Chapter 11 - The Swords Session
"You are sure?...Alright, I'll guess we'll have to make due..." Major Sharpe hung up the phone just as one of his other staff came in. "Report."
"Lt. Johnson appears to be progressing well, Sir," the officer said. "He is anxious to know when he'll begin his swordsmanship training."
"Well, we had planned to have the training begin tomorrow, but that could be difficult," Sharpe said. "Due to the 9/11 disaster, most of our training staff is already on call training our troops. However, there might be one chance..."
"What's that, Sir?"
Sharpe looked up at the officer and said, "I need you to go to the Masaki residence on Ani-Earth and look for two people...specifically, Tenchi Masaki and Ryoko. Are you familiar with them?"
"Somewhat," the officer answered, "I have a daughter that's a fan of anime."
"Good, then you should recognize them," Sharpe said. "See if either of them are willing to help train our man in sword fighting."
"Yes, Sir!" the officer said with a salute, and left the office upon being dismissed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That evening proved to be more somber than the night before at the Larson Clan home. Sasha decided to go to bed early, and Mary was busy talking to Amy about what happened at the Masaki residence. Meanwhile, Anthony was talking with Jenna and Lars about what was to take place tomorrow.
"Tomorrow, the two of you will be engaging in swords training," Anthony said. "Lars, I think you'll find this easy since you've already had some weaponry training."
"Will Amy be joining us?" Lars asked. "I mean...despite what happened..."
"No, I don't think Amy will be joining us," Anthony said. "Her mother may decide to keep her behind this time, and I don't want any further encouragement to happen. I'm beginning to think that making her my apprentice may have been a mistake..."
"I disagree," Jenna said. "I think you did a wonderful job with her, despite what happened on Ani-Earth."
"Yeah, but I'm worried again," Anthony said. "I almost wonder whether she's beginning to idolize me a bit too much to do the stunt she did..."
"Well, I'm sure she'll have forgotten about it in the morning," Lars said, and then turned towards the stairway. "Well, I'd better get to bed..."
"I'd better go as well," Jenna said. "Good night, Anthony!"
"Good night, guys," Anthony said.
As the two headed upstairs, they noticed Mary coming down and asking them where Anthony was. After telling her, they watched as Mary headed downstairs, and both wondered what was going on.
Mary walked into the sitting room where Anthony was pacing and trying to figure out what to tell Amy. "Anthony," Mary said, getting Anthony's attention, "can we talk?"
"Of course," Anthony replied, and motioned towards a couple of chairs where they both sat down. "I don't need my psionics to tell me that this is about Amy..."
"It is," Mary said. "Anthony...Amy told me why she had those two boys teach her about fighting..."
"Let me guess...she was trying to be more like my apprentice, right?" Anthony said. He was surprised when Mary shook her head.
"Not...exactly," Mary said. "Before you even came to Arcadia, she told me how her past attempts at being a Freedom Fighter were less than successful, even causing some of her friends to be captured. At one point, she had even run away because she had felt useless." (A/N: "Forgiveness - An Arcadian Prequel", another of my stories, covers this.)
Anthony then realized what she was saying. "Then...the only reason she wanted to learn, was so she could feel like she could help Arcadia?" After Mary nodded, Anthony then said, "Oh man...poor girl...and I had to berate her for what she did too. I am SUCH an idiot..."
"You had no way of knowing, Anthony," Mary said. "Don't blame yourself."
"Alright..." Anthony said, "though I wish I knew how to make her feel better..." It was then that Anthony was struck with inspiration. "Mary...I have an idea...is Amy still awake?"
"No, she's already asleep..." Mary said.
"Then I'll tell her tomorrow morning," Anthony said. "Here's what I want to ask you..."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amy woke up the next morning, feeling like she didn't want to wake up. She had messed up yesterday, and she knew it. She was also embarrassed because she had to tell her mother why she did it as well. After getting dressed, putting on one of her regular red dresses instead of her apprentice's uniform, she walked downstairs and joined the others for breakfast in the sitting room.
As she walked in, Anthony could sense the sadness coming from her, and decided the time was now. "Amy, why aren't you in your apprentice uniform?"
"I don't deserve to wear it," Amy said sadly. "Especially after yesterday..."
"A pity," Anthony said, keeping as non-chalant as possible. "Especially since I planned to continue your apprenticeship when you join Jenna and Lars for swords training."
