Author Notes: Hey sorry this one took so long to upload,I had to work on it more than I thought. Enjoy!

What It Takes

Chapter 18: Perfection

Aurelia was sitting on a bench in the locker room. She laced up her black and gold combat boots as she stood up. She wore her usual black combat skirt with its crisscrossing gold swirl design as well as her gold chain necklace, black studs and cuff on her right ear. Her boots clomped against the tiled floor of the locker room as she walked toward the entrance to the combat arena, her pigtail bobbing as she walked.

Time to see what these other schools are made of, she thought, as she stepped into the arena to face her opponent.

In front of her was one of the boys from Atlas she had met a few days ago, Jett. He wore a gray athletic jacket and gray athletic pants as well as white sneakers and a black undershirt. Strapped to his forearms were steel bracers, and on his shins were steel greaves. His brown eyes stared at her intimidatingly, his long black hair framing his face as he tried to take in what kind of fighter she was. She drew her battle axe and held it in both of her hands as she took her stance. Jett merely blinked at this, and activated his weapon. The metal on his limbs extended out to his hands and his feet, forming gauntlets around his hands and boots around his feet. Jett also took his stance while he waited for Glynda to start the fight.

Glynda nodded at both combatants.

"Begin."

Jett ran forward with great speed towards Aurelia. She swung her axe in a wide arc, preparing to hit Jett out of the air. From his gauntlets, Jett released a powerful kinetic pulse, which sent him backwards, far enough for Aurelia's axe to completely miss its target. He then launched another pulse from his boots, launching himself forward to punch Aurelia. Swiftly she blocked the blow with the hilt of her axe, but she was now at a disadvantage. In an attempt to move him away, she pushed her weapon outward. It did the trick, as Jett was thrown backward, but he quickly used his pulses to move closer. Expecting this, Aurelia swung her axe to her right, colliding into the boy's side. Jett was sent careening towards the wall by the force of the blow, but fired more pulses from his gauntlets and boots to slow his movement. He smirked at her.

"Glad to see you're good at keeping up," He chatted idly, "Let's see how long that lasts."

He charged at her again, this time using his pulses to speed him up. On top of her now, Jett threw his fist right at her face. Aurelia ducked under the punch and hit him in the chest with the end of her weapon's handle. Stunned by the blow, Jett was unable to block Aurelia's next swing, which sent him flying towards another wall. Firing off more pulses, Jett lessened his speed, stopping him right in front of the wall. Aurelia switched her axe to rocket launcher form and fired a rocket at Jett. He ran towards the rocket, ducking underneath it as he moved towards his opponent. The rocket exploded right behind him, but he was unfazed as he approached Aurelia. He ducked under another swing from her axe and punched her right in the gut, using the pulses from his gauntlet to increase the force of the blow. Aurelia staggered backwards as Jett moved to attack again. She was unable to dodge, as Jett delivered a swift kick to her side. Aurelia was sent to the ground as Jett charged, leaping forward to deliver yet another blow. Aurelia spun around and swung her axe to hit him out of the air. Seeing the attack, Jett miraculously fired off enough pulses to stop himself in midair to avoid the axe and then land safely back on the ground. Taking advantage of her temporary advantage, Aurelia retaliated with an overhead swing towards Jett. He barely had enough time to react, and was only able to catch the blade in his hands. Aurelia smirked as she began to overpower her opponent, forcing him onto one knee. Jett looked up and smiled at her.

"Impressive," Jett commented through gritted teeth, "but don't think you've won yet."

With that, electricity began to form around Jett's hands as he sent an electric shock through Aurelia's weapon. She yelped and dropped her blade at the sudden shock as Jett stepped forward and launched his fist right into Aurelia's face, after firing another pulse. Aurelia tumbled backwards from the impact, but quickly got back up. However, Jett was instantly on top of her again, delivering a kick toward her gut. Aurelia tried to block it but was not fast enough, and she was sent flying back for a second time. Once again she got back up, and once again he was in front of her, but this time Aurelia was ready. She dodged the first punch with relative ease, as Jett threw another punch. Using her elbow, she deflected the blow and let loose a kick to his stomach using the flat of her foot. Stunned by the blow, he was unable to react as Aurelia spun and kicked him in the side of the head with her heal. Jett hit the ground hard and stumbled for a bit as he tried to recover.

