Strength Is All One Needs

"Alexander, you'd better hurry or you'll be late for the sparring sessions. I'll be there with some of the other Scouts, but just because I'm your mother doesn't mean I'll score you better."

Alexander sat at the table with his father and nodded as his Mother walked out the front door for her meeting. His Father sat there as quiet as ever simply eating his breakfast. Alexander liked the silence, it gave him time to think and plan out his training regimen before his day started. Alexander was soon lost in thought, but was quickly snapped back to reality,

"Didn't your mother say you should hurry?"

That stern voice came from his father as he stood up and put on his Fenrir Legion cloak. The cloak was worn and faded but the white wolf insignia was perfect and a sign of strength and position. Alexander used to admire his Father's patch, until he discovered that it was a signification of rank and not strength. Before his Father could speak up again Alexander started to make his way for the training grounds,

"It doesn't really matter if I'm late. No one is going to even touch me."

Alexander mumbled under his breath in an attempt to conceal his thoughts from his Father. He still respected his Father even if he had thought he'd outgrown him. He made his way slowly to the Training Grounds as to avoid doing as much as possible with those "weaklings." On his way there he spotted others hurriedly making their way to the Training Grounds in an attempt to make it on time. He took note of the people he knew. Of those that were late he saw he only took note of David Reiss. David was, a childhood "friend" of Alexander. Alexander's father, Phillip, is the captain of Fenrir's I Legion and since David's father was a lieutenant under the first legion. So their fathers knew each other quite well and spent a lot of time talking and drinking together. This in-turn brought David and him face to face often. Alexander smiled at the thought of tossing David around during today's matches.

Upon arriving, almost half an hour late, he looked around to see that the students were being paired by a list. He looked up to the tower to see his mother, Diana, and the other scouts. His expression had changed,

Do they think someone is comparable to me?

And with that thought in his mind he wandered over to the instructors table to see who his first victim would be.

"Hey there Alex! No need to look so angry. If it makes you feel any better we have some new kids from Terra and Koi taking part in these matches. That should give you a challenge."

Derrick Lane, he always thought that everyone was his friend but maybe that's why he was chosen to be the instructor for this training ground. He was a man of average height with short brown hair and like everyone else was looked down upon by Alexander.

Derrick handed him the sheet with his usual overly friendly smile. Alexander snatched the paper from him and looked up at Derrick with utter disappointment.

"Fine, where is he…"

Derrick's usual passionate smile vanished when he noticed how uninterested Alexander was with his opponent.

"You should really make some friends or at least not look down on people. Because one of these days it'll get you hurt."

These words of wisdom spewed out of Derrick's mouth as he pointed over at a young man who looked as if he could be about twenty, but Alexander paid little attention. The attention he did give his opponent was more of an analysis of his physique as he formulated a combat plan in his mind and walked towards the ring and waited his turn. As he sat there he became absorbed in memory,

xxx

There sat a man at the kitchen table with dark brown hair and blue eyes about six feet tall. He smiled, as a small Alexander entered the room, and kindly announced:

"Prepare for the unknown by studying how others in the past have coped with the unforeseeable and the unpredictable."

"What does that mean Thomas?"

"Alex, it means that you cannot take on the future without studying the past and present. I read it in one of the ancient tomes."

"Wow, if you keep studying will you become strong, strong enough to eradicate the Titans?"

"I hope so Alex, I hope so…"

The man's expression had changed from a kind and happy one to a concerned one that was swept away in a stormy sea of thought.

xxx

And with that last glimpse of his memory of his eldest brother's face he came back to his senses hearing,

"Match! Alright, next up are David Reiss… and…"

David stepped forward at five feet five inches. His dirty blonde hair was as messy as ever, but who was his opponent?

"… Tristan… Valentine?"

