Author's Notes: Hello there, sorry it took so long to post this chapter, it took a while to right it all up as it is directly tied to the previous chapter.

What It Takes

Chapter 12: And Peace

"You alright Sylvia?"

Sylvia had been staring off into space for a long time at her locker. She was thinking about the fight with Team Indigo that they had just had. She turned to see Namra next to her.

"I'm fine," replied Sylvia, "just thinking about the match."

"Oh, I see," realized Namra, "don't take it too harshly. Team Indigo is at a much higher level than us."

Sylvia smiled at her friend, "I'm not taking the outcome harshly, I'm actually quite happy about how we did. The whole point of the battle was to show what a higher level team could do, we weren't meant to win that fight."

Namra paused to think about what Sylvia had said, "Yea, I suppose you're right. Either way, we should make sure we're prepared for next time."

Sylvia's smile broadened, "Definitely," she replied, "no breaks in training this time."

Sylvia closed her locker and walked out with Namra.

"Well, it's just about 6 o'clock," commented Sylvia looking at her scroll, "wanna gather the others for dinner?"

"Sure," responded Namra in her usual mellow tone and they headed out of the locker room and toward the dining hall, as Sylvia contacted Team Peacock and the rest of her own team for dinner.

"So, what were some issues you were having with that fight?" asked Sylvia, already planning for training.

"The pink-haired girl was extremely fast and hard to keep up with," replied Namra as she recalled her part of the fight, "Every time I tried to keep her at a distance with my blades she seemed to slip straight past them."

"Hmm…" pondered Sylvia, "maybe we should train more on your reaction times."

As she continued to contemplate more about what they could improve, Re came up behind them and put his arms around their shoulders, grinning from ear to ear.

"So," Re started, "heard we were getting dinner."

"Yes," answered Sylvia, "also Re we need to work on your endurance, you need to be able to keep stronger opponents at bay."

"Oh come on Sylvia," complained Re, "we worked so hard today, can't we take a break for once?"

"Re you had a break all day yesterday," Sylvia pointed out taking his arm off her shoulder, "and besides, you promised me you would work harder at Beacon than you did at Signal."

"Well…I guess you have a point there," Re conceded rubbing the back of his head, "but this weekend, we're gonna relax more, unless you forgot that you also promised to relax more."

"Fine," Sylvia stated, "where's Wai?"

Re's face seemed to fall slightly at those words as he continued to rub the back of his head, "He's at his locker. He'll meet us in the dining hall."

Sylvia frowned. What's up with Re? His smile nearly faded at the mention of Wai, she thought, did something happen in the locker room?

"So, we gonna eat or what?" asked Namra, "I'm hungry."

Re's smile returned full force, "Yea let's go before the good food is taken!"

Re and Namra quickened their pace as Sylvia stayed back a bit, thinking about what she had seen.

Re's usually very happy, which he was, pondered Sylvia, why would he act that way when I merely mentioned Wai's name? Did they just have an argument? … But they get along so well.

Sylvia shook her head, I'll ask about it later. It may be just a slight disagreement that I can settle quickly. I am team leader after all.

And with that she headed off to catch up with her friends for dinner.

"Was it something I said?" asked Sylvia, concern in her voice.

They had all been eating dinner peacefully together with Team Peacock when Namra and Wai started talking. The conversation had perked Sylvia's curiosity when Namra mentioned something being wrong with Wai. However, when she got involved with the conversation, Wai had stormed out of the dining hall.

Namra shook her head, "It's nothing to do with you. I think he's just frustrated at the fact that he lost the match. Give him time, I'm sure he'll calm down."

"Alright," she said, still concerned with her teammates' well-being.

Re sat there quietly, eating his soup without saying a word, which was also odd.

He's usually very lively at the dinner table, I wonder what's on his mind, wondered Sylvia.

And then she thought back to earlier, when his face had fallen when she mentioned Wai's name after the match.

Maybe they did have a fight, thought Sylvia.

Wanting to help her brother and teammate, she turned to Re.

