Island of Patch: Xiao Long Residence
Directly outside of the Xiao Long family cabin, where she grew up and calls home to this day, Yang Xiao Long is seen with yellow paint. The girl keenly sprays a robotic prosthetic arm gifted to her by James Ironwood and the Atlas military for her bravery during the Fall of Beacon, which resulted in her losing her arm at the hands of Adam Taurus. She keeps at it and sprays the arm for a short time before the girl moves to re-paint one of her shotgun gauntlets 'Ember Celica' bright yellow as before then it's color was fading and turning into an uglier and darker dijon mustard yellow; the other half of 'Ember Celica' was lost along with her arm inside Beacon Academy. Shortly after, Yang sits up and rests on her backside and knees, admiring her own paint job, a bark alerts her to see the family dog Zwei happily watching her and running in circles whilst the huntress was painting her new and old weapons. Watching them from inside the family house is her father Taiyang Xiao Long, who smiles at the rapid growth of his daughters mentality, which has come a long way after her life was forever changed following the events that took place months ago during the last day Beacon was up and running and the world appeared 'normal'
"Hey Zwei. What'cha doing out here little guy? It's hot, you should be inside and relaxing with dad." Yang smiles and extends her left arm to pet him
"Arf!" The happy corgi backs away and runs in circles even faster than before, becoming clear that this is Zwei's attempt to get Yang to play with him
"I'd love to play right now but I can't. Although maybe I should because I don't know when I'll see you again." Yang looks down at the grass she's sitting on and ponders on the next steps she's going to take
"Arf arf!" Zwei sprints forward and snatches the prosthetic arm by it's hand. The hyperactive dogs spins in place before it runs off
"H-hey!" Yang springs up to her feet in a sarcastic rage. "Get back here! That isn't a toy!"
A chase ensues with Yang struggling majorly to regain possession of her property. Despite being a human with longer legs and more athleticism, she struggles to even get near the dog who is clearly different from any other dog, appropriately fitting as he is owned by a family full of strong huntsmen and huntresses. Ten minutes pass, both Yang and Zwei have been inside the house, up and downstairs, running circles around the house, the dog leads his human over to a tool shed and drops the prosthetic arm on the ground in front of the door.
"Mine!" Yang swiftly scoops up her new arm and puts it on with ease
The smirking huntress has no issues using her new hand in part because of training with her father for many weeks now. Zwei sits and breathes normally, showing that he could have continued running but has led Yang here for a specific reason. The former opens the door and enters the tool shed, she notices a wheel that is attached to something familiar. Yang exhales and with one rapid motion, removes the tarp off that has been covering her motorcycle, 'Bumblebee' for too long now
"Heh, I see what you were doing now." Yang chuckles. "Thanks Zwei, this was next on the agenda. And to be honest with you, I was going to put it off until tomorrow, but now I suppose I should just get this process started. The engine is probably rusty and the wheels definitely have some dust on them that needs to come off."
"Arf!" Zwei jumps for joy as if he can understand every single word that was just said
"Good boy!" Yang turns to smile at him, bends her knees to lean down, and this time she is able to pet his head and occasionally switches to scratching under his chin
Zwei happily accepts, loves, and lives for all the attention he gets at home from Taiyang and Yang, he closes his eyes and savors each head pat and chin scratch to the point where his leg starts kicking in comfort and satisfaction. The corgi barks with jubilation, he continues to enjoy the pats and scratches for a long while, and then leaps up to lick Yang in the face
"Ewww! Your breath smells like paint!" Yang laughs hysterically
Despite being 'disgusted', Yang allows her favorite dog to jump and lick her more, this carries on until a large shadow is visible and overshadows the two of them as Taiyang Xiao Long is now at the door of the shed. The seasoned man smirks as he moves out of the way and leans on the door shoulder first. He nods his head in a certain direction and on command, Zwei stops what he's doing and runs to the family cabin
"I knew painting your arm and taking your weapon out of retirement was going to be a big step, but now you're breaking out the famous bumblebee from its solitary confinement?" Taiyang laughs as he shifts over to lean against the open shed door back first, arms crossed, allowing sunlight in the shed. "Although now that I found you here, I must say. I don't remember saying that you were ready. Our training has been going well and you are getting better and better with each passing day but…"
"Oh yeah? Are you gonna try and stop me?" Yang says with an amused tone, not turning around to face her father
"Not a chance in hell." Taiyang chuckles. "I think I'm still too sore after our last fight, you'd pummel me. If you are leaving right now however, I just wanted a better goodbye than a letter. I think you know who I'm talking about."
"Of course." Yang rolls her eyes, "Typical Ruby. Although, you must say, if she tried to tell you… she wouldn't have been able to leave, isn't that right?." She raises an eyebrow
"Okay that's fair." The chagrined father smiles. "There's also a more pressing matter than receiving a proper goodbye from you. I have a question."
"Huh?" Yang turns around. "Yeah, what's up?"
