Mistakes of the Great Beings
26. Saurian teachings
"Okay, love dove, the idea is simple: I try to kill you, you try to survive. Can your air-filled head understand that?" Nightmare said with a sneer an hour after she had dragged Minako from her bed. The Senshi of Love had taken as much time as possible while in the bathroom and during breakfast, trying to stall as long as she could. But finally Nightmare had lost what little patience she had left and had literally chased her human guide outside. Now they stood in Minako's small garden, facing each other. Artemis was watching from a tree.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Minako quickly stammered, eyes wide with panic. "What do you mean try to kill me?!"
The Saurian of Fear merely raised one eyebrow. "Exactly what I'm saying. Don't tell me you thought the Saurians you've fought so far weren't trying to kill you!" Nightmare let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head in disbelief. "If I'm going to knock some experience into you, the best way is to simply fight like we would in a real battle. Got that?"
"But we're only practicing!" Minako whined.
Nightmare ignored her and unsheathed her Terror Katana with one swift movement. The naked blade of her weapon glowed red with the power of Fear. An amused grin appeared on the Saurian's face, and she got an almost feral look in her eyes.
"Don't think for even a moment that I will hold back, love dove. I'll fight you like any Saurian would, which means I'm going in for the kill!"
That being said, the transformed girl let out a chilling hiss and stormed towards the panicking blonde, who turned around and started running as soon as reality sank in. Screaming, Minako fled behind the tree Artemis was sitting in.
"Artemis, she's serious!" the Senshi of Love cried out in disbelief, just as blasts of Fear sailed past her. Yelping, Minako pressed herself closer to the tree.
"I know she is!" the cat replied.
"Well, what should I do?!"
"Fight back, of course!" Artemis sighed, not believing that his owner hadn't thought of that herself. "If she's going to be serious, you have to be, too! So henshin!"
"Right!" Minako agreed, her facial expression turning serious. Clenching her fist in determination, she raised her other hand and shouted: "Venus crystal power, make up!"
There was a flash of golden light, and then Sailor Venus stood where Minako Aino had been just a few seconds before. Steeling herself, the Senshi of Love came from behind the tree, and out of hiding.
"Now we're getting somewhere!" Nightmare said with a smirk. "Seems you've learned lesson one: never be a coward! Now let's see if you can fight!"
The disguised Saurian charged at her human guide again, but this time Venus was ready, or so she believed. Calling upon her power, she threw her love-me chain at her guest, in an effort to trap her and stop this nonsense before anybody could get hurt. Nightmare, however, was not a foe that could be defeated so easily, proven when she knocked the golden chain out of the way with a simple swipe of her Terror Katana. The red glow of the weapon increased as its wielder called upon her own power, and unleashed a blast of pure fear at Sailor Venus. The transformed Minako dodged the blast easily enough, and retaliated with her Love and Beauty Shock. Her jaw dropped, however, when Nightmare countered and dispelled the attack with her power of fear.
"Love and light can easily be dispelled and undone by fear, love dove," Nightmare explained upon seeing Venus' dropped jaw. "Don't think your attacks are invincible and indestructible, or you'll be in for a nasty surprise like now. Any attack can be countered or dispelled, most of all by its polar opposite."
Hearing this, Sailor Venus thought back to last night, and how Jutlin the Corrupt had been able to prevent any attacks from hitting him by using his own power to corrupt everything thrown at him. She realized that she shouldn't have thought that only an Immoral One would be capable of this because of their immoral powers. For as she just witnessed, a normal Saurian like Nightmare was more than capable of doing the same thing.
"I see a light has dawned," Nightmare noted rather sarcastically. "Perhaps your head isn't as empty as I thought. Just now you realized that you underestimated me, no?" When Minako grudgingly and slightly embarrassed nodded, the Saurian of Fear smiled approvingly. "Lesson two: never underestimate your opponent, learned then, I hope?" Almost as an afterthought, Nightmare added: "I say it is always better to overestimate your opponent than underestimate him, because overestimating will keep you on your toes. Underestimating will make you as reckless as that dimwit Chameleon who calls himself my brother. Ideally, of course, you neither over or underestimate a foe, but judge his power and level of threat correctly."
