PREVIOUSLY:

"Hey, um," Prince started, stopping me on my tracks.

"I've been looking for a sparring buddy. In combat, like hand-to-hand and such. Would you be interested?"

I stared, dumbfounded. Why would he ask me?

"I usually practice with Logic, but Mor - Patton and him have been spending so much time cleaning and organizing Patton's room," Prince explained, answering my unasked question. "But if you like strategy related things... I dunno, could be fun."

...

"O.K.," I answered, right before he left. "I'm interested," I admitted.

...

"Fabulous! Meet me here at... does five-o-clock sound decent?" he asked, excitement bouncing off him.

"O.K."

...

I... I think Prince will be in for quite a surprise...

_____________________

P.O.V.: Virgil, First Person
Timeline: Flashback (cont.)

"Oh, you came," Prince smiled. I guess he didn't think that I would show.

Then again, I didn't even know if I was going to show.

"Are you ready?"

I shrugged, going for the non-verbal responses.

"Follow me," Prince said, leading me to his "training" area.

Along the way, I noticed that Prince was favoring his right leg. Had he hurt himself recently?

"What happened to your leg?" I asked, waving hand at his slight limp.

Prince looked confused for a second, glancing down his own leg before seeming to remember. "Oh, I must've been sitting a little funny before I came to meet you.  It's just a little tight or something for some reason," he said, shrugging. "It'll go away in a couple of minutes," he said, seeing me frown.  "It's not really that big of deal. Has it ever happened to you?" he asked.

I didn't answer.  And we continued on in silence. He talked too much.

Prince's practice area was much bigger than I expected - it was really quite a sight. The ceilings were high and vaulted slightly. The walls were covered in a long mat, stuck on with Velcro.  A rock wall was on the part of the ceiling though I couldn't imagine how anyone would get there.

"The mats can be torn down," Prince explained, without me having to ask. "Under the Velcro, there's more grips so you can get up there."

Oh.  Well okay then.

I went back to analyzing the practice area.

There was a massive climbing rope over a pit filled with foam cubes.  A set of a bunch of gymnastics things were in the farthest corner.  In another corner to my left, there was bunch of gym machines. It was a rather impressive collection, even I could see that.  Did he really use all of them?

"Anxiety? Are you coming?" Prince asked, and I realized that I had stopped walking to admire all the equipment.

"Uh - yeah," I said, rubbing the back of my neck sheepishly, the faintest of blushes on my cheeks.

Prince walked me over to the final corner, which mostly had a lots of weights, a bench press, and a couple other machines I couldn't name.  But it also had a string of doors along the walls in that corner.

Prince walked me over to one of those rooms, which ended up being a large one with a black gym mat covering the entire floor.  Along the far wall, there was a floor to ceiling mirror, though it was only eight or nine feet high in here.

A panel was on the wall to my left, almost instantly.  Prince walked over to it and pressed several buttons, seemingly random buttons and the wall to our left OPENED, revealing a rack of... gear?

"It's made for fighting," Prince said.  "It helps soften blows, but it's lighter than usual gear.  Flexible too," Prince said - holding up the white gear.

"Do... don't you have any black ones?" I asked, gesturing at the sea of white.

Prince rolled his eyes, grabbing one of the white gears before going back over to the panel.  He pressed a couple buttons and the wall closed. After second, it reopened, showing a mass option of colors to choose from.

Red, Glittery Red, Dark Red, Red-Orange, Orange, Glittery Orange... I eyed my way down the entire line, all they way to purple, but...

And there was not a single black one.

I turned back to him.  "Really? Not a single black one?"

Prince shrugged. "I don't look good in black," he said easily.

I glared.

"I - I -uh- I - I - I mean it looks fabulous on you," Prince amended, embarrassed.  "You -uh- totally can pull it off - I mean - uh- I-I mean not just pull it off, but -uh- ROCK IT sir" he rambled, cheeks turning pink in embarrassment.

I waved my hand, stopping his stammering spree.

"Prince?"

"... Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"Okay," Prince squeaked, cheeks turning an even darker shade of pink.

I eyed the collection. There wasn't even a gray one.  Sighing, I grabbed the plain dark purple one.  I didn't look up, not wanting to see him smirk.

