Evey didn't say much when she saw V the next morning, but she was happy to see that he could stand up. V seemed to be in very bad pain, because he didn't walk as lightly as he used to walk. He reminded her of an old man. But V was still V, with or without his certain way to walk. He wanted to get started directly after a quick breakfast, which, surprisingly he had done himself today. It was just like the first time they had met. Evey had woken up to the delightful smell of an Eggie-In-The-Basket in the morning, and found V standing and making her tea. The morning had been quiet, V had been talking about today's training, but as soon as Evey was ready and dressed, V was serious again.

"Come with me, Evey, I have a surprise for you."

Evey looked up at V, swallowing her last piece of toast. She nodded and stood up, walking with him.

"So, as I can see, you are not very strong." he told her. Evey nodded.

"No, I'm not."

"You see, Evey, everything I do is based on strength. So the first thing we'll have to fix are your muscles. The heavier work-outs you do, the bigger your muscles will get, and you will get stronger. Of course I'm almost certain that you'll be in pain for a couple of days but it'll go eventually."

Evey sighed quietly. Sometimes she wondered if anything V did to her didn't include physical pain.

V showed her into a room next to them, and down the stairs. Evey caught a scent in the air. It was bitter, almost sour in some way. She recognized the scent but couldn't say what it was. She had felt it once before, in her childhood.

"I used this technique when I trained myself. It's quite quick and even pleasant. I'm sure that when you'll have a try-out of every training part you'll like this one most." V said and opened a closet. He dug around in it for a moment and eventually looked up again.

"Aha. Here we go!"

Evey blinked. She took the small piece of black textile and looked at it. The material was very soft between her fingers, almost slippery.

"It's a bathing suit." she said eventually.

"Very good, Evey. I will never forget what I told you when we first met. You do have an extra-ordinary power of observation. Come on."

With the black bathing suit in her hand, she followed him into another room. She barely could believe her eyes when she saw it.

"It's a pool! It's a real swimming pool" she called out and hurried to the edge of it. She bent slightly over it and touched the surface. The water was crystal clear and built circles when she touched the surface. Evey hadn't seen a pool since she was a little girl. V watched her for a moment, deciding not to rob her of her joy. She hadn't seen a real pool in a long, long time and he thought it'd be nice for her to see it again, even if she'd see it very often from now on. At last Evey stood up and smiled at V.

"I get to swim?" she asked. V nodded.

"Yes. It's less resistance in air than in water, so you'll build up muscles faster in water. So you can expect a lot of practising in the pool."

"Did you build it yourself?" Evey asked him.

"Yes. Took time, but look at the result!" V answered, sounding proud. And he did have every reason to, building a pool was nothing for amateurs.

"There's a dressing room over there, I'll wait here, don't take too long."

Evey nodded and went to the dressing room V had just showed her.

V looked at the surface of the water. Once he had been swimming here, felt the smooth cold of the water against his skin. When he was still living alone in the Shadow Gallery, he had taken a quick swim nearly every night when he wasn't wounded. He missed it so much. V didn't want to admit it, but he would maybe never be able to again, or at least for a long time. The wound on his stomach would take a great deal of time to heal, he should be happy he was still alive. V sighed and leaned against the wall. It was such peace and tranquillity here. Not a single sound. However Evey changed, she did it very quietly. V wasn't sure how to instruct her correctly without starting to sound too harsh. He cared a lot for Evey and didn't want to hurt her. It had been difficult for him to torture her, but he knew what a tortured mind she already was, he couldn't let her continue being that way. V cared about her, more than he had ever cared about anybody. The thought of that Evey had confessed she loved him had touched him so that time. She told V she loved him. He still couldn't understand how it was possible. He was a monster. He didn't have a face, he didn't have skin, he didn't have anything of what others take for granted. Sometimes he felt so incredibly empty. As if he didn't even have a reason of moving on. V was so deeply into his thoughts that he didn't hear Evey until she called out loudly:

"How did you know my size?"

