Chapter 8
Miky raced down the attic stairs two at a time at Sonic's call. She miss-stepped on the last ones and almost fell flat on her face if it weren't for the speedy hedgehog appearing at the last second to catch her, "Whoa! When I said hurry up I didn't mean throw yourself down the stairs!"
Miky shrugged, "Sorry. But what's rush anyways?"
Sonic chuckled and began to pull her towards the backyard, "Come on and you'll find out!"
Another month had passed since Miky came to live with Sonic and in that time, she had learned every kind of evasive maneuver and some light, fast attacks. But even so, Miky was still daunted when she discovered what was waiting in the back yard.
"Is that-?!" exclaimed Miky as she jumped back.
Standing like a statue was an Egg Fighter. Tails flew up and sat on its head. In his hands was a controller of sorts.
Tails laughed, "Relax, of all the nasty tin cans Eggman has made over the years, this one is… not as nasty."
Miky relaxed, "So…why is it here?"
"Well, one day me and Sonic found it wandering by itself. It had gone outside of its control radius so it wasn't receiving instructions anymore. Of course, all of Eggman's robots are programmed to attack us on sight. But, I had an idea; instead of wrecking the thing, why not disable it and use it for something better?"
"Like what?" asked Miky.
Tails laughed again, "As a punching bag! After Sonic got it immobilized, I shut it down and back at the lab I reprogrammed it."
Sonic gave the robot a solid kick, "Not mention made it little sturdier."
Tails rolled his eyes, "I had to. One round and you would have broken it!"
"I can't help it if I got the moves. But anyways Tails tell her the cool part."
"Oh yeah! I programmed it with four modes. Offensive, Defensive, Battle, and RC. Here, look at the controller."
Miky took the video game-like controller. It had two joysticks, a few small buttons, one large button, and a dial labeled with the modes Tails had said and 'off'. She handed it back to Tails and asked, "What does each mode do?"
Tails replied, "Offensive mode is just what it sounds like. The robot will come at you with everything it's got so it's good to practice evasion. Defensive mode is just the opposite and is good for practicing attacks. Battle mode combines Offensive and Defensive simulating actual combat. And RC is where you have full control of the robot and its every move."
"I saw a big button on the controller. What does it do?"
"That is the failsafe. If something goes wrong, like a malfunction, one press of this button will fry the robot's circuits. There's also a button on the robot itself to manually turn it off. That's what you're trying to do when you train with it. The button is here on the back of the head."
"Ok. That sounds kinda easy."
Sonic leaned against the robot, "Well I hope so! I asked Tails to bring it over here as a way to help you bring everything I've taught you so far together."
Miky nodded, her eyes burning with determination, "I'll give it all I got!"
Sonic gave her a thumbs up, "That's what I love to see! Fire it up Tails!"
Tails jumped off the robot's head and stepped off to the side, "Ok. I'll put it RC mode first and start off slow. When you get the hang of it, we'll switch to Offensive mode. Ready Miky?"
"Ready!"
"Ok, here we go."
Tails turned the dial to RC and began to move the joysticks. The robot came to life and clunked toward Miky. Tails jerked a joystick and the robot swung its arm at her. Miky bent over backwards so her hands touched the ground and the swing passed harmlessly over her. She flipped backwards and onto her feet. Tails pressed a button and the robot's hands retracted into its arms and laser shooters came out. Tails pressed the button again and the robot began firing laser bursts. Miky ran, the bursts making craters where her feet had been moments before. She then rolled under the fire and began running the opposite way. She continued this serpentine pattern as she neared the robot. When she was a few feet away, Miky jumped towards the robot. Tails jerked the joystick and the robot swung. Miky started to tuck into a ball so that she might avoid it, but she started too late. The arm caught her shin and sent her spiraling through the air and landing her violently on the ground.
Sonic was at once by her side, "Are you ok?"
Miky slowly got up, "Ugh… I'm fine…"
Tails rushed over as well, "I didn't hurt you, did I?"
Miky shook her head, "I'm fine really. Come on, let's go again."
Sonic gave her a questioning look, "Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Alright then. Tails go a little slower."
"No! Same speed as last time."
"Um, ok. You heard her Tails."
Tails and Sonic went to the sidelines again as Tails called out, "Ready?"
"Ready!"
