Penn Zero Fanfiction

Author's Note

Okay, so a couple of things. First of all, I make awful life decisions. I should have started in the summer when I had all the time in the world. Instead, I started off during March Break and now that school has started, I have to juggle those responsibilities with these ones. If you're reading this, then only make commitments you can keep.

Second, I do not like how this chapter turned out at all. It is so much harder writing out an entire plot rather than a single moment. I'm actually reconsidering this whole idea of even including these 'original works' in the story at all. While they do help improve my writing skills, I also want to make this stuff good for you guys and I think that sometimes I don't do that. Anyways, let me know if I should keep doing this or not because I seriously can't decide.

Third, I had to split the parts again because this is turning out so much longer than I originally wanted it to. I am going to write up the final part to this as fast as I can but like I said, awful life decisions. Hopefully, when I get back to writing the moments, I can get it done faster while at the same time not sacrificing quality but I seriously need you guys to tell me how I'm doing so that I can decide whether I should even continue to do this or not.

Anyways, enough of my endless talking. I hope you guys enjoy but let me know if this is bad. I'm sort of testing out this idea so if I can get some feedback on how I can improve this, later on, that would be great. Enjoy!

Day Off (Part 2)

The bus finally stopped after a long drive and the people filed out slowly. Penn looked around him at the huge crowd that had come to see the tournament. He had never been to an event this big in his whole life. Being a spectator was already more than he could imagine. But being a part of it? It was all so surreal to him that he was having a hard time convincing himself that it was actually happening.

His heart was racing in his chest and he tried to breathe to calm himself down. He had never been under this much pressure in his life. It was different from his missions as a Part-Time Hero. This wasn't the same as a fear of failure. He was so nervous and so anxious, but also so excited at the same time, and this only seemed to increase the more he thought about just what he had gotten himself into.

Suddenly, someone grabbed his arm and shook it. He looked to see Sashi looking at him worriedly.

"You okay, PZ?" she asked.

"I'm fine, Sash, don't worry," Penn said, smiling reassuringly before his smile turned into a grin. "I've just never been to something as big as this before."

"Me neither," she said, grinning back.

"This is so cool," he said. "I kinda feel like I should've dressed better."

This earned a small laugh from Sashi. "Don't worry, Penn, we look fine."

He looked around. "Where are the other fighters?" he asked, scanning the crowd, trying to find something that didn't look like a uniform and having no luck. Sashi tried looking around too but she was much shorter than Penn and even he couldn't see past most people's heads. He caught her trying to look over the crowd and laughed at the sight. She looked at him in confusion and it took her a moment before she realized what he found so funny.

"Hey!" she said. Penn looked to see her frowning and crossing her arms. She might have looked angry if not for the light blush on her face.

"You could at least help, you know," she said.

"Okay," Penn said, still chuckling. He thought for a moment. "How?"

She rolled her eyes. "Lift me up so I can see over their fat heads, stupid."

"Oh," Penn said. "Okay." He turned around and knelt down so that Sashi could climb onto his shoulders. After making sure that she was in no danger of falling, he stood up to his full height, Sashi on his shoulders, scanning the crowd.

"There!" she said, pointing in a direction he couldn't see.

"Uh, Sash?" he said.

"What?"

"I can't see where you're pointing," he told her.

"Oh," she said, sounding embarrassed. "Right."
Suddenly, she yanked on his hair, making him stumble forward.

"OW!" he yelled at the sudden pain. "Sashi, what are you-"

"I'm guiding you," she said. "Whichever way I pull your hair is the way you go."

"Or, you could just tell me," he pointed out.

"Nah," she said. "This is way more fun." She yanked his hair to the right, causing him to lean and turn. "And much more effective."

Penn followed Sashi's lead, doing his best to avoid her having to pull his hair to steer him back in the right direction.

After a few more hair-pulls and some very weird looks from the people around them, Penn and Sashi reached a group of people that weren't dressed in any uniforms. They wore either track pants or sweatpants along with a t-shirt, although some had opted for a tank top instead.

