Blow Away Those Pirates (Job with Johann)

Johann's morning was everything other than relaxed. It's not like he actually had to sleep, or rest for that matter, but he still enjoyed time for himself, mostly for his runic experiments, especially in the early morning hours when business and paperwork weren't really a thing that too many people worried about at the headquarters building of the West Fiore Trading Company. Still, he enjoyed every single minute where he and his partner, even though said partner would vehemently deny his role and instead insist on "servant", didn't have to deal with guild matters, paperwork in particular, for which there was simply too much for the Vice President these days. Additionally, Tolgalen, the nation controlled by the West Fiore Trading Company that included all of Divide Island et cetera, seemed to, "for some odd reason", obviously the Company's enormous wealth, influence and reputation, periodically suffer from waves of invasions. Not only from the outside by say pirates, or in a more recent case, dark mages accompanied by necromancers, but also from the inside, with settlements being regularly attacked by the gigantic magical beasts that roamed the vast jungles and hinterlands of the island.

It was also this fact that was responsible for more headaches than Johann was willing to tolerate, the extreme vastness that was Divide island. Sure, for ships approaching some of the many docks the island it seemed like a large island, one of the largest in this particular island chain, but nothing out of the ordinary, and certainly not even close to the actual size of the island. If one would leave their boat and head further island they would however realize that Divide Island, and similarly the nation of Tolgalen, was almost ridiculously vast, the island itself with its characteristic mountain range splitting it in half artificially expanded by powerful spacial magic. So, the West Fiore Trading Company, when it had purchased the island and declared the nation of Tolgalen, of course Johann hadn't been around for that, had seemed to have bitten off more than it could chew back then, but had managed, in a for the task at hand relatively short timespan one might add, to make the best out of the situation, wielding a sizeable population, amount of resources and even military to its advantage. Which was probably the reason things like these kept happening again and again and he as second in command, along with his two colleagues, had to take care of these things: Pirate invasions.

Despite the fact that the navy made sure the trade routes vital to the existence of the thalassocracy were protected and pirate threats were being dealt with accordingly, some managed to slip through the cracks here and there, only natural when it came to a state as vast as this one. In this case, Johann and Artorias, who were sharing a room in the HQ's living quarters, were disturbed by a fanatic knocking on the door about an hour after sunrise, Johann rising from his desk at the window to open the door, his two rapiers producing faint metallic sounds as they rocked back and forth on his belt a little when the Vice President stood up, placing a pair of glasses on his desk and heading for the door, dressed in a professional white suit, a formal white shirt beneath with the company pin right above his heart. "My gods, will you stop with this infernal tumult !?" he shouted, Artorias looking up from the book in his hands as he leaned forward a little in the armchair he was sitting in, and the knocking ceased, the lock creaking slightly as he turned the key and unlocked the door.

It opened, revealing behind it a relatively tall, muscular, blond young man, his uniform white with streaks of ocean blue, his hat identifying him as a member of the navy. The man, quite out of breath, yet still very formal in posture, gave the Vice President a short salute. "Sir, it is true, we have received word that Newport has been seized by pirate forces, the garrison has been eliminated and -" "What ? Pirates ? ON Tolgalen ?" Johann interrupted the man before him "Yes, Sir,". Johann sighed, he had received reports of unusual maritime activity in that area a few days ago and had sent a scout vessel to investigate, but the crew had found nothing, and he had written it off as a fisher or a transport drifting off course. Now he was certain. "State your name and rank, soldier" he commanded, the other promptly giving answer. "Lieutenant Lancer, Sir" the blonde man saluting once more "Lieutenant Lancer, I need you to notify the Admiral for me, we need a battleship near Newport as soon as possible ! It's already too late, and every second counts. Artorias !", the knight had already risen from the comfort of the chair, dressed in a similar attire, foreseeing what would come next "Yes, my Lord ?", Johann turned around, a serious expression on his face, commenting "We will take care of this ourselves !" before grabbing a pair of white, runed gloves off his desk "and for the last time, Artorias" he slid the gloves over his hands "I am not a lord".

