Rose had been training for two weeks now, growing incredibly strong. With Aphrodite's effective and special method of training combined with Rose's determination and will to become a powerful fighter, she quickly climbed up the ranks, landing just below Cupid as a captain. There weren't any complex ranks, simply a soldier, captain, and commander. But Rose was proud of her position.

Of course, she was a servant to Lady Aphrodite as well; everyone was. Pit's visits came frequently. He seemed to be worried about how Rose was doing and often times stopped by her lunch hour to stuff a drink of the gods into her face while she trained, making the club itself much heavier to oblige to Rose's newfound strength.

Rose rather enjoyed Pit's visits. They were becoming close friends, in fact. But today was a day no one could forget.

Rose was outside, flying around and shooting moving targets, this time with Fairy Orbitars. By extending her arm, the motion sensors on the two divine weapons were told to shoot in that direction. By swinging her arm to her side, the Orbitars would surround her and form a protective golden shield.

Something caught her eye from above. Well... More like a lot of somethings. Underworld invaders.

Rose extended her hand into the air, motioning for the Orbitars to stop shooting and flew back to Lady Aphrodite's temple to report.

When she landed at the goddess's throne, she bowed. "Lady Aphrodite, I have news for you," Rose began.

Aphrodite creased her eyebrows, her plump lips curving downward slightly in a frown. "Hm? What is it, Captain Rose?"

Captain Rose... She would never get used to that. She swallowed her nervousness and lifted her head to make eye contact with Aphrodite's blue orbs. "Underworld invaders," she said. "They're here. Should we fight?"

Aphrodite's eyebrows creased. "You won't. I'll have my Echidnas deployed immediately. Meanwhile, I have been talking to Palutena. It seems she and Pit could use your help," she said.

"Hello, Rose," Palutena's voice said in Rose's head.

Rose's expression changed quickly. "O-oh! Lady Palutena!" she exclaimed in surprise.

"Hey, Rose!" Pit's voice came from her head.

"Pit!"

"Listen, Captain Rose. I want you to go to Palutena's temple and accompany Pit on his mission to fight the Underworld army. I will send my troops as well with Cupid and Adonia to lead them. You will be under the guidance of Palutena and you are to do exactly as she or Pit tell you to. Is that understood?"

Rose nodded firmly. "Yes, Lady Aphrodite. Crystal clear."

"Good. Next, I will be granting you some of my magic as well. I will help you, but you will be under Palutena's care. If anything seriously dangerous happens or you think you cannot handle it, I want you to report back to me immediately and rest."

Rose nodded again. "Yes, Lady Aphrodite."

"Good. Now, Palutena, if you will."

"Right," Palutena said. Rose was engulfed in a bright blue light and in a flash, she was standing before the emerald-haired goddess and her trusted white-winged angel servant.

"Now, Rose, Pit, I want you both to leave and investigate those ships," Palutena ordered.

Pit and Rose nodded at once. "Yes, Lady Palutena!" they exclaimed in unison before turning to each other in surprise and snorting. They turned on their heels and sprinted to the exit door. At least- Pit did. Rose simply followed him.

Pit jumped out the door, Rose following not far behind. Palutena quickly activated her power of flight so that Pit could fly.

"Rose, this is your first official mission fighting, correct?" Palutena asked.

Rose nodded, checking both sides of her to make sure her Orbitars from training were still by her side. "Yes, ma'am."

Pit froze. "D-don't call her that!" he exclaimed.

Rose was surprised. "Why not?" she asked.

"S-she doesn't like that..." he muttered.

Rose gasped. "Oh- I'm so sorry, Lady Palutena, I didn't mean to be rude!"

Palutena sighed and giggled slightly. "It's okay. At least you didn't mean to," she said. "Anyway, it's about time I introduced you to someone. Hades is the Lord of the Underworld and was the one behind Medusa's appearance."

Rose nodded. "I know; Pit told me."

"Right. Well, there's more to the story. The humans have fallen for the hoax. They're killing themselves over that fantasy."

Rose gasped. "What?!"

