Battle Hymn of the Republic

"Alright Percy, you remember what I told you?" asked Allistar Caxton, Chief Mystic Archeologist of Wales. The man was in his field attire, but still carried his wooden staff.

"Don't... wonder off on the dig site?" answered Percival Caxton, son of this grand man, straightening out his school's uniform. He pulled out his Alchemist's Beret and beat some of the dirt out of it as well, trying to remove the contaminating dirt.

"That's right, my boy." replied Allistar, he looked over at the class of Magic Students being led by his wife, Elizabeth Caxton. The children all shuffled into the confines of the hiding barrier of archeological site for their designated field trip. The dome that covered the massive place made a reflective bowl that let Percy know that his tie was crooked. "You may be a brilliant little alchemist, but the fact you can't use magic means you can't use any of the safety barriers out here. I don't want you getting hurt, got me?"

"Yes sir..." said Percy rather dejectedly, he looked over to a convenient tree stump and went over to sit on it. Allistar frowned, and crouched in front of his son.

"How about I take you on a personal tour later on this evening? Just you and me." said the father with a smile, patting the boy on the shoulder.

"Can we bring Will and Cassy along?"

"Well... I don't think we can. They've got to go home after their tour of the site is done."

Percival slumped his shoulders, looking down at the ground. Not being able to go through it with his two friends just made it seem pretty meaningless. Besides, his dad wasn't exactly that exciting to be around. Percy's silence seem to be enough, and it only made his father feel bad. The young boy was a child who couldn't use magic. The lack was a terrible curse, especially considering Percival's intelligence and level of comprehension. Instead, he spends his time in higher level alchemical classes, doing the only magical art he was capable of.

The mid-afternoon sun hung high in the sky, burning down on the lone Percival, who had reserved most of his time outside the cloaking barrier playing a game of solo-soccer with a rock. It wasn't until students began filing out of the barrier that he quit his game and joined the other students for the first time in a few hours. First things first, Percy needed to locate his two best friends. Cassy and Will were also alchemical students, but unlike the magicless boy, they were rather apt in their arts, and happened to be skilled evokers. Strangely, though, the two blond middle-schoolers were no where to be found.

"Austin!" called Percy to a fellow student, one he studied with and helped tutor from time to time.

"Huh? Oh, 'ey Perce! I was wondering where you were." answered Austin, straightening his Evoker beret. Austin happened to be the class's star evoker, being very capable with channeling elements.

"Where's William and Cassandra?" asked Percival.

"Will an' Cass?"

"Yes."

"Oh... uh..." Austin put his hands into his pockets, "Well, I'm not aht' liber'tay t'say."

"... why?"

"Well, they dinnit' want me t'say, but they went off intah' one a'them caves."

"How long have they been gone?"

"Yer' a question-askin' machine aren'tcha?"

"Austin..."

"Okay, okay. They been gone since we started tha' tour."

"Austin! Why haven't you told anyone!?"

"Hey, hey! 'fore you peg me with ignorance, juss' hear me out. They were bein' real hush hush 'bout it. Dinnah wanted anyone knowin', an' they tol' me t'keep it a secret from you especially." Austin pressed his finger against Percy's tie. Percy seemed a little more unsettled by this information. "I don' know 'bout you, but I think went off to smooch."

"Sm-smooch!? Aust--"

"Buddy, they went off to a secluded place, where nobody was supposed to be goin'. Smoochin's tha' guess with 90 par'cent probahbility."

"Wh-... What..." Percival began to shake, as his head hung a bit in shock. "But... How... How could he?"

"What, y'mean Will? Whatcha' talkin' about?"

"..." Percival's face turned red, and his eyes cut to the side in embarrassment.

"Oh... Oh. Blimey. I guess he stole your kill, eh?" Austin tried to joke, sensing a little tension. Though, the joking didn't help at all, as Percy turned to look at the cloaking barrier with utter disgust. William had been his best friend since even before school! They had both met Cassandra two years before middle-school, and had been great friends with her since. Percy had told Will he liked Cass about three weeks ago. It was just a matter of summoning up the courage to tell her. Now... He didn't know what to think. It didn't matter whether Austin was telling the truth or not, Percy had already felt very bad for missing the tour. So, the feeling of betrayal and anger mounted on a firm foundation, and dug into him.

