Author's Notes: That volume 3 finale was absolutely incredible...I have no words...I mean aside from the ones I just said. Anyway, here's Chapter 19 of What it Takes! Enjoy!

What It Takes

Chapter 19: Reunion

Re stared at her in shock.

"What?" he asked incredulously.

"He messaged me saying that he wants to talk," she said shakily, "He's heading towards Beacon tomorrow and wants me to stop by downtown so we can talk."

"Well, what did you say?"

Sylvia looked at him, "Nothing," she stated plainly, "And I'm not going to answer him at all."

Re nodded at her sister, "Probably for the best," he said knowingly, "I can't believe he has the audacity to even message you."

"But, what if he wants to apologize?" Sylvia wondered still shaking, "What if he wants to try to make it up to me?"

Re put a hand on her shoulder.

"Trust me," Re stated plainly, "He would have said so if that's what he wanted. Besides, nothing he does now could ever make up for what he did."

"But-"

"Sylvia."

She turned and looked at Re.

"Do you want to see him?" asked Re, "Do you want to talk to him?"

Sylvia thought for a long time.

If he does want to try to make up, then he deserves at least a chance right?

She then remembered the history of her father. How loving he had been to her. How she always slept in his lap when she was little. But then she remembered her mother dying, and how that had changed everything.

She steeled herself and her body ceased its nervous shakes, replaced instead by anger.

"No," she said defiantly, "I don't want to see him."

Re nodded and smiled at her.

"Then tell him that," he said, "Message him back and say you refuse to meet him. He doesn't deserve it."

Sylvia nodded as well.

"Okay," she said, still slightly nervous from the message, "I'll do that."

She opened up her scroll, pulled up the message, and sent her response.

"Where are Wai and Namra?" Re asked, finally noticing their absence.

"They're finishing part of Wai's special training right now," she answered, "Should be back in about an hour."

"Alright, best finish up some work and then hit the hay."

Sylvia looked at him quizzically.

"You? Doing work?"

"Hey I promised my sister didn't I?"

Sylvia smiled, "That you did," she answered, "Then I better keep up my end of the bargain."

She sat back in her bed and pulled out a book from her shelf and began reading it, easing into the pillow.

However, despite her attempts to relax, she couldn't quite shake the feeling of nervousness and fear from that message.

Just stop thinking about it, Sylvia scolded herself, everything is gonna be fine.

Everything is not fine.

Sylvia had woken up the next day. Her head throbbed painfully as she tried to get ready for the day. She was making her way down for an early breakfast, when she realized she forgot her notebook for her next class. She ran back to her dorm, grabbed it and a pencil and headed back to the dining hall. She grabbed some eggs and toast for her meal and proceeded to spill her glass of orange juice all over the counter. Embarrassed and angry at herself, she cleaned up the mess, refilled her cup and sat down at one of the tables.

At least my teammates weren't awake to see that, Sylvia thought as she ate her breakfast.

When she was finished, she cleared her plate and headed to class. She sat down, half-asleep, when:

"Alright class," Professor Caerul began, "Put away your things; it's time for our weekly quiz."

Sylvia froze. She had completely forgotten about the quiz today.

Damn, Sylvia chided herself; I didn't study for it last night. I was too preoccupied with that stupid email.

The papers were handed out and the quiz began. Sylvia stared at the page. As she tried to read the first question, the words seemed to jumble into one big mess. Her headache came back, painfully, and she clutched her head as she continued her attempts at reading the questions.

Why do we have a quiz every week? Sylvia wondered angrily as she struggled to answer the first question.

Well, it is an advanced course that I decided to take, she reminded herself, but today is not the best day for me to be taking a quiz.

She finished it to the best of her ability and then attempted to pay attention and take notes, while fighting back the continuingly growing pain in her head.

When the bell rang, Sylvia walked back to her dorm, thankful she had a nice break in between classes. She got back to the dorm, her headache pounding painfully at the front of her skull.

Maybe I should take a nap, she thought wistfully, might help the headache.

She lay down on her bed, closed her eyes and tried to sleep for a bit.

Porphyrios sat down at the dining table. He began eating his lunch as the rest of his team joined him one by one.

"All I'm saying is your semblance can be overcome if someone is strong enough," Basil commented to Celestia, continuing the conversation they had had after class.

"And all I'm saying is that, regardless of whether they are strong enough, my semblance puts my opponents at an extreme disadvantage," retorted Celestia smiling.