Penn put Sashi on the ground and they both walked over to the sponsored teams. Penn looked at Sashi to see a very happy smile on her face. His eyebrow twitched in annoyance but he held back on saying anything as they reached the crowd.

"You ready for this, PZ?" Sashi asked from beside him. Penn turned to answer and noticed that she was just as nervous as he was.

"Yeah," he answered. "Are you?"

She nodded, smiling sheepishly as the group started moving.

They were led around the entrance of the stadium to a side door. They went through and found themselves in a big room. Their guide turned around and addressed the competitors.

"As you know, the sponsored teams, dojos, and solo fighters will all fight to make it to the finals. Once there, one fighter from each team will fight another fighter from the other team for first, second, and third place. Remember the rules. If you break any of them, you will be disqualified immediately. Understood?"

The fighters said 'yes' and the man nodded and left.

"So what are the rules?" Sashi asked Penn after the man was gone.

"I don't know," Penn said, shrugging his shoulders.

"No eye gouging, no hair pulling, no internal or serious injuries, and no concussions," someone answered. Penn and Sashi turned to see a boy a little older than them. Penn recognized him as the same guy he'd talked to after his fight with Sashi.

"Thanks," Penn said, chuckling in embarrassment. "Hey, I didn't get your name before," he said.

"My name is Salaak," the boy said as he and Penn shook his hands. "What is yours?"

"I'm Penn," he said, introducing himself. "This is Sashi," he said, turning to her.

"Hi," Sashi said guardedly. "You two know each other?"

"Not really," Penn said. "I met him when I went to take a walk after you and I…" he trailed off, and Sashi felt a pang of guilt when she realized what he was talking about. Then she remembered how Penn had immediately come back in a much better mood and how he had been so determined to help her. She wondered what this guy had said. Whatever it was, she was thankful for it.

"Anyways," Penn said. "Salaak, I didn't know you were part of the sponsored teams."

"I am," Salaak said. "I am from a dojo in Pakistan. My uncle lives here and owns a company. He sent word to my parents in Pakistan about the tournament. They asked if I could go to see the competition but my uncle said he could sponsor me to participate if I wanted to. So here I am."

"Wow," Penn said. "Your English is really good."

"Thank you," Salaak said. "I travel a lot for my studies so I speak many languages."

"What's your fighting style?" Sashi asked.

"Capoeira," Salaak answered. At this new knowledge, Sashi immediately grew nervous. From how comfortable he looked, even around all these other highly skilled fighters, Sashi had already deduced that he had to be seriously good. But Capoeira was one of the most unorthodox and unpredictable martial arts she knew of. It was very hard to master but once you did, it made you a very dangerous fighter.

"Ah, so you know of it," Salaak said, noticing the look on Sashi's face.

"I don't," Penn said. "What's it like?"

Suddenly, the announcer's voice came on over the speakers.

"You'll see," was all Salaak said, smiling confidently.

Sashi pulled Penn aside as the other participants moved toward the entrance to the stadium in preparation for being called out to fight.

"Penn, listen," Sashi said seriously, looking cautiously at Salaak as he moved with the crowd.

"What is it, Sash?" he said.

"He's good," Sashi said. "Really good. Even I'm nervous to go up against him in a fight."

Penn looked at her in shock. Sashi of all people was scared of this guy?! He looked back at Salaak and for the first time since he got there, he noticed it.

Salaak didn't hold his head up high like some of the more confident fighters, but he wasn't nervous like some of the more inexperienced ones either. But that wasn't what caught Penn's attention.

The guy didn't radiate any tension at all. He was completely relaxed. This was a national competition between some of the best dojos in the country. And some fighters had come from all across the world, probably with the best training their country had to offer. And knowing all that, Salaak was completely relaxed.

'He's not just good,' Penn realized. It didn't matter how good you were. Any smart fighter knew that in any fight, there was always something that could catch you off guard, which was why he knew that no matter how good the confident fighters were, they weren't going to make it to the finals. He'd be surprised if they even made it to the quarterfinals. They had always fought opponents with inferior talent. If you weren't quick to think on your feet and find a way to outsmart your opponent, your loss was all but assured.

