The Champion And The Singer (epilogue)

EARLY RELEASE FOR ALL PATRONS! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

Their story isn't over just yet! There's still something else they have to do!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

------------

													Epilogue. Side By Side

Four days after the incident, Weiss was discharged from the hospital.

Pyrrha and Winter were both there with her to walk her out.

Pyrrha had found out that on the evening of the attack, it had been Winter herself who had apprehended the shooter, and despite the code of conduct she responsibly followed during the process, she certainly hadn't gone easy on him.

After a heated interrogation, the Faunus man had revealed that he was, in fact, a part of the White Fang, but had acted alone and without instruction from others. It was hardly reassuring, but at the very least it ensure the entirety of the terrorist group wasn't out to target Schnee and his children.

As Pyrrha had intended, she made specific arrangements that would allow her to hold her usual matches in all the available arenas of Remnant, but still make time to see Weiss. Or if Pyrrha couldn't come to her, Weiss would have herself flown to Pyrrha.

From then on, the two of them never went longer than a few days without seeing one another in person.

Weiss' father gave a public speech ensuring something like this would never happen at one of Weiss' concerts again, for he was implementing a stronger, more modern method of security, working together with Winter and the military. Winter herself ensured that all information they uncovered about these new methods would be shared with other public locations, such as schools and shopping malls, free of charge to citizens.

Their father also publicly thanked Pyrrha for her heroic actions and quick thinking in going to assist Weiss. She received much praise from everyone wherever she went for a while after that.

And while she humbly accepted the compliments, she was sure not to disclose any personal information regarding Weiss' condition at the time.

In a week, the heiress had made a full recovery, and only a bit of residual soreness remained.

As Pyrrha had anticipated, her girlfriend expressed hesitance when faced with the prospect of her next concert. It was on one of their weekend dates in Atlas' central park when Weiss admitted her feelings to Pyrrha.

"I know last time was just a fluke..." she mumbled. "That it will never happen again. Especially with all the new work Winter's doing to upgrade security and call for more guards... But I'm just... nervous..."

Pyrrha's heart went out to the girl sitting quietly on the bench beside her.

She couldn't even begin to comprehend Weiss' fears. They were very different from the fear Pyrrha herself had suffered through at the time. Her only concern was that she might see the person she loved most get hurt again, but Weiss had death itself to fear.

Pyrrha wrapped an arm around Weiss' shoulders and kissed her temple softly.

"Don't fret. I understand how frightening this must be for you. Actually... maybe I can't understand it. But I can imagine, at least." As memories of all the blood and pain started to flicker in her mind, she chased them off by hugging Weiss tighter, taking in her wintry scent.

"Weiss... I know something horrible happened to you. But I don't want that one incident to take away something you love. Whenever I see you on that stage singing and casting those beautiful glyphs, I can see it in your eyes how much you love it. I don't want you to feel like you have to give it all up because you're scared of something like that happening again. Though, I completely understand if that's what you decide to do."

She kissed her hair again and sighed. "I don't want you to give up singing. But I also don't want you to keep having concerts if it's only going to cause you to live in fear. You should do whatever is best for you. I just... can't stand to see you get hurt anymore."

Weiss took every word to heart. She understood Pyrrha's fears as well as Pyrrha understood hers.

But her girlfriend was right. Weiss didn't want to give up singing – certainly not because of this fleeting incident.

Leaning more fully into Pyrrha's touch, she voiced her wishes softly.

"I'm scared... but I don't want to give up. Ever."

And somehow, though Pyrrha had considered all of the outcomes, somehow she'd known all along that this would be Weiss' answer.

"I knew you wouldn't, Weiss. You're much too strong for giving up." Another kiss to her temple. "Don't worry. I'll stick with you no matter what. And I think I've got an idea that could help you get back onstage."

Weiss shifted a bit to lift her head so she may look up into emerald eyes.

"What's that?"

Pyrrha smiled.

"Hear me out..."

-----------

Her plan called for a lot of arrangements to be made.

But those were only of concern after they'd done something even more difficult.