Using this time, Aurelia ran over and grabbed her weapon from the ground, turning to face the boy. Jett was standing and looked at her. He smirked again as he charged. Aurelia readied herself as he jumped into the air. He came down foot first, and Aurelia swung her axe at him, attempting to knock him out of the air again. This time, using his pulses, Jett redirected himself and delivered a kick at the axe, deflecting it away from him as he landed right in front of her. Unable to defend herself, He jabbed her left shoulder with an electrified fist, sending a jolt through her arm and causing her to drop her weapon. He then quickly delivered a kick to her shin, sliding her foot back and causing her to fall to one knee, unbalanced. Firing off one last pulse from his gauntlet, Jett delivered a left hook straight to Aurelia's face, toppling her backwards and to the ground face first. On the screen overlooking the arena, her aura meter decreased to red.

"This match is over," Glynda declared and Aurelia slammed a fist onto the ground upon hearing those words.

She got up slowly and saw Jett standing in front of her. He held out his hand to her.

"That was a good fight," he declared smiling.

Aurelia frowned and begrudgingly shook his hand. As they walked back to their separate locker rooms, only one thought entered Aurelia's mind

It should have been better.

"Hey Daisy!"

Daisy turned to see Re running down the window-lit hallway towards her. She smiled at him, her blonde hair glistening in the sunlight from the windows.

"Hey Re!" she said joyously, "It's good to see you again today."

Re stopped in front of her and grinned, "Yea, it's good to see you too!"

They began to walk down the hall together as they chatted.

"So, Jett was certainly impressive during that fight," Re commented.

"Yes he was," Daisy replied, "he trains every day to make sure he's in top condition."

"I remember you talking about that before," Re recalled, "but I didn't think he was that strong. Aurelia's one of the top students in our class."

"She did fight well; it's been a while since I've seen him that excited about a match."

Re frowned slightly, "Does he not normally get excited?"

"Not usually," Daisy explained, "There are very few times I've seen him get excited to fight someone, and every time I have he compliments them at the end."

"I bet I could give him a run for his money," Re spoke arrogantly as he put his hands behind his head.

Daisy chuckled, "Well I hope that's not why you hang out with me so much, cause I won't be giving you any tips on how to beat him."

"I would never!" Re said dramatically, his hand on his heart, "I mean, if you offered though I wouldn't refuse… free information you know?"

Daisy laughed.

"But seriously, I hang out with you because you're fun to be around."

"Are you sure it's not just because I'm a pretty face?"

"W-well," Re stuttered, taken aback by the statement and blushing slightly.

Daisy giggled, "I'm just joking, I'm glad you find me fun to be around."

Re smiled, trying to regain his composure.

"Well, I'm glad that you're glad," he replied.

Daisy looked at him slyly, "Well, I'm glad that you're glad that I'm glad," she retorted.

"Well I'm glad that you're glad that I'm…"

He trailed off frowning as he tried to reform his sentence.

"You know what, I'm just glad," he determined, a triumphant smile on his face.

Daisy giggled again, "Can't find a rebuttal?"

"Yea," Re said rubbing his head, "Hurt my brain just thinking about it."

"Kinda like the time you drank that slushy too fast?"

"Hey hey, those are too good to enjoy slowly."

Both of them laughed as they continued to walk.

Soon they reached the branching hallway that marked the end of their time between classes.

"I'll see ya later Re!" Daisy called as she turned left.

"See ya," Re said, a bit of sadness in his voice as he turned the other direction.

He took two steps toward his class when he thought:

Ah screw it.

He turned and called out, "Hey Daisy!"

She turned around as Re approached her again, "Yes?"

Re froze slightly, his nervousness now getting the better of him as he scratched the back of his head, "Uh…well…you see…"

Daisy cocked her head slightly and smiled, "What is it Re?"

"W-Well…you see…" Re continued, stutteringly.

Just ask her you fool!

"I-I wanted to know if you wanted to go see a movie tonight?" Re asked timidly, still rubbing the back of his head, "I figured it might be fun and a nice change of pace from the usual Thursday night."

Daisy grinned wider at Re, "Sure," she answered, "sounds like that could be fun!"

"Really?" Re replied in disbelief.

"Well," She said smiling slyly "if you're so unsure…"

Re composed himself, "N-no," he stammered "I just wasn't sure if you wanted to."

Daisy continued to smile, "Well now you know," she replied, "Does 6 o'clock work for you?"

