"You did it! Congratulations!" The Metallurgist was happy to see the Statue win, and patted its back happily. "I'm glad our hard work paid off. Make sure to take care of her, alright? We still need to fix you, after all."

Indeed, the Statue would not be right until it could firmly stand beside the princess. And soon, It would have Its chance.

Within the kingdom, there was a secret group of people who had gathered together to take out the Princess. They cared little for her opulence or obsession with gold. In fact, it enraged them. Having been tipped off by a disgruntled maid within the castle, they knew that recent events had forced the Princess to retreat to her room and send away her aides. If ever there was a time to strike, it would be now.

Within her chambers, the Princess remained in her bed. Whether it was illness or shock one could not say, but she was certainly not well after the unpleasant events of the recent contest. Despite her harsh words, only two Statues remained with her periodically. The King had authorized them to ignore all orders of hers and to prioritize her well being. They were Mr. Gold and the Bronze Statue, respectively. The Gold Statue stood nearby, unaware that itself was the cause for her malady, and instead preened itself in the corner, as brilliantly shiny as ever. The Bronze Statue, for its part, did its best to apply a cool wash cloth to the Princess' forehead and care for her every need.

That night, the two of them were in the same room. "Go away..." The Princess murmured spitefully, but her voice no longer held the bite it once had. The Bronze Statue nodded, and, having finished its task, went to leave. Mr. Gold, upon noticing this, reluctantly moved towards the door as well. Suddenly, the door was thrown open. The impact pushed the Bronze Statue back, allowing numerous men in black to storm the room. "What?" The Princess struggled to sat up, her eyes widening as she began to shout for the guards.

But they did not come.

Steel glinted in the flickering candle light, revealing that they were all armed. Some with swords, others with knives, and some with bows. It was an excessive array of weapons. Given the dark stains on some of them, it was clear what had happened to the guards. The Golden Statue gave a brilliant flourish, unfazed. I will slay these evil fools where they stand! It thought, launching itself at them. The Bronze Statue stepped back, moving into a position that would allow it to protect the Princess. The Golden Statue fought brilliantly, for being untrained and undeveloped in the ways of combat. It had never sought to improve its capabilities, but the inherent performance of Gold was so good one might think it could possibly pull this off.

However...

The Golden Statue staggered as one of the men swung powerfully, the sword gouging Its chest and caving it in easily. Gold was pretty, but ultimately weak. With no alloys within it, the Golden Statue was remarkably soft and fragile, and it was starting to show. With every strike from Its fists, they grew more and more deformed. The villains were easily able to attack the Statue from all sides, denting and carving large gashes into it. "Mr. Gold...." The Princess struggled to get up, only to be stopped by the Bronze Statue. "....please..." she whispered, clutching the Bronze Statue's arm and looking up at it with teary eyes.

Its metaphorical heart crumpled at that beseeching look. It could not stand to see the Princess sad. Though Mr. Gold was a fool and invariably Its rival, the Bronze Statue could never refuse the Princess' request. It nodded, then turned and launched itself into the fray. The Golden Statue fell down, Its body in pieces, but still clinging onto sentience. A deep rumbling noise echoed in the room, punctuated with the constant pings of metal on metal. The Bronze Statue fought like a demon, blood splashing and mixing with the golden fragments scattered throughout the room as it ripped and tore through the assailants. An arrow was launched, streaking towards the princess. The Bronze Statue shifted sideways, forced backwards as the arrow impacted and pierced into the metal body. Unlike gold, Bronze was strong and durable.

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The Golden Statue struggled to pick Itself up, emboldened by the Bronze Statue. It would not be shown up by this peasant. The two squared off, fighting not for themselves, but for the Princess' life. Back to back, they fended off the assassins. The Bronze Statue tried to swing Its fist, only to find Its arm seize up as an arrow locked the joint in place. A sword was brought to bear, aimed to strike the Bronze Statue's head. A flash of gold appeared, and the sword was thrown to the side as a fist took the impact, gold fragments exploding everywhere.

Taking advantage of the confusion, the Bronze Statue pivoted and swapped with the heavily damaged Mr. Gold, stopping a dagger aimed for Mr. Gold's chest. With a sickening crunch, the man's face caved under the might of metal. At last, there were only two men left, who lunged for the princess with hammers in hand. The Bronze Statue dived at the man and knocked him down, only to be hit in the back by another. Another swing, and it's head was flattened. A third, and Its body crumpled. Though stronger than Gold. Bronze was not too sturdy either. "Stupid Statue! Just die, you worthless piece of junk!" One of them spat.

With one arm broken, Its legs no longer useful, and Its vision impacted, the Bronze Statue grabbed at the mans ankle and squeezed, shattering the bone within. As the man screamed and fell, It climbed on top and began to mercilessly pummel the man's face until teeth and gore spattered across the bronze, tattered body. The second man advanced towards the princess, only to let out a sharp gurgling noise as Mr. Gold stabbed him in the neck, sending blood fountaining across the room and painting the walls with streaks of vividly dark red blood. At last, the fight was over, and the Princess' safety was assured. Mr. Gold collapsed, Its metal body giving up. The Princess struggled to climb out of bed and rushed to Mr. Gold. Upon assessing him and seeing he was ok, she swiftly ran towards the Bronze Statue.

It tried to fend her off, unwilling to allow Its blood stained body to sully her clothes. But she did not heed Its weakened attempts at pushing her away. "You saved me..." she mumbled, clutching Its ruined head close to her chest. A sob wrenched itself from her throat. "You saved me, even after everything I did...."

"You are everything to me." Though its mouth could not move, its intent was communicated well enough. No matter what, you must not die.

"Are you ok...?" she whispered. Its body was ruined, Its conscious was weak. She had never seen any Statue in such a ruined condition; she had never heard one's voice so weak. "You have to stay with me, ok?" Her grip on it tightened as for the first time, she gave it an order other than "Go Away."

"I...cannot refuse..." The Princess had given an order, and it would follow that order. Beside them, Mr. Gold also struggled to keep Itself together, unwilling to allow Itself to be beaten by the other.

Finally, more guards and staff rushed in, gasping at the terrible sight before them. The Princess was quickly secured, and the Statues were brought to the Metallurgist, who gazed upon their ruined bodies with a pained expression.

"Can they be saved?" The Guards asked, hesitant. The Metallurgist lowered the goggles he usually kept on his head and grabbed a hammer, ordering another to pump more air into the forge. "I don't know, but I will try." He said firmly, looking down at the tattered remains of his friend. "You did well, champion of Bronze. You did what you were born to do." Liquid metal began to flow through pipes as he poured nuggets of bronze into the crucible. "And now, I will do what I was born to do. Let's get you back to the Princess."