But Salaak wasn't confident like they were. He was on-guard, watchful of anything that could catch him off guard or anyone that was stronger than him. But he still wasn't nervous. It could only mean that he'd beaten those odds before. Not only that, but the fact that he was so relaxed meant that he was probably used to fighting stronger opponents.

Salaak was skilled. Even Penn could tell that much. But there's always someone better. And if that didn't scare Salaak, it was because he was confident he would find a way to beat them anyways.

He wasn't just good. He was smart. Which meant pitting him against Sashi would be the worst possible thing to do. She was the most skilled fighter he knew, second only to his own parents, but she wasn't a strategist. Salaak would be quick to figure out a way to defeat her. Penn could see it clearly now. That look in his eyes. He was always analyzing. Sizing people up. Deducing. Simulating. Countering. Winning. Even before the fight began. This guy would not go down easy.

'If he goes down at all,' Penn thought nervously.

Sashi saw the realization dawn on Penn's face as the first two teams from the dojos were called up. Everyone filed out of the room and made their way to the front row of seats and sat down on the floor so as not to block the view of any of the other people.

"Sashi, I want you to let me go up against Salaak," Penn said.

"What?!" Sashi looked at him incredulously, only to find a focused and deadly serious look on his face.

'He's not joking about this,' she realized.

"I know what you're thinking, Sash, but I know what I'm doing," he said. "Just trust me, okay?"

"Penn, I really-"

"Trust me."

Sashi hesitated. It wasn't that she didn't think he could do it. Far from it. She had seen the few times he had shown his skills on their missions and even she didn't know the full scope of his abilities yet. She didn't doubt that he could take on most of the competition. After all, he wasn't a Hero for nothing. She was just worried about Salaak, and a select few other fighters she had seen earlier. They were strong. Really strong. And as good as Penn was, he just wasn't trained for fighting the way she was. He wasn't even trained at all. Not only that, but she wasn't sure his underweight, ninety-pound body could take that much damage, and he'd have to fight one opponent after the other, too.

'Just don't get hurt, Penn,' she almost said out loud.

"Okay," she said instead. Penn smiled a little before he turned back to see the two fighters stepping into the ring in the center of the stadium. The other two fighters waited right outside, ready to tag in at a moment's notice.

The announcer introduced the two teams, one from a dojo a bit up north, the other from a city close to Middleburg. It didn't escape Sashi's notice that both of these dojos were listed as part of the Top 10 dojos in the country in every major source she knew of. They had always been close in the rankings. She realized how big this was for them. They were finally going to see which one of them was superior, once and for all.

The crowd went silent. She watched with bated breath as the fighters stepped into the ring. The referee counted down as the match was about to start, holding his hand up, ready to signal the fighters to start. Every second felt like an eternity. When he was at 'one', he held his hand up in the air, looking at both sides to see if they were ready.

'Just START,' Sashi silently begged.

The entire audience was quiet. Sashi could sense the anticipation from them. Even Penn, who hadn't really been interested in this at the beginning, held his breath as he watched the ring intensely.

Suddenly, the referee brought his hand down and quickly got out of the ring as the two fighters charged at each other.

