SLVR

Sylvia knew Reyna was trying to reassure her, but her comments did little to soothe Sylvia's worries. She still had to wonder what had gone wrong and why Lev needed some time to cool down. If she knew the problem then maybe she could fix it! Reyna didn't stop at just letting Sylvia know where Lev was. Like a bullet through her heart, Reyna's words struck Sylvia hard. Ignoring her own sinking doubt and dread, Sylvia turned to Reyna and flashed a convincing smile. "Don't worry. Vance and I'll do our best." With that, Sylvia settled back down, thankful for Seymour's hand as he let her stew in her own worries.

The tournament started off with a bang, Sylvia gnawing her bottom lip raw as she saw the pure strength AZUR held. Once again, she prayed that her team wouldn't encounter the older team the tournament. She didn't want to imagine the kind of damage the older team could inflict on her own. So, Sylvia sat tense waiting for her and Vance's turn. Then SAGE got called.

Vance looked at his boyfriend in curiosity as Gabe demanded that he watch him as he fought. The wolf boy nodded obediently, tilting his head as he tried to figure out what his boyfriend was planning. He couldn't think too hard on it as the next thing he knew, Gabe was standing in the arena, shirtless. Vance's mind practically short-circuited. His attention remained solely on Gabe. The only thought running through his mind was 'Oh no, He's hot'. If one watched Vance's face throughout the fight, they could see it light up ten different shades as he followed his boyfriend's every move. Faintly, the wolf boy wondered how he had managed to snag this Adonis of a boy, his eyes tracing every sweat soaked muscle on Gabe's physique. He didn't even realize it was over until he noticed that Gabe wasn't fighting anymore. Blinking, the wolf boy had tried to start preparing himself so he wasn't as flustered when Gabe teleported up to the top of the arena then he was in front of him. Vance looked up at Gabe, slack jawed and blushing. Before he could process how Gabe was there, lips were on his and Vance was pulled into a familiar kiss. It took him a few moments to respond, but once he did he was just as passionate as Gabe. His arms wound around the smaller boy's waist, Vance kissing back just as hard. He could feel red hot tingles down his spine as he felt the tensed muscles and the sweat pouring down Gabe's back. The panther boy's scent alone could drive Vance crazy, but the kiss was over far too soon. He was sat back down in his seat and Gabe was gone. Vance could only stare off into the distance, dazed as he felt his whole body tingle.

As Sora spoke of Seymour's "manipulations", Sylvia could only laugh. "He's good at getting info out of people." She quipped, getting ready to focus on the fight. As Gabe started his little routine, Sylvia could feel her worry and anxieties drift away. She burst out laughing, unable to truly pay attention to the fight until well into it. Then when Gabe pulled the whole teleporting stunt, she was sent into another wave of laughter. She wiped away small tears coming to her eyes, her sides practically screaming from how hard she was laughing. She didn't calm back down until a while after Gabe and Seymour returned to their seats.

Once Gabe returned, Vance had tried to think of something to say, something to respond to Gabe's whole tease show. The words wouldn't come, stuck in his throat as Vance simply heated up at the memory of what had occurred. Instead of saying anything, he simply pulled Gabe practically into his lap and buried his nose into his hair. Vance knew Gabe could probably feel his blush at that point, but he simply ignored it and just focused on his boyfriend's scent.
 
Gabe was all too happy to let Vance do what he wished, but while the wolf nuzzled into his hair, the panther made sure to make one final remark, his grin still coloring his features. "Did you hear them all, Vance? There are hundreds of people that wanna be you at this very moment. They're looking at us. They're jealous of us. Jealous of you." He chuckled, giving his boyfriend a scratch behind the ears. "So if you start getting soft on someone else, remember today. Remember how this feels. And keep in mind...out of all these faces, your cute mug is the one I'm stuck to. See? You really don't have any room to chose anymore."

Aside from Gabe and Vance, everyone was back to sitting on pins and needles. Matches came and went at varied paces and intensities, leaving most of SLVR and its peers breathless after each buzzer sound. It was around midday when the announcement finally came.

SLVR vs BZAR

A quick cheer came from SAGE and SPHR as their fellow team was called upon, and many well-wishes and good-lucks were shared as Sylvia and Vance made their way to the prep room. Gabe let Vance have a kiss or two before he left, but he made sure to grab the wolf's chin, anchoring Vance's eyes to his sternly. "...This one is for your family now. You held back on your first round, so it doesn't count. If I feel like you pulled any punches...well, I think I made my point pretty clear. Now go get'em."

-

Out on the field, the two members of BZAR that were chosen to fight hung about. One was a massive bat faunus. He stood straight and attentive, but it was plenty clear that he wasn't the one in control. His eyes, even from a distance, looked odd and dysfunctional, and his teeth were bared as his natural expression. He wore sufficient armor for his bulk, and on his back was a massive club. It's bulk alone suggested that there was more hidden behind its outer shell. Just looking at him could send chills down an untrained spine. Upon seeing Vance and Sylvia walk out, he stood up straighter and heaved a breath that crossed between a sigh and a preparatory roar. This seemed to alert the other boy on the field. Noticing he disrupted his more relaxed partner's siesta on the field, he opened his mouth and spoke, his voice culminating in a deeper-than-deep, unholy rumble.