Pyrrha had spoken to her agent and the people she worked with for her matches, and her proposed idea was accepted by them immediately. It would be Weiss' success or failure in convincing her father that would decide the fate of Pyrrha's plans.

She went into her father's office alone the next day and proposed the idea to him, expecting rejection.

But to her surprise, he expressed great interest.

"I'd actually been considering something similar myself," he told her. "I'd been planning to wait a while longer for it, but it wouldn't be a problem to enact it sooner."

Weiss' face lit up at his acceptance, though she quickly hid her childish smile with a bow before scurrying out of his office. She quickly called Pyrrha to inform her of the good news.

From there, with the help of the people who often organized their matches and concerts, they started planning their first ever joint performance.

Given Weiss' required recovery time and the fact that Pyrrha had publicly announced that she would take a bit of time off in order to support her girlfriend, their debut together wouldn't be for a few more weeks.

Until then, both girls made appointments with one another to be flown to the other's location on certain days so they may train together. They each still focused on their own strengths in performing, but they found a way to put them together as well.

Pyrrha would continue fighting, sometimes trained warriors and actors, and other times unbridled Grimm. As she fought, Weiss would stand on an elevated platform and narrate in song.

She'd written several new pieces pertaining to a young female warrior, and the addition of projected music from a nearby source would play out. This way, the audience could listen to Weiss and watch Pyrrha.

They trained together for a little over a week, each girl perfecting her respective talents for this extravagant performance.

And when at last the day was upon them, they were eager to share their secrets with the world.

Naturally, combining two of the most popular performances by young prodigies in all of Remnant brought in a good deal of money, and a positively enormous crowd.

As Pyrrha and Weiss waited for their cue to enter the arena, they stood side by side and peeked out into the crowd. Pyrrha could see people dressed in shorts and t-shirts as they often did for her fights. And Weiss could see some people dressed more formally as well.

It was almost comical to see the two worlds clash in this way, but with the success this performance would bring, they were sure they'd be seeing it much more often in the future.

Weiss was determined to do well for her audience, but she couldn't stop her heart from fluttering nervously. She knew Winter and the rest of the military guards here had checked and rechecked every person who'd entered today. There was close to no risk of anyone with ill-intent being present here.

But she just couldn't help thinking about the last time she'd sang for the public...

Pyrrha noticed right away how Weiss began to fidget, her left hand clenching around Myrtenaster's hilt. Quietly, she reached down to find Weiss' other hand and squeezed it gently.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine. We both will be. This is going to be amazing, Weiss."

She gave a small tug and coaxed Weiss to turn her face a bit for a kiss.

Pyrrha's warm, confident lips calmed Weiss' from their trembling, reminding her that she was safe. Weiss breathed softly into her and kissed back by means of gratitude.

"Thank you, Pyrrha. Let's show them a performance they'll never forget."

Pyrrha gave another squeeze to her hand.

"Right!"

A voice on the loudspeakers called for attention to quiet the audience, then went on to say how special this first-time joint performance would be. The announcer recounted Weiss' courageous and stunning recovery, and then invited her out.

As the applause erupted for her, the lights were dimmed all around the arena. Weiss kissed Pyrrha one last time before stepping out.

She walked slowly onto the waiting platform, and once she was at the center, it lifted. Sophisticated technology drowned out the surrounding sounds of the audience and amplified the music being played.

The platform came to a halt about twenty feet off the ground, high enough so all persons in the audience could see her clearly.

With a wave of her rapier, Weiss cast dozens of massive silver glyphs high above them all, and then began to rotate them. A melancholy air began drifting around the place as she started to sing, her voice as lovely and unhindered as ever.

She sang an introduction of sorts, a song to a story about a young girl who needed to fight her way through life.

About halfway through her song, Pyrrha emerged into the arena below.

First, she fought off many trained men and women, warriors twice her size and age, sometimes groups of people all at once. Of course, they were all actors, but the combat certainly came across as real, especially when Weiss' voice had captivated the audience and drawn them into the magical story of it all.