"Where are you going?" Taiyang's smile slowly drops, the concerned father looks his daughter in the eyes
"What do you mean? I think you have an idea of where I'm going, right?" Yang says with a puzzled expression
"Do I?" Taiyang questions, he enters the shed with a couple of steps. "Because… Well, despite asking him numerous times not to, I know that your uncle Qrow has told you where your mother's been at these days. And I know how much you want to see her. I've stopped you in the past, but I won't anymore."
"Is this just because I'm eighteen now and technically an adult?" Yang chuckles
"I'm being serious." Taiyang shakes his head. "No it's not just because you're eighteen now. It's because you are going to be traveling all alone with nobody by your side to help you or even someone watch your back until you reach your destination."
"Uh huh." Yang nods and follows along. "Any other reason you're telling me all of this. I know what comes next is that you don't want me to be disappointed if I meet mom and she isn't who I think she is, but what else is missing dad? I know you…"
"You sure do but if you would let me get to it!" Taiyang rolls his eyes sarcastically. "Look, we both read the note Ruby left behind. Which means you and I know your sister is headed to Mistral. So that is the entire reason why I ask… where are you going?"
Yang looks down at Bumblebee whilst Taiyang makes his point. The young huntress' gaze remains on her bike for another couple of seconds before she looks up at her father. Her eyes narrow in determination as she has a tough choice ahead of her
"ME PERSONALLY…" Taiyang smirks. "I would prefer if you head to Haven to be with your sister and even enroll in a new academy if that's what you want to do. Qrow is following her I'm sure so it'll be good to have two family members around you. If I didn't have responsibilities here and at Signal, I would happily join you."
"Do you…" Yang turns back to face her motorcycle. "Know if anyone else is with Ruby?"
"Some friends." He scoffs. "You saw the note, don't play dumb. Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, and Lie Ren are with Ruby accompanying her to Mistral. Knowing Qrow, he's already blown his cover and they're traveling together as a group of five."
"Yeah, I was just wondering if anyone ELSE was with her, with them." Yang shakes her head, "Two friends specifically. One of them being Blake, you've been told all about her by Ruby and I in our letters we sent you during our time at Beacon. She meant a lot to me and she just… ran away. I have so many things to say to her, a lot of hateful words, but a lot of loving ones too." She inhales and struggles to cope with the loss of Blake due to her cowardice
"Your sister told me about Blake and Weiss. Based on what I've heard from you and Qrow, I'm afraid to say that they are both walking their own paths right now." Taiyang sighs. "But I have a good feeling about this. You'll reunite with your team soon and-!"
"The second friend I wanted to ask about is not Weiss. I know she's safe and more than likely being forced to stay in Atlas. Her dad is nothing like you, he's the strict hard-headed dad who is never fun and probably abusive too sadly." Yang releases her fists and exhales deeply as she begins to admit her wrongdoings. "No, the friend I'm referring to is someone I wronged and turned my back on near the end of the year. His name is Link and… I was stupid. Anger clouded my judgment, there was no excuse to be so blind. He was set up the same way I was and me being the fool I am, I pleaded innocence while casting him off as guilty."
Yang whips around and punches the shed wall with her left hand, she feels some anger but mostly regret over what transpired at Beacon
"And I treated him horribly dad! He knew things that could've really helped us when Beacon was destroyed and nobody listened to him. He put his life on the line for Ruby, Weiss, Blake, myself, and so many others!"
"Hey it's okay to feel regret, it's what makes us human. We have to acknowledge our mistakes and do better in the future. Let it all out." Taiyang sighs and walks closer to his daughter, then places a hand on her shoulder
"Sorry, I don't want to bore you all day with this information, I just have a lot to be sorry for. And I can gladly say I'm done feeling sorry for myself."
"My little girl really is all grown up." He smiles. "I'm sorry too because I don't know much about Link or his whereabouts. He was here the night Beacon was overrun by grimm. Qrow said he had no family or home to return to unlike a majority of the other students, so he brought him here."
"Link was here? I can only imagine your face when uncle Qrow asked you if he could bring over a boy to sleep in the same building let alone room as one of your daughters." Yang sneers
"He didn't ask me but I wasn't going to turn down helping someone who tried their best to fight for the school I once attended, especially when he's so close to my daughters too; I made a one time only exception." He grimaces. "Qrow actually wanted to talk to both him and Ruby, but he left."
"Jokes aside, I can't believe he was actually here." Yang gasps suddenly, then a shiver runs down her spine. "That would explain why I felt watched. I was awake the day he and Ruby woke up. I left my door open but… I felt a presence outside of my room. It wasn't you either dad, you would've spoken, and Ruby was out cold still. So that only leaves him."
"He likely wanted to make sure you were okay without intruding. This Link fellow really played an important role in your lives didn't he?" Taiyang speaks and his happy expression returns. "Qrow told me he did but, hearing it from you is more powerful and holds a lot more weight than hearing it from your uncle. I wish Ruby opened up more about him among other things, I could learn a lot from and about you two."
"You sure can." Yang walks over and punches her father's shoulder. "Ruby will open up, just let her come to you. Now, do you think I'm finally ready?"
