Vale: Day…
Link decided to head into Vale alone, though not because things have been negative at Beacon. What he felt could be revealed to his friends seemed to have been received well. No, he was here alone because he hadn't been before. The closest he came was the hotel.
After Ozpin dropped him there his first night, he didn't go out. Every time since he's been with one or more of his friends. While that wasn't a bad thing, he certainly understood all Vale had to offer by now, he simply wanted the chance to see what he could do himself.
He ended up walking along the sidewalks and within various stores, got some lunch, and was now finishing a chocolate ice cream he ended up buying. That's when he heard raised voices coming from somewhere to the right.
"Please stop!"
"I've told you this doesn't get resolved until it's made right, and mere words don't cut it!"
Link moved in the direction of the voices and came to see three people outside a restaurant, the main people involved in this dispute. Others had gathered, uncertain how to intervene or content with the situation. A female deer Faunus stood protectively before a male deer Faunus.
They were dressed in clothes which indicated they worked at the restaurant, and it seemed as though someone put this pair through the fight of their lives. Before them stood a tall, broad human male with a pale complexion, wavy brown hair, and yellow eyes.
He wore a purple jacket with silver buttons over a black shirt, which was noticeably wet from some sort of drink, and light-gray pants. On his shoulder rested a large, spiked club. With how he gripped it, he was clearly angered.
"My employee wasn't giving you mere words." The female deer Faunus voiced. "He even offered to dry clean your attire."
"Not good enough!" The man shouted. "Dry cleaning or replacing the clothes is not the issue. The issue is that filthy animal dared to spill hot coffee all over a Winchester."
"Winchester?" Link thought. "So, someone related to Cardin."
"Because of your name, you have the right to attack us!?" The female Faunus asked.
"No, my name doesn't give me the right." The man's knuckles whitened around his weapon as his grip increased. "What does is that I'm doing this world a favor by getting rid of a couple more animals like you!"
He moved to swing his club. The male Faunus tucked in on himself while the female Faunus did not move. Everyone else around, even those who had been content prior, didn't like what was happening; however, they weren't moving to do anything about it.
Before the club could hit the female Faunus, she turned her head away. The blow never came as Link was there slamming his fist into the man's face. Said man's hold was firm on his club, so it went with him as he was knocked down the street.
"You two should step back now." Link voiced to the Faunus.
The man got to one knee before looking at him, some form of recognition passing through his eyes. Link knew for a fact he's never met this man before, meaning how he knew the green glad swordsman had to come from somewhere else.
"Of course, another animal would intervene." The man scoffed.
"Others should have stepped in before I got here." Link sent a glare the assembled people's way before fixing it on the man. "From what I overheard, you were willing to kill these two over some spilt drink. Just what is wrong with you?"
"They're nothing but animals, just like you." The man pointed his club at the swordsman. "It's only right someone gets rid of them."
"That's wrong." Link voiced disgusted.
"Wrong?" The man shook his head. "No, it's the truth!"
Despite the weapon he wielded, this man was fast as he closed the distance between himself and Link. The green clad swordsman was still able to unsheathe his shield, bracing it with both hands and managing to block the attack.
"He's strong…" Link realized.
He had to bolster his shield with both hands to manage a dead lock while this guy hadn't even swung his club with both arms.
"I think you see just what I'm seeing." The man reached out his free arm, managing to catch Link by the collar of his shirt and throw him into a lamp post which dented upon his body impacting with it. "I got speed that matches yours and greater strength."
With Link's head down, the man took this as his cue to finish what he started with the prior two Faunus. Then, he'd come back around to have a chat with the green clad swordsman. He had something else in mind for him. Suddenly, a shot rang out which hit the man in the back.
The man clearly had his Aura unlocked, so while that unexpected shot had cleaved a good portion of it off, all it really did physically was see the man stumble forward. He whirled around to face Link who was now standing with his hand riffle brandished.
