Power of the Gods 2
By ThaRebelHunter and The Chuckinator
Chapter 1: The Roman Empire
Ten years had passed since the battle with Mars, and Caudus, Articulos, Flamma and Argentum were living their lives happily in Ancient Rome. They had just gotten back from praying at the Temple of Mars, and were spending time with their families.
"You want to get a job as a priest?" said Caudus' mother, as he told her his plans.
Caudus smiled and nodded. "Of course," he said. "Why wouldn't I?"
"No reasons. I think it's a great idea. You love to pray. You've even gone to Greece to pray to the gods there. Why is that?" she asked.
"Ares' temple is there, mom. We helped him when he was a fallen god. Now he's...up there, with the others, doing his job once again."
She rolled her eyes at this. "Yes I understand that, but since the war between Rome and Greece, people from opposites cities don't get along. I don't want you getting hurt."
"That war was centuries ago, mom! I'll be fine, don't worry. Besides, I have my hydra form." Caudus told her.
"That's very true. Alright, now get out before your dad wants to take another ride on you. He can't seem to get enough of your hydra form."
Caudus grinned and ran off to find his friends. He ran over to Articulos' house and knocked on the door. The door opened and the avatar stood there, then smiled when he saw Caudus.
"What are you doing in your avatar form?" Caudus asked.
Articulos smiled. "I just thought I'd stay like this for a while. Come on in." Caudus nodded and Articulos turned back into an echidna. The Avatar of Mars looked at him. "So, how have you been?"
"Same old. Thinking of getting a job as a priest like...Celeritas," he said quietly. He did miss the god.
The echidna nodded. He missed Ares as well, but at least they could pray to him. "Do you think we'll ever see him again?" The avatar asked.
"No way. He's learned his lesson and Mars is in Pandora's box. We know Umbra wouldn't let him leave. He has no reason to come down. We should probably accept that and move on," Caudus said, and Articulos agreed.
"Yeah, that would work. Now that Umbra is the Guardian of Pandora's Box, he will do his job of keeping Mars in there forever. Speaking of Umbra, now that he's the guardian of the box, is he a female now?"
Caudus thought about it, and then nodded. "Ares said he fused with the spirit of Pandora, so Umbra should be a girl" he said.
The avatar nodded. "That makes sense. I miss seeing him...or her, I guess...as well."
"We might see her someday, if we risk visiting the temple. But that will probably never happen."
"Yeah, I don't really want to visit that place again."
Caudus smiled. He looked around, wondering how Articulos and Flamma were doing.
At their house, Argentum had just got home from work.
"Honey, I'm home!" he called.
Flamma smiled and walked up to Argentum, kissing him. "Glad you're home," she said. "How was work?"
"Nothing new. Saw Caudus walking around. I think he might be thinking of starting a job now that he's 18," he replied.
"I heard he'll become a priest."
Argentum nodded and smiled, kissing his wife again. "So, where's our kid?" he asked, walking to the living room. A few minutes later, a male hedgehog walked into the room. He had white fur but had some features of Flamma also. "Hey son," Argentum said, picking him up and swinging him around.
"Daddy!" Licinus yelled, clapping his hands and laughing. A smile came to Argentum's face as he adjusted his toga, then set his son down. He looked at Flamma happily, who had picked Licinus up and was patting the toddler on the back.
"Has little Licinus been giving mommy trouble all day?" Argentum asked, still smiling at the young hedgehog.
Flamma shrugged. "A little bit."
Argentum picked his son up, and continued to talk. "So, I know we said we shouldn't talk about this, but I can't help it. I have this feeling. Do you think Mars will stay in Pandora's box forever?"
"He might. Pandora is keeping him in there."
"Yeah, but if I were Mars, and I lost everything I worked hard for, I wouldn't stay in there. But there's no way he would escape...unless something makes him determined to get out".
"That's true. We should talk to Pandora or Ares about this."
"I say Pandora, or Umbra, whatever you want to call her. I don't think there's a way we could contact Ares. Let's round up the others and go to Pandora's Temple. We can leave Licinus with Caudus' mom. She's so nice and takes good care of him when we're out."
Flamma nodded and they left the house. A few minutes later, they came to Caudus' house and explained the situation to his mom. She promised to look after Licinus and they went to look for Caudus. They saw him as a priest in the Temple of Mars. Articulos was there also.
"So you got a job, huh?" Argentum said, smirking. Caudus pulled down his hood, frowning.
"I did. What seems to be the problem?"
"It's just a little funny. You really did admire Celeritas before he went back to being a god, didn't you?"
Caudus smiled and nodded. "So...I assume we're going on a quest?"
Argentum nodded. "We need to go to Pandora's Temple."
"Oh boy. I heard that place is full of traps. The only people who went there were Umbra and...well Ares. Do you just intend to go barging in as a Cerberus and bring down the temple yourself?"
"Of course. Are you ready?"
Everyone nodded. They closed their eyes and transformed into mythical creatures, then headed towards Greece.