//------------------------------// // chapter 19: Kakei maindo Kokoro wa, torēningusentā o kakei // Story: From the isles of Avalon // by The Drifting Bard //------------------------------// Mindscape Training centre "Good," Arthur stood opposite me as I took a hasty breath. "Now try again with the other hand" I switched the sword from my right to my left. Training in my mind was easier said than done, but thats when it happened. I jumped over the former king and caught him in the back. "even better, be unpredictable" He smiled. the wound sealed up, and I soon found myself on the defensive. "be like the D, strive to do better" he attempted to kick me away. I simply brought the blade down on his foot. "come on, You haven't said a word since your little vow of revenge" "Nothing needs to be said" I spat, as I sped towards him, he simply shrugged. I was getting better at the whole keep your enemies at a distance thing, but still needed to improve. he threw his sword down. "hand to hand now" we had been using swords for what seemed like a month. "fine" I adopted the blessed stance of thai-style kickboxing. he fought like a simply bar-room brawler. I kept him at a distance, using head-kicks and elbow hits to my advantage. "you're better with your fists than a sword... why is that?" I simply shrugged my shoulders and kicked him in the head. He didn't look too pleased after that, and attempted to clothesline me. I simply jumped up, placed a foot on his back and pushed him down. as he got up he simply sighed. "If only you were that good with a blade... wait," He snapped his fingers. "Thats it... the sword can take on any bladed form right?" I shrugged, "haven't tried that yet" I chuckled. he watched in awe as I grabbed the hilt of the blade. beginning to experiment, I envisioned a Katana in my hand, giving a quick swing. "Much better, What do you think?" he looked at the blade itself, now adorned with the Kanji for hope. he then looked down to the tsubasa. it was a simple dragon design. I stood for a moment, getting a feel for the newly re-formed sword. "try again with the sword?" He grabbed his own as he asked the question. I opted for a low stance. "of course, but I have a feeling you might lose this one" I stood my ground as he came forward, he went for a low attack, I simply deflected. A high attack, Again blocked and kicked away. the process was repeated in different ways until we reversed roles. somehow, watching all those samurai movies... and a shit-ton of Samurai Jack had paid off, that was until he morphed into a copy of Anarchy. I stopped for a moment and sped towards him. he jumped behind me, but for once I was two steps ahead. I held my sword behind me, then pivoted with a swing. The pivot brought the blade around in an arc, creating the perfect opportunity to strike out with my feet. Soon it became more of a dance. He would lead for the first half of the fight, taking the offensive. Then I would take over when I seized the moment. The resulting duel lasted for several hours, but soon we stopped. Arthur returned to his usual form, out of breath. "well, that was different," He then looked up at me for a moment, and sighed. "When you do wake up, Change the sword's look to that, You'll be able to put up much more of a fight with it" "sure" He got into another fighting stance, grabbing a shield from seemingly no-where. "again!" meanwhile, at the hall of justice... I mean Canterlot Castle Celestia paced back and forth in her private quarters in the castle, the look of sorrow and worry etched on her face. Rainbow Dash had flown from Ponyville to the castle bearing bad news. She landed on the balcony, and ran in. "Princess Celestia!" The princess swiveled her head effortlessly to look at the rainbow-haired athlete. she could clearly see the blood-shot eyes and the blood still caked on her knees. "Rainbow Dash? What is wrong?" "Rainbow stumbled over her words before a wing and an arm was placed over her shoulders. "shhhh It's alright... You can tell me" Rainbow looked up at the sun-moving demi-goddess before her. "They've got Twilight... and... Alan is in hospital" Rainbow started to shed more tears, simply collapsed to her knees. Celestia's face hardened with anger. "Gaurdsmen, Get me the general" The guard visibly shook with fear under the furious woman's icy gaze. Within moments he had disappeared, and a few seconds later, returned with the general. "yes, your highness?" "I need the best of the best... send them to ponyville" the general nodded and left. "Rainbow Dash? We need to get to ponyville, Brace yourself" The princess stated, and with a bright flash, the two women were gone.