The following day, Beacon Academy: Link's dorm

"Are you even listening?" Ironwood slams his foot into the ground, snapping Link out of his sightseeing, clearly not focused on anything the general just said.

"No." Link speaks coldly, "All you've done for me is destroy my reputation, try to arrest me, or nearly kill ruby."

"You should be, after all you almost killed two students today."

"Jaune was already down and out, anyone watching could've told you that, he never got back up." Link frowns and crosses his arms, "Pyrrha was in danger for a bit, but I held back, she's not going to be out for an extended amount of time, that's a guarantee."

"Your words at the moment mean nothing, it's your words vs footage showing you striking an already eliminated student. What you did could've killed him and severely injured Pyrrha Nikos. Besides, even if you were right, the public has already drawn their own conclusions."

"I need to say something about Emerald, but will Ironwood even buy it?"

Ironwood continues speaking about Link's vile actions until the reprimanded huntsman clears his through obnoxiously.

"Spit it out already." Link mumbles

"You are disqualified from the Vytal festival tournament and you are to be kept in this dorm until further notice, understand?" Ironwood walks towards Link

"You better stop right there or we're tearing down Beacon right now." He stares daggers into General Ironwood, clearly showing he was taking it seriously now

"Do you have a closing statement for me? Anything to potentially clear up your name, perhaps an apology?"

"No." Link shuts his eyes and exhales, "Just don't be surprised if something like this happens again. I'm not the first it was done to and I definitely won't be the last, keep your eyes peeled, will you? There's a mastermind manipulator in Beacon and-!"

"I've heard enough." Ironwood leave the dorm, but the door does not shut completely and in barge multiple people: Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Coco, and Velvet.

"YOU!" Yang marches right up to Link and pulls him by the collar, then slams him against the wall

"YANG!" Ruby dashes towards her sister and attempts to pull her away

"Ironwood didn't want to listen to me and that's fine, his opinion means nothing to me, but I expect you guys to at least have an open mind." Link does not resist; he simply stares right into Yang's eyes.

"Yang, please put him down." Weiss pleads

"Well this certainly is surprising." Blake smiles, "The one being the most civil to Link is coincidentally his biggest admirer and critic."

"Hmph!" Weiss turns her head and hides a feint blush

"Talk." Yang releases her grip on Link

"Manipulation." Link turns his back to his friends and looks outside once more, "I finished Jaune, you saw it with your own eyes. He never got back up in my eyes, what you saw was an illusion. Remember when I told the story about your uncle defending the woman who saved my life, the one I was tasked to kill unknowingly?"

"Yeah but what does this have to do with-!"

"Stop." Link cuts off Yang, "Remember I then told you all about the fake assassination of Carter from the Black Hawks mercenary group?"

"Okay yes we remember everything you told-!"

"Answer the question." Link frowns and looks to another team RWBY member for some patience.

"Yes." Blake mumbles

"The person behind those hallucinations was Emerald. She was also behind what happened today, I had already defeated Jaune. I do admit I lost control and let 'it' take over but I swear I held back when I struck Pyrrha, but that girl managed to pull it off. Jaune back up on his feet along with the final attack being more devastating than it actually was."

"Link." Ruby sighs, "Emerald wasn't there yesterday. Mercury told us something's been going on with her recently and she's been in her dorm resting, she hasn't been at the colosseum seen ever since they defeated Coco and Yatsuhashi."

"W-what?" Link shakes his head furiously, "You can't just take his word as fact."

"That's her teammate, he knows her better than you." Yang crosses her arms

"Yeah, their other teammates are staying with her from what little Mercury told me, they estimate she'll be good to walk around on her feet by the time the finals begin. Luckily for them Mercury already volunteered to be the one participating."

"Just stop!" Link angrily shuts his window, "They're manipulators Ruby, that's all they are. They aren't your friends, why do you think I've never trusted them and acted awkward around them. I knew who they were but you guys were already acquainted with them so I needed something to prove they were around back then, serving Adam."

"I don't know, it seems like backpedaling to me." Yang narrows her eyes, "You don't want to take responsibility for your actions so you're blaming something you don't like, now you expect us to believe they were people from your past? If that were the case why didn't you tell us back then during that emotional day, why now when you're in trouble?"

