Well, here's the second one that I promised. This one is my favorite because I like talking about all the weapons, and I'm a ninja girl. Why would you want a smelly pirate when you could have a totally cool and mysterious ninja? HERE WE GO!
Disclaimer: She forgets me for… what… 4 CHAPTERS… and doesn't even apologize? Fine… I QUIT!
Chapter 8: Of Ninjas and Weapons
The rest of breakfast was uneventful. The tension was strong in our group. It was virtually Sterling against me, with everyone caught up in the turmoil. I couldn't imagine a worse breakfast, even with the good food. I never did well with quarrels.
My cut had stopped bleeding and miraculously had scarred over, but my clothes looked like I got stuck in a "Friday the Thirteenth" movie. After I had changed into a powder blue T-shirt and black shorts, I joined everyone in the foyer after I got a blood transfusion from Morgan. I was knocked out for the duration of that, so no embarrassing stories there.
By this time, it was 11:00. I wasn't the only one who had changed. The rest of the group switched to sports attire, too. Vincent wore his usual sweatshirt, despite how hot it was. I remembered his scars. That felt like an eternity since I discovered that, but it was only yesterday. I don't want to ask, but curiosity is getting to me…
"I CAN'T WAIT! I'M GONNA BECOME A NINJA!" Morgan screamed in excitement. Andrew, unable to contain himself, rolled his eyes at him.
"Not so fast, partner," Barney interrupted Morgan's joy. "Remember that we have to stay together. We haven't been doing well with that, but let's start now. Don't forget where we are." His eyes shifted to the walls, like they were going to attack him. Out of fear, we quickly paired up and as a herd, we headed to our destination. I couldn't believe someone remembered where the Dojo was. I was completely lost as it was. The building was outside, but in front of the house, which is why I didn't see it on my earlier expedition. The doors of the room were made out of some papery material, so Andrew carefully pressed onto the wooden sides and pushed. They swung open, reveling wood floors. This wood was much lighter than anything in the house, almost like a honey color. Fold-Away mats were stacked in a corner next to a wall of mirrors. On the opposite wall was a rack that held every type of weapon I could think or imagine.
As our group came in, the doors swung shut. The place was empty, and I was confused. Isn't Espio supposed to be here? As I was contemplating this, Morgan had wandered. He came to the wall of weapons and picked up a Boa staff.
"No WAY. It's just like the one in 'The Forbidden Kingdom!'" He grasped it and twirled it all around above his head. It was going so fast, I could hear the wind from it as it blurred. Ruth broke his concentration.
"OH MY HONEY PUFFS, I LOVE THAT MOVIE!" Morgan looked at her.
"REALLY?" and just then, the staff slipped. It shot towards our group like a demented boomerang. As we shrunk back, it suddenly stopped in mid air. I understood what happened immediately.
"So, how long have you been in here, Espio?" I inquired as I broke from the crowd. Suddenly, he materialized.
"Why Samantha, how did you guess it was me?" He asked rhetorically and sarcastically. His focus shifted to Morgan. "You are just like Charmy…"
"WHO'S CHARMY? WHY IS YOUR NAME ESPIO? ARE YOU A REAL NINJA? HOW DO YOU GET PAST THE DEMON CENTAURS IN 'TOMB RAIDER: ANNIVERSARY?" Morgan yelled. Ruth interrupted his line of questioning.
"YOU'RE PURPLE! ARE YOU A GIRL? DO YOU LIKE THAT COLOR? COULD A SWALLOW REALLY CARRY A COCONUT?"
"(GASP)! THAT IS AN AGE OLD QUESTION! ONLY A NINJA COULD ANSWER THAT! TELL US, OH GREAT NINJA!" Morgan and Ruth leaned in to hear his answer. Espio didn't even bat an eye. He must be used to this 'Charmy'.