"And you always do this?" Venus asked with a frown. She could even begin to imagine Nightmare doing something as logical as analyzing her foe in the heat of battle. Certainly not with that temper of her.
"Of course I don't," the transformed girl said with a careless shrug. "Gravitas does it for us."
Minako almost fell over and she stared incredulously at her 'teacher'. "Then why are you telling me this?! When we fight, we rely on Ami to analyze things for us!"
"That may be," Nightmare replied calmly. "But what if Ami isn't there? You needed to know what I just taught you regardless, for when you're on your own."
"And when you are on your own, do you listen to your own advice?" the Senshi of Love inquired, sounding suspicious. Her suspicions were proven when the Saurian of Fear shook her head, grinning madly as she did so.
"Nope, but why should I? I'm not weak like you Sailor Senshi. I can defend myself, both in ranged and close combat. But can you?!"
As she shouted those words, Nightmare once again charged at Sailor Venus. Catching the human blonde off guard, she managed to get close enough to use melee attacks before Venus had the chance to react or dodge. Minako's fears of getting sliced to pieces were unnecessary, however, as Nightmare showed the goodness in her heart by merely striking Venus with the flat of her blade, giving the Senshi of Love only a big bruise. As Minako fell to the ground, Nightmare retreated a few steps and sighed.
"See what I mean? That was absolutely pathetic. You allowed yourself to be caught off guard, and so I could close in and strike. Had this been a real battle, you would have been gutted, love dove. And you would have deserved to be, too."
Minako just kept staring and thought: "She's goddamn right..." It always happened so that all the enemies they'd faced before the Saurians, except for some of the mindless youma, used ranged combat and magic. It was never necessary to engage in close combat... But now the need has arrived. "Alright. Stop fooling around and remember your days as Sailor V. Alone back then, alone now. Focus."
She stood up and held her Love Me Chain firmly.
"Bring it on."
A terrifying smirk crept on Nightmare's face. "As you wish…"
The disguised user of fear unleashed a wide blast of her power, but Venus countered it with her Love and Beauty Shock. If her attacks could be dispelled, then so could Nightmare's. And she was right, as the blast of fear vanished when it clashed with her own power. Still, the Senshi of Love knew now that she didn't have time to gloat over that discovery, her opponent wasn't deterred at all and continued the fight as if nothing had happened. Gloating now would only create an opening for Nightmare to strike. She threw her Love Me Chain at the younger girl, only to find it parried by the Terror Katana.
Unbeknownst to Venus, Nightmare was pleased, if only a little. It seemed to her that the Senshi of Love had learned her lesson and was now, somehow, determined to fight and win. Of course, Nightmare had no intention whatsoever to allow that. No, determination wasn't everything, she knew that. No matter how sure of herself Venus was now, Nightmare still had more experience, and thus, the upper hand. She had far more tricks up her sleeve than her opponent suspected, while Nightmare was sure she had seen almost the entire arsenal of attacks Venus possessed. That was another weakness the Senshi had, at least in her eyes: a too limited array of attacks. In battle, you had to be capable of changing strategy and attacks in an instant. It could mean life or death.
Again, Nightmare charged, only to get another Love and Beauty Shock fired at her. Smirking, she raised her katana before her and let it brim with fear. With the weapon that glowed red now, she charged straight through the blast as if it wasn't there at all. Venus was surprised, but only a little, and immediately fired another attack. A wise decision, Nightmare decided, and she was pleased that her opponent was less easily stunned now. But she was still too slow! Knocking the attack aside once again with her powers, the Saurian of Fear closed in on Venus. She readied her Terror Katana for a strike through flesh. Sailor Venus raised her Love Me Chain to catch the blow with, but that was exactly what Nightmare had predicted she would do. With a simple leap, she jumped over Venus, blasted her with fear while in midair, and then landed again on her two feet behind the Senshi of Love. A swift move, and the Terror Katana was pressed against Minako's throat.