"I'm not done." Link stated firmly.
He drew his sword before rushing his opponent.
"Looks like he's a bit faster than I initially thought." The man noted.
He moved his club to block, only for Link to roll around him at the last second. He then lept with a spin, landing a good slash on his opponent's back and making him stumble again.
"He's got technique to boot." The man recognized.
Link pressed forward, sheathing his gun and gripping his blade with both hands as he swung. The man put his club up to block once more, both entering a deadlock. Before anything further could happen, there was the sound of distant police sirens.
The man lept back from Link before running off. "This isn't over!"
Link sheathed his weapons and ran off into a nearby alleyway.
Later…
Link eventually came to a stop within an area of Vale he hoped the cops wouldn't come looking for him in. He planned to give it a few minutes before making his way back to the docks and taking a ship back to Beacon.
"Hey!" The very man Link had just skirmished with walked into the alleyway. "I told you this wasn't over." Link reached for his weapons. "Hold it, I didn't mean to fight you back there."
"What do you mean?" Link asked.
"I am Dee Winchester, and I've heard from my younger brother you've been taking 'good care' of him." Dee scoffed. "Quite frankly, I could care less how that idiot is doing. I'm here because no one, much less an animal, disgraces the Winchester name."
"I don't care what someone's name is." Link returned firmly. "It's no excuse for even one of the things Cardin was trying to get away with, and it's certainly no excuse for what you tried to do outside that restaurant."
"If you feel strongly about it, let's settle everything there." Dee voiced, pointing to something just down the alleyway.
Keeping a close eye on this man, Link moved to see what he was pointing at. It was a flyer which read: Valean Mini-Tourney. Come test your skills.
"That's where I want to fight you for all the disrespect you've put on my family name." Dee voiced. "Just because this is what I want, don't think you'll be safe by not entering." He started walking away. "We can settle things there, or I'll come find you after it, your choice."
Link watched until Dee was gone before turning his attention to the flyer once more, his mind turning back to his skirmish with the man. "Someone needs to beat him." He pulled out his scroll. "How do I sign up, and how long until this tournament happens?"
He suddenly stopped as he received a message from Ozpin.
"Your shipment has arrived."
Beacon: Early Evening…
Link disembarked from the returning airship with a purpose to his stride as he headed towards the tower were Sparring & Team Building was held. He'd gotten his entrance into the Valean Mini-Tourney figured out, managing to snag the last available place among seven others.
In a tournament setting, there was no guarantee he'd face Dee; however, the odds of it weren't zero. While Dee was obviously a name Link recognized, three others had caught his attention. Two of those were names he'd be talking to Wild about that night.
The third was actually someone he spotted in the distance, Cardin Winchester. The larger leader looked up from his scroll to glare at Link, but The green-clad swordsman spared him merely a glance before moving on. He had more important matters to attend to.
Third Floor Combat Room
Link reached the door to the combat room Glynda assigned himself, RNBW, and JLYN. After noting it was already unlocked, he strolled in to find the two teams waiting for him. Perhaps they figured he was ready to tell them more, but that just wasn't the case right now.
"Thank you all for coming." Link nodded as he moved to stand before them. "I've asked you here because today I had a run in with Cardin's older brother."
"Cardin has an older brother?" Jaune asked.
"Dee Winchester." Weiss ended up responding before Link, getting everyone to look at her. "He's even more uncouth than Cardin."
"You knew Cardin prior to Beacon?" Pyrrha asked.
"No." Weiss answered. "Beauregard Winchester only ever saw fit to bring his eldest, the heir to the Winchester Corporation, to any Atlesian events of note. Even after Dee went off to study at Haven Academy, Cardin never attended any event I was at."
"What exactly makes them such a big deal?" Ruby asked.
"The Winchester Corporation is known for building factory equipment and industrial machinery." Weiss answered. "Given your average civilian doesn't use them, the Winchester family tend to be out of the spotlight compared to the likes of the Schnee family."
