Chapter 2: Palutena's Temple of refuge
Super Smash Bros. [Kid Icarus, Palutena's Temple] Disclaimer once again, I do not own any SSB characters or their related games. I do own the knightlike hunters who are pursuing them, who are by the way made up. Enjoy.
In almost an instant, Charles and the mysterious woman had teleported into a chamber room with a small pool in the center. It was quite lovely in there, with the scenery of a Greek temple and it's many cultural decorations. Many of the busts had this particular woman's head as design. Opposite to them was a rather big door that was lead by stairs.
"So, had a nice trip?" The lady looked down upon the mayor still being held up to "her" bust. Charles realized he was still in close proximity to the woman's breasts. Embarrassed as he was, he tried to break free from her hold, but she decided to release him anyway. "Now now, their's no need to grope there sir."
Charles was really flustered by both the experience and the accusation of groping her, finding the latter as a misunderstanding. "I... I, that's not the issue here!"
"Oh isn't it"
"No! My friends! My friends have been captured by that fiend, and we just ran?! We have to save them!"
The woman giggled. "Oh come now. I was only messin' with you. Besides, both me and you can't hope to battle off a whole army of those now could we."
Charles eyes grew wide. "What? What army? All their was was that thing and that ship! I didn't see no army!"
"Inside voices please. Their are still some people who are still asleep here." She shushed him. "Where do you think he came from anyway?"
It was the "some people" part that perked Charles' curiosity on if their were others here as well. "Some people? Their are others here too?"
"Why of course. That and their are other refugees along with the Centurion guard, but overall yes, there are others I rescued from calamity." She spoke to him in a cheery demeanor. Charles calmed down a bit more. "If you would like, I could take you to the preparation room."
A little reluctant to drop the argument,however, Charles agreed to follow her. "Yes. That would be nice."
Nodding her head, she walked past him to lead the way into another door that appeared when she walked to an empty wall. "Then follow me please." Charles complied by following her down the now materialized hallway, glowing in radiance contrary to the room before.
Upon entering the wondrous hallway, they entered in an extended area lined with creatures of different origins. Some looked like they had mushrooms for hats, with stubby bodies. Others looked like villagers that would have visited Smashville. Humans with different features also joined the disheartened people with colorful dinosaurs with large noses, turtles and brown mushroom creatures, animals with colorful and odd features, and other strange stubby beings. They all had one thing in common, their spirits. Hopeless and battered, the sorry state that these souls were in put a heavy weight upon Charles as they proceeded.
"Now you see what they've done to others. You're not the only one who has lost so much at their claws." She didn't even try to look down at him, she just continued to walk. It really made Charles feel selfish, not knowing others from different origins had suffered the same situation he was in. To be thrust into a dire situation where you felt like you had no power to oppose an aggressive destroyer. "However, after your little, contribution to the fight against him, I saw your potential as one of my agents."
Charles was perplexed."What exactly does that mean? And who is he? Is he that... thing?"
"Yes, yes he is." The two of them stopped at a door. "That fiend, who has terrorized different lands, kidnapped individuals for some twisted glorified principle, and even stolen lives, homes and their sense of security, goes by the title..."
Charles felt a bit fearful to hear what this nightmare that has invaded their reality is called, but braves up to hear who this enemy is.
"... Knightscourge." The door opened, letting a bright light flood over the two.
Within an enclosed room more creatures await patiently for the arrival of a certain someone. A few bodies stood out amongst the crowd. There stood a young angel, captain of the guard of this very temple, fidgeting uncomfortably. "Where could she be? It shouldn't have taken her this long."
"Oh get a grip you spazz." Hanging near a column, his shady doppelgänger mocked him for his worry. " Or do you question your precious godesses' power?"
"It's not that, it's just that..." Pit and Dark Pit are initially the same person, except Pit's carelessness had him break The Mirror of Truth, thus releasing his darker personality in physical form.