"What are you implying? Don't be stupid Yang!" Link balls up his hands into uncontrollable shaking fists

"When you're angry you let your emotions take over right, just like in the match against Jaune and Pyrrha, you admitted to letting the twilight demon take over." Blake refuses to make eye contact with Link, "I want to believe you Link but the odds are stacked against you."

"Yeah tell me about it; You're using your past to frame Emerald when you could have told us ages ago if she was really a part of your past. However, it's already been made very clear you don't like her so that doesn't help your reasoning there, and your emotions got the best of you."

"So, you don't believe me?" Link looks at Yang, then Blake, but neither make any sign or effort to disagree

Instead Yang leaves the dorm without saying another word. Blake takes one step backwards, then another... and another until she quietly leaves the dorm in a less dramatic way.

"Ruby? Weiss?" Link turns his back to his other friends, "Give me something."

"I..." Ruby nervously paces around the room, nearly hyperventilating before abruptly storming out of the room.

"It doesn't look good for you Link." Weiss speaks with no sarcasm or snark in her voice, "We don't always see eye to eye b-but..." She hesitates before cutting her herself off.

"But what?" Link's smacks his lips in disgust, "Coco? Velvet? You've been quiet throughout all of this."

"I can see where you're coming from with the hallucinations, but our cases are different. I choked under pressure; thought I saw Yatsu with me when I should've been paying more attention to the kid hiding in the trees. All of us in the colosseum saw Jaune try and get back on his feet, I don't think you can argue with that... I'm sorry."

Coco takes off her shades and wipes away a tear before leaving Link's dorm.

"Velvet?" Link's releases the tension in his hands and gracefully looks at his recent date

"Everything just transpired and I'll always be by your side Link, but right now I need some time."

One by one, everyone who entered has left except for Weiss

"Why don't you join them?" Link coldly speaks

"Because I believe you." Weiss mumbles

"W-what?" Link sniffs and slowly turns to face the heiress

"Ever since you told me and everyone else about your past, I know you have no reason to lie, even if you hate my home it took a lot of courage to open up and tell your story. While I do not know about Emerald being involved, what I do know is that you would never do something to endanger the lives of Pyrrha and Jaune."

Link reveals himself to Weiss and tears are visibly seen going down his cheeks, he walks to her and wraps his arms around her waist for a big hug, slightly lifting her in the air. Weiss' blush that just faded returns with a more darker color present.

"Thank you." Link notices the blush spread across her face and chuckles without noticing the slight red on his face as well

"What's so funny?" Weiss tries to frown but his chuckling prevents her from keeping a serious tone.

"Nothing. I just would have gone completely insane if all of you did not believe me." Link's chuckling dwindles however, "While it hurts knowing that my friends think I would harm the lives of other friends-!"

"I know." Weiss stops him by hugging back tightly, something very uncharacteristic of herself, "I have to head back to the colosseum soon, Yang and I's match is today and we're getting closer and closer."

"Okay." Link hesitates in letting go but eventually does so, "Good luck Weiss, I'll be rooting for you and Y-!" He shakes his head and revises his sentence, "I'll be rooting for you."

"Thank you." Weiss nods, "No matter what happens next, know I'm on your side. We used to be at odds but you were there when I needed help despite out mutual disdain when team SLVR attacked me. You could have not showed up and gone back to eat with my team and Pyrrha's team but you didn't, instead you defended me against four foes. Ever since that day I've thought about how nasty I've been to you and I want to change that, I hope you can forgive me."

"Of course, people's true colors were shown today. I honestly did not expect you of all people to stand by my side, but what matters is that you did and I appreciate that." Link sits down on his bed and sighs, "This isn't over by any means, the truth will come out eventually Weiss."

"I hope it does." Weiss walks to the door and stops when she turns the doorknob, "Take care of yourself and please don't get into any more trouble."

"No guarantees but I will try." Link waves goodbye as the normally arrogant RWBY member leaves with a genuine smile on her face

Weiss shuts the door and slowly walks away, but suddenly stops to look back. She shakes her head and continues walking; the big hug from someone that used to be her enemy at one point replays in her heard.

