The Abandoned Village of Oniyuri
The first exchange between Link and Tyrian proves to be no contest and it begins where they last left off, both teenager and man sprinting at each other. One with a mission to take Ruby back to Salem so she can meet her brutal demise in the most painful way possible, while the other simply wants revenge for his fallen friends who keep dying at the hands of the enemy. Tyrian turns it up to full speed and attempts his wild and unorthodox attack pattern. But despite his agile movement, awkward but powerful blade strikes and surprise gunshots, everything is read perfectly by the former who slows down and runs at him at half speed, which helps him anticipate the attacks as he precisely evades, attacks and blocks everything he must with just an even greater display of power. First comes the non-stop shuffling around his opponent to keep them guessing, used to perfection to make enemies miss, get confused and become frustrated. Followed by tactical crouching to attack low, but these attempts are countered by Link. The former Beacon student keeps track of Tyrian perfectly, having dealt with many agile and crafty opponents in the past, he keeps his shield low while raising his sword high to block. Next is the attacks meant primarily for the body and head, Tyrian spins in place and throws out a variety of different attacks with his bizarre looking wrist blades that perfectly keep his hand and wrist protected while being a convenient weapon for close range combat. With the extended blades, the faunus throws spinning backfists, overhands, jabs, straight punches and his stinger enters the fray as it occasionally lunges forward. These attacks are thrown consecutively but never in the same sequence to keep his opponent on edge by throwing so many strikes that eventually one of them lands and hurts the silent boy. However, Link proves to be different than any enemy Tyrian has ever up until this point. The former deflects the spinning backfist with a sword slash, dodges the overhands and jabs with his own agility, kicks away the straight punches with good footwork and fast stationary sidekicks. With the stinger the story is different, Link switches his stance completely to lean away from the stinger and uses his shield to block it. Having seen what it did to Qrow, no chances are taken despite his absolute confidence to dodge or block it with his sword
"Another true huntsman?" Tyrian's eyes are fully dilated. "But it can't be, I've never heard of you and you are just a brat! If I'm to assume correctly you also come from Beacon. And those beacon runts weren't even that fun to play around with."
"Hey!" Nora growls and grabs her mallet gets in an offensive stance
"Don't." Jaune motions her not to get baited by Tyrian's remarks." He's just trying to get a rise out of you. If we attack with pure anger we play right into his game."
"Well what can we do? Just watch Link fight that guy alone?"
"That might be what is necessary." Ren mumbles to his orange haired friend
Seconds later, Tyrian leaps in the air and aims a flying side kick for the boy interfering with his mission. But Link takes his chances in order to catch this strange person who clearly wants to hurt Ruby with a direct hit. Thinking fast, he allows Tyrian to come at him with his flying kick but in return he comes up with his own counter attack: Link plants his feet, right foot forward, left leg extended back and left foot arched, torso twisted to the right, the huntsman's right arm grasping his shield is behind him and his left arm holding his sword is across his body. He tenses up and shakes violently, channeling all his pent up hate and aggression before unleashing a powerful spinning slash in which the angry and hate filled huntsman spins in place five times and slashes Tyrian with every single spin.
"Ahhh!" Tyrian shouts whilst being sent crashing to the ground side first and his right shoulder violently skidding against the concrete
Link gets up and out of his stance, and not a single emotion is visibly on his face as he walks towards the previously confident scorpion faunus. He takes off the green cloak the previously covered his back and continues walking with his sword and shield drawn cautiously, knowing the fight is far from over
"I am going to kill you in front of the little rose and show her that NOBODY can prevent destiny set by your Grace!" Tyrian says with pure anger, a much different tone than when he previous battled against team RNJR and Qrow and spins on his back, his legs twirl in the air for a second before he is back on his feet and in a crouching stance with no signs of slowing down
THWACK!
"...!" Link raises his shield and blocks a powerful blade strike from Tyrian Callows' weapon, the previously mentioned wrist blades with hidden gun barrels lining up with his index and pinky fingers
"Grrrr..." Tyrian raises his other hand with the identical weapon and throwing another powerful and fast strike, knowing this must be his first clean blow to the boy with an occupied shield hand
"Link no!" Ruby watches in complete shock, she wants to spring into action and help but her confidence in Link's combat skills and worrying about her uncle's condition keeps her paralyzed and remain next to the latter
"...!" A deadpan look remains on Link as he lifts his left hand and blocks the same attack almost as well as his shield did, the metal in his leather gauntlets holds up strongly
"That's very bold to just take an attack like that." Qrow roughly says whilst wincing in pain. "Then again... he has been watching us so he should have a good idea on how to fight this psycho."
"Yeah! That's the spirit uncle-!" Ruby raises an eyebrow. "Wait a second. What do you mean by following us?"
"GRRRR!" Tyrian's eyes flash purple at the same time while he struggles trying to break through the boy's defenses. Salem's loyal soldier then springs off his feet and thrusts them forward suddenly. The powerful two footed kick heads directly for Link's defenseless chest and despite it being a move already seen before, prior knowledge about it is not enough to avoid the rapid attack
THUMP!