"Whatever the case, she sure is taking a long time. Probably flirting with some lusty humans."
Pit felt a pink tint touch his cheeks as thinking of his goddess doing such things Zeus would do came to mind. "My lady is not that kind of goddess! She wouldn't waste her time doing fickle things, she has too much work to do."
"I can't imagine Nayru, Farore, or Din doing such things to mortals." A young boy dressed familiarly like the Hero of Hyrule exclaimed in the midst of the discussion. "Whatever." The white angel sulked to himself. "I just hope she comes back alright."
A small yellow mouse Pokemon sat near the center of the room looking on at the active members of volunteers who aren't sitting disheartened. Just then the same woman leading Charles entered the room extravagantly, with the said mayor following alongside. "I'm home!"
Dark Pit looked over at the commotion. "It's about time."
Pit jumped forward, excited to see her. "Lady Palutena, your back safely!"
A deep blue amphibious shinobi in the sidelines took a peek at Palutena's arrival. "Of course I'm alright Pit. You of all people should know I wouldn't come with a scratch on me." The goddess scolded her angel.
"Told you. So who's the fresh meat? More useless refugees?"
Pit looked back at his imperfect twin. "Hey that's just cold! They need the help, and you just stand there brooding to yourself. What help are you?!"
"You want to go, wimpy?!"
Palutena broke up the quarreling Pits. "That's enough you two! We have more urgent matters to attend to, like building up a force large enough to combat Knightscourge and his forces!"
"Whatever." Dark Pit ended the argument by turning away from the others. Pit on the other hand, let his attention go back to Palutena and her visitor.
"So who's this supposed to be?" Pit asked.
Palutena motioned her arm at Charles. "This is a new addition to our task force. His name is... oh geez, I don't know your name. How silly of me."
Charles spoke up. "Charles. My name is Charles."
Dark Pit turned around once more. "Are you kidding me?! This shrimp is our reinforcements?!"
"Yes Pitoo, he is here to help out our cause whether you like it or not. Beggers can't be choosers."
Dark Pit grumbled. "I told you to stop calling me that."
"And I told you to not question my choice in warriors." Palutena reminded him. "Now to the matter at hand..."
"Wait! You want me to help out in your cause against this Knightscourge character?" Charles interrupted.
Palutena huffed. "Hasn't your mother told you never to interrupt a lady?"
"Sometimes I wonder." Dark Pit chimed in. Palutena only looked back, and gave him the stink eye.
"Anywho-ha, yes I do expect that you pull your weight around here if you are to be a part of my task force. It's the only way for us to rescue your friends and the other prisoners on Knightscourge's ship. Are you in or out?" Charles paused to think about the choices he had. He looked at the faces in the room: from both Pit and Pitoo, to Pikachu and a tall regal looking young woman in a blue dress, to Greninja and Toon Link looking back at him. This is all they have at the moment to challenge Knightscourge? Charles realized that he's gonna need all the aid he's got in order to rescue his friends, and maybe with his help their power could increase. Besides Palutena said beggars can't be choosers so he's stuck with this task force.
"I guess I'm in." Charles accepted being a part of Palutena's task force. The other members welcomed him with some nods of appreciation, where others (notably Pit) celebrated the recruitment of their new comrade. "Alright! A new teammate in our battle!" Pit cheered. "Let's do our best out there guys!" Pit raised up two fingers enthusiastically.
Dark Pit was pretty annoyed by his lighter half's optimistic personality, feeling embarrassed even being associated with him. "Yeah yeah, we're all super psyched he's with us. But a more important topic is what is our next move? This Knightscourge guy is always three steps ahead of our plans, plus even if we did catch'em in the act, we have no idea what we're dealing with."
The blue dressed woman caring for a small starchild rose out of her seat."I have the details on his ship, a limited amount but just enough info."
Palutena smiled at the princess."Speak away Rosalina."
