Chapter Six

“Artisans must understand their heroes’ weaknesses better than the heroes themselves. While the hero must remain confident in any situation, it’s the artisans’ responsibility to shield them from unforeseen dangers.” - Coach Williams.

Frank & Will

“When are you going to tell her you love her?” Frank’s eyes bore into Will, devoid of any humor.

“Who? What?” Will stammered, trying to grasp Frank’s intent.

“Dude,” Frank said as they halted outside the Smithy. “You’re clearly in love with Penny.”

Will rubbed his face with his hands. “Frank, I have a skill that lets me read people better, and you still surprised me.”

Frank remained unfazed, waiting for an honest answer.

Will chuckled, “I am not.” But he couldn’t shake Frank’s determined gaze.

“Okay, I really like her. Happy now? That doesn’t mean I’m ready to confess my love. We’ve probably had about two hours of interaction in total.”

“When it’s right, it’s right,” Frank said, smiling. “That’s what my Dad used to say about him and my Mom.”

“What do you think he’s up to right now?” Will asked, noticing the shift in Frank’s emotions.

“Honestly, I’m not sure. I’ve lost track of time, but I think it’s around Sunday in Earth hours. He would’ve been at my game yesterday. He doesn’t know much about football but never misses a game. Always sat in the front row with a foam finger,” Frank chuckled, his voice thickening with emotion. “It tears me up inside knowing I couldn’t be there to tell him I’m okay and helping you all. He’d be proud.”

“A foam finger? We had those for purchase?” Will mused.

“That was my Dad. He probably looked up ‘Football Fan’ online and saw a picture of a fan with a foam finger. I told him they weren’t popular anymore, but he insisted. I think he customized it himself.”

“He sounds pretty cool, Frank.”

“The coolest… but yeah, he probably went to the school after your run-in with Weavers and got there after Penny and Mr. Reynold had left. Honestly, I don’t know if anyone else knows what happened to me, and even those two wouldn’t have known at that point. I wish I could send a message. Everyone loves him, but he never had close friends. My mom and I were his best friends. After she passed, all he had was me.”

“I’m sorry, Frank. While I haven’t lost a parent, I understand what it’s like to care for a single parent. Do you mind if I ask about your mom?”

“Oh, it’s fine. She passed away from cancer a few years back. We caught it at stage 3 and never got a handle on it. I’m just happy she didn’t suffer,” Frank said, wiping his face with his letterman’s jacket. “I can’t help but think Nadia could have saved her if she had survived a few more years. I know I can’t dwell on that, but it motivates me. My mom was amazing, but you all have the talent to save many more.”

“Thanks to you and Trish. And Coach Williams, too, but he’s different… We’ll make sure Penny and Luck get in contact with your dad next time we’re back on Earth.”

“I know…” Frank said, his voice trailing off. He took a deep breath and then shifted gears. “Alright, on a lighter note, I talked to Tuck about his love interest last time before I showed him his new weapon.”

“His new weapon? Meaning, I have a new weapon?” Will’s eyes beamed, then quickly refocused. “Wait, Tuck’s love interest? You know about that?”

“Dude, it doesn’t take a mind reader to know he has the hots for Nadia,” Frank said with a smile.

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“Okay, this is too much to process. First, tell me what Tuck said, then show me this weapon.”

“Ah, lackluster. That man is a vault of emotions,” Frank replied, noting Will’s unsurprised expression. Their faces then lit up with glee and excitement, both knowing the next topic.

“All right, you know this is a Trish AND Frank build. I was planning on letting her unveil it to you since I got the opportunity with Tuck, but she moved on once that egg showed up. But! That wasn’t due to the awesomeness of this weapon,” Frank said with a wry smile.

Frank and Will moved to the Smithy’s entryway. Frank placed his hand on the door. “Alright, yada yada, you need something denser than ice that meshes with your affinities and skills. Also, we know you might lose access to a water source. So, think of this item as our solution for that…”

Frank pushed the door open slowly. “Witness! The next great weapon to honor our legendary team.” As the door fully opened, Frank closed his right fist and covered it with his left hand, bowing as Will’s eyes found the new creation hovering and rotating on the podium.

