The 'Lone' Hero of Vale (RWBY & Link)

by SRenthusiast

Team RWBY runs into a classmate while on a self-assigned mission, when they realize he does not have any teammates because he is a one person team. Link quickly proves he's not just a swordsman and is very much worthy of calling himself a huntsman despite a dark past that correlates with major events. (More of a fusionfic since its Link in Remnant.) (Story is undergoing re-writes)

46. Failure, Reunions and Spilling the Truth

The City of Mistral

Finding strong and capable Huntsmen or Huntresses, that is the goal that must be achieved today. However, Qrow decides instead of going on this self-assigned mission alone, he brings Link with him for different reasons such as: Providing backup, evaluating huntsmen and huntresses, a newly found sense of respect for the former Beacon Academy student, and lastly because of how protective Link is over the older huntsman's adoptive niece. Deep in the city, the two of them walk, with Qrow leading the way and Link staying on high alert, taking his 'bodyguard' role seriously. It begins to sprinkle lightly as they stop at a small park. It is more of a lounge area, primarily a concrete floor with substance, with one of those things being a squared shaped pond in the middle, immediately surrounding this pond are six benches to sit on: two on the west side, two on the east, one north and one south. Four light posts are on every corner and each post has an additional cord holding additional light bulbs for maximum lighting in the area. Nonetheless, most important element to this park is the nine holographic screens in this part. They are divided, with three screens on the east, west, and north sides, each one displays the words "MISTRAL BOUNTY MISSIONS" along with a massive list of huntsmen and huntresses on missions

"What are we doing here?" Link mumbles but receives no answer as he is about to step on the concrete

"Stay here." Qrow stops and places an open hand on Link's chest, signaling him to hang back. "I already have some contacts in mind, old friends of mine. I'm going to make sure they're still on the list and then we'll go about finding them. This won't take me too long, hang tight."

Link turns his back to Qrow and watches the area around with precision despite it being a relatively safe area. Only a minute passes before Qrow returns and they make their way to the lower parts of Mistral, a part of the city the older huntsman warned Link and team RJNR not travel to unless they are looking for trouble. The environment around them turns even more gray, a combination of the weather and the low quality of the area as the pristine houses Link and Qrow once saw all around them when they first left their house are now much smaller homes with boarded windows, roofs falling apart, and more

"Is this where we're finding all of your people?" Link looks to his left and raises an eyebrow when Qrow does not look at him in return. "Do you know where they live? I thought they were old friends?"

"They are old friends but they're always on the move. Some are old buddies of mine, others I have no connections with but I know they're good at what they do." Qrow shrugs. "We're not all buddy buddy like mercenaries."

"Mercenaries aren't like that either." Link rolls his eyes. "Not that I would know. I wasn't one for long and I haven't been one for two years."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that. My bad kid, I was just messing with you." Qrow rolls his eyes. "You can relax a little too, I doubt we'll actually get attacked while we're out here."

"We can never be too safe. You were too far behind and I was too far up ahead when Ruby and the rest of them got attacked by Tyrian. Had one of us gotten there sooner, perhaps we could've taken that guy out rather than let him run back to Salem."

"Knowing Salem, if she is the way Oz describes her… Tyrian wishes we'd kill him than return empty handed." Qrow smirks. "Why are you beating yourself up about that? We both showed up and you beat him so badly, he'll second guess coming after Ruby ever again."

"I don't know." Link frowns. "Maybe because Ruby shouldn't have been in any danger at all. Real danger, that is. Fighting Grimm is one thing versus but a psychopath faunus with wrist blades and poison is a completely different story."

"Very true. Speaking of Grimm, Ruby told me about your guys' battle with that giant Grimm, how you wiped out its legs and helped set up the kill." Qrow nods. "What have you been doing all this time? Everyone has gotten stronger, sure. Then there's you, kid. You were on the same playing field as Ruby, Nora, Ren, and Jaune at one point… Now you're in another league, how?"

Link opens his mouth and lets out a sigh so audible that it almost makes Qrow stop walking all together

"You can call it ironic or a cliche but… After I left Taiyang's house, I got the fastest available boat ride out of Patch. I went right back to Vale. Not for Vale specifically but to set off on my own journey. While Ruby, Jaune, Nora, and Ren were resting, adjusting, grieving, recuperating and resetting their minds for what was going to come next, I never stopped moving. I went out of my way to find and hunt Grimm and take down criminals. Any village I saw while traveling through Sanus, I inquired only about Grimm but they'd point me in the direction of both. Next thing I know, I'm using all of this hatred and anger inside me to let loose; I suppose along the way I happened to get stronger without noticing it."

"So you were a pissed off kid taking your anger out on monsters and people that deserved it?" Qrow nods approvingly. "I can only assume constantly being on the move and slaying monsters while kicking bad guy butt is what aided you heavily in getting stronger physically. Same with your abilities as a fighter. And yet, you didn't notice until…?"

"I guess never, really." Link pretends to act shocked. "I've always had faith in myself but I never gauged or judged myself for how much I progressed. It was not until I reunited with all of you. You guys regarding me as strong is what really let me know that I'm better now than when I was at Beacon."

"Understood, so where were you going after you left Tai's house?" Qrow asks. "The way you spoke, it doesn't sound like you headed straight to Anima."

"This place isn't in one specific kingdom, it's in the middle of Vale and Vacuo but yes, I did go somewhere specific. I had to visit Garanda, I went to see Ray but ended up mourning everyone. It was my first time going back there since that day where two Atlas ships came in, killed everyone and left."

"They wanted you, didn't they?" Qrow turns his head to face Link, whose expression drops completely. "How-! No. Why did they leave without you? I don't imagine they just wiped out an entire village to scar you."

"Without going into precise details because I nearly lost my mind when I had to explain it all the first time." Link shrugs. "Two ships with human soldiers, toasters, and the commanding officer leading them arrived and only one ship left. That ship had basically nobody in there. The commanding officer and a couple of people."

"You took out an entire ship? And this was you before you even arrived at Beacon?" Qrow looks away and narrows his eyes. "This is very personal to you, isn't it?"

"More than anything in the world." Link raises his left hand and balls it up into a fist. "I have goals in mind, to reunite with people, protect people and kill certain people. It could take months, years, or my entire life before I achieve these things but I am more determined than ever before."

"Not to lecture you about 'the path of revenge' but..." The older huntsman mumbles. "If you want revenge, I certainly won't stop you. Just make sure your desire for revenge doesn't make you forget about what you really want. So who is on your list? If there is one."

"The top two people are Cinder and that man from Atlas." Link tightens his fist. "Combined, they took away Ray, my first best friend. Amber, the girl who saved my life, and Pyrrha, another really special girl who occupies a big place in my heart. It certainly helps that Cinder is going to come to us looking for a fight."

"You better not underestimate her or any of Salem's goons. Especially now that she has the full power of a maiden." Qrow warns him sternly. "The last thing we need is another death because you're so fixated on revenge."

"Don't worry about me." Link's eyes well up. "I've underestimated Cinder before and that will not happen again! I was so determined to save Pyrrha and stop Cinder but I was swept aside by her like a piece of trash. And I felt completely useless. When I see her again, she's going to pay for Amber and Pyrrha's deaths."

"I hope you can back up those words, kid." Qrow scoffs. "Because if you can, this mission is pointless. No human is powerful enough to defeat a maiden by themselves but if you can be the first to do it, I'm glad you're on our side. Is anyone else on your list?"

"Adam Taurus." Link balls up his other hand into a fist now. "He's been an enemy to me since the day his group, the White Fang forced my mercenary group to join them. That would have been all I had to say about him but… He's the reason my group's reputation, the Black Hawks, was destroyed."

"I have heard of that group and not for any good reasons either." Qrow sighs. "Based on what I learned from Jimmy and other sources, you guys were unique mercenaries who took lower paying jobs if it meant getting back at the rich, a vigilante group of sorts. Until they joined the White Fang, went radio silent, left the White Fang and then became murderers who killed anybody in sight."

(That sounds like something Adam would do to get back at us for betraying him, the White Fang, and who I thought was Cinder's group, but is actually Salem's.)

"Regardless of age, gender, financial or name status, your guys took out anyone and everyone in your path. And that's how the Black Hawks got themselves on everyone's radar, I'm talking bounty's put on every member's head and worst of all… Atlas military hunting you down." Qrow snaps his fingers. "Let me guess, that's why Atlas destroyed that village? You were taking refuge there for a short amount of time. Somehow you were found out, it got back to them and-!"

"Yes! I get it, okay." Link crosses his arms and squeezes his elbows. "In case you need any convincing, we weren't actually killers. Cinder tasked me to kill Amber, you were there for that. I refused, therefore betrayed Salem and the White Fang. To save time, yes Adam, whether aided or by himself, used our identity to kill innocent people and ensure we were hunted down by the entire world."

"Damn kid…" Qrow shrugs. "The fact that you're alive says a lot about you as a person and I don't just mean your strength. If anyone else was put in your shoes, they would have given up."

"Thanks, I suppose you're right." Link exhales and uncrosses his arms. "I have two additional reasons to kill Adam as well. One is for how much he's terrorized Blake and I'm sure he's still trying to do that right now as we speak… And for cutting Yang's arm off. I was ready to fight him right then and there but it was Blake herself who begged me not to pursue him after she got Yang out of there."

"Maybe she saved your life." Qrow shuts his eyes as they keep walking. "Or maybe she saved his life that day. If you had killed him for cutting off my niece's arm, you would have gotten unlimited drinks on me."

"I will hold you to that." Link says, a weak smile forms on his face. "There's more names but they're not nearly as important as those three. Professor Ozpin is right, I am too emotional but my emotions have driven me to where I am now."

"It's not a bad thing to rely on. Whether it's emotions or brainpower, either one can take you very far. Oz meant-!"

"Yes." Link nods his head. "I know what Ozpin meant and I know actions speak louder than words but all I can do right now is give you my word. When I fight, you won't have to worry about me, I will protect all of you and take out Salem's crew without fail."

"I'm glad you believe in yourself, that's how you get an overwhelming vote of confidence from everyone around you." Qrow looks ahead, spotting the first location

"Thank you." Link finds himself wanting to smile but ultimately, decides not to

Sprinkling increases to pouring as Link and Qrow approach a beat up building in the lower parts of Mistral. Qrow opens a sliding door, identical to the door at their house that opens the back patio. Expecting it to be a bar, Link is greeted with the smell of a restaurant. A noodle restaurant to be exact and to the young man's relief, there is a different person running the restaurant, not the same old man shopkeep from Vale. This different man is seen standing behind his counter, sharpening a big knife on a hardened wood block whilst Qrow walks up to the counter with Link behind him

(This guy is grumpy and that knife is definitely not for cooking.) Link frowns and remains close to Qrow

"Regular? Or the Special?" The man grumbles

"We're not here to eat." Qrow smiles. "I'm actually looking for someone. He goes by the name Shiro Wan. I heard he's a regular around here."