A new face stepped forward. No one recognized him but almost every girl's eyes glazed over as the five-six Adonis ruffled his curly blonde hair and winked in their direction. The girls seemed to be eating it up, but there sat one beautiful brown haired half-oriental girl who just looked at him with disdain. She was obviously displeased with his flirtatiousness. She sat there and tapped her foot impatiently waiting for the match to start.

"Umm Tristan, you're from..?"

"Terra, sir."

"Alright. You two take your places and… BEGIN!"

Based on build it was easy to assume who the winner would be. Tristan was taller and more muscular than David was and he had all the confidence to use his abilities. If bets were being placed the odds were easily five to two in favor of Tristan, but Alexander would've bet against the odds today. He'd fought David more than anyone in Vai and understood his tactics, fighting styles, strengths, weaknesses, and mentality better than anyone. Alexander always chose to fight David for a specific reason. The only unknown variables were Tristan's ability and mentality.

The match started, and as usual with training matches between fifteen year olds it started slowly. David moved constantly; shifting his stance rapidly and encircling his opponent at a rapid pace. At first glance it seems as though David was wasting energy and would wear himself down but his plan is to loosen up his body and raise the tempo of the fight to exhaust his opponent's physical and mental stamina. But it seemed as though Tristan wasn't biting as he maintained a solid stance, unmoving, while keeping his eyes on David. Tristan's fighting stance seemed odd to many as he kept his arms, elbows out and palms facing inward. But Alexander recognized the stance immediately,

So he's a noble from Terra… This should get interesting.

David quickly noticed Tristan's lack of tempo change and slowed himself down as well. He changed fighting stance but continued to encircle Tristan. The spectators looked on in amazement that neither of them had made a move. Some of the students complained that they weren't doing anything, but the Scouts in the tower were very intrigued by this fight and examined it closely.

I would normally think he would try to make his move once he got into my blind spot, but there is something different about him. It's almost as if his whole array of tactics and stances have been developed to take down those with more skill than himself…

As Tristan thought about David's next move David pounced. His leg flew out from Tristan's left side and almost caught him in the face, but Tristan wasn't as lost in thought as David had believed. In a single fluid motion Tristan rotated his arms clockwise, grabbed David's foot and turned his body one hundred and eighty degrees before hurling him over his shoulders. The force of the throw was something no one expected of a fifteen year old as David tried to reorientate himself mid-flight but was unable to as he bounced off the ground. David winced slightly hiding the pain as he quickly hopped to his feet. He attempted this tactic twice more, each ending with the same result. A smirk grew across David's face at the thought of facing someone this strong; that smirk caught Tristan off guard,

Why is he smiling, I'm obviously going to win. Those counters should've been a clear indicator…

Tristan reset his stance facing David and focused more intently. David switched his stance yet again but this time he had a solid base as he raised his hands to his face. He slowly approached Tristan from the front keeping his guard up and gently swaying like a breeze through the surface's forests. Whispers could be heard from the crowd as they got closer.

"David's just going to be tossed around again, what is he doing…"

"Why doesn't he just give up? There's no way he could win."

"I even heard this kid's a noble from Terra."

None of this fazed David as he suddenly closed the gap between them with incredible speed. Tristan braced himself and prepared a counter. David shot out a barrage of jabs at the speed that Alexander had never seen before and that Tristan didn't have the speed or agility to counter. Alexander locked this move into his memory as David continued this tactic by backing off then immediately reengaging, leaving no time to regroup. Then finally Tristan grabbed David's arm and pulled him in as a haymaker was brought forward to meet David's jaw. David was sent sprawling back by the massive blow, but he slowly and steadily brought himself to his feet. Alexander had a wry smile as he thought,

Well, David was never one to give up…

Both Tristan and David stood holding their faces and panting heavily, but just before they could reengage each other:

"Match! This has been declared a draw. We'll now have an hour break."

The two walked over to each other and shook hands respectfully before falling into each other. They carried each other over to the rest area where they conversed, ate food, and drank water as if nothing had happened and they were new friends getting to know each other.