"You alright?" She inquired, her green eyes staring intently at Re.

"Hmm?" Re asked surprised by the question, "Yea, yea I'm fine," and he went back to his soup.

Sylvia wasn't buying it, "You sure? Cause the Re I know is much livelier at the table than this. Seriously, you look like someone just died."

Re chuckled slightly at her joke, "Look, I'm just tired from the match against Team Indigo today. A little bit of rest and I'll be back to my old self."

And with that he smiled brightly at her, and went back to eating his soup, as if that had settled the matter.

Well I guess that's all I'm getting out of him, Sylvia realized, However I highly doubt the match is all that's bothering him.

Sylvia turned back to her food and started to polish off her own dinner, she was famished after all.

I'll ask him more about it tomorrow if he wants to talk about.

She sighed, exhausted and worried; I can't help but feel like Wai getting mad is partially my fault. Maybe I pushed too hard or something. I'll have to make a mental note to apologize to him.

Normally she wasn't the type to apologize, but hanging around her new friends had changed her and made her more sympathetic.

Well, I'm sure this will all blow over tomorrow, hoped Sylvia, after all we are good friends.

"I just don't understand."

Sylvia and Re were heading back to the library after just finishing dinner. Namra had left early to go back to the dorm, said she 'wasn't feeling well.'

"What I don't understand," commented Re, "is why we're going to the library instead of back to the dorm."

"Re this is serious!" exclaimed Syliva.

"I know," replied Re, moving his arms behind his head, "I'm gonna be missing some major relaxation time."

"Re!"

"Okay!" Re put his hands up, showing he was done making jokes, "what don't you understand?"

"Wai! He was completely silent during dinner and then abruptly left when we were asking what was wrong. Why would he do that?"

Re shrugged, putting his hands into the pockets of his red hoodie, "Probably not worth looking into. Let him deal with his own problems. I'm sure he'll be fine by tomorrow."

Sylvia scowled. It was not like Re to blow off someone's problems, especially a friend's.

"And then there's you."

"Me?" Re asked, surprised.

"Yes you. You were completely docile at the dinner table, you shied away when I asked you where Wai was, and," Sylvia raised a finger to emphasize her next point, "you just dismissed his problems as something insignificant. The Re I know would never do that to a friend."

Re looked away as they continued to walk down the hall, "Yea well maybe this time is different."

Sylvia jumped in front of Re, stopping his movement down the hallway. She glared at him, arms crossed, "Re what's going?"

"Nothing's going on," Re stated, putting his hands up in front of him.

Sylvia's glare changed into a skeptical look, arms still crossed. She waited there until Re finally came clean:

"Okay," Re conceded, "I talked to Wai in the locker room and I know what's been bothering him."

"And what might that be?" asked Sylvia, remaining in her position, "did you two have a fight?"

"No," Re replied as he scratched the back of his head, "well, yes, kind of."

"What do you mean?"

"Look Sylvia, now's not the time. Let's talk about it later."

"No," Sylvia demanded, "we are gonna talk about it right now."

Suddenly, a boy turned the corner and slammed straight into Sylvia.

"Sorry," the boy apologized.

Sylvia's anger flared up.

"What were you thinking?!" she yelled, "What were you doing running down the hall?!"

"I was just trying to get away from the gym," the boy stated, fear still evident on his face.

Sylvia's anger quickly turned into curiosity, "Get away? From what?"

"The blue haired kid," the boy replied, "he's gone crazy."

Sylvia turned to Re. They both exchanged a look of concern and nodded. They took off towards the gym. As they reached the door, they saw Namra standing at the entrance to the gym.

"Namra? What are you doing here?" Sylvia inquired.

"I went looking for Wai," she said plainly without looking in her direction, "you better see this."

Sylvia and Re ran towards the door and saw the horror that awaited them.

Wai was standing on a matt in the middle of the room. He had a blazing red aura surrounding him and in his hand he was holding the leader of Team Indigo by the neck, lifting him off the ground, looking like he was about to choke him.

