They were beating each other with their fists, sweat flying through the air, all semblance of technique or grace dropped as Alys desperately tried to break down her opponent's aura.
Both of them were extremely tired, their legs like leaden weights and their arms slowly moving through the air. Her opponent was a human this time, small but strong with decent aura reserves, a blue glow surrounding him.
Alys' aura was the first to run out, flickering and then fading as a well-placed punch caught her in the side. But Alys didn't stop, instead pulling on the last reserves of her physical strength and using her natural faunus ability to drop to a crouch and sweep out a leg, catching the tired human by surprise and sending him dropping to the floor and landing on his back with a grunt.
He tried to scramble up but Alys was already right beside him, kicking him in the ribs. He tried to stand back up again and again, but Alys just rolled him across the floor, kicking him with all of her remaining strength and following his tumbling body. She didn't need her aura for his, her faunus strength enough, so she took this time to rest her upper body.
With a final kick, his aura fizzled out, the human even more tired now that his source of energy had disappeared. Her arms rested, Alys flipped him over with her foot and cupped both of her hands together, bringing them down like a hammer into the side of his head.
The crowd gasped as the human instantly stopped flopping around, his body going limp as the referee pulled Alys away and declared her the victor. Alys was pretty sure she didn't hit him hard enough to kill him, but she stayed anyways, offering her help as the attending physician checked over the human.
The physician shook his head and gave her a thumbs up sign, gently pulling the swaying human to his feet and leading him out of the cage. Alys sighed with relief and also walked out, heading for Aaron and Weiss, who were standing in the audience. She was a little unsteady on her feet, the match too close for her liking. Her lack of aura was really starting to become a problem.
"Dramatic and brutal," Aaron noted as Alys walked towards him. "A sure crowd-pleaser."
Alys blushed a little. "Are you happy with me or angry at me?"
"No, no, that was good," Aaron said. "I saw how you held yourself back on the last attack to make sure he wasn't permanently injured. You probably shouldn't do that for your next few matches, but it's all situational."
"How do you feel?" Weiss asked. "Are you going to recover in time for your afternoon match?"
"I think I need some food and a nap," Alys responded. "And then I'll be ready."
Aaron agreed, so they navigated the crowds and began walking back to the hotel room. It was nearly noon, the sun high overhead.
The number of contestants had decreased dramatically, with three-fourths of the contestants having been knocked out of the tournament by now. Thus, the number of cages had also been reduced and chairs had been set up, allowing the audience to spectate each individual match.
Alys and Aaron had to stay in the waiting area until it was time for their fight, so they missed Orphea's match, but Weiss had been able to watch it.
"How did she look?" Alys asked as they were walking.
"Pretty strong," Weiss admitted. "Every time she hit her opponent she did some sort of shout and they just flew back. She threw them around until she found an opening, then held them down and knocked them unconscious."
Alys immediately thought back to what Orphea had shown her, wondering if she was allowed to tell anyone. "Do you think it was her semblance?" Alys asked cautiously.
"Probably," Aaron chimed in. "The only semblances that aren't allowed are the obvious ones, like materialization and projected force fields. The referees will immediately disqualify you if they see you use something that stands out too much. It's a natural extension of the 'don't-scare-the-normal-people' rule."
"So if she had some sort of semblance related to her voice, and she disguised it by combining it with her attacks..." Weiss muttered.
"Then it would be perfectly legal," Aaron finished. "As long as you don't scare the audience too much, anything goes."
"Uh, guys? I don't have anything like that," Alys worried. "And the people progressing all seem to have some sort of semblance that helps them."
"Like Aaron's speed," Weiss nodded, agreeing.
Aaron shook his head. "You have healing. It's not easily noticeable, so the referees won't call you out on it, and your opponents won't know how to deal with it. I don't think there's ever been a competitor with healing before."
"Wait, so her strategy is to get seriously injured?" Weiss asked, frowning.
"Well, as you've seen from the videos I've given you, the fighters who progress further in the tournament are more willing to take injuries and continue fighting," Aaron began. "So for example, if you put someone in a wristlock like you did earlier, the more dedicated fighters will just perform a counter maneuver and trade their broken wrist for an opportunity to injure you."
"But I'm not even sure if I can do the counters properly."