Rosalina, the princess of the cosmos, had a fair complexion, hiding one of her eyes with her light blonde bang. One thing that stood out to Charles was her stature. As a goddess, Palutena was expected to be a little taller than most mortals, yet Rosalina rivaled Palutena not only in beauty, but in height as well. It was kinda surprising to see such a tall woman compared to the other humans wallowing in despair in the temple.
[play Little Girl's theme (Kid Icarus)]"As you wish. Now I know I have said this all before, but this is for the sake of Charles' knowledge." Charles looked on at her, listening intently for information on his enemy's origin. "Many years before this crisis, an unknown fleet appeared on the edge of our galaxy, preparing for war. It crossed the Lylat system, spreading havoc in it's travels. In a joint operation, The Galactic Fedreration and the Lylat Alliance joined for the briefest of moments to challenge this aggressor. Assembling a retaliation, they encountered the massive armada. The enemy pushed through the defenders, tearing their forces apart. I saw first hand the brutality of the invaders where battle was waged on an area of me and Mario's first adventure. The warships tore at each other in great ferocity, but the battle on the surface was beyond compare. The warriors of Knightscourge's decent lead a bloodbath against the allied forces, horrendously crushing through their line. They were in such a desperate state, they even had an uneasy alliance with the Space pirates for their aid. But that didn't even turn the tide in our favor."
Many of the task force members had a hard time imagining the horrors of fighting such a barbaric enemy. Rosalina continued."Me and my children watched on at the sidelines, witnessing the massacre on the helpless souls. Of course the Allies turned the tide of battle with the help of Team Star Fox. But my company in its stellar travels encountered many battles between the belligerents, littering the cosmos with the aftermath of their war. In their final battles, the Aurum hive joined in on the conflict hoping to turn the tide of battle. Yet even they suffered heavy losses. Assembling their largest fleet, the Allies rushed to their final confrontation. Samus Aran and Team Star Fox helped lead the Allies against the unknown fleet but not even this could break the stalemate. It all came to a climax when Star Wolf came to support. I tried to lend a hand in supporting our troops with Launch stars. Not only that, but an interstellar Pokemon by the name Deoxsys appeared and fought on our side. Soon we finally crushed their armada, destroying one of their flagships. The enemy pulled a fast retreat going through where they came from, through Subspace."
That name really sparked the attention from the task force, remembering the conflict before the Potential Clash incident a few years back. That happened during the Brawl Tournament where Pit first joined the ranks of the Smash Bros. "That's right! That's where me and the Smash Bros fought the Subspace Emissary right." [end BGM]
Toon Link was a bit fuzzy on the memory. "I don't remember the whole Subspace thing. It sounded pretty big though."
"Yeah it was." Pit said. "Our whole world would've been sucked into Subspace by them and that 'guy'."
" It's possible that, through the information Mario once gave me, they could be linked to Tabuu's resurrection. But from the fallen enemies that were slain, they did not bleed Shadow bugs nor used any Subspace weapons. It was as if they came from a different plane altogether." Rosalina continued." But on to the main topic, Knightscourge seems to have commandeered one of the flagships that supposedly retreated. It took a bulk of many brave souls to take down one of the flagships. And believe me, they are a fortress of their own, putting Bowser's many castles to shame. Their must be multiple armies upon it since the very same flagships were able to ravage entire planets. They also come equipped with many great weapons used to slay entire armies."
"By the look of things we seem to be both outnumbered and outgunned." Toon Link added. "Where's the possibility we actually stand a chance." Many of the task force felt baffled by the opposing force they are up against. It seemed an impossible odd against them, even if they had more support, Knightscourge's forces could hold back the Galactic Federation and Lylat alliance all on their own.
"One could only imagine the horrible war machines that inhabit that ship." Rosalina concluded. "I'm afraid that is all I know on the matter. Completely useless."
