A whole-chapter loop.
196 (DrTempo and diesel)
(Fused Loop with RWBY, with characters from Kill La Kill, Ranma 1/2, and Legend of Zelda)
Team RWBY sat in the Beacon Academy courtyard enjoying lunch, discussing their plans for the Loop. The Vytal Festival had arrived, but oddly enough, no sign of Cinder and her cronies had been seen since the breach. There had been reports of a large explosion in Forever Fall shortly after, but nothing else.
Weiss, who had been pondering this, said, "I bet it was some Guest Loopers who caused that explosion."
Yang nodded with a smirk. "And I bet they're the reason we haven't seen any of Cinder's goons lately."
"You'd be right."
Team RWBY turned to see four people walk over, who could only be Loopers. The first of them wore what looked like a dark blue uniform, and carried a huge pair of scissors on her back. The second had orange hair, and wore a leather jacket and a blue dress. The third was a girl in an outfit similar to Link's, with green hair, and a figure that reminded Blake of Tsunade. The last of these four was a young man who wore a typical kendo outfit.
Blake recognized the Looper who'd spoken instantly, saying, "Hey, Ryuko! Good to see you!"
The girl with the huge pair of scissors smiled. "Good to see you too, Blake." She answered, "If you guys were wondering, I Looped in Yang's role a while back. The look on Taurus' face when I reattached my arm was priceless...Right before I sent him to the moon the hard way."
Yang chuckled vindictively, then gestured at the other three. "So, who're these guys? I recognize Sunset Shimmer," the orange haired girl smiled a greeting, "but the green haired chick I don't know, and the last one looks just like that idiot kendo guy from Ranma's Branch."
The green haired woman offered a hand, saying, "I'm Saria Senju. Pleasure to meet you."
"Are you the same Saria from Link's home Loop?"
"Yes. And before you ask...My first Loop was in the Naruto Loop, and this appearance kinda stuck."
Blake then grinned. "Senju, huh? Can you use Mokuton?"
Saria did a few hand seals, and a tree sprouted nearby. "That answer your question?"
Blake grinned ear to ear. "Yes."
Ruby laughed. "I have a feeling you want to fight her, Blake?"
Blake nodded. "Of course."
Saria cracked her knuckles. "That'll be a good fight...though, if you remember the last time a Senju and an Uchiha fought..."
The kendo outfit wearing man coughed. "If I may...Yes, I am indeed Tatewaki Kuno, and I am Looping. I Awakened following a Loop wherein Ranma and I first met during his training trip, thereby becoming friends and allies. Thankfully, that ensured that I evaded the more deplorable aspects of mine own Baseline personality."
Weiss frowned. "As long as you don't try to woo any of us."
Kuno chuckled. "I assure you, I am not quite so foolish as that any longer. If memory serves however, Lady Weiss, you were trained in the ways of the Force were you not?"
"I was. I suppose you were as well?"
"Indeed. I do admit, Star Wars was always one of my favorite foreign movies."
Sunset Shimmer then gave a cough, and said, "Anyways...Yeah, we're the reason Cinder and company up and vanished."
Ruby sighed. "Cinder wasn't Awake, right?"
"Nope. Ryuko got the honor of finishing Cinder off. Let's just say those scissors she's wielding can cut more than hair."
Team RWBY all grimaced as they realized what that meant. Ruby sighed. "At least she died quickly. I suppose you're here to compete in the Vytal Festival?"
Ryuko nodded. "Yep. We're Team RSST, and we're gonna kick ass!"
Yang laughed. "You'll have to get through us and Team JNPR first!"
"We'll see, won't we?"
“So,” Ruby asked as they walked through the Grimm infested forest, watching as their visitors lazy dispatched the monsters, “how did you kill Cinder and the others? What were they doing in Forever Fall, anyway?”
"Well," Ryuko started, "We had lured Cinder, Mercury, Emerald and Adam, to Forever Fall and..."
Cinder, Mercury, Emerald, and Adam walked into Forever Fall, with Mercury grumbling.
"Why are we here again? And why is Adam with us?"
Glaring at her subordinate, Cinder growled, "We got a message from Salem. Apparently, Watts has information we need and will be meeting us here and that it also involves the White Fang.”
Eyeing the Grimm infested forest warily, Emerald frowned, tightening her grip on her weapons, "This seems wrong, are you sure about this, Cinder?"
"It came from Salem directly, the chances or someone impersonating that is remote.”
As they approached the clearing, the forest exploded into motion. Razor sharp leaves hurtling through the air towards the four Hunters. Cinder reacted the quickest, hurling a Burn crystal at the oncoming leaves and moving into a defensive stance. The searing flames obliterating the leaves that threatened her and her subordinates.
Adam reacted a moment later, barely avoiding the bladed leaves, but was unable to avoid them completely.
Ryuko, Sunset, Saria and Kuno emerged from the shadows chuckling, Ryuko smiling as she spoke, “You really should have listened to Emerald. As for how we tricked you, well it doesn’t matter.”
As Cinder went to respond an amusing thought struck Sunset, cutting her off as she started to speak, "Your next line is, 'Why won't it, fool?’”
"Why won't it, fool?" Cinder tensed, narrowing her eyes in anger as she realised what had happened.
Sunset laughed at the furious expression, "Ever since I heard of it, I always wanted to try Joseph Joestar's signature trick. As to your question, you're already dead." Before anyone could act, RSST moved, charging at Cinder's group.
Emerald cursed as Saria almost flew across the ground at her, leaping out of the way of Saria’s sword. Saria narrowed her eyes as a pack of Beowolves charged out of the dense forest, Emerald taking advantage of the distraction to run.
Saria ignored the shadow beasts that bore down upon her, her eyes focused on something unseen. After a few moments, Saria moved, her blade whistling through the air as the flat of the blade stuck an unseen being.
The illusion broken, Emerald fell to the ground as consciousness drained away. “How…?”
Saria frowned. "I'm used to illusions, Emerald. I knew you'd try something like that, so I simply focused in order to see through your illusions. Nice try, but..."
As darkness swallowed her, Emerald gritted her teeth, trying to stay awake, she would not let Cinder down.
