Sorry, this chapter was a lot longer than I expected it to be!

Chapter 36: The Monster Within and the Great Eagle

A few days later, Gelato met Hercules by the same pond that Gamberetto took him to, and together they walked across the pond and went into the woods on the other side. Gelato tried to keep up, but seemed to falter in comparison to Hercules' rapid pace. Soon they came to the edge of the woods and entered a large quarry that had been abandoned for quite some time. There were no cranes, no machines, but only an empty crater of rock and dirt.

"Man, what a big hole," Gelato said breathlessly.

"It's not a hole, Gelato, it's a quarry," Hercules said, still irritated. "The Godfather intended to mine this place for materials to use during the Third Mafia War, but by the time they dug this much, the war was over, and none of the materials that still lie beneath were never needed."

"What kinds of materials lie down there?" Gelato asked.

"I don't know. One of our chief scientists, who was working alongside our alchemists, said something about a substance called 'uranium' that was in here, but he never said what was special about it. Guess we'll never know. Anyway, this is where you'll be training from now on."

"Are you sure its safe?"

"Positive. But if I'm wrong, you can hit me for it."

So they went down into the quarry, and came to a flat area that was patted down and scattered with rocks around the edges. Hercules took his place on one rock, while Gelato stood at the center of the area. They met eye-to-eye, and then Hercules cleared his throat, and spoke.

"Okay, Gelato Vortice, here's the deal. The reason why you've never had problems with running out of nature energy until you encountered the weird snake guy is because he sealed away your nature energy, but only part of it."

"Only part of it? What do you mean?"

"Most users of Alchemy have one type of nature energy in them, whether it be elemental, animal, celestial, or demonic. But you have two types of nature energy: the Nine-Headed Hydra's, and your own."

"How did you know about that?"

"I learned about it through the Godfather. Besides, that mark on your navel is also proof. An Alchemic seal that complex is typically used to bind something powerful. Now with the way it's designed, it should stay strong for a really long time, but something has caused it to break slightly, allowing the Nine-Headed Hydra's energy to come out. Was there an event that occurred not too long ago where you got really really angry?"

"Well, there are two events that come to mind: the first time it happened was when I learned what I was from an Associate who tried to coax me into giving him something I stole. So in retaliation, I created several Homunculi, whereas I could barely create one before. Then during a mission, I saw one of my fellow Soldiers get severely wounded, and thinking he was dead, I suddenly felt…very cold and full of rage as a blue aura surrounded me. I probably would've killed the guy who was responsible if someone hadn't told me that the Soldier wasn't dead."

"I see." Hercules took his pipe out and started to light it. "So the seal must've broken when that Associate told you of your nature, which caused the Nine-Headed Hydra's nature energy to leak into your nature energy, and that's what allowed you to create so many Homunculi. Then when you thought your comrade was dead, the leak became stronger, hence the aura and the coldness. But you didn't feel either of these things after the weird snake guy put the God's Mark on you, correct?"

"Yeah, but how did you know about the God's Mark?"

"I'm sort of an expert on Alchemic circles and seals. That's how I was able to figure out the mark on your navel to be the seal of the Nine-Headed Hydra just by looking at it. As for the God's Mark, it was visible because there was an extra symbol added to the design: a six-pointed star below the navel. So I got rid of it, and now you have access to both the Nine-Headed Hydra's nature energy and yours. This'll prove to be an advantage, like walking on water with no effort, but there is also a disadvantage as well."

"Like what?"

"You can access unlimited amounts of nature energy from the Nine-Headed Hydra now, but if you don't learn to control it, it could cause the seal to break further, and eventually release the Nine-Headed Hydra. But if you're going to win in the upcoming Finals, your own nature energy will not suffice, so I'm going to teach you attacks that will require you to use both your nature energy and the Nine-Headed Hydra's, and that will be more than enough to defeat any foe you come across."

Gelato was excited, and jumped for joy. "Sweet! What're you going to teach me first?"

"How to summon a Creature."

"Like that eagle you rode yesterday?"

"Yeah, something like that. But Aquila isn't very strong on her own, and I don't typically use her for battle. What I'm going to teach you to summon is Aquila-Jovis, the Great Eagle. He was said to be Jupiter's messenger, and is also the father of Aquila."

At that, Hercules jumped down from his rock and walked over to Gelato.

"So here's how Summoning works: first, you need to give the Creature you're summoning a sacrifice. A few drops of blood will do, then you need to perform the Hand-Signs of the Twins (Dog), the Boar (Boar), the Water Jug (Monkey), the Eagle (Bird), and the Ram (Sheep), and immediately place the hand you cut on the ground while shouting the name of the Creature you wish to summon."

