This is it, people. The final story in the Second Series.

It's been a long time coming, and it's hard to say goodbye. But don't worry! There's still a little left!

So enjoy! Enjoy these last few words with Pit and Viridi! Enjoy the lovely beta work done by Konpeki Rei! Enjoy the whole "I-don't-own-Kid-Icarus-please-don't-sue-me" schtick.

But most of all, enjoy Second Beginnings.

Chapter 1

My Honeymoon Sucked, I Want a Refund

"HADES?"

He looks at us with mock horror. "Oh, you two? I'm hurt- wounded, even. Did you really forget about your old Uncle Hades?"

Viridi is stuttering, but I manage a complete thought. "What the HELL are YOU doing here? I killed you!"

Hades shakes his finger like a scolding mother. "Language, Pitty. Yes, you killed me. But you also killed Medusa, and she came back after only 25 years. Don't you think I deserve a second chance as well?"

I scowl. "That Medusa was a fake you made, and you know it! Now tell me how you're here!" And don't say "Second Chance" around me, either- I really like that story...

"P-Pit, what do we do?" Viridi asks me, cowering in my arms.

A familiar cliff- I think it's the same one I fought Hades at last time- is only a few meters away, so I fly above it and land. "Stay put," I tell her, then dash towards the edge to yell at my foe.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

"Oh simple. I want revenge. Duh. I would have thought that would be obvious," he sighs. "Still as slow as ever, I see."

I grab for my bow, but my hand meets only air. That's right. I packed my weapons up. Great... And suddenly there's a burst of light and some Viridi Claws are hovering in front of me. I look back at my wife. She's grinning, wooden staff out and posed in a fighting stance. I return the smile, arm myself, and retreat to her side.

"You ready for this?" I ask her, noticing she looks a little tense.

She nods, her happy face gone and replaced with a grim expression of resolve. "We may not have the Great Sacred Treasure, but we might be able to at least hurt him if we work together."

I smirk and squint. "I knew there was a reason I loved you."

"Yeah, yeah," she says. With that, a loud boom reverberates across the sky. Vri slams her staff again, causing hundreds of Flages to appear and strike with ninja precision. Unfortunately, it appears that Hades is much stronger than me (well, yeah says my reason), so attacks that would have finished me barely make him flinch.

"Alright, my turn!" I shout, sending a forward- dash charged shot square to his jaw. I may have broken a tooth, but I highly doubt it. He's close enough for me to use a few melee attacks, which I use in abundance. I need to give him as much damage as I can.

Hades yawns, then flicks his finger in our direction. Purple fire balls race to burn us to crisps. Viridi and I dodge and weave, getting very close to singed several times. I volley a handful back at the source, two of which make contact. The blows are more superficial than actually harmful, but I'm willing to take any success I can get. Viridi stomps and the clouds seem to rain out Nutskis, hundreds upon thousands of them. The little monsters can't even put a dent on the God of the Underworld, though. I look at the struggling goddess.

"Attack him directly! Use your godly powers!"

She nods, then closes her eyes. Vines sprout from nothing and wrap around Hades' arms and legs, locking him in place. She winks at me. "Remember when I did this to you?"

I chuckle, then leap into a combo of ranged and melee shots that lasts for a good five minutes straight. When I ceasefire, Hades' nose is broken and his lip bleeds profusely.

"Well played, you two. You make quite the pair," the villain spits out. "However, I still have the upper hand. Or should I say 'arm?'"

The sound of the machine gun arm is deafening. I curl up into a protective roll, scooping the blonde woman into my arms. When I peer out of my huddle to check on the god, he's gone. Or so I think, before I spot him about twenty yards away, looking decidedly smaller.

"You can do that to?" Viridi asks.

"All of the gods can do this, rosebud. Seriously, check the manual," is the snarky reply.

I growl. No one makes fun of my Vri. "But why bother? Being smaller evens the playing field. Why would you even give us a chance?"

"Simple. This form uses less power."

"Huh?" Viridi and I say simultaneously.

"Oh, nothing. Never mind that. Now, if I may quote Thanny- Poo, "'tis time to get on with the fisticuffing!'"

Wait a sec... didn't Isay that when I was mocking Thanatos? And what's all this about "using less power?"

"Pit, snap out of it!"

"Huh? AAA!" And I'm drop- kicked off the cliff. I grab onto the edge, but I'm struggling to keep my grip. "Viridi! Help!"

She runs to my side, but a fireball knocks her away. "Uh- uh. You're supposed to die here, remember?"

She mutters to herself, then her hazel eyes light up with an idea. She raises her staff high, then lowers it in a blur. A speck appears in the sky. No, not a speck, something bigger... something more purple... something that looks unnervingly like-

"A RESET BOMB? VIRIDI, I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU GOT RID OF THOSE!"

She glares at me. "Well, excuse me princess! But I'm using it to SAVE YOUR LIFE!"

"Oh snap," Hades mutters, just as the bomb detonates on his head. Prickers and thorns climb on my leg, tearing into the skin with their jaggers. I wince in pain, but I pull myself back up onto the cliff, fingers burning from the hang I endured.

I look around, familiarizing myself with my surroundings. Vri is kneeling in front of me. "Why aren't we dead? I thought Reset Bombs killed anything alive."

She shakes her head. "They destroy anything human, Pit. Neither of us are human. We're fine."

"Oh. OK." Realization kicks in. "Vri, Hades isn't human either."

"... Oops."

"Yeah, that's a pretty big 'oops,' sweetheart," calls the sinister voice of pure, unadulterated evil. The sound is followed by a punch that sends Viridi flying, her blonde hair snagging in the tangle of vines and branches. Her entire right sleeve is ripped off by a particularly stubborn pine. She gasps and shrieks until crashing into a tree head-first, which most likely knocked her unconscious.

And then she lands on the ground. The unmistakable sound of a crunching bone. Bruises on every inch of exposed skin. Her elbow at an unreal angle. A puddle of some red liquid forming at the base of her neck.

Her gasp for air, then silence.

"VIRIDI! NO! VIRIIIIDIIIIII!"

End Chapter 1

CLIFFHANGER!

What will happen to Viridi? Is Hades beatable? WILL I EVER WRITE THAT FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST STORY? Find out all this and more in the next and final chapter of Second Beginnings!