The next two weeks are an interesting experience for Luna. When she told Rob of their plans he was beyond happy, for the poor folk at least. Negotiating which lands Mordred can clear was a tough pill to swallow for Rob, as was the outright ban of robots doing it. Rob had raised a good point though that folks needed jobs to earn some money for food and such so Ai suggested putting volunteers to work with electrical zero-emissions tools. Lance has been a help as well, once he heard Mordred was expected to put a militia together he volunteered to recruit and train volunteers.
Luna had seen an opportune moment there, and asked to learn how Lance fights. He's a fencer, meaning he prefers to fight with swordplay above all else. After some trial and error they found that while her strength can handle heavier weapons her greatest asset is in her reaction time. So Lance had a pair of custom sabers forged for her, single edged three foot blades with a distinctive curve in the handle so when she holds them the blades lean forward in her grip. She's taken to calling them Argent and Pitch after the silver handles wrapped in black grips that fit her hands so comfortably.
Still, even after days of slaving under Lance's harsh training she has her doubts that she's ready for when this meeting devolves into a fight. Ivo had been right about that, she can just feel the oncoming storm that is her future rushing to meet her.
After she had resolved to facing her fear of her brother she had written up a letter to Amy. In it she had assured the pink hedgehog that she was alive, well, and quite happy save for what happened with Shadow. She went on to say she had hoped that Amy could pass along an invitation for Shadow to come find her, and that Amy could bring Sonic along too. She wouldn't mind seeing them both again, and actually looked forward to it. Towards the end she had set a time, and location to meet her at, a lake where Lance had learned the way of the sword when he was little.
And such is how Luna came to find herself sitting on a flat boulder, swords on her hips while wearing the battle jumpsuit Ivo had made for her.
It was made exactly like Lien-da's with the exception of something Ivo had added to make Luna feel just a tiny bit unique: the Crest of Shadow, emblazoned right on her right breast. When Lance had seen the suit the first time, he had fainted on the spot. Ivo had told her that it was a prototype designed to handle quick reflexes without chafing and friction resistance for when she needed to move quickly, but he warned that like any other cloth it was susceptible to excessive strain if she performed weird movements. She isn't sure what he meant by that, but had enjoyed getting the suit regardless.
She puts a hand over the crest on her chest, and sighs softly as she glances around. “No sign of anyone yet… Maybe he's not even coming.” Had she been worried all this time for nothing?
“Did you get your vaunted chat yet?” Lance casually sits in a tree.
About a month ago, Lance had revealed that he could indeed speak regular New Mobian, as a noble he had access to such knowledge. He just preferred the tongue of his people, but having the company of a wonderful girl every day certainly helped him properly use the language.
Luna shakes her head, “No, I only sent the letter two weeks back. I figured that would be plenty of time for it to reach Amy…”
“It likely has. But if your brother threatened you at gunpoint, it would be unlikely he would be ready for a second chat if he regrets how the first one went.” Lance points out. “I’d certainly feel terrible for almost carving my sister into kabobs. Provided I had one. But, that’s neither here nor there, same situation, different area.”
“I don't know if he even knows who I am,” she replies. “Really the only reason I thought he was after me was because you can count the number of people capable of using Chaos Control on the one hand, and he saw me use it.”
“It’s certainly a unique technique.” He agrees. “Similar to the magic my great great grandmother Nimue passed down the family line.” He warps in a red flash, landing in another tree. “But, ours is totally magic-based. If you were a mage, you could stop said shenanigans immediately, which is why I rarely depend on them.”
She nods, and looks around one more time. “...I just wish he'd show up so we can get this over with. My nerves are fried like an egg…”
“Be careful what you wish for.” Shadow steps around a tree.
Lance clutches his throat. “Is that what I sound like? I sound so mean…”
“Can it, faker.” Shadow states, staring at Luna.
“Not wanted, got it… I’m gonna watch this from a safe distance, good luck Luna!” Lance waves and warps away.
Luna stares at him, trembling as she swallows softly. “...Hey… big brother…”
Shadow nods, watching her. “How is it, bunking with Eggman? I did that once.”
“It's… good,” she says nervously. “He's very kind to me… And supportive…” She fidgets slowly. She had been so focused on just surviving this meeting that she hadn't really thought about what to say.