Amy's eyes widened upon hearing that, and when she looked at Anthony, he continued. "Mary told me what you said...and I figured you deserved a chance to learn a little more. Besides...you ARE my apprentice, and Mary has given me permission to give you full training."
Amy ran forward and grabbed Anthony in a massive hug, crying tears of joy. The scene caused the others in the room to smile. After a while, Amy let go, wiped a few tears away, and whispered a thank you to Anthony.
"It was nothing," Anthony said. "Now, why don't you run upstairs and get that uniform of yours on?"
Amy nodded happily and ran back towards her room. As she did that, Sasha looked at Anthony and said, "Well, aren't you just the sweetheart..."
"Hey, if I'm going to make her my apprentice, I might as well go all the way," Anthony said, and then turned towards Jenna and Lars. "Once she comes back down, we can head for our next location."
"Where are we headed next?" Lars asked.
"The Hyrule Kingdom Palace," Anthony said. "Link and Zelda will actually be teaching you two while I give Amy some pointers."
"I swear...all these palaces..." Jenna said.
"Hey, friends in high places, remember?" Anthony said, and noticed Amy run down with her apprentice uniform on and one of the biggest smiles on her face. "Alright," Anthony said once Amy joined the group, "let's head to Hyrule!"
Anthony, Amy, Sasha, Lars, and Jenna then headed towards the transit gates.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So, you want me to teach this soldier how to wield a sword, huh?"
Ryoko couldn't believe Sharpe's request, even though the idea of being considered an expert by the military was appealing to her.
"That is correct," Sharpe said. "Naturally, we intend to compensate you for your troubles..."
"Ah, I've stolen more in the past than you can offer," Ryoko said. "Still, knowing your military budget, I could probably be interested. Alright, let's see this second Gamemaster you want me to train."
Sharpe led Ryoko to an area where Alec was busy throwing a few punches on a large punching bag. He was rapidly firing punches onto the bag, causing the bag to vibrate from the speed. He then finished of with a Force Blast power which rocketed the bag off its hook.
Ryoko couldn't help but stare at the fine specimen of soldier she was observing. She then turned towards Sharpe and said, "On second thought...this one's on me..."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anthony led his students into a large courtyard that was located inside the palace. Anthony was surprised that it looked like the same courtyard he saw in the game "Ocarina of Time", even down to where the throne room was located. He noticed Link and Zelda waiting at the end of the courtyard next to a table which had several cylindrical objects which looked like lightsabers on it.
"Anthony!" Link said, greeting his fellow hero and waving.
"Hi there Link and Zelda," Anthony said, and then motioned for Jenna and Lars to step forward. "These are my students, Jenna Larson and Lars Olson."
"A pleasure to meet the two of you," Zelda said, shaking the hand of Jenna.
"The pleasure is all ours, your highness," Jenna said, still not believing she was meeting Zelda in person.
"Please, none of the formalities," Zelda said. "Any relative of Anthony is a friend of ours. Just call me Zelda."
"Of course," Lars said, after shaking Link's hand. "Um, if you don't mind me asking...which Link and Zelda are you?"
"Ah, you're referring to the games on Earth," Link said. "Actually, we have played them all. Zelda and I are the ones from the regular NES game, Adventure of Link."
"So...Ganon is gone for good then..." Lars mused.
"That's right, Lars," Anthony said, and then turned his attention towards the lightsabers. "Um, Link? Are you sure lightsabers are the best things to use for swords practice?"
"Oh...these are special lightsabers developed by Doctor Light and Washu," Link said, and activated one of them, causing an orangish beam to appear. "These are practice sabers which are designed for practice fights. They can't cut through anything." Link demonstrated by sending the beam through the table, and later through his leg. Neither, thankfully, were sliced by beam. Anthony also noticed that the beam turned red as they passed through.
"Cool!" Anthony said. "I guess the color change means a hit was scored. But, how can you practice parrying with these?"
"Simple, they were designed to only be blocked by each others' beams," Zelda explained, activating another lightsaber. She then engaged in a practice fight with Link using the lightsabers, and Anthony and his students noticed the beams were blocking each other.
"Nice!" Jenna said. "But, why am I tempted to say 'Use the Force'?"
Anthony shot Jenna a look. "Actually Force powers and psionics are somewhat similar, Jenna. Alright, Jenna and Lars, Link and Zelda will now begin your lessons. Lars, you're with Link. Jenna, with Zelda."
