Previously on The 'Lone' Hero of Vale
"This person, they were really fast... I initially couldn't see their face at all because they were wearing a green hood and a mask." The dying huntsman from shion says with a painful smile, "They were like nothing I'd ever seen before, I only got a glimpse of some blonde hair poking out of a wooden mask. He fought with only a sword but that's all he needed to wipe out every grimm here and fast too."
...
"...!" The hooded boy stops running and in a rapid motion he spins with his sword fully drawn, intending for a powerful slash. The same bright gold aura mentioned by the dying young huntsman surrounds the blade
"Shit! How did he know?" Qrow attempts to fly upwards to avoid the strike, knowing he does not have the time to transform
But at the very last second however, the boy stops right as he is about to slice the crow in half
"That would've been some way to lose my life, dying as a crow to a kid." Qrow shrugs as he flies away
...
The blue eyes Qrow saw, the blonde hair by the unfortunate huntsman from Shion, and Ruby's suspicions about the throwing knife made of dust all lead back to Link who reveals his face, with his now cold and expressionless blue eyes shining through the dark
Continuing: The following day, Forests of Anima
It is the crack of dawn when Link opens his eyes, he lets out a big sigh and knows that he has barely gotten any sleep as he was awake very late and deep into the previous night. He looks around him and sees more dead grimm in front of him, but scratches his head and raises an eyebrow. The huntsman shakes his head, having no recollection of how or when he even took out these creatures but knows it was him when his sword and shield are unsheathed, not on his back and on the ground on each side of his body. Despite the fact that it is only dawn and the sun is barely rising, Link decides it is time to get moving. Carefully scanning the area around him, Link's desire is not wanting to risk getting caught by the team consisting of his 'friends' that he is purposely following in the forests of Mistral, the huntsman puts his weapons away first and makes sure he has everything else with him. Soon after he brings the hood of his green cloak back over his head which is used to cover up his blonde hair, with the next step being to put his wooden mask back on
(...ugh!...) Link shakes his head as he stares at his mask and for a moment the boy forgets how to put it on, his lack of concentration is not helped by shaky hands as well
"You have to fully wake up, sleepy head!"
(...what?...) The cloaked boy quickly puts his mask back on and looks around frantically, trying desperately to find the voice who just spoke to him as it sounds all too familiar, this is a voice that has been in his head for many months now, amplified even more due to recent events
"Over here!"
It was the voice of Ray who is 'visible' behind a tree as she is just about peeking her head slightly, the top of her head is visible and with her shiny brown hair and green eyes shine brighter than even before
"Come onnnnn!" Ray giggles, "I'm not alone hehe."
(...huh... what is... she... saying?) Link gets up and runs to the tree where his friend is supposedly behind, only to meet the obvious disappointment of not seeing her
"Ya gotta be quicker than that silly." 'Ray's' giggles loudly course throughout the entire forest as she runs away from Link. At one point Ray turns around and while perfectly running backwards, she sticks her tongue out
(...okay... you asked... for it...) Link runs and becomes even faster as he chases a person who although appears real is clearly just a vision or hallucination, but to him they are as real as can be and something he has clearly has experienced in some aspect before
"Oooh, you're fast!"
'Ray' continues to run away but not running away as if someone were going the opposite direction and trying to escape from danger. She is just messing with Link by zig zagging in between trees, playfully getting away from her friend who is a lot more serious as he trails behind her. Sometimes with a sudden burst of speed he gets close enough to touch her arm but she is slippery and persistently evades him
(...I will... talk... to you!) The huntsman reaches out his hand and manages to place it on Ray's shoulder. He gives it a tight squeeze and feels what he should feel, flesh and bones
"Aw man you caught me already?" 'Ray' laughs hysterically, "But then again of course you did, that's no fair you have a big advantage over me. I have never been fast and you have had all this time to get faster and better at everything, which you clearly have cause wow you were never this fast when you were training me."
The young girl keeps laughing and varies between full on laughter down to giggles, she shrugs Link's hand off her shoulder and clasps her hands together in front of him. What comes next is an even greater surprise to Link, more than than seeing 'Ray' for the first time in over a year whereas before he would only hear her voice in his head occasionally and never be able to picture her in his head, which always infuriated the huntsman that he could not picture his first closest friend despite hearing her voice sporadically
(...Ray...)
"Good job Link. Now how about you catch me?"
Another familiar fair speaks as she too emerges from behind a shadow and her eyes are as bright as Ray's. That is because they are also green and beautiful, going past her shoulders is long red hair and soon enough there was a face to associate with the voice as Pyrrha's warm smile seals the deal. She wears the rest of her attire like normal and looks exactly how Link remembers her. Something noticeable however is that she is not wearing her circlet, one of the accessories she lost before he passed away
(...Pyrrha...) Link reaches for his belt and in an instant he has 'Pyrrha's' golden circlet in his hands, he extends his arm and offers it to her
"No no." Pyrrha smiles, "That doesn't belong to me anymore sadly. But seeing that you went to extreme lengths to get a hold of it, I want you to cherish it forever Link."
(...I... will...)
Link's mouth begins to form what appears to be his first smile since he was still attending Beacon when he 'sees' 'Ray' and 'Pyrrha' right in front of his eyes. Then suddenly for a quick flash her face goes from a warm smile to the expression she had when Cinder had just shot her with her bow and arrow
"Ahhhhhh!"