"If you looked at the corporation objectively, you wouldn't see much to slander." Blake added. "They pay their laborers well and comply with union worker standards. Something they have the money to be overlooked on is the fact they don't hire Faunus."
"Looking into the Winchester family's past can be rather illuminating but ask anyone else here who knows about it later." Link voiced, having only learned about it today himself. "What's important now is the fact we had a skirmish because he wanted to kill two deer Faunus."
Everyone was shocked.
"What did they do!?" Ruby asked, aghast.
"It was for nothing more than one of them spilling coffee on him, and the other defending her fellow Faunus." Link answered.
Blake was dismayed. "Are those Faunus alright?"
"Dee worked them over before I got there." Link replied. "Police sirens saw us breaking up the fight and departing the scene before I could check on them. At least they were alive when I left, but that wasn't the end because Dee had been in Vale looking for me."
"Is this about what you've done to Cardin?" Jaune asked, concerned.
Some of that had been on his behalf.
"In a way, I suppose you could say that; however, he made it apparent he doesn't care about Cardin." Link assured. "He was here because in his eyes I've disgraced the Winchester name, and he is looking to correct that."
"Did he attempt to end your life?" Yang asked.
"Perhaps that is something he wishes to do at some point, but it's not what he wants in the short term." Link stated. "In the alleyway, he pointed me to a flyer advertising the Valean Mini-Tourney. Either I meet him there as a competitor, or he'll come looking for me after it's done."
"You should bring this to Headmaster Ozpin's attention if you haven't already." Ren stated.
"While that could resolve a lot, it's not going to make him go away." Link stated. "Despite my view of names and their meaning, it doesn't change the fact the Winchester name carries pull to the point Dee could make good on his words.
Even If I could run, I won't." Link stated firmly. "I'm not about to live my life in fear, which is why I signed up for this tournament. I managed to snag the last spot. Weather I meet him in combat or need to go further in the tournament, he will not get his way."
"You wouldn't have called us here just to say this." Jaune stated, realizing now why they were here. "You're looking to train with us."
"Figured you'd get it." Link nodded. "There was no definitive end to my bout with Dee, but I he's skilled. In the short time we clashed, he proved himself better than Cardin. Not to mention his speed is near mine, and he's physically stronger. I'm requesting all of your help, please."
The eight of them looked among one another before sharing nods.
"What do you need?" Ruby asked.
"I must improve my speed, strength, and endurance." Link began. "Additionally, my arsenal has arrived, and Ruby has said she's only keeping my mechashift weapon for finishing touches. The eight of you, with your various weapons, can help me learn to wield them.
As I do have the list of competitors, Jaune and Ruby can help with battle tactics and research. Pyrrha is a tournament fighter herself, so she can fill in anything I may be missing in regard to this coming tournament. While training me, you can all train together."
"You seem to have a good handle of what you need." Pyrrha noted before a glint entered her eyes. "To determine anything further, I do believe the two of us should spar."
Despite the fact over a month has passed since starting Beacon, Link and Pyrrha still haven't spared. Given she was a tournament fighter, sparring with her would be a wise course of action. Though Link got the sense this wasn't completely about helping him.
That's not to say Pyrrha didn't want to help him, only that this spar had a second layer of reasoning behind it. Something Link could note as though she tried to keep herself composed, there was an underlying level of anticipation to his answer.
"We should do it at the earliest convenience, though I have something to do right now." Link informed. "Provided neither of us has to spar in Professor Goodwitch's class tomorrow, how does an hour after classes tomorrow sound?"
"It sounds lovely." Pyrrha responded.
"Alright." Link nodded before looking at everyone. "I appreciate all of you willing to help me." He then walked towards the door. "Right now, I have somewhere I need to be."