He nods. “I see despite what happened during our first meeting, you’re still wearing my crest on your chest. It’s certainly more fashionable than Eggman’s logo.”
She looks down at it, “...That's because the three of us are a family, even if you seem set on ignoring that where he's concerned.”
Shadow crosses his arms. “As I said, I worked with Eggman once. I was an amnesiac, and he held back information on my past. He kept me as a dog on a chain, baiting me with tidbits. If you don’t think he’s doing that to you, doing everything he can to gain your trust? You’re wrong. And when he goes on a rampage… I hope that you will know which side is truly just.”
“He's given me more reason to trust him than you ever did,” she grumbles. “And I'm working to gain his trust. Did you know he got involved in this very region to save it? Folks were starving, robberies were so common it would have been funny if folks weren't getting shot. He's not pure evil, he has good in him that I'm trying to help folks see better.”
Shadow sighs, annoyed. “I had hoped to convince you… but I can see that won’t be happening.” He turns away. “I am happy to have a sister again, don’t get me wrong, Luna. But Eggman is deceiving you. If you wish to stay with him, I won’t stop you. But that puts a strain on your chances of having a sibling relationship with me.”
She stiffens, yeah he's a jerk, but he's her brother still. “So you're just going to abandon me too?” She hops off the boulder, “So much easier to label me as a villain just because I'm making the hard choice here?”
Shadow glances to her. “You have no idea how complicated this world is. I work for GUN, a governmental organization. I perform missions for them that they can’t handle. They deem Eggman as a threat. Even if I wanted to be your brother, GUN will see you as a cheap target to get to Eggman. That puts me in an impossible position, Luna…”
“So?” She holds her arms out wide, “If Ivo told me to cut your throat, or Sonic's, or anyone's really I wouldn't. You're not their slave Shadow, you can think for yourself. You've got no reason to reject us except just flat out wanting to.”
Shadow studies her before uncrossing his arms. “Then show me you’re worth my time.” She can sense the shift in tone. As expected, it was going to end in a fight.
“Worth your time…?” She can hardly believe the words coming out of his mouth, and it pisses her off. Anger starts to flow like venom in her veins, melting away the fear as she gets ready to make him eat those words.
Shadow watches her reaction, turning to face her. “Your anger blinds you. If you think words are hurtful, just wait until you experience actual pain.” He widens his stance, his hands sparking with Chaos Energy. He was baiting her to make the first move.
She growls, and summons a Chaos Grenade, hurling it at him with a shout.
Shadow hurls a Chaos Spear, detonating it before it even gets close. Then he drops into a ball, whirring up before blasting at her in a Spin Dash. Her reaction time is what saves her, using Lance's training to sidestep so Shadow rams into the boulder she had been sitting on. He bounces off it like a ping pong ball though, rebounding back at her.
She manages to lean back just out of the way, though his quill cut a few lines in the front of her outfit.
He uncurls and lands, kicking on his skates and zipping around her in a wide circle. Then another, and another, and another…
She watches him, not sure what he's doing, but weary of him trying to charge her again.
Then the wind picks up as he goes faster and faster, a tornado suddenly forming around her.
Her eyes go wide as she is lifted off the ground. She tries to teleport out, but then gets slammed head first into the boulder.
“Ngh,” she groans as the world seems to swim around her. “Traitor… rock…” she slumps to the ground.
Shadow tsks, disappointed. “C'mon Luna, you can do better than this. Show me your training!” It takes about a minute of silence for him to realize that she's been knocked out cold.
He sighs and walks over, picking her up. “A pity.” He slings her onto his shoulder, pulling out his green Chaos Emerald. “Chaos Control!” He warps away.
Lance watches from afar, worried. “Oh dear…”
-----
Luna slowly opens her eyes, a dull ache in her head making her squint in the afternoon sun filtering in through some nearby curtains. She takes a moment to assess her surroundings.
She's in a bed with a pink blanket, and in a room she doesn't recognize. It's not high tech enough to be a base with Ivo, and the setup looks too different from the old fashioned decor of Mercia. This has her more than a little worried as she tries to sit up, even if she has to take it slowly to avoid the sudden dizzy spell trying to overwhelm her.
“Luna, be careful.” Amy warns, walking in with some food and aspirin.
Luna blinks in shock at the familiar face. “Amy? I… where am I? How did I get here?”