(He did? We didn't talk to anyone on our way here. Maybe this Wan Shiro guy is one of the 'old friends' he was talking about.)

"Shiro, huh?" The man continues sharpening his knife. "Who's asking?"

"Hey, I'm not some cop if that's what you mean." The huntsman shakes his head. "I need Shiro for a gig. We go way back."

"Way back, huh?" The man looks up and eyes Qrow. "So, he's a friend of yours."

"Hmmm…" Qrow rubs his chin. "Yeah, I'd say so. He's a pretty alright guy."

"Well, in that case…" The man frowns and tightly grips the handle of his knife, intending to swing or point it at Qrow

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Link mumbles

The blonde huntsman is faster with the drawing of his weapon, despite neither Qrow or the man behind the counter noticing when the boy grabs the handle of his sword, let alone extract the entire blade

"W-what?!" The man stutters but remains fearless, and points his knife at Qrow

"Don't threaten someone you have no chance of defeating in a fight." Link frowns and raises his sword at the man

"You come to my restaurant, threaten me! And ask for a favor?!

"Kid…" Qrow shakes his head and lowers his voice to whisper. "This guy is harmless and if he knows anything about Shiro, he won't tell us if you threaten him."

(Fine.) Link nods and lowers his sword

"Showing me respect now? Good." The man nods, then turns to Qrow once more. "Tell your friend that he better not show his ugly face in here until he pays me the Lien he owes me!"

"D-Did I say friend?" Qrow chuckles. "I, uhhh… I meant acquaintance.

"Sure he is." The owner of the restaurant angrily slams his knife into the counter

"Really, we're just colleagues!" Qrow throws his hands up 'admitting defeat' but more of a way to keep the peace. "Anyways, thanks for your time, I'll just be taking off now."

(Grrr…) Link stares at the owner angrily but listens to Qrow's words and does not act any further

Qrow makes his way to the exit of the restaurant, having to drag Link out with him, who was still in the middle of his stare down with the owner of the restaurant. The older huntsman pulls Link out and quickly closes the sliding door behind them

"Well that rules out Shiro." Link shakes his head

"Yeah. Thanks for stating the obvious." Qrow pulls out his flask and takes a quick sip as he leans against the sliding door, next he pulls out his scroll, clicks on the list he made the night before, and promptly crosses out the name 'Shiro Wan'

"Heh, look at this. Class act this owner is." Link sheaths his sword and points to a sign that says 'NO FAUNUS' along with an animal that is crossed out, "Good riddance, crappy sign!" He rips it off the walls, crumples it up and stuffs it in his brown pouch for a later disposal

"You do know he's just going to make another ri-!"

THWACK!

All conversations are cut short and go out the window when the owner's knife stabs through the door, and barely misses Qrow's head by inches

"So much for 'you can relax, I doubt we'll actually get attacked'. Are you sure you didn't want me to rough him up?" Link growls. "You did ask me to back you up, after all."

"Considering he almost put a knife in my skull, maybe I should let you go in there and teach him a lesson." Qrow chuckles. "But no, I want you to have my back against actual threats, not a small fry trying to get by with a struggling business."

"Fair enough." Link sighs. "Where to now?"

"Nowhere far." Qrow nods his head. "They're all in this area, we just have to go lower."

The huntsmen walk in silence as they find themselves slowly but gradually heading downwards, deep into the lower parts of Mistral. Their walk ends fast when Qrow extends his hand for Link to stay back while he approaches two angry looking men who look like huntsmen or bandits by the look of their clothes. They both wear dark clothing, have wavy hair and the only real difference is one of them has tanned skin while the other has pale skin

"Hey." Qrow pulls out his scroll and waves it in front of the two men. "Blanka Griffin? Boyd Raine? Those names mean anything to you guys? Have you seen them around or heard about them?"

The two men instantly shake their head but without even looking at the scroll being presented to them

"Are you two lying?" Link calls out. "It's important that we find these people."

"We're not!" The pale skin man shouts. "And even if we are lying, what are you-!"

"Shhh." Qrow shakes his head. "I wouldn't agitate that kid. He's got a lot of issues and anger to take out."

"Why should we care?" The man with tan skin conveniently mumbles

"He lost three special people to him, all in brutal fashion." Qrow shrugs. "I'm just warning you for your own sake, do you know about the two people I asked for? If not, we'll move along."

"Hm?" The pale skinned man leans to his left to get a better look at Link, the narrowed eyes, furiously creased eyebrows, and overall cold expression confirm what he is warned about. "D-damn, where do you find a kid like that?"

"Beacon Academy. Just answer and we'll leave you alone in no time." Qrow says as his patience wears thin

"Look..." The tanned skin man shakes his head. "We haven't heard about them since they left for their last mission, we really can't help much."

"Thanks anyway."

Qrow walks off, with Link trailing behind him. The latter wants to ask why they started to whisper but when he sees the former groan and cross out two more names on his scroll, the questions cease. Minutes later, they approach a blacksmith, a blonde woman with an eyepatch over her right eye. The older woman sells sai's, katana's, throwing knives, and swords from a small cart

(A small-time blacksmith? She should be sincere, the blacksmith's I've come across usually always are.)

"Excuse me?" Qrow walks up to her and does not tell Link to stay back this time, "I'm looking for people to recruit for a gig, have you seen these names?" He shows her scrolls with the names Amethyst Kreiss, Ivy Altham, and Aoi Rivas highlighted

"No. I've never heard of the first two and Aoi Rivas used to be a regular of mine but I haven't seen them in a while either." The woman shakes her head

"Sorry for wasting your time then." Qrow sighs

"If you're worried we wasted her time, then we should make it worth her time." Link says as he is ahead of Qrow and the blacksmith, he picks up three blades that are lengthy but light. "Can I use these as throwing knives? They look similar to the ones I own and are very light."

"That's what they're meant for, kid!" The blacksmith laughs. "I'm glad somebody knows about throwing knives around here."

"I will take three then." Link nods and retrieves two green lien cards from his pouch, "Hmmm. You're giving me scabbards to go with the blades, so why not?" He grabs a third lien card

"K-kid, that's too much!"

"Please, if one of your regulars isn't around anymore, it's the least I can do." The young man weakly smiles

"Okay, if you insist." She sighs and accepts the payment. "You two look strong, what kind of 'gig' are you guys needing huntsmen for?"

"Let's just say it's a really important mission." Qrow turns back to look at the blacksmith. "Plenty of lives are at stake."

"Are you guys taking or protecting these lives?"

"Protecting." Link firmly nods. (That might be a half truth but we'll see when the day comes.)

"Good." The blacksmith nods at Link respectfully. "Good luck out there!"

"Thank you." Link nods, waves and catches up with Qrow

"You haven't lost your humanity at least." Qrow smirks. "That was a good thing you did for her."

"It really is the least I could do. I would have bought more but I don't need all of that weaponry." Link speeds himself up until he is walking side by side with Ruby's uncle. "I have a question."

"I may have an answer." Qrow sarcastically retorts. "What's up, kid?"

"At the restaurant and with those two guys, who wanted me to keep my distance. But with that blacksmith, you didn't do anything. I guess my question is… Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Qrow chuckles but keeps his face in his scroll as they continue to walk. "You're more respectful and kind towards women. Even if she threatened us, the most you'd do is raise your voice."

"That's true, yes." Link nods. "It's nothing against men of course, but-!"

"Don't worry about it." Qrow cuts him off. "You've been protective over girls all your life and considering some of them have died in front of you, it's only going to make your desire to protect them even stronger."

(I wish he wouldn't say it so bluntly but sure, his words are technically not wrong…)

Next is another shady destination but this one is worse than the previous three. The previous three locations had the occasional broken homes and children running around in dirty clothes but this place is more like the slums. There are no children in sight and plenty of men. Some are trading weapons for lien while others are sparring. Qrow and Link approach a bruised up man who apart from his appearance, looks content and rests on the floor

"Stay close and on guard." Qrow mumbles

"You got it." Link nods and does as he is told

"Pal!" He calls out

"The name is Riko, but yes?" The shirtless man with wrapped hands looks up at the two of them

"I need help finding someone or in my case, multiple people. Check it."

Qrow shows him the scroll with crossed out names and non-crossed out names, the list of names goes as follows: Farrow Vaccaro, Harkin Lunsford, Shani Fiorenza, Roux Forhan, Slate De Sena, Lali Choi

"Sorry man, it's been a while since I heard those names." The man with a black eye shakes his head

"No… AHHHH!" Qrow falls to his knees and airs out his frustration, "Okay, last resort time." He drops his head and mumbles. "Know any mercenaries from the 'Black Hawks' group?"

(What?!) Link frowns and shakes his head

"The Black Hawks? Are you crazy?" Riko lowers his voice. "That group was wiped out, according to all the rumors I heard, anyway. They went from being mercenaries who fought for the poor to stone cold killers and apparently every member got wiped out by different people. Some by Atlas, the White Fang, list goes on."

"Did someone say the Black Hawks?"

Two men who are sparring each other in hand to hand combat pause their match, the conversation not involving them now interests the two fighters. They are both shirtless with wrapped hands and they have two significant differences, one has black pants and black hair, while the other wears brown pants and has a blonde ponytail

"Yeah, I did." Qrow mumbles. "I'm getting desperate here and if none of the names I wrote down are available, my options are accepting being short handed or reaching for the bottom of the barrel."

"Every Black Hawks member is probably at the bottom of a barrel right now, isn't that right, Taj?" The man with black pants snorts

"Haha! Good one, Xun." Taj snickers

Both of the bruised men look to one another and now begin laughing like cruelly

"You guys are idiots." Qrow shakes his head

"What did you just say?!" Xun balls up his fists. "Wanna go, old man?"

"He doesn't… But I do!"

ZOOM!

Putting his speed training in effect, Link's words are heard by Riko, Taj, and Xun and they all look at where the voice came from, directly behind Qrow. However, the silent young man is gone and is next seen behind the two loudmouthed men who were previously laughing

"Now then!" Link randomly picks between the two, ultimately settling on Taj, grabs him by the shoulders and in one rapid motion, throws the man behind them and directly into the wall of a building

"AUGH!" Taj lets out massive sound as he is thrown with enough force to partially crack the stone wall he is launched into

"Taj!" Xun growls. "You're gonna get it now brat!"

The blonde ponytailed man rapid turns and throws a powerful looping hook. However, before his punch even comes close to making its way to his intended target, Link is already gripping him by the throat his both hands

"Why do you proudly badmouth the Black Hawks so much?" Link lifts the young man in the air to restrain him even further

"I-I-I g-give u-up!" Xun taps on the young man's wrists relentlessly

"This isn't a spar, answer me." Link drops the man to the ground and whips his head around to catch Taj sneaking up on him. "Don't even think about it."

