A/N: Thanks for all of the review and follows, guys. It's been an interesting week so far. I accidentally dissected my finger, so typing is a bit of a pain and I've been brainstorming over how I should foreshadow events later in this fic. Thanks for your continued reading, it means a lot to me. Please enjoy. :)
Star and Marco had been instructed to meet in the courtyard. Today was certainly shaping up to be interesting and Johan didn't seem to care so much that they had just gotten back from their honeymoon. He said that training was of the utmost importance and that he'd be sure to end today's session before it got too late.
In the courtyard there was a table and ten target dummies but no Johan. As they got closer, Marco noticed a selection of weaponry strewn across the table. One thing in particular that caught his eye was a pair of black cloth gloves with adamantite plates fixed to them. He walked up to the table and picked them up delicately.
"Careful with those, they're loaded." Johan called out from the distance.
This sudden announcement almost made Marco drop the gloves. How could gloves be loaded? He couldn't be sure if Johan was joking and thusly placed them back on the table. "What are all of these for?"
"There are places and times where magic won't save you. Today, you two are going to pick weapons and begin training with them for those situations." Johan was now standing behind the table idly flipping a knife in his hand.
"Oh! Oh! I choose this one!" Star enthusiastically declared, hefting up a claymore. "It's nice an' heavy."
Johan couldn't help but chuckle at her enthusiasm. It wasn't every day you got to see a princess enthused over weapons of war. He then turned to Marco and carefully handed him the adamantite gloves. "I think these suit you well."
Marco hesitantly took them and checked their weight. "I don't know, I kinda like swords and stuff." He slid the gloves on. The metal began to morph its shape, covering his hands and forearms in a dark silver. "Woah, what happened?"
"Good, they like you. Now step up in front of the table and take aim at your targets." Johan gestured forwards like a soldier. "Star, you're going to want to cover your ears and stay behind Marco."
She seemed confused but followed her instructions. "Is it really going to be loud?" It didn't make sense for something like a glove to make noise.
Johan was too busy correcting Marco's stance to answer, though her answer came in its own way when Marco swung his fist. An enormous blast rang out and could be heard for miles around. The sound drew several guards to the courtyard in a panic.
Marco was shaking. The kick and echoing sound were almost too much for him to handle. What were these? At the climax of his swing, it felt like his fist had collided with something massive. The target was gone, completely blown away.
"Right between the eyes." Johan remarked in a joking tone, waving up at the guards who had gathered around. "So, how do the gun gauntlets feel?" He gave a thumbs up.
"They're... Incredible," Marco marveled at the destruction in front of him. "But I'm not sure what just happened."
"Yeah, I'd like to know why those things cause such loud noises." Star chimed in, seemingly unfazed by the carnage.
"Well, it uses a contact explosive spell to cause a pressure wave forward, causing a very loud concussive blast as a side effect." Johan responded, gesturing at the gauntlets. "In layman's terms; if you hit it hard enough, it goes boom."
"Oh~ Okay." That was enough of an explanation for Star. "Can I have a pair?"
"I don't know, can you avoid breaking your hands?" Johan asked, cracking all of his knuckles at once.
"I don't know." Star began chewing on her wand absentmindedly.
Marco chuckled and looked down at the gauntlets again, fixated on their watery sheen. "So, why are they all liquidy like this? Is it permanent?"
"Only as permanent as half-congealed gorilla glue." he says with a straight face. "After all, you wouldn't want them coming off in the middle of combat, would you, or maybe taking a one way air trip to Czechoslovakia?"
"Where's Czechoslovakia?" Star asked, confusion growing.
"From here?" Johan asked, turning to Star. "About... Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning."
"It doesn't exist anymore, Star." Marco sighed. "It split into two countries a while ago. Anyway, can we get serious now, Johan? Do these actually come off?"
"They definitely do come off. Although they can't be pulled off, at least not easily." He responded, smiling for a moment before walking over to Marco and dragging his fingers through the substance, causing it to ripple like hot tar. "Right now it sticks to you about as much as... Half-congealed gorilla glue. You just need to will them off, and they'll return to their former state."
"What's 'gorilla glue'?" Star's confusion was nearly at its peak.
"It's like superglue but worse." Marco explained, trying to calm down from Johan's elusive replies.
"Oh. I'll stay away from that then..." She flashed back to when she accidentally glued her fingers together and had to beg Marco to help her.
Johan walked over to the table and picked up the claymore, flicking it up over his wrist before passing it into his other hand and twirling it, then passing it back over again. He turned around and walked back over to Star, grasping the blade firmly and presenting the hilt to her. "You seemed interested, care to try?"
"Coool~" Star took the sword from Johan and tried imitating him but almost immediately dropped it.
Johan watched it plunge two feet directly into the ground with a dull thunk, staring blankly at it before looking back up at Star. "It's a weapon. Not a toy." Ignoring the hypocrisy of his own statement, he pulled it up out of the ground before presenting it to her again. "This time, at least try to hit the target."
Star took the blade again. "Okay." She took a stance and swung at one of the targets. The target dummy fell over, a huge dent in its side armor.
Marco golf-clapped at her achievement. "Nice hit." He called out with faux enthusiasm.
Johan nodded approvingly. "A solid strike. Now, that blade was an experiment of mine to create a mage's alternative to enchanted swords. It acts as a container for any spell cast on it, shaping the spell and making the effects less likely to escape. For starters, I would try willing an edge on it, or shrouding it in fire." he explained, suggesting basic uses.
