A short time later, Pit landed with a thud just outside Skyworld's temple, the breath knocked out of him. He fought with himself to open his eyes as terror gripped him, freezing his body. Even if it wasn't truly fire holding him, the sense of it still struck through him and lit the memory he wanted to banish from his mind.

"Pit?" Nemo wondered after he resumed his usual, human-like state of being. "Are you okay?" Pit opened his eyes one at a time and glanced around, then got to his feet.

"Y-Yeah," he replied, his voice shaking. "Sorry. Let's get going before- Wah!" Before he had a chance to finish, Nemo shoved him against the wall and pulled him down, sending pain shooting through his body. "Ow. What was-"

"Shh!" Nemo commanded, silencing him, and voices reached his ears.

"That's all I want to know, Elora. Why did you do this?!" He recognized it to be Kuro's, and the voice was quickly followed by the sound of shots fired.

"Lady Medusa belongs in Skyworld," Elora replied, though Pit could barely hear her over the sound of her battle with her commander. "Palutena was in no position to banish her! You always say we have a balance to protect- that's what I'm doing!"

"And stabbing Pit in the back was protecting the Balance?" Kuro demanded. "Medusa is part of the reason the world is in so much trouble! Lady Palutena acted to protect the humans and Skyworld."

"Maybe it's you and Lord Pit who are wrong!" Elora accused as Kuro flew by, and she was following him in the air with the Power of Flight. Pit hadn't been aware that Medusa could grant it. "Lady Medusa is actually helping me grow and develop my ability. You both just held me back!"

"We held you back because you weren't ready," Kuro replied, and it sounded like his teeth were clenched. "Because you're unstable and your strength needs to be channeled. You were going to hurt yourself or someone else with your wild combat style."

"But look at me!" she yelled. "I'm flying! I-"

"For five minutes," Kuro growled. "Any longer, and your wings will burn." Again, the memory sent pain shooting through Pit's back in place of the wings he lacked. "Your wings will mature, Elora. You just need time."

"Later, later! Always later!" Elora retorted. "You always say I have to wait. I've been waiting for years! I'm done waiting! Lady Medusa doesn't make me wait!"

"So, that's it," Nemo mumbled. "Come on. Let's get moving while Kuro has her distracted." Pit nodded and hurried inside the temple with his companion hot on his heels. "She didn't like that you were holding her back, even if you thought it was best, and Medusa gave her a window of opportunity."

"That little part about the Balance, though…" Pit pondered as he processed what he'd overheard. "Does she really think Medusa was meant to stay in Skyworld?"

"I wonder if Medusa managed to convince her somehow," Nemo guessed. "That's the only explanation I can think of. But if-" he stopped short as they were spotted by several Skuttlers and Snowmen. "Never mind."

"Are you ready to fight?" Pit wondered as he readied his bow.

"I am if you are. But remember- try not to get hit."

"I know, I know." Pit smiled. "Let's do this." He shot an arrow forth as he dashed forward and destroyed one of the Skuttlers, and Nemo followed up with a strike of dark magic that exploded once it hit its target. Pit dodged around the frosty blast of a Snowman and shot several arrows, then ran forward and slashed through it several time, rolling to the side once he beat it to evade the other's icy breath. He struck again, cutting through it until he'd destroyed it, and Nemo finished off the other Skuttlers.

"Lead on," the silver-haired Oracle prompted, and Pit proceeded down the hallway to the Gate's Chamber. Unfortunately, the statue that was his body was nowhere to be found.

"Figures she would move it," he sighed. "But… It's got to be somewhere in here."

"How can you be so sure?" Nemo wondered.

"I can… sense it, I think," Pit replied. "I think it's in the lower levels. Let's get going- Kuro's fight isn't going to last forever." Nemo nodded, but a swarm of Underworld troops broke into the chamber and surrounded them.

"Great," Nemo sighed as he and Pit set their stances, back to back. "I was afraid they would let us get bored."

"Medusa's pretty good about that," Pit chuckled. "If she's around, then I'm never bored." He sprinted forward and spun his bow, slashing through his target, then rolled back and sprung back to his feet, though he took the brunt of the fire from a Mik, and agonizing pain shot through his body. He regained his composure after swallowing a scream and looked back at Nemo. "You gonna help me?"

"Get behind me," Nemo replied.

"But-"

"Just get behind me!" he snapped, and Pit obeyed. With that, Nemo took a deep breath and unleashed a strong blast of dark magic that immediately took out anything in its path.

"Oh." Pit smiled and shot a charged arrow forth that took out one of the remaining stragglers, then fired a small orb of light that finished the other. "I admit it's kind of nice not being restricted only to my weapon."

"Yeah," Nemo agreed. "Whew. Alright, let's go." They exited the chamber and Pit led the way down a hall to the side and a staircase.

"Wait," he stopped, and Nemo ran into him. "Something just occurred to me."

"What?"

"Wouldn't Medusa know we're here? Why hasn't she just come herself?"

"I'm an Oracle, remember?" Nemo smiled. "Combine that with my ability as the lord of the Underworld, and I can shield both myself and you from her if she's scanning the temple. I don't think I'll be able to continue that after you get your real body back, but…"

"I won't need it, then," Pit laughed. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." They found a duo of armored Skuttlers guarding a set of double doors in the next hall, and Pit nodded.