"Whoa!" Taj jumps in shock, backpedals and falls over in the process. "You're no brat, are you?"

"If you're directly asking about my age, I am seventeen." Link glances at the two of them back and forth

"Hell no, you're something else." Xun drops to the ground as well, heavily coughing and holding his neck in pain

"Listen to me carefully." Link shakes his head. "The Black Hawks were framed. Nothing about those rumors are true. They didn't switch sides and become killers. Adam Taurus and the White Fang committed heinous acts to ruin their reputation, you heard it here first."

"How would you know that?!" Xun jumps to his feet and charges at him again. "Come on Taj, don't piss yourself! Let's get this guy!"

"R-right!" Taj gulps loudly, stands up and sprints at Link as well

"What are they doing?" Riko face palms in disappointment

"Man… They are really dumb." Qrow shrugs

Link widens his stance, reaches for the handle of his sword, twists his body, and as soon as both Xun and Taj get close enough, the huntsman unsheathes his blade and lets loose. What comes next are two perfectly executed spinning slashes that catch the arrogant men in the midsection with each spin, which promptly sends them crashing to the ground. Both of their auras break specifically in the midsection as Xun stays down, lying on his back and holding his gut. Taj bravely sits up, grunting and painfully bearing the pain. They soon realize the attack cut them open, but not fatally

"I would know because I was their leader before we were forced to disband." Link nods

"YOU?!"

The two men look at each other and then they turn to their ally Riko, who also appears to be shocked, the trio look at Link cautiously due to the reputation of the former active group known as the 'Black Hawks'

"That's right, me! And I will not stand by and let you talk badly about my former comrades. A failed mission resulted in death sentences for every member of the Black Hawks due to blackmail and sabotage." Link frowns as he looks back and forth at both of the men he easily defeated. "You can choose to believe me or not but while I am here… Do not disrespect a group of good people who only wanted to do good things for this world. Is that clear?"

"O-okay." Xun sits up slowly and feels his midsection, he is horrified to see blood. "Our aura didn't stop your attack from damaging us?"

"It broke." Taj mumbles. "That's some power you got there. I've never had my aura broken by one single attack."

"Answer his question." Qrow frowns. "He's already going easy on you."

"F-fine!"

"Sure man."

Satisfied, Link puts away his sword and walks away from the shell-shocked men who look at each other in disbelief, their friend Riko shakes his head at his not so smart companions. Annoyed at the lack of recruiting they've done, Qrow groans and walks away, slowly waving at Link to follow him

"This next stop is our last stop before all hope is completely lost on finding huntsmen." Qrow shakes his head. "You sure roughed those guys up a little bit."

"Should I have held back more?" Link turns to him with a confused expression

"Nope, everybody needs to be humbled every now and then. Hopefully they learned and don't run their mouths next time." Qrow smirks

"I couldn't have said it any better myself." Link almost cracks a smile whilst nodding in agreement

Finally, Link and Qrow walk up to a small house matching the same description as previously seen houses, shattered windows that are now boarded up but the roof at least is not on the verge of falling apart. The former glances at the latter to confirm if this is the right place and Qrow nods confidently

"Good to see that one of the people on your list has a place of residence." Link nods

"Yeah." Qrow looks at his scroll yet again, he glides past all of the names he crossed out before landing on the final one, "Heather Shields, huh?" The huntsman steps forward and gently knocks on the door

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Silence…

"Grrr." Link marches up to the house and slams his fist on the door twice

SLAM! SLAM!

Silence…

Qrow frowns and closes his hand into a fist to pound on the door himself. Until suddenly the door opens slowly, a man emerges in a light purple and gray robe with a dark purple sash across his left shoulder. The man does not look worried or angry, he simply appears drained and finished

"Hey there." Qrow begins. "I'm looking for Heather? Heather Shields? Is she here?"

The man just stares back at Qrow blankly, even Link's menacing presence behind does not move him in the slightest

"Look, pal, I've had a rough day." Qrow narrows his eyes. "Do you know where she is or not?"

"Speak." Link stares directly into the man's cold eyes. "If you want to ask questions, don't. We are not in the mood-!"

"Daddy!" The voice of a small girl is heard when she walks up to her father in an identical outfit and looks up at Qrow momentarily, then transitions to staring at Link. "Do they know where mommy is?"

"Shit." Qrow sighs, regretting showing up to the house in the first place. "I'm uh... Sorry to bother you. We'll get going, won't we?"

"..." Link stares at the girl and shuts his eyes, also feeling sorrow and regret. "Yeah, we'll go now."

The man and his daughter sadly walk back into their house. Qrow immediately walks into the rain and sighs. He grabs his flask again, considers taking another drink from it, but does not get a choice when Link swipes it from his hands and takes a drink himself, his face puckers and cringes as soon as the alcohol touches his lips

"That's what it took to get you back on it?" Qrow chuckles

"Not a word about this to Ruby, okay?" Link shakes his head and extends his arm to return the flask

"Sure." Qrow takes back his flask. "Speaking of her, you should go home. Consider this the end of our search for huntsmen."

"What are you going to do?" Link asks whilst the uncle of his best friend walks off

"I need to go take care of some personal business, nothing that requires backup." Qrow nods and continues walking. "Go back to the house and see if Oz is still teaching them or go to sleep, you still look like death."

"Thanks."

Link sarcastically replies and steps out into the rain himself, he closes his eyes again, sharply inhales, and then loudly exhales. He stands in the rain for an additional minute until deciding to go back home like Qrow told him to, considering his bodyguard services are no longer needed and there is nothing else for him to do in Mistral, Link makes the long journey back, deciding to walk slowly and briskly

---

Continent of Anima: Branwen Tribe Camp

Yang Xiao Long smirks confidently as she rides her motorcycle bumblebee and is being led to the camp of her mother, Raven Branwen. She is escorted by a few battered and bruised bandits who attempted to ambush her earlier in the day. Yang remains cautious as she notices more bandits coming out of tents or getting out of resting positions to stand and glare angrily at her. A young woman with short brown hair and light blue eyes steps out of her tent to see what the commotion is about, conveniently bringing the rapier of Weiss Schnee 'Myrtenaster' with her just in case. Speaking of Weiss, two foolish bandits with the simple task of watching her are zoned out while playing cards with each other. They jump in shock at everyone abandoning their posts and soon join the rest of their tribe. The dirty and sad Weiss notices this and takes her opportunity to summon a small Arma Gigas, who immediately cuts the rope tying her hands together. Yang and the bruised bandits approach the camp's main tent… Where Raven emerges from it with her mask on

"Hello, mom." Yang immediately crosses her arms, uninterested in small talk

"Yang." Raven smiles. "So, after all this time you finally decided to visit me."

"Mom… You know that I spent years searching for you." Yang feels her left hand shake but uses her robotic hand to grab her wrist and calm it down

"Now you've found me." Raven politely smiles. "Well done, Yang. But did you have to be so rough with my men?"

"Heh." Yang smirks. "I didn't want a fight. They started it."

"Well, you certainly finished it." Raven's smile vanishes in seconds. "As amusing as it is to know that my daughter can defend herself well against men and women I have spent years training, today is an exception. That's two children now who have given me problems."

"Two?" Yang raises an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"It was weeks ago dear." Raven balls up her hands. "A boy in a mask with a green hood and a sword and shield interfered with our raiding mission in Shion. He even killed some of my men. I was going to make him pay with his life in return but then Grimm invaded the village."

"That's not very descriptive." Yang frowns. "No eye or hair color, same with clothes... I'm sure they saw his boots or pants."

"Nevertheless. We are searching for him and if there's any sighting of him around our tribe, I will go after him myself. But you're not here for that. So please, let's talk Yang."

"We're on the same page at least." Yang nods

"I'm sure this is all very overwhelming. But, I'll be happy to answer any questions you have." Raven smiles again. "You can stay with us tonight. I'll even have the cooks whip up something for you."

"That's not why I am here." Yang scoffs. "I'm not here for you."

"What was that?" Raven furrows her brows while the rest of the tribe gasps in shock at Yang's tone

"I'm here because of Ruby. I know I took the 'wrong' route but my sister is either traveling through Anima or she is in Mistral as we speak." Yang nods. "She's with Qrow, and she's going to need my help. I just need you to take me to her."

"And why would I do that?" Raven rolls her eyes

"Because." Yang sarcastically places her hands on her heart. "We're family."

"Of course." The older woman sighs, "Family who only comes around when they need something." She speaks boldly, despite her own hypocrisy. "I have to say, I'm disappointed. After all, you found me, didn't you? Why did you take the wrong route? Why not make the drive and find your sister that way… If she means that much to you?"

"Because you're going to save me time." Yang says with her arms still crossed, in a firm stance. "And dad told me how your semblance works."

"Tai… Of course he did." Raven frowns

"You can bond to certain people. And with that bond, you could create a portal that takes you straight to them. You've got one for Dad, me, and Qrow." Yang smiles. "It's simple really. Make a portal to my uncle and I'll be on my way."

"You know, it takes real strength to march in here and demand favors from me. I'm… Impressed." Raven nods respectfully. "It's very noble to want to help out your sister. But if Ruby is with Qrow, she's already a lost cause."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Yang's smile dies down fast

"I'm warning you. Professor Ozpin is not the man you think he is. And Qrow is a fool for trusting him. I would know, I trusted him once, too."

"I don't care what you think, Mom." Yang shakes her head

"Very well then. All I'm suggesting is that instead of getting wrapped up in something too big for you-!"

"Save it." Yang uncrosses her arms and raises her robotic hand. "Nothing is going to keep me from my sister."

"Well!" Raven's eyes widened in shock. "Aren't you stubborn?"

"Psh, yeah… I got it from my mom." Yang nods

"If that's how you feel, then it sounds like we're done here. You're not getting anything from me." Raven turns her back on her daughter. "Take her away."

The entire camp of bandits that remained close to Yang all begin to move in on her at once. The blonde huntress sees this but fearlessly pays no attention to them and keeps her sights on Raven

"Did you not hear me?!" Yang's voice is loud and strong enough to draw her mother's attention. "I said send me to Qrow!"

"That's enough!" The same bandit who killed the Atlas pilot with a worn down and chipped machete, shouts. "You watch your mouth in front of our leader!"

"Oh yeah?" Yang's head snaps in the direction of the bandit, her eyes are now visibly red. "Make me."

The bandit unwisely charges at her and foolishly throws a diving machete swing from a mile away. Yang ducks, lets him miss by a long shot, then rises and slams her robotic fist into his face, the impact of the punch sends him flying into a tent… That was covering the captured Weiss, holding onto the bars and hiding her small Arma Gigas that is slowly chipping away at the cage

"Yang?" Weiss raises both eyebrows in shock

"Weiss?!" Yang angrily exclaims

The bandits closing in on Yang take a step back, everyone is surprised that the two girls know each other and some are now gasping with widened eyes, fearing what Yang could do to them for capturing her friend

"Alright… No point in being subtle anymore."

