A few hours later, Maria had led the group to a field in the woods. "I found this area nearby. I think it'll work."

"Wow. This place is amazing." Allison said.

"What do you guys do if wood animals knock this stuff over?" Nate asked.

"It's not a problem. The whole perimeter is spelled so they don't mess up the training area." Maria explained. "It was Bonnie's idea. We just modified the barrier spell we did on the houses. Of course, you four will be practicing in separate areas. Originally we were going to use to school field…"

"Yeah, but that would've required us to compel everyone that passed by." Caroline said.

"Not to mention the sports teams that have summer practice." Maria added.

"You vampires are lucky you have that ability." Tyler said.

"Really, I've always been jealous of how much stronger you are than me."

"Can you guys have this quarrel later?" Maria asked them. "Okay, Caroline, Allison's going to help you out."

"I don't see why we need this. I can already fight."

"Yes, but you're still a new vampire." Maria said. "Katherine's got hundreds of years on you. And who knows how strong her little friends are? We don't know if she's using newly turned vamps or older ones."

"Point taken, though we're fighting them together."

"And in order to fight as a team, we need to be stronger than this." Maria pointed out. "You need to be as strong as the rest of us if you're going to help." She turned to Nate and Tyler. "Nate, I need you to help Tyler. And please take this seriously."

"Don't worry, I know how important this is." Nate said.

"Oh, come on." Everyone looked at Damon. "How is this guy supposed to teach Lockwood here what he already knows? Didn't he get enough training from Jules?"

"Nate knows what he's doing. Besides, he can control what he does as a wolf." Maria said. Everyone looked at him in shock.

"Is that true?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah. It's kinda hard at first, especially on a new wolf, but not impossible." Nate said. "If it weren't possible, these two…" He indicated to Maria and Allison. "Probably wouldn't be here."

"Let's just get to practice." Maria said.

"Hang on." Caroline said. "What happened to Bonnie, Lauren, and Jeremy?"

"They all went back to her house." Elena said. "She thought Lauren would be more comfortable there."

"Okay, so you four will be training separately." Maria said. "Nate, Ty, you two will be practicing a few miles away from here."

"Come on. Our old family tunnels are near here, so we can practice near there." Tyler said.

"You know the area, lead the way." The guys left.

"Okay, let's see. Elena, let's have you and Matt practice sparing." Maria said.

"Wait, we have to fight each other?"

"Matt, you do realize it's just pretend, right? It's just to see how well you guys can fight on your own, but I'm not comfortable having you guys practice sparing with actual vampires yet. No offense, you two."

"None taken." The Salvatores said at the same time. They looked at each other.

"Let's do this." Elena said.

A few minutes later, she and Matt were fighting each other. "Man, how come you're so strong?"

"I used to be a cheerleader and I've faced vampires before." Elena pointed out. "And that's not counting the fact that I used to run track and have been lifting weights recently." She threw another punch, but he dodged her. He threw a weak punch back.

"Okay, okay. Matt, you need to try harder than that." Maria said. "You have to fight back. You think those vampires will go easy on you?"

"I know, but I feel weird about hitting one of my ex-girlfriends."

"You realize you're wearing protective padding so neither of you really get hurt, right?" Maria pointed out.

"Why do we need it anyway?"

"In case you humans go too far." Maria said. "No offense, but you guys can be even more aggressive than vampires sometimes."

"She kinda has a point." Elena said. "Remember when Tyler and Jeremy were fighting? And that was before Tyler was a werewolf."

"I won't even ask." Maria said. "Okay, Matt, I want you to at least try to take Elena down. Elena, you're on defense."

"Got it." She moved out of the way so the two of them could practice. This time, Matt managed to hold his own against her.

"What is with you?" Elena asked. "Are you afraid to hit a girl or something?"

"No."

"Well, you've got to try harder than this."

"I am."

"Really? Cause at the rate you're going, there's no way you can possibly…" Suddenly, Matt kicked her in the stomach, catching her off guard. "Oh, you are going to get it now!" They started fighting each other. Elena managed to dodge most of his moves.

"You can do way better than…" She ducked as he tried to hit her and grabbed his arm. "Sorry, I'm not falling for that one again."

"Isn't this an illegal move?" Matt pointed out.

"When dealing with this kind of enemy, there are no illegal moves." Elena told him.

"She's right, you know." Maria said. "Though sometimes I worry if some of Kat's personality rubbed off on her."

"You better be joking about that."

"I am." Suddenly, Matt surprised both of them and had gotten free while they were talking. Elena quickly turned around and the two started fighting again. They were both trying to block each other's moves, but not doing very well. Elena got jumped back as Matt tried to punch her in the chest.

"Nice try." This time, Matt really did hit her in the chest. They kept fighting until Elena attempted to kick Matt, but tripped, and they both ended up on the ground.

"Okay, that's enough." Maria said. She walked over to them. They were laughing. "Way to go, Matt. You're making progress."

"Thanks."

"Elena, you're really good, but you're defense needs a little work."

"No problem. I'll just keep working on it."

"Alright, you two keep practicing." Maria told them. "Once you get off the forest floor, anyway."

"Where are you headed?"

"I've got to do a little practice myself. It's been a while since I've had to get involved in a fight. Just keep practicing and you'll be good."

"You've been friends with her a while, is she always like this?" Matt asked.

"Sometimes, but you get used to it." Elena said. "I can't really explain it, but she always has a way of making you feel good about yourself."

"It's still a little bit weird."

"Trust me, the supernatural takes a while to get used to. But we learn to adjust. So, let's get back to practicing."

"Right." The two of them started sparing.

Maria looked around the forest. "You out
here?"

"How do you always know where we are?" Stefan asked.

"If you've hung out with Lexi as long as I have, you tend to notice your friend's patterns." Maria pointed out.

"I'm surprised you decided to practice with me."

"I knew if I practiced with Damon, I'd end up getting distracted." Maria said. "Besides, we made a pretty good team before, remember?"

"How can I forget?" Stefan pointed out. "You practically jumped those vampires that tried to kick my butt that time."

"Let's do this." Maria said. She sped behind him, but he turned around and grabbed her arm.

"You're going to have to do better than that."

"You mean like this?" Suddenly she seemed to disappear.

"I thought you said you'd stop using that move." Stefan said. He turned around and still didn't see her. Suddenly, he ducked, avoiding Maria's punch from behind.

"You're getting better at that."

"Please, I practically know all your moves."

"That's not true. I've learned a few new ones." They continued to fight each other for at least a few hours.