Teamwork?

David stood impatiently outside of Armory Three. He waited for Tristan who had been caught up talking to a girl in the armory. He examined his gear while waiting for Tristan and began to take note of the parts that could be swapped out and areas made available to modification. After a examining his equipment he looked into the armory to see Tristan talking to different girls. David shook his head and yelled out,

"Hey! Tristan! We gonna get going anytime soon?!"

Tristan looked over in slight embarrassment. David could see him finally saying his goodbyes even though the girls were reluctant to let him part. As Tristan trotted over to David he explained,

"David, sorry about that. It's just there was this one hot girl and then more and more showed up. Why didn't you just come over? I could've hooked you up, that red-head looked interested in you when you called me."

David looked at Tristan's sincere face and laughed out loud as he began to walk to the eastern side of town.

"There are more important things than girls Tristan. We have to worry about this Trial of Eighty-Eight."

Tristan had a grin on his face as he walked along side David and scouted the women around them,

"Maybe… But where are we going? Didn't we just pass the turn to the barracks?"

David shook his head in disbelief at what Tristan was saying,

"Wow, Tristan. We're going to train at the Training Field. I doubt you know how to use your gear and like Alexander's Mom said we only have a month to train."

David looked over at Tristan to see him shrug as they continued on their way. They continued to walk for a time before they got within sight of the Training Field. As they continued to walk they could already see a number of teenagers trying to figure out how to use their three-dimensional maneuvering gear. They could also see some scouts overlooking the student's valiant efforts. David smiled to himself,

"Heh, I guess we won't be looking like idiots alone."

Tristan threw him a big smile in response,

"I guess not haha."

As they got closer the sound of gas being expended was getting louder, and so were the grunts and moans of those who had injured themselves. The duo was just about to reach the entrance when David noticed Alexander walking further east, away from the Training Field.

Where is he going?

David quickened his pace to catch up to Alexander and forced Tristan to suddenly accelerate to keep up. Upon approaching Alexander, he heard them and quickly turned to see who was coming to him. David and Tristan, both lugging their gear, came to a stop in front of Alexander.

Tristan looked at Alexander trying to remember where he'd seen him before. All he could do is vaguely remember him and he could only assume that David actually knew him.

Alexander gave his usual "I'm not interested what?" look when he noticed who approached him. If there was anything that David detested about Alexander it was his lack of emotion and empathy. And so David's response was slightly hostile,

"Where are you going? I figured the one place you'd actually be is the training grounds."

Alexander glanced over at the field of struggling teenagers and yawned. Then he looked back at David,

"I'm going to the Stripped Quarry. It's more of a challenge and I won't be bothered by… idiots."

Tristan was a little shocked to hear Alexander openly bash everyone who was training, himself and David included. He turned to look at David and it was obvious that David had been upset.

"Alex… Don't ever look down on people who are trying their hardest to fight and survive."

Alexander looked deep into David's eyes and could see David's anger. He pointed to the Training Field and, for once, raised his voice.

"Just because they're trying their hardest doesn't mean that they're not weak! I will not let them drag me down like they did Thomas…"

Without waiting for a response Alexander turned away from them and began to make his way east out of Vai. David, still angry at Alexander, turned and headed into the Training Field.

"Let's go Tristan."

Tristan was quiet and just followed David into the Training Field. He didn't really know how to describe what he just witnessed. He was trying to piece the conversation together as he and David made their way into the Training Field and started putting on their three-dimensional maneuvering gear.

After receiving their equipment Vera accompanied Rilana to the Training Field. They'd been training for a bit, working on balance, when Vera noticed Alexander talking to two other boys. She couldn't make out what they were saying. Then, suddenly, Alexander pointed in their direction and her limbs flailed in a vain attempt to block an imaginary projectile. She lost he focus and balance and ended up tipping over; hitting her head on the ground and retracting her cables.

"Oww… That hurt."

"Hahaha wha- haha. What happened to you Vera?"

Vera opened her eyes slowly as she rubbed the back of her head. She looked over to her left to see Rilana staying balanced even though she was shaking with laughter. Vera couldn't help but feel a little jealous of Rilana's ability but never showed it. Vera brushed herself off and stood up before murmuring,

"Oh, nothing. I just got a little startled and lost my balance."