"You don't need to," Aaron explained. "Because you can heal, you have multiple tries if your opponent tries to put you into a hold. All you have to do is break a few bones or dislocate a joint or two and you'll have a great opportunity to surprise them."
Weiss looked unimpressed. "So you just expect her to ignore the pain? You do realize that broken knees and dislocated sockets actually hurt a lot, right? It's very hard to make the conscious decision to severely injure yourself."
Aaron was finally stumped. "Well, uh, adrenaline, I guess?"
"It's fine," Alys said. "I'll just save it as a trump card or something. As long as I have aura and I'm not passed out from the pain, I can keep on fighting."
Weiss had the sudden mental image of Alys lying broken and crumpled on the ground. She shuddered, wondering if it was an omen. "I know how important this is to you, but don't take it too far, alright?" Weiss warned.
"I'll be careful," Alys promised.
They arrived at the hotel, ordering room service at the front desk before heading upstairs. Aaron reminded them to set an alarm for two o'clock so they could get up two hours before the match and prepare, then headed back to his room across the hall.
Alys didn't bother to change, too sore and hungry to from her last fight to really do anything, and sat with Weiss on the couch, leaning on her.
They were silent for awhile, enjoying each other's company, before Alys began talking.
"So about my weapon..."
"Not again," Weiss groaned. "I think I've already told you that you should just find something that fits yourself."
"But I want to start training early," Alys explained. "The limited amount of aura that I have almost made me lose today. If I had a weapon..."
"Alys, why are you trying so hard to force yourself to find a weapon?" Weiss asked. "You don't immediately choose the right one, sometimes it takes a while before you find the one you like."
"That's the problem," Alys said. "I don't think I can imagine myself wielding anything. And then I see you with that Dust-rapier, people with unfolding weapons, weapons with guns, weapons with explosives, and I realize that I can't really compete in actual combat with you guys."
"Then don't," Weiss said gently, trying not to sound insensitive. "You can protect us by healing our fatal injuries, mending wounds that can't be fixed no matter how physically strong you are."
Alys let out a frustrated breath. "Then what was point of all this? Why did I train so hard if I can't even use anything I've learned?"
Weiss stroked her ears, embracing her. "I think you're overreacting a little. You can still beat easily beat the average goon, and you still have enormous strength relative to the average faunus or human. And remember, even combat medics still have to learn how to fight."
Alys shivered in ecstasy, the gentle strokes on her sensitive ears making her breathe a little faster and lose track of her thoughts. "That's not fair," Alys whispered, struggling against her arousal yet also huddling closer to Weiss. "Okay, okay, I'll think about it," she acquiesced.
"Good," Weiss said, smiling and giving her a kiss. "I can't bear to see you like that."
The couch was messy when the room service came, the doorbell ringing.
"I'll get it," Weiss murmured, getting off of the flushed and panting Alys.
Weiss straightened out her rumpled clothing, tying her hair back into place, and opened the door. A waiter stood there with a cart, a little awkward, Weiss' frantic tidying up doing little to hide what she had been preoccupied with.
"I'll take it," Weiss quickly said, not giving the waiter a chance to speak before dragging the cart inside, nodding to him and shutting the door.
An hour passed before the two finally got around to eating lunch, the food a little cold but neither of them caring.
Aaron gave Alys another set of sponsor clothing, Alys taking a quick shower and changing into them. The afternoon sun was still above the horizon as the two headed towards waiting area. They were stopped by a reporter for the event who just wanted a quick comment from them.
"You're in the top sixteen, Alysonne," he said. "How does it feel to be one of the best flyweight fighters in Vale?"
"It feels great," Alys said, giving him a nervous grin. "It feels as though all of my training is paying off."
He turned to Aaron, asking him a similar question. Aaron took the opportunity to advertise his upcoming tutoring services and fighting school, spewing out his contact numbers and giving his sponsors a shoutout before the reporter could take the microphone away.
"Hey, what about me?" Alys asked as they left the reporter behind. "Aren't you teaching me right now?"
"You've already learned nearly everything that I can teach you," Aaron said, smiling. "You're an exceptionally quick learner. If you want to keep progressing, you're going to have to find someone else who can teach you something different."
"Aww," Alys said, a little disappointed. "Can I still spar with you?"