The one wearing the red uniform from the dojo up north aimed a kick at the other one's midsection but the one wearing the blue uniform grabbed his leg and used it to throw him across the floor. The red one quickly recovered and got into his stance as the blue one charged. Red dodged to the side as Blue came at him, retreating to the corner of the ring. Blue followed him but Red dodged again and closed in on Blue while he was still in the corner. However, Blue grabbed the sides of the ring and lifted himself up. He kicked Red in the chest with both legs, sending him stumbling back. Blue advanced and aimed a push kick to Red's stomach but Red dodged. However, Blue spun and kicked him across the face, making him spin twice before falling to the ground. Even then, Red quickly recovered and got up. Blue aimed a roundhouse kick to the side of his face but Red ducked and knocked his other leg out from under him. But instead of falling, Blue somehow twisted in mid-air and managed to land on his feet in a cat's crouch on all fours, facing Red. As Red moved forward, Blue, in one fluid motion, rose up and did a backflip, landing a hard kick against the bottom of Red's jaw, knocking him back against the ropes of the ring, stunning him. As Blue advanced, Red caught him off-guard by headbutting him as he closed the distance. Not wasting another second, Red advanced and slammed a hard kick into Blue's stomach, pushing him back. He advanced, not giving Blue any time to recover as he punched him hard across the jaw. He grabbed Blue's head and brought it down to his knee but Blue used his hands to block the oncoming blow. He pushed Red away but Red used the backward moment to do a backflip and land a hard kick to Blue's face, mimicking his earlier move. Unlike Blue, he was much faster, and he rushed and smashed his fist into Blue's stomach, making him double over. He smashed an uppercut into Blue's face, causing him to stumble back. As Blue tried to stay standing, Red ran and jumped, stepping off of Blue's chest and doing another backflip, kicking him in the face and sending him flying over the ropes and out of the ring. He landed on the ground, groaning as he tried to get up before realizing that the fight was over and he'd been forced out of the ring and giving up. His teammate came over to him to see if he was okay. After helping him up and making sure he got back to the rest of the team, he went back and stepped into the ring for the second round. The guy in the red got out of the ring, his steps a little unsteady after his fight with his opponent. His teammate came over to him, congratulating him and helping him get back to his own team before stepping into the ring himself.

If the blue team could get a win in this round, they might still have a chance to advance. They would have a rematch with red for a third round that would decide the winner and that person would advance to the next stage of the tournament.

Sashi watched closely as the two others stepped into the ring. As the referee counted down and the fight started, she realized two things. The first was that both teams had sent their more skilled fighters to fight in the first round so that in the tiebreaker, their better fighters would have recovered enough to fight again. Smart.

The second was that the guy from the red team had been the stronger one all along. While he had great skill when it came to fighting and martial arts, Sashi could tell his greatest strength had lain in his endurance and his ability to take a hit. Even after taking multiple blows to the face and body, he hadn't been too hurt when he'd walked out of the ring. He'd been holding back in the fight, gauging his opponent's level of skill. Once he was satisfied, he'd ended the fight quickly, using as little energy as possible, probably saving it for the later rounds.

Even though Sashi had already been pretty nervous and excited, it finally began to sink in for her. This was the real deal. The Big Leagues. It didn't matter how nervous or inexperienced any of the fighters were. It didn't matter what kind of training she and Penn had. Even if some opponents would be harder to beat, none of them were gonna go down easy.

She turned to Penn, about to give him some advice to be cautious and some warning to keep expecting more from their opponent than he was getting, only to find a look of intense concentration and deep thought etched onto his usually carefree face. His eyes were focused completely on the match and she could practically see him taking in, analyzing, and storing information for later use and she found herself caught off-guard again by his seemingly hidden talents. She suddenly remembered that while she and Boone had known about their future lives as Wiseman and Sidekick and had at least had some kind of preparation for the role, Penn hadn't had that at all. On his very first mission, he had been freaking out about his job and how he, a seemingly ordinary guy with his whole life ahead of him, was suddenly expected to save the freaking world. But even so, he had quickly recovered, finding an unorthodox method to fix a seemingly hopeless situation and turning his weakness into a strength. And that was when he'd had no experience at all. Now, after all the missions he'd been on, he'd been seasoned into quite a capable Hero, becoming an effective leader and a quick-thinking and excellent strategist. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that for all her attempts to keep things about herself private, he was really the mysterious one. Just what was he really capable of? If not for the fact that he was on her side, the thought might have scared her.

She turned back to the match, only to find that it was over. The red team, which was the dojo from the north, had won. The guys from the other dojo walked back, their heads hanging in shame, and Sashi couldn't help but feel a little sorry for them. They wouldn't be living that down anytime soon.

The next match was between the sponsored teams. As the two teams were called up, Sashi saw Salaak and another guy get up. The names of the competitors flashed on a giant screen as the two teams discussed with each other what she assumed was their battle strategy. They walked to the ring and Salaak fist-bumped his teammate before climbing into the ring. He caught sight of Penn and Sashi and waved at them. Penn waved back and after a nudge, Sashi waved too, although more hesitantly. Salaak turned as his opponent climbed into the ring and the referee stepped between them. Salaak and his opponent, whose name was Kairo, stared each other down as the referee counted down. Kairo glared fiercely while Salaak returned his intense look with a calm one of his own. The referee brought his hand down and the match began.