He had, along with the knight, stormed out the HQ, instantly turning them both into a stream of wind as soon as the fresh breeze hit them, a few moments later reappearing close to the besieged settlement in question. The smoke could be seen from where they were already, and the occasional crack of a gunshot reached them as Johann, in full sprint, made his way towards the epicenter of trouble, Artorias flying along in his falcon form, easily able to keep up with the VP's insane speed. Johann came to a stop when he had gotten close enough, out of the motion of his sprint almost bumping into ... a girl ? This was unexpected.

Johann wanted to open his mouth, wanted to speak and tell her that she should get away immediately, he had mistaken the blond girl for a child at first, but realized it when her eyes met his. The deep red colour of her eyes wasn't something that you would see all day, and when Johann saw it, it reminded him of his own eyes, the eyes, the red left and the grey right one, that were both blessing and curse at times, and he knew that he was wrong. She was a mage, a determined one at that, that much was certain, and without too much further explanation on his part she told him about her intentions. Their interests were, coincidentally, the same, and Johann was appreciative of all help he could get, and thus didn't question her motives or anything of that sort at this particular point in time, only following up with what in his opinion was a necessity. There would certainly be more time for getting acquainted later.

"Johann von Weiss, Vice President of the West Fiore Trading Company" bowing forward slightly as he raised his right hand to his left shoulder before drawing both of his rapiers, turning to follow her.

"Ready when you are"

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Word Count: 1.204
Word Count Total: 1.204 /3000

"Poko, hm ?" Johann repeated the name in his head, certain that it would be one that he would keep in mind. Taking one more look at the blonde girl beside him he truly started wondering, just who was she ? What was she doing here ? The thing that intrigued him the most were the eyes, the interested possibly stemming from his own curse. Maybe she had similar abilities ? No, that would be extremely unlikely, it was ancient, long lost magic, after all.

Still, she wasn't shy about displaying her magical abilities, proving capable in the use of wind magic , a thing that intrigued Johann even further. The Vice President could see the gentle flow of the air, the ripples it produced in the gaseous towards her fist before it reacted violently, compressing around it, feeling the pressure. She was using magic in a similar way compared to himself. And effectively so as well. The first pirate hit by the projectile was knocked unconscious the instant he was hit. Well, the presentation could have been a little better, leading the WFTC to believe that maybe she hadn't had the chance to collect too much combat experience yet. Naturally, the other pirate mages noticed, turning their heads to reveal expressions distorted with anger.

It caught Johann a little off guard when the girl revealed another ability of hers, summoning an ... angel ? What exactly was going on here ? Quite awed at the sight of something unusual Johann had to collect himself to not fall behind as the angelic being took out another one of the pirate group. They were obviously not amused, their hands and surrounding erupting with sporadic signs of fire magic, still, Johann felt not the least threatened. They were pawns, and as much as the Vice President found the interaction between Poko and the angel to be entertaining, he had to disagree with her fundamentally. "No Killing she said", Johann stopped himself from shaking his head. These were invaders seeking to plunder and pillage HIS home, the place and the family he had sworn, under oath to a most dear friend, to protect at all costs, and he couldn't have taken this more serious, unsure if he should hold back. While simply eliminating them would have certainly been the most efficient method of dealing with them, he couldn't quite start cutting these grunts in half before the girl, no, it wouldn't reflect well on the Trading Company. "You're lucky that she is here" he thought and sheathed his rapiers before calling out "Artorias !". The falcon reacted quickly, shooting down from the skies above where had circled before quickly shifting back to his human form, giving the VP a quick, yet respectful bow as Johann lowered his voice "We will follow her example, make sure to leave them alive, who knows, maybe it will prove useful" "Understood, my lord". He felt like sighing out loud, but left it at that.

"Very well then, time for us to show what we can do" he spoke out, more for himself than anyone else, before kneeling down into a sprinting stance, doing the same as Poko had done, the air swirling towards his right fist before explosively compressing, forming a glowing grey aura of storming wind around it before a grey magic circle appeared beneath the Vice President's feet. He accumulated a great amount of pressurized air around himself, releasing it explosively just a moment later to be catapulted forward at the group at a speed just faster than mach 3, instantly breaking the sound barrier with its distinct and characteristic boom. It took him about the blink of an eye to close the distance between him and one of the four finger pirates, his fist digging into the man's chest before transferring the insane amount of kinetic energy, his feet leaving the ground before he was launched back violently, stopped a moment later by the massive stone wall of a house, the impact producing a crater with the now unconscious man in its middle.