After all four that were mentioned paired up and readied themselves to practice, Anthony picked up a couple of practice lightsabers from the table. He then called out, "Amy!"
Amy looked up and caught the practice lightsaber that was tossed to her by Anthony. The two then walked over to another portion of the field while Sasha sat down nearby to watch.
As Anthony and Amy got ready, Amy looked up at Anthony and said, "Anthony...I can't thank you enough for giving me another chance..."
"You deserved it," Anthony said. "You are my apprentice after all. One other thing, Ames..."
"Yeah?"
Anthony smiled warmly and continued. "Whatever happened in the past, you are not useless. Hell, if it weren't for you...the Dark Gamemaster would've beaten me that one time."
Amy smiled, holding back a few tears of joy, and said, "Thank you, Anthony."
Anthony smirked and activated his practice lightsaber. "Let us begin..."
Amy nodded and activated her own practice lightsaber, and the two moved towards each other...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"WHOA!!!" Link said as he found himself dodging several slashes from Lars. He was surprised at how well Lars was using the practice lightsaber. After asking Lars to stop briefly, he asked, "How long have you been trained in weapons fighting, Lars?"
"Since I was twelve," Lars said, "and since I'm in my thirties now..."
"Sheesh, you could teach ME some tricks!" Link said.
"Wow, I'm honored!" Lars said, and then got back into a fighting stance. "Shall we continue?"
Link nodded and thought to himself, "Sure, but who's teaching who?" He then got into a fighting stance and the two continued to duel.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"It's alright, Jenna...you're doing well!"
Jenna was having a hard time with her sword fighting. Her martial arts training didn't cover weapons training. Still, she managed something of a defense against Zelda during her training, but was still struggling.
"Zelda..." Jenna asked with a bit of inspiration, "can I try something?"
"Sure," Zelda said. "What did you have in mind?"
"Well, I wasn't trained in weapons fighting," Jenna said, "but can I throw in a few martial arts moves as well?"
"Of course," Zelda said. "You don't just have to fight with the sword...especially if the situation is desperate enough." Zelda then went into a fighting stance again. "Are you ready?"
"Yes," Jenna said, "but are you ready?" As Jenna advanced and Zelda readied for her attack, Jenna suddenly jumped over Zelda, flipped, and sent a slash towards Zelda with the practice lightsaber which connected with Zelda's shoulder, turning the blade red to indicate a hit.
"Whoa..." Zelda said. "Nice work, Jenna!"
"Thanks," Jenna said. "I guess I have to work with what I know."
"At least you have an advantage over Anthony," Zelda said. "He didn't have any training in fighting when he started his adventures."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, as Anthony's students were excelling in their swordplay, Ryoko was finding the skills of Alec to be quite impressive. The two dueled using practice lightsabers of their own (even though Ryoko would have preferred to use the real thing), and Ryoko was surprised at how well he could handle a weapon. Still, she knew that his military training might have had something to do with that. However, during their duel, Ryoko noticed something strange about Alec as the two of them fought...
Alec seemed to be enjoying the fight...and this worried her.
After they had stopped, Ryoko said, "Not bad, kid. You sure you weren't trained in sword fighting prior to us meeting?"
"Well, I think my psionics training had to do with that," Alec said. "Speaking of which, it's time for my next treatment."
"Treatment, huh?" Ryoko said, and watched as an officer walked in carrying a large bottle of pills. That officer in turn was followed by T-Bone.
"Your treatment, sir," the officer said, handing Alec one of the pills and a glass of water. As Alec took the pill, Ryoko took T-Bone aside to talk to him.
"T-Bone, we need to talk..." Ryoko said.
"What is it?" T-Bone said.
"I think something's up with Alec," Ryoko said. "He almost seemed to be enjoying the fight we were having."
"Ah, that's nothing," T-Bone said. "I was told he had a competitive spirit, so he was probably just enjoying the melee for that reason."
"I hope you're right," Ryoko said. "The last thing we need is a psychotic with Anthony's powers..."
"Miss Ryoko," Alec said, getting Ryoko's attention, "are we finished or do you need to work with me more?"
"We're done, Alec," Ryoko said. "Personally, I didn't even think you needed to be worked with."
"Very well," Alec said, and then turned towards T-Bone. "Sir, are you here for my report?"