"Sounds easy enough." Before Hercules could say anything else, Gelato nicked his finger, performed the hand-signs in the correct order, and placed his palm down shouting, "Aquila-Jovis!"

Nothing happened.

"You didn't say it correctly." Hercules said, folding his arms. "You have to say 'Aquila-Jovis, I summon thee'."

Gelato nodded, and repeated the same procedure, this time saying, "Aquila-Jovis, I summon thee!"

There was a cloud of smoke as an Alchemic circle appeared underneath Gelato. Gelato's eyes widened with joy, waiting for the smoke to clear. But when it did, he was disappointed, and so was Hercules.

"A baby eagle?!" Hercules exclaimed, looking at the small gray ball of feathers that screeched and wobbled within the circle Gelato made. "Are you f**king kidding me?!"

"Hey! Give it a rest, Pimp!" Gelato retaliated. "This was my first summoning! Maybe I'll do better the second time!"

However, much to their dismay, the result was the same. As the day wore on, Gelato continued to try to Summon Aquila-Jovis, but no such luck. Then the evening came, and Gelato went home. The next morning bore similar results, and the morning after that. Days passed as Gelato irritably attempted the Summoning, and Hercules watched him with a scowl constantly on his worn-out face. After a month had passed, Hercules decided to take Gelato to a new location, which was a rocky cliff above the quarry that had a steep drop on the other side. Here, Gelato practiced privately, while Hercules went off somewhere to jot things down in his notebook.

"Hey, Pimp!" Gelato cried, getting Hercules' attention.

"What?" Hercules answered irritably.

"I think I've got it!" Gelato made the hand-signs, and placed his hand with the numerous cuts on it on the ground, shouting, "Aquila-Jovis, I summon thee!"

But this time, instead of a baby eagle, he managed to summon a juvenile eagle. I looked at Gelato and Hercules with little regard, and hobbled off towards the edge of the cliff, trying to fly. Gelato watched the bird fall with pity. Then Hercules waved his hand over it, and the bird disappeared before it fell further.

"You're right, Gelato," Hercules said. "You 'think' you've got it, but you don't have it yet. So, I'm going to use a new method to teach you."

"What is it?" Gelato asked.

Hercules said nothing as he suddenly leaned forward and pushed Gelato over the edge of the cliff. Like the juvenile bird, Gelato fell like a stone, and looked up at Hercules with confusion as his shape got smaller. This confusion then turned to anger, because he knew that he could do nothing to stop his fall. He thought of trying to use the Summoning spell, but looking back on his past failures, he didn't know if he had the power to do it. Then, that sparked an idea.

Of course! Gelato thought as the ground was getting closer. I could use the Nine-Headed Hydra's nature energy to Summon Aquila-Jovis! But how do I do that?

He looked at his navel, and concentrated really hard on it. To his surprise, the world suddenly became dark and he was standing on black water, looking up at a looming cage with golden bars and an Alchemic circle that resemble the one on his navel acting as the lock. Beyond the cage, there were several pairs of blue eyes gleaming out of the darkness, and the outlines of giant snakeheads waving side-to-side.

"So you are my Host," said a throaty voice that seemed to echo in the chamber of darkness. "You're a lot punier than I expected."

"Are you the…" Gelato couldn't finish his sentence as the snakeheads became more visible, showing that they were attached to a body with four dragon-like legs, and a long curved tail swished behind it with a sharp point at the tip. The dark-green scales that covered the monster were equally sharp, and so were the snakeheads' fangs as they snapped the air in relentless fury, until that throaty voice Gelato heard silenced them.

"The Nine-Headed Hydra?" The snakeheads parted to allow one snakehead to lean forward. Unlike the others, this head was taller, and its scales were tipped with gold so it gleamed even in the darkness. It peered down at Gelato and said, "Is that what you were going to say, puny mortal?"

"I'm not a puny mortal!" Gelato snapped. "My name is Gelato Vortice, and I've had to put up with you for many years, so show some respect!"

"Why should I respect you? You're just a poor orphan boy who is despised by the entire Foglia family, and the only friends you have are a spineless Associate, a mysterious Capo, a worthless girl, and a boy whom you will never be better than."

"Hey! I didn't come here to discuss my life-story! I need your help!"

"My help? You've never asked me for 'my' help in all the twelve years I've been inside you."

"Yes, but you certainly helped me when I was fighting Mezzaluna, Fiera, even that weird snake guy in the Dead Man's Sewers before he sealed your power away! So why not return the favor and help me out?"

"Why should I help you? Aren't I the thing that you loathe and blame as the cause for your miseries? Wouldn't it be better if you just set me free? You wouldn't have to deal with me any longer if you did that."