Weiss turns and kneels down to nods at her small Arma Gigas, who promptly sinks its sword into the ground and grows to its full size in seconds, destroying the cage in the process. Weiss sprints to Yang, with the Arma Gigas following closely behind, not a single bandit tries to stop her from reuniting with her teammate

"Uhhh?" Yang blinks, dumbfounded. "What is that?"

"Don't worry about it!" Weiss whispers. "What are you doing here?"

"That's my mom over there." She points to Raven. "And she has the ability to take us to Ruby."

"You're kidding me?" Weiss frowns. "So it was your mom that kidnapped me?!"

"WHAT?!" Yang angrily frowns at her mother. "You kidnapped her?! You know what? Don't even answer, if you're not going to help us then fine, we'll be on our way, let's go Weiss!"

Yang, Weiss and the Arma Gigas turn and run to exit the camp, but bandits stand in their way, suddenly finding their courage and determinant to not let the girls leave. However, before any fighting can ensue, a lightning bolt from out of nowhere strikes the ground in front of the two girls and the summoning

"Enough!" The young woman with the short hair and blue eyes shouts, taunting Weiss in the process by hoisting the rapier over her shoulder

"Thank you, Vernal. At least one of you uses their brain." Raven nods as she addresses everybody. "If you people don't keep it together, this place will be crawling with Grimm."

"What do we do about them?" Vernal points the rapier at Weiss and Yang

"That's for me to decide." Raven nods. "And I decide that we're through with ransoming her back to Atlas… Give the girl her weapon back."

"What?!" Vernal frowns at the command but does not talk back, instead she tosses the rapier to Weiss

"Thanks." Weiss sarcastically taunts

"Everybody, back to your positions." Raven glares at Yang and Weiss. "You two, in my tent… Now!"

"Why?" Yang shakes her head. "If you're not going to help us, this is just a waste of time."

"Listen, if you're really going after your sister, then you need to know the truth." The tribe leader rolls her eyes. "Hear me out and maybe I will help you."

Raven enters her tent without hearing Yang or Weiss' responses. The bandits begrudgingly return to their own businesses. Weiss exhales in relief while Yang smiles confidently

"Hey." Yang turns to her teammate. "Sorry about not giving you a proper hello. I was kind of-!"

"Shut up." Weiss drops her weapons to the ground and jumps into Yang's arms. "I've missed you so much. I was losing hope and thinking my next destination would be remaining here or returning home, both are equally as bad. You have no idea how it's been, I began seeing Ruby, Link, and you as visions."

"I've missed you, too." Yang sighs and hugs her back as the Arma Gigas disappears. "Sorry to disappoint you but Ruby and Link are not with me."

"Clearly." Weiss rolls her eyes. "Have you been in contact with them at least? How are they?"

"Ruby should be fine." Yang nods. "She's traveling with Jaune, Nora, Ren, and our uncle Qrow. You remember him right? He whooped your sister's butt at Beacon."

"That was a draw!" Weiss lightly punches her teammate's back. "Well that's good. What about Link?"

"Nobody has heard from Link since the night Beacon fell." Yang now sighs in disappointment. "It's been radio silence from him as far as I know. Maybe he's making his way to Mistral too but it's unlikely, he has no idea any of us are headed there."

"O-Oh…" Weiss stutters with sadness in her voice

"Hey, cheer up. At least you got me back in your life." Yang giggles as they both slowly let go of their hug. "Besides, Link is Link… If anyone can survive by himself in this world, it's him."

"Yeah, that's very true." Weiss blushes, having to turn away to hide her red cheeks

"You okay, Weiss? Your face is kind of…" Yang snickers. "Ohhh, I get it. Did talking about Link-!"

"No!" Weiss shakes her head. "Whatever you have to say, shove a sock in it!"

"HEY!" Vernal shouts as she holds open the tent for them. "Our leader asked for you two in her tent, what are you waiting for?"

"Let's get this over with then." Weiss sighs

The former heiress walks with Yang, her teammate but her eyes lock on Vernal the entire time she and the blonde huntress approach the tent

"Take a picture." Vernal smirks. "What? Are you mad you had to sleep in the dirt for a few hours?"

"Do you ever stop talking?" Weiss narrows her eyes

"You want to shut me up so badly?" Vernal walks up to her. "Do something about it, Schnee!"

"How about all of you be quiet and get in here?" Raven frowns at the three girls

"Yes ma'am."

Vernal quiets down promptly and steps aside as Yang and Weiss enter the tent, it quick becomes apparent to them that at least eighty percent of these items were stolen in raids with many carpets on the ground, two grandfather clocks, a random barrel, a treasure chest next to said barrel, a map of Remnant and a display of large feathers and teeth presumably from grimm on the 'wall'. Raven is seated on an expensive cushion and there are two across from her, along with a table in between. This table has a fancy tea set on it. Vernal walks overs and pours tea for the two girls and woman whilst Yang and Weiss hesitantly take their seats

"You can wait outside." Raven nods to Vernal. "Thank you."

The brash girl does not question this command and calmly walks out of the tent, shooting one last glance at Weiss before exiting

"Alright mom, speak." Yang crosses her arms. "What's the 'truth' that we need to know before you send us to Ruby?"

"You know." Raven sighs as she blows on her tea. "It's better when it's hot."

"You know." Weiss narrows her eyes. "You're really obnoxious."

"Oh yes, my apologies." Raven drinks some tea and looks Weiss in the eyes. "I forgot you were associated with my daughter at Beacon."

"Maybe you should ask first next time!" Weiss touches her forehead and feels a bump. "Rather than kick me across the face."

Silence consumes the tent but only momentarily as Raven opens her mouth and begins to explain everything she intends on spilling to the two huntresses. How the 'truth' is nothing more than something too good to be true, for every person who triumphs, another person loses and suffers because of it. How Qrow isn't as good of a man as Yang and Ruby grew up admiring, exposing that neither Qrow or Taiyang told Yang or Ruby about the real reason Raven and her brother attended Beacon: To learn how to kill Huntsmen. Seeing as apart from grimm, Huntsmen and Huntresses were the only ones capable of ruining bandit tribe raids or worse, hunting and killing bandits. Until at last, it is time to discuss the topic of Professor Ozpin himself…

"...We were so good that we caught the attention of Beacon's very own Headmaster, Professor Ozpin." Raven pours herself more tea and stands up, eyeing the map of Remnant. "I could tell he was keeping his eye on us. I thought it was because he knew about Qrow and I's real motive to enroll in his academy, but it was Team STRQ he was interested in."

"And what do you mean by that?" Yang eyes her mother

"Think about team RWBY." Raven turns to look at both Yang and Weiss. "Constant attention, extra training missions, turning a blind eye whenever we happened to break the rules. Sound familiar?"

Yang and Weiss exchange glances at each other. They both nod as Weiss gestures to Yang to ask more questions

"What's your point?" Yang catches on to Weiss' gesture and asks

"How much do you know about Professor Ozpin?"

"About as much as anyone who reads about him." Weiss nods. "He was one of the youngest headmasters to be appointed to a school, nobody had ever seen such a talented individual-!"

"Because that's how he planned it." Raven angrily shakes her head. "The man you knew as 'Professor Ozpin' designed those schools! He has followers inside every academy that are loyal to him and no one else."

"Okay then, spit it out already." Yang frowns. "If you say Professor Ozpin isn't the man we think he is, what's the big secret? What's so crazy that the rest of us don't know?"

"The Creatures of Grimm do not come from nowhere, they were and are still being created by Salem. She can't be stopped and she will not rest until Humanity crumbles at her feet."

"What?" Yang shakes her head in confusion

"You know…" Raven glares at the low table. "You two haven't even touched your tea."

This nonchalant attitude makes Yang stand up and stare into her mothers eyes

"And you are just pulling stuff out of your ass!" Yang shouts. "Why should we believe any of this?"

"Finally." Raven smiles, "Now you're catching on. You've done nothing but accepting what others tell you until now! This is good, you need to question everything, Yang." She puts down her empty cup on the table and returns to face the map of Remnant. "Otherwise you'll end up just as blind as Ruby and Qrow."

Yang audibly grits her teeth, balls up her real and robotic hands into fists, her eyes narrow, and she seethes with anger. Raven, hearing this loud as clear, decides to continue pushing her daughter's buttons

"And your fool of a father."

BOOM!

A fiery shot from Ember Celica is heard, instantly destroying the table into thousands of wooden pieces. Raven's empty tea cup is the only item that survives the blast as it rolls across the floor, it only stops when it hits the heel of her boot. The vindictive mother looks at her daughter, faintly smiling

"Don't you dare talk about my family like that! Especially dad!" Yang's eyes are red once again

While Yang speaks, Weiss looks up at her with widened eyes and flinches when Yang raises her voice to really emphasize the important of her family. Seconds later, a weapon is heard being drawn

"Hey!" Vernal re-enters the tent with a bladed gun shaped like a crescent moon, she aims at Yang's head. "You need to calm down."

The weapon in the young woman's hand is practically identical to Tyrian Callow's wrist blades, with the expectation being Vernal is manually holding her weapon

"Yang." Weiss reaches and grabs her hand. "Please stop, she's doing it on purpose."

"Listen to your friend, Yang." Raven's smile grows. "Your teammates have never let you down before."

"As if you can talk!" Yang shouts, "You don't know the first thing about me! You were never around! You LEFT ME!" Her eyes then turn back to their normal lilac color whilst she sadly lowers her head. "...Why?"

"I know more than you realize. Not just about you or your team, Yang. And it's not just what I've been told, but things I've seen with my own eyes." Raven drops her smile. "If you think were are a rogue bandit tribe who only cares about stealing resources and money, think again. We hunt dangerous people who are a threat to the world and have tabs on every major evil organization in Remnant. Do you want an example of how much I know?"

"Not really but you're going to tell us anyway, so sure." Yang keeps her head lowered

"As long as you don't destroy my tent because it might cross that line again." Raven mumbles. "Our tribe is on the lookout for a student who went to Beacon Academy. Rumored to be one of a kind, something never seen before despite not being a prodigy or particularly talented. He simply has a lot of heart, does not give up, and possesses an unknown amount of power, nobody knows where his limit is at."

"Okay, who is it?" Yang raises his head. "If this is some guy from your time in school that has gotten way stronger than you and has nothing to do with us… We don't want to hear about it."

"His name is Link." Raven smirks. "Does that name ring a bell?"

"...What?" Weiss stands up now, she angrily stares at Raven, neither she or Yang are worried about Vernal aiming her gun at them

"Like she said." Yang nudges Weiss. "What about Link? What do you want with him?"