He wasn't actually pointing at us, was he?

Vera looked over at Rilana's slightly concerned face and answered her question before she could ask it.

"Don't worry; I'm fine let's keep going."

Rilana then detached her cables and dropped towards Vera. Vera was slightly confused because they had planned on practicing for a while longer.

"You're done? I thought we were going to practice for a while."

Rilana smiled at Vera and waved for her to follow. Rilana began to walk for the exit with Vera in tow.

"There isn't much room here. I heard there is a more advanced area open to training outside of town."
Vera was bewildered at Rilana wishing to head to the Stripped Quarry. It was an area with some very open areas without any place to use the 3DMG and some very closed off areas where it was very hard to control movement.

"But we j-"

"No buts. We're going!"

Alexander was at the Stripped Quarry with his three-dimensional maneuvering gear on. He checked his bag to ensure he had extra parts before facing field of stalagmites and stalactites. He took a deep breath as he launched his cables into the mess of rock formations. And suddenly he jerked forward trying his hardest to maintain his balance. He began to weave through the rocky forest. At first he was taking it easy but he continued to push the limits as he became more and more confident. There was little room and he was gaining more and more speed.

He gritted his teeth and winced with pain with every turn he made. His cuts were incredibly sharp and forced him to use all his strength to make them. Then suddenly, he came flying into an opening with the rattling of his gear. Realizing there that he hadn't gained enough speed for his cables to reach anything, he pulled a one-eighty and launched his cables. They found their mark in two granite pillars as he continued to fly out into the open space. But before his gear could bring him back he reached the end of his cable length and there was a sudden snap. He continued flying past his three-dimensional maneuvering gear as it exploded into pieces from his abuse.

Flying out over the rocky opening he reminisced about his first session training with his 3DMG. He thought he'd done pretty well for his first time actually using it. As his body made its way toward the rocky floor he smiled to himself in slight satisfaction.

Rilana had just reached the Stripped Quarry, with Vera not far behind, and could he gas expulsion within the rock formations. She couldn't wait to see who was training here. She figured it was someone from Fenrir's Legion. But as she and Vera were finishing their equipment check they saw a person come flying out of the rock formation.

Damn it…

His silver hair was an easily distinguishing feature. She didn't really want to come face to face with him again. So she turned to enter the rocky forest.

"Oh my god!"

Rilana quickly turned to see what Vera was shocked about. Alexander's three-dimensional maneuvering gear had come apart at the seams when he tried to do a one-eighty. All they could do is look on in shock as Alexander plummeted to the rocky floor. His impact was hard. Rilana and Vera instinctively made a dash to help him as he tumbled for another ten meters.

"Alexander! Are you okay?"

As they came upon Alexander he slowly struggled to his feet. And, for their first time, they saw him smiling. It was a small smile as he looked at his dismembered gear. He was snapped out of his daze when Rilana called out to him again, this time talking slowly.

"Alexander. Are. You. Okay?"

He turned towards them as his smile vanished to see Vera take a slight step behind Rilana. He fixed his posture promptly and answered,

"Yeah, I'm fine. Shouldn't you two be practicing at the Training Field? People like you will only get hurt training here."

Rilana just bit her tongue to prevent her from blurting out what she wanted to say,

"Should you be talking? Don't act like that didn't hurt. Come on Vera; let's leave this asshole to his injuries."

And without waiting for Vera to respond Rilana started heading towards the maze of rocks. Vera looked at Alexander one last time with an almost scared look before following her friend. Their cables were gliding towards the outcroppings. Then gas sprayed from their gear propelling them into the dense rocky section.

Alexander watched the duo as they disappeared from view before he collapsed. He rolled over to his back and just laid there. His breathing had become quite shallow. He was sore all over and couldn't tell that his shallow breathing was caused by the pain of breathing itself. After half an hour of just lying there he struggled to his feet and wobbled his way to the wreckage of his gear. He could see that the main problem was that the nuts, bolts, and screws had been ripped from their holdings. He picked up the main components and dragged them to his bag. Then he rummaged through his bag to find parts and began to reassemble his 3DMG.