He... he could've at least told me he liked her too... grumbled Percy. He had missed the event and now he had missed his chance. The fiery anger built further, fueled by the oils of jealousy. As it fumed hotter and hotter, the young Caxton decided that this wouldn't go unnoticed. Cassandra didn't need to know how he felt any more, but William did. Percival's legs acted first, surging him forth, and into the glassy barrier, into the Dig Site.

Twilight was settling over the dig site as long shadows cast themselves over the neat, arranged squares of archeological survey. Percival ran quickly in and between the foot-deep holes and pits to move as quickly as he could, deeper into the site. He had no idea where he was going, but his heart screamed for some kind of retribution for it's rupture. Despite his name being called at the border of the site, the boy charged at full-speed, looking around for caves, holes, and entrances into the earth. He'd search every one and try to find them, and do... something.

Still, he could just start in just any old cave. Alchemists tended to be more clever and canny than normal mages, since their arts were focused in thinking out of the box. His fellow apothecaries wouldn't go into just any cave to make sure they weren't pursued by the chaperons, should the adults go looking for them. No. William and Cassandra would've picked something with a small entrance, or somewhere incredibly unassuming. Luckily for Percy, that's exactly what he found.

In the disturbed earth, boring right into a small hill, was a hole just large enough for Percival to squeeze through, bit of grass remained at it's entrance slightly obscuring it. It was perfect! There was no doubt in his mind that Will and Cass wouldn't have used that entrance, as well as he knew him. With a steamy blush spreading over his face, it also occurred to him that it would've been where he would've taken Cass if he had wanted to be alone with her. Still, that wasn't the case! He ran over to the small entrance and got down to his hands and knees to crawl in. Within only a few feet of entering, he felt his hand miss the next step, and was sent tumbling down a small flight of stairs.

"Oughf!" groaned Percy as he landed on his back, hold the rear of his head with his hands. "Ow ow ow ow!" He whined as his head recovered from the shock, and his eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light of the room. With a grunt, he pushed himself up and looked around. It looked like a small chamber area that had been grown over in the past. Large stones lined the walls with few balcony sections that looked like they had been made to hold blue fire, a substance that was fueled by mana, not oil. The whole room seemed to be a parlor for another doorway that led further downstairs. It was a magnificent sight to take in, especially with such a well preserved room.

Ahn... came a moan from the doorway of stairs, leading down to the next area. It was barely heard, but it was audibly female. Percy's ears perked as he caught the noise, and stared at the path to the source.

Errugh... came a groan shortly afterwards, audibly masculine. It seemed heavy, short of breath, as if whoever the boy was, had been physically stressed. In fact, the girl's voice sounded the same, too!

"Wi--William!" wailed the girl's voice, it was Cassandra! "Do-Don'Augghhh!" Her voice cried out before being silenced by the sound of something falling to the ground. It was Will and Cass! Percy, jumped up to his feet and began running again, taking careful heed of the stairs. What in the world could they be doing by themselves in this lonely, desolate ruin, away from where anyone could find them!?

What he saw at the base of the stairs, shocked him. Right at the doorway, sprawled on her back, was Cassandra, looking worse for wear. Percival ran over to her and caught a glimpse of the next room. It was a wide spanning area, with four giant pillars holding up the ceiling, and a massive pedestal resting at the center. A staff of squarish design stood upright at the center of the room, blue fire illuminating the ancient relic.

"Cass!" cried Percy, coming to his knees next to her. She was in pain, her foot was twisted the wrong way, and her clothes were torn in places. She looked up at Percival and struggled to hold her hands up.

"P-...Percy?" she asked, surprise lighting up her pained face. The young man helped her sit up, letting her lean back into him. "What are you doin--...?"

"What happened to you!?" went Percy, incapable of comprehending how this happened, he looked around trying to find William, but he couldn't see him. "Where's Will?"

"He-... He's fighting..." struggled Cassandra, before her breathing became heavier, and she had trouble continuing.

"I'll find him! Don't worry." reassured the young boy before setting Cassandra next to the wall. "I'll be right back!" Once again, Percival ran off into the depths of a situation he had little knowledge of.

"W-Wait! No! ... No!" Cassandra began to tear up as Percy ran away from her to find William. Her words fell on deaf ears, though as when the young boy crossed past a the farthest pillar, what was on the other side of the massive column, was unsettling.

"Will...?" stammered Percy as he looked up at his friend, being held in the hands of a strange construct. It was humanoid, but not proportionately so. It's body was thin, it's head was small, but it's arms and legs were massive. It pulled back the arm that held Will, and tossed him at the wall. The thrown boy yelped in pain before falling on to the ground. "W-Will!"