"I'm not going to release you! I just want to borrow some of your power so I can summon Aquila-Jovis. If you don't help me, I am going to fall to my death from the cliff Hercules shoved me off of, and you're probably going to die too, considering you're still apart of me!"

The golden snakehead hissed angrily at Gelato, and then it looked at the other heads. They were shaking with fear, and waved anxiously back and forth. Gelato folded his arms, not frightened at all, watching as the golden snakehead bent its head down to Gelato's level, and spoke.

"You drive a hard bargain, puny mortal. So for my well-being, I will help you, but don't ask for any more menial favors like that again unless it concerns us!"

Then all the snakeheads on the Hydra hissed as their eyes turned so blue to the point where their black slits couldn't be seen. A pale blue light then illuminated the darkness, giving Gelato a chilling sense, followed by him staring at the oncoming ground once more. He didn't hesitate to cut his finger once more, make the signs, and simply place his bleeding hand on an empty space.

"AQUILA-JOVIS, I SUMMON THEE!" Gelato shouted at the top of his lungs.

To his surprise, the cloud that emerged was much bigger than the ones he had made previously, and when it cleared, he was lying on the back of an eagle with a wingspan that was as long as a baseball stadium, covered in smooth golden feathers tipped in white, carrying two metallic lightning bolts in its gold-tipped talons. Its piercing bronze eyes peered up at Gelato in surprise as it forced its wings to flap and hover in midair, causing the trees below to bend from the blasts of air.

"What is a mere child like you doing on my back?" the giant eagle asked in a deep voice. "Were you the one who summoned me?"

"Y-Yeah," Gelato said, struggling to speak due to the awe and excitement that filled him. "I summoned you, Aquila-Jovis."

In response, Aquila Jovis soured down towards the trees and turned sideways, causing Gelato to slip off. He would've fallen into a nearby tree if he hadn't gripped one of the talons and held on as the treetops passed underneath him. It was then that the bird noticed, and tried to shake him off. But Gelato didn't let go, much to Aquila-Jovis' dismay.

"What're you trying to do? Kill me?!" Gelato screamed.

"I don't believe someone so young as yourself could have the power to summon a Creature as powerful as myself, so I was going to drop you on the treetops, but now you're getting on my nerves."

"Please don't drop me! I'll be your student if you take me back to the top of the cliff!"

"You'll what?" the bird couldn't believe what it heard.

"If you don't believe I summoned you, then I'll prove it to you by being your student. You're clearly my elder, so I could learn a lot from you as well. I'll do anything you'll want me to do! Just give me a ride to the top of the cliff!"

Aquila-Jovis pondered this as he made a slow glide upwards. This left Gelato a little uneasy, but mostly fine as he clung to the bottom of the talon tightly. Then, something sharp gripped the hood of his orange jacket and soon he was flung onto the back of the eagle again. In a second, he realized he had been picked up by Aquila-Jovis' enormous beak.

"A most intriguing offer, child of man," Aquila-Jovis said finally. "I have not seen that kind of spirit in a while, not since the Fourth Godfather rode me. So, hold onto my feathers tightly!"

Gelato smiled, and did as the eagle told him. Then the eagle's giant wings flapped rapidly as it shot into the air above the cliff, and glided downward at a rate so fast that the ground blurred underneath Gelato, and made him sick. But regardless, he held on as the bird circled down towards the red speck of Hercules, and landed with perfect grace on the edge of the cliff. By that point, Gelato's heart ponded so quickly that he passed out from the stress of the flight. Hercules caught him before he fell to the ground, and looked up at Aquila-Jovis.

"So, my theory was correct." Hercules said to himself.

"It has been a long time, Hercules," Aquila-Jovis said. "Did you summon me in order to rescue this boy before he fell to his death?"

Hercules shook his head. "I didn't. He did."

"But how?" Aquila-Jovis said in disbelief. "Only an experienced Tamer such as yourself has the kind of power to summon me, not a child such as he!"

"If you want proof, look at the cuts on his hand," Hercules replied, lifting Gelato's hand with the multiple cuts on it. "Those are the sacrifices he's made to try to summon you, which he's been doing for a month. Also, if you look closely in the quarry, you'll see the reminisce of the Alchemic circles that followed after the dozens of hand-signs he performed."

Reluctantly, Aquila-Jovis looked down into the quarry. He saw traces of nature energy scattered everywhere, and the charred hints of Alchemic circles on the ground. Then, Aquila-Jovis looked at the boy again, and felt sorry for doubting him. To repent for his ignorance, he offered to fly Gelato to a hospital in town, and Hercules nodded in agreement. So he got on Aquila-Jovis' back, still carrying Gelato, and the bird took off, though slightly more unsteady than before with two people on its back, but it managed to make it to the hospital on the outskirts of Foglia territory.

End of Chapter 36