Looking at her unconscious foe, Saria sheathed her sword, and sighed. "You haven't fallen too far, so you may be saved. Your companions, however...their lives end here." Saria turned away from Emerald, to where her teammates were finishing up their own fights.
Kuno was lazily blocking each strike Adam made while offering swordsmanship instructions. Adam eventually growled in anger, and entered a quick draw stance. Kuno then mimicked the stance, and smirked.
"A quick draw duel, I see. Very well. Show me your skill, Adam. I do hope you possess a greater mastery of this skill. It would be boring otherwise"
It was over in an instant as Kuno’s blade cleaved through Adam’s skull, the two halves falling to the ground. Kuno smiled. "Not bad. Normally, that speed would have been enough. But compared to my speed, you are as slow as a tortoise." Kuno grabbed Adam's sword, and walked away.
Sunset was bored and hungry, as Mercury launched a constant barrage of kicks at her but none of them came close to landing. After a minute or so, Sunset yawned, "Boring. Got any other tricks?"
She lazily blocked a barrage of projectiles that flew towards her in response before deciding to end it. Mercury’s eyes widened momently as Sunset abruptly moved, a blow shattering his aura before an ice round tore into his body.
As the frozen corpse fell to the ground, Sunset walked away without a second glance.
"All too easy. Pity, I sort of expected more."
Ryuko stared down at the bloody halves of Cinder dispassionately, cleaning her Rending Scissors with a brief thought. Looking up as her teammates walked over, Sunset glanced down at what had been one of the most powerful women in Remnant's baseline, watching as a streak of light shot into the distance, "You don’t waste time, Ryuko."
She shrugged, “There was not really any point, and you decided to spare Emerald, Saria?”
Saria nodded, her eyes lingering on her captive for a moment, “Compared to our other opponents, only she deserved another chance. I just hope she takes it."
Ryuko and Sunset nodded in agreement, and the group left Forever Fall, and their fallen enemies, behind.
Shortly after that, Teams RSST and RWBY were in the forest where Teams RWBY and JNPR had first teamed up in baseline. Blake looked around, and said, "Is this a good spot for our sparring match, Saria?"
Saria nodded. "Indeed. Very well...how will we determine who wins this match?"
"Yeah. I'm wondering the same thing."
Saria turned around to see Ren floating behind her, with the rest of Team JNPR nearby.
Ren then asked, "You are Saria, from the Zelda Loop, correct?" Saria bowed.
"Yes."
Jaune scratched his head in confusion, asking, "Um… Isn't Saria supposed to be a Kokiri? I'm just asking…"
Saria giggled. "I'm not a Kokiri this Loop, if you're wondering why I look the way I do."
Jaune facepalmed. "Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer."
Blake then coughed. "Anyways, we'll use the same feature that shows a person's Aura level. We've modified the feature over the years to be able to show the amount of chakra, ki, magic, and so forth a combatant has. Still working out the bugs on it, though."
Ruby shrugged. "Yeah, it does end to cause the device to blow up when we use too much power. Penny didn't like it when it happened the first time after she Awoke."
All of Team RSST blinked, and Ryuko said, "Pay up, Kuno. I knew Penny would Awaken eventually." Kuno then handed Ryuko a large treasure chest, and grumbled at his bad luck.
"Darn. I had figured Qrow or Winter would Awaken first," Yang snickered.
"Actually..."
Sunset simply groaned, and then laughed.
"Guess the bet I had on Qrow, Winter, and Penny Awakening is the winner." With that, Sunset grabbed the treasure chest. Kuno laughed as Ryuko grumbled.
"Ah, to see that expression on you is amusing, Lady Ryuko."
Saria drew her Deku Staff, and said, "Let's begin, Blake."
Blake activated her Sharingan, and grinned. "Agreed. Bring it on!"
It was Saria who moved first, nature heeding her call as the sage shot across the ground at Blake. Grass and vines erupted from the ground ensnaring Blake, pollen and poisons filling the air in a choking cloud.
The Deku staff smashed into Blake, the latter trying in vain to break free of the plants the bound her. Saria let a grin come across her face as she ducked, leaping to the side as the clone detonated and the illusion shattering revealing Blake swinging her chain scythe.
Searing wind turned the pollen to ashes, falling to the ground like snow as the bisected wood clone began growing. The snapping vines of a grotesquely warped venomous tentacula wrapping around and devouring the suspired faunus. The sightless eyes of the monstrous plant twisted as it thrashed helplessly, dissolving into the air. A shockwave of superheated air crushing down with a deafening explosion, the air igniting and crushing the Ents that rose from the ground. Blake had to admit, Saria was doing better than she had expected.
"Not bad, Saria. Surprised you used Ents. I never thought Mokuton could create anything like that."
"I'm the Forest Sage, remember? I am an expert in using plant life, besides there just animated trees made to look like them."
"I should have guessed. Very well, let’s try something a bit different!"
Spears of flickering blue crystals impaling the remaining Titans of wood, tearing apart as rivers of water burst forth. A million eyed, winged serpent of ice rose into the air leaving the ground dry and barren, a black clad cat perched on its head, her spinning red eyes reflected in each scale.
Saria cursed as she wove among the masses of wood clones, trying to avoid making eye contact as hundreds of chains of rock burst forth from the dead ground, wrapping around the winged serpent.
That was not Blake, it was nothing more than a clone yet as long as it remained atop the construct she was at a disadvantage. Black flames covered the ground, consuming clone after clone, the real one vanishing from sight as Blake sent her construct up higher, circling high overhead.
Saria whispered under her breath, dissolving into motes of green light that spun around before reappearing over the icy construct, her weapon smashing through Blake’s head shattering the illusion like an image spun of glass cobwebs.
A single arrow piercing her breast, the clone's face was frozen in shock as its skin ripped open like a seed pod, raining hundreds of Deku Nuts down upon the battle. Wraith like forms filtering among the shadows as the clones attacked each other in a panic, before the shadows melted under the blinding flashes.
A hundred clones turned to stone as a long black figure danced around them, a barrage of earth dust flying at the sole remaining green form.
"Impressive, Saria! But I'm just getting started!"
Saria swore as her staff was cleaved through as her opponent burst from the ground, barely able to get her sword in place to block Blake’s next blow. This was precisely the situation she had not wanted to get into.