Silence consumes the father and daughter as the former runs his chin to think long and hard about his decision. However, the latter soon realizes that her father is simply exaggerating for the purpose of messing with her and promptly punches his arm again. This punch is one with more power because it is with her right hand now or in other words, the prosthetic arm
"OW! Hey, watch it! That's where I'm sore!" He smiles and ruffles up his daughter's hair. "Like I said, I won't hold you back. I shouldn't have ever held you back from meeting your mom or anything that I deemed too dangerous, sorry about that. My goal was to protect you and shield you from any harm but… you can protect yourself. I know you can and I believe in you."
"Thanks dad." Yang smiles back and instead of punching her father on his shoulder for a third time, she wraps her left arm around him first and hugs him. When the half hug doesn't feel complete, with a confident exhale, she wraps her right arm around her father too
"If you're still undecided, take your time." He says, then swiftly hugs his daughter back "They're both long journeys either way. And I will support you no matter where you decide to go."
"I know you will." Yang nods and glances at her motorcycle again. "You wanna help me out with my bike? I'm bound to be sluggishhh."
"Oh please, you'll get the hang of it again in no time." Taiyang squeezes back, adding more pressure to the hug. "It's only been months, not decades. But I get it, you just want to maximize the time you have left with the coolest dad in Remnant before you depart on your own adventure."
"Mayyybeee. I just don't want you to develop an ego about it." Yang snickers, slowly pulling away from the hug
"One ride, then I'll just sit on the patio and watch you, deal?" He balls up a fist and raises it
"Deal!" Yang grins
The huntress fist bumps with her father as the two of them race to get on the motorcycle and therefore be the driver whilst the loser has to be the passenger on the back, holding on for dear life. Taiyang initially cheats and trips Yang by sticking his foot out, but she quickly regains her balance and does not fall. The former grabs onto her father's shirt with her prosthetic arm, giving her even more strength than the natural strength she already possess' and with a quick throw to the side she disposes of the competition and wins the race when she hops on the motorcycle first. Taiyang laughs, accepts his defeat and gets on the back of the bike, shaking his head but nodding out of respect at the same time
Forests of Anima
On the straightforward path travel Link, Ruby, Jaune and Qrow who is being carried. The team of three healthy warriors and an injured huntsman head for the flat trail towards Kuroyri. As they move forward, Link notices something crucial as his feet leave imprints in the dirt, they are much smaller than what appears to be the footprint of a horse, only this one was very large, about ten to fifteen times the size of a regular horse
(...hm…) A now aware Link narrows his eyes and continues watching the road, completely ignoring Ruby, Jaune and the delirious Qrow who continues talking to what he thinks is Taiyang. The mentioning of the names Raven and Summer catch Ruby's attention, with Jaune listening carefully. But for Link, his remains laser focused on the giant prints on the ground and soon enough his ears begin ringing again and his body shakes vigorously, he walks faster so that his struggles are not visible but despite his best attempts, Ruby notices him and tries to call out to him multiple times
"Link?" Ruby calls out, desperation in her voice as she is already stressing about her uncle
"Just leave him be, that's your seventh time calling him." Jaune shrugs. "If he really wanted to talk to you then he would, he's just being however cool he thinks he's coming across to us."
"Will you stop?" Ruby snaps at him. "He isn't doing it on purpose!"
"I'll believe it when I-!" Jaune stops speaking, taking into consideration Ruby's distress. "Sorry… to you."
"..." Ruby shakes her head. "You guys can hash it out at Mistal or Haven. Or hell, whenever we are at a safe location, just not right now please? For me? For the sake of what we're both here to do. In case you forgot we all have the same mission. You, me, Nora, Ren, Uncle Qrow, Link, anybody from Beacon who I know we're going to see again one day. We are going to stop the people who took over Vale with the creatures of grimm and destroyed Beacon Academy."
"Believe me Ruby I know." Jaune nods and empathizes with his new team leader. "It's just a lot to take in, we thought that evil woman Cinder was the one in charge but she isn't. We have to fight someone even stronger than her. I don't know if-!"
"Stop it." Ruby promptly cuts him off. "We can do it. What happened at Beacon won't happen ever again and to any other academy. It doesn't matter how long it takes, we will stop them all. Emerald, Mercury, Cinder, Tyrian, the White Fang, Salem, every-!."
"And who knows how many more. I wish WE had more strength in numbers."
"Don't worry Jaune." Ruby looks back and shows a weak smile. "We have strength in numbers scattered around the world. All the Beacon students had to go somewhere right. Weiss is in Atlas. Yang is home. Blake is… somewhere. Sun and his team more than likely went back to Mistal so we're bound to run into them there. Same goes for team CFVY maybe? I'm not entirely sure. Even that team Link beat in the tournament, team SLVR, they also came from Mistral for the tournament."
"That's actually quite reassuring." Jaune smiles back. "Thanks for keeping my head on straight Ruby, sometimes I want to spiral out and punch a tree or something but you, Nora and Ren keep me level. It really means a lot what you guys do for me."