Re immediately, dashed in to stop him as Sylvia cried out:

"Wai stop!"

Wai turned and Sylvia's green eyes met bright, piercing, red eyes filled with the utmost rage and hatred. The stare didn't last long, however, as Re kicked Wai's side, causing him to drop his victim and turn to face Re.

To Sylvia's utter shock, Wai attacked Re, delivering a punch, which Re blocked, and then a kick that sent him tumbling to the mat. As Wai got ready to charge him, Sylvia took action.

She ran up and grabbed Wai's arm.

"Wai stop it!" she shouted again.

Once again her gaze met Wai's as he tried to punch Sylvia with his free hand. Luckily, Sylvia was faster and dodged the punch. Then, using Wai's momentum, she flipped him over and onto the mat. She quickly moved over to him and readied a knockout blow, in case Wai tried to attack again. The red aura dissipated and when Wai opened his eyes they were back to their normal blue color. Wai raised his hands, showing that he was finished, and then he stood up, grabbed his gear and left without a word.

They all stood there in shock at what just happened. None of them had ever seen Wai like that. Quickly, Sylvia's shock became anger at her teammate.

If he thinks this is the end of this, thought Sylvia angrily, then he's got another thing coming.

The door slammed as Wai left the room.

The rest of the team stood in silence, staring at the door that their friend had just left through after their argument about the incident in the gym.

Five minutes passed when Namra stood up.

"Where are you going?" Re questioned.

"To find Wai," Namra replied.

"Why?" snapped Re, "To take his side? Do you agree with him?"

"I'm not taking his side," responded Namra calmly, "I'm making sure he's okay."

"He just insulted Sylvia! Who cares if he's-"

"Re stop," Sylvia interrupted quietly, "let her go."

Re turned and looked at Sylvia, surprised at what she was saying.

"Thank you," Namra spoke quickly, wasting no time as she rushed out the door.

Sylvia walked over to her bed and sat down. Her head was swimming with thoughts about what Wai had just said to her.

Team Indigo thinks I'm weak…Wai thinks I'm weak…Maybe I am weak…

She sat there, her head hung as these thoughts continued to discourage her. Yet there was a part of her brain that tried to justify against it.

But he defended me; he fought their leader, because he said those things. He probably just felt bad, it was after he agreed with him; I'm just worthless.

Sylvia felt hot tears welling up in her eyes when she felt Re sit beside her.

"You okay?" he asked concern in his voice.

"He's right…" she replied, ashamed that her voice trembled as she spoke.

"What?" Re inquired, once again shocked at what Sylvia was saying.

"He's right," she repeated, her voice still trembling, "Wai is completely right, I'm weak…"

"No," spoke Re, shaking his head, "he's wrong about you."

"It wasn't just him," Sylvia continued as she stood up, her silver boots making a light shuffling sound against the carpet as she walked to the other side of the room, "Team Indigo thinks I'm weak too. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if others agreed as well."

"They don't know what they're talking about."

"But they do!" Sylvia cried, her silver ponytail whipping around as she turned and faced Re, "I made a horrible tactical decision at the end of the battle today. Every single team battle we've had we've struggled with. Even my solo fighting skills are weak. Wai might not have noticed, but I had severe difficulties with their leader today."

Her eyes began to well up with tears as she listed off each event that made her weak.

"So no Re, you're wrong. They do know what they're talking about, all of them."

A single tear fell down her cheek as she said these last words:

"He was right…I shouldn't have come to Beacon…"

Re immediately stood up and rushed over to Sylvia, bringing her into a bear hug.

"Don't ever say that. This is your dream. This is what you've worked so hard for. Or did you forget all that?"

"I didn't forget," Sylvia reprimanded, "I'm just realizing the truth. I am weak."

"Don't say that!" Re shouted, pulling away from Sylvia, "You are easily the strongest person I know. There are so many people that would have caved and given up facing what you've faced. You had to face something that no man or woman should ever have to face, and you got through it."