"Perhaps," Basil conceded, "but my semblance allows me to dodge incoming blows easily, making it much harder for me to be hit."

"What do you think Porph?" asked Celestia.

"Are you really still arguing over whose semblance is better?" Porphyrios inquired, an eyebrow raised.

"Well we haven't resolved it yet," Basil responded, "Your opinion will be the tie breaker."

"I don't have an opinion," Porphyrios replied, "because each semblance has its strengths and weaknesses."

Porphyrios took a bite of his food.

"Besides, it's stupid to compare two people on the same team."

Basil turned to Aurelia, "Well then, you're the deciding vote it seems."

Aurelia didn't answer. She was staring off into space, drumming her fingers on the table.

"You alright?"

"Hmmm?"

Aurelia snapped out of her trance and looked at Basil.

"You seem out of it," Basil pointed out, "Something on your mind?"

"No I'm fine," Aurelia responded, as she poked at her food.

Basil was going to continue when Re, Namra, and Wai all sat down at the same table.

"What's up guys?" Re asked joyfully.

"Other than the fact that you are loudly interrupting our meal?" Porphyrios scolded.

"Don't mind him," Celestia commented, "He's just in a bad mood."

"Seems to happen a lot," Wai replied.

"I'm not in a bad mood," Porphyrios stated defensively, "I just prefer peace and quiet."

"Right," Basil said sarcastically, "Cause Celestia and I were very quiet when discussing our semblances."

Porphyrios didn't respond, but instead grumbled as he continued to eat his lunch.

"So how've you guys been?" Basil inquired.

"Pretty good," Re responded, "Gonna ask Daisy to the dance today."

"Nice," Basil said, "I wish you the best of luck."

"Thanks!" Re exclaimed, grinning, "I wish you good luck with your endeavors too!"

Basil blushed slightly at the remark, but Celestia was interested in something else.

"Where's Sylvia?"

"We found her in the dorm room sleeping," Wai answered, "Guess she decided to take a nap after her first class."

"You didn't wake her for the rest of her classes?"

"Well…" Re began, "She had a rough night last night."

"Besides, with all the time she spends studying and training, we figured she could use a nice rest," Namra explained.

"That's fair," Basil reasoned, "It's always important to rest when you need to."

"Good advice."

The students looked up from their meals to see Asita and Jett from Team Jade walking toward their table.

"What do you guys want?" Aurelia growled.

Everyone glanced at Aurelia, surprised by her hostility.

"Easy pretty lady," Asita smirked at her, "We only wanted see how you guys were."

"We've seen you guys around a bit and figured we ought to get to know you better," Jett explained, "Mind if we join you?"

"Sorry," Aurelia stood up, hostility still in her voice, "but we have to get to class."

Aurelia then walked out of the dining hall.

"I'm sorry for our teammate's outburst," Basil apologized, "although she is right, we do have class in a few minutes. We'll talk later."

"Of course," Jett nodded, "No worries."

And with that the rest of Team Peacock left the dining hall. Wai looked up at the clock.

"Actually we have class soon too, sorry about that."

"It's fine," Asita replied with a smile, "I'm sure we'll have more time to talk."

As the three of them left, Re was pulled aside by Jett.

"I need to talk to you for a second," Jett stated.

"Alright," Re replied, "What about?"

"I know you've been hanging out with Daisy a lot lately, and she told me that you guys went out last night to the movies," Jett began as he eyed Re, "So I just figured it would be fair to tell you: we care about her very much, and we would hate to see her get hurt. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Re's smile faded and he nodded seriously, "I understand you completely. And trust me when I say I would never dream of trying to hurt her in any way."

Jett smiled, "Good, I'm glad you understand."

And with that, Re followed his friends to class.

Sylvia stirred in her bed. She opened her eyes slightly and saw the rest of her team in the room.

"So I asked Daisy to the dance this weekend," Re said quietly, "and she said yes!"

"Dude that's awesome," Wai remarked, "Glad it worked out for you."

Sylvia sat up, making everyone look at her. Re smiled.

"Hey sleepyhead," Re teased, "Did you have a good nap?"

"I did," Sylvia stated, "but why are you all here?"

"Classes are over for the day," stated Namra.

"What?" Sylvia asked in shock, her eyes widening, "That can't be! That means I missed the rest of my classes!"