"It's nothing personal. He's just another individual on a list of people who need to die!" Raven emphasizes the last word with pure anger in her voice

"WHAT?!" Weiss grips her rapier tightly

"Don't you dare. I'll shoot you dead!" Vernal frowns

"I heard about his status as a team of one, the first in Beacon Academy's history. That is quite the honor, except for the fact that Ozpin painted a target on his back the moment he made that decision." Raven looks to Weiss first, then Yang, "He's a strange one. No activity, he was just a regular child until the age of fourteen and within two to three years is now one of the strongest children in the world? Something isn't right about that. AND THEN…"

"S-shut up…" Weiss' hands shake furiously

"Then what?" Yang raises an eyebrow. "We don't have all day."

"And then my people found out whatever they could about him. He ran a mercenary group who fancied themselves as 'anti-heroes' that destroyed evil organizations and helped the unfortunate. All while maintaining this scary appearance of 'masked killers' up until they got on everyone's radars. The White Fang, Atlas Military, and Salem. But he isn't perfect, he killed people and got innocent people killed, including a little village the size of our tribe."

"Yeah, we know this information, Link told us his version of events already. What about this leads to the conclusion that he deserves to be dead?!" Yang shouts

"You don't get it! Someone like that is going to get himself and everyone around him killed, no matter how strong he is. You don't disrupt the flow of the world and survive. Interfering with evil people, doing what you want, and then abandoning your mess when it's time to start a new chapter, it's not going to end well for your friend." Raven shakes her head, "Ozpin granted him what was essentially a safehouse because nobody in their right mind can directly approach Beacon Academy to hunt Link down. Now that Beacon has crumbled, he's out there somewhere and not that I care about keeping you two alive." She coldly points at Weiss and Yang. "But that child is too dangerous and attracts more enemies than allies."

"Say. It. Already." Weiss finds her voice again and speaks with a dark tone not heard from her before

"Your friend Link, is a target of the Branwen Tribe. We will find and kill him, so I suggest you disown him-!"

"NO!" Weiss shouts. "What gives you the right to decide who should live and who needs to die?"

"Hmm?" Raven turns to face the Schnee directly. Noticing her shake angrily, the older woman almost appears sympathetic. "You care a lot about him, I can see that. But stop wasting your time, child. You can't fix a wounded bird and you certainly cannot save one that a lot of people want dead."

"Weiss." Yang extends her arm and now she is the one calming down her teammate by grabbing her hand

"You can hate what I say all you want, it's the truth." Raven confidently nods. "And since you're clearly through being here, let me wrap this up. I know the Grimm have a leader, that would be Salem. I know of people who can come back from the dead, I know that magic is real…"

Weiss and Yang turn to each other once more, this time in confusion

"You don't believe me, I see." Raven walks away from them and towards the back of her tent. "You said Tai told you all about my semblance. But I doubt he told you what Ozpin did to Qrow and I."

Vernal lowers her weapon and exchanges nods with Raven. The young woman exits the tent from the front, while the latter exits by creating another opening from the back of her tent. Yang and Weiss exchange confused looks before they follow suit and leave the tent themselves

"Mom?" Yang looks around in frustration. "Where did she go?"

"Yang, are you okay?" Weiss grabs her friend's arm. "It's okay if... You're not okay."

"I'll be fine once we can get my mom to take us to Ruby." Yang nods, until the last part of their conversation with her mother replays in her head. "You didn't believe what she said, right?

"Of course not. Well, not all of it. We have Dust and Semblances sure…" Weiss looks uneasy. "But, I mean, there's no such thing as magic."

"Are you okay?" Yang nudges her teammate. "With what she said about Link?"

"I'll be fine." Weiss sighs. "She doesn't know where Link is and besides, he won't go down without a fight."

CAW! CAW! CAW!

"What was that?" Weiss spots a bird with blood red eyes staring directly at them as it flies in circles. "A raven?"

"I've... Seen that bird before." Yang narrows her eyes at this mystery bird

"Maybe it belongs to your mom?" Weiss turns her head in confusion

The two girls continue to watch the raven fly but then it descends, weaving in between trees, before morphing into Raven herself. She lands on the ground, kneeling on one leg while Yang and Weiss both look on in shock

"H-how did you do that?" Yang's jaw drops

"I could tell you." Raven turns her back on both girls, draws her long blade 'Omen' and slashes the air in a vertical motion. In only a second, her semblance 'Kindred Link' activates, creating a portal to Qrow. "Or you could ask your uncle… And Oz, if he's reincarnated already."

"Professor Ozpin? Reincarnated?" Yang shakes her head. "Are you making stuff up to prevent us from going?"

"No, I'm telling you the truth." Raven sheathes her sword, "And now I'm giving you a choice. Stay here with me, and I will answer all your questions and more. We can have a fresh start. Or-!" She rolls her eyes and steps aside, leaving the portal wide open. "You can go back to Qrow and join Ozpin's impossible war against Salem. But can you really go back to trusting someone that's kept so much from you?"

Weiss, despite her previous anger and desire to lash out at Raven when forsaking one of her friends, now reacts timidly with her eyes twitch frantically

"I don't care about Ozpin or Salem. All I care about is making sure my sister is safe." Yang does not back down

"Of course." Raven raises her hand and signals for her bandits, two men approach them, dragging Yang's motorcycle with them

"Gee, thanks." Yang nods. "Saving my life and having strangers bring me my bike, those are the nicest things my mother has done for me… How sad."

The bandits cower away when Yang marches towards her motorcycle. She gets on bumblebee and starts it, Weiss initially struggles to even get on it but with some assistance from her friend's robotic arm, secures her position as the passenger. Yang quickly drives to the portal, wanting to waste no more time in reuniting with Ruby

"Yang." Raven mumbles

"Yeah, mom?" Yang sighs and looks back at her

"If you side with your uncle, I may not be as kind the next time we meet. Just so you know what to expect." Raven nods

"What's the difference? You weren't kind this time either."

Yang grumbles, Weiss smirks, and the huntresses proceed through and enter the portal on bumblebee. The portal then disappears as they drive into what appears to be a dark red abyss

---

City of Mistral: The Group's Home

Having failed miserably and taking his time to return, Link slowly opens the front door and luckily for him, Team RNJR is in the kitchen preparing dinner while Oscar is nowhere to be seen. The huntsman sighs in relief as he slips in the house and carefully closes the door behind him, making sure to close the door as gently as possible to make sure there is not a clicking sound. Link briefly debates between announcing his return, helping with the cooking and sharing the bad news, or heading up to his room to get some rest. After ten seconds and the dawning realization that if he stands at the door any longer, he will be caught, the young man opts for the second option. He carefully walks to the stairs, making sure everyone has their backs turned before hastily going upstairs with both feet arched to not create any creaking sounds upon making contact with the stairs. When reaching the second floor, he exhales and now walks to his room normally; Link then enters his room, leaves his door partially open and immediately lies down in bed

(Why do I feel tired all of a sudden? I was energized all day and 'fighting' those two disrespectful idiots pumped me up big time but now… I feel like I'm about to pass out.) Link turns and turns in bed a few times before settling on lying against the mattress back first and staring blankly into the ceiling. The angry boy breathes heavily and shuts his eyes willingly, accepting his fatigue. (M-maybe… I-I-I… c-can-!)

Silence. At last Ruby's wishes come true and Link has fallen asleep

…

Thirty Minutes Later

HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!

"H-huh?"

Link's eyes open widely but they are very drowsy, he is completely zoned out of what could possibly be going on downstairs, perhaps Qrow did find huntsmen after all and they're getting along well with team RNJR or maybe they are all having a good time themselves. Strangely enough, Link finds himself smiling despite not knowing what is taking place in the house

(This feeling, what is this? Is it hot in here? No. Am I getting sick? I was in the rain all day. Unlikely, I would have more present symptoms.) Link gasps as he touches his chest and realizes what the feeling is, (It's my heart. It feels… Warmer.) He laughs to himself but ultimately cannot stay awake any further

…

Another Thirty Minutes Later

Link opens his eyes again, this time his vision has improved gradually and does not solely rely on hearing what might be going on downstairs. However, the laughter that was present not long ago is no more.

"Hm?"

Suspicious of what is happening now, Link sits up and bitterly gets out of bed, he stretches his arms, shoulders, and neck before slowly making his way out of his room quiet for two reasons: Eavesdropping and to avoid making noise, therefore not drawing any attention to himself

"If Ruby sticks around, I will too." Yang boldly declares

(YANG?!) Link nearly steps on the ground with force as the shock in hearing the blonde huntress' voice throws him for a loop

"If there's one thing I know about Ruby, it's that she somehow always knows the right thing to do." Yang turns and smiles at her sister. "BUT, if we're going to keep risking our lives, no more lies. No more half truths and no more being kept in the dark. If you have any new or old information that we need to know… We should know it."

Everyone goes quiet but Oscar, being controlled by Professor Ozpin and Qrow exchange looks with each other and nod in unison. Ozpin ponders Yang's condition but gives her an immediate response

"Understood." He smiles

"So... what now?" Jaune asks. "I mean, what can we do?"

"Mmm." Ozpin thinks. "That is a difficult question. One that I believe is best answered tomorrow. Leaving tomorrow's problems to our future selves."

"What?!" Jaune blinks rapidly. "What do you mean?"

"Mister Arc, The road ahead of us is undoubtedly full of hardship and peril. However, it's been far too long since you have all been together." Ozpin walks over to Yang and places a hand on her shoulder. "Please, take tonight, enjoy this moment, at least."

The familiar transfer occurs as Oscar's eyes glow with a bright golden color, Ozpin returns control to the farmhand unwillingly but it is because he has run out of time. Oscar realizes he has his hand on Yang's shoulder and blushes immediately

"Geh!" Oscar quickly pulls his hand back and instinctually grabs onto Ozpin's cane

Yang and Weiss burst out in laughter, with the second girl's laugh having the most impact on the spying young man upstairs

(N-no, it can't be… Weiss?!) Link quickly opens the door, his heart increases speed rapidly and not out of fear, but excitement

"I'm gonna get going." Qrow mumbles. "I will be out on the back patio tonight… Again. If anyone needs me, you'll be dealing with a drunk person. This is your one and only warning."

"I will be downstairs too." Oscar nods. "To practice with this cane some more. If anyone wants to help me, please come. I can learn from all of you."

Qrow and Oscar walk downstairs together, to Link this is the perfect queue to reveal he is awake and he takes the first step in doing so by walking forward to exit his room…

"Guys." Ruby speaks up. "I know Professor Ozpin told us to enjoy tonight but there is more we have to say."

"Oh no." Nora rolls her eyes. "Please let it be any other topic besides him."

"Nora!" Ren whispers

"What is she talking about?" Weiss narrows her eyes. "Did something happen?"

