"I am never going to forgive him," Pit growled as he and Kuro soared away from Skyworld. "We have to find her. I don't care what it takes. Whatever he's planning, I'm going to stop it."
"I know, but we've got to regroup," Kuro replied. "He's probably expecting a head-on, immediate attack. If we go in now, we'll get slaughtered." He scanned the horizon, frowning. "And, from what it looks like, we're the only ones standing in his way- the only ones who survived his attack and are willing to fight. I mean, Dyntos is probably still around, but… you think he'd fight?"
"Even if he did, we'd have no way of getting there in the first place," Pit grumbled. "But… I don't know. Let's look for survivors for now. Maybe SOMEone out there is still alive. I don't know how, but…" he sighed. "We need to try. If anyone is out there, then Nemo will probably take 'em out before too long." Kuro nodded.
"That's the best lead we've got right now. Let's go." Pit let out a slow, heavy breath as they dove down toward the surface. "Hey, that's…" Kuro pointed toward the nearest town a relatively short distance away. "That's where we found Levica, right?"
"Yeah," Pit swallowed. "I wonder if Gaol…"
"Only one way to find out." They sped up and quickly made their way to the town, not bothering to avoid being seen. Pit landed in front of the temple with Kuro right behind him.
"HEY!" Pit called out loudly, and Kuro rubbed his ear. "IS ANYONE OUT THERE?" He stopped and strained his ears for a response that never came. "ANYONE AT ALL?" Again, nothing, and he sighed in defeat.
"I'm going to take to the air," Kuro told him. "See if I can't find anyone. You want to search on foot?"
"Sure," Pit replied, his voice dull.
"Alright," Kuro dipped his head. "Rendezvous here in half a mark?"
"That works," Pit nodded. "See you soon." With that, Kuro leapt back into the air and flapped his wings to gain altitude, and soon he leveled himself out to soar back over the buildings. Pit turned and headed to the northern part of town where he and his partner had arrived the last time they had visited, and his heart twisted in agony as he came to the main street. Despite the awful scenes that had run through his imagination before when Kuro had explained the situation, he couldn't have prepared himself for what he saw now. Human forms were scattered across the street, having dropped where they were when Hades had attacked. The angel shuddered and an ill feeling took hold of him as he dragged his unwilling feet, stepping over the fallen bodies.
"My nightmares are going to be filled with this for decades…" he mumbled to himself as he rubbed his arms. "How could anyone do this…? How could anyone let this happen?" He swallowed as he continued on, hoping he wasn't going to be sick. "HELLO?" he called out again. "CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?" Again, not a single sound. No humans, not the buzzing of insects, not the chirping of birds, not the padding of scampering pets on the path. Silence had a tight grip on the air around the angel, choking him with grief.
"Please…" he mumbled, his voice caught in his throat. "Someone answer me…" But no one answered his plead as he continued down the street, forcing his gaze to scan over the humans to see if any of them, even one, would respond. He found no one, to his dismay, and he sighed heavily before turning a corner toward one of the side streets.
Almost at once, before he could even register it, Pit took a hard blow to his midsection that travelled up and hit his face and was sent flying back, and he landed back in the main street with a thud, the wind knocked out of him as he lay there, stunned.
"What the…?" a gruff voice inquired as Pit heaved himself up, finding spots of blood on the dirt below him, and the pain in his nose easily told him where it was coming from. He wiped the side of his hand above his upper lip and, sure enough, found blood there. He coughed and got to his feet, fighting to keep his balance as he recovered from the blow. Once his groggy vision cleared, he found himself staring at large-built man, his messy dark hair falling down to his shoulders and his bangs partially hiding his yellow eyes. He had a short-trimmed beard and gripped a large sword resting over his shoulders.
"Magnus?" Pit demanded in disbelief as he picked up his bow. "Is… is it really you?"
"The one and only," Magnus replied. "Sorry about hitting you. But you're the last person I expected to see in this mess." His eyes darkened, and his tone became hostile. "So, angel face, care to explain why Gaol and everyone else around here are suddenly dead?"
"Gaol too?" Pit choked out. "Magnus… I'm sorry. I really am. I… neither of us ever expected anything like this to happen."
"'Us?'" Magnus echoed.
