Chapter 7: Returning Home

Alas my fellow readers, we have come to the final chapter. But on the bright side, it means I can soon begin working on my latest project! What is it you might ask? Well, it's a secret. But anyway, enjoy this last entry for "Cut Down to Size"!

"You need my help?" Medusa said with feigned innocence, but all could hear the sarcasm laced into her words clearly. "And what would you need my assistance for?"

The Goddess of Light took a quick breath. "We need you to open a dimensional time portal. Pit is missing."

This was news to the Underworld ruler, who arched a thin scaly eyebrow in interest. "Missing eh? How is this so?"

The trio then retold the story of Pit's disappearance and the mysterious black hole.

"And so we, I mean these two, were hoping you might be able to help us get Pit back." Dark Pit concluded. "Ow!" Viridi had jabbed his arm with her elbow, a stern look on her face. "Okay fine, I want him back too." The black-haired angel added while rolling his red eyes. He really did care for his lighter self; it's just that he didn't want to show it.

Medusa rubbed her chin in deep thought. "Hmm. Normally, I would say no and threaten to invade Skyworld again, but seeing as you all helped me take back my rightful place as Queen of the Underworld," The dark goddess's hard expression softened ever so slightly. "I guess I owe it to everyone to bring him back. As much as I don't like him, or any of you for that matter…"

Palutena was all smiles. "Oh thank you Medusa! We are forever in your debt."

The Underworld ruler quickly lost what little sympathy she gained the moment before. "Now don't get all mushy on me, or I'll change my mind!" she snarled while standing up from her throne. "So then, are we going or not?"

Viridi spoke up. "Yeah guys come on! Let's go save Pit already!"

And with that, the four walked outside, climbed into the Lightening Chariot, and sped off to Skyworld.

Meanwhile, thousands of years into the future.

"Aw man, I don't think I could eat another bite!" Pit said as he lay down. The angel and his companions were relaxing in the cool of the evening at the Awakening Wood. His broken wing had fully healed, thus he could lie on his back with no pain. "Louie, that fried Yellow Wollywog was delicious!"

Larry seemed to think so as well, for he and several other Pikmin were lying about in a sleepy stupor after having their own share of the amphituber.

"Indeed." Olimar agreed. "Louie is the best chef I've ever known!"

The other Hocotatian did a graceful bow. "Glad you enjoyed it. Certainly one of my better dishes I must say."

Sitting up, Pit patted his extended stomach and made a long drawn-out yawn. Shaking some of his long brown locks of hair from in front of his face, the angel noticed something that he never had before. "Hey Olimar, how come Larry has a leaf on his head, while all the other Pikmin have flowers?"

"Oh, when Pikmin drink special nectar that comes from a kind of grass or certain creatures, the leaves on their heads turn into flowers, making them faster and more powerful." The Captain's face then turned rather solemn. "But unfortunately for Larry, he never got a chance to get any nectar for himself, since he always seemed to be behind in the group. So he has remained in leaf form since his birth."

Pit felt a pang of sympathy, for he could relate with the purple Pikmin. Since up until recently he had been unable to fly by himself due to his wings being too small since the time he was born, the angel saw they had a strange connection. This also brought back memories of childhood where he would be the brunt of the other angel's jokes and teasing, with his sister being the only one that gave him comfort. Pit couldn't help but almost tear up at these thoughts, when a certain Pikmin came up to his side and tapped his leg with a tiny hand. "Well little guy," Pit said while petting Larry's head, "looks like we have more in common then I thought."

Olimar smiled at this touching sight, but then noticed the sun's proximity to the horizon, indicating only about an hour of daylight remained. "Well, I believe it's almost time to retire everyone, so- What the?"

The whole ground started to shake, and Ship immediately buzzed wildly. "Warning! Warning! Massive anomaly opening ten feet away! "

A hole ten times the height of the Ship appeared right in front of the Pikmin's Onions, a scene of a bright sun, clouds and buildings floating on top of them materializing within it. A gigantic chariot driven by unicorns holding four strange figures were heading right out of the phenomenon, which caused everyone to duck and cover for fear of being run over.

