A/N: I was replaying the "Heads of the Hewdraw" chapter of Kid Icarus: Uprising the other day, and got the most random conversation. Pit said he wished he could be a goldfish, and when asked why he just says because it'd be so easy... Palutena admits she can never keep them for very long. And it just ends. ...LoL? Just thought it was weird, but ya gotta love the dialogue in that game xD So anyway, I realized sometime during this chapter that I might be using some worlds/characters that folks might not be familiar with, which concerns me a little. I'm wondering if I should start including bios or some kind of background material so folks don't get too confused... Let me know what I should do if you come across this :) Thanks!
And one final note-there's two new characters in this chapter. One which is from Fire Emblem: Awakening (that is a bit spoilery for the game), and another that is a loose reference to both Greek mythology and a game I have heard of but never played that was produced by a third-party developer to Nintendo (therefore emphasis on LOOSE). I'll explain more at the end of this chapter. For now, enjoy!
Falchion slid through the creature with ease, dissipating it into smoldering clouds of blackness. The wielder of the legendary blade had little time to catch their breath before the next foe struck. Fortunately, its attack was reckless and easily dodged. One side step later, it met the same end as its former companion.
Lucina leapt back out of the fray, taking a moment to catch her breath. Although she had never encountered these foul creatures before, they were not unlike Risen—the undead warriors she had dealt with in the past. Both breeds of evil were similarly mindless and bent on killing anything with a beating heart. Neither left behind a corpse.
She found she could deal with this new threat the same way she had dealt with the Risen. In many ways they were easier to defeat, but what gave her difficulty were their numbers. For every creature she felled, three more filled their place. The creatures crawled all over the village she had found herself in, and no one but Lucina could seem to hold them off for long. Innocents were falling left and right, despite all her efforts. She was beginning to realize this battle was grimly one-sided.
"Retreat! Retreat to the temple!"
Lucina glanced up through her mask to see a small group of militia fleeing through the streets. Leading them was a man she had recognized from the start of the invasion. He wielded a weapon she was unfamiliar with—a dark, barbed sword with no hand guard. With it in hand, he seemed to have an easier time fighting the enemy than his comrades, although he could not dispel the creatures like Lucina could. Still, he fought the harder battle in keeping his men alive.
His eyes glanced her way with a hint of recognition. Waving to her, he shouted, "Help me get these men to the temple!"
The ex-princess's momentary reprieve was over. Grunting with a nod, Lucina sprinted after them, slashing at any creature that threatened to impede the group's progression.
Keeping her voice low to mimic a man's voice, as she had done so long ago, Lucina asked, "Does this temple offer a better defensive position?"
The leader smirked. "In a way. You're not from around these parts, are you? The temple is dedicated to the Goddess of Light—Palutena. Those foul monsters cannot set foot there."
He sounded confident. Lucina could only hope that confidence wasn't misplaced. While she had never heard of this deity, her travels had taught her to be open-minded. "Are you certain of this?"
One of the soldiers promptly spoke up. "Yes! I've seen it with my own eyes. The temple is protected!"
"The women and children have been ushered inside," the leader continued. "We've tried our best to search for stragglers, but my men can't handle much more. It's high time we saved our own hides, and live to fight another day. The name's Heracles, by the way."
"Marth," the word spilled quickly out of her mouth before she could give it a thought.
"Hmm, foreign for sure," the man grunted. "But I appreciate your help, nonetheless."
He continued to lead the retreat seemingly unbothered, while "Marth" fell to the rear of the column. The group continued to wend their way through the ruins, with Lucina and Heracles giving it their best to fend of the attacking creatures. She hadn't noticed it at first, but some of the men they protected seemed affected by the onslaught. Their faces were pale and taut, as if stricken with illness. Although concerned, Lucina kept the brunt of her focus on protecting them, whirling Falchion through the air left and right.
"There it is!" Heracles announced as they rounded a block of half-collapsed buildings. The only intact structure in the area was the one he gestured at with his barbed sword. Rectangular in shape, the temple's outer walls were lined with tall, snow-white columns, the statue of a graceful woman guarding its doors. The village's assailants were gathered around it, although they seemed physically incapable of venturing inside. The creatures would stretch their claws out with vile intent, only to shrink back as if striking an unseen barrier. Between the pillars, she could see the relieved faces of the townsfolk watching their failures.
Heracles beamed at his men, waving his weapon about. "Take heart, men! Just a few steps more!"
Those that still had energy surged forth, but the sickly ones stumbled. Lucina and Heracles skidded to a stop.
"Men?" the older warrior asked, hesitant.
No answer came from the stricken. They gaped at their protectors mindlessly, black auras radiating from their beings. Lucina's mind went blank as she laid witness to a new horror. Before her eyes, the men lost all humanity. Thier forms became twisted and stained with black. Their vacant eyes grew large and pupil-less, turning on their former comrades with hunger.
The first to recover, Lucina shouted a warning at Heracles.
The warrior, left dumb stricken at the transformation of his once close allies, could not react quick enough before the monsters jumped him.