"Brother..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." responded the oddly dressed contender. He picked himself up from his crosslegged position, dusted off his cloak, and removed what was perhaps the strangest article of clothing on him: A diamond-shaped rice hat. Brushing out his dusty-blond locks, he gave a wily grin to the new arrivals. "Pleasure to make yer acquaintances." He cackled, giving an exaggerated bow. Upon raising, he brushed out his cloak once more, revealing his shirtless center of mass. Trailing down the center of his chest were a sequence of pitch black diamond tattoos. Noticing that they were in the open, the strange boy smiled and made a proud display of them to his enemies. "Get a good, long look, SLVR! This is the mark of the guy who's gonna take you down!" Satisfied with his taunt, he leaned comfortably on his significantly taller partner, waiting patiently for the timer to whittle down.

-

"Fighters, to your marks!"

"Team SLVR: Sylvia Slater and Vance Faolan, and Team BZAR: Bas Celik and Argus Jericho, the battle will begin at the sound of the buzzer! Please keep an eye on the timer!"

"The biomes are: Desert, Rainforest, Plains, and Tundra! Ten seconds!"

"Five! Four! Three! Two! One!..."

-

The buzzer didn't start things off with a bang as they had with SPHR. Instead, BZAR walked together, like a gang of heavy-hitters ready to show just why they earned their spot in the second round. Their approach was slow and defensive: On all marks, it was going to be SLVR's job to make the first move.
 
Vance whined as Gabe made his point all the more apparent, trying not to show just how much he enjoyed the ear scratches. The rest of the fights seemed to go by quickly and soon enough SLVR was getting called. Vance had been prepared to leave with a couple of goodbye kisses, but was brought back down to a more serious mindset as Gabe reminded him that this was for his family. With one last eskimo kiss, Vance left with Sylvia to start getting ready.

On the other hand, Sylvia could feel her dread get pushed aside for a sense of focus. Her team was counting on her. She couldn't lose this. Not when Lev had so much faith in her. Stretching out, she got to business working out a basic strategy for Vance. "All right, for this round I want you to go ahead and show them what you got. Use your semblance and get any advantage you can. If you can, use your bullet system for a boost. We'll focus on one of the pair and then tag team when we get them down to one, all right?" After seeing a firm nod, Sylvia took a deep breath and headed out with her teammate. Immediately she was greeted by a large bat faunus and his cocky brother. Raising an eyebrow at the taunt, Sylvia simply smiled and crossed her arms behind her head. This was going to be an interesting match, that was for sure.

The quartet didn't have to wait long as the biomes were announced, Sylvia frowning as she realized two out of the four were incompatible with her and Vance's fighting styles. "Try to keep them in the plains if you can. If not, aim for the rainforest. I'm counting on you to take out batsy. I'll focus on rice hat." With the countdown almost finished, Sylvia got into position. Vance bounced beside her, practically grinning at the fact that he could finally go all out. Once the buzzers sounded, Sylvia and Vance were off, hoping to gain some speed to help their attack. With the defensive stroll of their opponents, the silverette knew she needed to initiate the attack. Using the speed she and her partner had gained, the silverette launched into a set of roundoffs, showing off her new bullet system for the first time outside of SLVR's private training. She didn't stop their, immediately going in to try and grapple her opponent into position for her boots to hit.

Vance let out a whoop of joy as he ran at his opponent. Cocking his fist, the wolf boy immediately started his assault off with a bang. Bullets helped power the boy's punches as he went all out against his bigger opponent. He just needed a chance to show off his semblance, then he could really show his family what he could do. Vance seemed to be bursting with energy as he bounced around his opponent, meeting blows with his own and getting ready for a hopefully fun match. During this assault, SLVR's duo made sure to try and keep their opponents on the plains corner of the arena.
 
Bas was the first to react to SLVR's approach. The second Sylvia began her round-offs, he had his hat in front of him, the faux-straw exterior proving to be far more durable than its look suggested. The hat shield shrugged off her bullets with ease, allowing him to focus on the real meat of the fight. The diamond-decorated fighter couldn't help the glee in his eyes as Sylvia toyed with the idea of taking hold of him. The second she had him locked down, he cackled wildly.

"Nice job, Sylvie! I was hoping for an easy match!" Bas taunted as spikes extended from his skin, jabbing wildly at any area the silverette had direct contact with. With the spines pushing at her aura, it was a cinch to get out of her attempt. The turnaround was immediate as Bas gripped her by the pocket under the chin, using finger-strength alone to flip her over his shoulder, head first to the ground. Of course, he didn't rest there. In a true mobster style, he kept his fingers locked under her chin as he began dragging her to the desert biome.

Meanwhile, Argus's gaze locked on Vance with malicious intent. Three pupils rested in each eye, and all of them shook about wildly as they followed the jumpy faunus's movements. Despite his ability to keep focused on his opponent, Argus still hadn't pulled out his weapon. Instead, the giant bat was taking blows left and right, all without a sign of discomfort. Then again, it would surprise anyone to see a face like that change. Once Bas had some sort of handle on Sylvia though, that seemed like the giant's queue. With calculated precision, Argus grabbed through Vance's next hit and raised the wolf up high, revealing the rest of his batty figure: Wings, fully formed, and clearly capable of carrying a mass like Argus. With a few flaps, he took Vance into the air, and began a short flight to the tundra.
 
It seemed no matter what opponent she went against, Sylvia was left with the ones with the most surprises. As the boy spoke, Sylvia could only scoff at the nickname. "Sylvie? Come on, there's gotta be a better nickname for me than that?" Seeing the advantage her metal legs would give her, the silverette started to curl up, rocking to get momentum. "Though, I guess I can't really complain since I call you rice hat." She used her built up momentum to throw herself over her captor, her legs locking onto his shoulders as she pulled them down. Immediately Sylvia got into action to try and keep the sandy haired boy occupied, using her legs once more to throw him over her. She somersaulted into a standing position, using the momentum to charge up a kick. With a new plan in mind, the silverette focused on making sure her legs had the most contact with her opponent as she tried to push him back into the plains area.