Charles walked forward to the group. "Now what's all this? Some pity party?! Where's the courage in all you?! Impossible, I don't believe this" All eyes fell upon the former mayor chastising his peers. "You all overlook the odds and have grown cowardly. Many heroes and their friends have faced forces more overwhelming than this!"
Rosalina tried to defend. "But Charles, it took a whole squad of trained soldiers to take down one of those beings and Knightscourge holds skills beyond any of his warriors do!"
"So what?! I've heard legends of individuals challenging world threatening antagonists that would burn anyone by their sheer power! But that never stopped them from rising up to the occasion. They were anybodies, just taking the initiative to stop evil in its tracks." Charles called out for his allies. "I've heard tales of lone heroes and duos challenging warlords bent on dominion over their lands and succeeded in preventing their tyranny. They may have been low on numbers and weapons, but that never daunted their heroics!"
Palutena stood alongside Charles, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Those tales you have heard of are not just fiction. They have actually happened to those heroes in other worlds. I totally agree with you." She turned her attention to her task force. "We should not be daunted by these odds. I'm sure we've all been a rock in a hard place, but no matter what, we've pulled through. Dark Pit, Pit, you two have battled armies of the Underworld and others without a doubt?"
" That's right!" Pit hollered. "Yeah so?" Dark Pit" followed.
"And I'm sure you little Link have opposed titanic foes head on, am I right?"
Toon link looked up at her. "Yeah, Triforce of Courage never fails."
"And Pikachu. No matter how adorable you are, you sure pack a punch. Yet many would prefer to make you more powerful by giving you a thunderstone. If you know what I mean?" Pikachu tried to ignore the whole "held back" sort of thing that's befallen upon a fellow Pikachu he knows of but he was listening to the inspiration.
"Now now? Maybe we may not be as strong as thousands, but we sure got the spirit to challenge it." Rosalina remarked. Greninja still stood to itself, listening on. "So, do we have any suggestions on an offensive?"
Charles thought about that and concluded their main objective. "I believe we have to assemble the Smash Brothers again."
"Alright!" Pit cheered. "We're bringing the team back together!"
"What do you mean? Those guys haven't been together for ages. Not since the Subspace Emisssary." Dark Pit said. "How are we going to get the whole entire team to fight Knightscourge?"
"We already have Pikachu, Toon Link, and me." Pit responded. "Shouldn't be too hard to gather the rest."
"That may be the case," Palutena chimed in. "But ever since Knightscourge started to attack, I haven't been able to sense any of the other Smashers on my God Radar. I was lucky enough to find Pikachu and Toon Link. I fear the worst may have happened to the others."
"Let's not get our hopes down. Baby steps Palutena." Charles tried to comfort his allies. "Have any leads on the nearest Smash Brother?"
Palutena closed her eyes. She concentrated on using her divine telekinesis to find any of the Smashers. Her eyes shot open as soon as she had found someone. "I got it. They're at Diamond city. It's pretty hazy though."
"The great goddess of light is experiencing problems with her powers?" Dark Pit mocked.
"Ever since Knightscourge came, Palutena has been experiencing some troubles." Pit replied in Palutena's defense.
"It's like looking into a foggy landscape. I can sense them, but the image is unclear. All I know now is that their is a strong force at that city." Palutena thought a little more. " Their could be more allies amongst them."
"Aha! So this is what you blowhards have been doing this entire time!" Just then a projection of a young girl in a scarlet dress wrapped in vines appeared in the middle of the room.
"Oh geez, hello Viridi. What brings you in the neighborhood?" Palutena asked in a sweet manner.
"Don't give me that melarkey. You know why I'm here!" The young girl was getting a little brash to this goddess. "I need to borrow your wimpy angel to... who're these guys?" She took a look at Charles and the other non-Kid Icarus characters.
Pit stepped forward to answer Viridi's question. "We are what make up Palutena's secret task force to take on Knightscourge and save the day!"
