Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, Zelda, Kid Icarus, Pokemon, or any other franchise alluded to or included in this work (I don't own the background music either). All I own is this work and my OCs (these include Aris, Oleana, Nash, and any Grimm ideas I come up with).
The tournament was nearing its end. The one-on-one finals were ready to begin. Aris was on the edge of his seat. The candidates for the fights were down in the arena. Aris recognized Yang, Sun, Penny, Mercury, and Pyrrha.
Oobleck announced the rules. Apparently, the finals did not run on a bracket system; the match was randomly determined right before it took place. That gave the fighters no time to prepare; they had to be ready for anything.
The first two fighters were selected: Mercury Black, and Yang Xiao Long.
Aris cheered for the blonde brawler, using his newly devised nickname for her. "Delete his kneecaps, Flamethrower!"
All the other combatants left the arena as the spotlights were turned on. The lights beamed down on the stage.
Yang and Mercury raised their fists as Port counted down.
Port reached zero, and the battle commenced.
BGM: Ken's Theme - Street Fighter II
Yang's fist collided with Mercury's foot as the fight started. Yang dodged Mercury's next few blows, and he dodged hers. Mercury sent her a few feet back, but Yang gracefully landed on her feet.
Yang fired several shots from her gauntlets, and Mercury dodged them. He jumped at her, bringing his right foot towards her head. Yang shielded herself with her forearms. Mercury dodged her punches, hitting her with a bicycle kick. Yang retaliated by rapidly flying her fists at his face, only to be dodged.
It appeared that Mercury was gaining the upper hand.
After some more fist-versus-foot combat, Mercury fired bullets from his boots, all of them culminating and circling around himself and Yang, like the eyewalls of a hurricane. Mercury slammed Yang into the floor with his leg, the follow-up being all the bullets flying at Yang.
Mercury stood up, dusting himself off. It appeared he'd won.
Little did he know that the fight wasn't over yet.
BGM: Battle! Elite Leader - Pokemon Sword & Shield
Flames burned behind Mercury as Yang got to her feet, stronger than ever before. Her eyes were red, and her hair was gleaming. She charged at him with a mighty rage.
Mercury was unable to keep up as Yang slammed her fiery fists into his body, finishing the attack with an uppercut to his abdomen. Mercury's aura was shattered, and the fight was over. Yang had made a comeback.
End BGM
Mercury was on the ground, groaning and holding his stomach. "What a way to kick off the finals!" announced Port. "Yang Xiao Long wins!"
Yang raised her fist into the air victoriously.
Ruby cheered. "Yeah! You did it, sis!"
"That's what happens when you mess with Beacon Academy's raging flame!" Aris exclaimed.
Down in the arena, Yang was making her way to one of the exits, ready to celebrate her triumph.
Behind her, Mercury Black staggered to his feet. He jumped at the brawler, his foot raised. Yang drove her fist into his knee in defense.
Mercury screamed in pain. The crowd...booed?
Aris had seen that, clear as day. Mercury had attacked Yang, so Yang had defended herself. Why was everyone booing?
Meanwhile, Yang was apprehended by a group of Atlesian Knights.
Aris looked to the jumbotron.
There was Yang, taking out the kneecap of a defenseless Mercury.
Aris screamed. Someone had done...something. Maybe someone with an illusory Semblance?
Some time later...
Aris was with his team in the dorm. "I know what I saw," he said. "Yang attacked him out of self-defense. Why don't you guys believe me?"
"We do!" Nash cried. "It's just not what we saw."
"Well, what did you see?!"
Oleana replied, "We saw Yang walk up to Mercury and delete his right kneecap."
"I saw that on the jumbotron," added Pit. "But that's not what I saw down in the arena."
Nash put his chin in his fingers. "Maybe someone's trying to bamboozle us here."
Aris snapped his fingers. "That's what I'm thinking! It's probably someone with an illusory Semblance."
"Meaning, they can create illusions?" said Oleana.
