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