Alexander on the other hand went to sit in seclusion near the archery range where he stare off into the red dots of the targets. He steadily drank water while running fight simulations in his mind against his opponents. He had observed them on his way to the archery range and quickly formulated a battle strategy. Then he heard some shallow footsteps creeping up behind him. He turned quickly to see a perky little four foot ten girl with brown hair,

"Aww… I can't ever sneak up on you…"

She began to pout and looked up at her older brother with her big blue eyes. He patted her on the head as he began to walk by her,

"You'll never get that satisfaction as long as I'm alive."

He continued walking past her to the ring without looking back. She continued to pout as she followed in his footsteps. The fights continued with Alexander going undefeated as predicted by the scouts and those who trained with him in Vai. But David and Tristan didn't fare so well. Their fight had drained them so when they moved to their next rounds they were both too tired and hurt to win against their opponents, who were matched against for being comparative in strength.

The day was coming to a close as some of the scouts began to meet and compare observations. The local girls, and the girls from Koi, flocked around Tristan as the matches wound down and the guys generally looked over in jealousy. Alexander was about to leave with a sense of self recognition because, as predicted, he was untouchable to his opponents. He got up from the ring and started for the gate with his sister when that half-oriental girl he noticed earlier cut him off. He stayed expressionless as this girl stared into his eyes with an ambitious confident look in her eyes.

"Natalie, go and tell father I'll be returning a little late."

"Bu—"

Was all Natalie started to say as she took notice of the stare down occurring between her brother and that girl. Natalie quickly took off for home in an attempt to make it back in time to see them fight.

"You're Alexander right? Well we were both undefeated so I think we should settle this."

She quickly glanced up at the tower to the Scouts. And in the usual Alexander way he responded,

"If you're looking for glory, you won't find any facing me."

"What? Are you too much of a coward to face me?"

"I'll fight you, but just know that it isn't because you baited me. I merely wish to put you in your place."

This last statement both angered her and pleased her. She walked to the ring thinking,

Put me in my place? Yeah right, I'll prove myself in front of all these people and the Scouts.

Alexander slowly meandered his way to the other side of the ring and let out a stifled yawn. However they both had serious look of deadly intent in their eyes. They both stood there clad in their trainee jackets. The world seemed to slow down as they prepared to engage each other. On one end stood Alexander, his short and spiky silver hair shone in the light and his icy blue eyes looked directly through his opponent analyzing her thoroughly as she took her stance. Her stance was one rarely seen anymore. It was an almost lost oriental fighting style. Alexander had never seen this type of stance let alone experienced it because it was different than the one she had used during her previous matches. He looked at the smug look on her face and thought,

Someone is getting a little overconfident…

He adjusted his stance. He placed his right arm behind his back and partially extended his left arm towards her palm up and rotated his body slightly so that his side would face her. He took a defensive stance not wanting to underestimate her power. As they stood there in their stances people began to gather. The Scouts were in a meeting, discussing the results of the day so they didn't notice that another, unauthorized, match had started.

The girl moved in quickly to strike Alexander but her motions were unusually fluid, almost like water. Alexander searched the depths of thought to think of her possible moves and possible strategies, but alas, he would be forced to defend himself with reaction only. As she got extremely close Alexander kicked high in an attempt to back her off, but using her fluid motions she redirected his kick and drove her palm into his abdomen sending a shockwave throughout his body. Alexander stumbled back from the blow in an attempt to gain some distance,

"I've never seen that fighting style before, what's it called?"

Without giving him a chance to regain himself she fell upon him like a wolf on a wounded sheep landing palm blows repeatedly on his abdomen. When he fell to his back she smiled and finally answered,

"It's called Tai Chi and it's been passed down through my ancestors for centuries."

And as if it were a magic spell Alexander got up without much of a hassle. He smiled and replied,

"Thanks for the information, I won't forget it now."

