A Battle of Homunculi

"Avia!" Ryan yelled. That was all the warning Theo got before he cast a strengthening spell, wreathing Avia in green Levia. With a great flap of her wings, she soared into the sky and leveled her silver bow.

So she was a distance fighter. Well, Theo had already defeated Melphi – and he'd only learned stronger spells since. Reaching for his Levia, he pictured a diagram he'd only just memorized the other day.

Relief flooded him when the diagram burst beneath his feet. Zenith already understood what he wanted; the knight took off, sword raised. As he leaped into the air, the blade flashed with dawn light.

Though he wasn't in striking range, he gave the sword a mighty swing. A wave of light arced from the blade and sliced through the air like a scythe.

It was similar to the spell Theo had cast to defeat the dragon, though obviously weaker. Even so, it should be enough to reach Avia.

She zipped to the left to dodge, but Zenith was ready. Another swing of the sword unleashed another light-scythe, this time whirling in on Avia from the other side. As it flew Theo clenched his teeth, focusing on the lines of the spell in his mind. He could feel the Levia flowing through the contract from him to Zenith, weakening him a little more with each beat of his heart, but it didn't bother him. Anything to help Zenith win.

Zenith was already descending, cape flapping behind him, but the light-scythes were closing in on Avia from both sides. They had a wide range – she couldn't escape in time.

Ryan flung his arm up and a diagram appeared beneath Avia. There was a flash of green Levia and then – Theo blinked – Avia was gone.

The light-scythes struck each other midair, showering sparks all over the battlefield. Theo stumbled back, disoriented, just as Zenith landed in front of him.

"Where – " Zenith began, only for Theo's Levia to surge.

Another flash of light. Avia reappeared above Zenith, bow nocked with an arrow of green Levia. A new diagram was glowing under Ryan's feet.

Disbelief stole Theo's breath. How could Ryan cast so many spells in such quick succession? And he didn't show any signs of flagging.

The creak of the bowstring snapped Theo's attention back to Avia. Right, he couldn't get distracted.

Zenith dashed to the side, but Avia revolved gracefully in his direction and fired the arrow. It cracked through the air like a thunderbolt, its sheer power almost knocking Theo off his feet. No way, Zenith couldn't avoid it in time –

So Theo needed to help him defend. Yelling Zenith's name, he cast the first shield spell that leaped into his mind. The pink diagram flared before Zenith at the exact moment the arrow struck. Theo's heart wrenched when the arrow barely slowed before shattering the spell into pieces.

Zenith swung his shield in front of him. The arrow struck with an impact that sent Zenith flying backward. He hit the ground with a tremendous crash, tearing up a trail of earth and dust in his wake.

"Zenith!" Without thinking, Theo ran toward him.

"Stay back!" Zenith planted his sword into the ground and used it to haul himself upright. "This is nothing, Theo!"

No sooner had he gotten to his feet did Avia fire another arrow. Theo hurried to cast a new shield – a stronger, more complex one.

The arrow struck the shield with a clang that reverberated through Theo's Levia, making his heart jump into his throat. But though the shield dented beneath the assault, it held fast.

The last sparks from the arrow scattered across the sky like fireworks, and Theo collapsed to his knees with a gasp as he released the shield. Unmoved, Avia readied another arrow.

"I'm gonna win this without moving at all, huh," Ryan called from across the arena. He'd resumed his seat on the pillar, casual as could be. "Kinda boring, but hey, I'll take it."

Theo clenched his hand into a trembling fist that he dearly wished he could plant right in the middle of Ryan's smug face. 'Don't let him provoke you,' he admonished himself. 'Focus on your spells.'

He had just begun drawing the spell in his mental canvas when Zenith's shout sliced through his concentration. "We can't keep defending, Theo! We must attack!"

"What – but – but if any of those hit you it's over!"

"Then I'll just avoid them." Zenith hefted his shield. "I trust my speed, especially with your help. But we must get close enough to strike her down. That's the only way to turn the tide of this battle."

Theo nodded slowly. His lizard brain screamed that he needed to protect Zenith, but the rest of him saw the logic in the knight's words.

Zenith's Levia sparkled, hard as diamond. Then he took off, shield before him.

Avia fired the arrow.

Now! Rather than the defense spell, Theo summoned another diagram, this one made of flowing, wind-like lines. It appeared beneath Zenith at the exact moment that Avia's arrow struck.

The arrow hit the ground only a few feet from where Zenith stood – or rather, where he had been standing. Because even as the arrow tore a deep gouge into the earth, Zenith had already streaked past it at twice his normal speed.