Vance, meanwhile, was stuck in a predicament. His punches seemed to simply glide off of the bat. No matter how hard he hit, his opponent just shrugged it off. Huffing, the boy was about to throw another punch when bat boy grabbed it. Before Vance could retaliate, they were up in the air. Struggling, Vance tried to think of some way to get the bat to let him go. Taking note of the wings, Vance started to throw punches at them, his bullet system activating so they shot relentlessly with every punch. The wolf boy was frustrated as he worked to try and at least get them on the ground. If he could just get this guy to hit him then he could actually finish this thing and go help his partner!
 
Bas was surprised at Sylvia's flexibility in the situation, but he was more surprised that his spikes hadn't deterred her in the slightest when she took hold of his shoulder. After being flipped and taking a few more kicks, Bas found his mojo again, and was back in the thick of it, grin still standing. "Alrighty then, how about led legs?" He grunted as he moved into a kick, using the inside of his hat-sheild to cradle her foot and shift her center of gravity. Quickly, he shoved the pointed tip of his hat into the ground, then stomped on Sylvia's knee before she could remove her foot from the hat. Using the small window that provided, he mounted her and gave her a swift jab to the nose to prompt her hands up in defense. Keeping his momentum, Bas wedged a knee into the space between Sylvia's neck and shoulder, and shoved his other knee into her abdomen. With the rest of his body, he fell over her chest and used his arms to lock down her final arm, all while digging spikes into the silverette. The spikes seemed more blunt than the first time he used them, likely because of the wide area of contact spreading them so thin, but they were doing damage regardless. It was only a matter of time.

On Argus's end, Vance finally struck gold. His bullets sunk deep within the giant's wings, forcing a roar of pain from the unnaturally stoic faunus. However, Argus wasn't going to let Vance get away with what he did. The bat sheathed his wings mid-flight, and adjusted his grip on Vance so that his massive hand gripped the wolf's face from ear to ear, then maneuvered him downward. If the impact from the head-first landing didn't break Vance, then surely the impact of Argus's knee would finish the job, or so he assumed.
 
It seemed her whole prodding backfired on her. Sylvia had expected to rile her opponent up. Instead, she got a nickname that pierced straight through her heart. This was enough to throw her off and for Bas to get the drop on her. She prepared to try and do something to buck him off, but was met with a jab to the nose. She couldn't stop her reflex to cover the offended area as the cactus boy quickly took advantage of the situation. She was stuck, his spikes slowly reducing her aura and leaving her in a delicate situation. She needed to get out of it quickly, but her options were limited. Grunting in frustration, Sylvia used her legs to boost herself into a somersault, ending up on top of Bas. With her new vantage point, she started to stand up, pulling herself away from the spikes and shoving a boot towards her opponent. If he could play dirty, she would too. She fired off a few rounds into Bas's chest before flipping away to get some space and try to go over some of the damage. She couldn't let him throw her off like that again. Taking the moment to steel herself against the nickname, Sylvia rushed back into the fray, ready to use her legs to her advantage.

Vance shouted in victory as he struck pure gold. His luck only got better as Argus decided to shoot them both straight toward the ground. He practically grinned ear to ear as he threw his arm over his head. The impact left a crater as Vance was pulled toward Argus's knee, still completely fine. He threw a punch toward the oncoming knee, practically giddy as he felt the rush of his semblance activate. Now his family could truly see what he was capable of. He bounced away from his opponent, shaking out his arms before he prepared for another attack. At least he finally had an inkling of a weak spot as the boy tried to aim for the bat boy's wings. Maybe now the other would see he couldn't just fly up into the air like that.
 
"Oh-ho! Not a fan, are we?" Bas sputtered as he recovered from Sylvia's desperate escape. He clutched the area of his chest where her bullets made impact, then stood straight to see her onrush through with a smile. "How about tin-toes?" He chuckled, though he was cut off as Sylvia forced him into a dodging position. Cautiously, he maneuvered himself back to his hat, picking it up from the ground in one movement, and tossing it at Sylvia in the next, just to build some distance. He was starting to feel the pressure himself with all the spare hits he had been taking. He couldn't risk another major close range encounter without a guarantee, so Bas quickly removed his cloak and spread his arms wide. In the next moment, a storm of needles shot from his whole front. Every bit of exposed skin seemed to secrete the stingers, firing them off like darts. As soon as he saw Sylvia's legs pull up in defense, Bas halted the downpour and instead focused everything into his core. With a pained groan, a spike...no, a javelin grew from his center mass, and fired off with explosive force. Bas was left hacking up a lung, but he still had an eye out. This silverette was a tricky one, that was for sure. He didn't even bother following up with another taunt. Bas was ready to take the fight to the bitter end.