"Of course," Aaron said. "I'll actually have a lot more spare time once I get teaching offers because I'll be able to quit my daytime job."
The two them kept talking for a while, discussing strategy, before Alys was called to out for her match.
Aaron had few last words of advice before Alys left. "Remember: No mercy, don't hold back, and don't be too hard on yourself if you can't win. You're already in the top sixteen, you are strong."
Taking his advice to heart, Alys thanked him and left the waiting room, walking toward the huge cage in the center of the pavilion. A pathway led straight to the cage, cutting through the rows of chairs the audience sat on. Ignoring the camera flashes and cheers, she walked into the cage, taking deep breaths and analyzing her opponent.
The wolverine faunus was short and stocky, his eyes murky green and a trimmed beard lining his jaw. He had a buzz cut that managed to add to his savage appearance, his incisors gleaming as he smiled at her.
Surprisingly, he stepped forward, holding out a hand. "I'm not going to hold back," he grinned. "You ready?"
Alys nodded. "Of course," she said, shaking his hand.
"Then let's not disappoint our audience."
They stepped back, the referee standing between them and waiting for the announcer to finish giving their introductions. When the bell rung, he raised his hand and stepped back, signaling the beginning of the match.
Alys weaved to the side even as the wolverine dashed to her, barely dodging his outstretched hands. Grabbing his elbows as his arms flew past her, she continued his motion and threw him forward, slamming him into the steelsilk cage behind her.
He growled and ripped his arms from her grip, twisting his torso instantly and pushing off of the wall. He landed on top of her, hands clawing at her face, but she just flared her aura and held him up, keeping his hands away from her, his primal-green aura flaring as he stopped her from crushing his stomach. Alys then bent backwards, throwing him off and slamming his head into the ground.
The wolverine recovered quickly, doing a handstand and moving himself away, his neck bent at an awkward angle. The referee began to signal to the end of the match, but the wolverine smiled and yanked his neck back into place, a loud pop indicating his realigned vertebrae. Looking faintly disgusted, the referee allowed the match to continue.
Once again he ran at Alys, and Alys backed off a bit, keeping her guard up. He took a step and jumped forward, doing what looked like a frontal kick, but instead pushing off of the side of the cage and leaping high into the air, coming down on top of Alys with an ax kick. Alys was confused for a moment, wondering where the wolverine had gone, then looked up, immediately raising her arms into the air.
The kick slammed down with frightening force, leaving a bruise despite the aura Alys was wielding. However, the Wolverine was in a compromising position, suspended in the air with a heel on top of Alys' forearms, so Alys was able to grab his ankle on the way down and twist it to the side. The wolverine faunus bounced up from the floor with his other leg, hopping a bit, then landed a kick on Alys' unprotected midsection.
She gave a grunt and flew to the side, her body impacting the cage. The wolverine gracefully landed and pounced again, and Alys once again raised her block. This time, however, he just grabbed one of her arms, sweeping a leg under her and sending her to the ground, bending her arm behind her back.
"Submit," he growled, Alys feeling her bones begin to splinter.
Alys shook her head and got up on one knee, then rotated, screaming in pain as her upper arm and shoulder fractured. The crowd cheered, amazed that she managed to break the hold and unaware of the extent of the injuries.
The wolverine cursed, stepping back, and Alys used her momentum and a surge of adrenaline to slam an elbow into his jaw, feeling something break and making the wolverine stumble backwards, dropping to a crouch.
Gritting her teeth, she began to heal her arm, straightening it back into place and setting the bone, using her aura to reinforce it. The wolverine's jaw was beginning to swell as he leapt towards her again, Alys raising her good arm to fend him off. They weaved and bobbed, trading glancing blows as they jabbed and kicked at each other.
And then the wolverine began to actually claw, his next few blows gouging into Alys' upraised arms and splattering blood across the floor. His swipes were so fast that they were taking off skin and tissue, each attack ripping deeper. She frantically tried to heal the damage, focusing on the stopping the blood flow, her aura flaring as she tried to find off his aura-infused attacks.
There was a lull in his mauling and Alys took the chance, lowering her own guard and and slamming a palm forward. The strike hit the wolverine's nose, breaking it, but he merely hissed and stabbed his fingers forward again, sinking them into Alys' sides.