The kick makes direct contact but does not damage his foe, it does however highlight and disrupt Link's aura around his chest. Tyrian's lips curl into a sinister smirk and despite some success, his eyes go wide with rage. On the other hand, Link is simply sent back a short distance from the powerful attack. The mute teenager rushes to make contact with the ground and skids his feet to stop himself from traveling backwards any further, coming to a full stop shortly after
"..." Link makes direct eye contact with Tyrian but does not have the chance to attack first as within two seconds, Tyrian is directly behind him with both hands balled up into fists
"GRAHHHH!" Tyrian begins unleashing a series of sloppy but rapid punches, focusing on power more than technique. He smirks, feeling as if he finally has the upper hand on this new foe interfering with his mission
However, Link reacts even faster as he is immediately facing Tyrian face to face and blocks each strike with ease. His eyes carefully follow every punch and he calculates when to raise his shield, lower his shield, bring his sword across his body, lower his sword, block with his forearm, fist, dodge and so on. Each defensive move repels or outright blocks Tyrian's punches, which are more powerful and stronger than the previous punch thrown. Ultimately, this sequence results in no bladed punches landing for the evil faunus Tyrian and Link is completely unharmed. The only direct strike that lands is a straight right hand that connects with Link's shield and it definitely packs a punch as Link does not hold his ground and is sent backwards again. The boy deploys the same strategy to slow himself down by making contact with the ground as soon as possible and skidding his feet on the concrete
"You've done it now, you little shit!" Tyrian's evil smirk remains but it is no longer one of psychotic overconfidence as it was a measly fifteen seconds ago. His eyes narrow and they flash purple again and he gets ready to lunge into another set of powerful attacks intended to kill
Tyrian charges after Link once again but this time Link does not stand still to anticipate an attack. Instead, the calm yet seething with anger huntsman moves as well and shuffles backwards, not allowing his opponent a chance to hit a perfectly still target. Link even manages to almost be as fast taking quick backward steps as Tyrian is running forward
"You cannot escape your inevitable death little boy!" Tyrian raises his weapons, hands in fists, and begins to fire rapid fire shots with the speed of a machine gun while continuing to run full speed at nuisance standing in his way
Link keeps shuffling back with the same impressive speed and with little effort he swats away and destroys every shot coming his way with the most basic but powerful sword swings in every direction imaginable. After a short period of time, Link plants his feet and puts an end to this sequence definitively with a rapid and powerful sword swing in a perfect circular motion beginning with his arm extended behind him and in a split second, his sword comes over his head and down to his legs to wipe out a flurry of bullets
"...!" Link's eyes widen when he realizes he did not deflect them all. He feels the aftereffects of one of the bullets that hits his upper left leg, in the outer thigh
"WATCH OUT!" Jaune calls out as he tries to jump in the action but Ren and Nora hold him back, at last obeying Qrow's words to get back and stay away
"GOTCHA!" Tyrian laughs even harder when he gets in range and crouches down, his stinger goes completely unnoticed and surges forward to slice through Link's aura-less chest
A collision occurs but not the intended poison filled stringer with flesh, muscles and bones as the evil faunus had in mind. What does happen when he opens his eyes however, is the razor sharp stinger colliding and bouncing off of Link's shield, with trickles of poison trailing down the defensive metal weapon
(...my... turn!) Link takes off, luckily for him he does not have to travel far and now he unleashes his own offense, direct forward sword slashes from predictable directions but at different angles, each strike ending with a straightforward jab
Each attempt falls short as despite Tyrian's failure to land anything significant, the faunus under direct orders from Salem is still a fast and dangerous huntsman after all. He dodges most of the slashes with his impressive agility and parries the rest of the strikes with his wrist blades and stinger
(...lets…go!) Link picks up the pace and closes the distance between the two, noticeably getting faster and stronger with each one of his movements. After a few more direct strikes with his sword that get blocked or narrowly dodged, Link successfully gets in Tyrian's face, with the two only inches apart now
"But how?!" Tyrian raises his hands and braces for the incoming swing
When the boy raises and drops his sword, a clash of metal to metal ensues in the form of his sword versus Tyrian's wrist blades. There is no test of strength this time, Link pushes down on his sword with all his force and easily begins to win. Even with Tyrian's last ditch attempt to kneel for more stability, his efforts are futile when both of his wrist blades are suddenly pushed down and the next thing that meets the scorpion faunus is Link slightly leaping off the ground. His entire body glows a bright gold color for a split second before it disappears and the former beacon one man team extends his left leg and makes contact with a clean sidekick of his own to Tyrian's face that sends the scorpion back and crashing to the ground
"Hell yeah, kick his butt some more!" Nora chants
"How is Link doing all that? We could not even land anything or avoid any of his attacks." Ren looks on his disbelief
(...I have… only landed… a few… attacks… fools…) Link says to himself but he remains focused and with his right hand he reaches into his pouch in order to carefully bring out a couple of items
"Whatever tricks you have you can shove them up your-!" Tyrian does not even finish his own vulgar sentence before quickly getting up to his feet and springing up high in the air. He lands on a completed rooftop and fires off his machine gun wrist blades. The faunus also begins sprinting around from rooftop to rooftop to keep the direction of each shot different
"Kid…" Qrow grumbles before giving up his attempt to stand up
"Stop talking and save your strength uncle Qrow!" Ruby snaps at him and is constantly looking down and up to tend to her uncle and continue watching the ensuing battle. "He's doing just fine. You can trust him... I know I do."
BOOM!
Rather than dodging or blocking bullets as he has done before, the items in Link's hand are quickly revealed to be his signature smoke bombs used for many mercenary missions and academy regulated combat battles. The amount he grabbed is up in the air for everyone to assume as the smoke cloud is ginormous and nearly enough to cover nearly the entire part of the abandoned village they are in
"Think you can hide, boy?!" Tyrian angrily shouts and begins firing more shots, knowing one of them has to hit as it did earlier
Unfortunately for him, his frustration grows when all he hears is the clanging of two different metals, and collision with bullets which tells anyone that plenty of blocking with a shield and destroying with a sword is taking place
"Very well then, you want to be a pesky creature? I will just have to give you a slow and painful death rather than an instant one." Tyrian's speaks with a maniacal tone as his eyes glow purple yet again
The smoke begins to go away slowly and the faunus unwisely jumps down from the high ground he has and enters the smoke, feeling enough time has passed, but what he does not expect is to fight blind, the smoke thicker than he anticipated. The faunus stops moving and hears the sound of a bow being pulled, followed by the release of arrows and heaps of them are fired consecutively. Tyrian's stinger does most of the work to deflect each arrow and the same sequence occurs when his opponent attempts the same approach but with the crossbow variation of his secondary weapon. To no avail for Link either, the faunus' tail is too fast and strong for anything to deal damage
"Your aim is good but you are rather… disappointing." Tyrian replies with a snarky tone as confidence returns to him
(...who said… that was… it?!) Link moves on to the semi automatic rifle version of his secondary weapon and blasts shots of his own, using Tyrian's voice to give him a better idea of where he is. Where before he was shooting arrows blindly and with his 'good aim' landing almost every arrow
"What the-!" Tyrian growls as he deflects shots with his stinger and wrist blades with success but makes a grave mistake when the smoke fully goes away as the faunus is not prepared for a clear line of sight, having adjusted the best he could to the smoke and expecting to continue the fight in there
(...got you…) Link repeats the same words Tyrian said to Qrow earlier for a second time as he fires a shot and blasts it directly into Tyrian's left knee, the immediate impact shatters the aura around his entire leg
"Ahhhh!" Tyrian clutches his knee as he foolishly attempts to stand up straight. "How many tricks can a pony have?!"