"No!" Pit shouted as he watched the battle through Palutena's scrying pool. "This… This is terrible!"
Turning to Palkia, he asked, "What are those things?"
The dragon scowled at the vision with distaste. "In the world they come from, they are known as Heartless—manifestations of the darkness in people's hearts. They were supposed to stay in their own Realm. But since everybody and their grandma has darkness in their hearts, there ain't many places they can't get to. This is only the beginning…"
Pit didn't like the sound of that—not one bit. He glanced up at his goddess, hoping for some encouraging word, but Palutena looked uncharacteristically grim as she stared at the vision in her pool. Following her gaze, Pit watched as the masked warrior struggled to rescue the group's leader. He was dismally outnumbered…
"We've gotta help them!" the angel declared, clenching his fists. "Lady Palutena, I need to get down there!"
His bold declaration shook the goddess from her reverie. She slowly turned to face him, her expression was unreadable.
"Ha!" Palkia barked. "Don't be brash. You? They'd eat your light for breakfast, kid."
"I'm not a kid!" retorted Pit. Returning his focus on his goddess, he begged, "Please. I can't just stand by and watch the humans suffer like this. There's got to be something we can do."
"…We may be the only ones who can do anything," Palutena glanced at Palkia, who frowned. Turning to her angel, the goddess sighed, "But you've already used the power of flight today…"
Pit fidgeted in place, stealing another glance at the scrying pool. "Isn't there some other way to get me down there?"
Palkia snorted derisively. "What am I? Chopped liver?"
He shot her a confused look. Palutena, however, shook her head. "I couldn't ask you to do that—you're still recovering from the attack."
"Please, goddess," the dragon rolled her eyes. "I ain't delicate; it would take more than the likes of chicken-wings over there to take me down. Us Legendaries are made from tougher stuff than that. If you really think your angel's gonna do any good here, then you get him geared up. I'll get him down there and throw him into the fray."
Palutena's angel was about to ask how she was going to do that, until it clicked. Space-bending dragon and that… how could he forget? "Er, I hope you don't mean that literally," he piped.
Her reply was an unsettling tooth-filled grin.
"One… Two… Three… CONTACT!"
Pit barely had time to blink before he descended into chaos, promptly falling on his face. His journey through Palkia's wormhole had been less than enjoyable. Running through it felt like sliding through a kaleidoscope, full of vibrant colors and constantly shifting shapes. With all the constant motion, Pit felt like he had been running in place; it seemed like magic when the light at the end of the tunnel jumped at him, tossing him back into reality.
The wormhole had been completely devoid of sound. Now, suddenly finding himself literally thrown into the midst of a town in peril, the cacophonous choir of battle stung his ears.
"Still in one piece, chicken wings?" Palkia's voice reached his mind as he picked himself up from the ground.
He listed to the side, wobbling unsteadily on his feet as his vision danced in a circle. "Ugh… I feel like I've been on Pandora's merry-go-round…"
"That sounds like a riot, heheh."
"Seriously, though. What did you do to me? Am I missing a liver? Did something go wrong?" The angel's imagination ran wild with everything and anything that could go wrong during a trip through space. What if his insides had ended up on the outside? What if his kidney ended up in Timbuktu?
"Calm down, kid. That's just a side effect. The dizziness will wear off soon enough."
"Hopefully sooner than later," the angel muttered, still trying to get solid footing. He was thankful, at the very least, that the trip through the wormhole hadn't been any longer; it had reminded him somewhat of Pandora's maddening Labyrinth. Even Palutena had difficulty guiding him through the twisted dungeon, where right could be left and up could be cheese.
"Look alive, chicken-wings. Shadows at twelve o'clock!"
Pit shook his head and tried to focus. Sure enough, a pack of insect-like creatures squirmed towards him, antennas twitching above their saucer-shaped eyes. Steeling himself for battle, Pit raised his new bow—the Kingdom Bow, as Palutena had called it. Glinting with both gold and silver, it had a simple, gradual curve to it, much like his signature weapon; the grip had a shape reminiscent of a crown, although the arrow rest itself was etched in the symbol of a heart. The goddess of light had crafted this bow specifically to face these creatures.
"The Heartless are embodiments of darkness," she had informed him. "Only weapons of magic and light can keep them at bay."
"Let's see if this works," the angel grunted as he drew back his hand. An arrow of pure white light formed down the bow's sight, aimed directly for a witless Shadow. Mentally crossing his fingers, Pit let the projectile fly.
His aim was spot on. The arrow struck the creature in the forehead, and instantly it evaporated into black smoke.
"Yeah!" Pit hooted, pumping his fist in the air. "It worked! Lady Palutena, did you see that? It worked!"
He heard her brief guffaw. "Of course it did. Was there any doubt that it wouldn't? It is my own handiwork, after all."
"Don't get cocky, you two," Palkia huffed. "That's only one Heartless out of a thousand, with more are popping up by the second."