"Don't worry Sylvia," Re said calmly, "We took notes for you so you wouldn't miss out. We figured you could use the rest."

Sylvia smiled slightly, "Thanks Re, I appreciate it."

Her smile then turned into a frown, "but I really should've set an alarm, that way I wouldn't have missed class."

Wai dismissed her with a wave of his hand, "Don't worry about it. You were really tired, which isn't surprising."

"What do you mean?" inquired Sylvia.

"You were tossing and turning quite a bit last night," Namra pointed out, "Plus you've been staying up late doing work a lot."

"And how do you know that?"

"It's kind of hard not to know it when you rely more on your hearing than your eyesight."

"I thought you use your semblance to see?" inquired Wai.

"Yea, but I didn't have my semblance my entire life Wai."

"Well I guess I'll get started on copying those notes now," Sylvia determined.

Re put a hand on her should.

"How's about you just try to relax the rest of the day," Re advised, "With the dance this weekend and our first mission on Monday, you're gonna need the rest."

Someone knocked at the door.

Re looked up.

"You guys expecting someone?"

"Maybe it's Team Jade again," Wai considered as he got up and opened the door.

Sylvia's heart sank as she saw who was in the doorway. Standing there was a muscular balding man with a grey mustache that matched the little hair he had. He wore a white collared shirt with a gold tie, grey khakis and brown shoes. His piercing blue eyes met Sylvia's as he spoke in a serious tone:

"Hello Sylvia, Re, it's been awhile."

Porphyrios stared at the computer screen. With the new found info he had gathered about Roano Brooten, he had learned that the Faunus was a die-hard loyalist to the White Fang, and had been placed in prison for carrying out mass murder against the Schnee Dust Company. But something didn't add up.

No sane person could ever carry out such deeds unless they truly believed in their cause, Porphyrios pondered, stroking his black beard.

He continued to scrutinize the article in front of him about the breakout of Roano from prison.

So why did you abandon them for the man in the bowler hat?

"Watcha researching?"

Porphyrios immediately closed out of the window and spun around. Jett was standing there in his Atlas school uniform, hands in his pockets.

"Nothing you need to be concerned about," Porphyrios replied coldly.

"Oh, of course not," Jett commented with a slight smile, "But considering how quickly you closed out of the window, it seems to be something important. And the fact that you are quick to defend yourself, means that you must be trying to keep it secret."

"What's your point?" Porphyrios growled.

"Just seems odd to me," Jett reasoned, "that you aren't working on this research with your teammates."

Porphyrios said nothing, as Jett came closer to him.

"Keeping secrets is one thing," Jett noted, "but keeping things from your team is another. You should be working with them."

"They made their choice when I asked them earlier," Porphyrios responded, "I don't wish to burden them if they don't want to carry the load."

"Either way, they have a right to know what you know."

Porphyrios looked at him quizzically.

"Why do you care?" He inquired, "You don't even know what this is about."

"I know enough to know that you and your team aren't as close as you could be. You barely talked to them at lunch, figured I should give you advice."

Jett folded his arms across his chest, "Being a good team is one thing, but having perfect synergy with your teammates is unrivaled. And the only way to get there is by getting closer to them."

Jett nodded to the computer, "And keeping your knowledge secret isn't helping that."

"You didn't answer the question," Porphyrios pointed out, also crossing his arms, "Why do you care?"

"Because I've seen people in this situation before," Jett continued, "And it has always ended badly. I'm just trying to look out for my friends."

Porphyrios chuckled slightly, "Is that what we are now? 'Friends?' Well if that's the case let me let you in on a little secret 'friend'"

He unfolded his arms and walked closer to Jett, getting right up in his face.

"Being a leader isn't about getting closer to your teammates," Porphyrios growled, "It's about keeping their bodies fit and their skills honed, so that they stay alive. Keeping them alive is top priority and getting closer to them only gets in the way."

Porphyrios then began to walk away from Jett, but not before he said one last thing.

"Besides," He spoke softly but seriously, "If there's anything I've learned in life, it's that being close to people only brings one thing: Pain."

And with that, Porphyrios walked out of the library.

"Get out."

Sylvia gritted her teeth as she said those words, standing firm against her father. Re stood to the side, also tense at his sudden appearance. Namra and Wai were both silently confused as to why the siblings seemed so angry.

"Is this your father?" Namra finally broke the silence.

"He is," Sylvia stated before her father could answer, "And as I mentioned before, father, I don't want to talk to you."