Aris nodded. "Yes. Someone who can make people believe a lie because of what the people saw. But in that situation, what the people saw was not what happened."
"Yang can be a bit hotheaded," said Pit. "But she's not ruthless. She would never do that. Something's going on here, and we need to get to the bottom of it."
"Actually," said Oleana, "Beacon still has a chance at victory. Pyrrha can substitute for Yang, I think."
"Yes," Aris said, "but I still think we need to do at least a little something. Maybe checking up on her."
Nash nodded. "That seems like a good idea, yeah."
Team ALPN left their dorm and made their way to team RWBY's quarters. Aris knocked, Ruby answered. "Oh!" she said. "Hey."
"Is this a bad time?" asked Pit. "We just wanted to know if Yang was doing okay."
Blake answered. "She's doing the best she can. I think the best we can do is give her some space for the time being."
Team ALPN nodded. "Understood," said Oleana. "If there's anything we can do, though, let us know as soon as you can."
With that, Blake, Ruby, and Weiss left the team RWBY dorm, along with team ALPN to visit team JNPR.
They knocked, and Ren answered. "Hello."
Aris explained the situation. "We're just here to check up on everyone. You guys doing okay?"
"Pyrrha's a little nervous," Ren replied, "but for the most part, we're doing fine."
Ruby looked to Pyrrha, who was sitting on one of the beds. "You be sure to win one for Beacon, okay?"
Nash added, "It's what Yang would want. I know you can do it, Pyrrha."
Pyrrha smiled gratefully. "Thank you. I'll do my best."
"We'll be sure to watch tonight if you're picked!" Oleana said.
Pyrrha averted her gaze.
BGM: Princess Leia's Theme - Star Wars IV: A New Hope
Later that day, Aris found Ruby in the gardens. She was sitting on a bench, staring off into space. "Hey," he said.
Ruby looked. "Hey, Aris."
The Hylian sat down next to her, his Pikachu hopping down from his shoulder to run around the garden.
The couple sat in silence, taking in the flowers' aroma and watching Pikachu scamper about the botanical gardens.
Ruby broke the silence. "You know I love you, right?"
Aris nodded. "And I love you, too. I wish I would start saying that more often, though."
Aris felt Ruby wrap her arms around his neck, her captivating silver eyes locking with his blue and green ones. "You don't need to worry," she told him. "Just being around you, hearing you talk, hearing you laugh, seeing you smile, being able to hug you, able to...kiss you...that's enough. It's more than enough. I don't know how to express to you just how amazing you are, Aris. All I can say is that I love you, and I am so happy to be yours."
Aris's face became hotter than Rapidash's mane, and his cheeks flushed redder than his girlfriend's prized cape. "This world needs more people like you, Ruby," he said. "Then again, that's kind of impossible, because no one could ever compare to you in any way."
Ruby's face flushed. "S-Stop," she said. "We both know you're the hot one."
"I may be hot," Aris flirted, "but you're infinitely cuter."
"No," Ruby retorted, "you're cuter."
"Bull. You're way cuter!"
"I think we can both agree that you're a precious cinnamon roll, and I'm just mediocre."
"Mediocre my ass! You're hitting cuteness levels that could create a black hole and destroy the universe!"
This went on for a while, until Ruby said, "Okay, shut up. You're cuter, and that's that."
Aris smirked. "Try and make me."
Ruby formed a flirtatious grin. "Oh, I'll shut you up, sweetheart."
"How?" Aris raised an eyebrow.
Ruby smirked, locking lips with Aris. The two of them started making out, only breaking away to breathe and whisper words of love to each other. Unbeknownst to the lovers, Aris's Pikachu was spectating, a smirk on her face.
End BGM
Finally, Aris and Ruby pulled away. Their faces were red and their lips were slightly swollen from their kisses. Aris smiled warmly. "I'll say it again: I love you, Ruby."
"I love you too, Aris."