T-Bone nodded and began to get the report from Alec. As that was taking place, Ryoko used her thieving skills to pilfer a pill from the bottle that the other officer was taking out of the training area.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three tired students sat on the grass of the courtyard, exhausted from their sword fights. Zelda had one of the servants bring some refreshment, and Link leaned against the wall to hide his own fatigue.
Anthony was pleased with the performance of all three, and was particularly surprised at how Amy did. He knew she had some practice with weapons previously during Robotnik's reign, but that was with a hammer and crossbow. Still, the hammer practice seemed to give her some familiarity with melee fighting.
"I must say I'm proud of all three of you," Anthony said, as he and Sasha sat down in the grass with them. "You're progressing very fast with your training, in fact we just have one more bit of training that needs to be taken care of before you are completed."
"What is that?" Jenna asked.
"Simple...you are going to be equipped...with THIS," Anthony said, patting his hand on his armor.
Jenna and Lars's eyes widened after hearing that. "You're going to give us armor like yours?!?" Lars asked, surprised.
"Yes," Anthony said, "since you may be called upon to take my place if needed, I figure you should be similarly equipped. After you receive your armor, I'll be teaching you how to use it as well as show you the activate the devices within."
"Sounds like fun!" Jenna said.
As the servants brought in the refreshments, Anthony saw T-Bone come into the courtyard area. "Hey there, T-Bone!" Anthony said, standing up. "How's Alec progressing?"
"Awesomely, Anth!" T-Bone said. "He just finished his sword training...and the military somehow convinced RYOKO to train him!"
"Ryoko?!?" Anthony said, surprised. "I'm surprised he's not dead..."
"Yeah, well, Ryoko was the one that was worried," T-Bone said. "Apparently, Alec enjoyed the training melee they were engaged in..."
"Probably just excited by all that was happening," Anthony explained. "I remember how I was when I first got psionic ability..."
"I hope you're right," T-Bone said. "Thing is, I think Ryoko is more worried than you think..."
"How so?" Anthony asked.
"Well..." T-Bone said, "she thought no one noticed, but as Alec was talking to me, I saw her stealing one of the pills Alec uses in his treatment..."
"You are sure?...Alright, I'll guess we'll have to make due..." Major Sharpe hung up the phone just as one of his other staff came in. "Report."
"Lt. Johnson appears to be progressing well, Sir," the officer said. "He is anxious to know when he'll begin his swordsmanship training."
"Well, we had planned to have the training begin tomorrow, but that could be difficult," Sharpe said. "Due to the 9/11 disaster, most of our training staff is already on call training our troops. However, there might be one chance..."
"What's that, Sir?"
Sharpe looked up at the officer and said, "I need you to go to the Masaki residence on Ani-Earth and look for two people...specifically, Tenchi Masaki and Ryoko. Are you familiar with them?"
"Somewhat," the officer answered, "I have a daughter that's a fan of anime."
"Good, then you should recognize them," Sharpe said. "See if either of them are willing to help train our man in sword fighting."
"Yes, Sir!" the officer said with a salute, and left the office upon being dismissed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That evening proved to be more somber than the night before at the Larson Clan home. Sasha decided to go to bed early, and Mary was busy talking to Amy about what happened at the Masaki residence. Meanwhile, Anthony was talking with Jenna and Lars about what was to take place tomorrow.
"Tomorrow, the two of you will be engaging in swords training," Anthony said. "Lars, I think you'll find this easy since you've already had some weaponry training."
"Will Amy be joining us?" Lars asked. "I mean...despite what happened..."
"No, I don't think Amy will be joining us," Anthony said. "Her mother may decide to keep her behind this time, and I don't want any further encouragement to happen. I'm beginning to think that making her my apprentice may have been a mistake..."
"I disagree," Jenna said. "I think you did a wonderful job with her, despite what happened on Ani-Earth."
"Yeah, but I'm worried again," Anthony said. "I almost wonder whether she's beginning to idolize me a bit too much to do the stunt she did..."
"Well, I'm sure she'll have forgotten about it in the morning," Lars said, and then turned towards the stairway. "Well, I'd better get to bed..."
"I'd better go as well," Jenna said. "Good night, Anthony!"
"Good night, guys," Anthony said.