"Yes. Plenty happened." Jaune nods. "And it's best that we get this out of the way now, while Link is asleep."

"Can somebody just speak normally?" Yang frowns

"I'll do it." Ruby sighs and glares at Jaune, Nora and Ren, "You guys stink for not helping but okay!" The young huntress turns to her sister and close teammate. "It's about Link."

"Yes, you told us he's here." Yang smiles and nudges Weiss' arm with her elbow

"Stop it." Weiss whispers

"Yang knows about that too?!" Ruby gasps. "Funnn!"

"Link's here and you went to go see if he wanted dinner but he was asleep." Yang nods. "You also said that's a miracle because he hasn't slept in a while. Are we missing something?"

"Y-Yeah." Ruby messes with her skirt nervously. "He's not the same Link you guys remember from Beacon. I personally don't have a problem with how he is now but you guys might."

"Okay…" Weiss' eyes return to normal. "What happened?"

"He's changed for the worse, that's what happened." Nora speaks up. "He's meaner, rarely smiles, only has revenge on his mind, now has some scary ability that freezes you in place by looking angry, the only one who can get him to liven up is Ruby and I'm sure I missed more."

"What?" Yang shakes her head. "That's not true, right?"

"I am sorry to say, but no." Ren solemnly nods. "As a huntsman, he has improved tremendously, he took on a really dangerous and powerful faunus mercenary on his own to protect Ruby."

"Don't even get me started on that." Jaune sighs. "Nobody can even breathe in Ruby's direction without Link threatening to fight you. Against an enemy it's perfect, but we are not her enemies! He's done it to Ren and Professor Ozpin."

"Protecting my sister is a bad thing?" Yang rolls her eyes. "I don't get it. What is your point? Should we distance ourselves from Link? Not be friends with him? Fear him?"

"Unless your first name is Ruby and last name is Rose, good luck being his friend." Nora grumbles. "He's a jerk and I miss the old Link."

"Jerk is harsh but he is not the nicest person in the world, yes." Ren mutters. "Losing more people really affected him deeply and that is likely the reason he changed."

"That's no excuse to treat people the way he's been treating all of us." Jaune crosses his arms. "The only person he's been nice to is Ruby, and even then that varies, he's had his moments of being rude to her as well."

Ruby remains silent, not because her RNJR teammates are correct, but because if she speaks, it will cause tension between them as a foursome, she holds onto her defense for Link and sighs sadly

"No." Weiss scowls and narrows her eyes as much as she can. "I haven't seen him since we were last at Beacon but, I know Link. I was there for him! When none of you were. Even if he did change, haven't we all? And what's the point in talking negatively about him behind his back?! He doesn't benefit, so this must be about you. Does it feel good to talk badly about him?"

"Perhaps a little bit, yes." Jaune shamelessly chuckles

"Seconded." Nora nods. "You don't get it Weiss, he has said a lot of hurtful things that tread the fine line of forgivable and unforgivable. You haven't seen it… And it's not a pretty sight."

"You're all wrong." Weiss' scowl disappears and turns into a weak smile, "Link is still a good person deep down. He will protect and care for us with every bit of strength he has in his body and most importantly, he needs us just as much as we need him. I don't mean as a huntsman either." Her eyes welled up. "I mean emotionally. Nobody has to tell me what happened either, Qrow told Yang and I on the way here."

Ruby, Jaune, Nora, and Ren's expressions all collectively drop when they realize she is talking about Link witnessing Pyrrha's death first hand

"Link needs us more now than ever before, whether he knows that or not is irrelevant. But he's not gone or changed for the worse like you suggest." Weiss glares at Jaune, Nora, and Ren. "I am very disappointed in you three. And I don't know about you guys but you do not turn your backs on a friend. And Link is not just 'a friend' either. He's special… If we treat him like he isn't a friend, he will become evil and a monst-!"

"Weiss." Jaune cuts her off. "He already is an evil-!"

SLAM!

Link dramatically slams the door behind him, which gets rid of the ongoing conversation. Everyone in the living room watches carefully as Link takes slow but long strides to walk forward and descend from the stairs. The environment is tense and dead quiet as the discussed young man takes each step slower than the last one, never turning his head once to look at anybody, that is until he makes it to the bottom of the stairs. Link turns to the left and his eyes instantly move to one person and one person only

"Weiss." Link smiles brightly, a sight not by anybody except for Ruby when they were in Kuroyuri

"Link." Weiss, having already been looking at him, now stands up and smiles back at him

Tears flow down Weiss' cheeks as she and Link run to each other at the same time, the latter opens his arms and the emotional girl jumps into them happily. Weiss buries her head into Link's shoulder and to show his happiness, the huntsman tightly wraps his arms around her lower back, lifts, and twirls her around; which makes the former heiress squeal. Link effortlessly spins the huntress and himself multiple times before eventually putting her down. Regardless of that, their hug continues as both of them deepen it with their extra efforts such as Link leaning into her and Weiss getting on her tiptoes

"I'm so happy right now." Weiss whispers in his ear. "I-I-!... I never thought I would see you again."

"Not long ago, I told myself it could be months, or years before I ever saw you again Weiss." Link whispers in her ear as well. "Thank you for coming back."

"Awww." Ruby giggles. "Nowww I can tease them both!"

"Shhhh!" Weiss frowns

"Link?" Yang clears her throat

In response to Yang's call out, Weiss hesitantly lets go of Link and gives him an assuring nod. Before the young man pulls back completely, he wipes Weiss' tears away and notices the the mark on her forehead and nose but does not question it for the time being

"S-Sorry to interrupt your reunion with Weiss." Yang nervously chuckles. "It's just, Qrow told us you were with the group, which gave me time to think back and put together what I've been wanting to say to you. You see, during all the time I had to s-sit at home and m-mope-!"

Link does not say a word and instead walks directly up to Yang while she is speaking to him nervously

"Whoa okay!" Yang takes a few steps back

"H-hey!" Ruby shouts. "Earth to Link?"

"Look." Yang scratches her head as Link continues to approach her. "I'm really sorry about what happened at Beacon, I was an idiot for putting my hands on you and-!"

Grab!

Yang is grabbed by the shoulders, courtesy of Link, she is pulled into a tight and passionate hug. In contrast to when he hugged Weiss, there is no lifting or twirling, just a direct, yet comforting hug for Yang, the very first person who did not believe Link when he was framed during the tournament. The huntress gasps in shock and without hesitation, gratefully hugs him back, tightening the hold with her robotic hand

"I-I don't understand." Yang shakes her head. "You didn't even hear me out! How can you just hug me like that?"

"After many talks with Ruby prior to today and hearing you guys talk about me. It made me think and considering there was not a lot of time between when you guys talked and me getting down here, it was quick." Link weakly smiles as they pull away from the hug. "My respect for you skyrocketed, Yang. You apologized to me as soon as you saw me. You didn't brush it off like it never happened or pretend it wasn't a big deal. Plus, you are Ruby's sister so I cannot really stay mad at you forever. I can get my 'revenge' on you when we spar, deal?"

"You bet." Yang chuckles as she balls up her robotic hand and slams it against her open left palm, "And um, I hope you don't mind, Qrow told us about your…" She drags her index finger across her throat. "List. Thank you for wanting to go to such lengths to get Adam for me."

"Of course." Link nods enthusiastically. "I know you don't need to be protected or avenged Yang, but it's personal and what that guy did to you gives me another reason to hunt him down."

"Respect." Yang extends her right hand. "Put 'er there."

"Sure." Link nods and shakes Yang's hand, her robotic hand applies immediate pressure, "I s-should've known!" He sighs and resists the strength of the powerful arm

"Yang!" Weiss' eyes widened. "Let him go!"

"It's alright Weiss." Link meets Yang's eyes. "It doesn't even tickle."

"Alright, looks like you did get tougher."

Yang smiles and lets go of his hand while Ruby, Weiss, Ren, and Nora laugh, Jaune only chuckles along with the rest of the group

(Doesn't even tickle? Yeah right… Damn Atlas technology.) Link sighs in relief, he notices Weiss staring at him with a bright smile on her face. "Weiss, not to bring down the mood but, who gave you that on your nose and forehead? Did somebody hit you?"

"Oh." Weiss looks away in embarrassment. "My flight to Mistral took a slight detour through the forests of Anima, I luckily survived the crash, two bandits found me, along with Yang's mom. Then she knocked me out and they kidnapped me…"

"What did you say?!" Link's jaw drops, "Raven assaulted and kidnapped you?" He frowns. "Now I really wish I got the chance to fight her in Shion."

"Y-you wish that you what?!" Yang's head snaps to him

"You almost fought with Yang's mom?!" Weiss gasps

"Right, you guys barely arrived." Link chuckles. "But yes, after I took out some of her bandits in an attempt to stop their raid on Shion, I was confronted-!"

"Link!" Yang's eyes widen as she realizes. "Were you in a mask? With a green hood over your head?"

The huntsman nods firmly, confirming Raven's words from earlier about 'two children who gave her problems'

"Yang." Weiss looks at her. "No more being kept in the dark."

"What do you mean?" Link raises an eyebrow

"You're right." Yang sighs at Weiss before turns to the previous one man team. "My mom is unknowingly hunting you twice, Link."

"HUH?!" Ruby cries out. "Why?"

"Reasons that make no sense to me." Yang shakes her head. "First she mentioned getting revenge on 'a boy in a mask with a green hood and a sword and shield' and then towards the end of our talk. My mom name dropped you and claimed that because a lot of people want you dead, along with the fact that nobody knows how powerful you are… you're on her list of people who need to die."

"Wow." Link shakes his head. "She's going to die trying, especially if she does anything that harms any of you. No offense of course, I know she's your mom but…"

"You're good, don't finish the sentence." Yang rolls her eyes

After some awkward silence, Yang, Link, Weiss, and Ruby look at each other and smile. Unbeknownst to them, a certain somebody is seething nearby… And he's ready to explode

"Link." Jaune calls for him

"Yes, Jaune?" Link turns with a soft smile on his face, enjoying himself for a change

"Why did you just forgive Yang? And Ruby? They didn't believe you back at Beacon. Where's that olive branch for us? Also, how can you just talk about killing Yang's mom? She might be evil right now, but she's still Yang's mom!"

"No offense, Jaune." Link shakes his head, attempting to maintain his current happy mood, "We can talk about this another day. Weiss and Yang just returned and I'd really like to catch up with them. Besides…" He points at Jaune, Nora, and Ren. "You three were able to spend some quality time with them over what I assume was a delicious dinner. I don't ask much from you, Jaune but please, not tonight."

Link nods after having just spoken with a polite tone. He turns his head and body to face Weiss and Yang, with Ruby joining them soon after, but the insistent former team JNPR leader shakes his head

"No." Jaune frowns. "You don't get to ask for favors, not after what you've done."