That wasn't necessarily true in the traditional sense, but it was the truth to an extent. While Ozpin didn't tell him he had to come collect his arsenal tonight, he'd prefer not to burden the headmaster any longer than he has with it.
Ozpin's Office
Link stepped out of the elevator and immediately spotted seven crates off to the side. Each of them were varying sizes depending on what they held.
"Ah, Link." Ozpin stood from his desk before walking to the crates, seeing the green clad blond joining him. "I must confess, even knowing the list of items you bought, I had not quite expected such a shipment."
"It would have been smaller were it not for Weiss getting me thinking of Dust as a viable avenue to explore." Link stated.
"You weren't familiar with Dust before coming here?" Ozpin inquired.
"I understood what Dust was." Link replied. "I knew how it could be used, and the necessity of safety when handling it. After all, a good number of the caravans, even if not in truly large quantities, still transported Dust around the villages.
When it comes to utilizing Dust, I've had more practice in Weapon Engineering & Upkeep than any time prior. It was simply too expensive for my taste beyond the walls. Even with the thefts going on in Vale, the prices are manageable here."
"I see." Ozpin nodded as he took out his scroll. "Before you get to opening these, I will have to inform you you've used all of this year's reimbursement on just what you ordered. Additionally, it was such an amount that it won't be fully covered."
That was something Link had understood before putting in the order. As a student of Beacon, in so long as it pertained to your role as a Hunter in training, you could reimburse your money spent. Naturally, it was a finite amount one could draw from per year.
Given Link had utilized his, he imagined the council would have words for Ozpin. In the end, it had been a huge help in acquiring everything he wanted without clearing out his savings. It's not to say the person Ruby directed him to wasn't expensive.
It was more the material and sheer number of things he ordered that did it. With this reimbursement, Link would be returned a respectable amount of lien. Link's scroll buzzed, so he pulled it out to see he had just been reimbursed.
"Must have been what Ozpin was just doing with his scroll." He nodded as he put it away. "I understand. Now, I should get to opening these."
"Don't feel you have to hurry on my account." Ozpin voiced, walking back to his desk.
Link began by opening the ammo crate. It contained a large quantity of arrows, high caliber sniper bullets, and Gravity & Wind Dust bullets. The arrows were for the bow he bought while the ammo was for three hand rifles he bought and mechashift he should get from Ruby soon.
The first-hand rifle was strictly for bullets while the remaining two were outfitted to accept Dust ammunition. The next crate contained fifty daggers and twenty-five boomerangs, all of it metal gray in color. Each one was solidly made, he just hadn't bothered adding detail.
In theory, these were weapons he'd only throw, which meant there was the potential to lose them. He'd actually had to stress this to Ruby since she'd wanted him to add a personal touch to all his new weapons. He got her to accept these by promising not to skip on designs for the rest.
He upheld that by utilizing a design Wild had told him about for every remaining weapon. For the hand rifle taking sniper bullets, spear, claymore, bow, shield, and five broad swords, four for each basic Dust and one normal, he utilized what Wild called the Royal Gear Series design.
They were weapons which were issued to the immediate guard detail of the Royal Family of Hyrule and/or in recognition of impressive martial feats. It was notable for power coupled with elegant, elaborate design. The remaining two hand rifles were given altered designs of this.
Purple and green variations, to be exact, as to signify which Dust he'd utilize in each. Link collected all of these from the remaining crates, storing them within his inventory. He'd exchange his current sword, shield, and hand rifle for the new ones after sparring with Pyrrha.
With everything sorted, Link moved to stand before the headmaster's desk. "Do you need me to take those away?"
"No need, Link." Ozpin assured with a warm smile. "My people can handle getting it out of here, just as they handled bringing it up here."
"I see." Link nodded. "Are you aware I've signed up for a tournament?"
"The Valean Mini-Tourney, I'm updated on every one of my students who signs up." Ozpin assured. "In the coming days, your professors will be made aware. Before you participate, they will have the work ready for the days you and Teams RNBW & JLYN will miss."