As the two headed upstairs, they noticed Mary coming down and asking them where Anthony was. After telling her, they watched as Mary headed downstairs, and both wondered what was going on.
Mary walked into the sitting room where Anthony was pacing and trying to figure out what to tell Amy. "Anthony," Mary said, getting Anthony's attention, "can we talk?"
"Of course," Anthony replied, and motioned towards a couple of chairs where they both sat down. "I don't need my psionics to tell me that this is about Amy..."
"It is," Mary said. "Anthony...Amy told me why she had those two boys teach her about fighting..."
"Let me guess...she was trying to be more like my apprentice, right?" Anthony said. He was surprised when Mary shook her head.
"Not...exactly," Mary said. "Before you even came to Arcadia, she told me how her past attempts at being a Freedom Fighter were less than successful, even causing some of her friends to be captured. At one point, she had even run away because she had felt useless." (A/N: "Forgiveness - An Arcadian Prequel", another of my stories, covers this.)
Anthony then realized what she was saying. "Then...the only reason she wanted to learn, was so she could feel like she could help Arcadia?" After Mary nodded, Anthony then said, "Oh man...poor girl...and I had to berate her for what she did too. I am SUCH an idiot..."
"You had no way of knowing, Anthony," Mary said. "Don't blame yourself."
"Alright..." Anthony said, "though I wish I knew how to make her feel better..." It was then that Anthony was struck with inspiration. "Mary...I have an idea...is Amy still awake?"
"No, she's already asleep..." Mary said.
"Then I'll tell her tomorrow morning," Anthony said. "Here's what I want to ask you..."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amy woke up the next morning, feeling like she didn't want to wake up. She had messed up yesterday, and she knew it. She was also embarrassed because she had to tell her mother why she did it as well. After getting dressed, putting on one of her regular red dresses instead of her apprentice's uniform, she walked downstairs and joined the others for breakfast in the sitting room.
As she walked in, Anthony could sense the sadness coming from her, and decided the time was now. "Amy, why aren't you in your apprentice uniform?"
"I don't deserve to wear it," Amy said sadly. "Especially after yesterday..."
"A pity," Anthony said, keeping as non-chalant as possible. "Especially since I planned to continue your apprenticeship when you join Jenna and Lars for swords training."
Amy's eyes widened upon hearing that, and when she looked at Anthony, he continued. "Mary told me what you said...and I figured you deserved a chance to learn a little more. Besides...you ARE my apprentice, and Mary has given me permission to give you full training."
Amy ran forward and grabbed Anthony in a massive hug, crying tears of joy. The scene caused the others in the room to smile. After a while, Amy let go, wiped a few tears away, and whispered a thank you to Anthony.
"It was nothing," Anthony said. "Now, why don't you run upstairs and get that uniform of yours on?"
Amy nodded happily and ran back towards her room. As she did that, Sasha looked at Anthony and said, "Well, aren't you just the sweetheart..."
"Hey, if I'm going to make her my apprentice, I might as well go all the way," Anthony said, and then turned towards Jenna and Lars. "Once she comes back down, we can head for our next location."
"Where are we headed next?" Lars asked.
"The Hyrule Kingdom Palace," Anthony said. "Link and Zelda will actually be teaching you two while I give Amy some pointers."
"I swear...all these palaces..." Jenna said.
"Hey, friends in high places, remember?" Anthony said, and noticed Amy run down with her apprentice uniform on and one of the biggest smiles on her face. "Alright," Anthony said once Amy joined the group, "let's head to Hyrule!"
Anthony, Amy, Sasha, Lars, and Jenna then headed towards the transit gates.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So, you want me to teach this soldier how to wield a sword, huh?"
Ryoko couldn't believe Sharpe's request, even though the idea of being considered an expert by the military was appealing to her.
"That is correct," Sharpe said. "Naturally, we intend to compensate you for your troubles..."
"Ah, I've stolen more in the past than you can offer," Ryoko said. "Still, knowing your military budget, I could probably be interested. Alright, let's see this second Gamemaster you want me to train."
Sharpe led Ryoko to an area where Alec was busy throwing a few punches on a large punching bag. He was rapidly firing punches onto the bag, causing the bag to vibrate from the speed. He then finished of with a Force Blast power which rocketed the bag off its hook.