I took of my hoodie sadly, setting it on a bench in the corner.  If Prince was surprised by the simple black t-shirt underneath he didn't say anything.  I pulled the gear on over my t-shirt.  Prince had taken off his uniform, a bright red t-shirt under his own.

"What are we gonna do?" I asked, trying to relieve some of the odd silence.

Prince shrugged. "Whatever you're comfortable with."

I blinked surprised. For some reason Prince being... nice was still some sort of foreign concept.

"What kind of weapons do you have?" I asked.

Once again, Prince returned to the panel, the wall closed, and the opened again, revealing more weapons than I could even count.  Most of the weapons were gold - no surprise there - all looking freshly polished and they glittery even under the artificial lights of the room.

"Do... do you know how to use ALL of these?" I gaped.  Holy cow, that was a collection.

"That's the goal," Prince admitted.  "One day," he said holding up a gold double-bladed ax.  "But I'm not really in the mood to accidentally chop off my own head," he grinned, putting it back.

I grabbed the thing closest to me, which happened to be a fencing sword, a silver blade with a hold handle. I tossed one to Prince, who caught the thin blade with ease.

"Okay, Mr. Hyde," Prince said, pressing a few more buttons and closing the stock of glittering weapons.  "Let's give this a shot," he said, walking over to the bench I had placed my hoodie on earlier, pulling off his dark shoes.  "No shoes," he said, gesturing to my boots. "Safety thing.  Neither of us - and by us I mean me - is trying to take a combat boot to the head."

I didn't join him on the bench, plopping myself on the floor and started untying my boots, pulling them off easily enough. I tucked my socks into my boots, leaving me barefoot.  I felt momentarily self-conscious about my feet being so pale, but then I realized Prince's looked the same way, only slightly tanner which made me feel a little less anxious.  

By the time I was finished getting ready, Prince had already finished and started swinging his flexible, bouncey sword, getting a feel for it's balance, weight, power, etc.

"Okay, I'll teach you some basic maneuvers," Prince said, while I held the sword limply in my hand.  "A right-handed swordsman?" he questioned, glancing at the blade which was currently placed in my right hand.  He seemed surprised - for a good reason, considering that Thomas is left-handed.  But some lefties can be right-hand dominant in certain things.

This was one of those things.

I nodded, sticking to the non-verbal answers.

"I can use both, but honestly I prefer left. Most people aren't prepared to face a left-handed swordsman. They expect right handed. But I learned both just in case," Prince cut off slightly abruptly, as if he realized he was bragging.  I chose to ignore it.

"So - um - have you ever - uh," Prince stammered. In his defense, I wasn't really being the best conversationalist.  "Have you ever fenced before?" he asked politely, clearly expecting a no.

"Actually, yes," I answered and Prince's eyebrows shot up in pleasant surprise.

I mean, not that I had ever gone against someone before, but still.

"So you got a good grasp of the basics?"

I grinned, still trying to catch Prince off-guard. "Let's just say I know a little more than the basics," I said.  "Are you ready?"

Prince grinned a little in return.  "Well then. Let's see what you got, Hot Topic," he said, tossing me a helmet he had grabbed earlier.

He walked over, flipping his own helmet over his face.

I didn't move, waiting for him to attack first.

And after a minute, he did.

He lunged forward, and I quickly danced out of the way, extending my arm and my sword lightly hit his stomach.

Prince swung around quickly, flabbergasted.  "You -wha- how?" he asked weakly, still trying to process what just happened.  In his defense, it had happened fast.

I shrugged again, unable to hold back a smirk.  "Round Two?" I asked, swinging one of my legs back and bending my knees in ready position, which I hadn't done before.  It didn't matter now. I had lost the element of surprise.

Prince grinned, and attacked again.

This time he was much more careful with his attacks, leaving me unable to do anything more than parry and dodge.  I didn't have time to counterattack.  Heck, I barely had any time to block his attacks.

Prince was showing a lot of his skill now, his eyes not leaving my sword and not giving me any time to think. I was being nudged backwards, until I was pressed in the corner.