"Excuse me?" Link sighs and gives apologetic looks to team RWBY girls before turning to Jaune. "What do you mean by that?"

"You talked about hearing us speak about you, so why not address everything we said? And why did you eavesdrop on us too?" Jaune shakes his head. "But no worries, I will repeat what was said."

"Jaune, please." Link shakes his head again. "Stop it, okay? I am warning you."

Silence transpires as a result of the newly found tension in the living room. Link and Jaune stare each other down. Yang and Weiss look at Link nervously. Meanwhile Ren and Nora have their sights set on Jaune with neutral expression. Lastly there's Ruby, who looks at both of the blonde huntsmen back and forth

"No." Jaune scowls. "I know Weiss said you're still a good person but I don't see it at all. Ever since you came back into our lives, you've been nothing but a massive asshole! You're extremely rude and condescending, mean like Nora said, plus you don't care about anything or anyone unless it involves you! I'm not falling for your 'defending Ruby' excuse either, as long as you're the hero who saves the day and gets acknowledged as strong, that's all you care about. Then there's…"

"Sorry." Ruby, who is now behind Yang and Weiss, mumbles to them as Jaune continues ranting. "That was something else we were supposed to catch you guys up to speed on. Link and Jaune had a massive argument in Kuroyuri and… It's only gotten worse since then."

"I do think Jaune is going a bit too far, isn't he?" Yang whispers. "So what if Link changed a little? After going through what he did, it's a miracle his mental state isn't shattered to pieces."

"Is there more we haven't learned about?" Weiss asks

"Yes." Ruby drops her head in disappointment. "They kind of threw a lot of personal insults regarding-!"

"And if you had spoken up sooner!" Jaune finds himself on his feet now but wisely a fair distance away from Link. "But you wanted to hold onto information just like Professor Ozpin and Qrow. Why can't none of you people be honest?"

"JAUNE!" Ruby shouts angrily, "Seriously? I hate that the two of you can't go ONE DAY without fighting. It's ridiculous and I've had it with all of this!"

"Ruby…" Nora sighs and shakes her head. "What side are you on? One day you're in the middle as the peacekeeper and then next day you're on Link's side, while demanding that Jaune and the rest of us quiet down."

"..." Ren frowns at all the commotion and closes his eyes to meditate

"Sue me then!" Ruby groans. "We're supposed to be united together, even Professor Ozpin and Qrow have told us this but these two knuckleheads just don't listen."

"Maybe all of this has to come out." Jaune mutters. "Here are the undeniable facts, Link knew more than he let on and if he spoke up sooner, lives could've been saved. Instead he withheld information and only brought it up when it was time to free himself from guilt and a bad reputation. You can't blame anyone who didn't believe you when you were framed. All you had to do was speak but sine you didn't, you know what that means. This is all your fault!"

(This guy really had to do this now? I just reunited with Weiss and made up with Yang and he wants to fight NOW?) Link frowns and simmers with anger as Jaune keeps going and going with his insults and blame. (Sorry Ruby, but I'm tired of going easy on him for your sake. Jaune's right when he said 'maybe all of this has to come out', perhaps it's time I do that myself.)

"It is possible what happened at Beacon occurs no matter what, but if you had spoken up, we wouldn't have lost so many innocent people that lost their lives in the attacks. The same applies to the soldiers and students like us. Professor Ozpin would've remained as Professor Ozpin, meaning that you Link are the reason why Oscar has now been dragged into this mess. Penny would be perfectly fine and either in Atlas with her father or here with us. Then there's Pyrrha… she would have been alive if it wasn't for your bad decisions, you cold bastard!"

Nora gasps, eyes widen, the generally bright and positive girl shrivels up and sinks into the couch

"DUDE!" Yang shakes her head in disbelief. "How messed up can you be?!"

"Oh my goodness." Ruby covers her face with both hands

"Jaune!" Weiss frowns. "How about we don't throw people's deaths on each other's conscience, what is wrong with you?!"

"Be quiet, everybody." Link speaks coldly as he lifts his head and although his eyes are lifeless, he stares directly into Jaune's eyes. "Cold bastard you say? I'm not cold. You simply want someone to blame so badly because you don't want to accept the fact that what happened was a disaster and a tragedy. And instead of reasonably blaming Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, the White Fang or Adam, you look beyond the evil people and pin the blame on me."

Link raises his head more and his body visibly shakes in frustration and anger

"I asked for one thing, Jaune." Link growls. "Not to do this tonight. I wanted to spend the night talking to Ruby, Yang, and Weiss, even you three as well because why not? Professor Ozpin told us to 'enjoy tonight' but you decided to make tonight about our issues, so you know what? You want to say all of this in front of Yang and Weiss? Two can play that game and I vividly recall warning you to stop!"

"Link… No."

Ruby whispers and walks to him, but she is stopped by Yang who shakes her head and tells her sister to stay out of it

"I acknowledge my mistakes. Yes, I should have spoken up sooner, maybe then all of my friends would've believed me and not just Weiss, Skylar, her team, and Pyrrha. Did anything change when I spoke up? No! When I tried telling Professor Ozpin, Glynda, Ironwood, and Qrow… I was dismissed by the general who insisted my 'theories were good but'..." Link shakes his head. "When I told you people my story, it was about me. Not any of the people I just named, that you should be blaming for the fall of Beacon. This is all my fault you say? NO!"

Link's words exit his mouth with pure hatred as his voice and tone deepen, all of his focus remains on Jaune, who continued to speak after being told to stop multiple times

"Yang acknowledged her mistakes, that's why I forgave her. She apologized and so did Ruby. And Weiss believed me that same day most of you shut me out. Forgiving Ruby and Yang was a personal choice of mine. That decision was mine and it's final."

"But…" Jaune frowns as he sits next to Nora on the two seater couch. "Why? Is it because-!"

"Have you apologized? Nope! Because you don't think you did anything wrong but I know you Jaune, you wanted to apologize at one point, didn't you? What happened to that?" Link frowns. "Don't answer, I already know. Because we l-lost... P-pyrrha!" He frowns and stutters, showing his struggle to say the deceased girl's name. "You had someone to blame so there was no need to forgive me. Even when I told you all of you the truth, because let's not get confused now, this 'crucial' information I should have spoken up about… I did eventually say it and with enough time for something to be done about it but you, along with a majority of my friends did not believe me."

"Can you blame us?" Nora raises an eyebrow. "The timing was awful, you had just attacked-!"

"Yes I can blame you!" Link shakes his head. "Somehow, me speaking up sooner was going to prevent Grimm attacks led by the White Fang on the city of Vale and Beacon. Speaking sooner was going to stop Atlesian robots attacking students and innocent people? Was it was going to stop Cinder's sick plan to become the fall maiden by killing Amber, a girl YOU failed to protect, Jaune!"

"Shut up." Jaune balls up his shaky hands as his stomach begins to twist in pain. "You don't need to bring that up."

"I don't need to bring that up? Screw that! You blamed Pyrrha's death on me again!" Link shakes his head. "You were supposed to keep watch and protect Amber, Pyrrha, and Professor Ozpin while the 'transfer' of power happened, then you turned your back and Amber died because of you!"

"Grrr…" Jaune's body tense up and shakes, every word said by Link cuts deep and seeps down to his core

"If you think I'm already an evil monster, Jaune. Then you're not going to like this." Link narrows his eyes, but beneath his frown and narrowing eyes, is an evil snicker. "Pyrrha willingly chose to fight Cinder and you need to accept that already. She didn't have a death wish or felt obligated to do anything, she wanted to fight for Beacon. Although, I do wish she didn't do it alone. Perhaps if she waited for me or Ruby or a professor to join her, things could have turned out differently. Did you know that I watched her die Jaune?"

"Of course I know! Stop it!" Jaune closes his eyes and covers his ears with both hands

"I watched her get shot through the chest with an arrow and then Cinder INCINERATED her into ashes."

"Why are you saying this?" Ren opens his eyes from 'meditating' and reveals that he is crying

"Because, Jaune thought it was hilarious to make fun of the fact that I went mute for so many months but hey at least now you know the reason why I went mute." Link stays focused on Jaune while acknowledging Ren. "And I'm not done."

"How much more do you have to say?!" Nora shakes her head

"Plenty." Link nods. "Witnessing a death like that is something I wouldn't wish on anybody, everyone loved Pyrrha just like I did. So don't you dare accuse me of being the reason she didn't live, I was there trying to save her life, unlike the three of you!"

Ruby, Weiss, and Yang gasp in shock at the nature of Link's words. Unaware by his presence, Qrow is listening to this conversation too but he stops scaling the stairs in order to not interrupt the conversation

"I tried my hardest to save Pyrrha!" Link shouts before shifting his complete focus on Jaune again. "What did you do? You saw her before she fought Cinder and you could not stop her from walking into a fight you knew she would lose. And yet, you have the nerve to blame me! It's your fault Jaune! I don't know if you were aware of this or not but Pyrrha cared about you the most out of everyone at Beacon, if anyone could have stopped her, it's you. But now, something has become obvious to me."

Ren and Nora shake their heads at Link, fearing the worst. The angry blonde in green nods his head, completely sure of what to say next

"Maybe she didn't care about you the most, otherwise she would have listened to you. If Ruby was there, she would have stopped Pyrrha from walking into her death. The same goes with me, Nora, Ren, Blake, Weiss, the list goes on… And while I was making my way to the top of the tower by driving my sword through metal walls and scaling the entire place, you were crying into your phone and unable to do a damn thing to help-!"

"GRAH!" Jaune opens his eyes, tears spill out and he intends to charge at Link, but Nora and Ren grab his arms and hold on with all their force

"She felt sorry for you, Jaune... Store that your head. Pyrrha died because you could not stop her from fighting Cinder." Link suppresses a smirk and continues with his cold expression. "She wanted you to succeed despite not having the drive or ability of a huntsman so she made you her protege. All those times she told you that she really valued you as a person and dear friend… Were they lies?"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Jaune pushes through the restraining holds on his arms but his teammates do their absolutely best to hold him back

"STOP IT ALREADY!" Nora shouts

"Please, we've heard enough." Ren frowns

"No." Link turns his head to the side, "I warned you, Jaune. To leave it alone for tonight. It's bad enough that Qrow and I found zero huntsmen and then there was a glimmer of hope with these two amazing girls returning to us." He points at Weiss and Yang without turning to look at them. "But no, you had to bring up all of this tonight, so I'm not done yet."

"Yang…" Weiss whispers. "Do we step in?"

"I want to but if what uncle Qrow said is true about Link's anger and he's already said all of this, we can't stop him." Yang shakes her head

"All this talk about no more lies and you're still lying Jaune." Link cannot suppress it anymore and he evilly smirks. "Why didn't you tell Ren or Nora about me being at the top of the tower? Is it because you were afraid they'd understand why I changed into the person I am now? You were afraid to be on your own, was that it? Well you can keep your friends Jaune, you need all the help you can get anyway." His smirk widens a bit more when he remembers something crucial. "You already had all the help imaginable from Pyrrha at Beacon and now look at you and your weapons."