Palutena flew Pit down to see the human swarms of armies killing each other, Rose trailing behind him with ease. Pit watched them sadly. "It looks like entire nations are fighting each other..." he muttered.

"Yeah," Rose agreed, then glanced up. "But those are Underworld Army troops, aren't they?"

Palutena hummed in response. "The Underworld Army is here to gather souls. Clearly, they expect many casualties. We can't stop a war this big right now. Focus on the Underworld Army."

"Roger!" Pit and Rose exclaimed in unison.

Rose was firing at Monoeyes and random troops with her training Orbitars. It was much easier because the enemies got confused very easily, due to the strange, somewhat-hypnotic style of beams fired from the Orbitars.

"I officially love these things!" Rose exclaimed, launching another beam at an incoming Monoeye. Pit, meanwhile, was attacking with a staff.

Pit chuckled bitterly as Palutena flew them over the war again. "So things are going as Hades planned..." he muttered.

Rose caught a tear that must've trailed off of Pit's cheek in the wind on her own. She felt her heart plummet, though her wings remained mechanical and kept flapping normally. "Pit..."

Palutena sighed. "He spread the rumor about the Wish Seed. And the humans were gullible enough to believe it..."

Rose clenched a fist. "If only we had a chance to tell them that the Wish Seed was a fake..." she muttered. "Now look at them. It's like they've lost their humanity, and now all they have is... is..." Rose paused, searching for the right word.

"Brutality," Pit finished for her.

"Exactly!" Rose exclaimed, thrusting her arms in front of her. By mistake, the Orbitars shot two fires again, thankfully both landing on a random Souflee.

Before anyone could react, a bright white light shone from the sky. Palutena gasped.

"What? What's wrong?" Pit asked.

"I have to pull you back NOW!" Palutena exclaimed, quickly swerving Pit away from the war.

"Huh?!" Pit exclaimed as he was sent flying (literally).

Rose made a sharp turn and beelined her way to where Pit was. "Pit, you okay?" she asked.

Pit nodded. "I'm fine..."

Rose's wings and hair blew behind her as a large force descended upon the Earth. Rose whirled around only to see a big sphere of plants. "WHOA!" she exclaimed.

"W-what was that!?" Pit asked.

Suddenly, childish laughter filled the air. Rose found her head tilting far upward to see the projection of a person with the appearance of a young girl. She had long, blond hair and nature-themed clothing.

"Good riddance, human scum!" she exclaimed. "The world's better off without you!"

The projection disappeared.

"That was the goddess of nature, Viridi. Pit, Rose! Check things out!"

"We're on it!" Rose exclaimed. She followed Pit as Palutena flew him through more Underworld Army troops.

Viridi knew they were coming and used telepathy to talk to them all.

"So you're the famous Palutena. I hear you've been busy," Viridi taunted.

"And you're Viridi, ruler of the earth and all living things," Palutena answered in a similar tone.

"Hmph! I didn't know I had a fan club!" Viridi growled.

Jeez. Viridi seemed like just the brightest ray of sunshine, didn't she?

Please note the obvious sarcasm.

"WHY HAVE YOU DONE THIS!?" Pit demanded.

Viridi huffed. "Humans are driven by selfish desires. They think only of themselves. They were killing each other for what? A wish?! A FAKE wish?! They've strayed too far from their intended path. That's where my Reset Bombs come in- to return the Earth to its natural state!"

Reset Bombs?

More importantly... Those words of Viridi's... They stung. They stung Rose's heart as though she was taking a personal offense. But how? Sure, she cared for the humans. But was it because...

Was it possible Rose still had some human left in her?

Rose said nothing. It was her turn to shed a tear, but she quickly disregarded it and kept flying.

"But aren't humans living beings too? Yet you think nothing of exterminating them," Palutena argued.

Viridi laughed. "Ha ha! That's rich, coming from you! You don't seem to have much of a problem eliminating Underworld forces!"

Rose hesitated before finishing off another enemy.

"But that's totally different!" Pit exclaimed.