"Should I start at the beginning of your questions?" They nodded dumbly. "Charmy is a Jr. Chaotix, a detective company I work for. 'Espio' is short for 'Espionage', which is my specialty. Yes, I am a real ninja and I have been studying Ninjitsu my whole life. You must blind the centaurs with your dodge shot, then take the shields with the grapple hook, and once they try to turn you to stone, they will turn to stone. Then you must shoot them before they break the stone. Yes, I am purple. It is inherited. I am male. Purple symbolizes royalty, which is what I would be if it was the 1700s or earlier. All my other clothing was given to me by special weapons makers, but I had no choice in color. I have grown to like it, and as a ninja, I am above trying to make myself feel 'manly'. A normal swallow could not carry a coconut, but an African Swallow or a Mobian Swallow could carry it across the ocean to England, but why any animal would carry a coconut across the ocean to England is a mystery no one can answer."
I. WAS. AMAZED. I had a hard time keeping up with the questions the first time, but he provided background information, too! I was possibly as amazed as Morgan and Ruth, who had run out of words to say. Their mouths were opened, and their eyes were as wide as saucers. They must not be used to that. He turned back to us and ignored our faces.
"As you know, I am Espio the Chameleon. I have agreed to give you lessons in weaponry and fighting for the duration of this week. Today, I will merely evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. I will also give you a weapon today. I understand that some of you have unique talents, so I have things made just for you. This is a gift from Shadow, and you may keep everything I give you without charge. So…" He stopped and looked each of us in the eye. "Who would like to go first?"
"ME!" Ruth yelled. Espio smiled.
"I had guessed as much. Everyone, back against that wall. You may sit on the wood or use some of the mats, I do not mind." We did as instructed as Ruth started to bounce excitedly. Espio fixed his eyes on her.
"Now, we will fight." Ruth gulped, realizing her excitement was a mistake.
"Wait, I don't know how!"
"This is the best way for me to evaluate you. Now, begin!"
He stepped into a fighting stance as Ruth stood nervously. She tried to copy him, but failed. Her rabbit legs forced her off balance. Espio immediately swung his leg low and knocked her to the ground. She cried out as her bum hit the hard wood.
"You must find your center of gravity. Begin!"
She fell again. And again. And again.
After 7 rounds of this, he gave her a weapon. It was a long whip. To my utter amazement, it was just what she needed. Granted, she didn't win against him, but she did a lot better. Well, if you consider not losing in the first 4 seconds better, then yeah, she was better. Each round, Espio got harder on her, a pattern he continued the whole time. He stopped their brawl.
"See how that's just like your plants? Flexible and long. If you do not have access to your plants, you have an alternative weapon."
"YAY!" Ruth happily jumped back to the rest of us. Morgan immediately went out to Espio. He was suddenly more serious as the round begun. Morgan had taken some sort of Karate class, because he could flip up after being knocked down and looked much more graceful and sure of himself then Ruth did. Espio gave him the Boa staff, which he was excited about. He did a lot better because of the longer reach, but didn't win a round.
"Let me try." Andrew interrupted the fight and stepped up. Espio studied him.
"You know some Ninjitsu. Why are you not with your master, completing your Journey?" He asked plainly… in ninja talk, which isn't plain at all. Andrew shifted slightly in front of his superior.
"He died while I was in mid-training. I cannot find another master."
"What? Who was your Sensi?"
"Master Goo."
"Oh, he was one of the best. I never knew he passed."
"No one else would take me after his passing. There are too many students and too few masters for them." Espio was thoughtful. He stared at Andrew, debating about something.
"Well, let me see your palm." Andrew gave him his hand, but not without question.
"Why, Teacher?"
"I want to Study it." Andrew's eyes widened.
"You know how to Read?"
"Yes. I met a Badger once." I hadn't understood the conversation up to this point, but suddenly I was more interested.
"A BADGER?" I yelled in astonishment, "But… THEY'RE EXTINCT! The ancient blacksmiths are gone!"
"Wrong. But I'm sworn to secrecy. I cannot tell you where they are, so don't ask… Your palm is interesting… Wait here." Espio jogged out the doors. Andrew stood there in amazement and joy. Badgers are pretty important. Everyone knows their legends and folklore. They could do almost anything with metal. They were the best of the best with machinery and weaponry. They could look at your palm and design the best weapon for you.