"But I didn't get through it," Sylvia protested, "You helped me through that. Without you I wouldn't be here."

"That's not true," Re said shaking his head, "I only helped you realize what it was you were doing. You were the one who chose what to do. You were the one who chose to continue. You were the one who chose to continue."

Once again Re pulled her into a hug, "I told you once before, you are the one in charge of your life. You and only you can decide what you want to do. I did nothing more than provide a shoulder to cry on. You pulled yourself together to continue working toward your dream."

Silence fell over them as they stood there embracing each other. After a couple of minutes they broke apart.

"Do you understand what I'm saying?" asked Re quietly.

Sylvia dried her green eyes and smiled.

"Yes," Sylvia responded still smiling, "You're right; I can't let this beat me. I've come too far to give up now."

Sylvia's face faltered, "I should apologize to Wai."

"Why?"

"Because I yelled at him when he was just trying to help me."

"But he shouldn't have insulted you so harshly either."

"I know. We are both at fault here, and regardless of whether or not he apologizes, I should."

Re was about to protest but Sylvia cut him off.

"No arguing here Re," Sylvia stated, "Wai was wrong in his approach, but I was wrong to yell. I feel I should apologize for my behavior as much as he does."

Re sighed, "Fine, but I disagree."

"Re, when do you ever agree with me?"

"I agree with you when it's time to eat," Re replied with a chuckle.

Sylvia laughed as the door opened. The two siblings turned to see Namra reenter the room.

"Did you find him?" asked Sylvia.

"No," she said solemnly, looking away from the two of them.

Sylvia sighed, "Well, he's bound to turn up by tomorrow. We should get some sleep. We have classes tomorrow."

Re nodded in agreement, and they all got ready for bed.

Sylvia lay there for a while, reflecting on the events of today.

All this means now is that I have to train harder, pondered Sylvia, Re is completely right, I'm in charge of myself, only I can determine what beats me. Every obstacle is just another test of will and the only way to get better is to jump the next hurdle.

She turned over and closed her eyes.

After all, no one is perfect.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Sylvia awoke to the sound of their shrill alarm. She quickly shut it off and looked at the clock. The time read 6:50 AM. She got out of bed, wiped the sleep out of her eyes, and walked over to her beacon uniform. Having just been washed, it was considerably better looking than what she wore now. Her sleepwear was a wrinkled, light blue tank-top and a pair of grey flannel pants. Normally Sylvia would be disgusted by what she was wearing, but it was only something to sleep in so she didn't care. Grabbing her outfit for the day and her toiletries, she walked out of the dorm and to the bathroom. There was only one other girl in the shower this morning, or in the bathroom for that matter. Sylvia wasn't surprised by this as she was always one of the first people in the bathroom each day. She stepped into the shower and removed her clothes, carefully placing them on the rack right outside her shower. She turned on the water, flinching as the cold water touched her skin, but the water warmed up quickly enough, allowing Sylvia to completely submerge herself in the stream of water. The warm water ran down her skin, relaxing her as she recalled the events of yesterday.

I'll have to talk to Wai this morning before our 8 o'clock class, Sylvia thought, better to get it out of the way now rather than later.

After about fifteen minutes in the shower, she turned the water off and began to dry herself. She then got dressed into her uniform and blow-dried her hair. Finally she put up her shoulder length hair into a small ponytail. As always, some of her hair refused and dangled in front of her left eye. Sighing at her hair's continued stubbornness, she grabbed her stuff and left the bathroom.

When she got back to the dorm she saw Re turn towards her. Next to him she saw Wai standing there, also looking at her. They all stood there quietly in anticipation for what would happen next.

"Sylvia," Wai finally spoke, "there are some things I have to explain to you."

Sylvia crossed her arms, "Alright," she acknowledged and motioned for him to continue.

Wai took a deep breath, "First off I want to apologize to you. I shouldn't have said all of those things to you. I should've never question your leadership and I shouldn't have yelled at you. I don't think I could ever be as good a leader as you are."