The frustrated huntsman gets no response, the same as none of his remarks have this entire fight. And what the faunus does get in response that he does not expect, is a throwing knife with surging speed so fast that nobody sees when Link even had it in his possession. It connects and digs into Tyrian's right shoulder and when he takes a step back from the impact, is it visible to everyone witnessing that projectile weapon is golden, glowing and made of dust, not a physical knife
"It's that knife we saw in the forest, the knife that killed the grimm that I was aiming for…" Ruby smiles as tears fall down her cheeks with joy. "Now I see what you meant by following us, uncle Qrow."
"Heh… that's nice kiddo." Qrow grunts and nods to his niece
(...how many… tricks?... more than… one!) Link closes his eyes and exhales, then he opens his eyes and they are glowing with a vibrant golden color as the back of his left hand rises and aims at Tyrian, at the faunus' eye level to be exact. A beam of light shoots forward and next comes a familiar sight for Link and team RNJR who have seen this sequence before
Two large triforces appear in front and behind Tyrian, one is faded and glistening while the other is bright and glittering. The psychotic faunus attempts to break out of them with two powerful wrist blade strikes to each triforce but absolutely nothing happens to the two magical forces concealing him in the tight space. Link opens his eyes and sprints at Tyrian but rather than attack him head on, the boy disappears and appears behind his opposition and begins with a two handed slash to the back. The latter plants his feet into the ground and disappears again with incredible speed. Seconds later he is in front of Tyrian, striking his body with multiple spinning slashes and sword jabs before disappearing again. Next is attacks from each side as Tyrian is met with swift one handed strikes to his right side, he gets no time to react before Link is at his left side, this time delivering a more powerful strike to the stomach. Each strike so fast, Tyrian is in even more pain than the previous attack and even the spectators could not keep up as Link repeats this sequence two more times before appearing in front of the dangerous faunus one more time to deliver the final blow
(...this fight… is… over!)
Link promptly gets in the same pose as he was in earlier, a twisted stance with his right foot forward, left leg extended back, torso twisted to the right, this time the difference is both left and right hands hold his sword across his body, his shield is inactive and on his back for a change. Link focuses and thinks about what Tyrian would do to Ruby had Qrow or himself not been here to interfere. Next, reminds himself about the Atlas soldier who murdered Ray in cold blood, how he found Amber in her nearly deceased state and lastly, the way Cinder brutally incinerated Pyrrha into ashes for the purpose of power. Link frowns and his eyebrows are furrowed like nobody has ever seen before when he brings his arms forward and strikes Tyrian across the midsection with the last powerful attack. Additionally, the moment that final slash lands, the ground rumbles and a powerful gust of wind is felt throughout the unfinished village, blowing over into the forest behind the abandoned village. The triforces shatter into micro shards of dust as Tyrian is ejected from them and is back first in a building. He smashes into the building with speed great enough to cave in the wall but not break all the way through, seemingly trapping Tyrian in the rubble. Conveniently, it was the same structure that the scorpion faunus and Qrow crashed out of during their earlier fight, which also puts him only a few feet away from the injured Branwen and Ruby
"Wow…" Ruby blinks and wants to say more but all she can do is continue watching Link, who walks toward Tyrian once again with the angry look on his face remaining and barely any damage done to him
The throwing knife made of dust shatters into pieces but the wound remains on Tyrian's shoulder, the next thing the demented faunus sees is Link grabbing him by the collar and aggressively pulling him out of the wall he was just launched into. Qrow begins to stand and grabs his weapon as Tyrian is unpredictable, could get away from Link and attack him or Ruby at any moment. Ruby rises as well and follows suit by grabbing Crescent rose and gets ready for a fight to come her way
(...Why... do… you… want… her?!) Link opens his mouth but knows it is futile attempting to speak, instead he continues with his furrowed brows and seething anger
"It is not too late, boy. Her grace could use such a good soldier like you, bring the little flower with me and we can say we both captured her." Tyrian laughs maniacally. "Don't you dare tell me you care about her deeply. You will merely be an insect that will be squashed if you continue on your path. Look at you, so much hate, so much power… LET US TAKE THE ROSE AND GET RID OF THE CANNON FODDER, they are destined to be a pile of ashes while I serve and rule the world under her grace."
Link stops listening as the words 'pile of ashes' cuts all the way down to his heart. Tyrian continues to ramble on and on but his words fall on deaf ears. Sadly, instead of silence, it is loud ringing and screams from his fallen friend Pyrrha Nikos as the person who could end Tyrian's life is stunned and surprisingly lets the faunus go. The distraught huntsman shuts his all and all that comes to mind next is a flashing images of Pyrrha smiling and laughing before she screams, incinerates into ashes and is blown away by a strong flow of wind
"Hehehehe, you fell asleep!" Tyrian's eyes turn purple for a fifth time as his stinger has an opening to strike Link whenever he chooses. Salem's loyal servant sets his sight on the head, going back on his earlier words to make sure Link suffers a slow and painful death, rather than an instant one
Qrow, Ruby, Jaune, Ren, and Nora's eyes go wide as Link is defenseless, with nobody close enough to step in and help in the split second that Tyrian's stinger rapidly goes at the former Beacon student
(...NO!) Link's eyes shoot open and he snaps back to reality when Pyrrha's scream grows so loud that his head is in excruciating pain
"W-what?!" Tyrian grits his teeth in disbelief when his stinger is close to making contact but Link catches the tail with his right hand and displays an impressive showing of strength to immobilize the stinger and tail from retracting or flailing around. And with his other hand, he grabs Tyrian by the throat and tightly squeezes
(...you... value… this… a lot…) Link turns his head to meet Ruby's eyes and gives her a firm nod while moving his gaze towards the stinger
"...!" Ruby does not say a word to not give away her element of surprise but she does drop Crescent Rose while it is in its scythe version down to angle the barrel of her sniper rifle correctly. She does not take long to aim and confidently fires a shot that pierces and severs the stinger from the rest of Tyrian's tail while successfully not hitting Link's hand
The now stinger-less scorpion faunus reels and cries out from the pain he is enduring. The adrenaline rush he feels gives him plenty of strength and energy to push Link and break the grip on his neck
"Gahhh! You bitch!" Tyrian stumbles around off balance, his tail and severed stinger spew out purple liquid, presumably very lethal poison
Link attempts to rush him to finish what he started, but the purple liquid makes him think twice and instead he, along with Ruby and Qrow watch him writhe away from them. The injured faunus takes steps back, forward, side to side and then ultimately he turns around and stares daggers at Ruby. However, the second Tyrian lays eyes on Ruby, Link walks forward and protectively steps in front of her and Qrow on command. In support, Jaune, Nora and Ren run towards them and get in front of Link. Six huntsmen and huntresses with their weapons drawn, some physically injured, others mentally damaged but nevertheless it was now six versus one and the scorpion faunus is clearly disoriented and too injured. Carrying on any longer will result in further injuries or even worse, death
"She… s-she'll-!" Tyrian speaks while looking at Ruby but talking to himself and taking awkward steps backward. "She'll forgive you."