Ryoko couldn't help but stare at the fine specimen of soldier she was observing. She then turned towards Sharpe and said, "On second thought...this one's on me..."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anthony led his students into a large courtyard that was located inside the palace. Anthony was surprised that it looked like the same courtyard he saw in the game "Ocarina of Time", even down to where the throne room was located. He noticed Link and Zelda waiting at the end of the courtyard next to a table which had several cylindrical objects which looked like lightsabers on it.
"Anthony!" Link said, greeting his fellow hero and waving.
"Hi there Link and Zelda," Anthony said, and then motioned for Jenna and Lars to step forward. "These are my students, Jenna Larson and Lars Olson."
"A pleasure to meet the two of you," Zelda said, shaking the hand of Jenna.
"The pleasure is all ours, your highness," Jenna said, still not believing she was meeting Zelda in person.
"Please, none of the formalities," Zelda said. "Any relative of Anthony is a friend of ours. Just call me Zelda."
"Of course," Lars said, after shaking Link's hand. "Um, if you don't mind me asking...which Link and Zelda are you?"
"Ah, you're referring to the games on Earth," Link said. "Actually, we have played them all. Zelda and I are the ones from the regular NES game, Adventure of Link."
"So...Ganon is gone for good then..." Lars mused.
"That's right, Lars," Anthony said, and then turned his attention towards the lightsabers. "Um, Link? Are you sure lightsabers are the best things to use for swords practice?"
"Oh...these are special lightsabers developed by Doctor Light and Washu," Link said, and activated one of them, causing an orangish beam to appear. "These are practice sabers which are designed for practice fights. They can't cut through anything." Link demonstrated by sending the beam through the table, and later through his leg. Neither, thankfully, were sliced by beam. Anthony also noticed that the beam turned red as they passed through.
"Cool!" Anthony said. "I guess the color change means a hit was scored. But, how can you practice parrying with these?"
"Simple, they were designed to only be blocked by each others' beams," Zelda explained, activating another lightsaber. She then engaged in a practice fight with Link using the lightsabers, and Anthony and his students noticed the beams were blocking each other.
"Nice!" Jenna said. "But, why am I tempted to say 'Use the Force'?"
Anthony shot Jenna a look. "Actually Force powers and psionics are somewhat similar, Jenna. Alright, Jenna and Lars, Link and Zelda will now begin your lessons. Lars, you're with Link. Jenna, with Zelda."
After all four that were mentioned paired up and readied themselves to practice, Anthony picked up a couple of practice lightsabers from the table. He then called out, "Amy!"
Amy looked up and caught the practice lightsaber that was tossed to her by Anthony. The two then walked over to another portion of the field while Sasha sat down nearby to watch.
As Anthony and Amy got ready, Amy looked up at Anthony and said, "Anthony...I can't thank you enough for giving me another chance..."
"You deserved it," Anthony said. "You are my apprentice after all. One other thing, Ames..."
"Yeah?"
Anthony smiled warmly and continued. "Whatever happened in the past, you are not useless. Hell, if it weren't for you...the Dark Gamemaster would've beaten me that one time."
Amy smiled, holding back a few tears of joy, and said, "Thank you, Anthony."
Anthony smirked and activated his practice lightsaber. "Let us begin..."
Amy nodded and activated her own practice lightsaber, and the two moved towards each other...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"WHOA!!!" Link said as he found himself dodging several slashes from Lars. He was surprised at how well Lars was using the practice lightsaber. After asking Lars to stop briefly, he asked, "How long have you been trained in weapons fighting, Lars?"
"Since I was twelve," Lars said, "and since I'm in my thirties now..."
"Sheesh, you could teach ME some tricks!" Link said.
"Wow, I'm honored!" Lars said, and then got back into a fighting stance. "Shall we continue?"
Link nodded and thought to himself, "Sure, but who's teaching who?" He then got into a fighting stance and the two continued to duel.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"It's alright, Jenna...you're doing well!"
Jenna was having a hard time with her sword fighting. Her martial arts training didn't cover weapons training. Still, she managed something of a defense against Zelda during her training, but was still struggling.
"Zelda..." Jenna asked with a bit of inspiration, "can I try something?"
"Sure," Zelda said. "What did you have in mind?"
"Well, I wasn't trained in weapons fighting," Jenna said, "but can I throw in a few martial arts moves as well?"
"Of course," Zelda said. "You don't just have to fight with the sword...especially if the situation is desperate enough." Zelda then went into a fighting stance again. "Are you ready?"