"What even was that?" Weiss sighs before inhaling, exhaling, and showing off a big smile, "I was not expecting that in the slightest, but it felt nice."


Within seconds a knock is heard, not at the door but by Link's window

"Hm?" Link turns his head and sees a familiar foe crouching on the stone ledge

"Sup." Skylar smiles and knocks on the window again, "Mind letting me in? I'm losing my balance out here."

Link stops as he reaches for the window unsure of his current friends, but the smile on Skylar's face convinces him otherwise.

"Thanks." Skylar hops into the room and nods in approval, "Not bad, four people in here and its crammed to hell, just one though? It's perfect."

"I'd offer you coffee but it's old." Link shrugs

"Nonsense, i'd love some." Skylar chuckles

"Alright then." Link nods and turns on the coffee machine on his desk, waiting for it to warm up the day old liquid, "You here to yell at me too?"

"No way. Wait what do you mean at you too?" Skylar frowns

"Five out of six friends believe I did it. And they're very upset at me about it." Link eyes the machine until it starts beeping

"How is it that we only met a few days ago but I feel like I know you better as a person than they do? You're all about loyalty so what do you gain from harming your friends?" The tiger faunus slaps the frame of the bed furiously.

"I know exactly what happened but they wouldn't believe me. It was all caused by this girl called-!"

"Save it." Skylar shakes her head. "I followed the general here and have been standing on this ledge, nearby your window the entire time. No need to pitch what I've already bought."

"Really? Just like that? What made you so sure?" Link smirks and hands Skylar a mug of coffee with milk and sugar

"How'd you know?" Skylar smiles

"Even the people who prefer black coffee don't mind milk and sugar every now and then. Now answer my question."

"The heiress." Skylar smells the warm coffee and sighs, "They sell the good stuff over here in Vale huh? Anyway, I've been on your side ever since it happened; the series of attacks you landed that finished the blondie, that's usually it for any huntsman or huntress. No offense to him but he's one of the weaker ones in this tournament. The girl with the red hair, Nikos is tougher than that. What did they say? Unsure of her condition my ass. She's the toughest bitch in this tournament, tougher than me even."

"Okay, that's very accurate. So how did Weiss convince you?" Link pulls the chair from his desk and sits in front of the team SLVR leader.

"The most skeptical, catty, stuck up girl, heir to the Schnee Dust Company... yet she was the only one so far to declare her loyalty." Skylar makes quick work of her coffee, "Girl like her, that kind of status, with a friend like you? I expected her to not even be here when you got escorted back. Looks like you saving her against us really changed her a quite a lot. Hell, she might even have a thing for you now!" She punches Link's knee and winks, "You're welcome."

"Are you condoning assault?" Link smirks

"I got carried away alright, but hey it worked out for everyone, things happen for a reason as my mother would say." Skylar springs up to her feet and walks over to the coffee machine, still not satisfied, "The Schnee changed, I changed, and now we're both your friends... though I may not be too far off when I say she has a thing for you."

"Stop." Link chuckles

"Alright alright, but you know what I mean though; isn't it funny how things worked out?"

"Yeah tell me about it." He looks at his door, the image of Weiss exiting gracefully still on his mind, "Tell me something else... more specifically what the rest of your teammates think and what the hell should I do to convince those who don't believe me. I can only assume those who didn't come like Fox, Yatsu, Sun, Neptune, Nora, and Ren already think I'm guilty."

"Violet adores you, Leo has too much respect for you, and Ryker is already suspicious about a third party being involved. Tell you a lot about my team doesn't it?" Skylar returns with another milk and sugar coffee mug

"I'm glad to hear, but..." Link glances at the floor

"I know, but to be honest with you my answer won't help you." Skylar shrugs, "If they were really your friends, they would have given you the benefit of the doubt or at the very least waited until concrete proof comes out to refute your argument. They didn't even do that, besides the heiress obviously."

"You're right, it's not helping."

"All I'm saying is you showed them respect, compassion, and trust. You told them about your life, I've only told my life story to my team and you. You must really trust someone to pour out your heart like that; if they choose to shun you, wall you off, stop being your friend... that just shows they were never loyal to begin with." Skylar stop drinking halfway and hands the mug to Link, "Go on, you need it more than I do."

