Chapter 4 – Second Place Champions.

- GABRIEL -

The vytal festival tournament was on the horizon. Students were gossiping and teams were preparing. The second year students were especially excited. They knew what to expect. Gabriel can still remember the last tournament, his team was one of Beacon's top teams and made it to the finals. It was a lot of pressure, a way of proving that Beacon was the superior school. They of all people knew exactly what to expect.

"We're going to get our asses kicked." Gabriel said, Arthur threw his arms up and collapsed onto his bed. Lancel was pacing as usual. Toreth just stood there like a statue. Gabriel was starting to wonder if Toreth ditched his armor and left at some point and nobody noticed. "It's going to be just like last time."

"Last time was a fluke!" Arthur exclaimed. Gabriel laughed. "They got the drop on us."

"A fluke?" Gabriel asked with a loud and somewhat sarcastic laugh. "More like you got your face pummeled, Lancel was gone before the match even started, Toreth was pulling his I don't fight card and got tossed around like a ragdoll and I was the only one still standing long enough to get tag teamed. How is that a fluke?"

"Team BRNZ was far more capable than we thought." Lancel said, stepping into the conversation. About time too. "Clearly we underestimated them."

"Really? We underestimated the finalists? The ones who made it to the end of the tournament?" Gabriel asked. Lancel shook his head and went back to pacing. "Yeah, forgive me for the attitude but how the heck did we underestimate them. We knew they were good."

"We can take them this year, all I'm saying!" Arthur said with a confident smile. Gabriel rolled his eyes. "We just need a plan, a little bit of teamwork and maybe some sort of formation or something."

"A formation?" Gabriel scoffed. "Oh right, you have a point! Next time we see team BRNZ we will just stand together, drop our weapons and assume the position!"

"You need to think big! Toreth, you agree with me right?" Arthur asked. Toreth shrugged. Arthur turned his gaze to the window. "We can do it this time."

"So we form a plan, sounds like it could work." Lancel said, patting Arthur on the shoulder. Gabriel scoffed again.

"Well of course Lancel agrees." Gabriel laughed. "Try not to faint next time, alright?"

"I didn't faint, I got knocked out!" Lancel roared. Gabriel continued to laugh.

"You got slapped." Gabriel chortled. "You got backhanded."

"He had a glove!" Lancel stomped. It just made it funnier. Even Toreth was quietly chuckling. He stormed off. Gabriel glanced over at Arthur. The minute the door slammed shut Arthur started smirking.

The day went by, the first years had a couple staged matches. Gabriel found Arthur lingering by a door, watching the fights. He had a younger sister in her first year, he had a habit of slinking off to watch her training.

"I don't get it." Gabriel said with a shrug. "She's fine, she's doing good. Why do you spend your free time watching her?"

"You don't have siblings do you?" Arthur asked. Gabriel laughed.

"Hell no, dodged a bullet I'd say." Gabriel said with a wide grin. "I'd hate to have to share my things and waste my afternoons watching Glynda teach stuff I learned last year."

"I like to know she's okay." Arthur said with a shrug. Gabriel watched the class, scanning for recognisable faces. "So if you don't have siblings, why are you spending your free time watching Glynda teach stuff you learned last year?"

"Three words. First. Year. Girls." Gabriel said with another sly smile. Arthur chuckled.

"Why first years?" Arthur asked. "If I may be so bold."

"What could I say, girls dig experience." Gabriel shrugged. Arthur shook his head. "What, I'm an experienced fighters. I was a finalist at last years Vytal festival. Don't you remember?"

"Yeah, your experienced at getting your ass kicked." Arthur laughed. Gabriel's smile widened.

"Hey, I'm not just experienced, I mastered getting my ass kicked. I went down like a pro." Gabriel interjected. They chuckled quietly and turned their eyes to the lesson.

"Whoa!" Arthur exclaimed. Gabriel turned to him and tried to see what he was looking at. Wasn't quite hard, he noticed Gwyn walking up to the fighters. He noticed Ash was one of them, sporting the same look on both their faces. "Who is that?"

"Gwyn Rhosyn." Gabriel said, he patted his friend on the back. "You too? Damn, that girl is contagious!"

"That the girl you and Toreth were going on about?" Arthur asked.

"One and the same." Gabriel leaned against the wall. "Seriously, how does she do it."

"First year girls huh?" Arthur asked, they looked at each other. They broke out into laughter.

