CHAPTER 3: KID ICARUS

CHAPTER 4: PALUTENA

Within the longest hall that both Pit and Collin would ever know, they both took a bow underneath the balcony of Palutena. She stood above them and looked down upon them as she gently held onto the balcony in a joyous way.

Her hair was tremendously long, blonde and stretched down to beyond her feet. With her powers, her hair kept gently moving and swaying so that it would never touch the floor. Her eyes were blue as the sky that her palace presided over. There was no smile on her face even if she felt joy. She had experienced everything that a mortal had experienced thousands of years ago, so there were no new experiences to create a smile.

She looked over them in a glorious white toga trimmed with gold as she asked Collin, "This is your son that I have seen from the heavens above?"

Collin kept his bow and told her, "Yes goddess Palentina, this is my son Pit." The golden armor of Collin gleamed as he held his son's hand with his right and his helmet with his left. There was even an olive branch that made a halo through his hair.

Palantina commanded, "Stand son of Collin and introduce yourself."

His father told him, "Do it son. Introduce yourself."

"I am named Pit," he said, as he stood up and took a step forward, "Named for the fire pit that I was found in by my father."

"I have seen this," said Palutena, before she informed him, "You have my deepest sorrows that your parents fell prey to Medusa before I could stop her."

"But if you are a goddess," inquired Pit, but his father tried to stop him, "No Pit."

Pit shook off his father's hand and asked, "If you have the power to do anything, why do you not bring back my parents?"

There was a whisper in the air that could only be heard by Palutena, "He wants revenge." A transparent shadow crept along the wall next to Palutena.

With her mind, Palutena communicated, "He wants his parents back my dear Erinus."

The transparent shadow walked behind Palutena and then joined her at her side as he whispered, "He can be the one to purify your sister. That will be his revenge."

Palutena ignored the whisper in her ear and informed the Pit verbally, "Because gods and goddesses cannot interfere in the affairs of mortals. We cannot restore them to life, or heal them. We can only test them as Medusa does or change the weather."

"As a goddess," Palutena explained, "Medusa cannot be destroyed or killed; she can only be purified and cleansed of the evil within her."

A small yellow haired angel appeared from behind one of the giant white columns that lined the hallway. The androgynous angel had no legs, merely short feet that came out from underneath of its toga. The yellow bangs of the angel were so long they concealed the angel's eyes completely.

On feathered wings, the angel fluttered, it uttered, "It has wings!" More angels appeared from behind the columns and giggled with smirks unseen to Collin and Pit.

The angel fluttered circles around the two visitors and asked, "Where did it get the wings Palutena?"

Palutena knew all and everything, which is why the angels asked her. However, Pit did not know this and he asked, "How would goddess Palutena know?"

With a gasp, the androgynous angel rotated around and yelled, "Goddess Palutena knows everything that happens on the mortal land. Goddess Palutena grants wings of angels!"

Palutena called down to Pit, "Do not be and tell them how you got your wings."

A smile formed on his face and Palutena called down again, "And tell us why you are smiling."

Collin uttered, "Tell them Pit."

"I smile for the girl that made me these wings," stated Pit as he shied away from Palutena.

Palutena then beckoned Pit, "Join me on my balcony so that we may speak closer."

Pit let go of his father's hand and rushed up the tall angelic staircase that lead up to the inner balcony. As his feet raced up the stairs, he called out, "You really do know everything Palutena!"

Collin was not as quick to follow. His foot steps tread slower than Pit's who was in a great hurry. Meanwhile, the yellow haired angel fluttered its angelic wings and rotated in circles as it came to the height of the balcony.

The blonde angel blurted out with a giggle, "Beat you Pit!" There was laughter from both Pit and the angel as Palutena introduced them, "This is my messenger Toodles."

Palutena then gestured with her arm down to the five other angels below them. Each angel still hid behind the pillars and peaked their heads out. One angel had red hair, another orange, blue, purple and finally green. She then introduced them, "You must excuse them, as they rarely have seen mortals in my palace."

She then ran her slender fingers through the blonde hair of Toodles as she said, "This one here is my messenger, and it has delivered many things to mortals." Toodles fluttered its wings to keep with a height that met Palutena's arm.

Palutena had no idea that children are different than adults as she uttered, "Now Pit you must tell me of yourself." With that said, Collin finally joined them at the top of the heavenly staircase on the balcony.