The faunus' wrist blades are completely retracted as he squirms and curls up, his hands shake and he struggles to even stand up straight. Suddenly, he turns around and takes off without a problem, not at his full speed but definitely fast enough to be considered a sprint and with a quick leap over a village wall he lands on a green hill. Seconds later, Tyrian Callows is long gone with his mission resulting in failure due to unexpected interference from Qrow and Link
"Ugh!" Qrow, who is standing upright with his weapon ready to rejoin the action if needed, collapses to one knee and clutches at his wounded midsection, he pants heavily and tries to smirk in victory
"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby falls to her knees and puts a hand on her uncle's shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"I'll be fine kiddo. He just grazed me a little bit." Qrow pulls his shaking hand away to show the blood on his hand and the severity of his wound. Which on paper looks like just a deep cut that can heal fairly quickly once the huntsman's aura kicks in
"Who was that guy?" Nora asks
"And how did you get here?" Ren follows up
"HELLO? A better question is why are people after Ruby?" Jaune shouts
"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby weakly shakes him, "What's going on?"
"What's your favorite fairy tale?" Qrow breathes heavily and clutches his midsection again
"Huh? How does that answer anything?" Jaune begins to get angry at Qrow's vagueness
"I need to tell you all something but first we need to get out of here. I mean this village to be specific, grimm will be here soon after all the fights that just took place. I'm looking at you kid." Qrow sets his sights on Link who has his back turned and is staring at the green hill used by the faunus to escape moments ago. "And as skilled as all of you are, we have all had enough fighting for one day."
The only person not joining the conversation is Link, who contemplates going after Tyrian. Knowing he could not have gotten too far and figuring that the poison leaking out of his tail would stop soon. He takes out his sword and slowly begins to jog away, only half heartedly committing to chasing after him
"HEY!" Ruby calls out but rather than being at a distance, she is right behind Link with her impressive speed and hugs his free right arm as tight as a child hugging their favorite stuffed animal would. "Aren't you going to say hi?! Oh Link… It's so good to see you again. Where are you headed off to already?"
(...after… that… guy…) Link points his sword in the direction where the 'weird guy' ran as Ruby called Tyrian
"Are you crazy? You can't go after him alone!" Ruby shakes her head and tries to drag Link back
"She's right, the last thing we need is to split up right now." Jaune speaks firmly
(...we?) Link cringes when he hears Jaune's voice but Ruby's persuasion is enough to make him give up on chasing Tyrian
The two of them walk back towards Qrow and the rest of team RNJR but Link still trails off and everyone watches him carefully. He does not run away or attempt to leave, but does go out of his way to pick up two items and bring them back. The two items in question were the metal and wooden masks both Ruby and him were wearing during their respective fights with Tyrian. Link extends his arm and motions for her Ruby to take her mask, whilst effortlessly twirling his sword with his left hand before sliding it back into its sheath in slick fashion
"Oh no, it's your mask silly. I was just holding onto it until now." Ruby smiles
"..." Link says nothing and keeps his hand outstretched at Ruby, using nods to gesture at his 'friend' to take her mask that the former left her as a parting gift
"So persistent, okay fineee." Ruby takes back the metal mask and attaches it to her belt
Meanwhile, Link puts his wooden mask on and gives her a nod along with giving Qrow a look of assurance before walking away, in the direction they have to go next on the eventual path to Haven
"H-hey, where are you going now? We can all travel together, doesn't that sound better?" Ruby asks
"..." Link says nothing and shakes his head, which is unexpected to both Qrow and RNJR
"Why? Wait a second. Link… why aren't you speaking?" The team RNJR leader's eyes well up but she shuts them so nobody can see her. "Say something please."
Before she begins to cry though, she is pulled into a cold hug by Link who has already turned back and is now standing in front of Ruby in no time. The cold hug is his arms effortlessly around Ruby without any real strength or comfort. Despite this, Ruby happily hugs her friend back and just like that her sadness and tears begin to go away
"Good, now that he's with us." Qrow struggles to get up to his feet. "Let's get out of here shall we?"
Atlas, Schnee Residence
Weiss and her father Jacques Schnee are in a heated argument which is only intensified tenfold when Weiss' own father goes out of his way to slap her hard on the cheek and feeling absolutely no remorse for doing so
"You cannot stop me from following my dreams and pursuing my destiny to be a huntress. All I have done my entire life is fight for the honor of my family and my family's name. I can leave it if I wish. A very dear friend of mine once told me that they don't just see me as a Schnee, they see me as WEISS, they saw me for who I was as a person, not my name nor my family's wealth, success or fame. I think it is time that I really apply what he said to every single action I do following this day. I'm sorry father but-!"
"No... you won't." Jacques has his back turned and cannot stand to continue listening to his daughter ramble. "You're not leaving Atlas. You're not to even step out of your room unless I specifically allow it. You are going to remain here, out of trouble. That is, until we come to an agreement on your future."
