-!" Winter jumps back when she realizes her attacks did no damage

"But how?" Weiss looks at Link with her eyes narrowed

"Next time..." Link draws his sword as the golden shield around his entire body fades, "Strike with the intent to kill!"

Link strikes with a wild slash that makes Winter back away completely in order to avoid damage

"Good thinking." Weiss backs away, "He mentioned that burst of aura helps him withstand powerful and fast hits like those from my sister."

Link manages to pull his shield out just as Winter charges at him again, this time with both of her hands, as she reveals her second sword within her main weapon, both of her swords collide into Link's shield, but before Link could even counter, it was Winter who kept applying pressure with more lightning quick strikes.

"Grr." Winter strikes high, low, she edges around, but does not manage to land a single hit on Link, who somehow manages to dodge or block all of them

"..." Link remains calm and does his best to analyze Winter's fighting style, but cannot seem to find a flaw aside from a potential lucky hit, "There is no getting around this, I'm just going to have to-!"

Link plants his feet and powers forward with his shield raised, slamming it right into Winter just as she swings her swords for another powerful hit, the collision momentarily stuns Winter and gives Link enough time to finally strike. He follows through by tactically kicking away the secondary sword out of Winter's left hand, followed by a fast kick to the gut which knocks the wind out of Winter, making Link assume he had enough time to go for a triforce slash. He brings up his left hand, the triforce on his hand glows bright as a shot of light fires towards Winter, but before the two triforces could even form in front and behind her... Winter slams her sword into the ground! She summons a glyph powerful enough to shatter both triforce figures into literal dust.

"Whoa..." Link stops just as he was about to charge at Winter

"No more games!" Winter frowns as she stands up, the glyph she summons earlier is still seen

"I've already gotten the answers I want... should I even keep fighting?" Link golden eyes remain as seen in addition, "Wait... is that?"
Link suddenly backs down, puts away his sword, shield and makes all unique visible traits fade away as he sees Ironwood AND Qrow coming towards them

"As fun as this is..." Link reaches into his signature pouch and goes for the perfect getaway item

"Not so fast!" Winter takes off with twice the amount of speed

"Crap!" Link acts quick by pulling out the smoke bomb and squeezing it with all his force

BOOM!

Smoke engulfs both Link and Winter as one makes their escape, while the other swings wildly

"What is going on?!" Ironwood runs past Weiss and quickly pulls Winter out of the smoke, then draws out his revolver and aimlessly points it around

"He got away." Winter stomps on the pavement

"Who did?" Qrow reaches for his flask and takes another chug

"None of your concern!" Winter hisses

"Who got away Schnee?" Ironwood asks with a more form tone

"The boy responsible for those murders, the one behind the cold blooded gang of mercenaries, the twi-!"

"I understand." Ironwood's frown goes away, and a look of confusion comes over him, "I need to update that mission immediately."

"Sir?" Winter tilts her head

"Hm..." Qrow squints as a 'shadow' sneaks away from the scene

"I told you to head back Schnee, not cause another scene."

"But sir!" Winter glances at Weiss, and then calms herself down, "He was here, and my sister was right beside me, I had to-!"

"Winter." Ironwood shuts his eyes, "We can discuss both of these incidents in private, let's go." He walks past her and does not turn back to face Weiss or Qrow

"Yes sir." Winter nods and follows her general

"Pfft, it takes them six weeks to do something I can in six minutes." Qrow keeps his eye on the sneaky 'shadow', "So long... other ice queen." He takes off to his left, going immediately after the shadow

"H-hey..." Weiss looks around and realizes she is all alone, "Can there ever be a day without explosions?" She sighs and looks to her left, spotting Winter's secondary sword, "I can't believe she forgot this!"

Weiss quickly runs to pick up her sister's weapon, and then makes her way to Ironwood's ship


Elsewhere

"Of course someone is onto me, stealth hasn't always been my forte." Link reaches for another smoke bomb, but before he can even launch the bomb, it is slashed out of his hand by Qrow, whose long sword helps cut the distance between the two

"Not bad for a kid." Qrow slightly stumbles, "Make it easier on me and just take off the damn mask."

Link looks above, and sees the same tree he used to get down from out of his window

"So you're going to be complicated after all?" Qrow shrugs and puts his flask away

"No." Link shakes his head and carefully releases the straps wrapped on the back of his head, his mask plops to the ground but before it hits, he catches it

"I knew your clothes looked familiar!" Qrow grabs Link by his chest and slams him against the tree, "What the hell are you here?"

"I go here." Link pulls Qrow's hand off him, "I've been enrolled for over a semester now."