Next up was Arthur's sister Morgy and another student, apparently from the same team. Arthur glanced nervously at Gabriel. It really wasn't often you'd face your teammates against one another. Sort of goes against the trust building. Glynda did like to suprise her students though so it wasn't exactly out of the question. The fight was going pretty well in Morgy's favor.

"She's good." Gabriel said. Not exactly his taste in fighting style though, whipping dust at your opponent never seemed fair in his mind. Reminds him too much about getting his ass kicked in the tournament. "Her friend really isn't doing too well."

"She has a habit of getting a bit carried away." Arthur was adding. There were audible gasps from the audience and her opponent was hit square in the face and dropped like a rock. Arthur watched Morgana run off and turned to Gabriel. "I got to go!"

"Siblings." Gabriel said to nobody in particular. He shook his head. He noticed Gwyn heading his way, he brushed his hair back and waved. She waved back but a but a man in green armor cut him off. He glared at him, shaking his head. Gabriel started chuckling. The man didn't seem amused. They strolled down the hall together.

Studying wasn't exactly going well. Gabriel was resting his eyes on their study table. Toreth was likely asleep, hard as it was to tell. He hadn't turned a page in the last thirty minutes however, so the odds were good. Lancel had several books out and was skimming through them at an alarming rate. If there was one thing that Lancel was good at, it was studying. Also planning, accounting and generally being opposed to fun. Gabriel yawned. Lancel put his book down.

"Is there something you'd rather be doing?" Lancel asked. Gabriel shrugged. "Then get back to studying. You too tin man!"

He knocked on Toreth's helmet. Toreth abruptly jumped out of his chair looking back and forth. Lancel waved across his visor. He slumped back into his chair and turned a page. It looked like he was about to phase out again. Gabriel chuckled quietly. Lancel seemed to give up and return to his books.

"You know, Arthur was right." Lancel said closing his books. "We can beat BRNZ this year."

"No we can't." Gabriel said flipping a page. He leaned his head on his hand lazily and let out a long yawn. Lancel leaned closer.

"You know, I really wish you weren't so negative." He said with a stern look. Gabriel laughed.

"I really wish Toreth pulled his weight in a fight." Gabriel replied. Toreth pointed to himself and shrugged. Gabriel shook his head. "I'm sorry bro but this pacifist thing is really cramping our style here."

"He's got a point Toreth." Lancel said. Toreth pointed at Lancel and pretended to get slapped. He then dramatically swung his arm over his head and swooned. Lancel was fuming. "He wore a glove!"

"What does that have to do with it? Are gloves your mortal weakness? This isn't an X-ray and Vav comic." Gabriel chuckled. Lancel was holding his pencil in a death grip.

"Next time, maybe you'll be the one to get slapped." Lancel said jabbing his finger towards him. "You'll see who's laughing then."

"Yeah maybe I will but I won't faint like a little girl." Gabriel smiled back. Lancel started growling under his breath.

It was well into the evening. The sun setting over the towering spires of Beacon academy was a gorgeous sight, Gabriel waited patiently for the sky to bathe in an orange hue. He stretched out comfortably. If there was one thing he loved about Beacon it was the view. He glanced over to his left and saw Arthur's head poking out of a window. Gabriel smacked the shingles next to him and Arthur hopped out and slid down next to him. The roof had a pretty great view.

"How's your sister?" Gabriel decided to get the elephant off the roof.

"She's fine, just a little shook up. Her friend is going to be fine." Arthur said, he let out a sigh of relief and stretched his legs.

Toreth popped his head out the window, he climbed out and slid down to Gabriel's right. He stretched out, he always did like to hog space. The sun was starting to go down, one of the best times to be up here.

"So Tor, how's your day been?" Gabriel asked. Toreth shrugged. "Good to hear, you talk to that girl yet?" Another shrug. It was about as much as he figured.

"Which girl is this?" Arthur asked.

"Some faunus girl he has a thing for but doesn't have the stones to ask out." Gabriel said. Toreth smacked him on the shoulder. "Calling it for what it is!"

"What are you guys talking about?" Lancel asked, he leaned out of the window.

"Girls, stuff you know nothing about! So long!" Gabriel said with a friendly wave. Lancel held a cooler up. "Nevermind, you're welcome to join!"