"WHAT?!" Weiss' eyes widen. "That is only going to make things worse. People will ask questions! They WILL want to know why the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company is suddenly nowhere to be found."
"Clearly, the trauma you endured at the fall of Beacon was too much for you" Jacques scoffs, "Which is why you've generously revoked your claim to the company and its earnings and passed it on to your brother. In other words, you are no longer the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company." Her father walks to front of the door of Weiss' room and faces her
"Excuse me?" Weiss takes a step back, clearly stunned and almost falls back onto her bed from the shocking news
Weiss stares at her father in disbelief, she breathes heavily as she digests the news and does not know how to feel, but it is a mixture of emotions with anger and sadness being the main ones
"It's time to wake up Weiss. This is not just about you. Think about who you choose to trust, compare that friend who told you such stupidity to someone like Whitley. One is a bottom feeder with no grasp of reality, while your brother will lead the Schnee name to greater heights than I ever could have. Your friend was from Beacon right? Look at how that ended."
"..." Weiss balls up her hands and angrily shakes and how her father referred to her 'dear friend'
Jacques Schnee turns and leaves. As he opens the door to leave and shuts it on his way out, Weiss sees her dear brother Whitley is waiting and clearly has been eavesdropping. The head of the Schnee Dust Company turns away to continue walking without acknowledging his son
"Whitley?!" Weiss calls out after taking a few seconds to deal with her emotions before stepping out into the hall with her fists clenched, knowing that she must call out to her brother who is moving down the hallway as if he was casually strolling by
"Yes, sister?" Whitley turns around with a small smile, more of a devious smirk
"You knew about this, didn't you?" Weiss says with anger seething through her teeth
"About what?"
"Don't play dumb now. You never liked Winter. You never liked me. But you've been nothing but supportive since the moment I came back. You wanted this to happen and now you get what you want." Weiss shakes her head as her eyes widen
"Oh sister… It's foolish not to do as father asks. It's time you listen to your family rather than lowlife parasites… like your friend Link, that's who you were talking about right?" Whitley leans forward, his innocent smile with a hint of an evil smirk changes into a threatening expression with widened eyes like a psychopath along with furrowed brows
"Shut up." Weiss stares with a look of betrayal, her fists ball up even tighter as her anger is on the brink of boiling over. "I can't believe you."
"Don't worry, Weiss. The Schnee family name is in good hands." Whitley turns and walks away with the most pompous and egotistical look on his face. "Since you want to leave so bad, maybe Link can join you if you're ever living on the streets and down on your luck."
"Not another word about Link. You keep his name out of your mouth brother. Talk about me all you want but do not talk about any of my friends; you might be my blood but do not test me." Weiss stomps her foot and gets a reaction from her brother who jumps when he he hears the last words
"..." The younger Schnee does not say another word, choosing to continue walking away while knowing he made a mistake with his last words
Weiss growls but does not retaliate any further and returns to her room. She collapses face down on her bed and cries. However, for the strong willed Schnee, after about ten seconds Weiss lifts her head and has a determined look in her eyes. Knowing she won't be allowed to leave peacefully, she has to formulate her own plan to escape the place she once called home, where she is now being kept prisoner
Later in the night, Forests of Anima
Qrow Branwen is explaining the entire story and history of the Maidens, not sparing a single detail and letting team RNJR and Link know everything he, Ironwood, Glynda Goodwitch and Professor Ozpin told Pyrrha. The newly formed team looks stunned and does not know what to say, even when Qrow is confused about them not having even a single question immediately after his story. On the other hand, Link does not listen at all nor does he have any intention to pitch in the conversation with questions or comments. The only thing going through his head and ears is a combination of distorted white noise and loud ringing that both amplify with each passing second, louder when Qrow speaks and even louder when Jaune, Ruby and Nora speak. But to the silent boy, he already knows what he does about the Fall maiden and assumes the rest is similar to the other maidens so this information to him is pointless
"...And that's what you were trying to do to Pyrrha... the night the tower fell." Jaune frowns. "You were trying to turn her into one of them."
"Yeah but not the way you think. The previous Fall Maiden, Amber, had been attacked."
The mention of Amber's name instantly snaps Link out of his deep trance and he looks up like he's been out for the count. His head snaps at Qrow, who knew that was bound to have some effect on him
"Good to have you finally listening, kid." Qrow chuckles, "As I was saying, Amber was young, inexperienced. And her assailant, who we now know is Cinder, somehow managed to steal some of her power, but not all of it. We were afraid that if we didn't do something, the rest would go to her as well. The pod keeping Amber alive wasn't going to carry on forever, she was barely hanging on."
(...Cinder…) Link angrily balls up his hands, flexing his arm muscles as tightly as he can in the process
"So you forced it on Pyrrha is what I'm waiting for you to admit." Jaune angrily looks at Qrow
"We didn't force anything. We explained the situation and gave her the choice, and she chose. You were there, you heard her." Qrow rolls his eyes
Jaune drops his head for a brief moment, thinking of what to say before getting up and walking away from the group but not far enough to be out of the conversation
"That guy… Tyrian." Ruby raises her hand to get her uncle's attention. "Why was he after me?"
"Well kiddo, you definitely painted a target on your back with what you did at Beacon. I told you having silver eyes is a rare trait." Qrow looks directly into his niece's eyes. "And the fact that you were able to use them seems to have upset some very powerful people. Not many people know about silver eyes. Those that do aren't very happy that one has surfaced. That's why I've been keeping an eye on you in order to make sure you were safe. Well to make sure all of you were safe as a matter of fact, either way you had two safety nets if anything went wrong back there or if it was worse than a guy like Tyrian."
Qrow nods at Link as the second safety net. Ren and Nora turn to him with nods of gratitude, while Ruby who is sitting next to the silent huntsman leans over and softly presses her shoulder into his
"You're absolutely right and I have questions for you Link so don't you dare run off on us, I will catch you this time." Ruby smiles but it almost instantly vanishes. "But back to what you said uncle Qrow. Why not just travel with us? It seems like that would've been way easier."