(...no!...) Link shakes his head and places his hands on his head, pushing hard against his temples as he looks down at the ground, (...This... isn't... real...)
"Why didn't you save me?" The vision Link sees that is clearly 'Pyrrha' asks with tears rolling down her cheeks, "You were there to help just a little too late, if you and I teamed up, we could have taken Cinder down don't you think?"
"Is that true?" 'Ray' frowns, "Because I have a bone to pick with you too, why didn't you save me on that day Link? You were with me and you even got hit too, so why did I take the fatal shot? I'm sure your aura could have taken it."
(...what...is...happening?...) Link shakes his head harder as 'Pyrrha' and 'Ray' repeat the same questions over and over and over again, demanding to know why he did not save them on the days they both tragically joined the afterlife
"Why didn't you save me?!"
"Why Link?!"
"You could have done more!"
"You let me die Link!"
(...STOP!...) Link internally shouts but when he tries to open his mouth to shout at the two girls, the same thing happens every since the fall of Beacon; no words, sounds or anything come out
"Link? Are you okay?" 'Ray' asks as she and 'Pyrrha' approach him
"What happened? Who did this to you?" 'Pyrrha' kneels down and looks at him face to face
(...N-no...) Link tries to remove his hands off his head but the second he tries, the boy begins to hyperventilate and his heart rapidly pounds as if he was in imminent danger
"I can help, please."
A third voice arises and this one is even softer as a girl with a voice that is almost as soft and angelic as 'Pyrrha' loudly takes over both the deceased Beacon student and 'Ray'. Meanwhile, Link glances up slightly and looks in the direction of this third person. Unfortunately he cannot visually see who this is but the girl's voice is enough to let him know exactly who this is, it is Amber, the previous fall maiden who saved Link from drowning in a river
(...Amber... all of... you... a-are... here...)
'Amber' speaks as Ray grabs Link's hands and removes them off his head. Unfortunately it's not destined to get any better for Link who just now begins to calm down, he stands upright to face all three of them. 'Ray' places her hand on Link's mask and slips her fingers past it to feel his cheeks. However, in a split second her look of hope and warmth sour into a frown, all while the voice with no face changes tone from neutral to angry
"Why didn't you come down to see me? You discovered where I was, didn't you?"
"Link..." 'Ray' begins to cry just like 'Pyrrha' did earlier, "Have you been able to help or save anyone ever since you could not save me?"
(...Can't...bear...it...any longer!...)
Link slaps the hand of 'Ray' away and stares at the two of the girls while looking around to identify where Amber's voice comes from. He was not in a position to help in Amber's case or fast enough in Ray and Pyrrha's cases, their faces change constantly from happiness, anger, then to sadness, back to relief, and lastly happy tears. It was an apparent and clear but very cruel cycle and all it does is terrorize Link mentally
"...!" Link opens his mouth to scream while swinging his arm at what he knows are just visions but yet again no sound comes out of his mouth
"Link?" 'Amber' speaks softly, "Are you alright? I am worried about you, we all are. We have been watching you for some time and are very concerned for your well being. You haven't been eating much and the only thing you drink is whatever is in that canteen... which I know is only a self destructive liquid isn't it?"
"..." The cloaked huntsman says nothing and simply nods his head
"Yeah." 'Ray' follows up immediately after 'Amber', "And you do not sleep well or sometimes at all. You often have panic attacks, your entire body gets very shaky, yesterday and other days too you freeze up and don't move for a long time. That is the scariest part to me because you're clearly there but you just can't move."
"And you are very paranoid too." 'Pyrrha' sighs, "There's nothing that is going to harm you Link, you have gotten so much stronger and we are watching over you. The worst part is you look stressed every hour of the day, like something is eating you up on the inside... Do you pin a lot of blame on yourself for how things happened in your life?"
(...what... but... you three... just... tortured me... with your... reminders...) Link looks bewildered by what 'Pyrrha' just says but remembers these are just visions and he is seeing these because of himself not being in the right state of mind, (...right... they don't... actually... control... what they're... saying... it's all... in my... head...)
Link just nods his head again, acknowledging that he has been carrying a lot of guilt for a long time, even long before he attended Beacon as a student while running away from mercenaries, the White Fang and misinformed Atlas military. Now however, he has even more guilt thrown on top of him with Pyrrha's death and the fall of Beacon. That along with the pounding migraine like constant reminder that he could have spoken up sooner about the information he knew. This information was regarding how much power and influence Cinder had, that she controlled White Fang troops after coercing Adam Taurus to work for her. Ultimately, the grand battle would have gone completely differently and maybe certain lives could have been spared had Link spoken sooner and if more people heard him out
"Hey no more of that..." 'Ray' gets in front of 'Pyrrha' and is now the sole person in front of Link, "Listen to me, I know you only meant well. You couldn't have known what was going to happen so don't beat yourself up about it."
(...now where's... the part... when she... says it's... my fault... again...)
This time however, there is no sudden change in energy or rapid facial expression chance such as a smile to a frown. Only 'Ray's' sweet smile remains, she reaches and touches Link's face, grazing her fingers against the mask before feeling his cheeks and rubbing them softly
"I know you're going to do the right thing and walk a path that'll lead you to ending the violence and hardship in Remnant. So far you've only been able to hear me faintly. Which honestly, made me really sad because I've been able to see you this whole time. Now that you can see me though it makes me so happy because I will always be watching over you, I don't know how often you'll see me but I'll be watching you every hour, minute, second, you name it."