He slid down next to Arthur and tossed them a couple cans. They cracked their cans and took their sips. Gabriel laughed at Toreth trying to drink his with his helmet on. Toreth smacked him on the shoulder again.

"So girl talk eh?" Lancel asked. Gabriel started chuckling. "What?"

"The other kind of girl talk, not that prissy stuff you're used to!" Gabriel joked. Lancel shook his head laughing.

"Have you forgotten last year, second semester?" Lancel asked. Gabriel buried his face laughing.

"I thought we weren't going to talk about that?" Gabriel said trying his best to stop laughing.

"Hey, I left that party with a girl in each arm, you left with a guy." Lancel said with a smile, Arthur was laughing his guts out.

"In my defense, he was pretty good looking." Gabriel said laughing. "He was very girly, also how do you know those girls were girls?"

"Trust me, they were." Lancel said with a smug look.

"Wait, both? Together?" Gabriel asked. Lancel seemed to enjoy gloating. "Why? How?"

"Some girls are interested in the quiet guy." Lancel said with smirk. "Right Toreth?"

Toreth shrugged and nodded. Gabriel looked back and forth. He honestly couldn't wrap his head around any of this. Lancel was a stretch but Tor? He sleeps in his armor.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Gabriel shouted.

"What's the matter Gabe?" Arthur asked. "Not as smooth as you thought you were?"

"Hey, I'm smooth!" Gabriel shouted, the others continued to laugh. "I can melt any woman."

"Prove it, that girl from earlier." Arthur said. "What was her name? Gwyn Rhosyn?"

"Done." Gabriel said shaking his hand. "You will eat your words."

"Oh I'm sure I will." Arthur replied with a smug look on his face. They continued laughing. The sun was sinking behind the horizon and the moon was beginning to rise.

"So, do you really think we can win?" Gabriel asked. Arthur pat him on the shoulder.

"I think we can do it, BRNZ were good but we can beat them next time." Arthur smiled. "We know what we're up against."

"I don't know about this." Gabriel hung his head. "But I'll have your back."

"Seriously? No more cynicism?" Arthur asked. Gabriel laughed.

"Are you kidding, I'm going to point out all the flaws in your plans starting now." Gabriel smirked. Arthur nodded.

"That might actually be a good thing. First thing, we need to start training our formations better." Arthur said with a slightly more confident tone. "We need to know who's standing where, when to deploy semblances and who to target in what order."

"Alright, you and Toreth up front." Lancel said with a contemplative nod. "Gabriel and I cover the flank. We take out Chrysos fast. Then focus fire on Platina."

"You just don't want to get slapped again." Gabriel said with a wide grin. Lancel gave him a tired stare. Gabriel was starting to think he played that card enough today.

"That leaves Kinnivari and Zerakles." Lancel added. "That's on you two."

"Toreth will try to hold Kinnivari, I'll take Zerakles down." Arthur nodded. There were several hesitant murmers.

"Zerakles is their best fighter, I say go after Kinnivari instead." Gabriel added. "Kinnivari tends to get more threatening the more time you give him."

"Good point, Tor. Can you handle Zerakles alone." Arthur asked. Toreth shrugged. Arthur's smile faded. "That's going to be a problem."

"I can try to occupy him so you guys can take out the rest." Lancel suggested. There were more hesitant murmers.

"You? Against the best they have? Alone?" Gabriel asked. "That's a pretty bold plan."

"I'm faster, I can keep him occupied." Lancel said, he sounded confident. That was likely a bad sign. "I don't know how long I can, Gabriel would have to take Chrysos down himself, Arthur and Toreth would have to take on Platina and Kinnivari."

"Platina is fast too, what if he goes after you while your sepparated from the group?" Arthur asked. Lancel seemed to ponder it. Gabriel had a bad feeling about this. He didn't even make the joke.

"Toreth, could you take Platina solo?" Lancel asked. Tor shrugged.

"Don't give me that pacifist pile again!" Gabriel shouted. Tor shrugged. "Fine, he'll keep him occupied but not much more."

"Well, best we can do." Arthur said with a half shrug and finished his can. "We'll devote more of our free time to training. Lancel and I need to practice against stronger opponents. Gabriel and Tor need to practice against faster ones. We can do this."

He held his fist out, they all fist bumped him and climbed up and back through the window. It may not have been a solid plan but it might give them a chance. BRNZ were good but they didn't know who they'd be up against. Then again, they might be training just as hard. The wonders of a cynical mind.