"Me and Kuro," Pit explained.
"Ah, that other angel that was with you. Gaol told me she'd –literally- run into you a few weeks ago. She was so happy about seeing you again, I didn't have the heart to tell her how much it worried me you had come back. When you come around, you bring trouble."
"Well, it's usually me trying to stop the trouble," Pit pointed out.
"Whatever. So, want to tell me why this happened?"
"I should probably start with the fact that Hades did this," Pit began, and Magnus nodded. "Kuro and I-"
"Okay, back up," Magnus interrupted. "Who is this 'Kuro' guy you keep mentioning?"
"He's my- wait. He's going to kill me for calling him this, but…" the angel scratched the back of his head. "Remember Pittoo?"
"Uh… yeah," Magnus nodded slowly. "That dark lookalike of yours. I met him back when the Reapers were attacking that one time and we fought off that Death Incarnate or whatever your goddess called it."
"Well, Lady Palutena kind of changed his name to 'Kuro.' Apparently, it originates from a western language and means 'dark' or 'black.'"
"I see. So he's still fighting with you."
"Yeah," Pit nodded. "And… I probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him."
"Anyway," Magnus said quickly, "Speaking of your precious goddess, what's she doing in all of this?"
"She was lucky she didn't end up killed by Hades like everyone else… Kuro managed to save her, but…" He swallowed his resurfacing grief and anger. "A guy called Nemo kidnapped her. I don't know where she is now, but she's probably in the Underworld."
"Alright…" Magnus squinted his eyes shut and massaged his forehead with his free hand. "Who is this Nemo kid?"
"He was the Oracle of Darkness… a spirit, I guess, that helped maintain the Balance of the world. But… he freed Hades after we beat him five years ago and then… the attack Hades unleashed weakened him a lot, and Nemo killed him and absorbed his power."
"You're telling me he destroyed the lord of the Underworld."
"I know, it's hard to believe, especially when you look at him. He's pretty slender and has these red eyes that… they just seem like they see everything. But you would never think he was hostile. I mean, I always say that bad guys are supposed to be all 'I'm gonna KEEEEL you,' but he… I don't know how to explain it."
"Don't judge based on appearances, huh?" Magnus surmised.
"Essentially," Pit nodded. "Anyway, Kuro and I are fighting against him in hopes that we can restore the humans and everything else to the way it's supposed to be."
"Alright… you know, you're the first soul I've come across since this happened," Magnus informed him. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised."
"But… no offense, but how did you survive?" Pit wondered.
"Beats me," the swordsman shrugged. "I went to the temple for the first time in several years. Gaol hadn't been feeling well, but she'd made a point of going as often as she could to pray. I offered to go in her stead so she would stop worrying and rest, but while I was there, some weird light came through and… I guess it knocked me out. But when I woke up and left the temple… well, look around. You can see the result."
"That temple was built in the honor of Lady Palutena," Pit noted. "Maybe that's why. Was anyone else in there at the time?"
"Just the priest," Magnus answered. "But he was killed a few days ago by some Underworld minions."
"Great," Pit mumbled. "Magnus, I'm really sorry. I'll find a way to fix this and save Gaol, and everyone else too." Magnus's eyes lost focus for a moment.
"Even if we could save her…" he grit his teeth. "Would it survive too?"
"You mean her child?"
"So, you do know," Magnus sighed heavily, and Pit's eyes strayed to find a ring on the swordsman's left hand.
"I'll do everything I can," Pit vowed. "I promise."
"Guess that's the best I can ask for," Magnus nodded. "Count me in when you can. I get it- you can travel faster than I can, but…"
"I know, I understand," Pit forced a smile.
"Magnus!" Kuro's voice reached Pit's ears as the black-haired angel landed a few feet away from them. "Huh. I guess of all people out there, you should be one who survived this." Magnus blinked as he stared at the newcomer.
"Wait. YOU'RE Pittoo- er, Kuro?" Kuro shot a glare toward Pit before turning back to Magnus and nodding.
"Yep. Obviously, I've changed a bit since we last met."
"Change for the better, I guess," Magnus shrugged. "Anyway. So, you can fly on your own now, huh?"
"We both can," Pit confirmed. "Turns out there wasn't anything really wrong with my wings. They just needed time to mature. Lady Palutena said that being able to fly was a sign of adulthood for angels."