"Any time Jaune." Ruby playfully winks
The two friends continue talking and chatting it up easily while Link remains in his state of shock and moving as if he is an android on autopilot mode. Soon enough they switch from walking on dirt to stone, indicating the destroyed village is close. A cracked sign on the ground with the name Kuroyuri rests against cracked walls, which tells the three of them that at one point this sign was above the walls to proudly show any new visitor which village they are entering. The dilapidated village looks entirely abandoned, which proves Ren correctly that the village has been destroyed for many years. Link, Ruby, and Jaune slowly enter the village, the two previously talkative huntsmen go silent as they continue to carry Qrow. All of a sudden, Link snaps back to reality and gets into a fighting stance and extends his right arm, with the front of his shield facing Ruby, Jaune and Qrow, and hence stops their walking
"Do you hear something? We don't have time to carefully inspect." Jaune asks
"..." Link shakes his head, moving with precaution to keep everyone safe. He quickly jogs forward and with his vision alone attempts to scope out the entire village in order to speed up the process so that his 'friends' can come in safely
"Is it safe to go in?" Ruby asks worriedly
"..." Link sighs, knowing he did not clear out the entire village but nods anyway. The boy keeps his weapons drawn as he goes back to leading this part of the split up group
"Oh, man." Jaune gasps as he and Ruby take a look at the destruction and rubble of the village. "Who knew a village could look this bad after its destruction?"
(...you… wouldn't… even… know!) Link frowns and keeps walking
"Come on." Ruby does her best to encourage, despite being the most worried out of the three. "Do any of these places look like a pharmacy?"
"It's…" Jaune sighs. "Honestly too hard to tell".
Despite the ruins the village is in, they do spot an abandoned bicycle that looks a minimal cleaning session away from being good as new, showing some things are still in tact at the very least
"Jaune…" Ruby whimpers. "Ren really didn't want to come here, did he?"
"Uh…" Jaune thinks of a way to avoid the question but gives up immediately. "Didn't seem so, no."
"Do you know... why?" Ruby asks
"I don't know the full story or anything specific details but…" He closes his eyes. "I think I have a pretty good idea… though. I'm pretty sure this is where Ren and Nora grew up."
"Oh…" Ruby lowers her head. "So when Nora says they're been together all their lives, it's much darker than your usual childhood friends."
"Yeah." Jaune sighs
Walking through the destroyed village continues until they find what seems to be the only nice patch of grass in all of Kuroyuri, which also has a tree to lean Qrow against, although the tree is very dead. Qrow is lowered onto the grass and with the help of all three he is swiftly moved from the makeshift stretcher and against the dead tree. The huntsman let out one more groan before he falls unconscious again, coincidentally he is unconscious in the same position he was sleeping in the night before
"We should look around the village, even if there aren't people there could still be viable resources." Jaune rotates both of his arms, showing some signs of discomfort after carrying Qrow for most of the day
"R-right. Someone should stay with uncle Qrow while the other two explore the village." Ruby kneels in front of her uncle and touches his leg
"Well since you guys want to designate Link as the strongest without even discussing it, he can stay behind and watch Qrow or you can stay with him Ruby. Either way, I want to go looking for supplies, there has to be food or medicine here that we can use to help your uncle."
(...you… little…) Link's head snaps towards Jaune with a nasty glare and narrowing eyes
"GUYS!" Ruby shouts, stands up, walks to both of the blondes and punches them in the stomach with her fists, "I definitely can't have you exploring with Link then, you'll just somehow end up fighting each other." She looks at Jaune. "And if you continue to aggravate him, he will hurt you, so let's go."
Jaune is completely shell shocked at Ruby's reaction and doesn't even have a comeback for the insult where she immediately assumes that Link would have no trouble with him if they were to ever fight. He lowers his head and follows Ruby without looking back at Link or Qrow and without saying another word
(...why… did… she… pick…) Link refuses to finish his own question to avoid releasing anger and instead drops down to the ground, he sits across from the unconscious Qrow and rests in his sitting position. Then he feels a sharp pain course throughout his body and the boy's eyes go wide with fear. (...NO!)
Hyperventilation kicks in, with the mute huntsman formerly of Beacon along now experiencing paralysis as he feels the entire world around him change. The lifeless ruins that was one a beautiful village shifts into a familiar setting as Qrow disappears by slowly falling apart limb by limb until he is completely gone. The next thing that occurs is Pyrrha appearing on her knees with both her arms crossed over and her hands gently resting on her lap. The scene sets in immediately after, Link is back on top of beacon tower as the most dreaded scene he has witnessed most recently plays in his head yet again. The visuals are near picture perfect, and the words spoken by both women are word for word what was said on that day
"Do you believe in destiny?" Pyrrha speaks without a spec of fear in her eyes or voice, she stares right back at her killer, never once breaking eye contact
"Yes." Cinder's smile disappears and a frown takes its place as she is determined to kill her defeated opponent without any mercy
(...STOP! Just… stop!) Link tries to move his hands up to his eyes to block the visual of Pyrrha dying once again, but just like always he cannot move a single muscle and his eyes feel like they are being forcefully being held open
Cinder forms her bow and arrow again from shards of glass. She pulls back an arrow and Pyrrha shuts her eyes. The vile woman narrows her eyes even further and releases the bow, striking the helpless girl directly through the chest
(...I will… kill you… CINDER!)