"How come he didn't read our palms?" Ruth asked as she pointed to herself and Morgan.
"He already knew what you needed. He wanted to confirm." Andrew answered. "See, I use ninja stars, but it is defiantly not what feels comfortable to me, and he knows that. Yesterday, when I hit Torque with one, I wanted to pin his pant leg to the couch, but that did not happen. I am not as accurate as I could be."
"Something I'm going to fix." Espio came back with a box. It was long, almost as tall as him. He placed it on the ground and opened it towards Andrew and way from us. Andrew gasped and carefully leaned down. As he stood back up, his new weapon became apparent. It looked almost like a double edged throwing knife, but the end was twisted like a corkscrew and the blade was only as long as his palm. He threw his new toy at the wall, but it was a side throw. His wrist twisted and he let go at the right time, sending it straight at an empty wall. It had somehow lodged itself perfectly in the wall. He went over and pulled it straight out, taking a circle of wood with him. He quickly cleaned it off and gapped at it.
"That… is… so…. COOL!" He yelled in excitement. Espio chuckled.
"My badger friend made it but didn't know what to do with it, so he gave it to me. I have no use for it, so it's yours now. See," he grabbed another from the box. "It has miniscule hooks running along the flat of the blade so that once it's in, it will do major damage on the way out. Here, try the gloves." The gloves were pure black that came with a white bracelet, like Espio's. I didn't get a clear look at them, so I can't tell you much more.
Andrew slipped them on and admired them. Suddenly, faster than any of us could see, there were 3 knives in the wall. I don't know how chameleons do that, and I don't know where the blades came from.
"I don't have the equipment now, but later we can duel using our blades. For now, let us have the next person." Espio interrupted his fascination. As Andrew removed the knives and joined us again with the box, Sterling volunteered next.
She was by far the funniest. Sterling thought in all her pride and vanity that she would somehow do better than the rest of us. She was completely wrong. Even after Espio gave her special gloves that had metal spikes on the back and holes in the fingertips for her claws, she still did horribly. We were still laughing hard as she stomped back to us.
Torque stepped up next. He was only a little less amusing. Even though he had boxed before, it didn't help him against the ninja. He constantly used his anger and strength to fight, over-extending himself. He was more vulnerable to Espio's tripping tactics. He did a little better after he got two brass knuckles and almost got Espio a couple of times. The fight stopped when he jumped on Torque's shoulders and Torque tried to beat him off, knocking himself out cold.
After he was dragged to the side, Cameron took his place. Espio suddenly got nervous, obviously knowing something of Andrew's over-protective problems. He knows a lot, somehow. Maybe Shadow told him. Andrew immediately leapt forward in front of her. His teeth were clenched.
"YOU. WILL. NOT. HURT. HER."
"Andrew! Calm down!" Cameron whispered from behind him.
"I cannot fight her, then, because I cannot guarantee she will be unharmed. Andrew, listen to-"
"NO!" He yelled back.
"ANDREW THOMAS EDWARDS!" Espio yelled, something I never thought he would do. Andrew calmed down. "If you do not let me do this, there will be no way she could defend herself without you!"
"I can teach her!"
"How can you teach her when you are still a mere pupil? You also know her power. She cannot even defend herself from herself. I can help her. Let me help her! She wants to make her curse a blessing that she can control. Look at her! Cameron wants to be taught that above all else. You cannot teach what you do not know. I have dealt with this before. Let me help you help her." Andrew debated it, but finally gave in. Cameron stepped up again, hope shining in her eyes.
"C-c-can you really f-f-f-fix my curse?"
"I can try. For today, I will try to find you another weapon of choice, in case you are caught in a wet place and cannot use lightning."
"Then I-i-i-i will do whatever it t-t-t-takes." They fought. She did better than everybody else who had fought so far, but only because she knew where her center of gravity was and her shell protected her. Espio was also being far easier on her then the rest. She never struck back, always defending herself. Andrew looked like he was in mortal pain, but he held through. Eventually, Cameron was given two small daggers. The sheaths were placed on her hips, but she could still curl into her ball with them out.