Argus, on the other hand, seemed to just begin his fight. Vance's punch to his knee caused his eyes to shatter open. His mouth opened wide, and a bestial roar echoed throughout the arena. The giant's first instinct was to create distance between him and the wolf boy, but this is where Argus's speed failed him, and Vance's succeeded. It seemed there was no escape from the giddy faunus. Fine. It seemed like he didn't have another choice in the matter. Considering how the impact would have killed any other individual, Argus kept a careful file in his head of how lively Vance was as he pulled out his club. With a deep breath, Argus gave a mighty swing of his weapon, watching, waiting. As soon as he saw the wolf take the impact, he completely released his weapon and took a single step forward. Argus's mouth and eyes opened into a terrifying sight, and a half-second later, beams of raw, concentrated energy, black and purple, crackling with static, fired off at a sound barrier-breaking speed from his mouth and eyes. Keeping the beams locked on his opponent's center of mass, Argus used the force they exerted to aim Vance towards the ledge of the arena. The wolf was tough; he wouldn't take any chances trying to keep him close by. Unfortunately, the energy that propelled the powerful beams cut out before Vance reached the ledge. Argus gave a huff of frustration, but quickly grabbed for his weapon, changing his grip, and forcing its shape to alter. It didn't take long for his massive mace to turn into a massive chain-gun, all four barrels aiming to finish the job against Vance. The buildup didn't take long, and soon Argus's lasers were replaced with explosive gunfire. At this point, terrain meant nothing to BZAR's desperate team. SLVR was gaining too much ground for their liking. They had to finish this now.
 
Sylvia could practically feel the desperation as she pulled her legs up, trying to shield herself only to be caught off guard by the javelin-like spike being shot at her. Fortunately, Sylvia moved out of the way in time for it not to be a direct hit. However, it still managed to hit her arm, the silverette wincing as she ran at the cactus boy. She flipped over, firing shots at her opponent before getting in close to try and get that last hit in. She just needed another strong hit and this would be done. Just one final push. Faintly, the girl wished Vance would just finish his own fight and help her already. If things lasted too long, they wouldn't be able to keep up their lead. However, Sylvia used Bas's desperation for her own as she went at him harder than she had all of the fight before.

It seemed that the fight was going to end quite easily for Vance, but Argus quickly caught onto his semblance. The club flew away from Vance as the bat boy got ready to use his own semblance. Vance, seeing the immediate danger, swiftly started to get the heck out of dodge. He was driven almost to the edge as Argus's laser finally sizzled out, forcing the giant boy to grab his club and transform it into a chain-gun. Now this, Vance could work with. He started to run, inching closer as he dodged as many bullets as he could. Once he was in position, he aimed his gauntlets at the ground, shooting up and over his opponent. Laughing all the while, Vance landed and spun around, practically treating the bat boy's wings and back as punching bags. With his bullets to help fuel his attack, Vance tore into his opponent.
 
With Vance at his back, Argus was quickly downed. His knees buckled at the first direct hit at his wings, and from there, he was forced to simply take the punishment until his aura was downed. Bas heard the buzzer that signified the end of his teammate, and immediately, the rest of his good humor fell away. His attention had been called by the buzzer for a bit too long though, forcing him to take a few more bullets, along with a boot to the jaw. With Argus gone, Bas knew he didn't stand a chance, but he still wanted to fight! He had too much to prove, too much talk to back up! His eyes bore into Sylvia's with an anger he didn't have before, and he recovered as much steam as he could to make his final moments last.

First order of business was dodging. Bas did away with the concept immediately. He went full throttle into Sylvia's assault, meeting her blow for blow. Every kick she landed saw a spike shot straight into her upper body. Combat only devolved from there. Bas eventually grew tired of trading, and decided to intercept a kick instead. Getting his shoulder underneath his opponent's knee, he brought her down once more, not even bothering for a complicated grapple as he took swings at her face. The angle of his grab didn't last though, and he was easily kicked off before he could do anything more. Even so, he fought on, pulling in close just to take the silverette by a joint and fling her to the ground. Each attempt saw him taking more and more blows, but he didn't have the heart to stop. Then he flung Sylvia aside for the last time. When he looked to where she landed, he saw her partner approaching. This was it. The last hoorah. Bas fell to his knees with a cough, and raised his arms one last time.

"C'mon then!" He barked, spikes emerging from his form in preparation for his final attempt at victory. Then he fired. Spikes and needles came in wave after wave. It was clear he was doing everything to burn his well dry. The needles varied in size and shape. They were unstable, not all of them hit top speed, and many were blunted over. Still, he fought to the bitter end. At least he could say that much.
 
As Argus went down, Vance gave a small cheer and turned tail to head toward Sylvia. The silverette was doing well, trading blows and taking them as well as she could. She fought viciously, trying to get him down or at least away. Once Bas started his final hurrah, Sylvia knew what she had to do. She turned away from the cactus boy, running head first at her partner. Seeing what Sylvia seemed to be planning to do, Vance slowed to a stop and wound his fist back. The two ignored the spikes as they met together, Sylvia jumping onto Vance's punch only to be shot up into the air. For a few moments, the silverette simply seemed to fly, Then she curled up into position, her leg extended and blade out as she started to spin toward Bas. The silverette seemingly turned into a saw wheel as her blade created a deadly surface sure to deliver the final blow.
 
With the final attack, Bas was finished. Knocked out. His aura was completely out. 0%. Outside of the soundproof dome, there was a pause in all activity as the final call was made. Then the buzzer sounded, and in big, bold letters, SLVR's name flashed across the display screens. The audience rose and roared, clapping and cheering for the spectacle that Sylvia and her team brought to the table. It didn't take long for a medical team to guide the fighters to the recuperation room, taking special care with Bas until his aura could regenerate a healthy amount. A short time later, the fighters, sans Bas, were settled in the room, showered and instructed to remain until further notice. Argus looked exactly as he had at the start of the match, but his eyes were now awkwardly and unevenly focused, with four pupils on Vance, and two on Sylvia. Then Bas was escorted out by a medic, along with an IV and a damp wash cloth. After whispering a few suggestions to the two members of BZAR, the medic left the teams alone.

