As it turned out, Primids were far from the only enemies littering the paths of Skyworld. Aside from them and a few Spaaks, there were also couple of new foes that Pit hadn't seen when viewing the events at the Stadium. For example, he ran into a kind of enemy called a Cymul. This strange enemy hovered through the air and seemed to be capable of reflecting Pit's arrows, and tried to sliced at him when he got too close. A few slices with his swords were enough to dispatch this particular tricky armoured enemy.
That, however, was nothing compared to what dropped out at Pit further down the path. He later learned that it was called a Greap, and he felt that it had been very well named. The creature possesed HUGE scythes on two long arm-like appendages, which it swung down at Pit when they fought. Luckily, he managed to dodge out of the way, and the scythes became embedded in the ground. Pit tried to attack the creature as it was immobilized, but striking it's large black body seemed to have little effect. However, when he managed to get behind it and hit it in its small red head, it seemed to have a far greater effect. Once he figured that out, he was able to avoid the Greap's massive scythes, and take out the Subspace menace, though it still took a lot of dodging and hitting.
After finally defeating the Greap, Pit paused for a bit to take a breather.
"Whew...haven't had a fight with something like that in years!" he thought to himself. "Still, good way to shake off some of the rust." He then stared out at the vast expanse of cloud covered path that lay before him.
"Hmmm...that's a lot of ground to cover for one angel..." he remarked. "Sure would be nice if I had a partner or something...come to think of it, I haven't really been able to get to know any of the other Smashers since I got here..." Clearly staying up in the clouds where no one (as far as he knew) could join him wasn't the best way to meet new people.
"Hope I can find someone to join me soon...one of the Smash vets, preferably..." he mused, readying himself to continue onward. "Something tells me this is the kind of fight even a guy like me can't handle alone."
And with that, Pit continued onward, not knowing that further down the path was just the partner he was looking for.
For some reason, the next part of the path was relatively clear of enemies. In fact, it was relatively clear of anything. Pit didn't come across an enemy, an ally, or even an item though his walk...
...until he saw something poking out of the clouds on the 'ground'.
"Weird..." Pit thought upon seeing the item. "Kind of looks kind of like a trophy stand from here..." When he got closer, he discovered it was a trophy stand - one attached to a familiar looking trophy. A trophy of a smallish moustachioed man, wearing a very familiar cap and overalls.
"Wait...is that...MARIO?!"
Indeed it was. The Mushroom Kingdom hero had been reduced to a trophy, almost surely thanks to the shot he had taken back at the stadium. Apparently, said shot had also blown him, or rather, his trophy, clear into Skyworld.
"Well...I did hope for an ally." Pit mused as he went over to the trophy. "Couldn't have picked a better one myself."
Without a second thought, he touched the Trophy Stand...
...and then shielded his eyes from the ensuing flash of light as Mario was brought back to life.
It was a bit disorienting being revived from what could basically be considered death. At least, that's what Mario thought. One minute, he had been forced into the form of a trophy, the next he was revived in a flash of light in an unfamiliar location. Plus, he was still aching a little somehow from the shot he'd taken at the stadium.
"Mama mia..." he groaned. "What-a happened...and for that-a matter, where am I-a?"
"You're in Skyworld." an unfamiliar voice replied. This prompted Mario to look around in confusion - confusion which only grew when he identified the source of the sound.
It was unmistakably an angel. Not the strangest thing Mario had ever seen, but still not something you'd see everyday.
"You okay?" the angel asked. "Are you hurt or something?" From his looks and voice, Mario guessed he was a pretty young one, around his teens at best. Then again, for all Mario knew, he could easily have been centuries old.
"Uh...no...I'm-a okay..." Mario replied just a tad uneasily. "You...you're an angel-a, huh?"
"Yup, that's me." he replied.
"Hmm...so...just to-a clarify...this isn't the-a Overthere, is it?" Mario couldn't help but ask. The angel just looked puzzled. "You know-a...the Great-a Beyond...that-a place that the good guys go to when their-a Game is Over?"
"...Oh, that! ...No, this isn't it." the angel replied, a bit surprised.
Mario couldn't help but sigh a bit in relief. "Whew...good-a...'cause after what I've-a done through the years, that would've-a been a lousy-a way to go." he quipped. After getting up, brushing himself off and making sure he was in one piece, he got a better look at the angel who he assumed had revived him, and something clicked in the plumber's mind.
"Say-a...you're one of the-a new guys, aren't you-a?" he asked, snapping his fingers as he tried to place the name. "That-a one guy who hadn't been in action for a while-a...Pit, right-a?"
"Yeah, that's me." Pit replied with a smile, extending a hand with a smile, which only grew when Mario took it and shook it. "I have to say, it's a real honor to meet you in person. I've heard lots about you and your adventures."
"Oh, so you've-a been eavesdropping on us from up in the sky, then-a?" Mario asked jokingly.
"Well...I wouldn't quite put it that way, but..." Pit said, a bit embarrassed.
Mario's expression then suddenly grew more serious. "Well, in-a that case, I'm-a guessing you saw what-a happened at the stadium?" he asked. "I didn't-a see anything after-a getting shot out of the stadium-a."
"Oh...well..." Pit began, knowing this would take quite a bit of explaining.
"...And that's when I found your trophy." Pit finished his explanation of the situation. Mario just regarded the explanation with a stoic, thinking look.
"That's-a...quite a bit to take-a in..." Mario finally said, taking off his hat and running his hand through his hair. "Guess I-a owe Kirby something-a..." he murmured.
"Yeah." Pit said in response. "So...like I said, Palutena sent me to figure out help stop whatever's threatening this world. It's probably connected to what attacked at the stadium. And I've kinda been out of the game awhile, so..."
"You want-a some help, huh?" Mario quickly surmised.
"Pretty much." Pit shrugged.
"Well-a..." Mario started, straightening his posture and adjusting his hat. "Looks-a like our next course of action is-a obvious."
"Sure looks like it." Pit agreed with a ready smile, before getting serious himself. "That ship from the stadium - I think that Kirby thing called it the 'Halberd' - was going somewhere in that direction." he continued, pointing the way with his bow. "There's also a path down there that can take us down to land, in case the ship changes its course."
"So, we just-a follow the ship until we find some answers-a?" Mario asked. "Sounds-a like a plan."
"Yeah, but considering what I had to go through to get this far, I'd say it's a plan that's easier said than done." Pit said. "Road's likely not going to be easier from here. Hope you're up to the task."
"Excuse-a me?" Mario said with a raised eyebrow. "What-a exactly do you mean-a 'hope'?"
"Oh, nothing..." Pit said, though smirking as he did so. "Just wondering if you'd be able to keep up, considering how you got KO'd at the stadium..."
"Excuse-a me?" Mario said, somewhat indignantly. "By getting shot from-a behind? What exactly is-a that supposed to mean-a?"
"Oh, nothing..." Pit said with mock innocence.
Mario just eyed Pit, by now also smirking. "Is that-a so? Well, I'll-a have you know that I've-a been doing this since before you came around-a. The question shouldn't be whether-a I can keep up with you...
...but whether you can-a keep up with me."
With that, Mario got a running start before making a fantastic leap from the edge of the platform to the next, not wasting momentum as he bounced off that platform to the next. Pit, not one to be left behind, quickly followed, gliding after his newfound ally, both of them ready for anything their enemies could throw at them.
And here's another chapter. Gotta say, I feel pretty good that I managed to get this out before some big exams. Should just be one more chapter for this stage of the story. Yeah, it's a bit shorter than the first stage, but then, that one really had more going on, story-wise.
...Well, I don't really have much else to say, so...until next time!