"That's good to know." Link nodded. "Before I leave, the last thing I want you to know is I've informed both teams of my inventory, and I mean a little more than we had discussed prior to the trip to Forever Falls."
Ozpin stopped for a brief second before looking his way. "What exactly did you tell them?"
"Nothing about magic, though I alluded to the fact it isn't a Semblance." Link replied. "I've already decided sometime this year I'll be letting them in on the truth, just my truth. I'm not one to go spreading around another's secrets."
"I believe you." Ozpin voiced, drawing on what trust the two have built to this point. "Link, I'm not going to tell you who to trust, but I will share words that come from experience greater than you can imagine. Secrets of the magnitude we hold are more powerful pieces of knowledge.
More so than I believe anyone else could find on Remnant. Entrusting them to anyone is a grave risk, one which is a necessity. Weather you feel the reasons are valid or invalid, it will not matter to the individual. Everyone's heart has no metric which measures their sorrow against another."
"You truly speak from experience." Link noted, as he could feel it in the way the headmaster spoke.
"I've had to contend with a great deal of betrayal, most hurtful of all coming from those I've truly trusted." Ozpin closed his eyes. "Everything I do and say is born from experience, Link." He took a deep breath and opened his eyes.
"Despite the negatives, my faith in the people of Remnant does not wavier as I believe all anyone can do is keep moving forward. To resist this, is to admit absolute defeat. While different, I can attest you and I are here to contend with forces greater than most can imagine.
For us to give up, it paints an absolutely bleak future for everyone else. All of this is to say, your trust is yours to give. I will not tell you who you can and cannot share your secrets with. All I am saying is if it ends up back firing, keep moving forward."
"I understand." Link nodded. "Thank you, professor."
He then turned and walked to the elevator, his mind pondering on what force Ozpin could be referring to. The man knew the legends of Hyrule, so the way he spoke had to have a purpose behind it. Alluding to the fact what he contends with isn't the Dark One.
Vale: Night…
Roman scrambled out of the shadows of an alleyway.
"It's over, Torchwick!" A man yelled.
"Come now, it's only just begun!" Roman quipped while hugging a briefcase to his chest as he moved along to another alleyway.
He'd made a relatively clean escape from a Dust store, only to happen across a rather persistent Huntsman in his getaway. While he managed to keep from being captured for quite some time, it wasn't without becoming rather disheveled from every time he's had to fend this man off.
Roman rounded a corner, only to hit a dead end. In his current state, he'd taken a wrong turn. His eyes went wide as he turned to see his assailant limp up to him; a man dressed in red holding a sawed-off shotgun at the ready.
"Come on, Bart." Roman was sweating. "You've been amenable in the past." He backed up toward the wall, flicking a set of lien cards out of his pocket. "How much you want to overlook this?"
"You can't offer me enough, not this time." Bart voiced.
"Come on, I'll pay ten times the usual." Roman offered. "I just need to go get it."
"I said, you can't buy me this time." The huntsman growled as he advanced. "I'm bringing you in."
Roman laughed. "You know I won't let you."
"You serious?" Bart asked. "I'll shoot if you run."
"I know." Roman voiced confidently. "Hey, I'm a lot faster now thanks…"
He tried darting past the Huntsman, seeing him firing the gun. The bullet hit Roman, only for his form to shatter and leave shards of glass on the ground. Bart balked, staring as the pieces vanished before letting out a cry of pain.
His Aura, which Roman had whittled down, had finally been shattered by a thin blade which now protruded from his chest. Blood started to trickle from the wound through his heart. As the blade was removed, Bart collapsed to the ground in a heap.
"Good work, Neo." Roman stood from where he'd crouched beneath her illusion.
The girl with the multi-colored hair smiled and flourished a dainty umbrella in one hand while brandishing a thin blade in the other. Roman gathered the lien cards he'd dropped before tucking them into Bart's jacket.