Tails moved the robot forward, and swung the joystick. The robot complied and Miky rolled to side. She glanced at Tails to see him push a button and thrust the joystick forward. She looked back at the robot to see it outstretch its arms and lunge. Miky rolled again. A look at Tails revealed a repeat maneuver, Miky rolled out of its path again. She looked at Tails to see him swing both joysticks. Miky escaped the swing of the first but not the swing off the second arm. It plowed into her middle and knocked her to the ground.
She staggered to her feet, coughing. At last Miky managed to say, "Again."
Sonic said worriedly, "Maybe we should take a break."
Miky looked at him, her eyes still alight with fierce determination, "No, I'm fine."
Sonic gave in, "Ok. But don't look at Tails. Watch the robot."
Miky turned her attention to the robot, "Got it."
Tails set the robot in motion and Miky dashed straight towards it. The robot swung both of its arms and Miky slid under both arms and through its the legs. She flipped onto her feet on the other side and jumped at the back of the robot's head, hand reaching for the button. The top section of the robot whirled around and grabbed Miky. She struggled to get free. She wrapped her legs around the robot's arm and began to twist. But before the arm could break, the robot threw her towards the ground. Miky slammed into the ground and bounced. Midair she got her feet under her and hit the ground once more in a kneeling skid. Panting, she stood. The robot readied its laser shooters. It began to fire and Miky used her serpentine tactic once more. When she was close enough, she jumped and began to tuck at the same time. But the robot aimed upward and fired. The laser burst launched Miky backwards. She hit the ground and rolled to a stop.
She began to stand but collapsed. Sonic caught her and said, "I think we're done for today."
Miky broke away from him and staggered forward, "No I can do this! I know I can!"
Sonic supported her as she almost fell, "I know you can do it too, but for now, you need to stop and rest."
Tails turned the robot off and came over, "Sonic is right Miky. You gave it your best shot. You can try again some other time. The robot isn't going anywhere."
Miky tried to go forward but Sonic held her back. After a minute she slumped against him in defeat. Sonic put her arm around his shoulder and began to lead her towards the house, "I got this Tails. I'll see you later ok?"
Tails nodded and left with the robot.
Once Sonic got Miky inside the house, he led her to the kitchen and set her in a chair. He turned to the sink and wet a washcloth. He turned back to Miky and began to swab away the dirt on her face, "You really took a beating. Oop, here's a cut, hold still. I'm very proud of you."
Miky winced as he dabbed at the cut on her face, "What's there to be proud of? I failed, three times in a row."
"Hey, there will be no moping in this house. What happened to that determination I saw earlier?"
"I just thought I could do it you know? I thought I could execute everything you taught me."
"But Miky, you did! Every maneuver was perfect. We just need to work on your reaction time and speed. You can do it!"
"What makes you so sure?"
Sonic put the washcloth aside and looked at Miky, his emerald eyes staring deep into her teal ones, "Miky, I see something in you, something great. You're special and unique and that's what's going to help you do anything you put your mind to. Promise me that no matter how hard things may seem, you'll never give up. Because when you give up, that's when you fail. So promise me ok?"
Miky smiled, "I promise."
Sonic grinned back, "Alright! Now let's get you patched up so we can get in a full day of practicing tomorrow."
Later in the evening, Miky went to the Seaside Cliff to meet Shadow.
"Miky what happened to you?!" exclaimed Shadow when he saw Miky with several bruises and a Band-Aid here and there.
She replied, "Training got a little intense today. But I'm ok."
The two sat down towards the edge of the cliff and watched the sunset.
"So what in the world was going on to rough you up like that?"
"Well you see, Tails had this robot like the ones in Eggman's base that he had reprogrammed so he could control it with a little controller. It was kinda cool. The whole point was to help me practice my evasion skills. Sonic says I did pretty good but I need to work on my reaction time and speed. That's what we're going to do tomorrow. How was your day Shadow?"
"I can't complain. Just the usual."
"What's the usual?"
Shadow smiled, "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."
Miky burst out laughing, "Very funny Shadow, very funny."
Author's Note: Whoo! Another chapter done! Looks like Miky still has a long way to go before she can play with the big dogs. But she'll get it sooner or later. Just a little teaser, me and Werehog20 (if you don't know who he is, check him out. Awesome stories) have a little surprise in store for everyone. Just something to look out for. Please read, review, and enjoy!