"Percy?" haffed William, staring at his friend with pained eyes. "What are you doing... I..." He seemed at a loss for words, and especially so as the construct came towards him, ignoring Percy for the moment. Sounds of sharpening blades filled the air as one of the construct's arms turned into a nasty looking sword. The way it's one, disgustingly human eye stared down at him made it clear what it's intent was. It was a hellish moment, everyone in the room had blanched white as they saw what was about to happen. That thing was going to skewer William, it was going to kill the one friend that Percy could always count on. The one friend that always had his back. The one friend that deserved happiness in this world more than his own jealous heart. Suddenly, the affair didn't matter any more. His grievances were gone. Percy did not care if William had gone behind his back. He wasn't going to let his best friend die.

Not like this.

"No!" Percy tore forth, jumping on the construct's leg, and began to ascend it's side, slamming fleshy fists against it's hard stone exterior. He had almost worked his way up on the back, before he felt it's large hand grab his own leg, and yanked him off. It pulled the boy up to it's eye, and the fleshy, white ball blinked once or twice to take in his presence. It pulled him into his chest, and shook once or twice, emitting a sniffing sound, as if to smell Percy. "W-What...?" A strange, low-thrum emitted from the construct, before the boy was thrown carelessly to the center of the room. There was enough force in the throw to make him fly, fly right into the staff that stood erect in the center of the area. As Percy opened his eyes, he could see construct looming over William, raising it's blade. William was looking at the boy, with complete horror on his face. "No...!" coughed the young boy, holding up his hand towards the beast. That's when he noticed something strange. The construct had also seemed to have taken notice as well, stopping it's downward swipe to look at Percival.

His hand was littered with neatly organized glyphs and mystic markings. In fact, his whole body had lit up like a magical character-map night-light. A line of energy was worming out of the staff, and connecting to Percy. Suddenly, the whole of his entire being burned like a stove being pressed on all sections of himself. He screamed in torturous pain as the glyphs on him began to wash away. It felt like something was scrubbing some bristly sponge on his body, and even his very soul! Finally, the pain subsided only a second before he felt his consciousness being ripped from him.

There was a gentle and warm breeze blowing on Percival's face as his mind slowly returned to him. He could still feel the stony floor on his back as he shifted, but felt himself needing to keep his eyes shut due to a bright light bearing down on him. With a drowsy groan he pushed himself up off his back, and finally opened his eyes, squinting due to the amount of light in the area. What he saw was rather magnificent.

He wasn't in a room anymore, he was on a circular platform, and it floated. Above him was the blue sky and it's clouds, and below him was the grassy green earth, circling around in the wide horizon of this strange place. It was peaceful, and it was quiet, save for the wind brushing past his ears. There was no one else, just himself and the large floating platform that he had woken up on. While it was a very settling place, it brought a very unsettling thought to his mind. Had he died? If so, was he in Heaven, or Hell? It was hard to judge. What he did know is that every step he took felt heavy. It was a strange sensation, especially with how newly invigorated he felt. There was a fire in him, but while it felt like it was blazing up, it also felt like something was draining it away.

"Hello?" said the confused boy, trying to gather someones attention. Who he was trying to gather, he did not know. "Hello?" this time with more of a drag in it's tone to make it more noticeable. Still, there was no answer in this place, just solitude. "Is anyone there?"

Suddenly, he smelled the salty sea air of the beach, and the sound of rushing waves off in the distance behind him. He turned, and saw a woman, garbed heavily in cobalt armor. Each plate was scaled in design to resemble that of a fish, her armored skirt came down to her ankles concealing all except her heavy armored boots, her skin was a sun-kissed brown, and her short hair was a bright, lucid blond that seemed to reflect the light in this lonely place. Her voice resonated, from the waves, from the sky, and from within Percival's own mind.

"Hello." she smiled. Percy suddenly felt very afraid.

"A-... are you god?" asked Percival, shaking a little bit for the impending answer. The armored woman giggled at such a question, her armored gaunt came up to her face to hold in the mirth. Still, her tones seem to have the power to put Percy at ease.

"I am a god." the blond woman corrected, "And you are my savior. Our savior."

"What...?" the boy blinked a few times, and took a step or two back. Once again, the woman giggled at the boys hesitation, and couldn't help but giggle more as he seem to take notice of something.