"She's right." 'Pyrrha' smiles as well, "While we do not wish to kill, the evil that terrorizes our world, brought down our school, and is going to go after all the other schools until it ultimately brings down the entire world needs to be stopped no matter how. Do not just act because you want revenge on certain people, do it for the sake of everyone: Your family members you are still looking for, your friends, huntsmen or huntresses, those without aura. Do it for Ray, do it for Amber, do it for me... please."
"..." Link still does not speak and has not spoken at all but he does nod in approval. The troubled huntsman acknowledges and appreciates the kind words spoken by the special women are no longer with him
"We have to get going now..." 'Amber sighs', "But do us a favor Link. No matter what happens, never give up on what you want or who you love. You will never be alone and I hope you know that because I know you have the capabilities, will, and heart to be one of the main contributors that establishes peace and happiness in this world."
(...you... have to... go?... no... please...)
Link shakes his head and walks towards 'Ray' and 'Pyrrha' who both take steps backwards with the same innocent smiles on their faces. When his walking turns into a sprint, 'Pyrrha' takes off, leaps into the trees and runs away with agile tree jumps. Meanwhile, 'Ray' runs into the deeper and thicker parts of the forest, giggling the entire time. Eventually Link gives up the chase on 'Ray' when he sees her disappear figuratively and literally as his vision of her is blown away by a gust of wind. In a last attempt to hold onto one of the girls he heard speak, Link cups his ears, hoping to hear Amber one more time...
"Hey mister! Wait up!" Nora's voice is loud enough to blast through the entire forest as she calls out to Link, although to her all she sees is a person covered by a hood
"He's wearing a green cloak and it has a hood too ..." Jaune wonders to himself
"Hey! Person in the hood! Are you traveling to the next village too?"
This last person who speaks makes the distraught Link who was just chasing visions jump as it was the voice of one of the people he last saw before disappearing and traveling for months through new territories and threw a kingdom on his own without saying a work to anyone, before making his way here
(...T-that... I know... that voice... that's Ruby!...)
Link freezes up with complete hesitation on what to do next. He panics and fears being caught as he doesn't feel ready to reveal himself or face his 'friends' head on. Luckily, he is quickly able to promptly move when he sees a glimpse of 'Pyrrha' still in the trees taking off and going branch to branch, getting farther away with each passing second. He slightly turns his head and now sees team RJNR jogging towards him, in a swift motion Link turns his back on the group of four. He runs away from them by sprinting to create distance, then he performs the same actions as 'Pyrrha' by planting his feet into the ground and leaping all the way up into a tree with an acrobatic jump
"Wait! Come back! who are you?" Ruby grits her teeth and gets in a runner's stance: feet planted, knees bent, arms bent and cocked back, ready to pursue the mysterious person
"You can't seriously be thinking about chasing after him right?" Jaune calmly grabs Ruby's hood and is ready to pull her back if need be, "That was the person the huntsman from Shion described, the green hood and when he turned to look at us he was wearing a mask too."
"B-but, did you see him?" The assigned leader of team RNJR speaks, "They were fast and looked strong too. ANNND if they are going the same way we're going, that's another ally for us! We have to go talk to him and see where he is going right? Maybe if he isn't headed to Haven we can convince them to-!"
"W-we can't do that!" Jaune stammers, "He could be friendly yes but, he could be dangerous too. We are not certain, all we know is he wipes out grimm so we have that in common at the very least. Until we can actually speak to him, it is best that we keep our distance."
"Jaune is right." Nora nods, "What if he's just screaming trouble and danger, we can't just have him join us if we don't know his true intentions."
"How about this..." Ren clears his throat, "If he is going the same way as us, then I'm sure we will cross paths again. There, we will be able to talk to them and determine if he has a good heart and is on our side. If the potential interaction that may or may not happen doesn't not go our way, then we can assume he is a bandit, mercenary or just an evil huntsman. Is that something that will satisfy all of you? We won't go after him now but if he is going to the same destination we're headed to, then we might just see him again in no time."
"That's fair." Jaune nods and looks over at where Link previously 'slept' and the blonde huntsman notices multiple creatures of grimm slowly disintegrating, "Looks like they're more than just fast too."
"Whoa..." Ruby's eyes widen in awe, "Are you guys sure not going after him is the right move? We could have at least followed him closely behind."
"Following him would just delay us from getting where we need to go." Ren mumbles
"Besides, if her is trouble I don't exactly want to mess with them until we know what we're up against." Jaune nods in agreement with Ren
"Fineeeee." Ruby sighs and stares at the tree that was just mounted and used to leap to another tree, wondering who it was that just ran away
Looking ahead, Link continues to see glimpses of his friend from Beacon and the strongest members of team JNPR getting farther away from him. He follows her by going from tree to tree and branch by branch. With multiples bursts, pertaining plenty of speed aided by his athleticism and aura, Link catches up to 'Pyrrha' in no time but his mind continues to cruelly make him suffer as she disappears into the air similar to how 'Ray' disappeared but 'Pyrrha' uniquely vanishes like scattering ashes... and now Link is left jumping tree to tree by himself, getting further away from RNJR the faster he goes. Soon enough, the boy realizes why he continued to see 'Pyrrha' after 'Ray' and 'Amber' have already departed.