"Yes!" Theo couldn't resist whooping and pumping his fists. This was his first time casting the speed spell in battle and he'd pulled it off without a hitch.

Now he'd have to focus on it until Zenith reached Avia. She wouldn't make it easy, firing arrow after arrow. Zenith dodged each one, but every flash of green light made Theo's heart skip a beat.

Even so, he noticed these arrows came much more rapidly than the first few she'd fired, and they only blasted small holes into the ground instead of tearing gouges. Zenith could probably take a few hits from them, though Theo wasn't keen on testing that theory – and he didn't need to, so long as Zenith outran every arrow.

Now he was directly below Avia. His Levia surged, and upon his signal Theo dropped the speed spell. As Zenith leaped into the air, Theo cast the blade-sharpening spell.

Maybe he couldn't do this with Ryan's speed, but he was fast enough. By the time Zenith reached Avia, his blade was shining with dawn light.

She lifted her bow, but couldn't fire at this close a range. With a ferocious roar, Zenith slashed across her chest.

Avia's back arched and her limbs thrashed, though she remained silent. Zenith landed on his feet below her, his sword no longer glowing.

The spell had done its job. Avia was still in the air, but dangling limply, with a massive gash splitting her armor from shoulder to hip.

The breaths rasped in Theo's throat; his muscles ached like they'd been run through a meat tenderizer. But it didn't matter when exhilaration sparked through his entire body, both his and Zenith's.

"We did it! Zenith, that was amazing!" he yelled.

Zenith flashed him a dazzling smile. "It's thanks to you, Theo."

From behind, he heard Sam and Meg cheering – Sam's shrieks were loud enough to hurt his eardrums. But most of his attention was focused on Ryan. To his surprise, the other wizard hadn't moved from his perch and was surveying his familiar with a look of cool boredom.

"Come on," he said. "That's nothing. Counterattack already, Avia."

Theo couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What the hell? Aren't you worried about her?"

"Why would I be?" Ryan shrugged. "She's a homunculus. They're designed to take lots of damage."

"But...." Maybe so; Theo had seen how easily Zenith could shrug off injuries. Still, that didn't make Ryan's indifference sit any easier with him.

When green light seared across his vision, Theo started. Silent as a statue, Avia had raised her bow and readied another arrow.

"Zenith!" Theo cast a shield spell in front of Zenith. Just in time, because Avia fired.

Zenith jumped out of the way. Not quickly enough – the arrow grazed the shield. The shock reverberated through Theo's Levia, but the shield held fast. Even so, Zenith had been thrown off course; with a choked cry, he crashed at the base of the ruined temple.

As dust billowed, scraps of pink light drifted away with it. Screaming Zenith's name, Theo ran toward the temple.

"Dude, are you loony or something?" Ryan's shout stopped Theo in his tracks. For the first time, he didn't sound smug – just incredulous. His eyes were wide with the strangest mix of shock and scorn.

"Are you loony?" Ryan demanded again. "Why're you running straight into the fray? You got a death wish? Keep your distance, man. That's wizardry 101."

"Zenith – Zenith's hurt," Theo sputtered.

"Yeah, and? That's what happens in battle. Don't you even know that? Your familiar's just doing his job. Y'know – " Ryan leaped down from the pillar and started striding over to Theo. "That's what makes homunculi the best familiars. Familiars are the weapons we wizards use to fight. What better weapon than a machine that's made for that purpose?"

'A machine.' The word pierced Theo's chest like one of Avia's arrows. 'A machine.' Victor had called Zenith a machine too, sneering just like Ryan was now. Was that all Zenith was supposed to be?

Theo couldn't accept it. Intellectually he knew Zenith might be a machine, but in his heart he had no choice but to view Zenith as a person just like himself. How could he not? Zenith's skin was soft, his face so expressive. Theo remembered him staring entranced at the glass jellyfish, solemnly apologizing for letting Theo get hurt. He had his likes and dislikes, his wishes and desires.

And his devotion to Theo – that had to be more than just a machine's programming, didn't it?

"Th...Theo...." Zenith's voice. Weak and rasping, but ringing with a familiar conviction. Theo's heart flipped over when he saw Zenith rising from the hole he'd smashed in the ground, gasping for breath and shaking like a leaf. "Stay back. Don't...don't worry about me."

Ryan swiveled his head toward Zenith, then to Theo, and back again. An incredulous grin trembled across his face. Then he burst out laughing.

"I can't believe this. You're not just an amateur, you're absolute shit."