“Wrong.”

Wendy frowned, adjusted her stance, and tried again. She threw a fast jab, aiming the flat of her fist at Henderson’s neck. Henderson noted the blow, realized where it would land, and caught it with a ready hand. His fingers stung from the force, but he knew she wasn’t putting her all into it.

“Wrong,” he said again, meeting her eyes. “Look where you would have landed.”

Wendy looked more carefully- had Henderson not caught her hand, the knuckles would have struck… right on the tip of his chin. When Henderson noticed the recognition, he nodded. “I’m a little more frail than some of you young’uns, but hitting the chin like that on someone tough’s a good way to break fingers.” He pulled her hand down slightly, so that her fist rested on his Adam’s apple, where she could feel his breathing. Totally calm, despite how fast he’d been moving. “There. Right where the throat bumps out. You wanna crush the windpipe, stop him from breathing, leave him wide open for something else.”

“O-okay,” Wendy responded, nervously noting the angle of attack. “I’m just… not used to going for the throat.”

Henderson smiled warmly. “S’why we’re here, ain’t it? Now that you’ve got the guts to fight back, you need to know where to hit.”

“I don’t need to know where to hit,” Wendy protested. “I’m not a total novice.”

Henderson nodded. “You’re not, but you’re also not fighting to finish the fight. Fights with a bunch of flowery moves and stances are just movie bullshit, kid. Y’ever come at someone good with that and they’ll drop you, no matter how strong you are.”

Wendy gulped. Aside from the guy that got her locked up here in the first place, she hadn’t really fought a pure striker like herself yet, hadn’t had to really test her chops.

“That’s why you gotta learn how to kill,” Henderson noted. “Learn to kill, then not killing’s as easy as holding back.”

Wendy blinked at the thought. Her head still pulsed from the fight before, but she’d been trying her best to retain the knowledge, if anything so that Undyne didn’t threaten to beat it into her again. “I think…” she said, looking down at her own windpipe (and managing to see her collarbone at most), “...I might need some time on that one.”

“Fine,” Henderson said with a wave of his hand. “Last thing for right now: neck snappin’.”

Wendy cocked an eyebrow. “What is it with you and necks?”

Henderson smirked. “Find me a big tough guy with a neck I can’t abuse and maybe I’ll stop teachin’ you ways to exploit the body’s natural weak points, yeah? Anyways, neck snapping. Not gonna kill like the movies, but it’ll turn him into a fuckin’ quadriplegic. Makes the kill easier. Fish, c’mere.”

As she had several times already, Undyne begrudgingly got down on her knees with her back to Henderson, making it clear to all who saw her face that she would very much like to get back to the beating-Wendy-senseless part of her day. She shuddered as Henderson wrapped his arm around her neck, pressing his bicep up against her jaw.

“Don’t just twist the head sideways,” Henderson instructed, pulling up gently on Undyne’s head. “Pull up, separate the vertebrae, then-” he jerked suddenly to the side and Undyne yelped, her eyes growing wide with surprise that turned into embarrassment when nothing happened. Henderson let go and Undyne quickly stepped away, watching Henderson as she massaged her neck and tried to contain a blush. “Twist to the side to sever nerves,” he added finally, winking at Undyne.

- FreestyleKneepad's Round 2