(...I... get it... now... seeing Pyrrha... )
Link glances up into the sky and remembers the three girls saying they were watching over him and that almost brings a smile to his face
(...She... helped me... get out... of... that situation...)
Ultimately no smile forms and the boy continues to speed through the forest despite already putting plenty of distance between himself and the team he needs to stay ahead of
Atlas, Schnee Residence
Weiss exits and shuts the door to her father's office, she turns and lets out a quiet sigh after just reluctantly agreeing to sing at an upcoming Schnee Dust Company charity concert. Despite her disappointment, the Schnee's personal butler is waiting for her with a tray holding a steamy beverage
"Hot coffee, Miss Schnee? Your father always keeps his study dreadfully cold and he never accepts my offer for a hot beverage."
"Thank you, Klein." Weiss takes the mug off of the tray with a smile and wisely waits before taking a sip
"You know what I think?"
Klein proceeds to make Weiss genuinely laugh and smile ever since she left beacon with a series of ridiculous faces, a change of eye color, and putting on rough voice, to obviously mimic Weiss' father
"Klein!" Weiss grins and finally drinks out the mug of hot coffee
"Ah, there's my happy little snowflake. Do tell me, what's on your mind miss Schnee?"
"Thank you Klein. And nothing, really I just miss my friends, they were all so special to me and I wish that I wasn't stuck here right now when I could be doing so much more." Weiss takes another sip, enjoying the high quality coffee. Her cheeks have a faint color of red on them as she continues to speak, "I miss certain people more than others too."
"I see." Klein looks down, "Whether it be all your friends or the certain people you understandably do not want to mention right now, I can tell just by how you talk about them now that you care about them dearly. So my advice to you would be to fear not, you will see them again and I would bet your entire family's fortune that they miss you too and would do anything to see you right now."
"Y-yeah..." Weiss smiles warmly and chuckles minimally, "I could mention someone if you'd like you know about them. I promise to keep it brief and not put you to sleep."
"Miss Schnee, for you I am all ears." The cheery butler smiles
"His name is Link and we went to Beacon obviously, we didn't start off on the best terms and you could say it felt like we would never become friends, maybe a love-hate relationship at best. One day he saved me from a bad situation and ever since then we got to know each other well and really fast too. I completely misread him when we first met and he apologized for how he thought of me and what he has said about me. Link is not a bad person by any means, he just has a really complicated past." Weiss sighs, "If I gave you more details maybe you could say he's messed up but it does not matter. He's my friend and I really care about him a lot. It makes me regret so much of my time at Beacon socially. That is because who knows what could have been if we were friends from the beginning. I miss him, he made me feel warm at times and he showed me more affection than anybody else has... Well, ever. Nobody else has ever just wrapped their arms around me, hugged me and picked me up, usually people would be scared by my presence or my name. Link on the other hand didn't see me as Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. He saw me for me and it felt... different, but in a good way."
"Hindsight is mental torture Miss Schnee, thinking about what we could have done and what could have been ultimately doesn't help us. It only hinders our growth as people. If what you said about your friend is true and you really miss him, I fully believe that he feels the same for you too. I could and will say the same about his feelings too. I am sure he is feeling many regrets, experiencing a lot of hindsight as we speak, wishing you two had more time to become even closer, the list goes on from there. I do wish to meet this young man one day."
"Oh Klein." Weiss smiles, "I would love that. Although he isn't very fond of Atlas so it would be a single day visit, just for you and him to meet. While he is here I may as well take him around all of Atlas to see if I can make him enjoy and perhaps aid in turning a new leaf."
"That would be wonderful." Klein nods, "Regardless of his past that should not define who he is now, if we did that to everyone then all of us may as well have a knife pressed against our neck at all times. Any friend of yours Miss Schnee is automatically in my good graces. I have full confidence in this Link fellow, especially if you speak so highly of him. That instantly convinced me that he cares about you and would do anything in his power to keep you safe just like I would."
"I agree. Thank you again Klein, you have no idea much it means. This has been really nice."
"My pleasure Miss Schnee, anytime you need anything I am here for you." Klein takes a bow out of respect for his friend and employer
Weiss walks back to a window and stares outside, sighing as Klein leaves her side. She shuts her and attempts to reminisce the the day before the fall of Beacon
"So you met a boy who is special to you. And Link is his name huh?" Whitley Schnee re-emerges as he walks towards Weiss and stands directly next to her, leaving mere inches of distance between them
"Whitley... ugh, were you eavesdropping?" Weiss frowns and does not look to her right, choosing to acknowledge her brother but not look at him
"Why of course, you cannot fault me. I am interested to hear all about your tales at Beacon but you and I both know dear sister that you would not tell me if I asked."
"You're right, I wouldn't tell you anything." Weiss nods, "You, father, and mother never approved of me leaving home to attend Beacon, only Winter did. And that is ironic considering that you don't like Winter along with our father. As for our mother... I don't know for certain about her."
"How could I ever support our family splitting apart?" The calm yet arrogant brother mumbles, "That would be the foolish option."
"Oh please, as if your life hasn't gotten a hundred times better since both Winter and I left Atlas."
"Maybe, but nobody important needs to know that." Whitley smirks, "So tell me about this Link person. Is he short, tall? Blonde? Brunette? What makes him better than anyone you could possibly meet here in Atlas? Is he powerful? Does he come from a wealthy family? Is he a freak? Poor? Does he have a criminal history? Was he highly regarded at Beacon? Or did you happen to find yourself a poor excuse-!"