Sometimes, Weiss would sing more lively pieces to increase the energy, and Pyrrha's techniques would quicken accordingly. During slower songs, Pyrrha would move more gracefully, more like in a dance than a battle. Pyrrha would finish her fights exactly as Weiss' songs stopped, so they would enjoy a brief break of applause before continuing to the next part.

About midway through, Weiss sang a solo as Pyrrha rested backstage. She used Myrtenaster to cast ice high into the air, then shatter it into snowflakes.

From then on in the performance, Weiss assisted Pyrrha in battle as she sang. She cast glyphs for her to use, some that would propel her forward at incredible speeds, some that would allow her to climb high into the air, some that allowed her to spin and twirl beautifully.

Not only did this demonstrate Pyrrha's physical skills, but Weiss' mental ones; she could concentrate enough to cast and control glyphs while still managing to maintain a perfect singing voice.

She would cast different elements in accordance to the part of the story they were on, sometimes snow, sometimes ash, sometimes lightly burning embers. Weiss provided the scene and story using her elements and her voice, and Pyrrha provided the visuals of the character.

And it was all so naturally done, as though they'd been doing this together for decades.

It allowed Pyrrha to be a part of something less rigorous than just a battle; it allowed her to demonstrate her more elegant dance-like skills as well.

And for Weiss, she could finally be a part of a match and show off the fighting skills she'd trained so hard with, but had never really gotten to utilize.

It was the perfect combination for them both, each complimenting the other while still allowing each girl to show off her own fullest potential.

For the final piece, the Grimm were released into the arena. Weiss continued her songs from above, the music picking up pace along with her voice and the action below.

Pyrrha swung her javelin and shield with power and grace while still managing to make it look like a dance. Weiss continued casting glyphs, both to make the scene look visually appealing, and to help Pyrrha with her attacks.

It was an experience for every sense: the whirl of colors and motion, the sounds of clashing metal and beautiful music, the scent of snow mixed with flame, the taste of powder, and the overall sense of being a part of the story.

At last, Pyrrha slew the final Beowulf, just as Weiss finished her final note.

The music remained a second longer, then all went silent.

Both girls were panting by now, unable to believe they'd truly completed their first ever joint performance.

And their success was soon made known to them.

The crowds went absolutely wild. People were jumping out of their seats and shouting in awe, some were crying, and some didn't know what to do with themselves now that it was over.

It was an incredible achievement.

People began throwing things down into the arena, ranging from flowers to popcorn to money to whatever else they had on-hand. Cameras that had recorded the entire thing were itching to share it on the local stations. The crowds surged with emotion and gave the girls a reaction beyond their wildest dreams.

It was simply amazing.

Weiss could feel her platform lowering steadily, and a breathless voice called up to her.

"Weiss!"

Pyrrha beamed at her, dropping her shield and weapon to open her arms wide in invitation.

Weiss smiled back. She laid her rapier down on the platform to collect later, and when it had been lowered about halfway, she jumped.

Pyrrha laughed as she caught her, twirling Weiss around several times in her arms. The singer hugged her shoulders as she caught her breath, realizing the audience was cheering even more loudly now.

Pyrrha couldn't stop smiling as she peppered kisses all over Weiss' face.

"Weiss! That was amazing! You were incredible! That was such a grand performance!"

Weiss returned as many of the kisses as she could.

"You were incredible as well, Pyrrha! They loved it! They absolutely loved it!"

"They did!" the champion agreed. "But you know..." She gently set Weiss down to stand on her own, though their arms were still wrapped tightly around one another. "I love you even more."

Pyrrha blushed as she confessed as much, and Weiss felt heat bubble up in her own cheeks as well.

"I love you, too, Pyrrha."

They finished their performance with a kiss, one for all the world to see and support.

The two girls who had gone through so much together.

Who had gone through so much to be together.

The girls who had dated in secret, spent hours at night texting and calling.

The girls who had made their affections known to the world.

The girls who had worried and cried for one another.

The girls who had laughed and smiled for one another.

The girls whose story had shaken Remnant to its core.

The most famous, talented, and charming couple of their time.

The champion and the singer.

------------

A/N: This concludes their story from me! But you know this is only the beginning! You can easily imagine the rest of their story for yourselves! Thanks so much for reading!