"He was using you as bait, Ruby." Jaune speaks loudly enough to be heard, but with his back still turned to everyone. "He KNEW someone like that Tyrian guy would attack."
"Look, I wouldn't put it like that. It's complicated. In a way you're right kid but the purpose of me following you guys was not just for bait. You ever wonder why there's hardly been any grimm in your path? That was me and guys like Tyrian are part of the reason I followed you and didn't simply accompany you, if they see me with you four, they don't attack. Instead they inform their bosses and we have even more trouble than we will have on this current path. Hell, if they saw me with you when your journey started, Haven would be destroyed long before we ever got there."
"So what is all of this?" Jaune turns in disbelief. "Ruby's being hunted, the schools are being attacked, all for what?! What is the point of all of this?! Will you just tell us what's going on?!"
"Would you sit down? You're stressing me out, kid." Qrow stares at him, then slouches over with a sigh. Despite the weak plea, Jaune listens and promptly sits down on a log, "Look, not many people are religious these days and this world has been around for a long time, long enough that people have created dozens of gods. But if you believe Ozpin, two of them are actually real."
Team RNJR listens intently but Link does not. More like, he tries his best but all he can make out is some words here and there
"Two brothers… The God of Light, joy in creating life… The God of Darkness, creating forces of destruction… The older… created water, plants, wildlife. The God of Darkness… drought, fire, famine. Life… returned. The younger brother… desired… destroy anything and everything."
"...Grimm." Ruby's voice is heard at the end of her short sentence, but all Link hears is 'grimm'
"...One final creation…" Qrow looks up and notices Link staring directly at him but not paying attention in the slightest. "Together… last great creation… power to create and destroy... gift of knowledge… power to choose… free will… decide which path… light or darkness…"
"What does… to do with us?" Ren speaks up
(...What is… wrong… with me?) Link shakes his head vigorously, hoping that would change his fortune
"...four gifts… knowledge, creation, destruction and choice… exists... physically… by the Gods… each… is powerful…if someone… collects all four… change the world… the enemy wants… Huntsman Academies… Humanity's protectors… guarding the Relics… Ozpin's predecessor… built them… the Relics… fortress… easier to defend… surrounded by trained warriors… keeping them out... her reach…"
Qrow says one more thing but the ringing grows so loud it even drowns out the white noise. Link grasps his head tightly and it feels like an entire hour passes. But when he looks up, he realizes it has only been seconds as Qrow finishes his last sentence as fast he starts it
"Her. You mean Salem?" Ruby's voice comes in clearly
"That's right. Not much is known about her. Quite frankly, that's not what matters. What matters right now is that she wants the Relics, and if she gets them, it's not going to end well for us. No matter how weak, strong, involved, disconnected… everyone will be included in her idea of changing the world."
(...too... much… to… take... in… right… now.) Link gets up and to show everybody that does not plan on running away, he takes off his belt which has his pouch containing weapons and two very valuable and personal items to him that he wouldn't dare to leave behind: Ray's canteen and lastly Pyrrha's circlet
"Don't worry kid." Qrow calls out to him, "I know this is a lot and I know you are going through your own stuff, I'll pause the story."
"No, don't." Jaune shakes his head. "I've had enough of waiting for answers, if you have anything more to say you can tell us and we will relay the information to Link, however much he misses."
(...we?) Link does not even acknowledge the presence of Jaune before he walks away briskly
"I'm coming with you." Ruby stands up and follows her friend
"B-but ruby!-!" Jaune stammers
"Let them go." Qrow lowers his head again. "You can relay the information back to them when they get back, besides. I need a couple of seconds, this graze is actually taking a lot more out of me than I thought it would."
Minutes pass with Link walking deep into the forest, eventually deciding to stop in between two trees that have enough space in between to let him get a full glance at the shattered moon shining brightly. Ruby follows him the entire time, her hands tugging at her skirt as she thinks about what to say
"Ahem." Ruby clears her throat. "Thank you by the way. For helping us out against that Tyrian guy. He was really dangerous and I didn't understand half of what he said but I did grasp that he wanted to kidnap me. Uncle Qrow did enough to stop him but you… you were incredible to watch."
"..." Link nods as he takes off his mask in front of Ruby, he wants to raise the corners of his mouth to give her a soft smile but nothing comes of his efforts and all the girl sees is a deadpan expression
"I'm sorry I didn't say thank you sooner, all of this has just been a lot to take in. First that weird guy attacked us, declaring he wanted ME. My uncle Qrow showed up and then of course you. Before then it was just Jaune, Nora, Ren and myself on our own journey to Haven. Now we have the best company possible and I don't mean my uncle." She looks up at him and smiles
"..." Link attempts to smile once more but when he fails yet again, he gets frustrated and shakes his head, keeping his focus on the moon.
"What's wrong Link? If something is bothering you, I'm here if you want to talk." Ruby reaches up and with her hand she grabs Link's chin carefully to move his face and guide his eyes from the moon to hers. The silver eyed huntress expects him to be cold and rough like he was earlier in the abandoned village of Oniyuri after Tyrian left. But to her surprise, he lets her do as she wishes, which makes her giggle
(...plenty… is wrong…) Link shuts his eyes when Ruby brings his chin down and the two friends are face to face
"Hey." Ruby's eyes well up but she stays strong and does not let the tears flow, "I'm sorry about everything that happened at Beacon. I should have trusted you sooner and I know you're probably really mad at me but I believe you now and I will believe anything and everything you say going forward I promise you that with all my heart. I'm just really sorry for not trusting you when everything happened. Everything that happened in the tournament, that match with Pyrrha and Jaune. Plus the way the students, media and General Ironwood portrayed you…" She sighs and drops her head. "I'm sorry that I bought into it, you're my friend and that should have overruled everyone. Your wishes and wellbeing matters to me more than the opinions of strangers. I hope you can forgive me one day."