Weiss swiftly puts her hand over Whitley's mouth to quiet down her little brother as fast as he speaks, her expression changes as well from irritated to angry. Despite trying to ignore Whitley, the pesky brothers questioning and bad assumptions about Link make Weiss turn away and not bother looking his way
"Be quiet." Weiss shakes her head, "You don't know what you are talking about or what it's like to be a huntsman or huntress. You don't know what he has been through... you don't know what anybody at Beacon has been through. Speak less brother, you've never had to lift a finger to get what you wanted."
"Oh my dear sister what hurtful words. But I must say, have you forgotten we were both raised under the same roof? Don't act so high and mighty just because you went to a 'prestigious' Academy that ultimately crumbled and-!"
"SHUT IT! Of course I didn't forget where I came from. I am not delusional, but I wanted something different for my life that is why I became a huntress. Yes I could've stayed here, watched mother and father closely and done my absolute best to learn how to run our company and then slowly take it over while our parents retire. But I wanted more than to just be the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, my legacy will be something even greater." Weiss smiles at the ending of her sentence
"And that is why this boy is so special to you. He doesn't see you for the Schnee name... but honestly that is just preposterous, I want people who associate with me as friends or business partners to know who I am. Whitley Schnee of the most powerful family in all of Atlas, who also run the most profitable dust company in the world" Whitley snickers
"You might think it's funny and that's fine because I am through caring about what certain people make of me. I am specifically referring to those who don't even respect or appreciate me, it just shows how little you know about anything. I miss all of my friends, not just Link but since you feel the need to mention him so much, I am warning you now to never mention his name again." Weiss turns away from her brother, "I mean it too leave my friends alone. Just keep doing what you're doing now and let us carry on with our lives."
Whitley opens his mouth to retort yet again, but whatever disingenuous or sarcastic words that are about to come out of his mouth never do so. Weiss turns her back to Whitley and walks away, their silence leaves clicking heels and assertive steps the only sounds that ring throughout the massive hallways
Forests of Anima: Two days later
"..." Link sits against a big tree, with his mask and cloak still worn, his intentions are to catch up on as much sleep as he possibly can without actually falling asleep. Even with the events that occurred a couple of days ago, he has not been able to sleep in days as he hopes he will see all three girls again. That, along with not being able to go sleep even if he tried. He knows he will be asleep for a while if he manages to do that, and he does not want to take the risk of getting caught by the people he's following or grimm if he were to fall asleep
(...where... are they...?)
Link wonders internally, himself having already passed a village that was not on the map he stole from team RNJR. He initially thinks nothing of it but he does notice something about that abandoned village, it suspiciously had no grimm or people in sight and more of a ghost town than anything else
(...I suppose... it was... s-suspicious...)
GRRRR!
Before giving it another thought, the former beacon student has to act within a second to grab his shield and withstand a powerful claw strike from a beowolf that successfully sneaks up on him. The strike is powerful, fast, and almost knocks Link off his feet but not quite as he promptly sets his feet and digs them into the ground, while both his arms hold his shield for maximum resistance
(...how did... that thing... doesn't matter...)
Another claw strike is incoming and fast, but not fast enough to catch Link while he is wide open because he backflips away from the attack but not comfortably as he just manages to avoid the sharp claws from the evil creature of grimm. Soon after, Link roughly lands on his feet and narrows his eyes, deciding to try something he's been working on, but despite the fact he is finally able to try it in a real fight, he knows he doesn't have all the time needed to set it up due to the opponent rushing him rapidly
(...what matters... is... I need... to be... more... careful!)
Adjusting quickly in the moment, he grabs his shield with his right hand and now extracts his sword out of its sheath with his left. Instead of strategizing how to block or avoid its attack before killing it with one strike, Link raises his sword in the air and after a couple of seconds, his entire body briefly glows in his signature golden aura. The aura soon dissipates and only his sword, that is now being held high in the air continues to glow. Link aims and waves his sword at the beowolf, readying his attack before a powerful swinging motion follows, a motion using all of Link's strength. What follows is a powerful and thick wave of what appears to be aura shaped like a crescent moon, it shoots out out of his sword and makes direct contact with the beowolf despite its attempts to block. Shattering through its defenses, the beam of aura strikes the grimm in the chest and sends it crashing into the ground. The monsters grovels in pain but otherwise it shows no signs of dying, although it is critically injured
(...Now... time for... Ray's move... to finally... hit something...)
Firstly, Link puts away his shield in its usual place on his back, then he plants his feet and has his eyes set on his target, the grimm struggling for life on the ground. The boy's blue eyes flash gold for another quick three seconds whilst he simultaneously runs at the beowolf and then suddenly he jumps and hurdles across the distance in between himself and the monster with ease. After a brief period in the air, he drops at neck break pace on top of the grimm feet first, his sword tightly held by the handle with both hands, blade aimed downwards. And with a brutal CRUNCH! Link brings an end to the beowolf's life when he plunges his sword directly into the chest of the monster. The boy remains in the same position he landed, paying homage to his late student whom he adopted the move from
(...That was... not subtle... they are... probably... closing in... on me...)