"Coffee?" Link raises an eyebrow

"Yeah, how else are you gonna prove you're innocent, by taking a nap?"

"Good point." Link nods and takes the mug, "Good answer to, it may not be what I want to hear but it's the reality of the situation."

"No kidding, it sucks but that's just how it is sometimes." Skylar fidgets with her metal hand, "I'll get going and give you some time to yourself, you clearly need it right now. Just remember you have some good people around you, don't let those who turned their backs on you get in your head."

"Right now, I don't know what to think, I thought I had all it all figured out, but having almost all of friends thinking I would actually do that has sent me for a loop. However, I must give you a big thanks, at least I know where you stand in all of this."

"You already know it." Skylar slaps Link's shoulder and awkwardly hugs him

"You haven't done this before have you?" Link chuckles as he accepts the embrace

"Shut up, I've only hugged my mother before." She lightly slaps Link's head before heading for the window

"Thanks for stopping by again, it means a lot."

"We're gonna be on our way back to Haven soon as soon as the tournaments ends, so before we leave, you're gonna show my team around Vale, lunch is on you as well." Skylar smirks

"I have no problem with that." Link nods as he finishes the coffee and waves at Skylar

"Cya, till we meet again mister one man team." Skylar winks again before jumping for the nearest tree, using her claws to halt her momentum before ultimately dropping down to the grass

As soon as Skylar is well distanced from the dorm, Link puts the mug down on his desk then kicks the chair he was just sitting on. The pounding headache kicks in along with anxiety and fear, causing him to completely trash the rest of his room: mattress across the room, bed frame flipped over, pillows scattered, blanket shredded, bookshelf tipped over, closet ransacked, etc.

"What the hell... they said they would be here for me, but when it was time to choose, most of them scurried off!" Link angrily lies back against the wall, slowly sliding down to a seated position. "I need to talk to Pyrrha. She is how I prove my innocence, at least to myself anyway, just seeing her back up and running will confirm what I already th-! No not thought, knew!"

Link continues to run his hand through his hair and stares at the ground viciously, contemplating Skylar's words.

"She's right, all this time I went out of my way to defend and physically protect them, I tried to actually kill Ironwood when he 'killed' Ruby, I was there for Blake even before Yang convinced her about the dance, and whenever Yang asked me to do something I did it." Link closes his eyes just as he's about to see red, "I supported Coco when she lost, even did her the favor of taking Velvet out for a date. And Velvet... has she already forgotten about everything we've been through this year?"

Link looks to his canteen and immediately gives in, downing however much alcohol he had in there. He slumps over, head barely touching the thrown mattress, reaching for his scroll only to see the footage of the tournament match again before promptly tossing the scroll over and to the side.


Seven hours later

"Ugh." Link sits up and instantly picks up his scroll, only one message from Weiss out of all of his friends, he smiles for a bit before checking the breaking news. "Link disqualified, I know that, Beacon under scrutiny, expected that, Pyrrha Nikos back on her feet so soon, I get th-! Wait what?"

Link rapidly taps on the screen to watch the video in full screen which shows Pyrrha walking down the courtyard to a standing ovation from other Beacon students.

"I knew it! When was this posted?" Link notices that it was only two hours ago, he stands and sprints out of his room.

Minutes later, Link is pounding on the door of team JNPR's dorm

"Who is it?" Nora speaks

No answer, Link pounds on the door again.

"Hello?" Nora opens the door and frowns, "What do you want?"

"Where are Pyrrha and Jaune?" Link asks politely

"Stay away from us." Nora throws the door

"I said-!" Link catches the door and his tone changes within seconds, "Where are Pyrrha and Jaune!?"

"First you hurt my teammates now you're here to start more fights? If that's what you want then-!"

"Nora." Ren puts his hand on the shoulder and slowly eases her back, "Jaune is here resting."

"Look, I'm really not in the mood right now." Link breathes heavily, "Where is Pyrrha? I promise I'm not trying to pick more fights, it's urgent!"

"She just left not long ago; Professor Ozpin called her to his office." Ren sighs

"Where do you and Nora stand on what happened?"

"I think..." Ren shakes his head, "You already know."