“Shadow brought you to me. You have a concussion, it's healing quickly, but it might hurt for a while.” she offers the food and aspirin to her.
Luna accepts it, and smiles softly. “...Well… thanks… why would he bring me here though? I know plenty of folks in Mercia, he could have left me there.”
“Probably so you can spend some time with someone who isn't in Eggman's payroll.” she shrugs.
Luna sighs, and rubs the back of her head. “Not sure what he expects to happen…” Then she blinks, and rubs her head again. Something feels off, but she can't put her finger on it. Then she stiffens with wide eyes. “My Chaos Emerald! Where is my Chaos Emerald?!” She starts to panic, not finding it in her quills, checking under the blanket, and then looking around the room as she tries to climb out of bed.
“Ah, that’s why then. He dropped you off here so he wouldn't need to drop you off and let then find out he snagged your Emerald.” Amy muses.
Luna trembles, and then bares her teeth, “I am going to kill him… That emerald is a precious gift, he had no right!” She starts slowly climbing out of bed, bracing herself on a wall.
Amy grabs Luna by the hand, and gently but firmly moves her back into bed. “You can get it back at any time. You need to recover.”
“But I can't go back without it,” she mutters softly. “And I promised Ivo I'd come back…”
“You still have AI. You can call him at any time.” Amy shrugs.
Luna looks to her wrist, “Ai…?”
Ai appears, “Apologies, but out of security concerns Doctor Robotnik has been forced to rewrite his clearance codes. I do not currently possess a direct line to him as it could compromise his position and security.”
Luna looks down, and sniffles softly.
Amy sighs. “Look, it will all turn out okay. But you need to take a moment and care for yourself.”
Luna nods softly, turning on her side, and deciding to try for some more sleep.
Amy nods in satisfaction, leaving the food and medicine on the nightstand for her and heading out.
Left with her thoughts Luna tries to figure out what to do with herself. If she goes back without the emerald Ivo will be so mad with her, but if she doesn't go back he'll think she lied to him, or that she's in some kind of trouble. She has to get her emerald back, but if Shadow took it then she's not likely to get it back by asking. She'll have to take it by force. She's nowhere near ready for that though, even if she were perfectly healthy.
“What am I supposed to do…?”
-----
By the next morning she Luna has fully recovered, but she's not exactly cheerful. She hugs herself as she sits in Amy's living room, idly listening to the news on the TV.
Ai appears on the couch arm beside her. “You know, this could be a good experience for you to learn about the world at large. Perhaps you could ask Amy to go someplace.”
Luna sighs noncommittally.
Amy walks in, watching Luna. “you okay Luna? You seem out of it…”
Luna looks over, “I'm a failure. No matter what I do any time I try to do what Shadow does it's only half as good. Because of that I lost my Chaos Emerald, and he put me in a recovery bed for a whole day… I need to be better than that…” She looks down, “Or I'm no good to anyone.”
“Inaccurate,” Ai says. “May I remind you that because of your initiative the region of Mercia was able to about civil war, starvation, and stagnation by merit of tax law?”
“Well Shadow made it pretty obvious that not everything can be handled with words. And when push came to shove I got knocked to next week…” She slumps with a huff.
“he's had years to train, and people to train with. You just need the same.” Amy says encouragingly. “And you have plenty of people to train with.”
She considers, “Yeah, Lance, but I won't get far without my Emerald…”
“You also have Sonic and Knuckles.” she points out.
She frowns a bit and looks to Amy with confusion. “Knuckles?”
“Oh… you’ve never met Knuckles?” Amy blinks.
She shakes her head, “First time I'm hearing of him really.”
“He’s an echidna.” Amy smiles. “A little gruff, but a good friend.”
“An Echidna, huh,” she muses. “Yeah I've met one. Ai says they tend to be kinda rude by nature, something they can't really help. Kinda like Scottish Overlanders!”
Ai asks, “Where did you learn to make that comparison?”
“Scottish Pokemon Trainer me-mes Ivo showed me,” she replies.
“I think you mean Memes,” Ai replies. “And that is something of a slight exaggeration.”
Amy giggles. “I don’t think there’s any harm in introducing you to him… provided you promise not to reveal his location to Eggman. He guards an item that is only safe in his family’s hands.”
Luna considers, “Well… if he can help me improve then okay.”
Amy smiles and goes to get ready. “Alright then!” She comes back, ready to go. “Ready?” Luna nods, hopping up to follow her, quite curious to meet this Knuckles now.