Link jumps away from the creature of grimm's corpse and begins walking the path he was originally going. After some time he looks back and expects team RNJR to have found the dissolving grimm or notice him from a distance and therefore chase him down. However, after giving it more time he sees no signs of Ruby, Nora, Jaune, or Ren. He feels a tight knot like sensation in his stomach and a sense of unease courses through his body. He begins to run back where he came from, suspecting something happen but then comes to a halt when he reaches the dead grimm, wondering even further if RNJR were just curious of their surroundings and stayed behind a bit longer than he did
(...I w-wonder... what should... I do...)
Taking his time, he carefully thinks of all the possible options on what to do next, whether it is to continue with his journey or go back to the incomplete and abandoned village and investigate. In the end, after giving it some more thought, the boy catches his breath and makes his decision. He turns back and walks forward to continue his journey but shortly backtracks and sprints for the abandoned village. Following some sprinting, Link takes off moderately faster with speed never seen out of him before
Later on: Oniyuri
The four on one battle proves to be no threat to the psychotic Tyrian Callows, who outclasses Ren in direct hand to hand combat, avoiding Nora's power strikes and blocking the ones he cannot avoid with his scorpion tail, making a complete fool of Jaune by swiftly dodging his direct striking and sending him off to the side with weak kicks. Tyrian laughs maniacally, taking a moment to himself just for a quick second as he leaps back into the fray. He gets right in the masked Ruby's face and uses his tail to knock crescent rose out of her hands, based on what he knows about Ruby disarming her is the best course of action for defeating her. Though surprised, Ruby doesn't lose her grip on it, she grits her teeth and fights back with as much determination as her opponent. The two both attack each other and miss until Tyrian kicks Ruby backwards again
"Is that the best Beacon taught you? No wonder her grace thinks nothing of that battle anymore, you're all a bunch of weaklings!"
Tyrian's face drops, expressing disappointment but a big smile reappears as the surviving members of JNPR get in front of Ruby and surround him, they close in on Tyrian, everyone completely unaware of the corvid flying towards them from a short distance, as well a person hiding behind one of the semi constructed but incomplete buildings
(...that same... corvid...) The boy in the hood almost grins but ultimately the corners of his mouth do not move, he knows that corvid is not just a bird flying by and with that being said, makes the decision to hang back and watch
Tyrian runs after Ruby again, sadly with this encounter being a lot more one sided. He delivers a right hook to her face and a left blow to her midsection, seemingly on the verge of causing a lot of damage, her head and chest both flicker as aura begins to break. The scorpion faunus turns and swings his tail to knock her back into the air and while she is still midair, Tyrian kicks her right directly in the stomach, sending her flying and crashing to the ground
"Did you think hiding behind a silly mask was going to keep me from finding you?" Tyrian runs at Ruby and strikes her across the head with his fist, sending her flat on the ground with a sickening strike that knocks the mask off her face
(...R-ruby!... grrr... that's enough...) Link narrows his eyes and with all the anger flowing through his veins, he could practically burn a hole through Tyrian's chest with how hard he was staring at him
Tyrian slowly approaches Ruby once again who is still completely on the ground and raises his stinger
"No more hiding!" Tyrian's eyes turn dark purple and with sick sinister intentions, he stomps on the mask with all his might
"N-no!" Ruby attempts to sit up but cannot bring herself to
However, she almost dares to laugh at her enemy when he is unable to break the mask, Tyrian's boot merely bounces off the mask. The psychotic huntsman shakes his angrily and jumps, attempting to smash the mask with a double foot stomp... only for it to not break yet again
"Enough games!" Tyrian growls in embarrassment, kicks the mask to the side, and with another maniacal laugh, he turns his attention back to ruby. Salem's cruel associate is about to strike with his scorpion tail when suddenly...
BOOM!
Through a building comes a man who inserts himself between Ruby and Tyrian, holding his weapon behind his back. It is a massive silver sword with a red handle and above it are many gears forming a clockwork like mechanism. This man effectively blocking the stinger despite appearing so nonchalant, revealing himself to be Ruby's uncle Qrow. Tyrian lets out another laugh but this one more of a nervous giggle of surprise while Ruby and Qrow make eye contact and smile with each other
"Hey." Qrow smirks at his niece
(...Qrow... of course... that's who... was... following me...) Link shrugs and shakes his head, thinking back to when he almost killed the corvid that followed him the other day
"Oh my, as I live and breathe, Qrow Branwen." Tyrian bows in a mocking manner "A true Huntsman has entered the fray AT LAST!"
"Hm?" Qrow tilts his head in confusion
"I don't know, this guy is weird." Ruby shrugs
The two huntsmen exchange words regarding Ruby before engaging in combat faster than their conversation started. Meanwhile, Link continues to get closer but does so carefully as he does not want to be spotted by anybody. Apart from from wanting to get closer to the action, he also makes sure no other enemy is nearby just in case Tyrian has backup or if grimm are stalking the area due to the fighting by all six huntsmen and huntresses, even seven when including hi' brief skirmish with the beowolf. Link quickly and precisely scans the grounds inside the far wall also known as the edge of the village; having already cleared the area outside of the village prior to entering. By the time the huntsman gets done scouting and clearing the area for any more potential threats, the boy sees Qrow and Tyrian blasting through a building at the same time Ruby was running towards it presumably to aid her uncle in the ongoing fight. Link stays put in a hidden position, in which he chooses to take cover behind a tall building with each of its four completed walls but an incomplete roof, kneeling in the process of making sure he was well in the dark
(...they... sure... move fast!...) Link narrows his eyes and continues to watch carefully, mainly wanting to focus on Tyrian
Qrow emerges through the building first and flying through the air, having to use his sword to slow himself down by burying it onto the ground and landing on top of it in a triumphant manner, although his body glows, aura flickering, showing signs of damage. Tyrian is next to come out, his aura visibly flickers across his entire body too, the huntsmen take advantage of the short time without fighting they will have and both take deep breaths. Qrow narrows his eyes, Tyrian smiles evilly and the charge at each other once again, but Ruby jumps in between and blocks a Tyrian's blade slashing attack with Crescent Rose
"Ruby! Guys come, on we have to help!" Jaune says, with his sword and shield drawn, ready to back her up along with Nora and Ren who follow closely behind
"NO!" Qrow half heartedly pushes Ruby behind him and slashes his sword at Jaune, Ren and Nora, "Ruby! What did I say?! Get back! Same for you three! You'll only get in the way!"