The scent of smoke was filling the air, followed by harrowing sound of a massive inferno and crackling flames. Once again, it came to him from behind his field of sight. With such an uncomfortable sensation pervading the air now, Percy did not feel like turning around. A voice of hellish contempt would speak, and would fill the air like an spreading flame.

"This Font hasn't accepted the burden, Zulan. If our past prospects are any hint, this sniveling child will deny our offer." went the voice, resonating as if it was being spoken from deep inside some metal container, reverberating darkly within the air. Percy turned his head gently, held down slightly by fear, before he caught gaze of what had appeared behind him. It was tall, horrendously tall, armored head to foot in plates that Percy could only assume were at least an inch or a few centimeters thick. It's eyes glowed, it had two large horns pointing towards the sky, the blackened armor was etched with hellish designs, and it's orange trim only added atmosphere to fire that seemed be constantly ablaze on it. The young boy yelped, and ran toward 'Zulan', and hid behind her.

"Aw! You scared him!" whined Zulan as she squatted down to Percy, and placed a hand on his head.

"I don't care." growled the suit of fiery suit of armor.

"Don't be so insensitive, Aurus. I can sense his anxiety and fear." Zulan put a hand on Percy's forehead, "His poor heart is so stressed, you'd think he was your age."

"Who are you?" asked Percy suddenly, feeling a little empowered by the woman's touch. "Where am I?"

"Oh? Oh! Well, I'm Zulan, and that's Aurus. We're gods, you see, and..." started Zulan, before she was interrupted by the stomping foot of Aurus. The impact felt like it shook the entire world, even when made on the floating platform. The blue Goddess puffed her cheeks out in frustration at the armored god's interruption.

"I am Aurus, the God of Fire. The one holding you so gently is Zulan, the God of Water. You are in the Elementalia Magicus, our home. Your name is Percival Caxton, a snot-nosed little child whose only reason for being here was to see if the contemptuous jealousy seeded in your greedy, selfish heart was within reason." said Aurus harshly, laying every detail as he had to taste begrudgingly before spitting it out.

"Aurus! Don't be a God of Jerk." snapped Zulan at her fiery counterpart. Percy's eyes were downcast, mainly because of everything Aurus had said seemed to be true, at least, with how clouded his mind was. "This boy is our only chance at surviving!"

"I do not want to live if it's at the hands of this brat." returned Aurus, stepping over closer to the two, his boots making heavy strikes against the ground as the casually strode over the stone. Percival looked up at Aurus, his eyes widening in fear. It seemed as if every detail about the suit of armor made him exhume fear! There was difficulty trying to be brave in a situation like this. "Let me clear the air here, so you understand why I have the misfortune of meeting you. You touched the staff of Unity, the ancient artifact of this realm that connects us with your world. Upon touching it, the seal which stored away all your untapped mana reserves was released, and was put to work into fueling our existence. Normal mages usually die when they touch this staff. Luckily for you, you were born a Font."

"A... a what?" asked Percy, not quite recognizing the term in the way it was being used.

"A Font," said Zulan, interjecting there, "is a person with a tremendous amount of mana. Several thousand years ago, people were imbued with blood of many powerful magi, and the result was someone who acted as a tear in the Magica. They would constantly be charged with unending reserves of mana, and were usually used like magic batteries for powerful mystic devices. This far down the line, though, it's something that just pops up out of the blood. You were probably born a Font, and were sealed for your own safety, so you didn't hurt yourself or anyone else."

"Wait wait wait! You're saying I've had mana my entire life?" went Percy incredulously, shocked at the prospect of not just having mana, but too much of it. Zulan tilted her head, and looked up the sky, poking her lips out in a considerate fashion.

"I don't know, but the seal Unity burned off of you looked awfully like a mana seal."

"Well... where is it all going now?" asked Percy.

"Into us, boy." said Aurus, with poison in his voice. "We are the Elemental Gods, gods that are not worshiped any more. Gods that are not worshiped, do not get tithes of mana, and when you no longer receive mana, you die. So far, the other gods have been sleeping dormant in this place, conserving what little mana this temple had left while Zulan and myself act as sentinels for the prospects."

"So, I'm keeping you alive now?"

"Yep!" said Zulan gleefully hugging Percy in close, "You're the first font to visit us in a thousand years! With you, we can all come out and live again! Right, Aurus? We can see all of our old friends again! If he stays with us, he'll have you to fight for him, and me to defend him! Not to mention what the other gods can do for him!"