As she rejoined us, Andrew checked her for wounds, but found none, much to his relief.
Vincent ignored them and stepped up. He used his wings a lot, so he was never knocked off balance, but he took many hits as a result. His fighting style wasn't as graceful as Espio's or Morgan's, but it was effective anyway. It was almost as if he was trying to cut down on the fanciness of it. He was given a weapon that was virtually a hook with a handle since Espio knew about his bite. That way, he could grab someone and just chomp on them. Of course, he couldn't really do that to Espio because he would be dead, but I digress.
Carrie was next. She had obviously been a dancer or a gymnast because she was constantly on balance. There was nothing Espio could do to knock her down. She never threw a punch or a kick, but she was light footed. Espio gave her flails, which is a rod that had a chain and a spiky ball on the end.
When Barney stepped into the ring, Espio studied him first. As the fight went on, it was evident that Barney relied heavily on his feet for fighting. He always tried to strike with them. Espio gave him some shoes like cleats, except with longer spikes and non-dulling ends. He also had a blade coming from toes.
Kelki quickly got up and went into the fight. She was another one who knew nothing about brawling. She was faster than Torque, but just as strong, making for a strange combination. After knocking her down for the 8th time, our instructer gave her duel maces. They looked heavy, but Kelki treated them like little rattles. She suddenly switched from not knowing what to do to almost hitting Espio multiple times. I wasn't the only one who noticed.
"You are too dependent on your weapons. You must learn to fight hand to hand combat. You will not always have your maces to get you out of things. Have you fought with these before?" Kelki nodded. As she came back, I went forward. I was last, after all. I hated being any other place. I'm such a procrastinator.
"Now, you, I have been curious about." I stopped my musings.
"W-Wha?"
"I will tell you after. Now, let us begin." I was determined to at least do better than Sterling. As he got into his attack stance, I spread my feet apart. I waited for him to strike. He did. I was expecting something, but not something so violent. He used tripping tactics on everyone else with very few actual punches. No, of course not on me, though. Suddenly, he leapt forward with his fist outstretched, which I found slightly obvious. I had no idea what else to do, so I crouched down and swung my arm against his legs. He stepped on my arm, forcing me downward even more and hopped over me. I twirled around on my knees to find his foot headed to my face. I fell backward, with my back on the wood. He planted both of his feet back on the ground as I tried to get to my feet. I didn't do it properly. He kicked me back down, but I scrambled back before he could kick again. Well, at least I'm doing better than Sterling. I wasn't out of the clear yet, so I prepared myself. As we started again, I struck out first. I tried something a little more subtle then he did: both of my feet to his gut. He jumped out of the way of my attack and tried to hit me down with both of his hands. I blocked the majority of it, but I ended up on the wood again. I swung my legs in an effort to trip him. He planted his left foot and used his right to bump up my incoming legs. He grabbed one of my feet and twisted it counter clockwise. I thought he was going to break it. I used my free leg to hit his right while I twisted myself over on my stomach. He almost fell, but caught himself. I hopped up on both of my feet, but his fist hit my sternum, knocking the breath out of me and causing me to fall. He stood over me, looking down.
"You are a strange one." I looked at him quizzically as he continued. "Well, you have no powers. You are strong, but not strong enough for something like a mace or hammer. You are fast on your feet, but not fast like… someone I know. You are flexible and kind of graceful, but not like someone who has fought before. You have no Chaos abilities (that I know of). The one thing that you are extraordinary at is how fast you react. Your reactions are amazing. Did you take a class or something?" Feeling a lot better, I stood and answered him.
"No. I used to do tricking, if that's what you're wondering."
"…What?"
"It's basically doing a bunch of sweet moves that look like fighting moves, but aren't."