Evey came strolling in the black bathing suit he had given her. God she was beautiful. In a simple, pure way but still breathtaking. She wasn't so tall, but she had a very adorable, petite little figure and beautiful skin. It was so even. V even got nervous how he'd spoil that body of hers by putting on some extra muscles. But maybe it would look better. He didn't really know. V sat down on a chair and turned his head to Evey.

"Get into the water. I hope you know how to swim?"

"Yes, of course!"

Evey went to the edge and dove into the deep pool. It felt marvellous. She had completely forgotten how it felt being under water. It was so quiet here, she didn't hear anything, except her own movements. Evey swam up to the surface, gasping for air.

"You alright?" V asked.

"U-huh!" Evey said happily.

"Good." V agreed, "Now, tell me, Evey, do you reach to the bottom of the pool with your feet?" he asked.

"No." she answered.

"Good. Come over here."

Evey did as she was told to.

"Give me your hands."

Evey had to admit that she was a little stunned, why did V ask for her hands? Wasn't she supposed to use them for swimming? V bent down, but she could see his was in pain. It clearly hurt very badly.

"V… Take it easy, you're still not so well!" Evey said, holding out her hands.

"Don't' worry, Evey, I'm fine."

V took both of her hands and did something very unexpected. Evey couldn't believe her eyes when she watched him bound them together, so that she couldn't move them. She wasn't able to use them to swim now. She didn't say anything, just looked up at him.

"Now go out into deep water again, I want you to stay steadily at the surface, using only your legs. That's why I bound your hands together, so that you don't use them unintentionally."

Evey had her mouth slightly open.

"But that's impossible!" she told him. "I can't…"

"Of course you can, you've got two legs, a back to stabilize with and your stomach muscles as a back-up to your back. Come on."

Evey didn't say anything else, just swam out into the middle of the square-shaped pool. She felt that she was sinking directly. She held her breath and worked with her legs. She kicked under water, so that it would push her back up to the surface so that she could breath. It didn't last very long. After good three minutes Evey got tired, and didn't put the proper amount of force to work herself up to surface. She gasped for air because she felt she was sinking. Evey made a failed attempt to swim upwards with her arms.

"Don't be lazy, Evey, don't use your hands."

"I can't!" she yelled.

"That's why I bound them together."

"No, I can't! V, I'm sinking!"

"Use your legs."

"V!"

"Your legs, Evey, your legs. Use them and you won't sink."

"V, it hurts, I can't anymore!"

"You still live. You still breath. Keep going… For as long… As you can."

"V…"

"When you really can't, swim to shore again."

"No, V! Please…"

Evey understood that she wouldn't get any help from V except instructions, so she decided to go for it. She bit together, and kicked water underneath her. She kicked, and kicked, and felt, that she slowly was swimming towards the edge of the pool where V was waiting. Evey saw the edge and felt someone pull her up. Next time she looked up, she looked into V's white mask.

"Are you ok?" he asked her, holding Evey in his arms. V noticed that this would take far longer time than he imagined. Evey didn't have so strong leg muscles, and those would take the longest time to train. It would be painful for her, but she just had to survive.

"How… Many… Hours…" Evey breathed.

"Barely 5 minutes." V told her.

Evey looked up at him, not believing what he was telling her. It felt like she had been in the water for ages. She felt her legs pulsating and hurting. She had never made a work-out like this. She didn't expect it to be so difficult. Evey sighed.

"Am I too weak?" she asked him, looking down.

"Just untrained." V answered. He wasn't lying. He could train her to be incredibly strong, agile and possibly even durable. But it would take time.

"Do I have to have my hands bound?" she asked.

"That's the only thing that guarantees me that you aren't using them."

Evey looked up at V. Suddenly everything seemed to be so impossible, as if she wouldn't make it. She tried to convince herself that she simple wasn't built for this kind of stuff. She felt so helpless and weak. Suddenly Evey jumped up and ran back into the Shadow Gallery. No, she couldn't make it. She wouldn't.

V was rather stunned when he saw Evey's next move. She gave up quickly. He felt both upset and slightly frightened. Evey was his last opportunity to win against the government. There was only him and her, nobody else existed. If Evey now gave up, what would next happen to this country?