Amy takes Luna to the Mystic Ruins, and into a cave network. On the other side, she walks up to a giant boulder and nods. “Ready to meet him?”
Luna pauses, and gives a so-so gesture. “Ready as I think I can be…”
Amy smiles. “Your response is appropriate.” She steps into the rock, actually being a hologram. Luna jumps a bit before poking it gently, and following her cautiously.
Inside is a small teleport pad, which Amy turns on and steps on. “Come on.” Nodding Luna steps on, remembering what Mordred told her, and keeping her hands to herself by way of folding them behind her back.
They warp into the middle of a forest, and Amy turns off the teleporter behind them. “Knuckles will have sensed us entering his island.”
Luna looks around at the trees surrounding them, “Uh, how exactly?”
“Angel Island is filled with Chaos Energy, and Knuckles can sense changes to the Chaos Field. And also sense our specific Chaos Fields on the island.” Amy explains.
Luna frowns in thought at the mention of Chaos Energy, and closes her eyes. She smiles as a few red bolts jump between her quills like static as she draws on it. “Wow… The air around here is supercharged with it, it's like I'm holding my emerald again.” She shifts from foot to foot before opening her eyes and smiling at Amy. “Maybe I really can get some good training here.”
“Knuckles would be a great teacher… provided he’s in a good mood.” Amy sweatdrops.
“That will depend on who this is.” Knuckles glides in from above, landing and appraising Luna with a frown. “She’s wearing what Lien-Da wears.”
She jumps at the sudden arrival, and then blinks, “You know Linda?” She blinks, and shakes her head, “Sorry, slip of the tongue, I'm working on that… among other things…” She holds up a hand, and sighs as she channels meager amount of energy between her fingers in golden and occasionally red static bolts.
“This is Luna. She’s Shadow’s younger sister.” Amy smiles. “She just showed up a few weeks ago, and made a bad first impression of Shadow.”
Knuckles’ gaze softens. “I see… well… I still dislike the fact that there’s now two Ultimate Lifeforms… but if you’re nice, I’ll see what you want.”
Luna nods, “...I just want to use my powers right. It's so confusing, I have just as much energy as Shadow according to my cousin, but I can only use about half as much every time I try to do anything basic like a spear, or Chaos Control… Less even without a Chaos Emerald…”
“Hm… how do you do it?” Knuckles questions.
She looks around, “Um… Do you have a tree or a rock you won't miss?”
Knuckles shrugs and points to a boulder. Luna sighs, and steps over, “Well, my friend Ai helped me get ahold of two techniques. One is a grenade of energy, but the other is… well, embarrassing so I haven't tried it. I mean how impressive can any kind of gun be with the word “mini” in the name, right?” She shrugs with a soft blush as she looks at the two over her shoulder.
“You’d be surprised.” Knuckles comments amusedly.
She sighs, “Alright then… I'll try it, just… don't laugh too hard please…”
Spreading her legs a bit she shifts one foot behind her for stability. Then she extends her arms in front of her, palms forward with her arms touching at the wrists, and all ten fingertips pointed at the boulder. She charges a small orb of Chaos Energy about the size of a marble at the end of each finger, then starts releasing and recreating the orbs starting with her right thumb, going in a clockwise order.
Now, any expert in firearms will tell you that an actual minigun, or gatling gun actually uses bullets much weaker than your typical pistol or assault rifle. The tradeoff however is that the rate of fire is much higher so it can chip away at most any armor roughly ten times faster. Luna's technique works roughly the same way, packing about as much explosive force in each bullet of energy as an M-80 explosive, much less than any refined Chaos Spear. However given the speed of fire she starts to achieve after a minute of practicing the technique the results really start to show.
After about two minutes of fire she cuts off the technique to let her arms rest. And when the dust settles she can see that in fact she has whittled away almost half of the minivan sized stone. She stares at it in shock before looking down at her hands with a newfound appreciation.
Knuckles applauds. “Effective… though your aim needs some work.” He motions to the several burning holes she left in nearby trees and bushes.
She folds her ears back, “I'm sorry…”
“It’s okay, nature finds a way to rebuild. It appears to me your problem isn’t power, it’s precision. You need to figure out how you’re aiming for your attacks to be more effective.” Knuckles explains.