"No, you would not develop such reflexes from that. To be able to almost punch Shadow in the face is a feat in itself, but you also had me earlier, even with both of your hands taken. I did notice that when one foot went up, your other one tried to also. That was also your problem just then. I suspect that's from your board, but that's a habit that easy to fix."
"Yeah, I knew the double feet thing. But my reactions were normal."
"Oh no, they weren't!" Kelki yelled. I looked back the group. They were all staring at me, mouths open.
"IT WAS LIKE THE MATRIX! WHAT WAS THAT?" Ruth asked. I was about to answer when I saw something out of the corner of my vision. I couldn't stop it.
THWACK! Was the sound a piece of rubber made when it came across my face.
"See, that's the other thing. If you are not ready for it or in a fighting mode, you cannot stop it… strange." Espio wondered as he threw the rubber/foam pole back to where it was before. I glared at him as I rubbed my sore nose. "I think that's an easy fix, too. All I have to teach you is to always be ready."
"Uh, what are you talking about?" Vincent interrupted, "Samantha never fought Shadow, and she never had 'both of her hands taken'."
"That was earlier during the Chaos Control time." I answered. "Don't ask. Anyway, this is all interesting (and a little goofy), but do I get a special weapon, too?" SWEET!
"Well, I do not know what to give you." My face fell. "I could just give you a hover board as much as I would hate to, or I could give you something well rounded, like a sword. Wait. Let me read your palm." I looked at him suspiciously.
"Isn't that a chameleon thing?"
"No, it can be used on anyone. Come on." I sighed as I gave him my hand as I ungloved it. He examined it, poking and prodding, as if my paw had the hidden answers to everything. Not finding the answers, he examined up my arm. I looked at him strangely, but he wasn't looking at my face. I switched my gaze elsewhere. He suddenly dropped it like it was hot lava and jogged back out. I stared after him and shrugged.
"OK, that was strange…"
"Seriously, Samantha, that was SCARY!" Kelki squeaked.
"Well, I wouldn't say that… chameleons just do tha-"
"That's not what she's talking about!" Vincent cried. I looked at him quizzically. "You were going so fast! I mean, his very first punch wasn't that fast, but you ducked and swung and he stepped on you-and-and then-"
"What Vincent is attempting to say is that you do not look like you could do anything like that, but I think you are the fastest out of everyone here. I think even faster then I am." Andrew stated calmly. My mouth was gaping. What? No, I don't. Andrew continued, "You actually fought longer than 3 seconds against him, and I could tell he was trying. If you had real training, you could be unstoppable." I digested this when Espio came back with another box, but this one was much shorter and thicker. He opened it and I saw something that looked like gloves. I slipped off my gloves in anticipation.
They were long, probably going almost to my elbows. They were as black as coal. I felt them as I slipped them on. It laced up on the underside of my arm, but there was a flap to cover it so that there were no gaps for injury. It was a hard metal with some sort of comfortable fabric on the inside. The wrist was the same fabric so I could twist it any way I wanted. The back of my hand had the same material used to protect my arms. My palm had the fabric so that I could move comfortably, but I guessed that it wouldn't be easy to cut. I felt that there was something in the flats of my fingers (maybe the metal) and fabric on the knuckles.
"This is what you need. Nothing else," Espio said excitedly. "I think you do have a power. Your brain works faster when you focus hard, or when you're in danger."
"No, I don't have powers!" I laughed incredulously. "That's ridiculous."
"I am afraid it is not." Shadow walked in, much to everyone's surprise and discomfort. "I noticed the same thing. The fact that you almost struck me in the face proves it. I don't have a broken nose because I was made for such things." I moaned.
"Not you, too! For Pete's sake, I don't have powers!"
"I will prove it to you." Shadow answered. "Fight me."
There was a collective gasp. My eyes widened.
"Uh, no. You nearly killed me, what, 3 times now? That's like tempting death again!"
"I promise I will not kill you. Is that better?" Shadow asked sarcastically.
"… NO!"