Her hands flowed through seals, twisting out of the way of a fresh barrage of dust. A forest of trees rising to the sky, filled with every deadly plant she had grown to know of the endless loops. Saria sighed with silent relief as she melded with the forest, moving away from Blake as wood and foliage bent to her will.
Blake gazed around the dense twisting forest, a barrier surrounding her skin and face. The air was thick with pollen, seeds, toxins and spores, even a single breath would likely spell her end. She leapt, tumbling through the air as countless needles shoot through the air, clones rising from the towering trees, their attacks, striking only light. Blake then chuckled.
"You really have exceeded my expectations, Saria. Using the forest to your advantage, and making sure I don't get a chance to strike. But, this ends now!"
Black flames towered into the sky, consuming the vast forest. Blake lost track of time as she tracked Saria, focusing solely on the patterns of attacks. Finally, as another clone fell Blake’s eyes changed “Susano!”
A towering skeleton rose above the blazing sea of trees, a fleshless skull somehow twisting into a rictus grin as its fist struck the ground with earth shattering force.
The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth as Saria gritted her teeth, biting her cheek. That was too close, she had only just managed to move away at the last second. As it was…
Saria painfully picked herself off the ground, hands already forming seals as she looked over the shattered remnants of the forest. The black flames now gone, along with the rest of it as Blake’s Susano backhanded what remained, scattering the ashes to the winds. ‘Well that did not work, I feel like I’m trying to capture smoke.’
A titanic dragon formed of wood roared its birth cry, lunging at the dark skeleton eclipsing Blake’s view of Saria.
"Alright, Blake! Let's go for the finale!"
"You don't have to ask!" The dragon and Blake's Susano charged at each other, and after a few seconds, the dragon fell to pieces.
As Saria's wood golem fell to pieces from her Susano's blade, Blake looked around, Sharingan active.
Where did she go....
Her question was soon answered, as Saria snuck behind Blake and swung her sword. Blake had anticipated this, though, and before Saria could react, Blake held both Saria's blade as well as her own. Realizing she'd lost, Saria raised her hands in surrender.
Blake handed Saria her blade, remarking, "I had a feeling you'd try the same trick the First Hokage used to defeat Madara as a last ditch move."
Saria shrugged. "Yeah. I figured it would be a fitting way to win if I had no other choice. Oh, well."
Ryuko chuckled as the two fighters shook hands. "Saria did pretty well, I think. But, experience is what gave Blake the edge."
Ruby then asked, "So, who's sparring next?"
Kuno raised his hand. "I believe it is my turn to duel Weiss. Shall we go to the training arena? It would be a more fitting place."
Everyone agreed, and left the battlefield behind.
As the group entered the arena, Ozpin, Penny, Winter, Qrow, and Ironwood were sitting in the stands, with all of them immediately using the Ping to confirm they were Looping. Ruby groaned.
"How did you guys know?" Ozpin smirked.
"We watched the battle between our resident Uchiha and Miss Saria via camera. I have to admit, Saria. You fought well. If I had to guess, you might already surpass Madara Uchiha himself in skill."
Saria smiled. "Thank you, Ozpin."
As Weiss and Kuno entered the arena, Winter looked surprised.
"I never thought Kuno would ever be a Looper."
Sunset laughed. "We said the same of Gendo Ikari."
"Point taken."
Kuno drew his lightsaber, and bowed. Weiss did the same, and with that, their duel began.
Lights blurred together as the battle commenced, blades humming with energy as they clashed. One blow flowing into the next, less a battle and more a dance of deadly precision. Weiss let a grin slip as she deflected a blow to her neck, her blade missing Kuno's neck by millimetres as his own blade nearly missed her head, strands of white hair falling to the ground unseen and uncared for.
Both knowing what the other would do, intimately familiar with the styles the other used.
"I see you have mastered Shii-cho, Weiss." Kuno complemented, driving Weiss back momentarily before she forced him to give breathing room. "But, I have as well. After all, the form is very similar to standard sword combat."
"Very well." Weiss shifted her stance to hold her lightsaber in a fencing stance, fluidly switching to a new style very similar to her normal methods.
Kuno grinned, anticipation setting his nerves alight, there was little better than an honest fight where one could push themselves above and beyond, challenged by one who knew the same abilities as you. "The Makashi lightsaber fighting style. Meant for one on one duels, using balance and footwork for precise and efficient strikes. That style suits you very well, Weiss. I have no doubt you are a master of it."
"You guessed right, Kuno. My turn." Weiss moved, flashing across the ground towards Kuno, her eyes widened in surprise as Kuno countered each blow rather than striking back. Kuno was focusing on defense, rather than offense was not something she had anticipated; though it wasn't enough to block all of her attacks, the benefits of being partners with a speed master.
"You seem surprised, Miss Schnee."
Weiss scowled slightly at the smug reply, seeing the amusement on her opponent's face. “I did not think you were the kind of person to use the Soresu style, Kuno." It was galling to make such a mistake, you never took such a thing for granted, ever.
Kuno smirked as he withstood Weiss blows like a rock standing against water, he would be worn down, but it would not be easy. "My baseline self was never one for defense. I knew I had to fix that error in my sword style. And considering Soresu's focus on defense, it was ideal. And remember, Obi-Wan himself is a master of this style. No matter how often I tried when I sparred with him, I could never land a single strike."
Abandoning her tactic, Weiss shifted gears, leaping into the air and over his head, Kuno’s blade searing the air she had just passed though. A flurry of blows drove Kuno back, unable to counter the strikes in time.
Every time he tried to counter, Weiss was gone, tumbling through the air, rolling under his legs or blows. Her blade inflicting a toll on his form, his formidable defense faltering under the onslaught.
"Not a bad use of the Ataru combat style. Its acrobatic nature is the reason Yoda mastered it,” Kuno grunted, flipping over Weiss even as she landed, twisted around. Weiss cursed under her breath, twisting around the next blow and replying with her own.
“But, I've studied it as well."
Unable to react properly in time, Kuno blocked her strike and went on the attack. Lights blurring across the field, as the two master swordsmen clashed, testing the others skill with the blade.