Wai paused to let his apology sink in before he continued, "Even though I thought you didn't perform at your best yesterday, I shouldn't have called you out in such a manner, and for that I am sorry."

Silence passed over them for a few minutes. Sylvia stood there, arms still crossed, staring at Wai with a stern expression. And then she smiled.

"Thank you Wai," she said, unfolding her arms, "I accept your apology."

Wai smiled and was about to continue but Sylvia held up a hand and stopped him.

"But," she continued, "I also want to apologize to you."

"Apologize?" Wai asked, confused, "For what? You didn't do anything wrong."

"Re thought so too," Sylvia remarked, "But I yelled at you. I called you selfish and thought that you were just trying to bad mouth me."

Sylvia took a breath, "You made me realize things I had to improve on, and you defended me when you fought Icarius. And all I did was reprimand you and yell at you for it. And for that I'm sorry."

Wai smiled, "It's fine," he replied, "I forgive you."

"However," Sylvia continued, "don't ever fight someone outside of sparring ever again. Or at least try not to kill them."

Wai's face fell, "Actually, that was another thing I wanted to explain."

Silence fell again as Wai took another deep breath. This was something he was not looking forward to explaining, but if he was going to continue on this team, they all deserved to know about it.

"The whole thing with Icarius," he began, "I wasn't trying to kill him intentionally…"

Sylvia and Re both stared at him in confusion, trying to understand what he meant.

"You see, the thing is… my semblance activated during the fight. My semblance is triggered by anger inside of me, and when it does trigger I have no control over it. The anger takes over, and I can no longer distinguish between friend and foe. I just attack anything that gets in the way of my target."

Wai turned and addressed both Re and Sylvia, "Which is why I attacked you two when you tried to stop me, I had no control over it and I'm sorry if I caused you any harm."

Re shrugged off his apology, "No worries man, you'll have to try harder than that to hurt me."

"Well at least you didn't take it too hard, 'cause I did." Wai continued, "When I left the dorm yesterday, I went to the library and decided that I should leave the team."

Re and Sylvia both gasped when Wai said that, but before they could respond, Wai continued:

"I didn't, and I'm not going to. But you have to understand; the last time something like this happened, I was expelled from my school. I had endangered everyone at that school and I didn't want to do that to my new friends. I felt I had to leave, to protect you guys."

Wai then smiled, "But then I realized that I didn't want to leave. You guys are like my family, you mean so much to me, and to leave you guys, well… I would've regretted it the rest of my life. So instead, to protect you, I'm gonna learn to control my semblance, because this way, I don't have to worry about ever hurting any of you, or anyone I care about ever again."

The room grew quiet as the rest of the team took in Wai's words. Sylvia finally understood why Wai had gotten so upset and why he had left the room. He was afraid of hurting any of them after all that. Sylvia walked closer to Wai and pulled him into a hug. They stood there like that for a few seconds and Wai hugged her back. Sylvia then felt two other bodies collide into them as Re and Namra joined the hug. They stood there embracing each other, knowing that they were all in this together, that they were there to support each other.

Finally, they all broke apart and stood in a small circle together when Sylvia spoke:

"I'm very glad you decided to stay," she said, "and don't worry, we'll be there to help you control your semblance."

"You guys can't, it's-" Wai started to protest.

"And don't say it's too dangerous," Namra interrupted, "We don't care, we're here to help and support you."

"Yeah man," Re added, "We're friends Wai. We help each other out, no matter the risk."

Wai grinned at that, "Thanks Re. Thanks to all of you."

Sylvia smiled back at Wai. She then looked at the clock on the wall of the dorm.

"Well, as much as I loved that bonding moment," she stated, "We do need to get to class now."

The rest of them nodded and proceeded to finish getting ready.

They all left for class at the same time. Re and Wai were back to being their old selves, joking and laughing all the way to class. Namra even joined in on the conversation, happy to know Wai was not leaving.

Sylvia hung back, silently appreciating the resolution that had happened.

She smiled to herself, Re's right, she thought to herself, we're back to being one big happy family.