I'm probably done for today… God, it hurts everywhere…

After reassembling his gear as best as he could, which only made it look like it could work, he started to head to the barracks. His progress was unbearably slow and by the time he stumbled into the barracks a number of other guys had already been there. Some of them attempted to help him but he just dismissed them. Once he got into his designated bunk he dropped his gear off and grabbed his bath supplies. He hoped that the hot springs would sooth his injuries.

David and Tristan had finished their training for the day and made a new friend. The three of them made their way to the barracks where they prepared to bathe. Tristan was the last to grab his stuff and heard an impatient, but friendly, call from David.

"Hey Tristan, hurry up. I've got a place that's special, only locals know about it."

Tristan jogged to meet the other two. He had a large bump on his forehead and a grin on his face.

"Alright, alright. Jeez, do you believe this guy Shido? Rushing me like this."

Shido stood at eye level with Tristan and just shook his head before turning to David,

"So, where is this local exclusive place?"

Tristan felt his heart sink a little, the spotlight wasn't on him. But David didn't give him a chance to say a word as he flicked the raised area on Tristan's head. Before Tristan could even say "ouch" David answered,

"Just follow me. We'll probably see some of the other natives there."

David picked up his pace in an attempt to meet up with some of the guys he'd known from Vai. Tristan and Shido were forced to match his pace, especially since they wanted to get to the hot springs. At a brisk walk Shido pulled closer to David,

"So will your childhood friend be there?"

David slowed his pace to more easily converse with Shido. He turned to look at Shido with a slight confused face,

"Yeah, probably. I think you're the only person that's ever wanted to meet him after hearing someone talk about him."

"Well, you guys did admit he was good. I guess I'm just curious about people who are strong."

Shido had a grin on his face. Tristan had caught up and attempted to interject,

"He isn't that good. I could definitely out-maneuver him with my 3DMG."

David and Shido both laughed heartily at this comment; all while looking at the bump on his forehead. Tristan, feeling a little embarrassed, rubbed the bump on his forehead. Finally Shido broke his laughter enough to say,

"How are you going to beat anybody if you can't even maneuver through rocks when there are girls around?"

Tristan took no time to make a comeback. He took the opportunity to do some bragging too.

"It isn't my fault that my devilish good looks attract the ladies. I can't always pay attention to where I'm going and not show them some attention. If anything it's you guys' fault for NOT taking up their attention!"

Shido laughed at his erroneous accusation while David tuned them out. David was paying attention to where they were heading more than the conversation and he finally stopped.

"Alright guys, we're here!"

As they entered the changing area they saw Alexander getting ready to put his clothing on. They stood there shocked at what they saw. Alexander's body was covered in purple and black marks. They could clearly see where his harness had been located as it left the marks of its straps on his torso and legs. The bruising on his arms and torso from the fall were also obvious. Alexander noticed them staring. He knew why they were staring but he still asked coldly,

"What?"

Shido was still shocked with what Alexander's body looked like after just one day of training but was still the first to respond,

"Damn, maybe you should go see a doctor. That looks serious. I bet you broke your gear."

Alexander wasn't in the mood for chit-chat with them. He finished dressing up before replying,

"I only cracked a couple of ribs and dismantled by 3DMG."

His reply showed no concern for his injuries or his gear. David and Tristan not wanting to annoy Alexander further just changed and headed for the hot springs. But Shido was even more intrigued when Alexander used the word "dismantled."

"What do you mean dismantled?"

Shido was just waiting for his response but instead Alexander just walked by him; he didn't even look at Shido or answer his question,

"So I guess you're entering Vulcan's Legion…"

Shido was upset that he didn't get an answer, but he decided to let it go. It wasn't worth getting hung up about something as trivial as that. He quickly changed and joined David and Tristan in the hot springs.