"...Y'ain't bad, Sylvie." Bas spoke up. His throat was dry, and Argus, with a brief look to his partner, seemed to suggest that he rest rather than speak, but the smaller of the two held his hand up in defiance. "Hey, I gotta say what I gotta say. She ain't bad... you ain't bad. I just egged you on. So, uh, 'grats, and I'm sorry, I guess. Not sure what threw you off out there, but as far as I'm concerned, it's dust in the wind. Still gettin' used to this whole 'fightin' fair' thing, 's all."

A minute passed, and the medics gave SLVR leave to head out. Bas was still in poor condition, and Argus wasn't going anywhere without his partner, so the smaller fighter let Sylvia and Vance off with a wave. "I better hear big things from you guys." He called after them before breaking into a fit of coughs.

-

Back in the stands, everyone was on their feet for the returning warriors of SLVR. Reyna was jumping up and down, giddy as could be that everything worked out in the end. Seymour was right there with her, clapping and jumping up and down, though he was doing it in an attempt to see his friends past Sora's frame. Sora, oblivious to this, simply applauded away with his smile. Abby was the first to actually interact with the victors, leaning towards Sylvia with a grin.

"Didn't think ya had it in ya, Sylvia. You took a helluva beating."

Ellie gave Abby a playful shove to stop her teasing short. "Aw, y'all were fantastic, especially since them Vacuo folks fight so dang dirty!"

"Posh, darling, if you've ever been to Atlas, you'd know lasers are all the rage in keeping a tussle clean." Reese broke in, only to be interrupted by Sora.

"That was a semblance, Reese. He pulled out a chain-gun five seconds after the fact. Besides, I thought webbed wings made you nauseous."

"Oh, but they do! Nothing against them, but there's simply no fashionable application! It's like having duck feet glued to your back." Reese shivered. Sora could only shake his head as he sat his teammate down. The only two that hadn't gotten up to greet Vance and Sylvia were Penn and Gabe, who seemed to be carrying a pretty casual conversation on the side.
 
With the last attack, Sylvia and Vance were declared the winners. Vance couldn't help but whoop in excitement, dancing around as he and Sylvia were led to the recuperation room. Sylvia kept quiet, her adrenaline still running strong as she let the medical team look over herself and her partner. Making sure Vance was okay, the silverette listened quietly to Bas as he apologized. She didn't respond, not really feeling up to it as she and Vance were given the go ahead to shower and leave. At Bas's last comment, she put a hand up. For now, she needed to try and prepare herself to put on as much of a safe and happy façade as she could... at least until Seymour eventually found out.

Vance bounded ahead of Sylvia, beaming in pride as their friends greeted them with applause. He opened his mouth, getting ready to recount the fight when he saw Gabe hadn't stood up to greet him. In fact, the boy was talking to the coyote boy from SPHR... Penn, if Vance remembered right. Feeling an uncomfortable weight bubbling in his stomach, Vance gave his friends a thank you before plopping down next to his boyfriend. Draping himself over the panther boy, Vance smiled as he spoke to get Gabe's attention. "Gabe! Did you see me out there? I was all bam! Pow! And then the bat guy shot some lasers and I just jumped over them and totally kicked his butt!" He excitedly recounted his fight, trying to ignore the strange fiery weight in his gut. Catching Penn's gaze, Vance didn't notice when he let out a soft growl, subconsciously pulling Gabe closer and marking him as his.

While Vance had seemed to soak up the appreciation, Sylvia could quickly feel the attention and bright energy weigh down the happy mask she had put on. Rubbing the back of her neck, Sylvia chuckled as she listened to their praises. "Ah geeze... Thanks guys! Um..." She could feel the weight in her heart return, the adrenaline wearing off and letting the stupid feelings of worthlessness return. She needed to get away. She need an excuse! "I actually need to go call my parents so I'm just gonna go out into the hall real quick. I'll be back to watch the rest of the tournament with you all afterwards though!" She prayed she was convincing enough, dashing off before anyone could get a word in edgewise. She just needed to be alone. She couldn't break down, especially in front of SPHR who knew nothing of the problem. Sylvia didn't stop walking until she was well outside of the arena, hidden in an out of the way crevice.

As Sylvia sunk to the ground, she could feel tears start to cloud her eyes. This was stupid. It was just a nickname. Her opponent meant nothing by it. He didn't know anything about her legs or her situation. He couldn't possibly know. Yet, it still stung as she pulled her metal legs close to her chest. She was just a cheater, a synthetic loser who couldn't function without some stupid legs she built herself. Her throat clogged as she buried her head in her knees. Her prosthetics marked her failure, her freakishness. They signified that she wasn't a whole person, just half of one who tried to fake that she wasn't broken. Sylvia could feel the world crushing her as she tried to choke back her tears. She couldn't be gone too long or the others would worry. Yet she just couldn't get the thoughts out of her head.
 
Gabe was content with Vance's draping and whatnot, but it was the growl that set him on edge. Immediately, Gabe's finger went to the wolf's lips, and he narrowed his eyes in concern. This...was new.

"So this is the guy, huh? He must have a gut of steel to put up with you, Gabie." Penn chuckled, not seeing anything wrong with the current picture. Gabe ignored him outright, diverting every ounce of his attention to Vance's growl, peering into the wolf boy's eyes as if he could simply will the answer out of him.

"...Vance..." Gabe began to speak after a moment, caution whetting his voice, "...Penn is an old friend. We grew up together in Atlas." There was no way that Gabe, after all his talk, and all his demands, was going to let Vance think he was that fickle. Sure, he liked to play it, but hearing the growl from his boyfriend put everything into a new perspective. "We were talking about something important to me, Vance. I really wish you hadn't interrupted."