(...oh ruby… you are… forgiven… but…) Link musters up everything he can and at last makes a prominent sound for the first time in a long time. Although it does only turn out to be a sigh, it is a sign of progress which is significantly better than complete silence
"Link?" Ruby watches him as his eyes open and he too has tears in his eyes that do not flow. But Link's not flowing are due to him being cold and full of hate, not trying to hold them back purposely
The former Beacon one man team pulls his once dear friend Ruby into another hug and sadly this one is no different than the one in Oniyuri, it is cold and feels lifeless but it is a gesture of kindness and love from someone who now only feels resentment and anger towards nearly everybody. The exceptions being a few living people scattered throughout Remnant and of course the dead girls he sees come to life as ghosts more than normal
"What happened that day at the top of Beacon tower… it affected you badly, didn't it? Is that why…" Ruby brings her hand up to her mouth and gasps, "Is that w-why you-!" She moves her hand away and brings it back to rest on Link's face, whilst placing a finger on his lips. "I think I finally figured it out. It's not that you don't want to speak, is it? Link please tell me I'm wrong right now but… you CAN'T speak."
"..." Link's breathing begins to pick up rapidly when Ruby mutters the words 'that day' but having one of his closest friends directly in front of him helps him not spiral into a meltdown or panic attack. He sighs again and nods at Ruby's discovery that he is now mute because of those horrible events that transpired on the fall of Beacon
"Oh no…" Ruby's tears spill quickly down her cheeks and the flow is so grand that it reaches all the way down to her jaw and each droplet falls like a dark sky sprinkling. "I had no idea, I'm so sorry."
(...not… your… fault…) Link shakes his head and strives to be the stronger one by not crying with her. Instead, he wipes away her tears to the best of his abilities with his hands, unknowing of how comforting this was to his 'friend' who slowly calms down after approximately half a minute of crying
"This was nice, some alone time after not having seen each other in… forever. We probably have to go back now, don't we?" Ruby softly giggles when Link immediately nods to her question
(...probably… but…) The boy in green glances back up into the sky and admires the moon some more
"I know you didn't answer but I think I know what you want to say. We should go back but we don't have to just yet." Ruby giggles and moon gazes with her friend. "So um, I formed a new team with Jaune, Nora and Ren, we call ourselves RNJR. Well, except for Nora she... is adamant that we call the team JNNR but three versus one ya know, democracy prevails! Our mission is… well I think you know. Ummm, Yang wasn't looking too good when I left, she is healthy physically but she is going through her difficulties too. But if anyone can get her out of her slump it's my dad and Zwei, they are the best."
(...sure…) Link feels almost nothing hearing about Yang but he closes his eyes and laments the loss of her arm. His sympathy does not last long as he remembers Adam Taurus is the reason her arm is gone, which angers him again
"I don't have a lot to say about Blake unfortunately. Yang told me she just ran away and I don't know why she would do that." Ruby glances over and nudges Link to make sure he is still paying attention. "Weiss on the other hand was forcefully taken by her dad back to Atlas. I have no clue if I will ever see them again but something in me says that team RWBY will be reunited one day. No promises, only gut feelings."
(...Weiss…) Link mumbles her name internally and suddenly he feels warm again momentarily. (...yeah... I... hope... so)
"I hope when you get your voice back the first thing you do is say hi to me, okay?"
Ruby extends her hand and it is curled up into a fist, she smiles at her friends and eagerly waits for his response
(...fine…) Link returns the gesture and the two friends fist bump as a way to seal the words as a promise
"Great. Now we should probably head back, you lead the way? You did kind of lead us here annnd you did try to run off on us earlier, can't have you doing that again. Although, I will not hesitate to catch you and lead you back to our group, with our friends and my uncle."
(...our friends?) Link wants to laugh at Ruby's politeness, sincerity and naivety in a sarcastic way but he does not retort. However, he does start walking back, with Ruby following him closely behind
Sometime later, Campfire in the Forests of Anima
"Look who's back." Qrow motions Jaune, Nora and Ren to look in the direction of Ruby and Link as the injured huntsman takes a swig from his flask. "That was fairly quick."
"Hey guys. Yeah, we just needed a bit of time to ourselves, where did you leave off? Or are the stories over?" Ruby asks
"I had just asked your uncle to officially explain why he was trailing behind us rather than just following us." Jaune mumbles
"Excellent point Jaune." Ruby's eyes widen and she turns to face Qrow. "Why couldn't you trust me at the very least? We are family. Why couldn't you just travel with us, instead of this secrecy, and-!"
"I'm going to stop you right there Ruby." Qrow's voice is stern and everybody stops what they are doing. Ren was staring at the fire, Nora at Qrow, Jaune at the ground, Link at the moon, and Ruby partially at her uncle. Everyone turns to completely face Qrow as he normally calls his niece kiddo and not by her name, so this must be very serious. "This has nothing to do with trust. I… It's a long story, okay?"
"Seriously?" Nora raises an eyebrow. "After everything you've told us. Now you're tired of telling us stories?"
"Okay fine, you kids are annoying." Qrow glances at the fire. "Did you know that crows are a sign of bad luck? It's an old superstition, but it's how I got my name. See, some people can absorb electricity." He looks at Nora, "And some people can burst into rose petals." He turns his gaze to Ruby. "And some people are just born unlucky. My Semblance is just that, unlucky. It's always there, whether I like it or not. I bring misfortune. It comes in real handy when I'm fighting an enemy because no matter what strategy, counters, or ideas on the fly they come up with, they can't combat the misfortune I bring to them since they don't know what exactly is coming their way. But it makes it a little hard on friends and especially family. Now I'm done telling stories and three of you already had the chance to take a walk, now it's my turn."
Qrow quickly stands up and winces, a foolish mistake to not take his time. The unlucky huntsman still holds his side and takes a inhales deeply while taking in the scene around him
"Well." Jaune snorts and rolls his eyes. "You are just a real bundle of help, aren't you?"
The blonde huntsman gets nasty looks from Nora and Ren, Ruby shakes her head and even Link marches towards him but Ruby grabs his arms and desperately pulls him back
"Don't bother fighting each other, we need to be united now more than ever. Besides, he isn't exactly wrong." Qrow glares at Link before turning to Jaune, "Yeah."