For the next two weeks Vai was alive. With all of the students training the town was active. All of them made progress in their endeavors, but some excelled. Those that excelled were proving themselves to be the top prospects they were scouted to be. But some others, who weren't scouted to be top prospects, were proving to be upsets. They excelled past some of the top prospected students. The Scouts all took notice of the growth of the students. From this they pooled together their notes to assemble teams. After the teams were assembled the students were sorted and sent to different areas where they'd be divided up into their teams.

Alexander stood off to the side to avoid conversation. He was just itching to get out of there and continue his training.

Why are we meeting here for teams? They're pointless if everyone is just weak.

Then a scout came forward. He was a tall man with stony features.

"Hello everyone. I'm Steven and I'll one of your group's scouts. Now let's get the team assignments done."

Alexander tuned out his surroundings and focused on his breathing. It still hurt to breath from his first day. He snapped back to attention the second he heard his name.

"Alexander Weiss! Assignment: Team Iron, Leader. Lilly Grieller! Assignment: Team Iron. Timothy Caine! Assignment: Team Iron. Julian Tychus! Assignment: Team Iron."

As he heard his teammates names called he looked for them as he walked over to their designated meeting spot. He didn't bother to sit down as he analyzed the members of his team. The first was to come under his scrutiny was Lilly Grieller. She was taller than most girls their age. She had dark skin, tan pants and white shirt. She was a lighter colored African than he'd seen before. But nothing he observed changed his initial reaction to her, she was weak.

His team began to converse and get to know each other while he just stood in silence. He observed the other two, Caine and Tychus. He deemed that if anyone in the group was going to live through the Trial of Eighty-Eight it would be himself and Caine. He'd seen Caine training in the stripped mine and, for once, didn't deem him a weakling on sight.

"Okay, we need to start training together to effectively work as a team. I plan on making it out of this thing alive."

Caine's words resonated with the team as they looked to their team leader for a plan. Alexander just looked at them in disgust. The thought of relying on a team for survival was foreign, and hostile, to Alexander.

"I won't let you people weigh me down! Your life is your own responsibility!"

The team was quiet. They didn't know how to respond to this, and from their team leader to top it off. The only person not disquieted by Alexander's remark was Lilly and she responded by raising her voice,

"Teamwork is what makes humans str-"

She was promptly cut off by Alexander who raised his voice to overpower hers.

"If you aren't strong enough to survive on your own what will you do when you're the last survivor? That is why personal strength is what you need in this world!"

Alexander storms off; leaving the students quiet. Lilly attempted to reply but Alexander was already gone. After that whole fiasco the whole lot of students were talking about Alexander's outburst; not just Lilly, Timothy, and Julian.

It had been a number of days and Alexander continued to train alone. Not just because he wanted to but people avoided him. Nobody had ever flat out renounced teamwork before. People saw him as a liability and a danger, so they tended to stay away. This suited Alexander just fine as the majority of the recruits wouldn't be able to keep up with him anyways.

Alexander just finished his training session and was taking off his gear when he noticed a rather large, lighter skinned, African man walking towards him. As he finished taking off his gear he realized that he looked familiar. He turned to the man to see what he wanted when suddenly the man grabbed him by the collar.

"You're Weiss right!?"

The man was angry so Alexander simply obliged him emotionlessly.

"Yes, I'm Alexander Weiss."

"Well, my sister is on your team. You're confident that you'll make it, but if you abandon my sister out there I will come for you."

Alexander was amused by the man's threat. He stayed as emotionless as ever in the face of a man that was ready to attack him. He knocked the man's arm away and picked up his gear.

"If she survives it'll be of her own accord. I will do nothing for those who can't do anything for themselves."

The man let Alexander walk away even though he's even angrier. He just looked up to the cavern's ceiling and angrily muttered,

"I don't think I'll ever understand how that bastard can't feel for others…"

A/N: Hey everyone, sorry for being so damn lazy and not working on my story. I've been working and my motivation to write plummeted but I took two days to bust out this chapter for you guys. Again, I'm sorry it took so long. But at least it's a long chapter. I'm also sorry that the prologue, which was supposed to be 2 chapters has evolved into a 4-5 chapter beast. Remember to review it helps me write!

Trivia: I came up with most of the names for the side characters by using a name generator, haha. (Is that cheating!?)