"Oz allowed you to enroll? That guy has lost a step, letting Amber's assailant come to his school, rid-!"

"I had no choice!" Link shoves Qrow back

"What do you mean 'no choice', huh kid?" Qrow quickly swings his sword and slightly grazes Link's shoulder to push him back against the tree

"People were threatening me and others I knew with death if I didn't comply."

"So why didn't you finish the job?" Qrow narrows his eyes, but then suddenly burps

"Ugh, do you really drink twenty-four seven?" Link turns to the side and coughs

"Answer the damn question or I'll do worse than prick your shoulder."

"I got cold feet." Link shakes his head, "It didn't help that I had already met Amber before, let's just say that she saved my life and I'll never take that for granted... killing her would only be spitting in her face."

"Or so you think..." Qrow shrugs

"What?" Link faces Qrow once again, "Is she-!"

"Hey you don't want to spill information, neither should I." Qrow frowns and angrily shakes his head, "I can't tru-!"

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby's excited voice is head against as she runs right into her uncle

"Can't you see I'm busy?" Qrow stumbles as he catches her

"Still?" Ruby sighs from exhaustion, "I've been looking for you everywhere, what are you doing here with-!" She turns and is taken back by Link's attire, "Link? Whoa, you look way cooler now."

"Thanks?" Link looks at his black clothes and shrugs his shoulders

"You know this chump?" Qrow staggers around

"Yeah, he's my friend, annnnnnd he's his own team, that's right uncle Qrow, a one man team."

"That's my shtick now I suppose." Link chuckles

"I'd brag about it too!" Ruby runs over and punches Link's arm, "So, wanna explain that?" She points at the giant sword carved into the tree

"Yes, please do so." Link glares at Qrow

"Shut up." Qrow rolls his eyes and promptly takes his weapon back, "So, you trust him?" He looks back at Ruby

"Who, Link? Of course!" Ruby nods

"Hm, alright then... I'll keep an eye on you though." Qrow puts his sword back in its half form, then sneaks it behind his back.

"You didn't tell him?" Ruby looks at Link

"It took months and a bunch of peer pressure to tell you." Link shakes his head, "I explained something, but definitely not everything."

"If it means anything, those Atlas 'specialists' seem to not like you, so clearly that must mean you're doing something right." Qrow smirks

"Thanks." Link chuckles as he looks over at Ruby, and then shakes his head while his smile disappears, "Hey, they really are pinning those murders on me."

"You mean... the village? How?!" Ruby growls and angrily looks up at the sky

"I didn't get the exact answer out of Winter, after she mouthed those words, my emotions took over, and when she charged at me all I could do was fight."

"What did you expect?" Qrow chimes in with a sarcastic wagging of his finger

"Too much." Link sighs, "They took rumors and managed to twist it to fit their agenda."

"Atlas, manipulation, lying, what else is new?" Qrow rolls his eyes

"Isn't there any way to clear your name?" Ruby turns to face Link again

"If I can get the guy who got away to confess then maybe, but it's not like Ironwood and his lackeys can pass off their assumptions as fact, at best only Atlas can be misinformed."

"So basically never set foot in Atlas." Ruby nods, "Easy."

"Perfect solution." Qrow chuckles as he grabs his flask, but then realizes it is empty, "Great..."

"Very great." Ruby walks over and grabs onto Qrow's arm, "Let's go surprise Yang!"

"Right now?" Qrow tries to yank his arm free

"Yeah! Duh!" Ruby smiles and looks at Link again, "Don't you go picking anymore fights."

"Funny." Link shrugs

"Now come on!" Ruby pulls on Qrow and slowly starts to drag him back towards the main entrance of Beacon

Silence...

"...Well then, that was eventful." Link sighs as he starts to climb the tree to get back into his locked dorm


Later that day

"How is our old friend doing?" Cinder's voice is heard as she faces Emerald

"Breaking up and starting fights." Emerald chuckles, "First he defends the heiress, then fights the heiress' sister all in one day... he's such a weird guy."

"I see... Go to your rooms. I'll prepare everything for tomorrow." Cinder quickly logs onto a large tablet while waving away her 'teammates'

"Yes, ma'am" Emerald nods as she walks away

"You got it." Mercury nods and follows Emerald out of the dorm

As they leave, Cinder smirks as she brings up an image of Link that is matched with team SLVR, and already rigged to go last.

"What a treat the audience will get right before the doubles round, let's see how much you've improved... Link."

Cinder's smile grows bigger as she moves forward to setting up the doubles round first match-up, Mercury and Emerald against Coco and Yatsuhashi.