Pit wondered, "What would you not know?"

Palutena then explained, "The one thing that I cannot sense or predict is a mortal's mind. The mortal mind is so erratic."

He retorted, "I feel like there are butterflies in my stomach being in your presence. The olive loaf bread I had for lunch wants to come out."

Her eyes closed and a brief smile overcame her face for the first time in one hundred years as she told Pit, "I have never heard that reaction before. Nor has a smile formed on this face in nearly a century."

Toodles fluttered its wings to the side of her and uttered, "I'll say." Palutena's arm fell to her side from Toodle's hair as she fell to one knee to speak to Pit.

She put her hands on Pit's shoulders and said, "These wings and your youth make you look like Cupid young one."

Collin's chiseled face had a toothless smirk and boldly proclaimed, "He has every young woman in the land after him."

Palutena looked into Pit's blue eye and wondered, "Is this true Pit?"

"Not its not," he told her, "Just our neighbor Anna."

As Palutena reached to Pit's wax wings and felt them, she commented, "With craftsmanship like this, I can tell that she had love in her heart to labor of this skill for you Pit." She was impressed and glanced over Pit's shoulder with curiosity.

Pit could feel the warmth from the hands of Palutena, but despite her warmth, the wings of wax never melted. That was Palutena's ultimate control over everything.

From beside Palutena, the whispered voice of Erinus could be heard by only the goddess, "He can purify the heart of your sister."

Palutena thought her response to the transparent shadow that loomed next to her, "This boy will have no part in a battle. He is too young."

The whispers of Erinus responded, "Which makes him perfect to cleanse her. This young boy has not been spoiled or tainted by battle like the Centurions, nor has his heart been broken yet. He is the perfect one to cleanse the evil from her."

Instead of acknowledging the voice, Palutena told Pit, "We just need a bow and arrow for you to complete your cupid look."

Collin boasted about his boy, "My son has a gift with aim that only the gods could have provided him." It was true in more ways than any of them knew.

Erinus whispered to Palutena, "Prove me wrong."

Palutena stood up off of her knee and asked Collin, "Do you have a bow and arrow on you?"

He informed her, "It would be foolish for me to have brought a weapon into your palace."

There was amusement in the mind of Palutena, but a smile did not crack her face. Instead she told Pit, "Waiting in another room is a gift that you may keep."

Pit felt joy, but tried not to show it, as he said, "Thank you Palutena."

She then added, "If and only if you can pass my test." With that she gestured into the next room and all three of them looked further into the palace.

There was a bow and arrow lying on a white pedestal with a light that gleamed down upon them. Pit charged into the next room, but carefully approached the gift.

It was a small bow, with quiver and only one single copper arrow. In Palutena's mind she had chosen a copper arrow as Pit is young, he should have something greater to look forward to in life such as golden arrows. Collin stood beside her and said, "Thank you for this gift," only to hear Palutena state, "He has not earned it yet."

Pit threw the quiver on over his back and it fit perfectly between his two wings of wax. His hair gleamed in the light that shined down from above as he gripped the short bow in his hands. He called out a hearty, "Thank you for this opportunity Palutena!"

He stretched the twine of the bow as he readied for the test. Toodles fluttered its wings and hovered around the beautiful Palutena as she prepared the test for Pit. When she was done, Palutena informed him, "You are going to shoot this simple red paper through the center."

Without giving Pit any time at all to prepare, she threw the red sheet of paper into the air. Pit watched in awe as the paper rolled and streamed through the air. He took aim, but the paper's movement was unpredictable, so he held his breath and shot an arrow that lanced through the paper and stuck the copper arrow into the wall.

With the paper stuck to the pillar, it was now still enough for everyone to see that it was a red heart. Toodles fluttered over and grabbed the arrow out from the pillar and commented, "He hit it right through the center!"

It was amazing, but even more amazing, when Toodles took it to Collin and Pit, they read that the paper said, "Pit + Anna." The arrow had gone right through the cross section of the plus.

Immense heat came over Pit's body, because he was turning red. There was no time to feel happy though.

The five other multi hair colored angels all fluttered into the room and swirled around Palutena. The one with red hair uttered, "Danger!" The orange hair told her, "Terrible!" Then the one with blue hair said, "Horrible!" The purple haired angel exclaimed, "Its Medusa!" Finally the green haired angel yelled, "She approaches your palace with an army!"