The training area is a sprawling, dirt-packed square bordered by stacked hay bales and rusted metal targets. The air hangs heavy with the scent of ozone and wet earth as a light drizzle turns the dust into slick, grey mud. Seth stands at the center, his heavy sheriff revolver holstered at his hip as he stares at the distant target range, his stump throbbing with a phantom ache.
Seth
I can't let this war be defined by what I lost. Negan wants me broken, but I’m still standing. I need to make sure every recruit here knows exactly how to put a bullet through a Savior's skull before the sun goes down.
Morgan Jones walks toward him, his bo staff held loosely in his right hand. He stops a few paces away, his gaze tracking the tension in Seth's shoulders.
Morgan Jones
Seth, you are holding onto that grip like it is a lifeline. Your posture is crooked. You are fighting the gun instead of letting it become an extension of your own movement.
Seth
Morgan Jones, I don't have the luxury of perfect form anymore. Just tell me where I am dropping my lead.
“I need to train to find and take down Gareth and to be prepared for negan”
SUCCESS (Legendary Tactics, rolled +0)
Seth
My balance is off, but my mind is clearer than it has been in weeks. If I shift my stance to compensate for the missing weight, I can pivot through the recoil instead of fighting it. Gareth won't expect me to move this fast.
Seth adjusts his footing, sliding his boots into the mud to anchor his frame. He draws the desert eagle with his remaining hand, his movements fluid and calculated. He fires a rapid, precise string at the rusted targets. Each round rings out with deafening clarity, the projectiles punching clean holes through the weathered metal at the exact distance he anticipates for urban combat.
Morgan Jones
You found it. That rhythm, it is not just about the weapon. It is about how you breathe through the transition. You keep that focus, and you will be ready for whatever Negan throws at your door.
Seth
Focus is just the start. Now I need to see how they react when I come for them in the dark.
“Can you teach me some melee I asked Morgan?”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Seth
Morgan, you have a way of moving that makes the steel look like an extension of your own arm. My hand is gone, but the instinct is still there. Can you teach me some melee? I need to know I can put them down when the ammo runs dry.
Morgan Jones
It is not about brute strength. It is about redirection and using the weight of your enemy against them. If you want to master the blade with only one hand, you have to let go of how you fought before. Are you ready to unlearn everything?
Seth
I have nothing left to lose except my life. If he says to drop the gun, I drop it.
Seth holsters his weapon, the leather creaking in the damp air. He squares his shoulders, shifting his weight to balance against the phantom sensation of his missing limb. He holds his remaining hand open, signaling his readiness to begin the brutal, slow process of relearning how to kill without a trigger.
“They have a friendly training match and Morgan teaches Seth how to fight good with speed technique and good melee skill”
SUCCESS (Legendary Melee Combat, rolled -1)
Morgan Jones
Keep your center low. Your balance shifted the moment you lost your limb. If you lean too far into your strike, you offer them the ground. Pivot on the ball of your foot.
Seth
I am trying to overcompensate. It feels like I am swinging at ghosts.
Seth lunges, his movements a blur of tactical precision despite the missing weight of his hand. He feints a high strike, then snaps his shoulder inward to deliver a bludgeoning blow with his remaining forearm. Morgan pivots with uncanny grace, his staff moving like a pendulum to deflect the momentum. They clash, the sound of wood meeting flesh echoing through the mist. Seth finds his rhythm, his missing hand no longer a hindrance but a pivot point for a brutal, sweeping hook that forces Morgan back two steps.
Seth
The technique is there. If I can control the reach, I can control the kill.
Morgan Jones
Good. You are fighting with the weight of the man you were, not the man you are. Now, hit me again, and mean it.
“We train the rest of the day as he explains my fighting and shooting are getting better”
SUCCESS (Legendary Melee Combat, rolled +2)
The hours bleed into one another. The mist thickens, clinging to their skin like a shroud, but the rhythm of the training remains unbroken. Seth flows through forms he once thought impossible, his missing limb now a ghost that guides his center of gravity.
Morgan Jones
Stop. Look at your feet. You are dancing, not fighting. That precision you are finding? Keep it, but sharpen the intent.
Seth
Every movement feels like an extension of the blade I am missing. I am finally beginning to anticipate the shift before I even make it.
They spar until the sun dips behind the walls, casting long, jagged shadows across the mud. Seth delivers a final, punishing strike that stops a hairbreadth from Morgan’s chest. The control is absolute.
Seth
The Saviors rely on brute fear. If I can move like this in the dark, they won't even see the end coming.
Morgan Jones
You are ready for more than just drills now, Seth. What comes next?