The clouds suddenly darkened and turned in on themselves as Pit soared through the sky, held aloft and true by the powers of the Goddess of Light. The spawn of the Underworld dived and circled around him, launching multiple attacks as they sought an opening in his defence, but his blade swept through the air time after time to meet them. He reeled in surprise, however, as the sky took its sudden turn, and even the swarms of Underworld creatures that sought to swat him out of the sky suddenly turned tail and fled.

"It's her," the Goddess of Light, Palutena, supplied.

"Medusa!" Pit declared, brandishing his blade as the Goddess pulled him up short to hang almost motionless in the darkened sky. A full, melodious chuckle rippled through the air and at a point ahead of Pit the clouds swirled around an invisible focal point, thickening and darkening as a giant hand reached up from its depths and seemed to clutch onto something Pit couldn't see, using it as leverage to pull up the huge form of the former Queen of the Underworld. Pit's eyes widened as Medusa appeared before him, casting her vast shadow upon the sky as she swept a wicked staff into view.

"Lady Palutena, what happened?!"

"What do you mean, Pit?"

"Isn't Medusa supposed to be, you know...ugly and vile?"

"Well, I'm sure she's still vile."

"B-but look at her! She's, um - "

"Pretty?" the Goddess asked.

"Different. Pretty different," Pit answered quickly, tugging nervously at the neck of his robes.

"Different? Interesting observation,"Palutena said. "Care to elaborate?"

"Uh..."

"I can hear you, you know," Medusa interrupted them, "and I do believe this is supposed to be my moment."

"Oh. Right, well..."

"Twenty-five years, Pit," the apparently resurrected Goddess announced almost casually, her ethereal avatar raising its right hand to her eyes as though to inspect the state of her nails.

"That's a long time," he observed.

"Undoubtedly," Palutena agreed.

"Oh, we are of the same opinion," Medusa said, pointing her staff in Pit's direction, "and I have thought and dreamt of nothing else but you two in all that time."

"Really?"

"Why, of course, Pit," Medusa said, leaning forwards. Her presence brushed clouds aside. "Your name has been on my shattered lips for twenty-five long years. I have yearned to see you again."

"Charming," Palutena muttered.

"Come then, little angel, won't you join in my festive celebrations?"

"Well, I wouldn't say no to a dish of - "

"Pit," Palutena interrupted.

"Oh, right. Sorry. Ahem. You came back at the wrong time, Medusa! Prepare to meet the Light!"

Medusa chuckled once more, tilting her head back as snakes stemming from her scalp swayed and coiled about one another in the air, several snapping in the direction of the floating angel, who yelped despite the distance between them.

"There are few things more satisfying than a bloodbath, Pit. Thanks to you and your precious Goddess, I have an aching thirst that must be slaked."

"Not now, not ever!" Pit declared, brandishing his weapon once more. "Lady Palutena!"

"Right. Let's go, Pit!"

The celestial wings at his back flared suddenly with light and he shot forwards toward the avatar of Medusa, lifting his blade to sweep it harmlessly aside. But the former Queen chuckled for a third time, though finally a malevolent tone rang true within it.

"Not so fast, Pit!"

Practically biting on his name as she spoke, Medusa swept her staff through the air, slicing straight through clouds which shrivelled and vanished in mere moments. Her face shot forwards with the speed of striking snake in the wake of the staff, eyes flashing like a star.

"Pit! Look out!"

"Ah!" the angel and the Goddess cried it unison a moment later. Pit's world vanished in blinding light, and he felt the sudden severance of his connection with the Goddess. The sky was filled with a shout of panic as the wings provided to him melted into nothingness and he began to fall.

"Lady Palutena! Lady Palutena!"


"Lady Palutena!" trilled the mocking voice of Medusa, upon whose palm Pit fell a moment later. "Worry not, little angel. Your Goddess has forsaken you, but I shall keep you safe."

Pit yelped as he realised he had come into bodily contact with the former Queen of the Underworld. He jumped in fright, almost throwing himself clean off Medusa's palm before realising that that would no doubt spell the end of him.