"I win," Nightmare declared with satisfaction and delight.
Minako gulped. "Good thing she's not really my enemy..." Although she did fare better than last time. But in real battle this wouldn't do...
She just had to figure out something... Nightmare had those power beams...
"Hmm... What if...? Yes. Yes, it might do the trick. The chain is just condensed magic energy. If I control and manipulate that energy, I can change my chain into anything!" She has never tried that before, but nothing she knew how to do so far was enough.
"Um, Nightmare? You can remove the katana from my throat now, I get the point." Minako said. The Saurian grinned and did so.
Minako rubbed her throat. "Okay, I have an idea how to improve my combat, but I need to train alone for a while. I've never tried such things before."
Nightmare shrugged, and almost reluctantly removed her katana from Minako's throat. Quietly she sheathed it, then looked at her defeated opponent thoughtfully. She wasn't really sure what Minako had in mind, but if she thought she could improve, well, it might be best to let her continue to think like that. She turned around and started walking back to the house.
"Suit yourself. I'll be inside if you need me to kick your sorry behind again, love dove," the Saurian of Fear said with a sneer. Then, on a slightly softer tone, she added: "And that wasn't as big a disaster as I thought it would be. Not many ever succeeded in dispelling my fear, love dove."
With that said, she vanished into the house, leaving Minako by herself.
Minako, just to be sure, turned the other way round and studied her chain. "After all... Chain can be used not only as a whip... Let's see if I can make a kusarigama out of this." She smiled and focused. "And once I make the blade, it'd be easier to make energy waves..."
"Change your stance! You're not holding that to use it as a magic wand! It's a weapon, meant to strike and parry, so remember to hold it like that. And to hold it like a weapon comfortably, you need a stance that is ready for physical combat," the voice of Traveller instructed, sternly but gently. Her pupil, Sailor Saturn, was having it less difficult and far less extreme than a certain Senshi of Love. Traveller was a patient teacher, apparently, and Ignika was there to lend advice as well. The other three Outer Senshi watched as their daughter was being taught how to use her Silence Glaive as a weapon for close combat, instead of just a tool to channel her power through.
"Place your feet a bit further from each other, Hotaru," Ignika added from where he was standing, leaning on his Death Scythe. "That'll allow you stand more firmly on your feet. You can catch a physical blow much better that way, and you're less likely to fall or get unbalanced."
Sailor Saturn did as she was instructed, but it was at all not easy. The stances and the ways of holding her Silence Glaive were so different than what she was used to. She found herself constantly falling back into her old habits and ways, yet to her relief neither of her teachers had lost their patience yet. Once she had gotten in a correct stance, Traveller nodded approvingly.
"Good, your stance is correct. I think it is best if I teach you how to parry first, as defense against physical attacks is what you Senshi could use most for the moment…" the Saurian of Teleportation muttered, more to herself than to Hotaru. "Now remember, Hotaru, your glaive is a weapon for close combat, however, because it is a polearm, it still allows you to keep a greater distance between yourself and your foe than say, a sword does. This is a great advantage, however, the downside is that a polearm almost always demands two-handed usage, which limits mobility and speed. You have to keep this in mind, is that understood?"
The Soldier of Death and Rebirth nervously nodded once, but said nothing. She wished they didn't have so many spectators, it wouldn't embarrass her so should she do something stupid.
"Well then, let's move on," Traveller continued. With a simple motion of her hand, she summoned her dual headed trident to it. "The main difference between my trident and your glaive are the attack methods. A trident jabs, a glaive strikes, at least in the Saurian way. It is important to know this, as a different methods requires a different way of parrying. It is far more difficult to stop a stabbing weapon with a parry meant for one that slices. As we have two kinds of weapons here, my trident and Ignika's scythe, I'll teach you how to defend yourself against these two first."