I gritted my teeth, looking for a way out. I shifted my balance to my left, needing him to fall for my diversion if this was going to work.  I hoped that he was paying attention to smaller details like that.  I faked a step and Prince didn't fall for it, but he quickly fell for the second fake to the left, leaving the right wall open.

I mean, not like he was expecting this anyway.

I jumped up against the wall to my right, bracing one foot against it.  I pressed off, forcing Prince to jump backwards. I grinned even though he couldn't see my face behind the mask.  I was enjoying this lot more than I thought I would.

I pressed hard, now that I had gotten the advantage. 

And then I remembered Prince's knee.

Prince was favoring his right leg, only slightly, and it wasn't something even I would have normally picked up on.  I guess it still must've been a little stiff.  I aimed low, forcing him to bend his knees more, in hopes that his pain would distract him just a little.  Prince let out a grunt in pain and I smirked, knowing that my plan was working.

But before I could do anything, somehow Prince had the advantage again and my opportunity was gone, Prince always being one step ahead. 

Soon his skill overcame mine and it was over.

I submitted to him, and he lightly poked me in the stomach in his sword.  At this point, we were both breathing heavily and decided to take a break.

"Why didn't you tell me you could fight?" Prince asked, once he had regained the ability to speak. 

I shrugged, taking another sip of my water.  "I can't fight.  Sure I like it, but I can't fight.  You beat me."

"Well yeah, maybe you aren't as good as me, but I've been practicing for YEARS, Anx.  And that fact that I needed it means a lot.  You've got a knack for it, Anx," Prince said, taking a long sip of his water. "Real talent.  How have I never seen you practice before?" he asked, curiously tilting his head to the side.

"I don't," I admitted. "I admire the tactics side of it, mostly. I've never actually gone against anyone before," I confessed.

Prince's eyebrows raised, clearly impressed. "That was your first go at it?"

"Against someone else yeah. What? Upset that you're not as good as you thought?" I teased, smirking around my own water.

Prince smirked in return.

"I think I just found a new practice buddy."

__________
Oh my gosh there are so many of you lovely, lovely humans (I mean, I'm just gonna assume... that you're human - wait what? XD) that have been supporting me so  thank you so much and I apologize for this... eh chapter, but at least it isn't full of sadness and sadness *flashback to last chapter*
Yeah...
Not gonna lie, that was bad.  On an angst scale of one to five, that was like a solid... seven XD
ANYWAY HERE'S SOME FABULOUS LOVELIES, GO CHECK 'EM OUT!!!

Voters for Chapter Fifteen:

death-of-a-phangirl
myfanasyisntyours
xJustAGeekx
CinderAsh
BlueJaysMama
B****JerkA**butt666
ReadingPrinxiety
Amelia_Divine
VirgilAnxietySanders

Commenter: death-of-a-phangirl

Comment: MAXIMUM RIDE!!! I LOVE THOSE BOOKS

Me: Where'd ya think I got my username from? ;)

Voters for Chapter Sixteen:

VirgilAnxietySanders
death-of-a-phangirl
myfanasyisntyours
pokemonlvr27
-Psychotic-Slut-
xJustAGeekx
B****JerkA**butt666
Amelia_Divine
Roman_and_Virgil

Commenter: myfanasyisntyours

Comment: *screams*

Me: ... i'm sorry

Next Chapter is either gonna be Wednesday or Monday, depends on what I have the chance to finish.  It'll all come down to if I finish the next chapter this weekend and how much I get into the following one (in a perfect world, I always am two chapters ahead, so I can tweak any little things from the previous chapter before they're posted). But on Monday I gotta a math test (BURY ME) and a paper rewrite due (BURY ME), and another paper due on Tuesday that's worth a scary high amount of my final grade (BUURRRYYYY MEEEEE) SOOOO we'll see (I dunno if I mentioned this before, but school is hARD).

Last thing: I don't know if everybody knows this, but I also have a companion to this book - Logicality style - called Hellfire | Logicality (title is a bit of a work in progress lol). It has this same story-line, only it's told from Patton and Logan's Point of View.  It's not done - actually it's not far story-line wise at all - but I - I think it's neat.  If you wanted to go check it out, that'd be cool (#shamelessselfpromo) :D