Viridi was not amused by Pit's optimism, imitating Dark Pit's annoyance at his look-a-like. "Yeah, not much of a secret if your blurting it out to others like me. And are you insane Palutena! You're planning on making these poor saps tackle that maniac head-on?! That's murder on your behalf!"
"Please, don't try to discourage them." Palutena retorted. "We are doing more than bull-headedly attacking Knightscourge's power."
"Yeah, I heard. You're going to assemble the Smash Brothers to stop Knightscourge from doing whatever he does. But have you noticed that most or them have gone missing. Who knows where they're at. Probably hiding their heads in the ground."
"It doesn't matter." Charles said to Viridi. "We have to find them if we wish to stand a chance agianst Knightscourge."
Viridi raised an eyebrow at Charles, also growing a cross-popping vein on her head. "Excuse me little guy, I wasn't talking to you, so you better hold your tongue to the Goddess of Nature!"
Toon Link was a bit confused. "She's a goddess? How old is she? Was she like, recently god-born or something?"
"Your one to talk, squirt. You still have the look of a prepubescent kid. Yeah, doesn't feel so good does it?"
Pit comes in to speak with Viridi. "So what's the dire situation that you need me so badly for?"
"She's always making up stupid things just to see you idiot." Dark Pit said in the sidelines.
"What is everyone picking on me now?! It's obviously not like that!" She yelled defensively, hoping to call the attention from the light blush on her cheeks. "I need someone to find some of my missing children. They've been disappearing in groves and I've lost all contact with them."
"Ha! 'Groves', I totally got that one!" Pit laughed.
"Really? Well, I wasn't really trying that time, but..."
"We're wasting precious time right now." Rosalina interrupted. "We have to go to Diamond City to find these powerful presences to help."
"Wasting?! My dilemma is just about as important as looking for some hasbeens cowering from Knightscourge." Viridi argued. " I could help, but I'm gonna need my full force in order to tackle bucket-head there. I can't fight with part of an army."
"Look we promise to help you find your Forces of Nature, once we've assembled all the Super Smash Brothers." Pit said to the goddess. "But we have to start before Knightscourge advances to his next destination."
Viridi wasn't completely happy with the decision, but it was the best suggestion (and the only suggestion, period) they had. "Tch, okay. Do what you guys must for now."
Charles stood up. "So that's our objective. Find any Smashers in Diamond City and recruit them to our cause. They'll have to come, for if we hope to stop Knightscourge, we're gonna need all of their help. Is that clear?"
"We should keep the search party small for now, so not as to grab unwanted attention. Especially from Knightscourge." The task force agreed to these standards for the mission. "Now we need to know who will go."
"I'll go, Lady Palutena! In your honor!" Pit called out.
"Kiss-ass."
Pit looked around for the offender. "Okay, who said that? Come on that's, that's mean."
"Alright, thank you Pit." Said Palutena. "If their's no other volunteers, then Pikachu and Toon Link will accompany you two. Is that good?" The two other members nodded in agreement. "As for you, Dark Pit and Greninja, you two will have to wait for further orders. I still need to discuss things with Rosalina here."
Dark Pit raised an irksome eyebrow. "Who're you Master Hand? Giving me orders like so."
"Well he's not here at the moment, other god knows where he is, especially in this time. For now, we'll have to make do with this small organization." Dark Pit decided to not push his luck and just avoid another lecture from the goddess of light. The search party was ready to embark on their first recruitment mission in search of Smashers or anyone worthy of accompanying their cause. "Alright. You boys ready?" The quartet braced themselves to be warped to their destination. "O.k., here goes nothing!"
Palutena enveloped the four figures in rings of light that flowed up and down around them going faster over time. They flowed so fast that it covered their sight on the goddess in pure vibrating white flashes. After a while, the flashes slowly dissipitated showing that the characters had vanished from their presence. Palutena had successfully transported the four task force members out of her temple.
"How are you sure you sent them to the right place, what with you powers being imperfect?" Dark Pit asked.