She mentioned Ignika to come over, which the Child of Life eagerly did. He knew what Traveller wanted to do, and didn't mind helping out. The oldest of the Saurian family addressed Sailor Saturn again: "Now, though different, Ignika's scythe and your glaive are both weapons that slice. The way to parry a stab from mine is thus the same. Observe well, Hotaru."
Traveller attacked her little brother with a jab from her trident, as she had said she would. Ignika expertly blocked his sister's weapon with a strike of his own. The blade of his scythe caught the head of the trident coming at him, and knocked it out of the way, pinning it down to the ground. Ignika then used the opportunity to deliver a gentle kick in his sister's stomach. As this was merely a demonstration, Traveller wasn't hurt at all. She merely smiled gratefully at her brother, and reclaimed her weapon.
"A weapon that stabs has force coming from behind it, force that drives it forward," Traveller explained to the attentive group of Outer Senshi. "Because of this, a blow from a weapon that slices can easily knock the stabbing weapon off course. The most effective way to parry a weapon like my trident is, like Ignika demonstrated, to catch it with your own blade while striking it downwards. Always make sure to strike downwards! That way, you have gravity on your side, making it easier."
Hotaru nodded again, making sure all she was being taught stuck in her head. She remembered all too well the feeling of Jutlin the Corrupt his blades ripping through her chest, and the pain of the corrupted wounds that followed. She had no desire to ever feel that again, and vowed to herself to become good enough at using her glaive to prevent such disasters in the future.
The following hour Traveller and Ignika instructed the Soldier of Ruin patiently and expertly how to defend herself against their attacks. They explained and taught her the defensive moves one by one, had her practice them on her own first, then later had her use them against her tutors' weapons. Lastly, Traveller switched to a slightly higher gear and challenged Hotaru to a small fight. Of course the Saurian of Teleportation held back during it, but even so Sailor Saturn found herself disarmed rather quickly, to her great disappointment.
"Don't be angry with yourself," Traveller told the young Senshi as she retrieved the Silence Glaive from the ground and handed it back to its owner. "You really can't expect to be able to beat me after just an hour of practice, while I've been practicing and fighting for thousand years."
She smiled and gently squeezed Saturn's shoulder. "You weren't disarmed as soon as the first strike, that's a great improvement already, if what Gravitas told me is true. So if we keep this up and train an hour every day, you'll be able to keep the likes of Jutlin off your body within a month already, I assure you."
"My sister's right," Ignika added with a bright smile. "Sure, you won't be an expert yet, but you'll know enough to stay alive in close combat long enough for close combat help – that's us – to arrive. So don't feel bad too much, Hotaru."
The purple-eyed Senshi returned the youngest Saurian's smile. "Thank you, Ignika. And you Traveller."
"You're quite welcome," Ignika's oldest sister replied. "It's the least I can do after all you did for my little brother. But let's take a break now, shall we?"
"Alright." Hotaru smiled. She undid her transformation and went over to her parents.
Haruka put her hands on her child's shoulders and smiled. "You did well, hime."
"Thanks." The dark-haired girl looked at her parents, relieved that they found her performance good.
"So, what shall we do now?" Ignika asked.
Michiru came over to them. "Me and Haruka have been thinking... And we decided it's time for your sister to learn to do something, too." She glanced playfully at the older Saurian. "Let's go inside, there's music waiting to be played."
Despite having lived a thousand years, Traveller felt her heart skip a beat. She eagerly followed Michiru to the house, followed by Haruka and Ignika.
Next chapter: Human arts!
Review replies:
SoulLoss: I see, thanks for explaining. It has to be said, though, that coming up with chapter titles can be the hardest part about writing a chapter, and sometimes by the time I have to update I still don't have a title, and then I have no choice but to go for an obvious if predictable title. My apologies.