The relentless blows left Weiss little room to counter. A savage grin working its way onto her face, blood singing in her ears, "You are very skilled indeed. able to switch between styles so fluidly. The Djem So style, with its focus on blocking, countering and then going on the offensive fits you perfectly. Pity it isn't good against an agile opponent." Weiss taunted, dancing around his blows, just managing to remain mostly unharmed by the brutal efficient style.
Maybe she should try something new then?
"Indeed, Weiss. That is why I studied the other styles. Djem So may be the closest to how I fight in baseline, but unlike that idiot version of me, I know how to adapt." Without warning, Weiss switched styles, launching an aggressive attack that Kuno easily defended against.
"Trying to use the Juyo style to throw me off guard, I see. That style may fit how most Sith prefer to fight, but it doesn't suit you, Weiss." Weiss winced, trying to catch her breath as she was driven back, nodding in agreement.
"You know lightsaber combat very well, Kuno. I have to admit; this has been a challenging fight." Weiss spoke up with respect in her voice, falling back into her preferred style of combat, trying to regain the ground she lost in that ill planned assault. Finally breaking away and leaping back, eyes and mind focused.
"The same could be said of you, Weiss.” Kuno gladly accepted the compliment from his fellow Jedi and sword master, repaying it in turn. It had been a long time since he had been pushed this far in simple swordsmanship. “For every strike I landed, you returned the favor with interest. So, let's end this. Show me how fast you can react."
Kuno deactivated his lightsaber, and entered a stance similar to how one would unsheathe a katana.
"One final strike, then. Very well, Kuno."
In the blink of an eye, the final attack was dealt.
A slash was heard, and one of the combatants fell down.
"Well done, Miss Schnee...." Kuno collapsed, his Aura completely drained, and the last attack had left a gash on his leg. Sunset quickly used a healing spell, and as the wound healed, Kuno chuckled.
"I figured I wasn't skilled enough to best Weiss. But, I had to try."
Sunset simply pointed to where the two combatants' Aura levels were displayed. Kuno looked, and saw that Weiss was nearly depleted of Aura energy as well.
"You nearly had her, Kuno. She just landed a lot more attacks than you did. Your attacks had more power, so that did more damage. But her superior speed gave her an advantage. For what it's worth, you did very well."
"Thank you. I still have a lot to learn, it seems." Weiss then came over, and shook Kuno's hand.
"Thanks for the sparring match. You need to move a little faster, or your attacks will leave you wide open."
"Thank you for the advice."
Ryuko then leapt into the arena, and cracked her knuckles. "So, who wants to fight me?"
Yang prepared to leap into the ring, but Ren held her back.
"Forget it. From what they said, it looks like you'll be fighting Sunset in the one on one round, and fighting Ryuko will simply allow Sunset to get an idea on how you fight."
"Good point." Meanwhile, Qrow had leapt into the ring, and activated his weapon.
"I'll take you on, Ryuko."
Ryuko chuckled. "Well, this won't take long."
Ten seconds later....
"What in the...."
Qrow fell to the floor, his Aura completely drained from one slice by Ryuko. Sunset laughed.
"Ouch. That had to hurt. Ryuko's a lot more experienced in combat than I am, and I know I'm pretty good myself. It's getting late. The tournament starts tomorrow, and I want to be ready."
The Loopers left the training arena, ready for whatever awaited them in the tournament.
As the Vytal Festival prepared to begin, Ruby walked over to Team RSST as they head off to wait for the fights to start.
"I've had Ozpin arrange it so that, if you guys get that far, Sunset will get to fight Yang."
Hearing that, Sunset grinned. "Good. Thanks, Ruby."
As RSST started to walk away, Ruby pipped up unable to restrain her curiosity, "So, why do you want to fight Yang, Sunset?"
Sunset laughed, turning around to face Ruby, waving her teammates on. "I just want to fight her. We're both students of Ranma Saotome and I hear she's quite the fighter. It has been a long time since I had had a good fight or test of my skills. Usually in Fused Loops, I'm fighting villains, and with all my experience, I win as easily as Saitama wins his fights in his baseline. Which is to say, too easily. I just want to have a good fight, a real challenge for once, that's all."
Ruby smiled. "Well, good luck. Trust me, you'll need it." Sunset grinned.
"Hate to say it, but even if I hold back a lot, I've been Looping for a lot longer than Yang. This will be easy."
Ruby laughed. "Trust me. It won't be." Sunset shrugged and walked away, her thoughts spinning even as her face gave nothing away.
'What is Ruby talking about? I have been looping far longer than Yang and have got far more experience in other loops thanks to my journey. So from that angle, I have the advantage, my newest ability and linked training only improves my odds, even if it seems likely I won't need them. It had been quite useful to have a millennia of relatively uninterrupted training.' Sunset spied her in loop team, heading over to them, still mulling over what Ruby had said, she had sounded far too confident.
When an Anchor was that confident... well it was a sign of one of a few things, and in this case it would not be from sheer ignorance or arrogance. Ruby was well known to be too skilled for that.
'Remnant is a combat focused loop, so that should make up for some of the time difference and I have no idea what abilities Yang has picked up, minus her training with Ranma Saotome. But what ability would make Ruby so confident? I will have to remain on guard, not that I would have let it down to start with.'
Ryuko and Sunset cracked their knuckles, eyes locked on Coco and Yatahushi as they faced them in across the field in the second round. The first fight was not even worth noting, so hopefully this one would be more fun. But neither held any real hope of any change until they fought the other loopers.
Sunset held her Keyblade inspired gun-sword in a ready position; she had created it during the first time she had Looped into Remnant and had kept it in case she had lopped here again. The instance the signal to go went off, Sunset charged at Coco, who desperately tried to bring her weapon to bare but was unable to adjust her aim quickly enough to hit the agile huntress.
Sunset smirked, abruptly ceasing her rapid movement and allowing Coco to bring her weapons to bear fired. As bullets rained down upon her Sunset’s hands were a blur of motion, deflecting each bullet as she stood unmoved and unharmed from weathering the assault.
Finally, the bullets petted out, the massive gun clicking as Coco tried to keep firing. “Seriously?” Coco groaned in resignation as she started to run, watching as Sunset raised her own weapon, “How do you defect that many bullets without missing and what the hell did you do to my gun?”