"You don't even understand what this is about," he said plainly.

"I don't care," Sylvia replied, "Now if you would turn around and leave that would be much appreciated."

Sylvia's father sighed and his eyes grew somber, "Please, Sylvia, this is very important for you to know. Don't let our past get in the way of this."

"Easy for you to say!" Sylvia yelled, "You weren't on the receiving end of what you put me through!"

He flinched at her words, "I know I've made a lot of mistakes with you but please-"

"Mistakes?!" Sylvia's voice grew even louder as tears started to well up in her eyes, "After mom died you acted like I didn't exist! And when you did acknowledge me, you tried to force me onto career paths that I didn't want to follow! You gave all of your attention to Re and only Re!"

Tears began to stream down her face as she continued to yell, "And now after all that, you come here and tell me they were just mistakes! This isn't something as simple as spilling the milk, or sending the wrong email to someone! You ruined my life!"

Silence fell in the room. Sylvia's cheeks became wet as she continued to silently cry.

"So forgive me if I don't want to talk," Sylvia continued, "But I believe I have every reason not to."

"Sylvia…" her father began, unsure of what to say, "I'm not looking for your forgiveness. I just want to keep you safe now. And what I have to say is vital to keeping you safe."

"I can take care of myself," Sylvia argued, the tears had stopped now, "I don't need you to keep me safe."

"You don't understand."

"I don't need to."

"Damnit Sylvia!" her father raised his voice, "For once in your life listen to me! You owe me that much!"

"Owe you?!"

It was Re who had yelled this time. He now stood right in front of his father, fuming with anger.

"She doesn't owe you a damn thing! After what you did?! After what she had to suffer through?! You think she owes you?!"

"I protected her!" their father retorted, "Everything I did was to make sure she was safe!"

Re grabbed his father by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the wall.

"You protected her?!" Re yelled, "You abused her! You ignored her! You treated her like she was a piece of trash you had found on the side of the road! Sure you never physically hurt her, but years of neglect and verbal abuse were enough to damage her deeply."

His father tried to get out of Re's grasp, but he merely tightened his grip.

"All you did was play favorites! You praised me for everything I did yet dismissed everything she did! She pushed herself to excel in school just to impress you, to gain some sort of attention from you. And you just shut her out, like it all meant nothing, because all you cared about was how she reminded you of our mother."

"Re that's enough," Sylvia pleaded as she began to choke up.

"NO!" Re shouted looking back at Sylvia, "I'm tired of how he treats you, like you're just a bad memory that he wants to forget!"

Re turned back to his father.

"You want to know what the final straw was? You want to know the moment that she finally gave up? The night that she told you she wanted to go to Beacon and become a huntress, that was your last chance to make up for what you did, you could have started to patch things up with her by just saying yes. Years of pain could have begun to heal for you and her," Re continued, his voice becoming calmer, "And what did you do? You shot down her idea completely. You crushed her hopes and her dreams. I would know, because that night I saw her broken and beaten. I saw her devoid of all her personality."

Re released his grip on his father, a single tear sliding down his cheek.

"I saw the pills in her hand that night. I saw the defeated look on her face as she almost..."

Re trailed off as Sylvia started to tear up again.

"I had…to convince her… to not do it…" Re stated in a shaky voice, his face looking at the ground, "I, a sixteen year old boy, had to convince…my only sister…that there was more to life than what she experienced…"

He looked up at their father, "She nearly died that night," he said, angry hot tears spilling from his eyes, "If I hadn't been there, she would have died. So now tell me where the hell were you?! If you were so adamant about protecting Sylvia, where the hell were you that night?!"

Silence fell again as tears fell from both Sylvia and Re. Then, a single tear fell from their father's eyes.

"I…had no idea…"

His words were hollow as he tried to process what he had just heard.

"I didn't realize that…I am so sorry…I know that means nothing to you, but I am genuinely sorry I pushed you to that extreme."

He took in a shuddering breath, "You're right, you owe me nothing what-so-ever. And as much as you must hate and despise me for what I have put you through, I must insist that I talk to you. I'll be near Beacon Academy for a while, please, come talk to me when you are ready. It's a matter of your safety, for both you and Re."

He then began to close the door but stopped abruptly and looked back at Sylvia. He smiled at her.

"You look so much like your mother," he said softly, "She would be very proud of you."

And with that he closed the door, leaving them all in a calm silence.