Techniques for duel-wielding batons

"Ah, yes." Professor Phoebe says, peering over your shoulder at your finger placed beside the list item you want her help with. "It's one thing to swing two batons around wildly, another to learn various flows and barrages you can string together with them. Let's go over one such pattern."

Professor Phoebe leaves for a second, quickly returning with her own pair of metal rods. They're just straight, thin, solid cylinders, so she doesn't have electricity like you -- but this is more about the attack pattern you'll swing with, so you've got the electricity turned off anyway.

Professor Phoebe walks you through the steps of one of the more basic-but-effective combos, which is also one with a lot of easy use-cases in battles -- it doesn't rely on too much more than you having an enemy and the enemy having a body. She swings individual attacks at the target dummy in front of her, freezing on the point of impact, and then instructing you on how to properly do the same to the target dummy in front of you. If you get something wrong, she helps you make the right adjustments, and then repeats it until you get the swinging motion right.

Twisting your hips helps to generate a lot more power with each hit, and you can really feel it when your baton lands on the dummy with that loud SMACK. You also roll your wrists a bit less and stop slowing down just before hitting the target, which probably comes from play-fighting habits you've got. Professor Phoebe says that a lot of what you're learning right now, in addition to adding a quick combination to your combat toolbox, will be generally useful for fighting with these batons in other ways.

When you're consistently getting the first step right, she moves onto the next, treating it the same. Only this time, when your stance is off and you're sort of rolling on your ankles, instead of just repeating the single strike you repeat them both. THWACK THWACK! She carries on this way for a good amount of time, until eventually you manage to get the eighth and final strike fully under your belt.

Professor Phoebe stands back from her dummy to observe you, telling you to re-enact each of the eight steps as fast and hard as you can, bringing in every adjustment that she told you about throughout, so that she can make sure you've got it perfect and so that you get it drilled into your muscle memory. That way, you'll be able to pull it out without even thinking about it! So cool.

Professor Phoebe makes minor suggestions and changes, but for the most part, you've got it good. You can rapid-fire out eight powerful thwacks now, aiming each one properly and landing it hard. When you add in the electricity to each hit, this'll be so good! The combo is basically focused on keeping you light and floaty, ready to move and dodge an incoming attack at a split-second's notice, while each of the eight swings are variable enough to be done from any position you might find yourself in while evading. The strikes flow into each other beautifully, almost like a painting or something else which is beautiful (you're kind of thriving on how well you can pull this technique off now, you get a break for making good metaphors today), landing fast and powerfully in a very momentum-keeping way.

Eight THWACKing sounds ring out as you complete the combination one final time against the target dummy, ducking under and jumping back from occasional light-but-fast arm swings which Professor Phoebe throws out at you from behind the dummy. You stand, a short distance away from it, panting heavily to catch your breath. Professor Phoebe smiles down at you.

"You picked that up fast!" She beams. "Excellent work. You're a fully-accomplished combatant, now."

She reaches down and pats your head appreciatively. You smile wide, finally letting your shoulders drop and your arms hang restfully by your sides after a good long while of gruelling work and effort. But you did it! And you did it very very well, too. Every time you think about the next simulated battle class, your breathing picks up and you get all tingly. You can hardly wait to pull this one out and show everyone!

{if@ Learning Time! > 0}Professor Phoebe gives you a few final tips, then leaves you to repeat and practice the drill while she heads off to work with Delilah and whatever item she's chosen from her list. By the time she comes back around to you for your next choice, you've got this little trick thoroughly integrated into your brain, right next to where money comes from in the city.{else}The bell rings just then, signalling the end of class and the end of your school day. Before anybody leaves, Professor Phoebe calls all of you in for a final discussion in the centre of the Gymnasium. You walk over there with her, batons in happy hands, as all of your classmates converge from each of their various corners of the space.{endif}

New Baton Technique mastered: Baton Flurry!