Ren closes the door and that's all it takes for Link to get the message

"What are the chances Pyrrha believes me?" Link narrows his eyes and does not answer his own question, he simply continues his journey.


Having already been to the elevator that leads up to Ozpin's office more than once, Link quickly gets there running as fast as he can right before Pyrrha approaches it herself.

"Hello." Pyrrha's voice echo's as she could just feel his presence

"Pyrrha..." Link stops right behind her, "I'm so happy to see you're okay."

"Are you?" She turns and eyes him coldly

"Not you too." Link takes another step close, looking right into her eyes, "Look at me Pyrrha."

"O-okay." Pyrrha temporarily looks to the walls before meeting Link's gaze

"I am happy to see you again and if you don't believe me that's up to you, but at least listen to me before casting judgement."

"I did not know what to make of it all." Pyrrha grabs her own arm and squeezes it nervously, "My team almost convinced me as we were being treated but my quick recovery had me second guessing everything they said. You didn't put everything into that final attack, did you?"

"Of course not." Link smiles and shakes his head

"I fell into an unconscious state but when I woke up by aura was back to normal and my injuries healed up quite fast." Pyrrha reaches around to feel her back, where she was primarily struck, "You just made it seem like it was a big attack."

"And I promise you I didn't hurt Jaune any more after he was already eliminated." Link shakes his head

"I..."

"This is probably too much for you to take in right now so I can give you some space if you would like. I'm already used to having my other friends distancing themselves from me." He shrugs

"No, I..." Pyrrha looks down before taking a step closer herself and wrapping her arms around Link, "I didn't know what to think. You preached to us about protecting your friends with your life and always being there for us. Then you did what you did and I thought your words were just lies but... I did not want to believe you would hurt us."

"..." Link doesn't say anything, he just hugs her back initially. "I have a valid reason but only one person has believed it one-hundred percent. Weiss was on my side too but even she was skeptical when I explained myself."

"I want to hear it." Pyrrha slowly pulls away

"Great, can we talk right now? It might take a while." Link asks

"I'm not sure about that, Professor Ozpin is waiting for me any second now." Pyrrha sighs, "And I have to be at the colosseum soon for the finals, there have not been any brackets announced or anything of the sort so I will not know if I will be fighting today."

"Oh, that's alright then." Link nods, "I don't think they'll let me back into the colosseum, not that I would want to deal with a hoard of boos."

"How about tomorrow morning?" Pyrrha smiles

"Sounds like a plan." Link extends his hand

"We're past those." Pyrrha shakes her friend's hand but pulls him into another hug, "I'm happy too Link, to think you would have changed was impossible for me."

"Never." He hugs his good friend back and sighs in relief, "I'll always be by your side until the end."

"I am really happy you caught me right before I entered this elevator, thank you." Pyrrha backs away once more until the censors on the elevator detect her and the doors open

"No, thank you for hearing me out." Link nods in approval, "If you're chosen tonight good luck, I will be watching."

Pyrrha enters the elevator, turns back to Link and mouths the words 'Thank You' as the doors shut and take her up to Ozpin's office.

"That's right I wished Weiss good luck and I still have that message from her, let's see." Link grabs his scroll and checks Weiss' message, it is a still image of her and Yang victorious over team FNKI.

"Oof!"

Ruby's cry is heard as she and Link crash into each other unknowingly. The former falls to the ground while the latter just manages to stay on his feet.

"R-ruby, hey." Link smiles and extends his hand

"O-oh!" Ruby nervously takes his hand and accepts the help, "Thanks."

"No problem." Link holds onto her hand and squeezes it gently, "Ruby, please."

"I..." She slips her hand away and takes a step back, "I don't know how to feel Link."

"This isn't fair Ruby and you know it." Link sighs and stares at the ground, "I'd do everything for you, I've talked with you, sparred with you, and fought for you."

"I just don't know okay!" Ruby shouts in frustration, "I'll see you around Link."

"Ruby don't run aw-!"

However, she us already gone, her astonishing speed helped her escape the tough situation before Link could even finish his sentence, but as quick as she left the look of disgust on Link's face forms; his hands slowly but viciously ball up into fists that turn completely red from the pressure.


(Weekly updates? We'll see :P)