Re smiled, "Yea it does! I'll meet you by the gates!"

"Alright, I'll see ya then!"

"Yea, see ya then!"

They both turned and walked in opposite directions towards their next classes. Re's heart soared as he reveled in his triumph.

This is gonna be great! Re thought excitedly, now I just have to make it through my classes.

Aurelia's axe clashed with Celestia's katana. They had just finished class and had decided to do some sparring together in further preparation for the tournament. Celestia pushed back Aurelia and attempted to slice at her stomach.

No you don't, thought Aurelia as she deftly blocked the slice with the hilt of her weapon.

It was actually Aurelia who proposed the idea of more training, especially after the display of strength from the other school. She wanted to improve. She needed to improve.

Aurelia flicked her opponent's blade away with her hilt and swung diagonally at her. Celestia spun with the deflection and used the momentum to block the strike from Aurelia's axe. Frustrated with her lack of progress in the match, she charged forward using her body to try and knock Celestia off balance. Celestia saw this and dodged to Aurelia's exposed right side. She then hit Aurelia in the back of the head with the hilt of her sword. She fell to the ground hard and didn't move for a few seconds.

"Aurelia?" Celestia called in worry, "You alright?"

She stirred on the ground as a voice in her head said, Again.

Aurelia got up and turned toward Celestia. She readied her stance. Celestia looked concerned, but still got in her combat stance as well.

Aurelia spun her axe around and swung it straight down toward Celestia's head. Celestia blocked the attack with ease, realizing that Aurelia was taking on a more aggressive strategy. Aurelia then proceeded to swing towards Celestia's right side, which was again blocked. Aurelia kept up her assault of swings, growing more frustrated as Celestia blocked each one. Eventually, her offensive assault ended as Celestia took advantage of a gap in Aurelia's defenses. She thrusted her hilt into Aurelia's stomach and then threw her to the ground. Winded, Aurelia attempted to stand back up, but stumbled slightly.

Celestia frowned with unease at her friend's condition, "I think that's enough for today," she said, pushing her pink bangs out of her eyes.

But Aurelia stood up straight and readied her stance. Again! the voice in her head ordered.

Celestia scratched her dog ears in confusion, "Aurelia, you should take a break, you look really-"

Aurelia charged at her, swinging her axe at Celestia. She barely blocked the blow, as Aurelia came in with another attack, one that hit her straight in the side. The impact made her stumble to the right as she prepare for the next attack. Aurelia's stream of attacks was unrelenting as Celestia tried to block each attack while attempting to get Aurelia to stop.

"Aurelia that's enough," she reasoned, "you shouldn't push yourself."

Her words meant nothing as Aurelia continued to attack until, Celestia knocked her to the ground again. She looked down at Aurelia who lay on the floor of the sparring room.

"You need to rest," Celestia said soothingly, "remember there's always tomorrow."

Aurelia stood up, Again! the voice shouted, and Aurelia charged.

"Aurelia!" Celestia shouted as she blocked the attack, "enough already."

Celestia pushed her away, almost toppling her in the process. She regained her balance and charged again.

"Stop!" Celestia commanded and she raised her hand in front of her.

Aurelia stopped in her tracks as an unseen force slammed her into the ground. She lay there unable to move, and finally snapped back to her senses.

Celestia put her hand back down, "You good?" she asked.

Aurelia said nothing as she slowly sat up, putting her weapon down on the ground. She sat on the floor, breathing heavily as she tried to recover from the hits that she took from the spar.

Celestia sighed, realizing what this was about. She sheathed her weapon and sat down next to her friend. They sat there in silence.

"So…" Celestia began, "Match really got to you… didn't it?"

It wasn't a question, it was a fact.

Aurelia nodded.

"Look, everyone loses sometimes. I know you want to be perfect both mentally and physically, and I know it's not your fault that you're like this. But you have to push past it. You have to learn to take a break."

A tear slid down Aurelia's cheek, "Even after all these years, you still don't really understand."

She turned to Celestia.

"You think I don't want to take a break? You think I want to spend all my time training and studying until I'm exhausted? It's who I am Celeste; I can't just push past it."

She clenched her fists, shaking in anger.

"And I hate it!" she yelled, "I hate that I can't spar without giving everything I've got, that I can't learn something just because it's fun."

She closed her eyes, the tears still coming.

"It's the stupidest thing, but I can't do anything about it. Do you realize how frustrating that is?!"