"Calm down, Pit," she told him as her face swept down to loom over him, her eyes stark white and wide, lips curved into a smile that promised terrible things. "There's nothing to fear."

"Lady Palutenaaaaa?" Pit said as he both looked over his shoulder and tried to keep his eyes on Medusa.

"We'll search for your precious Goddess soon, Pit. But you must celebrate my return with me first. Twenty-five years, hmm?"

"I don't think I want to..."

"Nonsense!" Medusa cut across him. "You will enjoy it. I promise."

"You...promise?" Pit repeated. Medusa leered down at him as she brought her face closer still to him.

"This would be the part where the sensible spoil-sport I once called sister intrudes and reminds you not to trust me. Unfortunately for you, however, your voice of reason is not here."

Medusa chuckled once more and turned her palm upside down. Pit scrambled in vain for purchase on her skin before plummeting to the ground far below.

"Lady Palutenaaaaaa!"


"Hold him."

Pit returned to himself gradually, his eyelids sluggish upon trying to open them and his tongue heavy when tried to speak.

"Ugh. What's...happening?"

He tried to move but found his arms and legs strangely heavy too, pinned, he quickly realised, to a hard, rough surface. He started with a sudden, panicked jolt.

"Lady Palu - !"

"Quiet, Pit. You're ruining the moment."

The voice of Medusa seemed to fill his surroundings - whatever they were; he hadn't taken them in yet, such was his panic. The angel finally opened his eyes - both literally and figuratively - and saw first that he was pinned to what appeared to be a raised platform of rock, four Skuttlers planting their weight on each of his limbs to keep him in place. Next, he saw the broken ruins of buildings surrounding him, though there were no other Underworld creatures, or humans for that matter. Finally, he looked directly ahead and upwards as he found that his struggles to escape the Skuttlers were thwarted time and again.

Medusa, huge and terrifying in her majesty, stalked towards them. What Pit had thought to be only the former Queen's avatar was in fact her actual form, and so each of her footsteps - along with the thud of her staff that accompanied each stride - shook the very ground. Her shadow quickly fell upon and consumed him. But something strange was occurring with each stride; Pit narrowed his eyes as he observed it. Medusa was shrinking with each step she took closer.

"Behold," the Goddess said as she came within six feet of him, her current height now just a little under 6ft, "I am magnificent! Wouldn't you agree?"

Pit gulped as Medusa spread her arms wide as though to offer him her embrace. Her skin was the palest white and Pit almost quipped that it would do the former Queen good to spend a little time in the sun. Atop her head thick strands of shadow were intertwined amongst the swaying snakes, all of which except one defiant orange creature were coloured a dark hue of green. Her ethereal locks seemed to fade in and out of reality in a patterned sequence, giving the impression that they were stirred by an eternal wind. Her toga, dark and yet seeming to glisten with a silky texture, covered all but a portion of the left side of her body, her shoulder down to her waist bared in sensuous fashion to the eye. Pit felt heat rise to his face as he noticed this when Medusa turned slowly on the spot, presenting her resurrected form to him.

"Am I pleasing to you, Pit? Had I possessed this form twenty-five years ago, I would surely have seduced the fight out of you."

He stared for the longest moment before recollecting himself.

"She's the enemy, Pit."

"I know, Lady Palutena."

"Then where are your eyes going?"

"Umm, I was...analysing the enemy!"

"Of course you were."

"I'm telling the truth!"

"Ahem."

Pit started as Medusa's interruption returned him to the present scenario.

"Fascinating," she commented, "you are so dependent upon your precious Goddess that in her absence, you replace her with...yourself?"

"Ha ha. Umm, yeah. Kinda."

"I pity you," she told him plainly. Medusa walked towards him then; Pit's eyes widened as he renewed his struggle when the Goddess lifted her staff high into the air, as though intending to impale him where he lay. Instead, she slammed the staff down into the ground beside him.

"Do you remember when I said there are few things more satisfying than a bloodbath?" Medusa said as she once again loomed over him. "Just as you are able to know the power of your three wretched sacred treasures, there exists the power granted by the three potent liquids."

"Potent liquids?"