"Unlikely." said Aurus dismissively, "One, we are not servants to some mortal. Two, we will be bound to him forever, and doubt he wants that. Three, he's nothing but a sniveling cow--"

"I'll do it." interrupted Percy, causing Aurus' flames to extinguish for a moment.

"What?" it was Aurus' turn to act with a little disbelief.

"Zulan said that you'd fight for me right? That means you can save my friends!" declared Percival, a fire in his own eyes, seeing a way to save William and Cassandra.

"Your friends are near death right now, even if we move immediately, they won't survive, not with what the Guardian has done to them." clarified Aurus, his fire returning to his shoulders. The little Caxton's eyes went wide, becoming suddenly very sick inside, and was about to cry.

"N-no..." Percy fell over on his hands and knees, his tears running down his cheeks and staining the smoothed stone below them. "Y-You're gods, right? Can't you just bring them back to life if they die?"

"We are gods, but we are not omnipotent. There's only one of us with the ability to mend flesh and bone, and she's--..." began Aurus, before stopping to look to his left, as if sensing something. "Awake."

"Modeka! You're awake!" cried Zulan, breaking away from Percival to run over to embrace a quaint looking woman, dressed and green, wearing a green crown, and carrying neat little brown bags on her hips. She also seemed to wear a strange little mask, worn over her mouth. It was hard to recognize it through the smell of smoke and sea-water, but Percy could now detect hints of honeysuckle, fresh-cut grass, and the fresh smells of nature. As he turned to look off at the horizon, he could see that the grasslands were now dotted with trees and flowers, turning it into a beautiful landscape. "Percival! This is Modeka! Goddess of Plantae! She can help your friends once you return to the world!"

Modeka offered a pleasant smile behind her mask, and waved.

"Then we are wasting time. Boy," declared Aurus, breaking up the time for introductions, "Do you formally accept the burden of our existence?"

"Yes!" said Percival, not even thinking about the answer. Promptly after that, Aurus, revved his foot back, and punted Percival off the side of the platform.

"Then back to the world with you."

Things felt as they did before, before Percival had touched the staff and had been sent to Elementalia Magicus. His back and body hurt, every inch of his skin burned, and when he opened his eyes, his vision was blurred. Still, seeing the dim blue color of the room he had returned in was comforting enough. It was nice, at least, to be back in a place he recognized, even if it was a place of fright. For a few seconds, he seemed to simply sit on his butt, staring at the floor, as if waking from a slumber.

"Will!" wailed Cassandra, her voice gargling pain in it's depths. That voice roused the young boy, and made his awareness snap in place. He finally saw what was happening, and it was gruesome sight. William was bloodied, battered, and beaten. His face seem to twist with a broken nose, and one of his arms were twisting in the wrong way. Despite this, though, he managed still to stand between himself and even more battered Cassandra. Her body was simply broken, and she laid in a pool of her own blood.

"Tân!" painfully screeched Will as a ball of flame erupted from his palm and slammed against the construct, knocking it off balance just enough for it to collect itself with a back step. It wasn't enough. This realization put the fear deep into both William and Cassandra. Cassandra began crying, but kept her eyes up, staring, watching. Will was breaking down as well, his body shaking and locking up. "No..." said the defending boy, taking a step back in riotous fear.

"Will! Cass!" yelled Percy, warranting a stare from all three, including the construct. Both of the wounded children seem to mouth Percival's name, but couldn't guess what he was doing when he was looking around. "Where is it... Where's the staff...?"

"Right here, boy." came Aurus' voice, as Unity, now properly sized for him, appeared on his finger tips. Percy nearly dropped the staff in surprise. "You have the means, now use them!"

The construct turned back to the two wounded children, seemingly intent on continuing its reeling assault on them.

"How! How!?" yelled Percy allowed, waving, swinging, and jabbing the staff towards the construct in a futile attempt to cast a spell.

"Say, Prota! O Madan O Aqua!" rang Zulan's comforting voice in him, inspiring confidence, a little fire within him. Though, it seemed it wouldn't come in time. The Construct's bladed arm was in the air, intent on bringing it down on William. Percy's heart clenched up and he sucked in the air necessary to speak, and then some. Almost as if the very air around him sensed the intent, a magical charge began to feel the air, something the young boy recognized when he felt others cast spells. It was his turn to generate that feeling.