"...No." Jaune takes a step back and remembers the exact words Professor Ozpin said to Pyrrha when she offered to help him fight Cinder inside the vault underneath Beacon, only moments after Cinder successfully eliminated Amber and claimed the fall maiden powers for herself
"Eyes over here Branwen!" Tyrian swings at Qrow with all his might but his opponent blocks effectively and they both lock up, blade to blade
"But this is my fight too!" Ruby runs around to get behind Tyrian and slashes low at his legs
"Hehe!" Tyrian springs up, easily evading another one of Ruby's attacks
"No, it's not that you pipsqueak. It's—"
"Gahhhh!" Ruby runs at Tyrian again
The huntress swings her scythe intending to catch Tyrian who jumps into it recklessly but his stinger deflects the strike just as he was about to land on his feet. The evil scorpion faunus shows incredible athleticism with no available space as he flips over and slams his feet into ruby's head with a powerful dropkick, sending her nearly crashing into the same building that Tyrian and Qrow were just inside of during the previous setting of their fight. Ruby stops herself by landing on her feet and sliding to a halt, only just about managing to not crash into the wall back first
"RUBY WATCH OUT!" Jaune shouts in pain, he walls to one knee, but manages to point at the wooden beams near the same roof where the battle between the two more experienced huntsmen took place, all the beams have been shaken up too much. A heavy one breaks and falls, it lines up perfectly with Ruby and is crashing down to collide with the huntress head first
"H-huh?" Ruby freezes up and can only stare at the wooden beam about to smash into her
In one fell swoop, Qrow appears in front of Ruby faster than he's ever moved before and promptly slices the beam in half, the worn down wood splits into two pieces and falls at both sides of Ruby, without a single speck of wood touching her
"Wow... thank you." Ruby sighs
"Heh, someone's gotta keep an eye on you kid." Qrow smirks
Ruby smiles at Qrow with gratitude and he raises his head to look at her, but something is wrong as seconds later his eyes to widen with panic. He winces in pain as he does did not realize that he has been cut in the midsection by Tyrian's stinger, the normally cool, calm, and collected huntsman falls to one knee and holds his abdomen in pain
(...Not good!...) Link grunts as he stands and sneaks as fast as he can all around the village, his aim is to be on the side of the exit of the village and eventually be in front of everyone
"Hahahahaha! I got you! I got you!" Tyrian laughs manically as his stinger slowly retracts from Qrow's midsection, inflicting as much pain as possible on its way out
"U-uncle Qrow?" Ruby's eyes well up, she grips her scythe but does not react any further
"And now it's time to get on with what I really came here for, the girl!" Tyrian kicks Qrow to the side with a quick hook kick and immediately turns his head to stares daggers at Ruby, "You're next little girl!"
"RUN RUBY!" Jaune cries out as he is slow to get up
"She can't, she's too hurt and exhausted!" Ren helps his former leader up to his feet
One Jaune is up on his feet and stable, the JNPR trio sprint towards Ruby, Qrow and Tyrian but they are not even close to fast enough to stop the latter's attack. The maniacal scorpion faunus lifts his stinger, his eyes are still purple and not the golden color they were when he first made his appearance. Tyrian lets out another laugh, his stinger with tremendous speed jabs forward at his target, who is not ready in the slightest to defend herself. All Ruby can do is stand firmly, hold crescent rose and maintain a weak defensive stance, the huntress shuts her eyes, winces in anticipation and braces for impact when...
CLANG!
"Huh?" Ruby slowly opens her eyes and in front of her stands a person in a green cloak, the exact same cloak described by the dying huntsman in Shion; as well as the same cloak and hood they saw in the forest hours before arrived at Oniyuri. This 'mysterious' person blocks Tyrian's stinger with ease, what he used to block it with looks to be a massive object, a certain shield shaped similar to Jaune's. With a design that looks familiar especially when it is being held by a specific person, along with it being held by their right hand too nonetheless
"That mask..." Qrow coughs and looks at the hooded figured who entered themselves in the fight
"Who the fuck are y-!"
Before Tyrian can finish his sentence, the cloaked person plants his feet into the ground and pushes forward, bashing his shield directly into the skull of the foe in front of him but that isn't all he has in store for the dangerous faunus. His left hand holds a sword with a distinguishable purple handle, a normal length blade, and no blinding gold aura to hide its appearance this time. This cloaked figure, who has not revealed himself yet, is showing who he is slowly with each passing second and each action they take. Nevertheless, he wastes no time with a flashy entrance and knows there is a dangerous fight ahead of him. The mysterious person quickly steps forward into his attack, aiming the tip of his sword right at Tyrian's stomach
"Do you really think you can kill me that easily you amateur?!"