The air around Alexander changed as he switched his stance. His stance resembled a more refined version of David's first fighting style. He started to move rapidly and his eyes looked as if they had a killer's intent as he watched the half-oriental girl closely. He then began his rapid assault. He flew at her with incredible speed launching flying kicks from all angles leaving almost not time for her to do anything but dodge. Here she displayed her gymnastic abilities as none of Alexander's kicks were able to connect. And on one fateful kick she deflected it downward grabbed Alexander's arm put it into a lock and momentarily stunned him. In this brief moment she drove her elbow deeply into his chest and sent him staggering backwards. She smiled to herself again,

I'm going to win and prove how strong I am. This next strike will end it!

She resettled her stance and stayed on the defensive again. Alexander broke his expressionless face as a small smile formed at his lips, completely unseeable by those around.

Both of them were sweating tremendously and by now the crowd had grown quite extensive. The Scouts, noticing too late, could no longer break up the match and instead decided to take notes and observe. Tristan who had just broken away from the pack of admirers made his way to the ring and was astonished by the girl. She was beautiful and had flowing brown hair that dropped down to her chest. This was Tristan's first time seeing an Oriental and he was blown away by her beauty and her fighting prowess. He stood there in awe as Alexander made his next attack.

Alexander drove forward with a display of punches missing the half-oriental girl. She dodged them like before and again she countered by deflecting his blows and putting him in an arm lock. But this time was different, Alexander used full power to break the arm lock and with that there was a loud crack as he used his other arm to sweep her legs before he raised his heel into the air and brought it down to her throat. The force of air being pushed down onto her neck was suffocating. She was utterly defeated and just laid there as Alexander lifted his foot away and turned his back on her,

"If you continue to be this arrogant you'll lose more than a sparring match."

He then started to walk away towards the archery range as an uproar from the crowd exploded. Everyone was chanting, it had been such a great fight; on the level of that above what anyone would expect fifteen year olds to accomplish. Out of the crowd a group of boys ran to her aid, one of them being Tristan who held his hand out and asked,

"Umm… Are you okay?"

"Yeah…"

She pushed his hand aside and got up on her own and looked up at the Scouts in utter disappointment. Before Tristan or the other boys could say another thing she passed by them, obviously upset, and made way for the exit.

Alexander had made his way to the archery range quietly, trying to avoid as many people as he could. When he finally got there he grabbed his limp right arm with his left arm and pulled out and up. With that there was a loud pop and Alexander winced in pain as his shoulder popped back into place. His only regret was not getting the girl's name, but no doubt he'd see her again during the upcoming years. After moving his shoulder around for a minute he picked up a bow and began to split arrows one after another on the target downrange when his mother came to visit him.

"You should really be more friendly with your peers. If you're not who will support you at the Pugna Academiae next month?"

Alexander released his last arrow and turned to his mother,

"I can support myself; I'm not nearly as weak as Thomas wa—"

Without even getting the chance to finish his sentence he felt a sharp sting across his face. It hurt more than just a physical pain as his mother said,

"He was your brother, at least show some respect."

Alexander turns his head to his mother and looks into her eyes with an ice cold stare,

"Tell me, would that make me stronger? Will I gain the strength to eradicate the Titans?"

His mother was speechless as Natalie made her way over. Before Natalie could say anything Alexander pushed by both of them and headed for home.

A/N: Hello everyone! that was the Prologue Part A. I hope you enjoyed it, I'm sorry that I had to make slight character modification to make the story flow better. If your character wasn't shown here don't worry, they'll be in there before the end of the prologue (if you sent it to me before yesterday). Remember to Rate and Review! It was fun writing this and I can't believe I made it to 3.4k words! I'm also thinking of doing a little triva thing in each author's note, as in a secret about the story that could be trivia.

Trivia: The protagonist is named Alexander after Alexander the Great and his father is named Phillip after Alexander the Great's father! (The more you know :D )