The object glimmered in the light, dual blades extending from a longer central handle, almost like two katanas attached at the center. They weren’t dense like Tuck’s Warhammer but looked hollow like metal twisted out from the center to form the blade outlines. Moving closer, Will saw a blue gem centered in the handle of the weapon.

“Go on, inspect it!” Frank almost shouted.

Dual-Bladed Katana

Mid D-Class

This weapon boasts two katana-like blades extending from a central handle, exuding an aura of lethal elegance. The hollow blades are edged with Celestium, a rare and mystical metal renowned for its energy consumption and affinity weaving potential. This extraordinary metal is molded into extremely sharp, twisting tips that gleam with a deadly allure. The handle is adorned with a deep blue gem that serves as a void storage, allowing the wielder to draw water from a pocket dimension and freeze it within the blades, enhancing their lethality with a chilling effect. Additionally, the handle can disconnect, transforming the weapon into two separate blades for versatile two-handed combat, making it a formidable choice for any warrior. (UPGRADEABLE)

“I’ve got to name it, right?” Will said, admiring the weapon.

“YES, please! I didn’t want to bring it up since Tuck is so slow to the punch with his Warhammer, but yeah. Can we not call this thing the Dual-Bladed Katana? It’s way more awesome than that.”

“Do you have any names in mind?” Will asked.

“Let me first tell you the specs, or at least how they apply to you. This mighty weapon is made out of the same stuff as Tuck’s Warhammer, but Trish and I were able to manipulate the Celestium into thin pieces. They’re extremely durable, but the idea is to allow you to use the void gem with the water supply and ‘fill’ the inside with your ice. It won’t do much for durability, but it will allow you to manipulate your ice while maintaining the sword’s sharp edges. This source also allows you to pull water no matter what type of environment you’re in. While you’ll still need to train with other sources, you won’t immediately be at major risk in a new area or environment. And lastly, which I think is the coolest part but is not highlighted in the system description…”

“Wait, why wouldn’t something be in the description?”

“Oh. When you custom-make something, the AI rendering the product scans the creation and builds out a blurb with some fluff on the most important elements of the item, but it’s not all-encompassing. Sometimes, it misses little elements that may not be important for some but are highly needed for others… Here, go grab the weapon.”

As Will walked up to grasp the weapon, he immediately felt a pulse of the weapon’s energies merge with his. Celestium metals could absorb a charge and run with latent energies.

“Now, what you felt was Trish’s latent energy merging with yours, and your energy now powering up the weapon. Do me a favor and try to pull all your energy out of the sword,” Frank requested, watching Will move the weapon around like he was holding a delicate baby.

Will did as requested and isolated the energy within the Katana, immediately withdrawing his presence. As he did this, he heard the sound of metal compacting as both blades retracted into the handle.

“YOU GOT ME A LIGHTSABER?” Will looked at Frank with unbridled joy.

“Ha! Yes and no. This way, you won’t cut someone’s arm off if you swing those things around, allowing you to transport the weapon easily. We also purchased backstraps for the blades so you can tuck the handles behind your shoulders for easy access.”

“Okay, so now I am a Jedi-Leonardo? Could this day get any better?”

“Exactly! He’s the blue one too! Anyways… so my idea of a name…”

“Don’t let me down, Frank. I’m all ears on this one.”

“So hear me out. My first thought was to name it ‘Blice,’ like a blue ice slice of pizza.”

“Frank…”

“Wait, wait… I went away from that quickly as there weren’t too many pizza-themed names that I thought were cool. Then I went back to the lightsabers… and, what are your thoughts on… Kenobi?”

Will looked at his blade, zoning out Frank, who continued to talk about how Ken was Japanese for sword. Tuck was right; Bertha was a terrible name for the Warhammer, but Kenobi? Well, it was… perfect. As Will pushed his energy into the sword once more, the blades sprang to life, and as quickly as the blades locked into place, a wave of water flushed out of the gem and immediately compressed into ice. The blades extended out to both sides of Will as he held onto the handle with both hands.

“DUDE…” Frank mused in wonder at Will’s now-activated weapon as Will made the necessary changes with his Nexy.

New Weapon Detected - Kenobi (D-Class, Mid)