She nods softly, and then perks up with her ears alert. She puts a hand to her chest as a strange sensation rolls over her. “That was weird…” She jerks as she feels it again, a strange pulling sensation though nothing had touched her physically. She looks in the direction it had been pulling in, towards the center of the island. “What's going on…?”
Knuckles tilts his head. “You’re low on Chaos Energy. Your body is likely pulling you towards a recharge station… which in this case is the Master Emerald.”
“Is that bad?” She looks to Knuckles with a worried expression.
“No. Though I’d ask you to not go seeking it.” Knuckles says seriously.
She shifts as she rubs her arms. “Well if you're sure- EEK!” A slight tickling sensation runs up her arm a moment, but it's over when she looks down at it. The others saw it though. For a mere moment her arm had shaken so hard it looked blurry. “What the actual-?! What's going on?!” She looks a bit worried, small red static bolts of Chaos Energy flicking in her eyes, and between her quills. She hugs herself as she folds her ears back with a whimper, that tugging feeling getting stronger.
Knuckles can sense it now, this isn't Luna's doing. The aura of the island generated by the Master Emerald is drawing her in, as though calling out to her, and her body is having a reaction.
Knuckles frowns, not wanting to see her hurt but also not wanting her near the Master Emerald. Finally, he sighs. “Go to it. But I’ll hurt you if you harm it.”
Nodding nervously she starts walking, but jumps when that vibrating sensation rocks her again, this time affecting her tail. That's enough motivation for her to kick on her skates and take off. “Sorry guys, I'll see you there!”
Knuckles shakes his head in annoyance. “C’mon, we’ll take the shortcut.” He leads Amy in another direction.
It takes ten very awkward minutes for Luna to find the source of the pulling sensation. She can easily see why it's called the Master Emerald the moment she lays eyes on the shrine.
“Holy Jeezums,” she mutters as she shuts off her skates, and slowly climbs the stairs to the Master Emerald. This glowing green gemstone is bigger than three of her, and the power she can feel from it honestly has her more than a little scared of it. But it's drawing her in at the same time, making her inch closer and closer. From her expression though you would think she expects it to split open as swallow her up like an iron maiden.
Slowly she raises a hand, one finger out to poke it ever so softly. She jerks as when she gets close there's a brief bolt of energy, like a static shock but with no pain. She stares as yellow and red lightning seem to jump between her, and the nearest facet of the gemstone. Frowning, she thinks she can see something inside it, but it's hard to make out unless she gets closer. Something she's gradually getting more inclined to do as the longer this goes on the more she feels a tension within her fading that she hadn't noticed before. It's as if this emerald is reaching within her, correcting something out of place.
That's all she needs to work up the courage to step closer, and press her palm to it. Her eyes light up, and red lightning arcs into her as yellow energy flows from her into the Master Emerald. Now she can see clearly inside the gem.
It only lasts for a moment though, and then a wave of force rolls off the gem, pushing her back a few steps. She blinks a few times at the gem. “...Did… did it get… brighter? Shinier?” She tilts her head at it curiously.
“Of course you touched it… what happened?” Knuckles demands gruffly.
She jerks, and jumps away from him, spinning to face him. Then she blinks, realizing she's nowhere near where she once was. The shrine is a good ten meters off, and she has her back to a tree. She didn't teleport, there hadn't been that feeling of pressure that comes with it. Had she jumped? Knuckles is looking where she had been though, so if she had then it had to of been pretty darn quick.
Amy yelps. “What the?!”
“I think that's my line,” Luna says numbly. “Because I have no idea what's going on anymore…”
“It looked like superspeed.” Knuckles muses. “Take a lap around the island. And don’t fall off the edge, we’re like five miles up in the air.”
Luna blinks, and looks at her hand, “...Speed…?” She swallows softly, and takes a stance like she's ready to kick on her skates. “Okay, here goes…”
“No skates, just running.” Knuckles says seriously.
She pauses, and looks down at them. Taking a standard running stance she starts off at a jog. Then she starts putting more effort in, taking longer strides. Before long she's running at a comfortable pace, and realizes there isn't any strain on her body despite the shrine no longer being in sight. So with a smile she pushes it a bit. She does a lazy loop around the entire island, turning only when she spots the way back to the shrine.
All in all the round trip took about 45 seconds.