Tyrian proves what he says to be correct, the attack is too predictable as the evil faunus quickly steps back to avoid it but not far enough to avoid the attack that follows. The hooded boy sprints at Tyrian and gets back in his face in no time, catching him with a spinning sword slash that makes contact with flesh and aura and definitively causes damage
"Ahhh!" Tyrian manages to back away before he sustains any further harm to the wound he has sustained, but when he looks down he sees a massive cut going from his left shoulder down to his right hip. Clothes are torn, flesh is cut and his aura is damaged even further than it was by Qrow previously
(...I... got... you!...) Link internally mocks Tyrian's bragging words after he cut Qrow with his stinger
"W-who are you?! Who dares oppose her grace's important request? She will never forgive an outsider interfering with a mission that doesn't involve them."
The hooded and 'mysterious' huntsman retreats himself before asserting his position, to stand protectively over Ruby as he first brings down the hood over his head. Which in turn reveals the complete head of blonde hair mentioned by the deceased young huntsman from Shion, who was only able to see strands of it. What is visible next is recognizable pierced ears belonging to a certain person from Beacon. After that is the grand reveal as the person partially digs his sword into the ground blade first. With his free hand, he undoes the makeshift straps which are actually just strands of thin string and removes his wooden mask. The dark blue eyes usually full of life and hope are now filled with pure hate and anger as Link makes his full appearance in front of his 'friends' in team RNJR and Qrow for the first time in a long time, months to be exact; along with revealing his identity in front of Tyrian for the first time
"L-link?" Ruby's teary eyes from earlier at the sight of her uncle getting severely injured shift towards tears of joy as her emotions drastically change
"No way..." Jaune's jaw drops and he has to rub his eyes to be sure of who is standing in front of them
"Oh my goodness, is that really him?" Nora's eyes widen in shock
"I can't believe it, but yes it really is him." Ren's mouth remains open in disbelief
"Well I'll be damned..." Qrow gets up to one knee and smirks despite being in obvious pain, "So he was the kid in disguise that almost got me a few days ago, figures it would be him of all people. Maybe he won't get completely outmatched by this weirdo."
"..." Link says nothing, drops his mask calmly and stares ahead, completely tuning out his 'friends' and Qrow's voices. All he hears is overwhelmingly loud white noise in his head whilst feeling like he can stare directly into Tyrian's soul with killing intent, almost as if he were a machine locking onto a target
"LINK?!" Ruby calls his name again, she wonders why he isn't acknowledging her
Luckily for the huntress, the second call out gets a response out of Link. His eyes drift away from Tyrian and the killing instinct he has dissipates for a moment. The former beacon one man team turns his head so that at the very least half of his face is looking in Ruby's direction, acknowledging her at last
"Hi." Ruby whispers and pairs her greeting with a big smile
Ruby, while able to get his attention with her cheerful 'hi' and smile, it does not generate a verbal response from Link. All she gets from him is a simple nod before he turns his attention back to Tyrian, the man who just injured Qrow badly, wants to take Ruby away and who could have easily wiped out team RNJR had it not been for the formers interference
"Who the hell are you? Answer me!" Tyrian growls, "Grrr, all I know about this brat is his name because Cinder and those stupid kids refused to say anything about him... when I bring this stupid girl back, I'm going to have a few choices words for the and if her graces allows it I will kill all three of them!"
"Kid... kid!" Qrow attempts to call out to Link in an attempt to prevent him from fighting Tyrian, but his call outs fall on deaf ears
"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby runs to her uncles side and slides down to her knees to take a look at the damage
"I'm fine kiddo, but you have to get your friend to not fight. You guys aren't ready for dangerous people like this guy."
"Don't worry about Link." Ruby wipes her tears away, "Like you said Uncle Qrow, he was powerful enough to be the first and only one person team at Beacon, clearly there's something special about him."
Qrow says nothing and simply scoffs in defeat, he attempts to laugh but the pain is too much at the moment. He knows his niece just quoted what he said to her days after the fall of Beacon, when she was worrying about the now revealed 'mysterious' hooded figure after learning he had left Patch by himself
"If you won't say anything, then I'll make sure to rip out your tongue so you NEVER speak again!" Tyrian shouts angrily and rushes forward at Link
There is no reaction to the threat from Link, just like there is no reaction to every word directed at him by Tyrian. Instead he shows absolutely no fear, along with channeling all the hate and anger inside of him. Link does not get into a defensive stance, where he would normally wait for his opponent to strike first, read his opponent and then react with counter attacks like he used to engage in combat before. Rather this time, the focused huntsman picks up his sword from its partially buried state, narrows his eyes, then takes off. Using the force and momentum he generates, the huntsman promptly takes off and surges at Tyrian with even greater speed than her has already shown to have acquired during his time away. This new speed from the boy almost resembles a rapid lightning bolt. Link's sword is drawn and the boy's shield is promptly taken back too, he is ready to collide and battle with the man who wants to kidnap Ruby by order of the evil Salem, to get rid of the silver eyed girl and for Cinder to get her revenge for the damage she suffered at the hands of the huntress. However, the previously mysterious and cloaked boy gets even faster with his sprinting, focused and determined to let no harm come near Ruby