"Prota! O Madan O Aqua!" rang aloud the voice of the boy, as the construct brought its blade down to William, the sharpened edge singing in the air. Percy couldn't watch, no one could. All of them shut their eyes, tears rushing down their cheeks in absolute fear of the impending.

"WILLIAM!" screamed Cassandra in agony.

Shunk! went the sickening sound of a blade sinking into the stone. It was too late. That massive, heavy sword had cleaved right through poor William. At least, that's what they thought, until a chittering voice broke the dramatic pause.

"Open your eyes!" went Zulan's voice in his mind, and Percy complied, sequentially, so did William and Cassandra.

"Wha... Who..." sputtered William in disbelief, falling over onto his knees, his limbs giving up on him.

"It's... a miracle..." cracked Cassandra's weak voice, bursting into another silent wash of tears.

"It's... Zulan...?" said Percival aloud, also unable to believe what his eyes saw, what they all saw.

Standing just in front of William, was a knee-high version of the of beautiful blond woman he had met in the Elementalia Magicus. Her armor was the same blue, but smaller, the details constrained to proportion. Too halves a shield on her forearms came together in front of her, to form a full shield. The shield itself had a glyph of fish on it. It's lines glowed, and so did the ground below them as a glyph of similar style spread on the on the floor in a radius around the small miniature, marking the border of a magnificent blue shield. A dome of which the construct's blade rested just outside.

"Uwoh!" cried the little Mini-Zulan, "Wah!" The shield closed down in size, allowing the Construct advance on them shortly, which it did. "Wah!" echoed that tiny voice again, blasting the shield back to it's original size, sending the construct flying across the room from the force. Will and Cass were crying again, this time out of joy. Percy ran over to them, utterly relieved, Mini-Zulan popped a hole in her shield to allow the boy to enter.

"P-Percy!" William hobbled over to his brotherly friend, and wrapped his arms around him, "D-... Did you do this?"

"Yes!" said Percy, shouldering his friend's weight, before guiding him over to Cassandra. "Though, I... thought they would be bigger. But yes."

"My full-size would be too much of a burden." said Zulan, turning her little head at him, giving them all a smile. "You're not quite at that level to where you can channel so much of our power."

The moment was shattered when the Construct tore it's way back up, and let out a terrible, thrumming sound that was akin to a mechanical roar. It charged at Zulan again, and this time, the little mini closed the shield as small as she could around them all. As the Construct brought down the precipice of it's charge, Mini Zulan screeched her beautiful command!

"Woh!" was that command, and the shield hit maximum size again, this time forcing the construct through the air with enough force to put it into the wall. Mini-Zulan huffed, before turning back to them.

"Now summon Modeka with the pharse, 'Hal! O Doktom O Growt!'." said Zulan within his mind, filling a strange confirming presence behind it. Percy nodded shakily, and Mini-Zulan began to glow in a blue light before her entire form fell into a puddle of plasma-like blue. The energy shot up like liquid and flowed back into the staff. Percy slammed the bottom of the staff to the floor, and breathed in again.

"Hal! O Doktom O Growt!" commanded Percy, summoning green vines of energy from the head of his staff to pile on the floor, breaking off bits of liddling energy like shedding leaves as the went. The glowing vines constricted and compressed, bursting with light before giving way to the form of a miniature Modeka. Like Zulan, she had been scrunched to knee-height. The difference was an aura that seemed to permeate and fill the room. This little green god smelled wonderful, glowed with a passionate light, and seemed so... settling. With Modeka came a motherly comfort, as if no one had any reason to fear pain, or death. The Mini-Modeka walked considerately over to Will and smiled at the brave boy behind her mask.

"H-...Hello." said the pained Will, holding his side as he held on to Percy. Modeka nodded a return in the greeting before placing her hands on his leg, and resting her forehead on his calf. A glowing green energy enveloped William, healing energies taking hold of his entire body. Slowly, and painlessly, his wounds healed, his broke bones went back into place, and his energy and vigor returned. When she finished, she stepped back and nodded her head to him, before solemnly making her way to Cassandra, who hadn't taken her eyes of the little green god. "Whoa!" went William, "I... I feel better than did when I woke up this morning!"

The Construct back to worm it's way out of the wall as Modeka gently took Cassandra and began to heal her wounds and burdens. The little girl was crying, tears happiness streaming down her face. Modeka's touch felt like her own mothers, and in such a dark place, it invoked a wonderful feeling. Modeka meeped audibly as she felt Cass embrace her lovingly. It didn't seem to bother the little mini a bit as she continued to heal the girl.