"I thought you only kept magical artifacts," Marco said accusingly. "So why did you say you made this one?"
"Do you. Understand. How boring. It. Gets. Staring at a library. All. Day?" Johan replied, leaning down towards Marco and staring deep into his eyes. "Kids these days get to have all the shiny toys, at least let me make something interesting."
"Where did you learn how to make artifacts? Got a book on that?" It was Marco's turn to poke fun at Johan.
"It's called the Necronomicon, boy... Want to take a look? Hmm?" Johan replied with a sarcastic drawl. "Besides, do you even know the definition of 'artifact'?"
"No thanks, and yes," Two could play at that game. "I think you're the closest thing I could point out to describe an artifact, anyway."
Johan stared at Marco with a frown for several seconds before straightening up with a grimace. "You should watch your words carefully and pick your fights moreso, but unfortunately what you say is probably closer to the truth than I'd like to admit." He replied with a hint of exasperation and a sigh on his voice before he turned to check on Star.
"Burning~" Star muttered, staring at the blue flames now engulfing the claymore. "Pretty colors." Her voice reduced to a semi creepy whisper.
"Oh, wonderful, a pyromaniac." Johan stated, sighing and scratching his head. "At least she hasn't gone and blown herself up yet." He paused, raising his voice. "Now try setting the dummy on fire... And please don't burn the castle down!"
Marco ignored the last part of Johan's statement, his concern more focused on the small chance of explosion. "Yet?"
"You have a box, a stick of dynamite, and a match. Now, you have to put the lit dynamite inside the box." Johan said with a little concern. "It's not a large chance but, how to phrase it... Does she even know what dynamite is?"
"I think that's the least of our worries right now." Marco raised a finger and sighed. "We should probably do something about Star before the courtyard burns to a crisp."
Maniacal laughter could be heard from Star's general direction as she swung the claymore around, nearly setting the grass on fire. One blow landed on a target dummy and it nearly exploded with the force and flame.
"She's your wife, you go and do something about it." Johan replied simply. "I'll just make sure nothing outside the training ground burns down."
"I see how it is." Marco began marching toward Star as he grumbled. "Give the girl a flaming sword and let someone else deal with it."
Star seemed pretty tired out by the time Marco had walked up to her, panting heavily and resting against the table. "That was... Awesome!" She shouted as she attempted to lift the claymore again.
"Yeah, it kinda was." Marco agreed, placing a hand on her shoulder and smiling. "Do you feel familiar enough with that to not make unintentional explosions?"
"What do you mean?" Her head tilted like a puppy's. "Unintentional?"
"Oh just something Johan was talking about." He started to explain. "Just some possible side effects of using the claymore."
"Like?" She asked slowly.
"Exploding." Johan chimed in with the world's most blank stare. If anything could prove his seeming disconcern more, it would have been a bowl of popcorn.
"Like lit dynamite in a box." Marco clarified, offering a glare at Johan.
"No, it's what happens if the dynamite doesn't go in the box that worries me." Johan retorted, making a placing gesture.
"What happens when the dynamite doesn't go in the box?" Apparently Johan's explanation wasn't exactly clear enough for Marco to understand.
"And what's dynamite?" Star threw in before Johan could answer.
"My god, and here I was being sarcastic. She really doesn't know what dynamite is." Johan responded with incredulity and a face-palm. "It makes explosions. Just be careful when you put spells in the blade."
"Oh~ I like explosions!" Star exclaimed.
Johan shook his head slowly and turned to Marco. "This is your wife?" His expression seemed to ask.
"Yeah..." Marco stated, awkwardly glancing at Johan. Admittedly she was kind of a ditz and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing right now. He turned back to Star and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Star, this explosion isn't the good kind."
"Unless you're trying to kill something. Possibly along with yourself." Johan continued dryly. "At least she's a good enough spellcaster that there shouldn't be a problem." He turned to Star and walked up to her. "Look... Don't try to cast on the blade, try to cast inside of the blade. Think of it as if it were a box. Nothing bad should happen as long as you do that."
"Like a box. Got it." Star repeated back in confirmation. "Can we be done training for today? I can't feel my arms."
"Yeah, I feel like we've got the basics down. That and you said we would be done before too late." Marco added.
"Yes yes, I agree that it's about time to wrap up here. I'll keep the weapons in the armory, you can come and get them at any time." Johan says with a quick nod. "I'll take the sword, just put the gauntlets on the table, they're a bit hard to hand off without dropping."
"Okay." The two chimed in unison, leaving their new magical items in the care of Mr. Keeper. It was off to the baths and then bed for them.
A/N: Good morning/afternoon/evening/midnight snack time, peoples. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. :) This author note is a bit longer because announcements. Johan is now being written almost entirely by a dear friend of mine who is also my new proof-reader, uGuardian. Thusly Johan has undergone a subtle change in writing styles. I wrote the original dialogue in the previous chapters, though he's going to be largely the same. Writing via co-op with Eugene(not his actual name, just a play on his username) is pretty fun so you can expect more content like this in the future, even if Johan isn't present. Now for his introduction:
"Yo." - uGuardian
Anyway, please don't be too salty over my decision to start writing this as a pseudo co-op, I really needed a proof reader and he volunteered. I.e. I asked for his help because he's writing his own character named Johan. Also, we may be getting some artwork for this fic soon. I'll put links on my profile if it ends up being posted.