“Skill,” with that Sunset fired, the Fire Dust round flashing across the stadium towards the fleeing huntress, a massive fire ball erupting from the impact. Unable to evade quick enough, the fire ball slammed into Coco, the pressure wave and heat depleting her aura to critical levels.
Walking over to her downed foe, who was still trying to rise, Sunset picked up Coco and hurled her out of the ring along with her gun. Coco took a look at her weapon, and looked shocked.
“She jammed my gun, using my own defected bullets,” Coco started at her gun in disbelief as she walked out of the stadium, “What type of Semblance or training allows you to do that?"
Meanwhile, Ryuko was easily overpowering Yatahushi, and with a powerful vertical slice, depleted her opponent's Aura and sent him out of the ring at the same time. Ryuko shrugged.
"Man, if no one from here was Looping, this would be a boring tournament." Sunset walked over to Ryuko, and nodded.
"I hear you, Ryuko." Sunset then looked in the audience, and pointed to Yang. She then gave the thumbs down, and Yang simply grinned.
Both of them were going to enjoy their fight.
“So, Yang,” Sunset called out as they sat in the stands, watching the baseline fighters in relative boredom, Weiss repeating the comment word for word before it was said in a flat monotone while Blake retreated into a book.
“I was talking to Ruby just before the tournament started, and she was really confident about your skills against an older looper. When was the last time you had an all-out fight with someone from a different loop?”
She was honestly curious, and any such stories would have to be more interesting than the current fights. Any insight on Yang’s abilities would simply be a bonus.
Yang looked up from her bag of chips, cracking a grin as she laughed, “The last time? That would have been when I got sassy to Temari from Naruto, obliterated most of Wind Country in the process, and spent the rest of the loop in ICU. Broke most of Temari’s bones at least once and so I’m quite pleased with that. Yeah, she was still holding back, but she still had to try. it was still a lot of fun though, don’t regret it in the slightest, You?”
Sunset leant back into her chair in thought, “I can’t quite remember the last time I had a decent fight with a foreign looper. I think the last time was against Pikachu… there was something to do with ketchup but I can’t recall what. Considering he can fight Dio himself evenly, I should not be shocked at Pikachu's skill.” Sunset then realized the bad pun she had made, and facepalmed, as Yang laughed.
At last, Sunset and Yang were going to face off in the Vytal Festival. The two entered the ring, eyeing their opponents as they got into position with Sunset breaking the silence. "So, shall we set some ground rules for this fight?"
Yang raised an eyebrow, feeling her heart start to race as she settled into a loose combat stance. "Ground rules?"
"If we both went all-out, we'd blow up the arena, and likely kill all the spectators. So, basically..." Sunset then tossed her weapon out of the ring, bring her fists up and mirroring Yang’s stance. "Hand to hand, the fundamental underpinnings of all combat.”
Yang started to smile, a vicious gleam in her eyes as she removed Ember Cecilia, tossing it out of the ring. Cracking her knuckles, Yang had one more question, "So, just fists? Or will this be Dragon Ball style?"
"The latter, of course. Anything less would be an insult to your skill. So, let's begin, shall we?"
Yang’s muscles tensed, her yellow hair blowing in the slight wind that blew through the stadium, the cyan eyes of Sunset narrowing. At an unseen signal, they moved.
Their fists colliding, a deafening boom shook the stadium as a huge shockwave exploded out. Sunset chuckled, as she tried to put more force behind her to force Yang back, noticing that the Stadium was undamaged.
"I'm glad you told me Ozpin reinforces the stadium in case loopers clash in the tournament. That might have caused some damage."
"Trust me. He had to after the time Goku showed up in this Loop."
Breaking away, Yang went for a leaping kick, Sunset easily dodging the telegraphed blow, lashing at Yang’s gut only for her to move at the last moment into a worst position.
Pain lanced through her head and the world spun, Yang bit back a roar as her head pounded, she had been expecting an upper cut and moved wrong. Now blows rained down upon her, Sunset not letting her get a moment's reprieve.
Time was subjective in a fight; Yang knew she had only been hit a few moments ago but that meant so little in a fight like this. Each moment she had to counter, block or dodge hundreds of blows moving faster at approaching the sound barrier as she tried to recover her bearing.
Sunset’s eyes widened as Yang grabbed her arm and pulled, slamming her head towards Sunset’s own. The visiting looper just managing to break free and knock Yang back, moving back in before she should recover.
The fight was a blur, the stadium’s ground shattering under the force of the blows and shockwaves. Blurs of yellow and red clashing with titanic forces, blind to the faces of those watching. They only cared for the other.
"Grrr..." Yang growled in fury as she was blocked, hit, blocked and hit, again and again and again. Nothing was working, and she had been on the defensive since her mistake at the start of the fight.
Sunset just laughed at Yang’s anger, ducking under her and launching herself up, a grin pulling at her lips, she may as well bring in some showmanship to this as well, after all, why not? And she had just the technique to do so.
"Showtime! STAR PUNCH!"
With a crushing rising uppercut Yang was sent flying, with the native looper crashing into the ground on the other side of the stadium, barely missing being knocked out the ring. But even as she finished the blow, Sunset felt her stomach drop. She had just made a mistake, she should not have tried to show off. She had honestly figured that punch would cause a ring out, and considering how the Star Punch worked, she had figured the momentum she had gotten from countering so many attacks would have been enough to ensure a ring out.
Gritting her teeth and tearing across the ground, Sunset hurtled towards a recovering Yang, desperate to get there in time, to not give Yang the chance she needed to recover.
But it was too little and too late, Yang meeting her head on, eyes burning red and fully recovered.
"Little Mac taught you that, eh Sunset?" Yang grinned with bloodlust, countering a powerful blow and forcing Sunset back. Sunset had made the mistake of letting her recover and surrendered her initiative, and Yang had no intention of letting that chance go.
The flow of the battle turned, Sunset being forced to weather the blows Yang was raining down on her.
"Come on, Sunset! That all you got?" Yang taunted, burying her fist in Sunset's gut and ducking an air splitting kick, the cracks echoing through the stadium like rolling thunder. Dust and debris choking the air, kicked up by the heated clash.
