Static Reflections: Book 1 of The M... - Chapter 26: Chapter 26

Just like with the basics, the Prism Pistol training became a cycle. Wake up, eat, Victor, train hard, go back, eat, sleep. And every other day, the Siberian tiger washed his clothes.
At first, Nick was horrible at shooting the Prism Pistol. He couldn't shoot a target to save his life. Which was, of course, the point of training. After telling Richard he had honestly never handled a gun before, the raccoon was understanding.
His Mentor taught him how to aim using the forward sight, telling him to close his left eye and focus on his target, lining up the shot in the middle of the sight. Nick still missed but was getting closer.
On his first successful shot, the hyena had a little celebration dance, and, to his big surprise, even cracked a smile from Richard. He didn't call it out, but he jotted it down in his mind.
After that point, he still missed a lot but was hitting targets more than not. Weeks of training passed and he never got frustrated with it, and Richard never got frustrated with him. He was thankful.
Knowing that he had to excel at shooting the weapon, he eventually made it to the point where he was hitting almost every target, rarely missing. It was time for the next step of Prism Pistol training, the different cartridges.
Using the retrieval tablet, they went over every kind of cartridge the Retrieval Tablet had to offer. Red for explosive, green for acid, purple for sleep, so on and so forth. There were even silver cartridges, and Nick knew exactly what those would be used for.
After all of that, Richard deemed that the next day, he would be ready to move on to the third phase of training.
Nick met up with Richard in the hallway, catching him by his sleeve. "Hey, hey, Dick! Good morning!" He was as cheery as ever.
"Good morning, Nicholas," Richard said, with a small smile. "What has you so . . ."
"Bubbly? Just really excited to move on to the next phase of training, I guess. But I did have a question."
"And what's that?" The raccoon asked, sipping the cup of tea he had in his hand.
"Would you say you and I have great rapport?"
Richard lowered the cup and was silent as they continued walking to the training area. ". . . Rapport?"
"You know. We've been training together for a while now and I'm a social animal. You listen to me when I talk about random stuff and you take your time with me when we train. And I feel like we operate on a similar level."
"Are you leading up to a point?" Richard asked, not looking at him. He only kept his eyes forward.
Nick looked down. "Well, I hope you think of us as friends and not just as a student and Mentor. I know you've had a troubled past and I've been trying to be patient with you, too. But I want to be friends so you know you have someone here to rely on and trust."
"What about Iwai?" Richard reminded him.
"Oh . . . yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry, it's just . . . other than Victor, I haven't really made any other friends, either." Nick rubbed his arm. "I'm still reeling from losing my other ones, but I don't want to keep my heart closed, ya know? Even though it was my choice to dorm alone."
Richard looked at him now. "Nick . . . "
"I know I'm younger, and it's weird cuz you're my Mentor, but—"
"Nick," Richard repeated, putting a hand on his shoulder.
The hyena looked over. "Yeah?"
"We're already friends in my eyes."
Nick chuckled and wiped his nose. "Haha, yeah, that's how I've been feeling, too; I just didn't wanna assume."
"Anything else?" Richard tilted his head.
"Yeah. Let's go to the Chinese restaurant in the Plaza after training. I mean, you don't have to, but I thought it would be cool to get to know you outside of all this."
Richard sighed, and he took his hand away. "Certainly. You've earned it with how hard you've been working so far."
Nick smiled. "Awesome." They walked into the entrance of the training room, and he turned around. "So, what's next?"
Richard went over to the wall panel and fiddled around with it. "Gravity Boots training."
Nick looked giddy. "Oh, rad! Alright! Let's do this!"
After messing with the screen for another moment, the room shifted around until it was back to normal from the Advanced Prism Pistol stage Nick was training in yesterday.
Richard walked past the white line and looked around. "All flat. Looks like we're good." He lifted his boot with his foot. "Do you know how these work?"
"Magic?"
Richard shook his head, reaching down and pulling off the shoe, holding it up and stepping closer. He ran his finger along the bottom edge. "As you know, microtechnology is very common in Mortal Guard tools. This was done using a shrinking spell, so the tech was created at a bigger size, but shrunk down and placed between the bottom of the boot and the sole."