"So angel face is all grown up," Magnus snorted and smirked a bit. "Congratulations on flight. Anyway, if you two don't mind, would you fill me in on whether you even have a plan or not?"
"Sure, but first," Kuro frowned. "Pit, why do you have a bloody nose?"
"My fault," Magnus put in quickly. "I thought he was some Underworld nuisance."
"I'm fine," Pit agreed, wiping the slowing flow of blood from his lip again.
"Okay…" Kuro blinked. "As for a plan? I mean… I assume Pit has told you about Nemo."
"To some extent," Magnus replied.
"Well, we want to stop him, and we need to save Lady Palutena. It's just…" he lowered his gaze. "Neither of us are sure exactly how to go about this."
"We're kind of stuck right now," Pit went on. "We don't know what Nemo is really capable of nor what his actual plans are. But…" his gaze drifted skyward, and he trailed off. "Wait… hey, Kuro." He pointed toward the horizon above the buildings. "Do those look like the Forces of Nature to you?"
"…Yeah. Huh." Sure enough, several Nutskis and a duo of Toxiecaps, followed by several other species of Viridi's creations, were flying toward the surviving trio. "I guess Viridi survived… somehow. Maybe she's sending backup?"
"Or maybe they're knockoffs that Nemo created," Pit mumbled darkly. "Viridi? Are you okay?" There was no answer, and as they Forces of Nature drew closer, they opened fire. "Wah!" Pit summoned the Energy Shield, one of the three new Sacred Treasures created for him five years previous, from a brace on his left wrist. He knelt down behind it and the shots fired toward him were nullified on contact. He dispelled it and both angels took to the air with their bows at the ready. "Viridi! What gives?" he demanded, but received no answer. He sighed and set to work, dodging around the fire from the Forces as he and his twin made quick work of them, alternating between arrows and blades.
"Dumb acorns," Kuro spat as Pit looked back down to Magnus, who was dealing with several ground-based Forces.
"Magnus! Watch out! That round thing is gonna-" Boom. The Bumpity Bomb exploded as Magnus's blade hit it, sending the swordsman flying back. Magnus grunted as the angels landed and fought with their backs to each other, circling around and firing their shots until the Forces had been defeated.
"Whoo," Magnus got to his feet and limped over to them. "You two have been training together, haven't you? You've really learned to fight together."
"We try," Pit nodded. "Are you okay?"
"I've had worse. I'll deal with it," he shrugged. "So, the Forces of Nature are against us too. Perfect."
"I guess…" Pit sighed heavily.
"Seriously, Viridi, what's going on?" Kuro growled.
"Maybe I should just come out and explain," a level, mid-ranged male voice answered. Pit, Kuro, and Magnus exchanged several confused looks as a green light illuminated a short distance away from them, and when it died down, it revealed what appeared to be a young man, his red hair falling in front of the right side of his face and slightly tamed by a root acting as something of a headband. His blue-green eyes watched them steadily, and his skin was an even, fair tone. He wore a dark green robe with gold accents belted by another thick root and dark brown pants, with boots of a similar color that sported something like bark around his lower legs and a vine climbing around his left knee. On his left shoulder was a leaf-like piece of armor and another root snaked up his forearm. In his right hand, his wrist wrapped in a red cloth with black accents, he held what Pit immediately recognized as Viridi's staff.
"Who the heck are you?" both angels demanded within seconds of each other. The newcomer rolled his eyes and raised his free hand.
"Kuro, is it?" He looked at the red-eyed angel. "I appreciate you wanting to help, but I can take care of myself. And the heavens know I'd never want to be stuck doing Viridi's bidding all the time." Kuro blinked, obviously baffled by his words. The newcomer's gaze shifted over to the blue-eyed angel. "So, that must make you Master Pit, Lady Palutena's angel. It's a pleasure to meet you at last."
"Uh… sure?" Pit stared at him. "Who are you?" The newcomer sighed.
"I took the name Vis. You would know me as the Oracle of Winds."
"You're kidding…" Pit breathed.
"No, I'm serious," Vis continued. "But, regardless, I'd prefer it if you would refer to me by my… current position. I am the god of Nature."