Alys could only scream as she slammed her elbows into his temple, dazing him, but he stubbornly held onto her ribs, his hands embedded in her flesh between the spaces of the bone. Grabbing his head, Alys pushed his face down and brought a knee up, slamming his mouth closed and further cracking his jaw in multiple places.
She did this repeatedly, the wolverine's grip growing weaker as she repeatedly broke his jaw, his eyes losing focus as he grew concussed.
With a sudden roar and a desperate burst of strength, the wolverine's grip tightened and her ribs snapped, the bones shattering in his fists, the sharp edges slicing into his palm. Alys' throat clenched, the sharp, crushing, searing pain nearly unbearable as her vision went fuzzy, her body going into full-panic mode. She felt as though she was on fire, the pain signals radiating outwards from her broken ribs.
Writhing and choking in agony, she spasmed and kicked him back, pieces of her ribcage being ripped out of her body as he skidded across the bloody ground.
"Seriously?" Alys wheezed, her internal organs visible from the gaping holes in her abdominal cavity where her ribs used to be.
The referee was at first confused, unsure about where all the blood was coming from, then threw up in the corner of the cage when he saw Alys, frantically signaling to end the match. The audience took a few more seconds to realize what had just happened, a few of them also retching, some of them cheering at the carnage, and most of them shouting or screaming at the shocked judges to get Alys medical attention.
The wolverine tried to stand up a few times but failed to, his head trauma too great. He then noticed the bone shards in his hand, looking at the bleeding Alys and saying "You win" before his eyes rolled up and he crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
Her aura already severely depleted, Alys nevertheless tried to tide the flow of blood, managing to slow the pulsing spurts to a gentle ooze. She lay back down on the ground, calming her breathing and trying to slow down her heartbeat. A stretcher was brought to her, hands gently lifting her up and a light being shined into her eyes. She felt herself being moved out of the cage, down the stairs, past the roaring crowd, and into the back of an ambulance. Alys blinked, focusing the emergency medical technician standing above her.
"Fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh ribs have nearly been completely removed," Alys gasped, trying to help them speed the process along. "Partially collapsed right lung."
They nodded, a bit surprised, and began taking the air out of her chest cavity, trying to reinflate her lung. Alys was beginning to sink into blissful unawareness when she heard Weiss' voice, demanding to be let onto the ambulance.
"Relative," Alys croaked.
A few seconds later, Weiss stepped into the back, standing in a corner and wringing her hands, clearly wanting to touch Alys but knowing to let the medical technicians do their jobs.
Alys turned her head to the side, looking at Weiss and smiling deliriously. "I'll be fine," she mumbled. "Just outa' aura for now."
"Sorry, Aaron couldn't come, they only let one come on board," Weiss chattered, a little frenzied. "Stay with me Alys, stay with me, this can't be happening again."
Alys saw Weiss' panic and made a greater effort, pulling on her aura as hard as she could. One of the nearby technicians wobbled a little, his hand clutching his chest. Alys felt a tiny bit of aura enter her and she used it immediately. Her lungs were already mostly inflated, and they were beginning to stem the rest of her bleeding, so Alys finished up the job, forcing her blood vessels and the layer of skin to pull itself back together, the technicians shouting in surprise as her skin healed back up.
Some of them tried to push her back down, but Alys just shook her head, sitting up.
"I'm fine now, see?" Alys panted, now completely exhausted.
Ignoring the people around Alys, Weiss embraced her, clutching her tightly, ignoring the red smears that ruined her pristine outfit.
"Ow, ow, ow," Alys complained. "I'm still missing ribs."
"There's so much blood on you," Weiss said, tears running down her face. "I thought I had lost you again."
"Don't worry," Alys whispered. "I won't die again. I have this handy-dandy healing now, remember?"
Weiss just laughed and sobbed, holding her the entire time as they were transported to the hospital.
Alys stayed in observation for a few days, Weiss staying with her the whole time, the doctors checking on her condition. Each day Alys grew back parts of her ribs, waiting for her aura to recover then forcing her body to calcify mineral deposits in the right places.
The competition had continued on without her, one of the contestants getting a bye as neither Alys nor the wolverine were able to continue fighting. Orphea took second place in her division, losing to a rabbit faunus that she just couldn't hit.