Nick nodded. "Very practical of them."
Richard nodded. "The microtech inside is an Orientator, which detects what orientation the boots are in when they press against a surface and casts a spell on the wearer to change their gravity as well. That way, their insides, and clothes shift with them. Just remember, the wall or ceiling you're walking on has to be flat, or you'll disrupt it . . . ."
Nick put a hand on his chin. "Hm . . . wait, so what about diagonals?"
Richard nodded. "Yes, you can walk on flat diagonal surfaces as long as you're pressing against them."
"Jumping?"
"The boots retain the most recent orientation they were in when they last pressed against a surface. If you were on the ceiling, you could jump and still land back on the ceiling because the orientation is still toward it."
"So how the hell do I get off the ceiling without going on the wall?"
"That's something I wanted to mention." Richard slipped his boot back on. "Be careful how you move and dodge on the ceiling. The boots are designed to switch to the opposite gravity when the orientation is the opposite of the current."
"Oh, sweet!" Nick smiled. "So I can go to the ceiling from the floor if I do, like, a handstand?"
"I wouldn't recommend it," Richard warned, looking up, "In smaller spaces, sure. But in warehouses or tall buildings, you switch your gravity on the ceiling, and you'll have a pair of broken legs as your reward."
The hyena's mouth fell open. "Oh, shit, forgot about that part."
Richard reached into his white shirt pocket and pulled out a small blue capsule. "This is a Fall Cushion. Crush it and drop it below you, and it will expand into a material you can fall against and not be hurt." He raised a hand as Nick opened his mouth. "And no, it won't save you from the top of a skyscraper."
Nick's mouth closed. "Anything else to explain?"
"Allow me to demonstrate," the raccoon said, walking up to where the floor met the wall. "Now, I'm going to show you why it's important to run onto the wall every time you get on it."
Nick came over and stood by, with his hands behind his back. "Alright."
Richard lifted his foot and placed it against the wall, and as soon as he moved his other foot, he slipped and fell against it, right on his stomach.
"Oh, right. That makes sense," the hyena chuckled, scratching behind his right ear.
"So, I guess that's another way you can get on the wall or ceiling, say, during a stealth mission." The raccoon turned on his keister and extended his legs until his feet touched the ground, and he stood upon it again. "Just like that."
Richard walked away from the wall, then turned and faced it. "Now, I'll show you what happens when you run. Remember, you can also jump and try to plant both your feet, but running will make you fast enough."
The raccoon rushed forward, and in a smooth motion, he ran right from the ground onto the wall, then stopped and stood there, crossing his arms. "Now, you attempt it."
Nick nodded, looking at the wall. Alright, Nick. You got this. Just run! He thrust himself forward, the side of the room getting closer and closer and closer and . . .
SMACK! He slammed right into the mat of the wall, jumping back after his muzzle hit it. "Oh! Ow! Ow, ow!" The hyena held his nose, whining softly.
Richard gasped gently and ran back to the ground, placing a hand on his back. "You forgot to lift your foot."
"Agh . . . I think I was going too fast," Nick said, looking up at him.
Richard nodded. "For a beginner? Certainly. Let me see."
"Mm . . ." Nick turned.
"Nicholas, let me see," Richard goaded.
The hyena uncovered his nose, revealing two red lines leaking out, scarlet drops forming on his top lip.
The raccoon frowned. "Don't tilt your head back."
"D-do you know a healing spell?" Nick asked.
"No . . . only the Memory Shift spell we all learn. Though I'm pro-mag--well, never mind. No, I don't. I have an idea, though. Step closer."
Nick listened, and Richard reached forward and fiddled with his red tie, pulling it out of the loop and then around from the hyena's neck. The hyena knew that he was in practical mode, but it sure did surprise him.
Richard turned it and pressed the tip of the red tie to Nick's nose. "Hold this, Nicholas."
Nick blinked. "Richard, what the fuck?"
"What?"
"There's literally a bathroom right outside," Nick laughed, his nose still aching.
Richard became flustered. "O-o-oh, well, I was just trying to think quickly . . . Apologies, I'm not very good at this."
