Copyright disclaimer: RWBY belongs to RoosterTeeth, The Legend of Zelda belongs to Nintendo, Pokemon belongs to Game Freak, any other franchises mentioned or included in this work belong to their respective owners (not me). All I own are my OC's (Aris, Perci, Raylo, Takashi, and Loretta), the cover (made it myself via Google Slides), and this story itself.

BGM: Subterranean 2 - Super Mario Odyssey

Weiss Schnee gently opens her bedroom door, peeking out into the hallway. Satisfied that the coast is clear, she begins making her way out, her rapier Myrtenaster in one hand and a suitcase in the other.

Once out in the hallway, she turns around to walk down the hall, only to find a familiar, portly man with a bald head and a bushy auburn mustache standing before her. She gasps.

The man, whose name is Klein Sieben, is Weiss's most trusted butler. Klein puts a finger to his lips, shushing Weiss, signaling the former heiress to be quiet. "Let's make like a teenage boy and beat it," he whispers.

Weiss follows Klein's lead, walking down the hallway and out into the Schnee Manor's foyer. The light of the moon shines through the window, illuminating Weiss's path as she follows Klein down the stairs.

The butler leads Weiss down another corridor on the first floor, his strides determined as he walked with a sense of purpose. Weiss is more of a daughter to him than she ever has been to Jacques, and Klein is intent on letting Weiss live her best life.

In his pocket, a Scroll vibrates. Klein answers it; Whitley Schnee (Weiss's pompous snob of a little brother) is calling him. "Yes, of course," says Klein. "I'll be there in just a moment." He hangs up and turns to Weiss. "Head to the first floor library," he whispers. "I'll meet you there."

Weiss nods as Klein leaves to find Whitley. The former heiress makes her way further down the corridor, eventually reaching the library Klein referred to.

"Klein!" Weiss whisper-yells. "Klein! Where are you?"

Suddenly, creaking.

One of the bookcases in the library opens outward like a door, and Klein stands behind it. "Keep your voice down, I told you I'd be here."

End BGM

Weiss rushes to Klein, dropping her things and throwing her arms around the portly butler. Klein returns her embrace. "Are you sure Mistral is safe?"

"Not really." Weiss pulls away. "But it's where I'll find Winter."

"I suppose she'll be the only family you have left after tonight," Klein says wistfully.

Weiss puts a hand on the butler's shoulder. "I'll always have you."

Klein smiles. "You most certainly will. I hope you're able to see your lover again."

"I do, too," says Weiss.

A crash from elsewhere in the manor. "Klein?!" calls the muffled voice of Jacques Schnee. "Klein, get over here this instant!"

"Go," says Klein. "Now. Stay safe out there."

Weiss picks up her things and heads behind the bookcase. "Klein...thank you."

Klein smiles. "Anytime."

The former heiress begins her great escape as Klein closes the bookcase behind her.

A day or two later, in the woodlands outside Mistral...

Aris sits at a makeshift fire pit with Lucina and Raylo. Takashi left a few minutes ago, probably to scout out team AWLT's next destination.

"Lucina," Aris says.

The princess of Ylisse lifts her head. "Hm?"

"Your father-he doesn't look much older than you, I noticed," Aris says.

Lucina stares up at the evening sky. "There's a reason. It's a long story, but I'll keep it as brief as I can. I was born after a war, and shortly after my birth, Chrom was killed. I still don't know who did it, but I know that it was someone close to him. Because of my father's death, I was forced to grow up in a bleak future. But, I refused to let my people go through that period of suffering. So, I disguised myself and traveled back in time, to aid my father in the war. I adopted the name of the legendary Hero-King from long before my birth. I did eventually reveal myself to my father and his comrades, and later, I helped them win the war. I chose to stay with my father, so that the two of us can live happily as family."

Lucina points to her left eye. "My eye is marked with the Brand of the Exalt, the symbol of my lineage. That's how I revealed myself to my father, who bears the symbol as a sort of tattoo on his shoulder." She gestures to her sword. "This sword is the same sword wielded by the Hero-King I mentioned earlier. It is known as the Parallel Falchion, and it's changed in appearance over time. Only those of my lineage can wield it."

Silence ensues.

Aris breaks it. "I guess you and I are not so different."

"I know," says Lucina. "Your sister told me of your past, and I hope that the people of Ylisse can help restore Hyrule to its former glory."

Aris smiles. "I have faith that your people and mine will form a strong bond."

Bushes rustle as Takashi returns from his scouting mission. "Couldn't spot much in the way of destinations," he says, "but I found something cool!"

"What'd you dig up?" asks Raylo.

Takashi reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a shiny green stone, with a symbol of a lightning bolt on it.

Aris gasps. "That's a Thunder Stone!"

Takashi tosses the Thunder Stone to Aris. "You know what this thing is?"

Aris nods. "A Thunder Stone can be used to evolve a Pikachu into a Raichu. I've been meaning to look for one of those things for a while now. Where'd you find it, Joker?"

"It was lying around in the woods," says Takashi. "I found it by tripping over it."

"Heh," Raylo snickers.

"So, you want to evolve your Pikachu?" asks Lucina.

"You bet I do," says Aris.