Kairo and Salaak charged at each other. Salaak caught his opponent off-guard and jumped forward, doing a somersault and kicking his legs out mid-roll, kicking Kairo in the stomach with the full momentum of his roll behind it. Kairo stumbled back as Salaak leaned back on his head and flipped himself back up onto his feet. Kairo rushed forward and jumped, aiming a flying kick at Salaak. Salaak aimed a roundhouse at Kairo, hitting him away and dodging his kick at the same time. Kairo quickly got up and aimed a punch at Salaak but Salaak dodged it and kicked the back of Kairo's knee, bringing him down. Kairo turned his body and tried to strike Salaak again but Salaak merely stepped back to avoid the blow, then stepped forward and kicked Kairo in the chest, knocking him down onto his back.

Kairo got up again and Salaak aimed a roundhouse kick at his face but Kairo caught his leg. Salaak jumped and tried to kick him with his other leg but Kairo dodged it. Salaak then stood on his hands and pulled his trapped leg toward him, pulling Kairo with it, and used his free leg to kick Kairo straight in the face. Kairo stumbled back, stunned from the blow. Kairo rushed at Salaak and aimed a punch at him but Salaak blocked it and drove his knee into Kairo's stomach. Kairo doubled over and Salaak went behind him as Kairo looked up. Salaak kicked the back of his knee again and grabbed his neck, forcing him down onto the ground. He put a foot on one of Kairo's arms and when he tried to strike at Salaak with his other hand, Salaak grabbed that arm and pulled it behind Kairo's shoulder. Kairo struggled but try as he might, he couldn't break free of Salaak's grip.

Eventually, Kairo tapped out and when the referee called it, Salaak let go of Kairo. As Kairo struggled to get up, Salaak held out his hand to help him. Kairo looked at him in surprise before accepting it and allowing Salaak to help him to his feet. They shook hands and Kairo walked out of the ring.

Sashi noticed Salaak didn't look tired at all. Not only that, he hadn't taken a single hit during that entire fight. He had also finished the fight rather quickly, wanting to save his stamina for the later fights, which was why he had opted for forcing his opponent to tap out instead of winning the hard way.

She looked at Kairo and his teammate to see that his teammate seemed to be very angry with him. The crowd's cheering was making it hard to hear what his teammate was saying, but it must have been awful from the look on Kairo's face. Kairo said something while looking down, probably an apology and to Sashi's surprise and utter disgust, his teammate slapped him. Hard.

Penn noticed it too and his eyes widened in shock for a moment before quickly turning bright with anger. His teeth clenched and his hands tightened into fists. He and Sashi watched as the guy, who's name flashed as 'Enrique' on the screen, stepped into the ring. Sashi wished it were her in that ring with him.

Then her eyes fell to Salaak and she was surprised to see barely-contained rage in them. His body, which had been relaxed before, was taut with tension and she could see that he was making a visible effort not to attack his opponent as he stepped into the ring. Suddenly, she almost felt sorry for Enrique. Almost. As the referee signaled the start of the fight, a smile of satisfaction spread across her face as she watched the two fighters charge at each other.

Enrique aimed a punch at Salaak but Salaak grabbed Enrique's arm and used it to flip Enrique over him, slamming him into the ground with visibly more force than necessary. Barely giving Enrique time to roll over so that he was upright, Salaak pulled his arm up, lifting him up a bit, before grabbing his neck and squeezing hard as he lifted him to look him in the eye. Enrique grabbed at Salaak's hand but the more he struggled, the tighter Salaak squeezed.