She slammed her fist onto the floor with that last word and silence fell between the two.

"I can't escape it either. Even outside of learning, everything has to be in its place, everything must be symmetrical, and everything must be perfectly set up."

At this point, Aurelia stood up, her back towards Celestia, fists still clenched.

"I know that I need to take a break, and I know you're just trying to make sure I'm okay. But please, understand that badgering me is only gonna make me more aware of my problem."

Celestia also stood and put her hand on Aurelia's shoulder.

"I get what you're saying Aurelia," Celestia began, "But I can't just sit by while you suffer through this."

Aurelia turned to protest, but Celestia continued.

"So, instead of badgering you about what you should be doing, I want you to come to me if it ever becomes too much. If you ever need some positive reinforcement, I'll be there for you. I may not fully understand what you're going through, but I want be able to support you in any way I can."

Celestia smiled at her warmly. Aurelia touched her own shoulder, looked at the ground, and let out a shuddering breath. Finally she looked up at Celestia and returned the smile.

"Thanks Celeste," She said still smiling, "I'm glad you're here for me."

"No problem," Celestia replied, "Now let's get back to the dorm and turn in for the night."

The two of them then grabbed their equipment and walked out of the training area.

Re and Daisy walked out of the movie theater and into the night. As they headed back to the public airships, they discussed the movie they just saw.

"But the ending didn't make a lot of sense," Daisy pointed out.

"Sure it did," Re remarked smiling, "it was hinted at earlier in the movie that he had powers."

"Where?" Daisy asked, "I didn't see that."

"It was when he fought the old guy," Re replied, "He released a bit of his power during it, which is why he was allowed to leave the academy."

"I guess that makes sense," she replied, "still it was funny when he nearly tripped down the mountain."

"Haha yea," Re laughed, "I could barely contain my laughter."

They both chuckled as they remembered the scene, then fell into an amused silence as they nearly reached the airship.

"I had a lot of fun tonight," Daisy said, "we should do this again sometime."

"Yea totally," Re replied smiling even wider, "I'll have to see what my schedule is but we can work something out."

"Definitely!"

They both walked onto the airship and sat down in silence as they waited for take off.

"Re?"

"Yea?"

"I really appreciate you spending time with me this past week."

Re shrugged, "It's no problem. I can't think of anything else I'd rather do."

Daisy smiled and put her head on Re's shoulder. Re tensed slightly, unsure of what to do as Daisy continued.

"You don't understand, aside from my teammates, I don't know too many people back in Atlas. Most of them are too focused on their training to bother with relationships, and the others are just not compatible."

Daisy snuggled a bit closer as Re relaxed his body.

"You are the first person who genuinely wanted to get to know me outside of my teammates, and you really made me feel welcome at Beacon. It means a lot to me, and I wish I could do more right now to emphasize that, but all I can say is…well…thank you."

Re leaned his head next to Daisy's as he placed his hand over her hand.

"You're welcome," he said turning to look at her with a smile on his face, "and believe me, spending time with you is enough thanks for me."

Daisy smiled back as she looked back at Re.

When the airship arrived at Beacon, it was about 8:30PM. They stood up and walked towards the academy. They reached the courtyard when they had to part ways.

"I should probably get going," Re stated, regretfully, "I've got a quiz tomorrow and Sylvia would kill me if I didn't study for it tonight."

Daisy smiled, "I understand. Have a good night!"

She then quickly gave him a peck on the cheek as she turned and walked back to her dorm.

Re stood there stunned for a few seconds, processing what just happened. He then smiled, and the smile began to widen as he turned and practically skipped back to the dorm. His mind raced and whirred with so many emotions and thoughts that he could barely keep track of them. He couldn't wait to share his excitement with everyone else on the team.

Re put his scroll into the door to his dorm, unlocking it, and walked in.

The room was dark and there was barely any sign that anyone was there except for one girl huddled up on her bad, shaking.

His face fell when he realized it was Sylvia who was shaking. He immediately went to her side.

"Sylvia what's wrong?" Re asked worryingly, "What happened?"

Sylvia looked up at Re, seeing her fear-stricken face made Re instantly hug her.

"It's okay Sylvia," Re consoled her, "It's gonna be fine."

"No it's not," she whispered, her voice trembling.

He released her and looked at her with concern.

"It's him," she said her voice still trembling, "Father is coming to Beacon."