Nick continued laughing, and he pulled the tie away from his nose, checking a suspicion he had. "Yep. The red is brighter than the blood." He showed Richard. "It shows up there."
The raccoon frowned.
Nick put it back. "Don't worry about it. I'll just toss the tie to the side for the training."
After a few minutes, Nick's nose stopped bleeding, and he threw his tie across the white line onto the floor. Richard handed him the blue capsule, and, attempting to get onto the wall again, he ran at a moderate pace and managed to lift his foot this time.
The gravity switched instantly, and he noted that it felt nothing like he expected. There was no significant change in how he felt or how his body felt; it genuinely felt like the wall was now the floor.
"I did it!" he cheered. "Holy shit, I'm on the wall!"
Richard applauded. "Great job, Nicholas. Now, try again onto the ceiling, this time!"
Nick nodded, running across the wall and lifting his foot at the concave of the ceiling and the wall. Now, he was looking at Richard, who was on the floor above him, looking up at the hyena.
Nick put a hand to his head. "This is insane! Like, I wasn't freaking out when you said it, but this is genuinely so cool to me!"
"Focus, Nick," Richard responded from above. "Go to the middle of the ceiling and drop the capsule. Don't forget to crush it first!"
"Right!" Nick moved to the center of his floor and took the blue thing between his fingers, squeezing it and hearing a crack of the casing. It was relatively resilient, which was most likely to keep it from accidentally breaking on missions. He dropped it to the floor above.
A few seconds later, an extensive blue spongy material expanded across the ground, puffing and turning out pretty thick. Richard stepped aside to avoid it as it grew.
"Alright! Now, fall onto it! And remember, never fall head first or feet first. It's meant to catch you on your back or stomach."
Nick stared up at the thing waiting to embrace him below. "Uh . . . how the hell do I fall?"
"I recommend squatting and pushing off with your hands while you throw your legs around. As long as your boots face the ground, you'll be good," Richard explained.
"I dunno, Richard, it's really high," Nick gawked. I'm gonna fucking die.
"You can do it, Nicholas! The cushion will catch you!"
Nick swallowed heavily. He squatted down and placed his hands on the ground, beginning to push and stopping, feeling nervous. "Are you sure?"
"I promise you'll be fine, Nick. No more nosebleeds. You might have to do a maneuver like this while you're saving Boris."
Nick chuckled at what he said about the nosebleeds, then nodded determinedly. For Boris.
He pushed with his hands and threw his legs at the same time, rolling over as he felt his palms slip from the ceiling and his heart drop as he plummeted toward what was waiting for him below. He screamed the whole way down.
Once he landed on his back on the Fall Cushion, it hugged his body softly as he sunk into it. He felt comforted, despite his blood pressure being at its max.
The raccoon rushed over. "I told you you could do it."
Nick gulped and shook his head. "Can we save that for a little later in the lessons, please?"
Richard extended his soft hand, and Nick grabbed it, letting the older animal pull him out of the plush surface he was in. "Of course. I know how you feel. Why don't we move on to some other Gravity Boots basics for today?"
Nick nodded, trying to calm down. "Yeah. Yeah, sounds good."
The day of training finished rather well. Richard taught Nick some versatile fighting techniques on the walls and ceilings and how to dodge correctly. Always make sure not to try and roll out of the way.
He also had Nick do multiple exercises of running along the walls, starting from mounting one to starting from the ground and going all the way to the ceiling, to going all the way around.
At the end of it all, Richard told Nick that they would keep practicing the basics and adding everything they had learned up until that point to the current training regime.
The last thing Nick did was fall onto the Fall Cushion one final time, where he was still scared but less. He laid there and looked at the ceiling he was just on above. "I can't imagine being in an active battle and managing all of this."
"You'll get it," Richard said, pulling him out again. "It comes with time and practice. How is your nose?"
Nick put his hand to his face at the mention. "Luckily, it doesn't hurt too much. Thanks for trying to help earlier."
The other animal nodded. "I can't have the animal I'm training be injured, can I?"
"Or your friend," Nick grinned.
"Yes," Richard nodded. "Right. Are you ready to go to the restaurant? Hungry?"
"Starving," Nick complained. "Let's go!"