Then Salaak's other hand reared back and he punched Enrique hard, causing him to stumble back. Salaak advanced and drove his fist into Enrique's stomach, forcing him to double over, and slammed an uppercut straight into his face, almost knocking him off his feet. He rushed and slammed a kick straight into Enrique's stomach, making him fall against the ropes. Salaak then rushed at him and, with all his might, jumped and drove both his legs into Enrique's stomach in a brutal two-legged kick, slamming him out of the ring and onto the floor. Enrique groaned, holding his stomach as Salaak stood up and looked at him angrily, although there was now less rage in his eyes. As the medics checked him for injuries, everyone waited with bated breath to see if Salaak had gone too far. The medics flashed a thumbs-up sign to no one in particular and the crowd cheered.

Salaak didn't even wait for the referee to announce that he'd won before stepping out of the ring and walking up to Kairo. Kairo looked at him in shock. Salaak said something to him, patting him on the shoulder and smiling in encouragement. Kairo looked at him with wide eyes before a smile spread across his face and he nodded. Salaak shook his hand before walking away and rejoining his teammate.

Penn and Sashi stared at him in shock. Salaak was a smart fighter. He'd already proven that in his first fight. But to go all-out like that, risking disqualification just because someone from another team had treated his teammate, Salaak's opponent, badly, was rash, to say the least, and downright stupid to say the most. And Penn and Sashi respected him all the more for that.

"You know," Penn began, "he'd make for a pretty good Hero."

"So you're gonna quit on me now?" Sashi said jokingly.

Penn chuckled. "Nah, you'd miss me," he said.

"You're right," Sashi said quietly. Penn turned and looked at her in surprise, wondering if he'd heard right, but she was focused on who the next contestants were. Penn decided to focus on the match and when the next contestants were called up and it wasn't him and Sashi, he turned his attention back to Salaak. This was going to be tough. Salaak was a defensive fighter. He may have gone on offense these first few fights, but that was because of the sheer difference in skill between him and his opponents. He had acted more recklessly than he normally would, especially in the second round, but even then, he had come out of both of those fights unscathed. Not only that, but Sashi's fighting style was mostly offense-based, the complete opposite of Salaak's defense-based style. When it came to opposite fighting styles, the smarter fighter always won. Always. As much as he hated to admit it, there was absolutely no way Sashi would be able to take this guy.

The problem was, he wasn't even sure he could take this guy. Unlike Penn, Salaak's specialty was fighting, through and through. He was experienced, he was smart, and he was really good. Penn was smart too, but he had always had Sashi take care of the fighting because it wasn't where his own talents lay. And now he was being forced to fight someone who'd redefined the word 'talent' when it came to fighting. The more Penn thought about it, the more he realized that he was in way over his head.

"Penn?" Sashi asked, gently putting a hand on his arm to get his attention. Penn looked at her to see her worried eyes on him. Then, as if getting hit by a truck, he had a sudden realization.

Images flashed in front of his eyes. Sashi saving him and Boone on their missions. Sashi getting angry at their antics. Sashi worrying about them. And that was when it hit him.

He was the Hero. He was the one who always got all the glory. He was the one who was always congratulated. But what about her? He remembered their mission with the fuel crystals. How Sashi had been the one to save the day but the crew had congratulated him. That time, he'd told everyone who they should really be proud of. But he didn't do that every time. How many times had Sashi been overlooked? She was the real Hero every single time. And how many times had people realized that? As far as he could remember, only once. And even that was fake because her parents still didn't know just how amazing their daughter was and what she did every day.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized how much she had sacrificed every single day on the job for him, Boone, Phyllis, and all the worlds they had saved. And she still did it with a smile on her face. And he couldn't even be a proper Hero most of the time. As he thought about it, he realized he let her down. Every day. Every day he let her down. And he had never apologized for it. Never even realized it. And still, she forgave him.

She could have come here by herself as a solo fighter. She could have decided to just not go through the trouble of bringing him with her. But she did because she wanted to spend time with him. Because she thought he was worth her time and he couldn't for the life of him figure out why. But right now, that didn't matter.

He had to win. He couldn't let her down again. He wouldn't. After all that she had done, all that she had been through, he had to win for her. He had to do this for her. She deserved it. She deserved more, he knew that. But this was all he could do. And he would do it.

Suddenly, she slapped him.

"PENN!"