"Ah, it's fine!" Penn broke in, patting both boys on the head. "Enjoy yer boyfriend, Gabie! And hey, Vance, keep an eye on this guy. He's a rascal." And with that, the coyote left for the company of his own team without a care in the world. Gabe, however, wasn't such a simply resolved case. He simply took his fingers away from Vance's lips, then sunk into his seat in thought.

Seymour, meanwhile, had seen within Sylvia. The moment she stepped close, his heart crumbled. He reached out in attempts to walk after her, to help her, but the crowd was thick, and he was small, and everyone was tense, or happy, or nervous...Seymour massaged his temples and took a seat, feeling overwhelmed. He answered with a smile when Sora asked if there was anything he could do. "No thank you, I am fine." But the frustration at feeling and not resolving had opened him up too quickly to the world around him. He couldn't be any help now...

-

A weight rested on Sylvia's legs: The back of someone sitting right in front of where she had sunk. For a while, the figure was silent, shuffling around its feet on the hard floor...

"...Relax. It's just me..." Lev whispered in front of her. He had taken the same position as Sylvia, knees curled up to his head with a sigh. Then he let silence fill the space between them, and waited for Sylvia to do what she would. It's all he really could do...
 
Vance blinked as Gabe brought a finger up to his lips, realizing what he had just been doing. Blinking, the wolf boy quickly retreated his hold as Gabe explained that Penn had been an old friend. "Ah..." He couldn't get his words right, realizing he had messed up. He had growled at the poor kid! Squirming away from his boyfriend to give him some space, Vance tried to garner the right words, the way to make everything better. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't realize... I didn't think... I didn't know I did that." He didn't want to say the word aloud, too afraid of what it would mean. "I'm sorry I interrupted, Gabe... I..." Why was this so hard? He just needed to apologize, to explain himself. "I just, I felt all weirdly bad inside like you were gonna just... leave. And! And I know that's stupid because you did all of that showing off and you let me hug you and kiss you and you like me, but I just couldn't get it out of my head and I'm sorry that... That I growled and interrupted like that." Vance grew quiet, shame building up where the strange weight had been. "I should've trusted you more than I did in that moment." He added, looking away as he waited for a response. He couldn't expect much out of his boyfriend after that, especially with how he had acted. So, he waited for the worst.

~~~

Sylvia almost jumped as she saw the new presence, about to get up and apologize immediately. Once she saw the black hair and heard Lev's voice, she relaxed and curled back up. For a while, it was quiet, the only sounds being Sylvia's sniffling and quiet hiccups. It seemed they were set to just stay like that, Lev shielding his sobbing leader from the world, when Sylvia finally broke the silence.

"I'm an idiot." Her voice was hoarse, clogged as she tried to speak past the lump in her throat. She leaned her head against the wall behind her, trying hard not to let her sobs distort her words. "I thought-I thought I could be normal. I thought I could be just another kid going to Beacon, but of course I can't if I let little nicknames throw me off! And even then, I can't go to my friends about it because then that means putting my problems on them when I shouldn't be having problems in the first place!" She couldn't get her words out clearly, her sobs starting to break through as she spoke almost as if Lev wasn't there. "And-and I can't even figure out what's wrong when I upset a teammate! I just think and worry and then everyone else gets all pity-ing like 'look at poor Sylvia! She's worrying for no good reason'! I try so hard to just act like I'm a whole person but I'm not and then when someone finally notices the cracks I freeze up and run away like a coward because I don't want them to think I'm some freak but that's exactly what I am! I'm just some-some metallic freak who can't take a simple joke because she's an absolute failure who couldn't even save her own brother!" She was openly sobbing now, her breath coming in short gasps as she tried to calm the raging thoughts in her head and the raging sorrow in her heart.

No matter how hard she tried to speak afterwards, she simply couldn't as she pressed her face into her knees. This was what Lev believed in? Sylvia hiccupped and gasped as she thought the black haired boy could do so much better than her. She couldn't even believe in herself properly. How could he put so much faith in someone who broke down at a simple nickname? She reached up to pull on her hair. She needed to do something-feel something other than the crushing doubt and worthlessness that plagued her.
 
Gabe let Vance's words slip through his ears. In one. Out the other. "It's alright...Just give me some time to think." Was all he could drum up. Any other moment, and he would have been on Vance in a heartbeat, reassuring the poor guy with all his flirtatious ways, but this went just a bit deeper. It touched on a past that Gabe struggled to let go, and that came with its own stories, regrets, losses... Much as he wanted to say more to Vance, now simply wasn't the time.

-

Lev listened to his leader speak. He listened as she sobbed. He listened intently, carefully, quietly...

"Alright, c'mere." the ravenette sighed, turning about and wedging himself between Sylvia's knees so he could pull her into a hug. "...and your hands go...here." He mumbled, moving his partner's hands into his hair, then wrapping his arms around her, hoisting her up to lean on him rather than the back wall. He kept her in a comfortably tight embrace for a little while, still remaining silent as he thought about Sylvia's worries and troubles.

"Listen, Syv..." He began hesitantly, still pondering his words, getting used to their feel on his tongue, "...just hold on. We're all just...holding on, y'know? And, I mean...if you need something to hold on to, then hold on to me... gods, I sound so cheesy." Lev shook his head into Sylvia's shoulder in disbelief of himself. "I wish I could tell you the future, Syv, but that's not my semblance. Hell, my semblance is supposed to make me not be a burden...so much for that, huh? I've already dumped so much baggage on you and the others..." Lev would have kept going, but his words sank like weights to the bottom of a pool. His words just didn't mean enough anymore, so the ravenette simply sat with Sylvia in his arms, hoping she would be okay just playing with his hair for a bit. It was the most he could hope to offer.

"...I love you, Syv."

Lev felt the words slip out, but he relaxed before he could panic, the reverse order he expected things to happen in. Then he realized that he meant it, not in a pining way, but in the way that he felt she deserved to know.
 
With Gabe's response, Vance took the hint and nodded, settling back into his own seat. Hopefully his boyfriend would be back to normal some other time. For now, he would have to just leave him to his thoughts. Looking around, Vance frowned when he didn't find his silverette leader in her seat or anywhere nearby. "Hey, where'd Sylvia go?" He frowned, looking around the group to see what had happened. He remembered how quiet the silverette had been as they got checked over. Sure, he had been too focused on their victory to really notice, but now... He frowned, worried for his leader as he hoped she was doing all right.

