The hangover was nearly killing him. He wasn't sure which one hurt worse. His head, or his back. They must have fallen asleep on the table yesterday night, which had quickly turned out to be a very bad idea.
Marvin came back from the kitchen with two cups of coffee in his hands. The noise they made when he sat them down made his ears ring.
Unus fared no better. He supported the weight of his head with one arm, the other hand raised over his eyes to shield them from the bright light.
»Drink it while it's hot,« Marvin said in a low voice. Annus reached for the cup and took a sip. The hot coffee left a strong and bitter aftertaste, and he grimaced. »Don't we have milk in this house?«
Marvin dismissed the question, sitting down next to them. »If added a few things, and milk would only lessen their effect.
Annus eyed the steaming black liquid. He decided against asking what exactly had been mixed into it.
Whatever it was, it seemed to work. Unus leaned back, blinking multiple times. He looked like a cat that had smelled something awful. He shook his head, a feat which Annus could only admire in his current state.
He decided to jump over his shadow and take another sip. It felt like somebody had slapped him in the face and poured a bucket of cold water over him, but, strangely enough, in a good way.
»Now that you're both back amongst the living, we can start with the training. Follow me.«
»What training?« Unus asked, following Marvin through a portal which he made appear with a simple gesture.
It led them to a patted room. »You need to learn how to defend yourself.«
He waited until Annus stepped through as well, then continued.
»I'll teach you how to effectively shape your environment. The more control you have, the easier it'll be to get out of here. Well start with something easy.«
He motioned at an open space, and the air began to shimmer like on a hot summer day.
They both took a step backwards when a mechanical humanoid appeared in front of them. It was a creature much like the one the hunted them in the hallway towards the first safe room.
Annus glanced over to Marvin, but his face showed no sign of hostility.
»This as an autonomous mechanical yaeger. You could see them as the firewall of the Machine. They're here to make sure that nothing leaves or enters this place. I had to fight a few of them myself to get in.«
He turned back to Unus and Annus. »Even if you won't encounter Dark and Blank again, these things will try to stop you. There's two ways to defeat them. Get the mask off, or the whole head.«
Annus crossed his arms. »And how are we supposed to do that? With our bare hands?«
»Even if you could, that would be way too dangerous. Their body is full of bladelike appendages. You're better of with a weapon.«
He graspes into the air, four metal playing cards appearing on his hand. With a swift motion, he threw them, two hit the creatures eyes, the other two the top and bottom of the mask, breaking it in half. The creature fell over. It sounded like a toolbox hitting the ground.
»How did you do that?« Unus exclaimed, an excited sparkle in his eyes.
»The key to materializing something is visualizing it,« Marvin explained, obviously happy about the excitement of his student. »You need to see it in front of your inner eye. Try to imagine it in as much detail as possible. Look at it from every direction. Try to feel it. What is it made of? How heavy is it? Relax, and focus on the thing you want to materialize.
Unus closed his eyes, stretching his hand out. His eyeballs twitched underneath his eyelids. After a few seconds, he opened them with a disappointed huff. »It doesn't work!«
»Try something that's easier to imagine,« Marvin said in a reassuring tone. »Start with something simple.«
Unus nodded, and closed his eyes again. This time, a small dagger, not much bigger than a letter opener. He waved it around. »I saw it laying on the table in your lab!«
Marvin nodded, a proud smile on his face. He then turned towards Annus. »Now you try.«
He focused on the baseball bat which Mark had in his room. He tried to imagine how it felt in his hand, the black handle, and the smooth, cold metal underneath. He shifted his hands, as if the weight of the bat would be resting in them.
He looked at the shiny metal, and at how the grip was lighter where it had been held often.
Annus opened his eyes, and lo and behold, the bat was there, resting in his hands.
Marvin clapped. »Great job, you two! Now let's see how you hold up in a fight!«
Before Annus could protest, he had to dodge a fast metal claw. The yaeger had gotten back up, it's mask reformed.
The second attack came from the right. He jerked the bat up. The impact nearly tore it from his hand.
»Don't push against it, take the force out of the swing!« Marvin yelled from behind him.
He dodged the next attack. He raised the bat again, following the direction of the next swing and slowing it down.
»I'll keep it busy, you take care of the mask,« he yelled over his shoulder.
Unus tightened his grip around the knife.
He breathed calmly, waiting for an opening. The yaeger focused on Annus's left, while occasionally trying an overhead attack.
He straved to it's right, keeping his eyes locked onto it. It tried to turn to him, but Annus lunged forward, swinging down at a joint of the extended blade.
He used the timeframe, closing the distance and stabbing the mask in a forward motion.
It cracked. He threw a punch with the other hand, and it fell to the floor.
»Amazing!« Marvin burst out. »Lesson one, aced!«
Their weapons disappeared into thin air. Annus looked at his friend, who had a proud grin on his face. He brushed a strand of hair out of his face. Unus looked happier than he had been in quite a while.