Pit braced for impact, Larry and the Hocotatians going behind the Ship, which was still blaring warnings as the other Pikmin swiftly climbed into their respective Onions. But nothing happened. Looking up, Pit saw the chariot and its passengers standing right in front of him, now shrunken down to approximately the same size as he and his two space-faring friends. After a few seconds, the angel quickly recognized who the people were. "Lady Palutena!"

Practically jumping into his goddess's arms, the two wept for joy for a minute. Parting the embrace, Pit moved to the Goddess of Nature, who also welcomed him with open arms, just not quite so sobbingly as Palutena. Dark Pit shrunk back a little, feeling a little apprehensive, but his lighter self swooped him into a tight hug anyway, at which the raven-haired angel awkwardly returned. Coming up to the last chariot passenger, Pit stopped and stared. "M-Medusa? What-but how? Why?" The angel was completely flustered.

"Well hello there Pit." The goddess said with her venomously charmed voice. "Just so you don't get the wrong idea, I'm just returning a favor."

Pit gave a worried look towards Palutena, who gave him a nod indicating Medusa was on their side for the moment, which put him at ease. Looking around, Pit saw his Hocotatian friends cowering behind Ship, who was in turn continuing to blast messages. "Detecting powerful forces emitting from those bizarre beings! Caution!"

Pit quickly ran up to the spacecraft. "Ship calm down! Those are my friends!" he yelled while waving his arms in a frenzied manner.

"Threat declared neutralized by Pit, shutting down panic mode." And with that, the Ship quit blaring its messages; the two Captains and Larry coming out from behind the machine.

"Hey guys, come over here!" the angel motioned with his hand. Reluctantly, the purple Pikmin and space travelers walked over to Pit's side, who in turn introduced everyone.

The next hour of remaining daylight consisted of the newly greeted group talking with each other. Louie was showing Palutena how to properly cook, Viridi was talking to Ship and Olimar about the disappearance of humans and the change of wildlife on Earth over the millennias, Pit was showing Dark Pit Larry, and Medusa just stood awkwardly off to the side, making sure the portal remained open.

After a while, over the numerous talking voices, Ship made an announcement. "Attention! Attention! Dusk is almost upon us!"

"Well, I guess it's time to go home." Pit said.

"Indeed my friend. " Olimar agreed. "You can finally go home."

"But Olimar, what about you guys?"

"Oh we will be fine." The Captain replied. "Just take care of Larry for us okay?"

The purple Pikmin jumped into Pit's arms. "Don't worry Olimar, I'll take care good care of him." He said with a smile. Looking up, he started saying his good-byes. "Bye Ship!"

"Good partings to you Pit." The spacecraft said with its robotic voice showing a hint of emotion. "We will miss you."

Pit then gave Louie a hug, and after another round of good-byes exchanged between everyone, he, Larry, and his friends climbed aboard the chariot. "Olimar, do you think we'll ever see each other again?"

The Hocotatian simply smiled. "Maybe my friend, maybe."

When all was said and done, the chariot flew through the portal, which closed behind it for good.

One Month Later.

Pit yawned as he walked into Palutena's temple one early morning. "You called Lady Palutena?' he asked while rubbing his eyes.

The goddess looked up from her throne, a piece of paper with writing on it that she was studying resting on her lap. "Ah good to see you Pit, I asked you to come here because it seems you have a letter."

"A letter? From who?"

"Apparently from someone called 'Master Hand', doesn't sound familiar to me."

"Hmm, let me see it." Taking the letter from Palutena's hand, Pit opened it and read it over several times. "We are invited to Smash Mansion? What is that?"

"I don't know, but I have a feeling we have another adventure on our hands!"

Did you get the hints in the story? Besides the obvious one at the end of course. But I will give you a clue, and some of you may figure it out. In short, there will be some familiar faces returning that have not been seen for quite some time, but I'll just leave it at that. And so, I'll see you again soon everyone, WingedFish is out!