~~~

Lev surprised Sylvia as he maneuvered her into a tight hug. She let herself be manhandled, shaking as she sobbed against her teammate. She tried to listen as Lev struggled to find just what to say, what to do to reassure her. The silverette was careful as she moved her hands away from her partner's hair, instead fisting them in his shirt. She remembered how he had complained when she last 'tugged' on his hair. Hiccupping, the silverette tried not to hurt her teammate as she returned his tight embrace. Hearing him try to comfort her just made her cry harder at first. This wasn't his fault! He wasn't burdening her! It was her own stupid feelings after all that started this whole mess! She was about to try and tell him that when he said it.

Those three little words made Sylvia freeze. For a few moments, she couldn't think. What could she think? What did he mean? He couldn't possibly... "... I love you guys too." She finally admitted, tears still streaming down her face as she started to speak once more. "I love you a-and Reyna and Vance and it's only been a few months! I-I didn't expect to-to care for you all so soon, but you just had to worm your way into my heart! ... you guys deserve a better leader than me." Her intrusive thoughts just couldn't let her have this moment. She took a deep breath as she continued. "You guys deserve someone who'd be able to actually see all your potential and help you bring it out and know what's wrong and not worry you guys if things go wrong. You all don't need someone who freaks out over a silly nickname." Sylvia went quiet for a while, tears still streaming and her throat still clogged.

After a few moments of quiet, the silverette spoke, "He called me 'Led legs'." She scoffed, more at herself than the nickname. "The guy that I fought against? He gave me this stupid nickname and I had to go ahead and try to call him out on it and end up with that. He also called me 'Tin Toes'. 'Led legs' and 'tin toes'. I really shouldn't be crying over this. They're accurate... But I got so scared. What if he knew? What if he knew that I wasn't a whole person? What if I was a synthetic freak? He didn't, I know he didn't, but I just got so scared and ashamed and I let it throw me off and now I'm crying in a corner outside the arena when I should be celebrating because we won! A-and I couldn't just start crying in front of everybody because then I'd have to show them or let them know and I'm scared that they'll call me a hack, a freak, a fraud because I have metal legs." Sylvia could feel herself get worked up again, her throat closing on her as she sobbed once more, this time into Lev's shoulder as she could almost hear the disgust and anger the others would hold as they found out she wasn't a real huntress. Just a sensitive, synthetic freak.
 
Lev let out a quiet sigh as Sylvia responded to his words, relieved that she took it in the way he intended it for once, and continued to listen as his partner spoke. His lips drew tight as the silverette continued to drag herself through the mud, but all he could do was hold her tighter, as though he could squeeze out the negativity. Then Sylvia went quiet, and Lev took a breath. Maybe he could try saying something again...

But his partner wasn't finished. She recanted the names she was called on the field, and told him about the guy who did it. Lev felt a swirl of emotions lodge in his throat. Then, as if hearing his own voice calling with a vengeance from the past, Sylvia said the words that had spiraled them both down the complex path to what their friendship became. Synthetic. Fraud. Synthetic. Fraud. Synthetic... Fraud... The words coming from his partner were interspaced, and warbled with sobs, but he heard himself in every demeaning phrase. This was his fault. He started the trend. He was the jumpstart for this ridiculousness. It made Lev feel nauseous with frustration. Maybe I should just get Seymour... he thought, but eventually decided against it. He couldn't just leave Sylvia to cry on the floor, alone. Besides, following his train of thought, this was now his responsibility.

"Syv, I understand that it's not your favorite thing, listening to me, but hear me out." Lev began, rubbing Sylvia's back as he spoke. "You can't keep pretending to know what we deserve; let's make that clear now. You can't keep trying so hard to undermine yourself, then go and say it's for our sakes, because we aren't the only ones who've unintentionally found ourselves in that swollen mom-heart of yours...we've got you, too. You might be the leader, but you'll never be the only one who thinks they're not enough...don't you dare think that...not around me, you don't."

Lev took a shaky breath, then redoubled his grip on the silverette. "I always go a bit too far in these sorts of situations...I'm not as carefree as Reyna. I'm not a ball of innocence like Vance is. I can't push people like Abby, or encourage like Ellie. I'm definitely not some super-hunk like Gabe, who can just throw his shirt off to take away your worries...and hell if I'm not Seymour... I'm just trying to make it up to you for starting all of this: For saying what I did on the dorm roof, for the fact that you ever met my mom, for running off alone, for fighting Azule...just for being an overall pin in your side this whole time." Lev bit down on his lip to keep his own tears from spilling out. "...and don't take all that away from me, because I know you want to try! Don't tell me that it isn't my fault! Until you recognize that you're the only person who thinks all those terrible things about yourself, you don't get that privilege." Lev finally began to hit the mark he wanted, so with a shaky voice, he continued to cover his bases.

