Stephanie's Journal: The Second Trial
I was happy and I was losing it at the same time. Tim lived and all, but...just looking at him made my stomach do a backflip. It was like he was...well, thrown down a cliff. That just doesn't have a comparison. And after getting him back for like, 5 minutes, these League of Assasins jerks take him away again. I don't even know if I can trust them to take care of him. And I never even have enough time to worry, either. On our way to the next trial, a ninja orders me to follow him while Ra's and Jackie go somewhere else. The ninja hands me a wooden spear and tells me to follow the hall. This spear was a joke, too. I mean, the blade was wooden! The hell am I gonna do with this? And...what am I supposed to do here? At the end of the hall was this ledge. Looking down it was just a drop into an abyss. Jutting out from the darkness was a bunch of posts big enough to balance on with one foot. Is this the trial? In the wall to my left was a big window, with Ra's and Jackie looking through. Jackie just smiled and gave me a thumbs up. I couldn't help but grin seeing him. At least I have something to keep me confident. Ra's voice didn't help, though.
"Just like I've observed Timothy, I've observed you, Stephanie. Though your skills in combat aren't of Timothy's level just yet, you would still be quite the challenge to some of my veteran assassins. What's most notable about your combat skills is that your agility and balance seem to surpass Timothy's, and his are already near Olympic levels. But now it is time to see if Timothy's training has payed off. Testing your skill and balance, you will face one of my best on these posts. And one more thing: losing your balance is not an option."
I dunno what's worse; the fact that I gotta fight someone on freaking posts, or that old creep Ra's has been watching me from the shadows for god knows how long. No turning back now, though. Whoever I gotta fight, they're going down. Everyone back home is counting on me now. I take my first step on a post and I can already tell things are gonna be bad. These posts are way more wobbly then they should be. And...what's that smell? Kinda like smoke and ammonia... Wait, its coming from below! But I can't see anything....How far down does it go? Just look up. My opponent is right there! Huh, a woman. She's got a spear with a actual metal blade. Yeah, make this more unfair then it already is. There's not even a bell or some guy yelling "FIGHT!" She just starts jabbing that spear at me. Keeping my balance while dodging was ridiculous, and she was stupid quick. Even though I was dodging well, she still got me a few times. There were a few cuts on my arms, some on my sides, and she even went for a leg, too. And blocking with my crappy little kiddy spear wasn't a good idea. Her blade dug more than halfway into the shaft, almost slicing it in two. If I so much as swing wrong with this thing now, it'll snap like a toothpick. And when I try to attack, she easily blocks with her spear and nearly pushes me off the post I'm standing on. Man, I gotta think quick here. She's faster, more skilled, and has better balance then me. I've already lost mine and barely recovered a few times already. There's gotta be something I can do. I can't fail now. Not like this...
Stephanie's Journal: The Second Trial
I was happy and I was losing it at the same time. Tim lived and all, but...just looking at him made my stomach do a backflip. It was like he was...well, thrown down a cliff. That just doesn't have a comparison. And after getting him back for like, 5 minutes, these League of Assasins jerks take him away again. I don't even know if I can trust them to take care of him. And I never even have enough time to worry, either. On our way to the next trial, a ninja orders me to follow him while Ra's and Jackie go somewhere else. The ninja hands me a wooden spear and tells me to follow the hall. This spear was a joke, too. I mean, the blade was wooden! The hell am I gonna do with this? And...what am I supposed to do here? At the end of the hall was this ledge. Looking down it was just a drop into an abyss. Jutting out from the darkness was a bunch of posts big enough to balance on with one foot. Is this the trial? In the wall to my left was a big window, with Ra's and Jackie looking through. Jackie just smiled and gave me a thumbs up. I couldn't help but grin seeing him. At least I have something to keep me confident. Ra's voice didn't help, though.
"Just like I've observed Timothy, I've observed you, Stephanie. Though your skills in combat aren't of Timothy's level just yet, you would still be quite the challenge to some of my veteran assassins. What's most notable about your combat skills is that your agility and balance seem to surpass Timothy's, and his are already near Olympic levels. But now it is time to see if Timothy's training has payed off. Testing your skill and balance, you will face one of my best on these posts. And one more thing: losing your balance is not an option."
I dunno what's worse; the fact that I gotta fight someone on freaking posts, or that old creep Ra's has been watching me from the shadows for god knows how long. No turning back now, though. Whoever I gotta fight, they're going down. Everyone back home is counting on me now. I take my first step on a post and I can already tell things are gonna be bad. These posts are way more wobbly then they should be. And...what's that smell? Kinda like smoke and ammonia... Wait, its coming from below! But I can't see anything....How far down does it go? Just look up. My opponent is right there! Huh, a woman. She's got a spear with a actual metal blade. Yeah, make this more unfair then it already is. There's not even a bell or some guy yelling "FIGHT!" She just starts jabbing that spear at me. Keeping my balance while dodging was ridiculous, and she was stupid quick. Even though I was dodging well, she still got me a few times. There were a few cuts on my arms, some on my sides, and she even went for a leg, too. And blocking with my crappy little kiddy spear wasn't a good idea. Her blade dug more than halfway into the shaft, almost slicing it in two. If I so much as swing wrong with this thing now, it'll snap like a toothpick. And when I try to attack, she easily blocks with her spear and nearly pushes me off the post I'm standing on. Man, I gotta think quick here. She's faster, more skilled, and has better balance then me. I've already lost mine and barely recovered a few times already. There's gotta be something I can do. I can't fail now. Not like this...