Team Training (Open to Night Hawks)

What: The Night Hawks have assembled to hone their combat skills in a few sparring matches.
Where: The Night Hawks Hotel
When: Early in the morning.

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Mr. Pacific had no idea what this room had been used for before. But now it was the Night Hawks training room. He faced the other Hawks, excited to get this on the way.

"Okay, before we knock each other silly, we must have a few rules: no weapons, no causing serious injuries. We aren't trying to kill each other here. We just want to practice sparring. Now, who wants to face me first?"

Pacific smiled. He knew that all the other Hawks could beat him in a fight. He didn't actually intend to win. What he really wanted was to see exactly what the others were capable of: physically and mentally. He waited for a challenger.

Shawn smirked and said as he removed his shields and axes,"I'm game then faced pacific and slipped into a low wolf like stance. Watching Pacific and waiting for him to make the first move.

Without his axes, would Shawn still be a good fighter? Pacific knew that he could turn into a wolf, which made him wonder why Shawn bothered to carry weapons at all. As for Pacific himself, he would be at a huge disadvantage without his nun-chucks, the weapon he had mastered. He knew a little bit about martial arts, but had not put in enough time to match other martial artists.

Pacific tossed his nun-chucks to the side of the room. He also pulled out his mace spray and gently slid it to the wall. He assumed a defensive stance. Shawn was also in a defensive stance, waiting for Pacific to make the first move.

But Pacific fought with his words.

"Artemis," Mr. Pacific said with an evil smile on his face. "I killed her."

It wasn't true, of course. Mr. Pacific didn't even know who the mysterious Artemis was. However, he did know that Shawn had been close to her, and that she had died. Shawn blamed himself for her death. Bringing up the past was definitely not part of fighting fair, but it was how Pacific fought. He fought with his words.

He waited to see if the remark would get an emotional response from Shawn. If he got Shawn angry, then defeating him would be easy. Since Shawn had a wolf side to him, Pacific guessed that it would be easier than normal to get him angry.

Shawn seemed to still for but a moment and let lose a very animalistic growl as his eyes glazed over and shot forward his hands becoming claw like in seconds. Shawn brought his left arm down in a diagonal slash and then would launch himself up and over Pacific his clawed hands digging into the floor leaving mildly deep gashes in the floor he sped towards Pacific's back in his full wolf forum and lept at the back of pacific's neck his midnight black maw open wide to tear deep into the flesh of the man in front of him as if Pacific had really killed Artemis.

It had worked. Pacific had gotten Shawn angry. He had transformed into his wolf form and was charging him. He even jumped through the air at his target, meaning that he couldn't alter his trajectory.

Pacific brought his right knee up, spun on his left leg, and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to the side of Shawn's head. The force of Shawn's leap would throw off Pacific's balance, but the wolf would be rattled if the attack hit.

The kick connected into shawns head and sent him a few feet away from pacific the wolf dashes foward turning human once more a bit shaky at first due the blow. Shawn then launched a powerful kick at the open side of the now off balance pacific while bringing a upward claw strike at the same time hoping to give pacific no escape from at leat one of the blows.

While Shawn charged at Pacific, the team leader smiled. Although he was still off balance, Shawn was visibly shaken by the kick. Shawn tried to deliver a kick of his own, along with a claw strike. Pacific chose the kick over the claw. Pacific went with the momentum of the kick and was sent flying a few feet through the air. He managed to land on his feet with surprising grace. The armor that he wore under his uniform had softened the blow of the kick considerably, but the kick still stung.

Shawn was strong, just as Pacific had anticipated. Not even a roundhouse kick to the head had taken him down.

Taking a defensive position, Pacific again tried to get Shawn to lose his temper. "Oh please. Do you really think you can avenge Artemis fighting like that? She would be disappointed in you."