Pikachu bounds to Aris's side from her spot atop a small rock. "You ready to transform, girl?" Aris says excitedly to the Electric-type.

Pikachu nods. "Pika pika!"

"Great," says Aris. "Thunder Stone, work your magic!"

The Hylian places the Thunder Stone into Pikachu's hands.

The Electric-type begins to glow as her appearance changes. Her feet grow in size, becoming like really long paws of sorts. She grows taller, her height increasing by just over 1 foot. Her ears grow much bigger, and her tail begins to look more like that of a mouse or rat, with a lightning bolt shape on the end.

The light disappears, revealing that Pikachu's yellow skin became orange. This is no longer a Pikachu. Raichu has joined the battle.

"Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for Raichu!" Aris declares excitedly. Raichu strikes a pose. Lucina, Takashi, and Raylo all applaud.

Aris sits down again as Raichu bounds over to Lucina. "Oh!" says the startled Ylissean princess. "Hi there, little one."

"I think she wants to sit in your lap," Aris muses.

Lucina crosses her legs and invites Raichu to sit on her lap. With a happy yip, the Electric-type climbs into Lucina's lap, curling up to rest with a contented sigh.

Lucina hesitantly reaches her hand down towards Raichu, stops, and looks to Aris for permission. The Hylian nods. "You can pet her."

The Ylissean princess begins to stroke Raichu's head, the Electric-type nuzzling into her touch. "I've never seen anything like this before," says Lucina. "Pokemon are so strange, and yet so wonderful at the same time."

Aris laughs. "Indeed, they are."

Team AWLT sits around the fire as the sun dips below the horizon, the moon and stars arriving to light up the night. The warriors enjoy a nice meal and exchange funny stories and jokes.

"Aris," says Lucina as Takashi and Raylo are arm-wrestling, "did you make any other friends during your time at Beacon?"

Aris nods. "Several. There's team JNPR, which consists of Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren. Pyrrha unfortunately fell during the Fall of Beacon."

"So many lives were lost there," says Lucina. "But, anyone else?"

"There was one other team," Aris says. "Team RWBY. Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long."

"What were they like?" asks Lucina.

"Well," Aris says, "Jaune is similar to me, in that we're both blue-eyed blonde guys with a sword and shield. He wasn't exactly the best fighter at Beacon, but Pyrrha helped him improve a lot. Nora was super energetic; really loved pancakes and smashing Grimm with her hammer, Magnhild. Pyrrha was super kind and very humble, even though she was famous throughout the world. Ren was a man of few words, and he's Nora's childhood friend. His pancakes are the best, I tell you."

"What about team RWBY?" Lucina inquires.

"There's their leader, Ruby Rose," Aris answers. "Younger than the majority of the students at Beacon, really shy, but super friendly once you get to know her. She's a huge sucker for cool weapons. Yang Xiao Long is actually her half-sister. Same dad, different mothers. She's like the sun, if the sun could, y'know, party and have a good time. Blake is super shy, always has her nose in a book. She's actually a cat Faunus, but she hides her ears via a bow on her head."

"What about the fourth member?" Lucina questions.

Aris sighs dreamily. "Weiss Schnee. Beautiful, strong, smart, and not to mention really cute. She's a bit...prickly around the edges at first, but once she warms up to you, she's a real sweetheart. She's the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, which means she has a lot of money. And in turn, that means quite a few guys try to woo her."

Lucina smiles. "You certainly speak very highly of her."

"I do," Aris agrees. "She captured my heart the moment I saw her, and I'm just lucky enough in that she felt the same."

"So, you two are..."

"Yes, we are in a relationship," Aris says, answering Lucina's question before she can finish. "She's my entire world, and I pray that one day, I can see her again."

"Well, we're here in Remnant now," says Lucina. "You'll reunite with your lover, I'm sure of it."

"Here's hoping," says the Hylian.

The next day, in the skies between Atlas and Mistral...

"So, how much farther?" Weiss asks the cargo pilot.

"We're in the home stretch," says the pilot. "No more stops from here to Mistral. Sorry for the long trip, by the way. Staying off the radar has been way harder than I thought, what with all that air traffic around northern Anima."

"It's fine," says Weiss. "I...I just hope I haven't been too much of a burden."

The pilot smiles. "You and your money are more than welcome on my ship, kiddo."

The pilot suddenly picks up a signal from something, but all he hears is static. "Is everything alright?" Weiss asks.

"Dunno," the pilot answers. "We're still flying above Lake Matsu, so we shouldn't be picking up any broadcasts from Mistral. Someone must be close."

Suddenly, the voice of a female cries out over the radio. "Mayday, mayday! We're a small passenger flight, and our Huntress is down! We aren't equipped to deal with this! The Grimm hit us 400 klicks north of the southern shoreline! Get them off us! If anyone can hear this-" an explosion, "AH!"

The transmission cut.

"We're going to help them, right?" Weiss asks the pilot hopefully.

"What? No!" says the pilot. "I'm going to try to avoid them."

"If we don't help, they'll die," Weiss says.

"Look," says the pilot. "If we picked up their transmission, I'm sure someone else did, too. Besides, this is a cargo ship. She's not fit for battle. I just wanna finish this job and go home. Sorry, kiddo. My ship, my rules."