Cinder marches up to Pyrrha and places a hand on her head, using her newly acquired maiden powers to incinerate the young girl completely, the angelic red haired huntress stops moving and gasping, her body glows orange briefly before it scatters away into ashes. With Cinder laughing and dropping the circlet on the ground like a piece of trash
(...Make… it… stop…) Link whispers but it was an ear piercing whisper, his own voice blasts throughout his head as the nightmare restarts in his head all over again. Cinder is standing across from Pyrrha who is on her knees. However, both of them are stuck in place, something different is happening this time
"I'm sorry about everything that happened at Beacon."
(...what?)
All time seems to stop as Ruby's soft spoken voice blares throughout Link's head. Although it's an unexpected surprise, it definitely helps a lot more to hear Ruby's voice. The sky turns blood red with hints of white as the scene around him begins to fall apart quickly, both Pyrrha and Cinder soon disappear from the frame with both women fading away like wind blowing away sand
"I'm just really sorry for not trusting you and I'm sorry that I bought into what everyone said. 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."
Soon enough, another comforting voice voice is heard and this one has more power and presence than Ruby's as it can be heard throughout the entire fabricated vision inside Link's head that was sadly replaying an event he has seen far too many times already
"I believe you."
(...huh?) The distraught boy blinks, at last able to move his eyes. The voice does not come from Cinder or Pyrrha who are both long gone by now; nor does it come from Ruby. This voice is from a woman and it is beautiful, majestic, almost god like. Until the more she speaks, the more apparent it reveals who it is
"Thank you." Weiss's voice illuminates the dark and tragic scene as the top of Beacon tower disappears under Link's feet which makes him free fall. However, underneath him is not a concrete floor or even the vault inside Beacon he has seen in his visions. It is just open space, more peaceful falling and all Link can see is Weiss' face in the sky. It is detailed perfectly, down to her pale blue eyes, off center ponytail and the scar on her left eye that could be mistaken as a shadow. "No matter what happens next, know I'm on your side. We used to be at odds but you defended me against four foes when you could have not shown up…"
The calm and vibrant voice of Ruby Rose, alongside the soothing and angelic voice of Weiss Schnee both help erase the horrible vision that haunts Link on a daily basis, for tonight at the very least. The boy looks up as he continues to free fall into a never ending void, admiring that he can see his enemy turned friend from Beacon with a bright smile on her face. Her head appears a thousand times bigger whilst it's in the sky and it remains there the entire time Link continues to fall until he closes his eyes.
"Thank you." Weiss' voice is heard one more time before it fades away slowly with the last word
When Link opens his eyes again, he is back in Kuroyuri, sitting down on a patch of grass with one leg crossed and the other propped up with his foot on the ground and a rising knee. The first thing Link does upon realizing he is back to normal for the time being is to move his head from side to side, balls up his hands before releasing the fists and extending his propped leg so that it can rest on the ground, fully stretched out. Qrow is directly in front of him, slumped over and unconscious, completely out of it still
"Any trouble while we were gone?" Jaune asks
(...hm?) Link looks around, spots Jaune and Ruby who are directly behind him, which tells him his entire state of paralysis lasts for as long as the two of them searched for supplies
"A little help Ruby?" Jaune nudges at her shoulder. "I know he heard me, he just isn't responding on purpose. And this time I'm not joking about anything, He won't even shake his head, nod or let out one of the two sounds he can make."
"Ugh fineee." Ruby sighs and drops down to her knees in between her uncle and friend. "Any trouble watching my grumpy uncle Qrow?"
"..." Link finally comprehends the question and swiftly shakes his head which satisfies Ruby
GRAWR!
A creature of grimm prominently screeches, its disturbing noise blasts from off in the distance. It garners reactions both Ruby and Jaune but Link calmly keeps his composure despite the frightening sound. Jaune, out of instinct, immediately grabs the handle of his sword and looks around for the source of the noise
"Hey." Ruby mumbles. "Don't worry. It's far off."
"I know, but Ren and Nora are still out there." Jaune turns to Link and is in complete disbelief. "How can you be so cold?! That thing could've started attacking us and you'd still sit there enjoying the fresh air and taking in the scenery."
(...fresh... air?) Link says nothing and does not even acknowledge Jaune's response with any sort of head movement
"What did I say?" Ruby growls
The huntress looks at Qrow with concern in her eyes before standing up approaching Jaune, giving him and only him an elbow to the gut
"Oof!" Jaune coughs and slumps over sarcastically. "Sorry."
"Yeah…" Ruby looks down. "Although, I should be the one saying sorry."
"Huh?" Jaune gets rid of his dramatic antics and directly looks at the girl. "Why do you say that?"
"This is all my fault. I should have never dragged you guys into this. If I just approached my uncle Qrow we could've been on this journey just us two and you guys could have been safe at home and-!"