"Not even close, but enough of this,” Sunset ducked out of the way of a kick, moving from defense to attack, "Let's test your attack power, Yang!"
"Bring it!"
Thunder split the air, the incessant booms sending many of the spectators to the ground, clutching their ears in pain. In the centre of the chaos, Yang and Sunset clashed, raining blow after blow onto the other just blurs impossible to track.
Bloody and bleeding, they broke apart. From the other side of the arenas ruined surface Yang grinned, spitting a glob of blood onto the dirt. Her blood was singing, each blow just building her stored power higher and higher. It was a glorious feeling, "You're good." Yang said, whistling through broken teeth, taking pride in knowing Sunset was in just as bad condition.
"Same to you. Time to kick it up a notch."
Sunset vanished, reappearing behind Yang sending a punch at the back of her head. Yang flung herself to the side, seizing Sunset’s leg and pulling her down. A blow aimed at the off balanced looper only for Sunset to break free and twist out of the way. Rolling back to her feet, Sunset met Yang’s head-on once more, almost flowing out of the way of her punches, moving the minimal amount needed to avoided or block each one.
Yang spat blood as she struck hopelessly at the looper from Equestria, feeling the burning ache, the need to let her semblance go and consumed the stadium in golden flames. It felt like she was trying to punch out smoke.
'Crud. She was trying to figure out my fighting style.'
Yang’s foreboding was proven when Sunset started retaliating, Yang hissed as she barely blocked the blows, one flowing into the next, seamlessly setting up the next stage. To Yang it was like reading a book when she already knew the ending; she could see where it was going but could do nothing to change the outcome.
A blow ripped through her defenses and making the world go black, Yang felt the flames within burn brighter as the wind was knocked out of her.
'Just a bit more…'
Stabbing pain shot down Yang’s arm as Sunset’s blows tore through her Aura as her few return blows reciprocated.
"Come on Yang. That all you got?" Sunset taunted, grabbing Yang’s hair and pulling her closer, a powerful blow sticking her temple. Sunset barely had time to widen her eyes as the world became flames.
Sunset felt her ribs crack, Aura momentary failing as Yang hit her like freight train. The glowing brawler not letting her get away, to get a moment to work out what had just happened. Sunset wracked her brains, catching a blow that made her arm almost snap, trying to remember what she knew of Yang.
The answer hitting her like a blow from god, sending her hurtling across the stadium, Yang in hot pursuit. It was her Semblance, the ability to use the blows and damage Yang took in a fight to empower herself, in that case… No need to hold back.
“KAIO-KEN!" A red aura surrounded Sunset as she twisted in the air, rolling to disperse the momentum. Rolling to her feet, Sunset grabbed Yang's right arm as she came in for a punch with only seconds to spare. Sunset then grinned.
"If I was Adam Taurus, you know what'd happen next."
Yang grinned with eyes of flames, her ki surging around her fist. "Really? MASENKO-HA!"
The attack hit home, with Sunset being flung back and leaving Yang free to charge her again. Coming to her feet, Sunset switched tactics, if she could not compete in close combat then she would not.
Light flooded the arena as ki lanced through the air, striking the golden wreathed girl as she was taken off guard but doing no visible damage.
Seething, Yang retaliated, blasts of ki colliding with Sunsets own as she shot forwards, striking the air and setting it ablaze. Sending balls of flaming ki and Aura at Sunset, “This is not close combat Sunset!” Yang roared in frustration, her hair ablaze and eyes blood.
Sunset smirked, defecting Yang’s ki bots and taking flight, her own beams scouring the stadium and leaving no room for Yang to hide. “We agreed for Dragonball style combat, did you forget, Yang? I know that fighting you hand to hand leaves me at a disadvantage. But if I stay away from your punches..."
Yang did not reply, enduring the onslaught as she retaliated with her own blasts, her defenses steadily being worn away even as her power began charging once more. Finally, Yang snapped as Sunset swerved around her latest attack, "Come down here and fight, Sunset!"
The growled command made Sunset smirk, hurling to the ground as soon as she finished speaking. "OK. KAIO-KEN TIMES TEN!"
Before Yang could react, Sunset slammed into her, the sonic boom slamming into Yang moments after Sunset herself did. Taken off guard, Yang couldn't dodge at all, and did not want to.
Sunset was fast, but not as fast as Ruby was. Besides, all the more power for her.
She had once need time to ramp up, but that had been a long time ago and Sunset had done a good job of helping her power up anyway.
Yang smirked as Sunset grabbed her arm and twisted, she did not need to say anything but a trigger made it easier and it was so fitting, “I Burn.”
Sunset felt a wave of confusion and unease at the whispered words, Yang was already alight so what was she…
Yang's hair stood up like flaming spikes and red eyes became teal. Sunset bit back a scream as her grip was reversed, dislocating her arm completely before a blow smashed into her jaw.
“Super Saiyan," Sunset gasped, gritting her teeth as she lashed out at Yang’s jugular with a clawed hand only for her ki claws to fail against the ki hardened skin. "That I didn't see coming."
Yang grinned viciously with good humour, “Well, it is a Dragonball style fight isn’t it?”
Sunset had thought Yang hit hard before, and now? Sunset smashed into the ground, a foot slamming into her ribs and blows raining down on her face, her defenses crumbling and strength insufficient.
After what felt like hours but was closer to only a few minutes, Sunset deactivated the Kaio-Ken, slowly pulling herself to her feet. Yang sauntering over with a smug look on her face.
"Giving up, Sunset? Guess my new transformation has you outmatched!"
Sunset nodded with only minor reluctance, it was impressive seeing Yang combined her Aura, Semblance and Transformation so well. "Yeah. Even if I used Kaio-Ken times twenty, I'd still be unable to keep up." And thanks to Yang's transformation, her speed and power was now 50 times what it usually was.
"Guess experience means nothing when you can't keep up, right?"
Still…
Sunset smiled, and reached back into her mind for the trigger engraved in her soul from her achievement so long ago.
… It would be satisfying to wipe that smug look from Yang’s face.
"True.” Sunset admitted, “But only to an extent, as experience is never worthless. But, I'm not giving up yet. I have one more surprise. Yang, you've earned this. The right to see something I never thought I was worthy to use."