"O-oh…" Jaune looks down at the ground once again and everyone else watches Qrow limp away
"There's nothing else you want to tell us uncle?" Ruby asks
"Not tonight, no." Qrow's sight is set on a red eyed raven that passes by and continues walking until he is out of sight
"Well that's just great. We got answers but didn't really get a solution." Jaune shakes his head
Ruby and Link sit on the log where they were previously seated, next to each other as well. Link puts his belt back on but notices something. Nothing was taken but somebody definitely touched his belt. His pouch and canteen look untouched but Pyrrha's circlet is turned in another direction than before
"The questions aren't over yet." Jaune picks up his head and looks at Link. "Qrow had his strange reasons to follow us without directly joining us. But what about you, Link?"
"Yeah. It's been on my mind this entire time but we needed answers from Ruby's uncle first." Nora turns her head to Link, as does Ren who does not say a word
Link meanwhile processes Jaune's question immediately but has no intention of answering it. An internal struggle brews as he is furiously processing who could have touched his belt while also not losing his head and snapping at someone, as these were his friends at one point. Although Link hates them now, he does not want to physically hurt them either
"Guys." Ruby shakes her head. "Now isn't the time for this. It's late, how about we go to sleep?"
"No way, at least Qrow had his reasons. He said he would bring us misfortune right? So what's your reason for not traveling with us as soon as you found us? Do you also bring us misfortune?" Jaune stares daggers but his intense stare garners no fear
(...you need… to stop… talking… to... me!) Link shakes his head and stands up, he promptly points to his belt and narrows his eyes
"What?" Nora wonders, clearly playing dumb as Link continues to point
"We don't know what you are implying, why don't you tell us what's wrong?" Jaune asks
"He can't." Ren looks up and shoots a partially sympathetic look at Link but it was not a very friendly one either
"What's going on?" Ruby leans forward and sees what Link is gesturing towards. "What did you guys do?"
"Us?" Nora nervously chuckles, cracking under pressure instantly. "Nothing."
"Nora." Ren shakes his head
"Okay." Jaune stands up and holds his hands in the air, "It was me, don't get mad at Nora. I couldn't believe you had that in your possession." He points at Pyrrha's circlet. "And I needed a closer look for myself so I grabbed your stuff. I… I-I'm-!"
(…what?!) Link clenches his jaw and tightens his hands into fists, he wants to shout at Jaune and his JNPR teammates but cannot for obvious reasons
"Whoa relax, I didn't take anything I swear." Jaune nervously backs down
"You may as well tell him what we talked about Jaune. The sooner he knows, the better." Nora nods in approval, she smiles and that assures Link momentarily that they or at the very least Jaune will be apologetic
"Know what?" Ruby tilts her head in confusion
"I was going to give it a few days before politely asking but might run away again and we won't see you for who knows how long. And since you can detect things looking different even if it's by a milliliter, I cannot keep sneaking glances at Pyrrha's circlet. I need you to know-!"
"Ruby's uncle said it was a bad idea guys." Ren shakes his head once again as he firmly interrupts his previous leader with no regret. "If we learned anything today, it should be to listen to Qrow more."
"Well Ruby's uncle doesn't get it." Jaune balls up his right hand
"Jaune is right. He didn't know Pyrrha like we did." Nora sighs
(...spit... it… out… already…) Link shifts his belt so the circlet is closer to his back and out of view from everybody
"I wanted you to know that after briefly talking with Nora and Ren. The three of us thought it would be best to ask you for a favor. I was wondering if you could give it to me." Jaune warmly smiles. "I would really appreciate it, I really lov-!"
"..." Link immediately shakes his head which makes Jaune stop speaking. On the inside he is still very angry with Jaune, Nora and Ren for what happened at Beacon and now they want him to give up the last physical reminder he has of Pyrrha. The previously masked boy grits his teeth and shakes his head long enough for everyone to notice
"N-no? B-but…" Jaune is taken aback by the answer, the previous team JNPR leader was expecting a gracious 'yes'
"Hey." Nora speaks up. "You can't do-!"
Ren extends his arm in front of Nora and shakes his head for a third time, signaling her to say no more, having previously disapproved of asking the question as Qrow advised them not to follow through with it
"Guys." Ruby nervously laughs. "We should really go to sle-!"
"What do you mean no?!" Jaune asks, this time angrily. "And why haven't you answered any of our questions? Or anything with words for that matter. Do you think you're being cool with the silence and vague-!"
"Jaune!" Ren sternly calls out
"Grrr…" Ruby this time balls up her fists as opposed to tightly grabbing at her skirt and then finally, her attempt to be the friendly peacekeeper comes to an end. "HE CAN'T TALK JAUNE!"
"W-what?" Jaune takes a step back, not knowing how to take the new information. "But how? Why? And when did this happen? How long have you known about it, Ruby?"
"Not that long. I only realized when we took a our walk a bit ago. It's best that we don't talk about when and why. It's a very personal topic to all of us."
"What is the top-!" Jaune almost finished his question but Ruby quickly shushes him
"It's the reason we are headed to Haven if that isn't enough information for you." Ruby sighs and feels a tug at her heartstrings
"O-oh." Jaune sighs and slumps down on the log in defeat, being reminded of Pyrrha for a third time today makes him forget and drop the topic all together. Ren and Nora say nothing, they simply lower their head and think about their fallen friend
(...Pyrrha…) Link drops to the floor, backside first on the ground, using the trunk to lean and keep himself upright. He places both hands on his temples and fights not think about the red haired angelic presence of Pyrrha but he loses the battle yet again. What comes to mind next are far too familiar visions, first are the happy memories involving Pyrrha, followed by her brutal demise at the hands of a very evil woman. An evil woman who the five huntsmen and huntresses sitting around the campfire were just informed serves an even more evil force
"H-hey." Ruby leans over, rests her head on Link's shoulder and whispers in the ear of her distraught friend. "I'm sorry."
(Hello everyone, not gonna keep you here all day with boring life updates. Basically after I uploaded my last chapter I decided to give new chapters a short break and re-write or edit/add on words to previous chapters starting from Chapter 1. I made progress in no time and updated the first 3 chapters but then stuff went down and my work got shut down so I lost my job and life just took over. But no worries, writing and this story especially are always on my mind, I told myself I would never quit or go on another 3 year hiatus again and I am sticking to those words 110%. Sorry that it took almost 3 months and I hope to see you all in the next chapter whenever that is. Stay safe and enjoy the story.)