She smiles at the both of them. “...I'm fast!” She practically launches herself at Knuckles to hug him tight, thanking him repeatedly at the top of her lungs, heedless of her cleavage dominating the space between their bodies.
Knuckles yelps, trying to pry her off. “Help!” Thankfully he has many folks beat in the strength department, and Luna is no exception, though even as he holds her away from himself she still radiates with the joy of an excited puppy.
“Okay, note to you, boobs are nice, but not without consent.” He sets her down. “Now, you have something that Shadow hasn’t. As far as I know, Shadow needs his skates to move at high speeds. You don’t, apparently.”
She looks down at them, “They feel kinda heavy too… Ivo made my suit, maybe he can make new shoes…” She frowns, “But first I need to take my red Chaos Emerald back from Shadow. Lance said my reaction time was my best asset… I guess whatever the Master Emerald did to me helped… It felt like whatever it took from me was cluttering me up inside, but was good for it.”
Knuckles taps his chin. “I see… Well, if both you and the Master Emerald came out better for it… I suppose it all worked out. But I don’t want you touching the Master Emerald again without permission. Okay?”
She nods, and smiles. “Thanks again for helping me… I don't suppose you have anything else you can teach me?”
He taps his chin. “Well, what Chaos moves can you actually perform?”
“Well the same as Shadow, just less effective,” she replies. “Though I guess now we know why… I feel like the energy in me is meant to work inside me than be used outwards, like my body is a shell for containing it. That's probably something that helps me go so fast. The only thing I haven't tried of his is the Chaos Blast, but that's because I'm told you have to get super mad for it.”
“Usually, yes. So you can teleport with a Chaos Emerald… have you tried teleporting without one?” Knuckles inquires.
She nods, “Yeah, but either way it seems pretty limited to my line of sight. The Emerald just helps with distance.”
“Try now. Focus on a place you know by heart, and try warping there. And if it's successful, all you have to do to warp back here is focus on Amy.” Knuckles suggests.
She thinks, “Someplace I know by heart…” The first places that come to mind are Ivo's base, and Avalon. But she doesn't want to try going there just yet, not without her Emerald. Though maybe Ivo would be less upset with her if he found out she knew how to grow into her abilities. She fidgets a bit as she considers, and swallows softly. She decides to risk it. The one place she knows best…
Ivo's workshop.
Closing her eyes she prepares for the biggest teleport of her life. As she focuses on the destination part of her notes the energy pouring into her from the aura of the island. “Alright… here goes nothing. Chaos… Control!”
She feels the world shift around her, and suddenly there’s concrete underneath her instead of grass. Slowly she opens her eyes, and looks around. A smile breaks out over her face, and she turns. “I did it… I'm home!”
She whips her head around, but her smile slowly fades when she sees Ivo isn't here right now. “He's… He's probably busy… Or… Maybe out looking for me.” A flicker of guilt rises in her chest, and she looks down at her hands. A frown setting in she says, “I'll come back. And when I do I'll do it as someone you can be proud of. I just need to get back my Chaos Emerald.”
She can still feel that supercharge in her system from being on Angel Island though it's slowly starting to fade. Not wanting to waste any time she nods, “See you soon Ivo.”
She closes her eyes as she focuses on thoughts of Amy. “...Chaos Control!”
It’s more of a strain, but she’s able to return, landing next to Amy.
Knuckles smirks. “I can’t believe it… It worked! Luna, you have managed to do something Shadow is unable to do!”
Luna smiles, “Really?” She smiles wider than she ever has before. She's made great strides in her training, surpassed Shadow in some way, and got to see Ivo once more. This time she tackle-hugs Amy since she's closer. “Um… And what's that?”
“Shadow can’t teleport to specific people.” Knuckles clarifies. “In fact, I think you’re the first person to do so. Whatever the Master Emerald did to you… you’re stronger than before you touched it. You should train your techniques before you fight Shadow again, see what has changed or improved.”
Luna nods, and smiles as she rubs cheeks with Amy out of sheer glee.
Knuckles nods. “Other than that, I can show you how to throw a punch. That’s about it.”
Releasing the now slightly winded pink hedgie Luna nods with a smile. “I'm ready to learn everything you're ready to teach!”
Knuckles nods and raises his fists, taking his stance. “Copy me.”
She nods, and tries to comply, looking him over. She notices has his feet placed differently, and tries to correct that in herself.