"What the heck are you talking..." Yang broke off as Sunset started to recite a naggingly familiar spell before a flash of bright light enveloped her. When the light faded, Sunset now had orange wings and a horn made of energy.
"My Alicorn form, the thing for which my baseline self plunged into evil to try to obtain. I achieved it after keeping Equestria together during a Dwarf Fortress fused loop."
Yang grinned, clapping briefly in honest appreciation, it had not just increased Sunset's magic but Ki and everything else as well. "Congrats. But, with all that, you're still only as strong as you were when you were using the Kaio-Ken times ten."
Sunset shrugged, settling into another stance feeling the familiar power sweep away the tiredness and her enhanced ki heal her battered form. "True. A ten times multiplier does seem to be the most common level the Alicorn form gives you. But, that's without the very technique you just mentioned. KAIO-KEN TIMES TEN!"
Yang sighed, readying herself to fight again. "Of course, you do realize that I will still just get more powerful each time you hit me still?"
Sunset nodded before charging forward, eager to get payback. “Your point?”
Once more the tide turned with Yang on the defensive, the humanoid alicorn now exceeding her strength and speed. The fight having devolved from martial arts to a slugging contest of ki, brute force and speed. Thanks to the combination of Sunset's Alicorn form and the Kaio-Ken times ten, Sunset had effectively become twice as strong as Yang was.
As a blinding blue-white beam of light shot across the stadium, Yang yelled, her power and flaming hair spiking further, sparks of lightning dancing across her form. The attack smashing against her Aura to no avail.
"Surprise, Super Saiyan 2." Yang gloated, eyes hard and focused, not wavering from Sunset for an instant.
Sunset warily gauged the strength comparison and did not like what she had found, at these levels skill only mattered when you could keep up with your opponent and now, Yang had closed the gap again. "That is unexpected, But..."
Yang saw the smirk and felt the familiar shifting of ki, a feeling of dread and foolishness coming over her. There really was no reason why Sunset could not do that really was there?
"KAIO-KEN TIMES TWENTY!"
Power rolled off Sunset in waves, the magic, ki and more, almost a physical thing as it bore down on Yang. Taking in her opponent, Yang stated laughing, getting a look of confusion. Now that Sunset had increased her Kaio-Ken to times twenty, she once again had the advantage in power. But, Yang still had one trick up her sleeve. It was time to go all-out.
“Well, if that is how it is going to be, then so be it.” Yang’s power surged as she drew in her power, keeping it tightly contain to her body, Aura and Ki lacing and strengthening her body. “Then let's all go out with a Yang!”
Sunset blinked in incomprehension before it dawned on her what Yang was doing, gulped. "What in the...Oh, no. KAMEHAMEHA!"
The attack may as well have been water droplets for all the good it did. The heat started melting the stone, Sunset winced, it was like standing in front of a blast furnace. Before, Yang’s hair was spiky and cover in flames, now it was liquid flames for flowed down her back.
The power was so titanic, even when tightly controlled and suppressed, showing that Yang knew what she was doing.
A Super Saiyan 3, that was even more unexpected by Sunset.
Sunset barely had time to register the situation and react before Yang was upon her. There was no thought, no foresight, simply movement and instinct. Both fighters, pushing themselves above and beyond and their fight threatened to rip the reinforced stadium apart.
Yang growled as she failed again and again to get a clear hit on Sunset, she was hurting her but it was never a clear enough hit to do enough damage. More carefully now, Yang focused on how Sunset was moving. Ii was only a few short exchanges as why she was missing became evident, Sunset was reading her fighting style and moving before a blow was made. Despite the advantage being again in Yang's favor in terms of power, Sunset already had found a way around that. All that power meant nothing if she couldn't land a single attack.
Cursing to herself, Yang switched tactics, filling the air with burning blasts of energy. Sunset, expecting another flying punch, was hit directly. Recovering quickly, Sunset quickly adapted to the new tactics, but started taking more damage than before.
Yang could feel herself slowly succumbing to exhaustion as she launched another energy bolt which Sunset dodged. Her lungs were starting to burn and her body ache, after a few more minutes of increasingly poor blasts, Yang was forced to stop to catch her breath.
"Just as planned, Yang."
Yang glared half-heartedly at the grinning, bloody and tired Sunset, who was still in far better condition than she was. It was rather obvious what Sunset was going to say, something she had known was a risk from the get go.
"Super Saiyan 3 has a weakness. It's powerful enough to surpass me, but..."
Yang finished Sunset's sentence, her exhaustion bleeding through into her voice"...It drains my energy quickly. Which was why you were dodging rather than trying to inflict damage, which would also simply empower me as well. " Sunset chuckled.
"You got me."
Yang laughed tiredly, forcing herself to stop shaking. "It was a gamble. I knew could not beat you at Super Saiyan 2, so it was either go to Super Saiyan 3 and beat you quickly, or lose. I would say ‘Then let's go all-out one last time!’ But I don’t think that would be wise.”
Yang let her transformation go, settling back into a fighting stance and eyeing the still transformed Sunset, who tilted her head to one side, “Why not?”
The words were neutral, making it hard to work out what she was thinking, Yang shrugged “I could hold SS3 for a lot longer, but you would outlast me. That is, if we stuck to only using these abilities, and not drawing on our other powers. In which case we could go on for hours at minimum and it would be up in the air.
And a final blast with all the ki and Aura we had at that level? We would be lucky to not level Vale, let alone the stadium.”
Sunset glanced around the trashed arena, smiling in weary amusement, “Point, so what do you propose?”
Yang smirked, “Same as before, one blow to finish it. Using only unenhanced Ki.”
Sunset’s transformation faded as she nodded in agreement, "So the same thing and just less bang? Let’s see what you have Yang!" With that, Sunset took to the air once more and charged up a powerful blast of ki.
At once Sunset hurled her final attack with a yell, the blow smashing into Yang’s, each blast trying to overpower the other. Yang then put what power she had left into the attack, and cried out, "IT'S OVER!"
Yang's blast sent the combined power back at Sunset, who vanished as the blast of light consumed the area she was in moments before.
Yang sunk to her knees, utterly drained of any usable ki but grinning all the same, laughter bubbling up. Something that did not stop as someone tapped her on the shoulder.