"OW!" Penn yelled, holding his cheek which was already glowing with a red handprint. "What was that for?!"

"I kept calling you and you weren't listening," she said angrily. Then her anger turned to worry, an expression he was all too familiar with. "You looked like you were freaking out. It's okay, Penn. Don't worry about it."

"What?" he said confusedly.

"I just came here to have fun. And I did, so it doesn't matter anymore."

Penn stared at her, completely clueless. "What?"

Sashi rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation. "I'm saying it's okay, stupid. We don't have to win." She smiled gently. "Don't worry about it."

He knew she was trying to make him feel better, but she didn't realize it was having the complete opposite effect. The worst part was, she didn't even think twice about it. She didn't resent him for having to do it. She was okay with it. And she shouldn't have been. She should have been demanding. Strict. Satisfied. Selfish. Anything other than okay. But she wasn't because she'd had to sacrifice so much that now she was just used to it.

'We don't have to win.'

"Yes we do," Penn whispered to himself, a newfound determination and desire burning in him. Sashi looked back at the ring to find that once again, she had missed the match and it was over. Then suddenly, their names were called up. As they went over, Sashi glanced at Penn to see that his usually friendly blue eyes were now burning with a fierce determination. She was about to ask him what was wrong when he turned to her. The steel in his eyes melted away for a second, replaced by the warmth she was so used to seeing when he looked at her.

"Sash, can I take this match?" he asked. Sashi looked at him in confusion.

"You wanna take this round?" she asked, surprised by his request. Although neither one of them had said it, she thought she would be the one to do most of the fighting since that was her specialty and Penn would only fight if he was the better fit.

"No, I wanna take the match," he said.

"But there's two of them," Sashi protested.

"I know," he said.

"Penn, I don't think that's a good idea," Sashi said.

"Sash, please," Penn pleaded.

"But-"

"Please," he practically begged. Sashi was growing more confused and even more worried, but that deep trust she had for him won out again and against her better judgment, she nodded. He looked at her gratefully before his eyes hardened again and he climbed into the ring.

She watched him intently as the referee counted down. This sudden change worried her. She wanted to win, but she didn't want Penn to hurt himself just to make sure she did. If that was what it took, she'd rather lose. She should be glad that he was so determined to win, but she wasn't because it just wasn't like him. Determination, when taken too far, made people reckless. And that lead to them getting hurt. And she really, really didn't want Penn to get hurt.

'Why did I agree to this?' Sashi thought. He wasn't a fighter. Hell, he was a pacifist by nature. Why would she bring him here?!

Suddenly the match started. The other guy charged at Penn and Sashi's breath got stuck in her throat. Time seemed to slow down. Every instinct in her body screamed to jump in there and protect him, or tag in, or pull him out of there. Anything.

It turned out she didn't need to.

The guy tried to punch Penn but Penn spun around him and grabbed his arm, using his own momentum to throw him in the opposite direction. The guy quickly recovered and turned to see Penn walking toward him slowly, with a scary look in his eyes that chilled him to the bone. He hesitated for a second, suddenly scared, before recovering and rushing at Penn again. This time, he aimed a kick at Penn's side but Penn caught his leg and delivered a hard kick to the guy's chest, making him stumble back. He rushed, smashing another kick into the guy's stomach. Then he rushed at the guy and just as he looked up, Penn jumped, wrapping his legs around the guy's head and twisting his body, groaning from the strain as he used his legs to fling the guy across the ring floor. He rolled and fell out of the ring before he even knew what was happening.

She watched as the next guy stepped in, now much more cautious of Penn. He rushed at Penn and threw a flurry of blows at him, Penn either dodging or deflecting all of them while being backed into a corner. Sashi was about to yell at him to get out of there when he suddenly caught one of the guy's punches. The guy looked at him in surprise and Penn momentarily smiled triumphantly before spinning the guy around, grabbing him around the waist, and lifting him up before throwing him out of the ring.

The crowd looked at him shock, then erupted into noise, some cheering at how fast and quickly he'd won the match, others yelling in disapproval at not seeing much action. Sashi looked at him in surprise but he just smiled as they both walked back to sit down.