Aaron ended up winning his division, getting the sponsors and offers that he wanted. He visited Alys right afterwards, ecstatic and incredibly happy.
"I got enough money to buy a gym," Aaron said happily, bouncing.
"Wow," Alys said, amazed. "Where is it?"
"Really close to the old gym. I bought out the old warehouse across from the street and I'm going to completely renovate it."
"So it's not a gym yet," Weiss observed.
Aaron refused to let her bring him down. "It will be soon," he promised. "Construction starts tomorrow. I received plenty of investment offers right after my last fight was broadcasted."
"Do you think it's wise to open up a gym right across the street from another gym?" Alys asked.
"My gym will have bigger and better facilities, and I'll be teaching there. Our old gym was cramped and people had to bring their own equipment, so I'm going to offer them a new place to train," Aaron explained. "So, how are you doing now?"
"Almost completely healed," Alys grinned. "The doctors won't let me out of here until I'm fully recovered."
Aaron stopped twitching, his face taking on a serious expression.
"Uh, what's going on?" Alys asked, a little nervous.
"Do you still want to continue fighting?" Aaron asked cautiously. "After a traumatic fight, a lot of people retire..."
Alys nodded. "I definitely want to continue fighting," she declared. "I'm going to get better so I won't be injured like that next time."
"Yeah, your fight was a bit ridiculous," Aaron agreed. "I don't think I've seen anything like that before. I bet the organizers are revising the rules now to ban wolverines or something."
"Are you sure, Alys?" Weiss asked. "I can teach you fencing if you want."
"Like I said, I'm not going to stop training in hand-to-hand combat when I still have so much room to improve," Alys said, refusing to budge.
Weiss sighed. "I regret giving you advice," she muttered to herself.
Alys laughed, giving Weiss a hug. They talked for a little longer until Aaron excused himeslf, needing to go take care of a few phone calls and sort out his business arrangements.
About an hour later, Weiss was talking with Alys about Beacon when a nurse suddenly came in, telling her that she had visitors.
Alys nodded and the nurse left the room, a short man and a tall, slender woman walking inside.
"Uh, hi," the wolverine said.
He looked embarrassed and nervous, his trimmed beard now clean-shaven, wearing neat dress pants and a dress shirt. The woman wore a silvery gown, long and slinky, and had tufted fox ears on top of her platinum hair, the long curls nearly to her waist.
Her amber eyes narrowed as she slapped the wolverine's back, making him wince and stumble forward. "Apologize, Thomas."
"Sorry," Thomas said gruffly, looking downwards. "Didn't mean to hurt you so badly. I just got caught up in the fight and didn't want to let go."
Alys smiled, nodding. "Apology accepted, but I don't think you needed one. A fight is a fight, after all."
The fox prodded Thomas again, and he coughed and turned towards Weiss. "Sorry for hurting her," he said, a wary expression on his face as he waited for Weiss to yell at him.
Weiss harrumphed. "Apology also accepted," she said. "I understand that it was an intense match."
The fox faunus smiled, relieved. "He doesn't look too sorry, but trust me, the first thing he did after waking up was ask if you were okay."
"Kiara," Thomas whined, drawing out her name. "You said you wouldn't tell anyone."
Kiara shushed him. "I'm Thomas' wife," she said, introducing herself. "I'm really sorry about this whole thing and I hope you're getting better. We have to go to a dinner party now, but give us your number and we'll pay for your medical bills."
Weiss began to speak but Alys shushed her, realizing that Kiara needed to pay her back so she could forgive herself and her husband. "That would be great," Alys said, smiling. "And don't worry, I'm almost completely healed now."
"Oh, good," Kiara beamed, visibly relaxing.
The couple had to leave soon, so they swapped numbers and said their goodbyes before departing, the room once again silent.
"Alys?"
"Yeah?"
"That was weird. Well-intentioned, but still weird."
"Yeah."
Note:
Longer than usual, this too longer to write too _
Response to a review:
Nah, I don't do any rping, but it's cool to see people using Blood Rose O.o
Also, RWBY needs a wolverine faunus. Wolverines, not just the comic book character but also in real life, are just so freaking badass.
Read, review, comment, etc, send me messages. Hopefully I can wrap up this interlude in the next chapter, but we'll see.