Medusa lifted her left hand, facing her palm to the sky as a small cloud of darkness coalesced there. "Wine," the Goddess spoke as the murky cloud solidified into a glass half-filled with a rich red liquid. Medusa lifted her right hand and the same darkness began to gather there. "Blood," she said as a vial materialised and was caught between thin, slender fingers that slightly shook it so that the thick liquid within splashed the vial's walls. "And finally -"

"Tomato juice?" Pit suggested with a distasteful grimace. Medusa paused for a long moment, and then the corners of her pale lips curved.

"Yes, little Pit, of course," she said, the glass of wine and the vial of blood vanishing in a puff of black smoke. "Tomato juice."

"Carefulcarefulcareful!" Pit panicked as the Goddess retrieved her staff, caught the folds of his chiton with its ends and pulled the cloth aside. "Watch the sacred stones!"

Medusa paused.

"Sacred stones? Did Palutena help you christen them?"

"No, of course not," Pit started, before he realised the true implications of Medusa's words. He grew red in the face at an astonishing speed.

"I would never -!"

"Shh," Medusa murmured, in a soft, gentle tone that disconcerted Pit immensely for it both suited her perfectly and was simultaneously completely out of character. "This is the part they've all been looking forward to, hmm?" the Goddess said quietly as she teased the sacred stones with the point of her staff, Pit whimpering with each movement.

"They?" he said with an unusually shaky and high-pitched voice.

"Come now, Pit. In what other reality do I have you in this position and not murder you on the spot? I certainly would have no time or desire to be toying with the 'sacred stones'."

"Soooo maybe we could, you know, team up? Fight the power? Neither of us wants to do this. And I sure hope Lady Palutena isn't watching."

"Oh, I don't think so, Pit. This is a power greater than any of us, even the gods."

"But - but who would want this?"

"It doesn't matter, little Pit," Medusa said as she continued to tease the sacred stones. "Now..."

With a sudden movement, she tore through the cloth of Pit's chiton to a wild yelp of surprise. He struggled with renewed vigour against the weight of the Skuttlers, filling the air with a mantra-like 'nononononono!' as Medusa peered down at him, slightly arching an eyebrow.

"Pit, you disappoint me. Away," she ordered the Skuttlers, who moved immediately and in unison. Before Pit could even think to move and attempt to escape, Medusa had reached down and grabbed him. Hard.

"Owowow! It's sensitive please be careful!" Pit shouted out, grasping Medusa's wrist without thinking.

"Hmm," she hummed to herself, "you see? Twenty-five years. That's a long time, as you astutely observed. One forgets things."

"We don't have to do this!"

"Oh, I'm afraid we do. Unfortunately, I am not the one orchestrating this little scene. Now then..."

"Owowowow!"

"Goodness, Pit. I'm surprised you manage to keep your precious Goddess happy with this."

"I'm an angel! We aren't supposed to - Lady Palutena and I haven't done anything!"

"But surely you've thought about it?" Medusa suggested in a silky tone, looking up at Pit as she began to find her rhythm. A seductive, lopsided smirk shaped her lips as she leaned forward over Pit, planting her hand at the side of his head. "No? You've managed to restrain yourself? There are no, shall we say, questionable fantasies lurking within that empty little head of yours?"

"No!" Pit vehemently denied, turning his face aside as Medusa leaned in close and the snakes atop her head snapped almost playfully at him. Her gaze was fierce and unrelenting upon him and he could barely stand to return it. And then there was her cool hand upon him, which had settled into a smooth, slow rhythm that was sending uncomfortably pleasurable sensations through his body.

"Okay! Okay, you've had your fun! I'm sure they - whoever they are - are satisfied," Pit said in a shaky voice.

Medusa turned her head slightly, seeming to listen to a voice Pit couldn't hear. "It appears they are not", she reported to him in a plain tone. "It matters not. I don't imagine this will take too long."

"I really wish you would stop insulting my, uh..."

"'Sacred stones'?" the once Queen supplied, reaching down a little to give them a brief squeeze before lightly raking her fingertips along Pit's length as she stroked upwards.

"Hnngh!"