"Yes," Jenna said, "but are you ready?" As Jenna advanced and Zelda readied for her attack, Jenna suddenly jumped over Zelda, flipped, and sent a slash towards Zelda with the practice lightsaber which connected with Zelda's shoulder, turning the blade red to indicate a hit.
"Whoa..." Zelda said. "Nice work, Jenna!"
"Thanks," Jenna said. "I guess I have to work with what I know."
"At least you have an advantage over Anthony," Zelda said. "He didn't have any training in fighting when he started his adventures."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, as Anthony's students were excelling in their swordplay, Ryoko was finding the skills of Alec to be quite impressive. The two dueled using practice lightsabers of their own (even though Ryoko would have preferred to use the real thing), and Ryoko was surprised at how well he could handle a weapon. Still, she knew that his military training might have had something to do with that. However, during their duel, Ryoko noticed something strange about Alec as the two of them fought...
Alec seemed to be enjoying the fight...and this worried her.
After they had stopped, Ryoko said, "Not bad, kid. You sure you weren't trained in sword fighting prior to us meeting?"
"Well, I think my psionics training had to do with that," Alec said. "Speaking of which, it's time for my next treatment."
"Treatment, huh?" Ryoko said, and watched as an officer walked in carrying a large bottle of pills. That officer in turn was followed by T-Bone.
"Your treatment, sir," the officer said, handing Alec one of the pills and a glass of water. As Alec took the pill, Ryoko took T-Bone aside to talk to him.
"T-Bone, we need to talk..." Ryoko said.
"What is it?" T-Bone said.
"I think something's up with Alec," Ryoko said. "He almost seemed to be enjoying the fight we were having."
"Ah, that's nothing," T-Bone said. "I was told he had a competitive spirit, so he was probably just enjoying the melee for that reason."
"I hope you're right," Ryoko said. "The last thing we need is a psychotic with Anthony's powers..."
"Miss Ryoko," Alec said, getting Ryoko's attention, "are we finished or do you need to work with me more?"
"We're done, Alec," Ryoko said. "Personally, I didn't even think you needed to be worked with."
"Very well," Alec said, and then turned towards T-Bone. "Sir, are you here for my report?"
T-Bone nodded and began to get the report from Alec. As that was taking place, Ryoko used her thieving skills to pilfer a pill from the bottle that the other officer was taking out of the training area.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three tired students sat on the grass of the courtyard, exhausted from their sword fights. Zelda had one of the servants bring some refreshment, and Link leaned against the wall to hide his own fatigue.
Anthony was pleased with the performance of all three, and was particularly surprised at how Amy did. He knew she had some practice with weapons previously during Robotnik's reign, but that was with a hammer and crossbow. Still, the hammer practice seemed to give her some familiarity with melee fighting.
"I must say I'm proud of all three of you," Anthony said, as he and Sasha sat down in the grass with them. "You're progressing very fast with your training, in fact we just have one more bit of training that needs to be taken care of before you are completed."
"What is that?" Jenna asked.
"Simple...you are going to be equipped...with THIS," Anthony said, patting his hand on his armor.
Jenna and Lars's eyes widened after hearing that. "You're going to give us armor like yours?!?" Lars asked, surprised.
"Yes," Anthony said, "since you may be called upon to take my place if needed, I figure you should be similarly equipped. After you receive your armor, I'll be teaching you how to use it as well as show you the activate the devices within."
"Sounds like fun!" Jenna said.
As the servants brought in the refreshments, Anthony saw T-Bone come into the courtyard area. "Hey there, T-Bone!" Anthony said, standing up. "How's Alec progressing?"
"Awesomely, Anth!" T-Bone said. "He just finished his sword training...and the military somehow convinced RYOKO to train him!"
"Ryoko?!?" Anthony said, surprised. "I'm surprised he's not dead..."
"Yeah, well, Ryoko was the one that was worried," T-Bone said. "Apparently, Alec enjoyed the training melee they were engaged in..."
"Probably just excited by all that was happening," Anthony explained. "I remember how I was when I first got psionic ability..."
"I hope you're right," T-Bone said. "Thing is, I think Ryoko is more worried than you think..."
"How so?" Anthony asked.
"Well..." T-Bone said, "she thought no one noticed, but as Alec was talking to me, I saw her stealing one of the pills Alec uses in his treatment..."