Artorias, who followed his master at the same, if not greater speed zapped through the air, his lightning body transporting him right into the middle of the group as he reappeared behind another one of the pirates, his hand rushing at the mans back coated in a layer of rapidly moving electricity. He struck the man hard, the other had no chance to react, and thus the shock was unleashed upon the poor individual who, losing consciousness instantly, collapsed face forward into the sand. To Johann and Artorias respectively it was obvious, these lowly vassals were no match for them.

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Word Count: 779
Word Count Total: 1.983 / 3.000

Johann and Artorias stood side by side, before them a small group of 4 fire mages, "Four-Finger's Pyromaniacs", whips of flames rushing toward them. They were painfully slow. Johann easily avoided the first fire attack by ducking down, the magical flame rushing over his head as another one approached from the side. Johann spun around quickly, using one arm to launch himself off the ground and up into the air, catching a glimpse of the magical beast he called his partner avoiding the fire magic no less excellent than himself. Johann landed safely on his feet, another spell forming in his right hand, the Vice President accumulating around his fist another stream of pressurized air. This time, he swung his hand horizontally, releasing a wave of pressurized air that rushed at the 2 pyromancers before him, knocking out both with one strike as the spell struck their bodies. The pirates were launched back and landed in the sand, now lying motionless.

Beside Johann, Artorias had engaged the two in melee, fists of raging thunder striking those of scorching flame, the clash of elements producing a loud crack every time they met. A hand coated in flame came rushing for the falcons head, but his adversary proved to be way too slow for Artorias' enhanced speed and reactions, the knight simply dodging to the side before he followed with his own counter attack, his kick hitting the other directly in the face. The pirate stumbled back, unable to hold himself on his feet and collapsed just a moment later. A subtle smirk raised one of the corners of his mouth, but the feeling of accomplishment didn't last long, a fireball striking him at the back of the left shoulder just moments later. "You filthy ...", the man turned around to see the other pyromancer behind, a flame quietly flickering in each hand. The white uniform had been torched, a blackened hole revealing the light skin beneath where the spell had struck, both men now facing each other with expressions of pure anger. Artorias' lightning body had prevented him from taking any real damage, but the criminal had dared to damage the precious uniform of the West Fiore Trading Company. "I will not forgive you" Once more, in the blink of an eye, Artorias had moved through the air and teleported behind his opponent with the speed of lightning, his clawed right hand bristling with electrical energy. He grabbed the pirates head from behind and, with a loud roar, he unleashed upon the man an electrical charge that knocked him out instantly. "Just great ... i'll have to get that replaced ...".

Only two of the pirate groups pyromancers remained, but the outcome of the battle would be clear, even to them. They didn't even try to attack either Johann or Artorias, instead choosing to ignore their injured comrades and retreat. "Despicable" Johann couldn't help but comment in his head, but had not the intent nor the chance to pursue them, they'd see soon enough.

Johann's thoughts however were interrupted by an explosion rocking the sandy ground around them, and he turned, seeing that Poko had gotten herself into a pretty dangerous situation. She was facing a huge, metallic golem, bearing no less than 3 artillery cannons on its body. The company of the angel, in this case, proved to be a saving grace. Not only was the angelic being fast and strong enough to easily deal with the summoner, the huge construct consequentially collapsed after their summoner dropped, the girls own summon disappearing shortly after. It was truly peculiar. Johann didn't come into contact with summoning magic all these often these days, the only other one he knew was one of his fellow VPs, but he was getting distracted, shaking his head to shift his focus back to the priority.

The girl seemed exhausted, dropping to her knees and starting to sob. Johann had to do something. There had to be something he could do, he at least had to try, hurrying back to his ally before extending a gloved hand towards her. "We can't give up just yet, Poko. Please, help me defend my home" Johann wasn't the best when it came to motivational speeches, lacking charisma where he wished he didn't, but he hoped that he could at least muster enough strength for the two of them. His eyes flared up much the same like Poko's had done before, his pupils now shining in a bright, crimson red, his left eye turning completely black as the runes, normally hidden, lit up, red scripture running down the VPs face and neck as the air around him soared with magical energy. Behind him, a whistle could be heard as projectiles raced through the air and struck the beach just before the town moments later, the ensuing explosions shaking the ground.