As if to emphasize the dragon's point, more Shadows pooled around the angel, slowly rising out of the ground with their claws ready. They started closing in on Pit, but he was hardly intimidated. Smirking with new confidence, the angel yanked his bow apart and readied its blades.
"Time to go to town!"
The Shadow Heartless fell just as easily to the blades as they did to the arrow. Although they outnumbered him, Pit utilized his speed and dexterity to mow his way through them. The first wave quickly fell, but replacements were on the way. Pit frowned as more Shadows scurried towards him.
"Forget the small fry," Palkia chimed in. "They ain't worth your time. Keep your strength up for the real fight."
"What do you mean by that?" Pit asked, warily drawing another arrow.
Before Palkia could respond, Palutena voice lanced through his thoughts.
"Pit, you need to get to those humans, and fast! They need you, now!"
The angel was running even before he eagerly replied, "On it!"
The Heartless gave chase, but Pit stubbornly refused to be impeded by their efforts. Charging up a shot, he gave his pursuers a powerful backwards dash attack before speeding around the next corner, where he knew the humans' temple would be. Already he could hear their distressed screams. Hopefully, the goddess's blessing would continue to shield the—
Pit skidded to a halt as soon as the temple came into sight. The humans cowered inside, their eyes locked a hulking monstrosity rampaging outside their sanctuary. Unlike the Heartless before, this beast stood almost as tall as the temple itself. Sharp horns rose from its bull-like skull, which in turn was supported by a sinewy man-like torso. In both hands it held crude swords, square in shape but hooked at the tip. As the Heartless twisted about, Pit could see a heart-shaped hole running all the way through its chest.
"A Minotaur Heartless? Well, that's original…" Palutena grumbled.
Ignoring her comment, Palkia cheerfully said, "Well, congratulations! Looks like you found the boss! Now hurry and go kick its trash so we can get this over with. I'm getting hungry."
"Is it lunch time already?" asked Pit, momentarily forgetting the situation as he always did when food was brought up. He was quickly recalled when the Minotaur suddenly bellowed, swinging one of its blades down in apparent frustration. Pit blinked as he saw something a blue blur dash between its legs.
"Hey, someone's trying to fight it!" he needlessly shouted.
"What? But who…?" Palutena trailed off.
Making no further delay, Pit leapt back into action, pulling back on another arrow. He let it charge up a moment before rolling forward, using his momentum to create a powerful forward dash attack. The Minotaur was completely blindsided as his arrow impacted its shoulder, causing it to lose its balance. Taking advantage of the distraction, the blue blur leapt at the creature's face, spinning twice before bearing a golden sword down on its face.
Pit arrived right where the warrior landed with another arrow nocked.
"Thanks," the golden sword's wielder gruffly acknowledged, speaking in a low but youthful voice. His face was obscured by a butterfly-shaped mask, but as far as Pit could tell, he seemed human. The angel had to wonder otherwise, given his unusual apparel and remarkable fighting prowess. His attacks seemed to be having real effect against the Minotaur Heartless. It clutched at its right eye in obvious pain.
"Er, don't mention it?" Pit replied, experiencing major déjà vu. Strangely, he felt like he was reliving his first encounter with the human, Magnus.
"Wait, is that…?" Palutena spoke up, mystified. "No… It can't be…!"
"Is something wrong, Lady Palutena?" the angel frowned, ignorant of the strange look he earned from the masked warrior.
The Minotaur was on them again before he could hear her reply. Pit jumped backwards, avoiding its massive blade before firing his next light arrow. This time, the creature was prepared for Pit's attack. It lifted its hilt in time to deflect his attack, and would have followed up with a counter strike if the masked warrior hadn't interfered. The Minotaur instead stepped backwards to avoid getting grazed by the golden sword.
Pit surged forward to assist the warrior, but the Heartless boss suddenly spun around, whipping the both of them with its tail. The duo was sent flying backwards, landing hard on their backs several feet away. Both the landing and the blow knocked the wind from them.
"He sure packs a punch," Pit winced.
"We need to work together," the masked warrior grunted, using his sword as a crutch as he got back on his feet. "The eyes and the ankles are the weak points… Cover me while I go for the ankles!"
"Sounds like a plan to me." Pit lifted the Kingdom Bow and took aim.
A/N: Aaaaaaand here we go! I hope I don't confuse you with Lucina in this and the next chapter. She is disguising herself as a young man, which is why you will see her addressed as a "he" when we are in Pit's point of view. Oooohhh, the fun we shall have. :)
Now, regarding Heracles. No, he is not THE Heracles-not the one from mythology and not exactly the one from Glory of Heracles. I have never played that game, so this Heracles will remain, as I've said, a loose reference with a personality of my own choice. In my mind, he is merely named after the legendary hero, although the sword he uses is an actual weapon from Greek mythology. I actually debated naming him Perseus instead, but in the end I wanted to keep that small reference to the Glory of Heracles. Soooo, there you have it.
What happened to that sucker anyway? Weeeeeeell, we'll have to find out later :)