"We're defending the earth and heavens from those who seek their destruction," Palutena agreed.

Rose's determination welled up inside her again and she began destroying Underworld forces without a second thought.

The angels flew closer to the Reset Bomb they had been surrounding. "Let's take a closer look, you two,"

Pit craned his neck, watching the vines and roots as though they'll do something on their own. "This is a pretty twisted version of nature..." he mumbled.

Rose remained silent.

"HUMANS massacre Earth's creatures, decimate the trees, and exploit the land!" Viridi argued. "THEY'RE the twisted ones! They're enemies of life itself! Tell me, Palutena, why do THEY deserve special treatment?"

"Because" Palutena stated calmly. "Of all creatures, humans are the closest to the gods. Gods cannot intervene in mankind's affairs as you have. You have no right!"

"No right?! Humans are trampling over the rights of every other living thing! Should I just sit back and watch as they continue to destroy the earth? No, I must exterminate them all before it's too late!"

Palutena sighed. "There's just no reasoning with her," she said.

"I have to admit, she has a valid point," Pit admitted. "But wiping out humanity is NOT the answer."

"I agree completely," Palutena agreed.

Rose was still silent.

Pit glanced at Rose. "Hey, Rose, you okay? You've been pretty quiet..." Pit said.

Rose began tearing up. "Lady Palutena," she finally said, though slowly. "Was I a human once?"

Palutena hummed a confirmation. "You were indeed. You were killed by other humans."

Pit's eyes grew wide. "Killed?!" he exclaimed.

Viridi humphed triumphantly. "They even kill each other! I was right!"

Rose wiped her tears. "W-was I... as selfish and mean as Viridi thinks humans are?" she asked.

Pit's eyes widened. So that's what this was about...

Palutena remained silent for a long while, scaring Rose. Finally, she spoke. "No. You were always selfless and helpful, even to those who would use your gullibility to their own benefit. You were always a defender of mankind, even before reincarnating into an angel."

Rose sighed a breath of relief.

Viridi sighed in annoyance. "So what if one puny human did some nice things in her lifetime, it doesn't matter now; she died and she isn't a human anymore, she's an angel! And not just that, a puny angel who always gets in the way!" she sneered.

Rose stiffened. Now it was Pit's turn to talk. "Rose doesn't get in the way! She always tries to make everyone happy, even if it means making her sad, tired, or even sleep-deprived and hungry! She'd go to the ends of the earth for those that she cares for!"

Rose snapped her head to glance at Pit in shock. Did he really think she was that helpful?

"You've given us no choice but to oppose you, Viridi," Palutena said.

Viridi chuckled. "Oh! That's brave of you. But the Forces of Nature... We're not what you're used to."

Rose creased her eyebrows. "No. You're worse, aren't you? You're not some Underworld mishmash. You're actually organized and powerful. That's what makes you dangerous. What's more is that you're standing in the way of our war with Hades to protect the humans and all of the earth. So if you won't let us through, we'll just have to force our way through instead."

Pit cheered. "Yeah! That's right! You're going down!" he added.

Viridi huffed amusedly. "I'm surprised you've survived this long, Pit and Rose."

Up to this point, Rose and Pit were shooting and attacking nearby Forces of Nature.

"We'll take that as a compliment!" Pit exclaimed.

"I'm gonna be frank here, I'm also surprised I survived this long," Rose admitted, a smile lighting up her face.

"I think it's time you meet one of my finest warriors! Come on out, Cragalanche!" Viridi announced.

A big yellow sphere of light flew down past Pit, making him lose his balance and fall from the sky.

"Whooooooooooa!" Pit exclaimed, falling like a broken doll dropped by a child.

"Pit!" Palutena and Rose exclaimed.

Rose dove down, her Orbitars following her no problem. Her wings folded at her sides, she caught Pit, holding him around the torso the way she had done before, quickly extending her wings again and softly landing in an opening.

Their mission was about to begin... on land.

(This is directly from the transcript of Chapter 11: Viridi, Goddess of Nature. It's probably crappy, but the next chapter will be better.)