"Fine. I will just have to force you into one." As he said this, he was two feet away. His massive fist went for my face, but I was ready. I leaned way to the side and struck out with my left hand. Suddenly, a blade shot from the hard plate on the back. I didn't get how a three inch blade could emerge from it, but I was shocked. Shadow was shocked, too, and thought it was on purpose. His eyes lit again, and I knew I wasn't dodging what came next. Truthfully, I didn't attempt. He grabbed my left wrist and pulled me into his knee, knocking the breath out of me and possibly giving me a bruise for the duration of my stay. I fell to my knees, unable to draw breath. It was much worse then what Espio had done. He stood over me, and I felt daggers in the back of my head.
"I promised you I would not kill you, and you try to kill me?" I tried to defend myself against the accusations, but I couldn't operate my lungs. I raised a finger until I could speak, but Espio spoke instead.
"I never told her those were there. That was an accident…"
"Besides," I smiled cheekily from my knees while I looked up at him, "I… (gasp) never agreed."
"Alright, fine. A no weapons fight. I will refrain from using any of my weapons, and you have to take those things off." I glared at him. As much as I wanted to say no, I knew that there was no way he would let me. I stood, finally back to normal (maybe). My anger flooded me from not getting a choice in this again. Who does he think he is? King? Well, I'll never say, "All hail, Shadow"!
"FINE!" I was feeling much better. I ripped them off and placed them back into the box carefully. I made the first move while he was unawares, but apparently, he was perfectly aware. I turned, ran, and slid to his legs, but he sidestepped and tried to kick me. I caught his foot and pulled him off balance, but he recovered. He tried to get his foot free, but I did the same move Espio did. I twisted it counter-clockwise. I obviously didn't remember that it didn't work for him at the time. He used the momentum from my twisting to lift his other foot and lash out at my face. I let go and blocked with my arms, but I felt and heard snapping noises as it hit. My hands went limp, and the pain and surprise got to me.
"AHH! WHY DO YOU KEEP HURTING ME?" I screamed up at him. I took a good look at my arms. I couldn't lift them. In the middle of where my protection WOULD have been, there was an elbow. Mind you, I already had one on both arms. I wasn't even surprised or scared. I was mad. REALLY MAD.
"SHADOW! WHAT DID YOU DO TO SAM BABY?" Rouge have already been on her way, because somehow, she was right next to me. She saw my eyes. I don't know how they looked, but I bet it had some sort of fire that only black coal could make. She, in turn, glared at Shadow with some sort of fire that only emerald could make. I guess she liked me. She pointed to me and said two words.
"FIX. HER." Shadow sighed.
"It is going to be painful…" Since all he received was more glares, he gave up and fixed me. He took one of my arms and examined it. Now, I had never broken a bone, so I had no idea what was coming. If you have, please, feel free to laugh at my ignorance. "It was a clean break. No shattered bits. Now all I have to do-"
SNAP!
"AHHHHHHH!"
"-is set it. I told you it would be-"
SNAP!
"AHHHHHHH!"
"painful." Shadow the Hedgehog is the biggest jerk to ever grace this planet. I was crying now, convulsing in pain. My arms were straight again, but that hurt so BAD. It STILL hurt, by golly! I closed my eyes to keep back as many tears as possible. I had them closed for a while, sobbing at my ill fortune and agony.
Suddenly, I could feel my fingers. I opened my eyes and looked down. I twisted my wrists, completely amazed. Then I looked at where the break was. It looked like nothing had happened. The only evidence was a little red dot. Shots. Before I could get extremely angry and sick, I heard a question that made my blood run cold.
"Where's Ruth?" Morgan asked in panic. I sat up and looked around. My partner was nowhere. I turned my gaze to Shadow, who was expressionless again.
"Gone." He said, "10 more contestants. 9 more disappearances."
OOOO scary. You see, someone told me that Sam seems like a Mary Sue, but I disagree now. I have too much fun putting her through pain! (evil grin) In case you wondered, yes, I have broken a bone. I broke my toe, but I never set it. To this day, it's crooked. REVIEW! BTW, this is the longest chapter yet. And the disclaimer is a loser.