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Word Count: 810
Word Count Total: 2.793 / 3.000

"I see, Poko. Thank you very much for your help" Johann gave back to the girl as she regained her composure. He felt for her. There were times in his life when he, too, had wanted to just sit down and give up, thinking about it she had to be around the same age as he was on that fateful day decades ago, but the pirate gang were still trying their very best to make the life of the townsfolk hell, turning what was a peaceful trading dock into an inferno slowly but surely, and he wouldn't let that go unpunished, determined to take revenge for actions of the gang. This was a declaration of war, and naturally, when the girl stormed off towards the source of the attack, the huge vessel just outside the town, Johann followed swiftly but not without addressing his companion "Artorias, you stay here. The rest of them are mine", ready to put an end to their opponents' little offensive, his blood nigh boiling with anger as the runes on the left side of his body flared up with deep crimson red colour.

Johann, when the two arrived at the large, no, enormous pirate ship did the same as Poko, staring up. It was true, the scum that dared calling themselves pirates, a disgrace in Johann's eyes, did indeed possess an impressive ship for mere lowlifes, but it wouldn't get them too far. Johann raised to fingers to his ear, whispering through the telepathic link that only certain guild members had access to. "ETA ?", nodding at the response he got. "Still enough time to play", turning towards Poko to see that she had started to climb up the ships hull ... with nothing but a rope ? Johann had completely disregarded that fact. Of course, not everyone could just fly like him, he could've picked her up and taken her to the top, but she had already started climbing. He couldn't just fly up on his own and let the girl make her way up the hard way alone, could he ? The Vice President sighed a little as he, too, snatched a piece of rope and started climbing. A short while and a tedious climb later the elder male peeked over the railing of the ship, finding before him, much to his surprise, an almost empty deck, only a couple pirate mages handling cannons, loading powder and shot between lazily firing volleys at the docks every other couple of seconds. "Is this a joke ? Is this a game to them ?!" , a vein swelling on his temple. Quite simply put, Johann was pissed.

He swung himself up the railing, signalling to Poko to be quiet, a finger over his lips, thinking they hadn't been spotted. The mages were busy and paid attention only to their artillery, the perfect opportunity for a surprise attack, slowly setting a foot forward when he flinched. "Shit", he should've figured this was to easy, the sound of hammers being cocked back causing his head to turn to his right rapidly. Of course, a trap, he should've thought about it earlier, but as always his emotions had gotten the better of him ... up on a higher part of the deck a group of five pirates, and five muskets pointed them both. For him, it wasn't really a big deal, he would be faster than bullets, but Poko ? He could've stopped time for a bit, but it would disable his magic, and he had no idea what else they could face here on enemy territory. He had no choice, the sound of the triggers being pulled reaching his ears. It would take less than a second for the powder to ignite, he had to act right now. "I hate doing this", he moved between the girl and the guns, the speed of his movement accelerated to inhuman speeds just before 5 cracks could be heard. Moments later, Johann was kneeling on the ground, bleeding from a wound on his right shoulder and another one on his left leg. It was painful, but it hadn't been the first time he had gotten shot. He just hoped the girl was okay. Still, he raised his head, his hate filled gaze falling again on the upper part of the deck, seeing that the men were gone, in their stead a new figure, a man. If it wasn't so damn painful Johann would've laughed.

The man looked like the most stereotypical pirate in history, a long, blue coat loosely hanging from his shoulders, an eyepatch covering his left eye. The only thing missing was some kind of oddly coloured beard and a name to match, no, the man seemed way to young for that, blond, short hair. He cackled loudly as he he slowly made his way down a set of stairs, slowly clapping his hands with every step he took, coming closer to draw a pistol and aim it at Johann. "Hahah, are you shitting me ? An old man and a girl is all they send ? This should be fun"

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Word Count: 854
Word Count Total: 3.647 / 3.000

Johann still kneeled on the deck of this enormous pirate vessel, his eyes fixed on the blonde pirate before him, his face and expression making no mystery of the endless hate he felt for this lowlife criminal, the man who had dared to threaten his home, dared to threaten his people, who had caused so much suffering for nothing. Oh, he would make him pay, and he would enjoy every last second of it. Johann's eye flared up, the crimson red pupil in its middle starting to glow like a raging firestorm when he felt a hand on his shoulder, turning his head to see Poko standing there. Why ? Why was she trying to help ? Why had she not taken cover ? He would do this on his own, he would take the damage, he would never lose someone again. He had sworn he wouldn't. But it was no use. He opened his mouth to speak, but she had already cast her spell, and he could feel the cold breeze rush for his open wounds, closing them even before his healing factor had a chance to kick in. Not just that, the pirate wouldn't wait for them, and when he fired his pistol at Johann, the girl reacted again, blocking the shot with another spell. Why was she so damn determined to help an old fool like himself, shouldn't it be the other way around ? Maybe she was a little like himself, after all, but still, that would be most unfortunate for the girl.