"There, your friends are no longer injured, and ready for battle." declared Aurus, as the Construct began walking back over, this time with a more discerning approach.

"Battle!? They just went through such horrible things!" went Percy incredulously, his bruises and burning skin apparently neglected by Aurus' attention. Modeka acknowledged this, and vined away in her energy much like she arrived, leaving Cass holding her hands up at the leaving god. William and Cassandra looked at Percy, waiting for him to take the lead and pull his next newly found trick.

"I do not fight for weaklings, mortal. They will fight, run or I will use them as bait." growled Aurus' voice, "Now summon me! Detroi! O Nyit O Ember! Say it!"

Percy huffed, looking at the approaching construct. He did not want his friends getting involved again.

"Run." said Percy, taking stance in the path of the Guardian.

"What?" asked William, who was helping Cassandra off her feet.

"Go, I can do this." spoke Percy, slamming his staff down. "Go find my father."

"Percy..." whimpered Cass, not wanting to leave her friend.

"C'mon Cass, Percy'll be fine." said Will shaking her to awareness. Cassandra nodded, and the both of them began to run for the stairs. "Perce! If you die! I'll kill you!"

"Heh..." chuckled Percy weakly, as the construct stomped ever closer. His staff hit the ground again, signaling that it was time to bring forth Aurus. He could only imagine what that terrible brute would look like. "Detroi! O Nyit O Ember!"

Unity began to shake violently, as if ready to explode and shatter! He could feel copious amounts of mana ebbing from it's head, so much so that the energy exhuming from the core of its square looked like fire! The orangish, flame-like energy spurt forth into the air like a hellish mortar and took the ground, rolling over and leaving small 'embers' in it's path. What seemed to roll out of that energy was another pint-sized god. His orange and black armor set itself ablaze as he planted his feet into the ground. The air around them all, which was once comforting, was now filled with the undeniable urge to destroy. The sensation felt like saying, "Fuck hope! I've got a gun!".

"Hoi!" was the Mini-Aurus' war-cry! Before it was promptly snuffed by the fist of the construct, slamming Aurus flat down into the floor. Percy's heart fell, seeing Mini-Aurus being taken down so quickly. Though, it didn't seem that the Mini was to be taken lightly. Slowly, and shakily, the constructs arm was lifted from the spot where it had crated the little god. Black, gauntlet covered hands forced the construct up, before Aurus bent his legs and lurched up sending the construct back.

"Pay close attention, boy. I will only tell you this once." went the fiery god in his mind, a wash of flames erupting over his arms to reveal a massive axe and a massive blade, both the size of his own body, including his horns! "You command the God of Fire, which means you command fire itself. Be honored, but keep in mind that I do not answer to cowardice. So, no more fear, and no more doubt."

Percy nodded his head in response, empowered by Aurus' words, and his feats of disproportionate strength. Suddenly, the fear and doubt that Aurus spoke of were gone. It showed that Percival had faith. Faith in these gods and their abilities.

"Now, watch closely. I will demonstrate the best and most fitting way to kill something like this." went Aurus in delight, as his little body shot forward. The Construct swiped down with it's sword, swing in a wide-arc, but Aurus ducked under the blade, and hooked his axe on it's edge, lifting him up into the air. His feet landed on the beast's shoulders, and Aurus swung over to right with his runed sword, hacking right through the construct's arm, sending it crashing to the ground. "First, you remove their ability to move." Aurus moved to the other side of the beast's shoulders, by putt his axe in the back and swinging to the other side. As he swung, he swiped off the other arm, proving the obsidian sharpness of the blades. Then, came the legs, to which the little armored hell-raiser removed by jumping down, hacking at both knees at the same time. The construct let out a mechanical wail, akin to animal's cry, and fell forward on it's chest. "Then, you show your enemies face to the world." The flames on Aurus' back seemed to grow taller as he hopped over, sheathing his axe into the constructs stone back, hefting the head up for Percy to see. "Finally, you remove the head." The Mini-Aurus hopped up into the air, with a spinning slash and came down on the nape of beast's 'neck' and beheaded the artificial magic being rather cleanly. With a dying hum, and a release of mystic energy the, powered construct powered down into death.

"And that, mortal, is the fate of those who stand against us."