Shawn's face twisted into one of rage and then into on of stone he would not lose his anger this time two could play at the game that pacific was playing as he spoke his voice was as cold as steel, "You sicken me Pacific you hide behind words and the death of the one person that looked past my curse as child. Also you know nothing of Artemis. You say she would be disappointed in me I know you are wrong there are only two ways I could disappoint her use my curse for evil or to lose myself within the greif I feel again because of her death." After Shawn finished speaking he changed back into a wolf and charged Pacific again only to change back in an attempt to create a lifting shoulder slam that would hopefully send Pacific into a wall.

Pacific smiled. Of course he didn't know anything about Artemis. He had only ever heard her name once before. But now through Shawn's explanation, he had learned more. He had also learned more about Shawn's 'curse.' It was reassuring to see that Shawn wasn't controlled by his emotions this time.

At first, Pacific thought Shawn would go for his legs, but suddenly the shape-shifter returned to human form and shouldered him into a wall. He would not attempt to fight back, which in a way was an attack. It was a test. A test to see what Shawn would do when his opponent was at a disadvantage and wasn't fighting back.

"Hit me. Use your curse to destroy me, surely that will make Artemis happy."

Nikki stretched and waited her turn to take the sparring floor. She wondered who she would be fighting after Shawn beat Pacific to a pulp, which is where this fight looked to be going.
"Hey, Shawn, don't beat him up to bad." Nikki joked. She wanted a chance to kick some one's butt too and didn't want training to be called short because some one got beat up to bad.
Nikki transformed to her ferret form and curled up on the side lines to catch a few more minutes of sleep while she waited her turn.

Shawn blinked as if coming out of a haze at Nikki's voice looking into Pacific eyes he spoke in a voice so low that only Pacific could hear, "know this you play a dangerous game when you use a persons greif as a weapon for it can be a double edged sword". He then releases Pacific and picks up his shields and axes the tattoos on shawns body that no one noticed that had faded slightly became vibrant as the once where. Shawn then sits down in a cross legged and slips in a medtative state that Artemis had shown him when he was young and awaited the next match.

From the look in Shawn's eyes, Pacific could tell his words were working. He really didn't want to hurt Shawn, but this was the way he fought.

Shawn growled and said that it was a double-edged sword to play with people's grief. Pacific had to agree. He would have to have a talk with Shawn later about the subject. Hopefully, there wouldn't be a grudge held between them. Pacific respected Shawn, and he hoped these fighting words hadn't caused lasting injuries. Pacific was afraid that Shawn was going to have to face far worse emotional attacks in the near future.

Shaking himself off, Pacific realized that he hadn't lost. He hadn't really won either, but Shawn hadn't finished him off. In a way, Pacific was disappointed. Shawn really could be controlled by his emotions.

But then again, they all had weaknesses to work on. Pacific turned to the rest of the team and clapped his hands.

"Let the next match begin. Nikki and Haruhi, show us what you've got."

"Alright!" Haruhi said jumping up and running towards the middle of the sparring area.
She stretched, reaching up and leaning to the side and repeated it the other way.
"Come on Nikki, it's go time."

Nikki smirked, this was going to be fun. She quickly ran out into the middle of the room and smiled at Haruhi, ferret versus cat sounded fun. She looked over at Mr. Pacific, "So do we wait for a 'go' or just go at it?"

Pacific was still catching his breath from his fight with Shawn. The girls were waiting for him to give some sort of signal.

Pacific held up both of his hands and gave a countdown. "Three...Two...One...Go!" He threw down his hands as the fight began.

He wanted to say something to Shawn, but the boy was meditating. Pacific thought it would be rude to interrupt. He simply wanted to explain himself, which was a strange thing. He didn't have powers like the rest of them, so he had to use every trick in the book to stay on the same level with them. That meant using more dangerous weapons like emotional manipulation, lies, and other forms of fighting dirty. He usually tried to avoid fighting, but when it finally came down to a slug-fest, Pacific fought to win. He would not be held down by the 'rules' of combat.

He hoped that Shawn wouldn't hold a grudge against him. Anger was Shawn's weakness, so had Pacific pressed too far?