She could still see that bright, burning look in his eyes. Just as she was about to ask him what was wrong, he caught her looking at him and his eyes turned warm again.

"What is it, Sash?" he asked, concerned.

"I was gonna ask you the same thing," she said.

"It's nothing," he said. She gave him a 'Do you think I'm stupid?' look and he withered a bit before saying, "I just really want to win."

"Why?" Sashi asked. He gave her a confused look and she elaborated. "You aren't usually so serious about winning. You aren't even serious during our missions." Something briefly flashed across his face but it was gone so quickly that she thought she might have imagined it. "Why are you taking this so seriously? Why do you want to win so bad?"

Penn sighed, knowing there was no way he was going to get out of having to explain things to Sashi.

"I'll tell you when this is over," he promised her. She was about to protest but stopped herself. She knew something was going on with Penn. She didn't know what it was or when it had started or even why it had started. But if he told her he would explain himself, then she believed him.

Sashi watched the next few matches intently, keeping a particularly watchful eye on Salaak and the other strongest fighters. There was one guy being sponsored from Japan that looked really strong. He might even give Salaak a run for his money, but Sashi was pretty sure she could take him. While he was skilled, he was also very predictable. Unlike Salaak, he didn't use unorthodox methods to catch his opponents off-guard or use strategy in his fights, relying more on instinct and physical ability. It would all come down to a matter of skill, and she was confident she had him beat in that category. She and Penn shredded their way through their own fights, with Penn, in particular, finishing his fights quickly, although he tried to force his opponent out of the ring more often than beating them up whenever he could. As she watched, the burning look in his eyes calmed down a bit, replaced instead with a steely determination, but she was still a little worried. Whatever was going on in his head was pushing him to be more reckless, and while he was skilled, he wasn't very strong. If he took too many hits, he wouldn't be able to fight. Worse, she'd have to take him home heavily injured, knowing it was her fault he'd ended up that way.

Penn had already guessed everything that was going through Sashi's mind. She might not realize it, but her expressions gave away more than she thought. However, her worry only fueled his determination even more as he fought his way through one opponent after the other. They were nearing the finals and there were only three sponsored teams left. The first two would have a match and the third would fight the losing team. Depending on who won, the losing team would either have a rematch with the first team to try to secure a spot in the finals, or the winning team would fight the first team for that spot. Either way, the third match would be the last.

Penn and Sashi looked at the screen intently, watching carefully for which names showed up. Salaak had, unsurprisingly, made it this far with them. The next match would either be between Salaak and them or him and the guy from Japan. The seconds seemed to stretch out as all three teams watched the screen, waiting for the names to pop up.

After what felt like minutes but were actually only seconds, Salaak and Penn's teams appeared on the screen. They all got up and walked over to the ring, buzzing with anticipation and nervousness.

As Salaak climbed into the ring, Sashi grabbed Penn's arm as he was about to do the same, something Salaak noticed. Penn looked at her in confusion as he stepped down from the ring.

"What is it, Sash?" he asked.

"Just…" she said something that was too soft for him to hear.

"What?" he said, leaning down to hear her better.

"I said be careful," she said, pushing him away. Penn smiled before stepping up into the ring.

He and Salaak stared each other down, Salaak with an excited look in his eyes, Penn with a fiercely determined one.

"If you want to back out, now's the time," Salaak said. "There is no shame in backing out of a fight, Penn. That does not make you a coward, it makes you smart. I will not have any less respect for you."

"Don't worry about me," Penn said, grinning. "Worry about yourself. I'll give you a new reason to respect me when I win."

Salaak chuckled, grinning excitedly. He had misjudged Penn. For all his kindness and pacifistic nature, he had a warrior's heart. He had noticed something change in him when he'd stepped out onto the ring earlier. Whatever it was, it both unnerved and excited him at the same time. No matter who went down, one thing was for certain. This was going to be one hell of a fight.

"Are you sure you can beat me?" Salaak asked.

Penn grinned, and with that light burning in his eyes, he almost looked insane for a second. He readied himself as the referee counted down.

"Bring it on."

And they charged.