"Almost finished, hmm?" she posed to him, pushing her hand tenderly into his mop of hair, and then using it as a firm grip to keep Pit still as he struggled against her touch.

"Surely you last longer for your dear Goddess. Or perhaps she is easily satisfied."

"I told you: Lady Palutena and I haven't done anythi - hnngh!"

"Well then, here we are, Pit. You might as well take advantage of this opportunity as I am taking advantage of you."

"What?"

"Close your eyes," Medusa murmured as she lowered her lips to Pit's ear, "and pretend I am 'Lady Palutena'."

"No...No!" Pit shouted. "You could never be Lady Palutena. Not even in my imagination. You...you're ugly! You're just...big, and cruel, and really ugly!"

"Careful, Pit," Medusa drawled into his ear as snakes hissed and snapped a mere breadth away from the tender flesh of his face, "remember where you are, and what throbs ever so powerfully within my grip. I don't think Palutena would be pleased if you limped home lacking, shall we say."

Pit flinched as her tongue flicked out with the speed and precision of a serpent against the skin behind his ear.

"Relax, enjoy yourself," the Goddess murmured with a sultry hiss.

"Easy to say when you're on top," Pit retorted, his voice tight.

"Feisty," Medusa said, accompanied with a small laugh. "Imagine if we were not mortal enemies, Pit. I am certain you and I would share much pleasure together. I would show you things Palutena dare not even dream of."

She glanced down momentarily as the angel throbbed and twitched against her palm. Returning her gaze to Pit's, she rolled her eyes as he gave another pronounced "hnngh!"

"You embarrass yourself, and it seems you are at your end."

"I can't help it!"

"Evidently," Medusa returned. She leaned forward, overshadowing Pit as she pressed her lips against his. Snakes hissed softly around them and her ethereal strands of hair brushed along his cheeks. Her tongue, quick and powerful, pushed into his mouth and her kiss swiftly became hard and dominating, forcing Pit's massively inexperienced lips into instinctive action.

At the same time, the speed and pressure of her strokes increased, as well as a subtle changing of her method. It was as though she conducted a symphony, guiding Pit's senses to an explosive crescendo that would tear a groan, a shout - maybe even a high-pitched scream - from his lips.

In the end, Medusa decided she would not suffer to hear any of those things from him. She dominated the angel with a hard kiss and her tongue wholly claimed his mouth. Pit gave a sharp, sudden start as Medusa guided him to his peak, and she relished the vibrations as he groaned ever so deeply. The Goddess milked him with a slow rhythm of strokes as his body shuddered beneath her, gradually lessening the pressure of her kiss at the same time. They parted lips and Medusa favoured Pit with an intense gaze and an even smile as she leaned backwards, snakes swaying slowly atop her scalp.

"The third potent liquid," Medusa said as she stood to her feet proper, lifting her hand before her for Pit to see. Pit felt his face grow hot as he saw it, turning aside in embarrassment. Medusa laughed in cruel amusement, sweeping her hand aside as with the other, she reached for her staff.

"And now, Pit. It appears that you have served your purpose. Good riddance to you, wretched angel!"

Her face suddenly contorted with hate and anger as she spun the staff through a tight, intricate pattern before pointing it directly at Pit, a circle of white light coalescing at its point. Pit came to, locked momentarily in a daze after being on the receiving end of Medusa's ministrations, scrambling to find his feet as panic set in once more.

"Lady Palutena!" he cried out desperately, for the Goddess had remained all but silent ever since Medusa had glared at him in the skies high above.

"Pit!" her voice finally – suddenly - reached him. "Thank goodness. I've been looking all over for you!"

"Wait, so you...weren't watching this whole time?"

"Watching? Watching what?"

"Nevermind!"

"Now hold on a minute –"

"Die, Pit!" Medusa shrieked, light bursting in dazzling rays from the tip of her staff.

"Lady Palutena, can we discuss about this later, please?!"

"Well now you certainly have me curious."

"Lady Palutena!"

"Oh fine," the Goddess finally complied, and before Medusa could torch him and the ground he stood on into a smoking crater, whisked the angel away.