"Hey!" Jaune grabs Ruby by the shoulders
This action garners a reaction from Link, despite not seeing Jaune grab her by the shoulders, the sound of hands clasping onto what sounded like a pair of arms or shoulders is all the silent huntsman needs to know Ruby has been grabbed
(...careful…) He rises to one knee and reaches for his sword
"Sorry again." Jaune shrugs, practically telling everyone his apology to Link is sarcasm. "Anyway. You didn't drag us in. We wanted to come."
"But you didn't know about Tyrian, about-!"
"Ruby!" Jaune cuts her off. "We lost against Tyrian, it is what it is. At least nobody died and that is me saying I'm confident we can get your uncle help. It's not the end of the world, we have lost in worse ways. Look, I know w-we lost Pyrrha."
(...great…) Link fully turns when Jaune mentions their fallen friend, his hand drops to his side
"It wasn't just me who lost her, you lost her, too… we all did. Along with her, you lost Penny, and your team, and in a way... part of your sister. But yet here you are still, despite everything you've lost, everything you could still lose now like your uncle, you chose to come out here and do what is right. You witnessed something nobody should ever have to witness." Jaune becomes emotional as he comes close to finishing. "If anyone had the right to run away and never return after Beacon fell, it was you Ruby. But you didn't, you are still here. You did it because you felt like you could make a difference."
"Jaune…" Ruby picks up her head and smiles
"Ruby, you didn't drag us along just know that. You gave us the courage to follow you." Jaune gives her shoulders a quick shake and smiles back at her
"Thank you." Ruby softly smiles
(...not… bad…) Link himself even nods his head at Jaune's motivational speech
"What do we do now?" Ruby looks around. "Should we keep moving?" She turns to Jaune and Link for feedback, and receives a nod from the latter
"No, we shouldn't go. That sound may have been far from us but it's close to Ren and Nora. We should stay here to be closer to them in case anything happens."
"Wouldn't it make more sense to go back then?" Ruby asks. "We would be closer to them by going back where we split up."
"You saw the area, there's nowhere to sleep or anywhere to set up camp. At least this is a village with buildings, we can take shelter in one of them until tomorrow or even later at night if we don't hear whatever that noise is anymore. What do you say?"
(...n-no…)
"I trust your judgement better than mine, especially at this moment." Ruby nods along. "Let's do it, so we just pick a building and that'll be it?"
"No. We should also make a fire, whether it is inside or outside a building. I'm sure Qrow needs as much warmth as he can get. Not that it'll improve him dramatically but, anything helps." Jaune weakly smiles, although it proves to fade quickly when he turns to face Link. "I assume you won't be helping us find the building, gather the wood, build the fire or do anything? Just like the previous night."
(...there… goes… the… little… respect…) Link gets up, not have another stare down with Jaune, but instead he turns his back walks further into the destroyed village for a couple of seconds before taking off with a half hearted sprint and it becomes evident to Ruby and Jaune that he is traveling farther than just another part of the village
"Where are you going?!" Ruby calls out but even she, who has been the only one to get responses from Link, does not get one this time, "Jaune…" She mumbles, resisting the urge to hit him again. "Find a building and take my uncle there please."
"What will you do?" Jaune asks
"You know where I'm going." Ruby frowns
"I see…" Jaune grumbles to himself before reluctantly showing a smile. "I'll do you one better, I shall do what you asked of me and start the fire. Good luck Ruby."
"Thanks Jaune." She sincerely nods and takes off after Link
Later On: Anima Forest, Behind Kuroyuri
Indeed as he showed earlier, the silent boy continues to run until he is entirely out of Kuroyuri, heading into the woods behind the village. He does not stop running, only slowing himself down from light sprint to a brisk jogging pace, before eventually coming to a full stop when he sees a river flowing downwards. The original source trails farther up and likely into a mountain where the larger body of water resides, but many trees block the view. The moon shines bright and emits a beautiful reflection into the water. Link walks up to the water and stands perfectly still, admiring how much the brightness of the makes livens up the water; then he glances up and into the moon after a minute
"Liiink!" Ruby's voice cries out nearby
(...Figures…) Link wants to smile as Ruby's voice grows louder and gets closer but he remains cold and keeps his gaze on the moon, his mouth does not move at all and his eyes do not light up with joy
"There you are!" Ruby runs at full speed and crashes into him from behind
(...w-what the-!) Link quickly plants his feet into the wet dirt as far as he can bury them and withstands Ruby's plunge onto his back well enough so that he and the sweet huntress do not fall into the water that was once vibrant blue and clear but is now darker and murkier
"Oops! I'm so sorry I didn't realize you were that close to water." Ruby quickly gets off Link
The girl with red and black hair pulls him back lightly as they both retreat from the flowing water, seeing as the ground is too wet and loose near the water. The two friends then take many steps backward, until they feel dry and sturdy land underneath their feet
"..." Link nods, accepting her apology as he stops looking up at the moon, his eyes drop to the ground next
"Sorry about Jaune by the way. None of what he's saying to you is okay, he's just really hurt about losing everything and everyone we all lost, most importantly Pyrrha. Lately he tends to lash out whenever he gets emotional, he did it to Uncle Qrow, you and before you came back into our lives he was blaming Professor Ozpin, General Ironwood, Glynda... Basically all of our professors. He's not the same Jaune who would just give up until he feels better or if someone swoops in to cheer him up. He's come a long way in such a short time." Ruby nervously chuckles but her next words come awkwardly, "Now he gets angry and he has plenty of it to take out, on Cinder especially. I don't know about everything that's going to happen the next time we see her, but…"She balls up her hands. "Cinder will pay for what she did to Vale, Beacon, Penny, Pyrrha, Yang, all of us. Isn't that right?"