"Never knew when to quit, did you?" Roman shook his head. "No wonder you were up to your eyeballs in debt." The Huntsman could only gargle out blood as the thief stood and turned to Neo. "Let's go."
She slid her blade into the open handle of the umbrella, lengthening it before following him. They didn't get far before Neo coughed and leaned on her weapon while placing a hand on the building's wall.
Roman was by her side the next second, helping her walk. "I told you to stay in bed."
The pair made their way out of the alleyway to a non-descript black car. Roman helped Neo into the passenger seat before jumping into the driver's seat himself.
"Look, I'm grateful for the save." He assured Neo, who looked at him with concern, as he sped them off into the winding streets of Vale. "Still, we've got big plans which I'll need you at your best for."
Link's Mindscape
Link had gone to bed before once again finding himself back in that clearing he met Wild. Speaking of said past life, he was waiting for him. While not unusual, Link could tell he knew exactly what they had to talk about.
"Why are Revali and Impa on a list of tournament competitors?" For posterity, Link chose to ask his question, and he would specify. "I mean, you've told me prior there has almost always been an Impa; however, I have yet to meet a Beedle."
As Link had learned, Impa and Beedle tended to be people who showed up across other Link's adventures. Given Link never met Beedle, he certainly felt he would have by now given the guy was always a merchant, he hadn't imagined anything like this would happen to him.
"I honestly never imagined something like this would happen, though perhaps I shouldn't have said a thing given there was evidence for it." Wild replied. "That said, you should know better than anyone how reincarnation works isn't cut and dry.
Before I came here, Ravali was still in the afterlife. Same as myself, any other Link, all the Zeldas, and so on. Simply put, the universe works in mysterious ways. Even in the afterlife, you don't come to understand nearly as much as you'd think."
"Basically, I should be on the lookout for any names that might allude to a reincarnation of past beings from across various journeys?" Link questioned.
"Perhaps." Wild admitted. "If Ravali is there, I wouldn't put it past the other champions to have been reincarnated. Beyond that, others could be much the same. Perhaps they'll share names that are familiar, or they could very well have different names all together."
"Well, I guess that answers that." Link shook his head. "All that aside, I need more training."
"That Huntsman you met earlier leading to your participation in a tournament." Wild nodded. "You've been a fast learner, just as any Link prior. Still, there are things I can show you to help improve your technique."
The Dee you see here is the same Dee from RWBY Volume 6, just now connected to the Winchester family. This idea is not mine; it comes from the RWBY fan series RWBY Evermorrow. As for the tournament, I did consider having everyone from RNBW, JLYN, CRDL, and Link in it. With Dee, that would have been 14 people, leaving me two extra slots for anyone I wanted to throw in. Ultimately, I decided to center this around Link which will now showcase RNBW and JLYN helping him.
This allows me to truncate it to eight competitors with the revealed ones being: Link, Dee, Cardin, Ravali, and Impa. That's five competitors which leaves me now with three open slots. With me utilizing Dee, this brings up an interesting point. Who would you like to see utilized more from RWBY? For instance, Dee was quickly killed off in Volume 6, so he's now getting more time here. Another example, I'm toying around with the idea of having Marrow participate.
Come Volumes 7/8, you get the general idea his appointment to the Ace Ops is relatively recent. Right now, this story is within Volume 1 which is quite some off from the present of the story proper. Rooster Teeth, prior to falling apart as a company, had a hard time keeping track of time in RWBY. We're not quite certain how much of it passed from the beginning of the story to where we were come the end of Volume 9.
Monster King: Here you go.
Wicker3: Thank you. When it comes to monster parts, I'm not going to take that aspect from Breath of the Wild, and I don't think I'll have Faunus able to focus up to see the dead. Though, I do agree with the idea any Faunus would wish to go back to the time of Hyrule for even one day. Also, good catch on the potion thing.