"Oh no." Ruby feels a gut wrenching twist in her lower stomach, scared of what is coming next

"You're stronger than you were before, Jaune. And your gear is out of this world." Link sarcastically mutters. "You want to talk about selfishness? You're the selfish one, you MELTED Pyrrha's weapons to combine them with your gear while having the audacity to want even more from her for yourself."

"Please, let this end soon." Ruby breathes heavily, worried about the aftermath

"This is all I have left from her and you wanted it for yourself." Link reaches behind him, detaches, and pulls Pyrrha's circlet from his belt, "You had more items from here and you're wearing them now, Jaune. So tell me, what were you going to do with this if I gave this to you?" He extends his arm and attaches circlet back to his belt as his expression softens for a condescending reason. "Melt it into your sword?!"

"GRAHHH!" Jaune, with a face full of tears, breaks through Nora and Ren's grip and charges at Link with his sword drawn and held by both hands, fighting with pure emotion and no thoughts going behind his decision

(It's only going to get worse for you. And I'm not even going to try.)

Despite there only being about six to eight feet separating Link and Jaune, the run up feels intense and like all time has slowed down. Ruby, Weiss, and Yang run forward to interfere but they are not fast enough. Link on the other hand, displays no fear as he plants his feet into the ground and suddenly crouches when Jaune gets too close.

SLASH!

The calm but internally furious huntsman rolls forward when Jaune unleashes a powerful over the shoulder vertical swing, but the externally furious huntsmen hits nothing but air when his attack misses terribly and collides with the wooden floor instead. Link, now behind Jaune with a quick roll, is up to his feet and has any attack he wants to perform at his disposal. Opting to humiliate rather than injure, Link grabs the handle of his sword, quickly spins and crouches again, executing a low spinning slash and sweeps Jaune off his feet. A throwback to their days of sparring on the rooftops of the dormitories at Beacon

"Jaune!" Nora gasps. "Stop it, Link!"

"Shut up, I didn't start the fight." Link walks over to Jaune who is turning over to sit up

The former roughly kicks Jaune's sword to the side and with a foot on his chest, Link keeps him on the ground sturdily

"I warned you to not do this tonight."

"You don't tell me what to do!" Jaune forcefully sits up

"No I don't but you need to listen!" Link presses harder and slams him back down. "I'm here to help you guys stop Salem, while I will personally eliminate Cinder. Do you understand? We don't have time for your pathetic attempts to get back at me because you've convinced yourself this is all my fault!"

"P-Pathetic?!" Jaune snarls furiously

"You need to stop for the sake of everyone because they all worry! And you need to stop for your own safety! I'm not your enemy, Jaune." Link shakes his head

"That's enough." Qrow walks up the stairs, revealing his presence, "Your little fight is over… Kid." He nods at Link. "Let him up."

"I will, after I say two more things to him." Link glances at Qrow and nods in return before looking back down and into Jaune's eyes again. "Leave me alone, Jaune. You don't like me, I don't like you… But we can still work together. As much as I want to physically hurt you for blaming me over Pyrrha's death and everyone who died at Beacon that day… I won't, unless you try to attack me for a third time." He references the first attempted attack at Professor Lionheart's office as he removes his foot off Jaune's chest. "That wasn't a threat either, but a promise."

Link walks away from Jaune, who sits up and looks at him not with anger but fear and resentment in his eyes. Nora and Ren rush to help their friend and teammate off the ground, with the orange haired girl angrily spewing out words the young man in green who cannot hear them at all. As a matter of fact, he cannot hear anyone as the ringing and white noise in his ears begins and takes over completely. Regardless of Qrow, Yang, and Weiss speaking in his direction, Link trots upstairs and quickly retreats back to his room, uninterested in the fallout of his ruthless verbal destruction of Jaune

…

Ten Minutes Later

With the night ruined, everyone splits off to do their own thing as 'take tonight' and 'enjoy this moment' like Professor Ozpin suggested did not go as planned. Jaune, who is a crying and shaken up mess, has left the house in frustration to take a walk and no amount of help or uplifting words from Nora, Ren, or Ruby is going to make him feel better anytime soon. Especially after everything Link said, all of his points evidently and ruthlessly plunge directly into his heart. Being supportive, loyal teammates, Ren and Nora exit the house and walk alongside him, without saying anything to their distraught leader. Qrow returns downstairs, not to stand outside but to ask Oscar if he can speak with Professor Ozpin. Meanwhile, Yang and Ruby head to her room and catch up with their version of sisterly fun and bonding, surely to involve play fighting and teasing. They do invite Weiss to join them for nostalgic team RWBY bonding, but she has other ideas in mind…

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"I figured this was coming." Link groans, sits up, and slides over to the edge of his bed. "If that is you Qrow, I'm not interested in a lecture. If that's you Ruby, I'm still not interested in a lecture."

The door is opened in spite of the huntsman not saying to enter but the sight of Weiss calmly entering and quietly shutting the door behind her immediately gets erases Link's tone of annoyance

"Weiss…" Link looks away, ashamed of what she may think of him

"That was quite the performance you put on out there." Weiss crosses her arm and looks down at Link with a frown. "You said a lot of brutally honest but harsh things."

"Yeah, it sure was something. I'm sorry if that was… A lot." Link sighs

"How long have you been this angry?" She asks, eyes narrowing even further

"Too long. From the moment I left Patch after Qrow brought Ruby and I to her dad's house." He mumbles. "Sorry, Weiss."

"Stop apologizing." Weiss sighs, lets go of her angry expression and walks over to sit down on the bed and right next to him. "I'm not mad at you, so there's no need to apologize to me."

"Y-you're not?" Link nods gratefully. "I figured saying all of that basically severed my relationships with all of you. What's the verdict, anyway?"

"Ruby and I aren't mad at you. It seems like we're the only ones who actually think what you said was justified, although very jarring. Yang is divided, she hates that both of you stooped that low but she understands why you retaliated the way you did. I think you know where Nora and Ren stand. Qrow is the same boat as Yang, but even more annoyed at the two of you and we'll see what Professor Ozpin has to say tomorrow."

"Was it harsh? Yes… I just lost it. I don't ask for a lot of things and all I wanted today was peace and time to spend with you and Yang but it was too good to be true."

"Don't even worry about it." Weiss leans towards him and rests her head on his shoulder. "I wish it didn't come to that tonight either, it definitely was a lot to hear, but if we are saying no more secrets or half truths, that was the best way to find out how things have been going with you, Jaune, Ren, and Nora. Please tell me you and Ruby have been more civil."

"Where do I even begin there?" Link chuckles. "I couldn't speak when I found them in the forests, Weiss."

"I do remember that, you said Jaune taunted you about it."

"Yes, we'll see if there is any more taunting from him going forward." Link rolls his eyes

"Forget about him and that entire conversation then. Let's talk about your voice." Weiss slips her hand under Link's chin and gently moves his face towards her to look him directly in the eye. "How did you regain it?"

Link beams with a big smile on his face as he prepares to tell Weiss everything that led up to it, and with that, he explains what happened on that day. First, when he froze up and saw a vision of a scene he has witnessed too many times: Cinder killing Pyrrha and her ashes scattering everywhere, but what made the vision fade away and transform into a positive one was because of Ruby and Weiss with their calming and angelic voices. To follow that up, comes the explanation of the second vision, which took place in the magical world he had seen only once previously. This time, he was not alone and Ruby was there with him. She reached out, grabbed him, and never let go, succeeding after multiple attempts. The second she touched Link's hand in the vision, he came back to reality and felt as if a quick jolt of lightning passed through his body in a millisecond. Very soon after that, the huntsmen discovered his voice again

"Oh my…" Weiss' whispers, now with tears in her eyes. "Maybe I should sing for you sometime if you think my voice is angelic."

"That was a vision in my head but I would love to hear you sing." Link smirks and wraps one of his arms around her shoulders, leaning his head and resting it on top of Weiss'

"H-how… Often do you see those visions?" Her lips quiver nervously, worried she may have asked the wrong question

"Too many times every day. I saw two of them today. Pyrrha's early in the morning before I sparred with Ruby. And then Ray's when Professor Ozpin was training hand to hand with Ruby. I don't know how to make them stop either." Link smiles. "Maybe having you back in my life will help."

"Y-you…" Weiss blushes. "That was annoyingly sweet. It's been so nice seeing everyone again. I missed you all, regardless of the bad blood you have with team JNPR, I'm glad we are all together."

"JNR, I have no problems with Pyrrha." Link shakes his head

"Of course." Weiss nods

"Are you tired?" Link mumbles

"A little bit? You?" She asks

"Very." Link nods. "Have youuu picked a room?"

"No, as soon as Yang and I got here, it was an instant reunion with Ruby and then straight to dinner." Weiss smiles, hoping to be asked a question soon

"I see." Link nods

"DRAT! I guess I should just ask him myself?" Weiss groans

"Do you by any chance...?" Link lightly blushes. "Want to be my roommate?"

"Yes." Weiss nods. "I would like that very much, I'm glad you asked me too. Because had Yang asked me, I wouldn't be able to turn her down."

"I figured she would at some point tonight. I'm glad I beat her to the punch." Link nods. "I'm sorry about your detour. Raven will pay for hurting you."

"Link?" Weiss slowly shakes her head. "Don't look for a fight if it's not necessary. You were already a protective person before, and Ruby's uncle told us that it has increased by a lot during our time away. I love and appreciate that you want to get back at Yang's mom for me b-b-but-!"

"Why are you stuttering?" Link frowns. "Did they repeatedly hit you? Or maybe Raven did something to frighten you?"

"N-No." Weiss wipes away a tear. "It's just… After surviving a ship crash and being trapped in a cage, it made me realize something."

"What's that?"

"I'm just really happy to be here. I want to enjoy reuniting with you and not think about the past few days." Weiss sighs and closes her eyes

"We should stay like this forever." Link smiles. "How does that sound?"

"Sounds wonderful, but we cannot do that yet. We have a world to save." Weiss rolls her eyes at him but with an amused expression. "But how about tonight?"

"I'll take it."

Link nods, lowers his arm and now tightly wraps his arm around Weiss' upper back, the young man pulls her to him as close as he can. Weiss giggles and happily accepts the gesture as she wraps her arm around his lower back. The two friends close their eyes and embrace this moment of peace and relaxation, knowing it may be one of the only times they may be able to

---

(Author's Note: Hello everybody who happens to read this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it and would you look at that? The gang's all back together! Well, almost all of them but I digress, chapters 17, 18, 19, and 20 have all been re-written/edited if you'd like to go back and check those out. That will be it from me today, I hope you all liked it and I will see you in the next update)