(...sure…) Link doesn't respond with a nod or a disapproving head shake, instead he lets out a grunt followed by the shrugging of his shoulders
"Hey…" Ruby reaches for his hand but stops, choosing instead to reach for his forearm to be more appropriate with her friend
"..." Link takes a step to the aside and disrespectfully lets Ruby's hand remain in the air
"Is something wrong? You can tell me however you wish to communicate with me." Ruby worryingly cries out at the end of her sentence. "Was it because I took Jaune to help me look around the village?"
(...not… quite… but… it's… a start!) Link opens his mouth, all the tension and anger rapidly rises inside him as wants to say everything he's been saying in his head to Ruby, who he's been protective over since he saved the day against Tyrian. And deep down, protective over Ruby the day he found team RNJR in the forests of Anima weeks ago
"I know you can't… speak." Ruby shakes nervously. "But I'm here for you. And it's important to me that you know that."
Ruby hesitantly walks closer to Link, hoping to make some sort of breakthrough or at the very worst return to how they were the day prior, with the multiple hugs they exchanged and comforting presence felt with one another. Unfortunately, Link again rebuffs Ruby's desire to be closer by extending his right arm and fully extending his hand as well, keep a fair distance in between but too much distance for a close friend
"W-why are you doing this now? Just yesterday it seemed like you were happy to at least see me. Now you're treating me like a stranger you feel obligated to protect! As if I was some princess with a paid bodyguard!" Ruby pushes Link's arm down and gets directly in front of him, face to face. "Well let me tell you, I don't need you to protect or shield me from any type of physical and verbal harm."
(...I… see…) Link sighs internally and prepares for a more cruel verbal barrage. (...maybe… I… was… wrong… about… her… caring-!)
"I need you to be my friend!" Ruby shouts with tears forming in her eyes, which makes Link completely forget about misjudging Ruby. "The friend I once fell for romantically and the person who I once called and still call my best friend to this day. I need the guy who didn't have an ego about his combat abilities or was self righteous towards everyone. I noticed, that everybody changed during the only year we attended Beacon in their own way. But you came into my life as a sweet, caring, humble, and troubled guy… and you remained that way until Beacon got destroyed. Looking at you now? I… I… I'm starting to see a completely different person."
Suddenly, Ruby collapses down to her knees and sobs heavily, she reaches out to touch Link's lower leg, but his earlier refusal makes the huntress retract her hand hastily, thus refusing seeking comfort from her 'best friend'; the sad girl opts to bury her face in her hands instead
"My dad, uncle Qrow, Jaune, Nora, Ren. They told me in many ways that you were either gone and you'd never be back or that if you did come back you would be a completely different person, but I NEVER gave up hope. I knew I was going to see you again one day. Now that you're here m-!"
Ruby pauses her pleas when Link drops down on both of his knees and lifts her head up by grabbing her chin. When her head is fully raised, Link removes the shielding hands away from her face slowly and with all the gentleness possible. Nevertheless, Ruby continues to cry silently, having reached her breaking point with more than just Link. Despite her friends comforting words on a consistent basis, Jaune's speech and lastly Link's actions the day prior when he protected her from Tyrian and only showed her affection. All that clouds her mind is her uncle Qrow's current condition, her new team being split up with a potentially dangerous grimm roaming around, Jaune's treatment of Link and now Link's cruel actions towards her
"Maybe they were right after all. This isn't fair, Link!" Ruby cries begin to get louder
(...stop…) Link attempts to wipe away the tears from the sad huntress like the day prior but this time the flood works continue as Ruby shakes her head and tries herself to reject the comfort and affection being shown to her
"This is not fair at all. I never gave up on you! And I never will either. It's so hard to see you like this. You're hurting badly but nobody can help you and as a result of all this hatred and sadness that's been building up inside you… y-you resent us." Ruby at last pushes Link's hands away from her and buries her face into her skirt, "I never betrayed you Link, I could have been way better to you during the end of our time at Beacon yes, but I always knew deep down you were and are still an amazing person with a heart for doing the right thing and protecting those you love. I'm laying it all on the line to you right now because I care about you and I don't want to lose you again!" She sniffles and breathes heavily as the tears slow down. "I've missed you so much. Please come back because I know you're in there, underneath this angry, sad and broken exterior. And I bet you want to yell at me to stop crying because I'm being a baby."
Ruby lifts her head and lets out a weak, sad laugh because of her joke toward the end of her pleas at her own expense. Nonetheless, despite her joke followed by the weak laughter, Link remains completely still which makes the team RNJR leader release another cry from her mouth as she reverts to covering her entire face with her hands. But what she doesn't know is that Link is not being cold on purpose, like Jaune called him nor is he feeling or radiating the heartless energy as he was previously and the day before.