"And don't bring my parents into this! They don't have a clue about anything! Their words are nothing but dirt... And I watched that guy on the field; he was a bit of a toad, yeah, but you showed him! You showed him that you were enough to put him down, and maybe you didn't see it in his eyes, but I sure did. It was on every display in the arena. And I..." Lev took a breath, sucked it in through his teeth, and let it out slowly, "...I'm still here, aren't I?" With that, he relaxed and waited. The ravenette's heart was beating fast, and his breaths were a bit unstable, but a few more breaths, and he was speaking again, more relaxed and at ease for Sylvia's sake.

"Yeah...I'm still here, after everything. Reyna hasn't left you either. Neither has Vance. SAGE knows, and they still adore you. I mean, Abby still thinks of you as her only worthy rival...we're still here with you, Sylvia. It didn't matter how we acted or what we did, whether we were strangers or friends, we all think of you as our equal...the only thing we deserve outta you is a bit of faith, don't you think?"
 
Sylvia had to hold back as Lev spoke, wanting desperately to contradict him when he spoke of what little he could do and all of the things he had done before they had truly become friends. She sniffled and hiccupped, trying to find some way to respond when Lev said it. He was still there. She stiffened, listening quietly as Lev reassured her that her friends hadn't left her. They were still there, ready to support her. Even if SPHR decided to leave after finding out her little secret, she'd still at least have Lev, Reyna, Vance, and SAGE behind her. She had friends-real, true friends-who accepted her and cared about her. The thought nearly made her start sobbing again.

Taking in a deep breath, Sylvia leaned back to be able to better look Lev in the eye while still loosely hugging him. "I... You're right. I should have more faith in you guys. I'm sorry." She looked down biting her lips before looking back up. "Thanks. For... you know, listening to me whine and staying with me and stuff. How did you find me, anyway?" Her tears were starting to dry as Sylvia gave her partner a confused look, slowly and gently moving to play with his hair. She pulled it over one of his shoulders and started to braid it as she spoke. "Reyna said you were gonna meet up with us after the whole tournament. Were you leaving to go back to the dorm?" She glanced back at her partner, before going back to softly braiding his mass of hair.

"Are you okay? I know we kinda got off on a rough start this morning and you probably don't wanna deal with me "momming" you, but I worry." Her lips quirked into a smile before settling back into a concerned frown. While she truly was worried for her teammate, part of her also wanted to take the conversation away from her. She had already done more than enough moping and self-pitying. Right now she needed to buck up and get ready to either comfort her teammate or go back to the rest of her friends. While she could still feel the weight of her feelings in her chest, she pushed it down and covered it with a blanket of "my friends are still here" to try and hide it. "If there's something I did wrong this morning then I'd like to know so I can fix it, ya know? I wanna make sure you're all good." Pausing for a moment, Sylvia tried to lighten the mood just a little bit, "Reese and Abby were extremely disappointed to see that you weren't going to sit with us. I didn't realize you were such a ladies man."
 
"I know I'm right, ya bum. You need to pick up the pace." Lev grinned, glad to see Sylvia was willing to look him in the eye. "And I've been keeping an eye on you guys since the tournament started up." The ravenette looked down at his hair being manipulated by his partner's fingers and gave a chuckle, thankful that she was taking it easy on him. "And don't be surprised. You should know I wouldn't have let you out of my sight. I didn't want you bailing on the match, after all." He chuckled again, but Sylvia's next question hit him harder than he expected. It was too fast of a turnaround. Lev's smile dropped.

"No." He began, shaking his head. "No, you don't get to fix me up, Syv. Not after everything we just finished talking about." Lev picked Sylvia up alongside himself, making sure his hair remained in her grasp. After looking at her for a moment longer, a faint smile returned to his face. "It's not that I don't think you can...it's just that I'm not gonna let you." Lev gave another moment to let his comment sink in, staring down his partner with his crimson eyes. "You just need to have faith, Syv, that it doesn't matter as much as you'd like it to: That I can handle it just fine, y'hear?" At Sylvia's last jest of a comment, Lev gave her a smirk and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, careful to keep his hair accessible as she wanted. "Ladies' man, huh? Well won't they be surprised when we walk out like this?" He laughed, prodding his partner forward before she could argue.

Of course, Lev didn't get very far, a vibration in his pocket halting his steps. Pulling out his scroll and putting it to his ear, the ravenette took a moment before letting out a sigh, putting the scroll in front of himself and Sylvia, and hitting the speaker button.

"Am I on? Am I- Oh, I'm on! SYLVIA!!! Sylviasylviasylvia, you were so amazing!" called out the voice of Vivian, enthusiastic as ever. In the background, many other young girls could be heard squealing and laughing, but Viv was at the forefront of it all. "You totally obliterated that guy, like all, BOOM, and WH-PAHH! Seriously, that was the best! You HAVE to go to the finals! Promise? Promise! Okay bye!!!"

And with a click, Vivian's voice disappeared, leaving Lev to put his scroll back into his pocket and wait, arms crossed and head tilted. Sure, he didn't want to bring it up now, but he did want Sylvia to go to the final round. Maybe it was to prove he knew what he was talking about, or maybe it was to keep pushing his partner further. Either way, Vivian voiced his thoughts to the letter. She had to go to the finals...but what would she have to say about that?
 
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