Black Petals: Chapter 4 ~ The Training Begins...
#5 of Black Petals
Amy's training begins.
I've always felt that she'd be rather weak if she didn't have that cliche tsundere standby at her beck and call. So, now that she doesn't have that crutch, Shadow's going to teach her how to really fight and defend herself, while making her tougher.
Characters by Sega.
It is mid-morning in Soleanna. By this time, most people are already hard at work making sure the City of Water continues to prosper. Their princess was even rumored to be studying various subjects in order to better benefit her people. Yes, all was as it should be. In the forest, a different kind of routine was about to begin...
Amy had returned to the appointed area where she was to begin her training. Along with food, bandages (taking her trainer into account, she figured she'd sustain more than a few injuries) and other supplies, she arrived in the attire she usually wore whilst aboard Extreme Gear, as she figured more sporty clothes would suit her training better. When she arrived, something was off. The clearing was empty. Her Piko Piko Hammer was still stuck in the rock where her trainer left it, but other than that, there was nothing out of the ordinary. "Hello?" she called out. "Shadow! I'm here!" But, there was no answer. This made the hedgehog girl worried. What if Shadow changed his mind?
Such concerns were made moot when she noticed a flash above her head. Looking up, she gasped and leapt to the left, just barely dodging four Chaos Spears. She tried to get her bearings when a dark, unamused voice spoke from behind her. "You're late, Miss Rose."
Before Amy could apologize, Shadow fiercely kicked her in the back, sending her to the ground. "Shadow, I'm sorry!" she stated as she struggled to get back up. "I overslept and-"
Shadow cut her off with a Spin Dash. "No excuses!" Amy, managing to land on her feet, tried to placate him. "Shadow, wait! I'm not ready!" Shadow, however, jumped into the air, replied, "Not my problem," and struck her with his Shadow Rocket attack. "I did say you'd get no mercy, didn't I?"
"Y-Yes?" Amy answered worriedly. "Then you had better defend yourself!" Shadow shouted and charged her. Seeing that nothing she said would help matters, Amy resigned herself and took a defensive stance. Shadow performed various high strikes, low attacks and feints, all of which Amy had no hope of countering. Every now and then, Shadow would slow up somewhat and Amy, thinking she had an opening, would move in to attack. But, she was always denied and punished accordingly with a heavy combo, forcing Rings away from her.
After a few minutes of this, Shadow decided to let Amy take the lead and went defensive. Seeing this opportunity, she charged in. Amy attempted various fancy attacks, but Shadow had no problem blocking them. When he blocked a high kick, Shadow performed a leg sweep and followed up with an axe kick. But, Amy rolled out of the way before it connected, forcing Shadow to halt the attack before his leg hit the ground. 'Hm. Decent evasion,' he mentally noted.
Amy slowly got up and tried to catch her breath. "What *pant* was the point *pant pant* of that beating?" Shadow stood and answered, "To work on your physical strength and reaction time. You have grace, to be sure, but that won't get you far against opponents like me. You leave yourself wide open to attack."
'He's right,' she thought. 'Every time I tried to be fancy with my counterattacks, he'd strike me almost immediately.' Shadow continued, "You need to be able to endure anything that gets thrown at you and react accordingly. You'll build up endurance and stamina in the process." This was informative, but still frustrating for Amy, who was not used to attacking barehanded. Amy frustratedly glanced at her Piko Piko Hammer, which was still stuck in the rock. Noticing that, Shadow glared and tossed a Chaos Spear at her. Amy gasped and managed to dodge it.
"What the heck, Shadow!?" Amy cried out. Shadow fought down a smirk. "How easily we forget. I said you're not getting that hammer back until your training is complete. I did that for a reason, you know." Amy's confused expression spoke volumes, so he elaborated. "Up until now, you've been able to get by simply because you had your Piko Piko Hammer wielded. If you didn't or if you were captured before you could bring it out, you were stuck, right?" Amy's first encounter with Dr. Robotnik's mechanical menace, Metal Sonic, came to mind. "...Oh."
Shadow continued, "You need to work on your strength and power so you will be better equipped to defend yourself in any and all situations. Understood?" Amy tiredly nodded, but asked, "I know I have to get stronger and improve my stamina and all that, but do you have to be so rough about it? I am a lady, you know." Shadow resisted the urge to sneer and said, "If you were expecting me to pull my punches even the slightest bit, you are sadly mistaken. Gender has no meaning in battle. You're either strong or you are weak. You will learn this lesson, even if it breaks you. Got it?"
Amy nodded in understanding, feeling that she shouldn't have asked. 'Something tells me this is going to be more dangerous than I thought...'