(...w-what… is… this?) Link's heart and breathing pick up but not in the way he is used to it happening
All of Ruby's words make it past his tough and disdainful front, leaving him stunned at how much his absence and reappearance has hurt the poor girl who was looking forward to seeing him again one day. Link shuts his eyes to hide any visible suffering in his eyes but when re-opening them, his vision goes black and all he hears is Ruby's cries, sniffles, sobs, coughs, with each emotion amplifying loudly in his head. Ruby's pain and suffering is coming out all at once, adding up to a brutal listening session, the person experiencing it is someone even more hurt and broken than her. The boy shuts his eyes again when the sounds grow louder and louder until it suddenly stops and it is completely silent. Link opens his eyes, having regained his vision, but he does not see the dark gloomy forest behind Kuroyuri, the moon, river or even Ruby crying
(W-what's… happening?!)
What comes next is a bright orange sky now being visible, alongside a pink sun, and golden trees. His mind had attempted to recreate the world where he saw Ray, Pyrrha and Amber again alive and well. Link appears to be back in the magical world and this time rather than feeling like a spectator, he is very high in the air and falling slowly, like if time has been slowed down in this fictional world
(...t-this... place... is...)
However, there are missing elements to the world that are not accurate. In addition, there's another person with him… it's Ruby. She is falling directly across from Link with a bright smile on her face and lively eyes, she is in awe of the land around them glances at Link to speak
"Please come back…"
The silver eyed girl extends both of her hands out as she tries to make her way closer to Link by performing strokes as if she was swimming. More words come out of her mouth but the wind is too strong for Link to make out what she is saying, the girl struggles to open her mouth as well. Her attempts to reach out is the only thing that is clear… Link on the other hand has no more thoughts or words to say in his head. But rather than words, he takes action and begins to mimic Ruby's attempts to get closer, resulting in the boy beginning to reach out too. The collective effort by the huntsman and huntress meets an immediate setback as the strength of the wind keeps the friends apart easily at first but it is not enough to stop them from getting closer and closer. Inch by inch, centimeter by centimeter, they get closer to touching fingertips. Link fully extends himself and starts to feel pain from how much he's trying to reach and grab his friend, even letting out grunts of pain. Ultimately, it's Ruby who saves the day by completing their collective goal, as she gives it all she has. With one last full out stretch, the youngest team captain in Beacon's history grabs the hand of the only one person team in Beacon's history, and someone she never gave up on. However, more important than that, she grabs the hand her dear special friend and squeezes it tightly with no intention to let go
(Ahhh!) Link's jolts awake, feeling like a lightning bolt has just coursed throughout his body, the warrior feels different than how he has felt for the last few months. His eyes go wide as he is back in the dark gloomy forest behind Kuroyuri, the moon and river are both visible again with the moon lighting up the entire water stream and of course, a crying Ruby is right in front of him. He closes his eyes and rests a hand on Ruby's knee and sympathizes with his best friend. Hearing all of her words loudly in his head, recognizing the words she mouthed in the vision along with Ruby grabbing and holding his hand all hit him deeply, directly down to his heart and core. All of a sudden something dawns on Link, he cannot speak a single word or even utter a sound when he tries to talk out loud. And when he speaks internally, he struggles then too... but moments ago, he just let out a perfect internal scream when his vision ended and he snapped out of his state of shock
"...R-ru-!" Link covers his mouth in shock when he feels his vocal cords work with more than just sighs and grunts
The astonished huntsman begins to breathe heavily again, his heart rate changes with increasing rhythm that gets faster with every passing second. Only this time, it is feelings of relief and not debilitating anxiety. Although, he chooses to not say a complete word just yet, knowing there is something he has been wanting to do since the day he went mute, whilst also keeping a promise he just recently made. Link grabs one of Ruby's hands with his right hand whilst his left softly grazes her chin and gently lifts her head up until both teenagers are eye level with each other. Sadly, these near identical actions from earlier do not have an immediate effect on Ruby this time around either as she wipes away tears with her free hand before realizing she is face to face with the person she just poured her heart out to regarding how much she misses him, her sadness at how much he's changed into a sad and resentful person, and ultimately the person she pleads to 'come back'
"Link?" Ruby sniffs sadly and wipes away another tear but does not break eye contact
"Hi." Link speaks with a hushed voice and a soft smile on his face but it is heard clearly by Ruby
The latter gasps loudly and squeals happily as the two friends simultaneously rush to hug each other tightly and passionately. Link rests his chin on Ruby's shoulder, while Ruby buries her face in Link's shoulder. Both of them squeeze one another with all their might, never wanting to let go and making sure that they will enjoy this moment for as long as they can until they eventually must separate
(Hello everybody, just a quick note from me: Chapters 5, 6, and 7 have all been re-written and I even touched up chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4 because nothing is ever perfect and improvements can always be made, enjoy those if you wish to re-read. Otherwise, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, have a great day!)