She was tired, beaten and bloody, but Sunset still stood, a ball of ki in her hand was pointed directly at Yang’s back. “I win.”
“I yield, you win, you wanted me to do that didn’t you?” Yang choked out, still laughing, taking Sunset’s offered hand and letting her pull her to her feet, “Let me waste what power I had left and conserve your own. That was so much fun! I wish we had an uninhabited planet so we could have gone all out.”
Sunset also started laughing, "You could have won easily If you had gone to Super Saiyan 3 right at the start, I'd been knocked out before I could power up. But, you were too cocky. Next time, be sure you have an advantage before going all-out, or at least keep enough energy when out go for the finishing move, just in case said move isn't enough."
"Yeah, yeah and I would have if it had been a serious fight. But why would I here? It’s not either of us would have gained anything from that, nor would it have been any fun either.”
Sunset pushed her sweat soaked hair out of her eyes, shaking her head in amusement as both of them walked towards the stadium doors, the arena utterly. “True, next time we should also likely have better defined rules, or as you said, a place where we can’t break anything of value.”
“Yeah, and Sunset?” She turned to Yang, whose mouth split into an eager vicious grin “Next time, you're toast.”
As they walked off, the crowd, healed of the hearing damage caused by the other loopers' yells, started cheering. The thunderous applauses and cheers almost as loud as the fight itself.
The loop was winding down, the various loopers finishing up the loop with a barbeque on an open fire.
In the ruins of the Emerald Forest, the innocent laughter of ancients rang out, smoke curling into the night’s air as flickering orange flames cast a dancing light across their faces.
“And then, ‘KAIO-KEN TIMES TWENTY!’ and Yang’s face just dropped.” Ruby gestured wildly, doing a perfect imitation of Yang’s expression, receiving gales of laughter. Even Yang was laughing, leaning against Blake’s shoulder, soaking in the relaxed atmosphere.
Sunset smiled, spearing a sausage onto a skewer, savouring the charcoal tainted meat as juice bust from it. To her side, Saria was talking with Pyrrha about various plants and their genetics across the loops, it was a conversation she suspected Twilight would have been interested in honestly. The sheer amount of technical detail and discussion of loop variabilities would have been something she enjoyed.
“It was amusing from my end as well,” she said with a laugh, focusing back on the conversation at hand. “To be fair, I suspect my reaction may have been similar when Yang went to level three.”
Weiss raised an eyebrow at that, ripping into a leg of chicken, “I actually think Yang has you beaten there, Sunset. She at least worked out what was happening from the get go, you could tell from her expression, whereas your reaction was ‘What in the...Oh, no. KAMEHAMEHA!’”
Sunset snorted at the mocking mimicry of her voice, Weiss did have a point. She had really not expected Yang to be able to do that and had been slow on the uptake, and put like that, she did sound rather silly. From what she had heard from Ruby after the fight, Ruby had no idea Yang could go to Super Saiyan 3.
As she finished her conversation with Saria, Pyrrha looked over at the others who were still discussing the fights, her eyes landing on Sunset, after a second they both started laughing as the conversation drifted to the finals.
As the two chuckled. Sunset decided to speak first.
"You fought well, Pyrrha. That was a good match for the finals, i was really rather surprised seeing you walk out dressed like Venom Snake, but it was a lot of fun, quite different from my fight with Yang. It's too bad Penny didn't try to fight you. I was curious as to what she can do. But considering things, it's understandable. I hope she enjoys the wedding of Nyx and Leman.”
Pyrrha nodded in agreement, "After your comments to Yang about going all out, I felt it was fitting and amusing. It had been awhile since I fought like that so I thought it would be good practice, I'm glad you decided to match me in style. As for the wedding, I still find it hard to believe that it's happening."
Sunset smirked, humor playing in her eyes, "I think you should have ditched the eye patch though, then I would not have got in that hit. And I agree, that's not even thinking about the logistics and the fight they got into, all in all, it is amazing it has got this far."
There were relatively few weddings between Loopers, even among those who had been dating each other for long time frames and from the same loop. There were many reasons, mostly revolving around the issues of long periods alone and variants straining relationships. Also due to how long it could take a looper to change, people clinging to mentalities so they could have some form of stability. It made ‘true’ marriage a rarity.
Sunset drained her mug before continuing, “though I wish them all the luck they need. May Yggdrasil be kind and allow their bonds to remain strong and to grow.”
“Agreed.
Jaune watched his girlfriend as she talked to Sunset, his mind drifting back to Pyrrha’s fight remembering how that battle against Sunset had gone.
Seeing her walk out onto the field with an eye patch, gloves and other things on top of her normal armor had been a shock. It had also been enlightening to hear their conversation, he had wondered for a long time how Pyrrha had come to accept and be at peace with whatever getting the Fall Maiden's power would do, before the Battle of Beacon happened.
It did make some sort of sense that looping in as Venom Snake, basically a copy of Big Boss, would let a person more easily accept the consequences of what could have happened.
Jaune sighed, smiling as an odd feeling swelled in his chest, he grabbed one of the burgers Qrow was passing around. The juice of the grilled pineapple and flooding his mouth along with the lamb mince flooding his mouth. ‘After all,’ He mused, ‘She'd already experienced something similar to the potential loss of identity she might have suffered, the fear would have just been… less.’
Still, seeing Pyrrha adopt that same characteristic ruthlessness to attempt to defeat Sunset was scary. She normally acted like that in serious battles, not fun spars.
The fight had been a stark contrast to the other looper matches, being far more reminiscent of normal Remnant style fights. The fighting having started off with a barrage of bullets from both sides, weapons eventual breaking from the strain of combat. the fight evolving into a martial arts contest, with Pyrrha only just managing to win by a knock out.
The fight had been even, and in the end, it came down to one final punch.
Pyrrha had latter acknowledged that she had only won as Sunset was still tired from her fight with Yang. Still, Sunset had been a good sport about it.
Jaune laughed at a bad joke Ozpin made, the elderly looper’s eyes dancing with laughter as he reduced Winter to a blazing red wreck. It had been a good loop, he reflected, basking in the heat of the barbeque and companionship.
Letting himself be drawn into a conversation as the night grew deeper and the loop slowly drew to a close.