For now, that was not important, though. Before him was a man with an obviously huge death wish, and a part of Johann, who some people knew as The White Wolf, the hunter of Onyx Moon, was tempted to simply grant him this wish on the spot, but right now he was Johann, Vice President of the West Fiore Trading Company. He couldn't just go ahead and let his hate lead his very actions despite the fact that he had every right to defend himself and Poko accordingly. He sighed, standing up, the holes in his clothing, one near his left knee and one on his right shoulder, revealing the skin beneath with not a single trace of wound remaining.

Meanwhile, the brawl between Poko and the pirate captain had continued, and it was obvious that the criminal was close to losing his composure along with the feeling of superiority when he was hit in the face by one of Poko's spells, seemingly focussed solely on the girl as she added insult to injury, taunting the man even further. Heh, she certainly knew what she was doing. "You'll regret this you little ..." "Enough", Johann's words turned the man's attention back to himself. "Huh, got some last words, old geezer ? Wait, weren't you-", but before the man could finish his sentence Johann had, once more, moved at extreme speed, and had closed the distance between him and his opponent in an instant, one hand covered in an ice blue aura of absolute cold, a claw icier than even the grip of death, and the other in scorching electricity, able to melt even steel, both digging into the man's chest before the sheer momentum of the impact launched him off his feet and into the wooden aft of the ship, breaking not just the planks of the deck but also the wooden walls behind, the force ripping them apart violently. So much for the oh-so-strong, loud mouthed pirate captain. A weakling spewing big words, nothing more. But it was about time, and when Johann turned he could indeed confirm what he had thought. "Poko, we have to get off this ship right. now.", approaching the girl as he saw the steel titan appear on the horizon, a massive battleship of the West Fiore Trading Company's Navy approaching slowly. The ship firing its main guns at the pirate vessel would obliterate the latter, the gigantic lacrima shells rip the hull of the wooden ship apart. Naturally, they wouldn't want to be in that mess, and Johann prepared his for flight as runes shifted from his body towards his back, forming two black, demon like runic wings, ready to pick the blonde girl up and carry her back to the beach if necessary.

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Word Count: 718
Word Count Total: 4.365 / 3.000

"That would perhaps be the best course of option" Johann answered back to Poko as he stared at the now burning wreckage of what used to be a pirate vessel, the gentle crashing of the waves barely overshadowing the cracking of the inferno that slowly disappeared in the ocean "let's wait here until reinforcements arrive." Indeed, transporting them would be difficult, but Johann would take them to the dungeon where they would rot until they'd be brought before a court. Johann, or one of his fellow Vice Presidents, maybe even the CEO, would be the judge, and the punishment for piracy was more than clear, but still the elder male didn't want to talk about that. He was sure that the girl wouldn't appreciate it.

Still, he went ahead and started tying up the unconscious pirates with runic shackles, an improvised and temporary measure until the garrison or perhaps even the marines would arrive. "You held yourself quite admirably out there, and your use of wind magic is ... impressive, I must admit" he gave Poko a gentle smile. "Say ... no, nevermind. Are you hungry ? Thirsty ? Do you perhaps need any medical attention ? I am, admittedly, a rather influential person on this island, and anything you need, I could arrange, consider it my thanks for helping me uphold the law of this land", Johann, who now gave her a deep and respectful bow, was rather intrigued by the blonde girl named Poko, and wanted to know more about her, but he realized he was overstepping his boundaries, for now, that was, she was someone he had just met, after all, still, a battle companion nonetheless. He would make sure she would be treated accordingly while on Tolgalen, as a guest of the West Fiore Trading Company, and the Company would always treat it's guests exceptionally well, he personally made and would make sure, now and in the future.

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Word Count: 323
Word Count Total: 4.688 / 3.000