Knuckles nods. “Good. The key to a good punch is a good stance.”
She nods, “Yeah, once I punched a wall, and ended up pushing myself over.”
Knuckles chuckles. “Yeah, without a good stance you might fall over with the force of your punches. Feet apart, knees slightly bent, hands ready to block blows to your face.”
She nods, and does as he says with her fists up by her chin.
“Good. Now when you throw a punch, you're using the rear knuckles of your index and middle finger.” he points them out on Luna's hand. “Ball your fists, thumbs on the outside of your fingers. If you put them inside your fingers, you could break your thumb.” he shows his fist, thumb tucked away on the outside of his balled hand.
Luna nods, and experiments by throwing a few punches into the empty air in front of her.
Knuckles nods. “Good. Now, there are two ways to throw a punch. You can throw it straight, or you can do a backhand. I prefer straight punches myself.” He demonstrates, and Luna can hear the wind coming from Knuckles’ punches.
Ai appears, and shows footage from online training videos. “There are also hooks, crosses, uppercuts, and so forth.”
“Indeed, but let's get your technique on jabs first.” Knuckles nods.
Luna nods, and with the help from Knuckles she spends a good 20 minutes practicing basic jabs and straight punches.
Amy sits nearby, keeping them company as she searches the internet for news on Sonic. Luna takes a short break to sit with her, “Anything good?”
“He’s in Soleanna…” Amy sighs softly. “I’d go visit, but he’d probably leave again… It’s like he’s avoiding me or something…”
Luna tilts her head, “Why would he do that? You're so nice.”
“Exactly! It makes no sense to me…” Amy sighs.
Luna leans over with a gentle hug. “If I see him I'll ask. Thanks again for helping me out with all this.”
“It was no problem.” Amy smiles gently, petting Luna’s back.
Luna purrs softly at the affection, and smiles. She decides that she likes this, being close with someone just in general.
Knuckles nods. “I think that's enough for today. Just practice and train, you should beat Shadow now.”
Luna nods, and hops up, arms out to offer Knuckles another hug. “Thanks again for all the help. If you ever need help with anything just let me know, okay?”
Knuckles nods. “I’ll keep you in mind.”
Luna pouts a bit when he doesn't accept the hug, but just sighs as she drops her arms, leaving with Amy.
Amy smiles softly. “He’s not an emotions guy, don’t take it personally.”
“Okay,” she mutters softly. “...He seems nice though… a little bit…”
“He’s civil.” Amy agrees. “Very sensible.”
Luna perks up as she throws a few practice jabs into empty air. “Wait till I get back, and tell the others I studied under the master of punching all the things! Watch out Linda!” She blinks, and facepalms, “Dang it, I did it again!”
“Just enunciate.” Amy smiles softly.
Luna crosses her arms with a pout, “I'm trying, it's a hard name to say quickly. Heck, you say her name ten times fast!”
“Lien-Da, Lien-Da, Lien-Da, Lien-Da, Lien-Da, Lien-Da, Lien-Da, Lien-Da, Lien-Da, Lien-Da.” Amy sticks out her tongue.
Luna pouts, and crosses her arms as they make their way back to Amy's place. Her sour mood brightens little by little though as she thinks about what she's discovered, and by the time they're at Amy's house she's smiling and giggling softly to herself.
Amy smiles. “So what’s your game plan now?”
Luna looks down at her hands, “...Practice. Then when I'm good with my powers I'll go find Shadow. I doubt he'll just give back my Chaos Emerald if I ask for it.”
“You’d probably be correct. But where will you train? Here?” Amy asks.
She pauses, “...I have no idea… Someplace Shadow won't find me, but someplace Ivo won't find me either… I suppose I could always go back to Knuckles every day.”
Amy smiles amusedly. "I feel like he'd grow annoyed. But, everyone annoys him, so give it a shot."
Luna nods, “Yeah… unless you know anyone else that can fight? Maybe train me to use my speed without word of it getting back to Shadow?”
Amy considers. “...Sonic maybe?”
Luna looks unsure, “I don't know… you sure he wouldn't tell Shadow?”
"Shadow doesn't make a habit of talking to the rest of us. Sonic included." Amy shrugs.
Luna nods slowly, “Well if you're sure…”
“I’m positive.” Amy promises.
Luna nods then, “Okay, then let's call him up."