"Oh I can't wait to see how this turns out." Viridi sarcastically remarked.
Palutena did not turn back at the others. "Oh I'm sure they're fine." Palutena, secretly, hoped that she had sent them in close proximity to their mission objective, and not some far off location not in any relevance to their goal whatsoever.
The lights that engulfed Charles' company fazed away, allowing them to see towering buildings that made up a bustling city. "Wow." Charles was amazed by the glorious city. The biggest populated area he had been to was SpringGreen City that his friend, Gene ( the mayor of said city), had invited him to for a their first Gala of the Falling Leafs. However, as the team looked at their surroundings, they failed to notice they were mid-air over a city fountain. "Yaaah!" The four fell into the water, thankfully not hurt, but right when they recovered, three of them frantically got out of the fountain, wanting to avoid electrocution in case Pikachu reacted negatively to the fall.
Despite being soaked, the team was back on it's feet and assembled to relay their options. "Okay guys our job is simple." Pit instructed. "We have to find these warriors and bring them back to the temple to brief them on the situation, and hope they accept the positions."
"Wait? How will we know who we're looking for in this city?" Toon Link asked.
" I'll be sure to lead you boys." Palutena's voice echoed through all the heads of the teammates.
"Whoa, what?! Palutena, is that you?" Charles was looking around in confusion.
"Why yes Charles. I will be telepathically leading you guys to the strongest sources in the city. That's were we'll find our Smashers."
"Good thinking Lady Palutena!" Pit cheered. "We'll be sure to find them then!"
"Please Pit. You Flatter me."
"Yeah, yeah." Viridi also spoke to them. "As you four know now, me and Palutena here can contact you guys with our holy powers."
"Come now Viridi, jealousy's an ugly trait."
"Oh really?" The small goddess retorted. "Who're you always jealous of, hmm?"
"Whoa! Let's not go there. We have a real enemy to face later." Palutena advised. "Anyway, let's get this mission started shall we?"
"Okay. Should we split up to cover more ground?" Toon Link suggested.
"No, it's too risky." Palutena said. "It's best you stick together, so that way it would be easier to explain our plan to them. It won't be easy trying to find them, so bear with me."
Charles was ready to go find some allies to aid them. "Alright, no matter what happens next, let's give it our best shot and try to convince them to help us. I hope they accept our plea."
"Come now?" Pit said. "Where's that faith and determination back at the temple gone Charles? Their's no need brooding on an outcome. Let's get out there and find our friends."
Encouraged, the four of them cheer for their success in finding the Smashers, ignoring the looks of passerbys. However, the company are oblivious to the darkness that is sure to rise from the chaos Knightcourge makes throughout their worlds, finding the right opportunity to reveal themselves to an off guard society. Yet their not the only evil using this distraction to ready their plans of dominion. Only the Smash Brothers could put a stop to all these evils and restore peace to the galaxy and Amiibo, only making Charles' and his allies objective all the more dire.
And here it comes. The Diamond City arc, based in the Warioware series. I almost forgot about Viridi in this chapter but I pulled through with her. The next chapter will give off some drama and certainly action. Our heroes will have to band together to fight Knightscourge and his army, and the threats to come. You guys excited for the next chapter? I hope you are, I won't disappoint.
Smasher appearances ( this means who are introduced in the story's chapter): Dark Pit; Pit; Pikachu; Toon Link; Rosalina and Luma; Greninja; Yoshi (if you count the refugee Yoshis)
R&R if you like please. I would like to know if I should let the Pokemon talk in the story, like they did in the Mystery Dungeon cartoon minisodes, or just keep them to their original poke' language that everyone can somehow understand (except Lucario and Mewtwo, whom we all know will appear in this story). Well I hope you like this chapter. More to come to start out this franchise and such. Be sure to give feedback by any means please. I got nothing else to say for now, so bye guys! See you in the next chapter of Super Smash Bros Reunite!