"Thought so. Not very creative, Medusa." He and Nemo set to work defeating them before they could fire their attacks, and the duo proceeded through the door. "There you are!" Sure enough, Pit's petrified form was inside, its wrists and ankles chained to the floor. Pit started toward it, but Nemo yanked him back. "What?" The sudden shrimp thrown at him answered his question as a Tempura Wizard emerged from behind the statue. "Oh."

"Yeah. Go take cover. I'll handle this." Before he could argue, Nemo dashed around and sent a wave of darkness at his target. The Tempura Wizard took the brunt of the blow, but it remained standing and countered. And, sure enough, Pit was now staring at an overgrown fried shrimp with legs.

"Uh, Nemo?" To his surprise, Nemo reverted almost immediately and struck forth again, destroying the Wizard. "How'd you do that?"
"Do what?"

"Turn back so quickly."

"I'm a god," Nemo answered. "And so are you. We've got the ability to change our forms, and that includes negating the Eggplant and Tempura Wizards' attacks."

"Oh. Cool."

"Yes. So you don't have to worry about being eggplanted." Nemo smiled. "Kuro, on the other hand, still has to."

"He'll get over it," Pit chuckled as he approached his petrified body. "Now… what do we do from here?"

"First thing's first," Nemo produced what, at first glance, looked like a dagger formed from his dark energy, and he used it to cut through the shackles keeping the statue imprisoned. "Now… well, that's up to you. You'll have to rejoin your body before I can do anything."

"And how do I do that?" Pit inquired. Nemo lowered his gaze in thought.

"I suppose you'll need to surrender your current form. It's almost acting like a prison for your soul." Pit blinked, and Nemo sighed. "Okay. You don't think you can do that on your own, do you?"

"I don't think so," he admitted.

"Very well. Then…" Before he could object, Nemo dashed toward him and a searing pain took hold of his body just as he blacked out. There was nothing, no sense of anything, just darkness.

There was cold. He felt like the very core of his being was frozen, immobile, restricted, unable to do anything. Then, there was warmth, and he felt himself moving toward it as it thawed him. Then, finally, there was light.

He crumpled to the ground and opened his eyes, his muscles stiff and aching as his head slowly cleared. He blinked several times and found himself staring at Nemo, who watched him carefully.

"Are you feeling okay?" the dark entity asked as Pit sat up and looked himself over. Everything seemed to be in order, and he felt relief flood his system at the sight of his white wings.

"Better now," he agreed. "Thanks, Nemo. But… what did you do?"

"I reduced your former state of being down to its form purely as a soul and returned it to your body," he explained, though Pit had trouble keeping up, "and then I simply reversed Medusa's effect on your body and returned you to your natural state."

"Uh…" he rubbed the back of his head. "Thank you?"

"Thank me later, once you've defeated Medusa."

"Right." Pit jumped to his feet and started toward the back wall.

"Uh, the door's that way," Nemo pointed out, and Pit glanced over his shoulder at him.

"I know. But I need some supplies." He turned back to the wall and broke through it with a quick blast of light, revealing a small hidden room with a single sealed chest within. Nemo watched him curiously as he dispelled the seal and pulled out a clasp similar to Kuro's and an elegant, but incredibly sharp, curved bow that resembled two wings.

"Oh." Sure enough, the lord of the Underworld would recognize the new Sacred Treasures when he saw them, just as Pit had used them in their dual so many years previous.

"Yep. I'm not taking any chances." The young god of Light equipped the Orichalcum Armor and readied the Winged Bow. "Kuro's got the Energy Shield, but I think I'll be okay without it. Now, let's get going!" Nemo nodded and they both hurried out of the room, upstairs, down the main corridor, and back outside.

"Only you can go from being made of stone to challenging the goddess of Darkness," Nemo sighed as Pit took flight, and the Oracle resumed his spirit form and sped forth at his side.

"Yeah, but I gotta do what I gotta do, right?" Pit shrugged. "One quick stop, though." He circled around the temple and found Kuro, still in flight, battling Elora as she fired from the islet below, her flight time expired.

"Well, look who it is." A ghostly form appeared above another structure in Skyworld, though it quickly solidified into the goddess of Darkness herself. "Back so soon, Pit?"

"You can't beat me, Medusa," he replied. "I defeated you when I was a child. I beat you thirty years ago when I was still a flightless angel. Now, I'm fully grown, my wings have matured, and I'm the god of Light. What chance do you still believe you have?" To something of his surprise, she didn't immediately respond.

"It seems she didn't calculate for your recovering so quickly," Nemo guessed, and Medusa glared at him.

"I should have known you'd be the rat you are and help him," she realized flatly. "Treacherous little-"

"Medusa, when will you listen to me?" Nemo demanded. "I don't serve you! Not directly. My loyalty lies with the Celestial Balance, and almost everything you've done has put it into peril. I may not be able to challenge you directly, but I can help the one who can."

"I see," she sneered. "And what about you, Pit? What will you do with your little angel here?"

"I got her," Kuro interjected and landed a short distance away from the newest angel and readied his bow again. "You want to intervene up there, Elora? You have to get through me first."

"Don't think I won't try," she replied, though she sounded incredibly winded.

"Don't let them distract you," Nemo advised. "Just focus on fighting Medusa."

"Right." Pit summoned his staff in a bright light and imbued his wings with his own Power of Flight, speeding toward his adversary. "Medusa! I swear to you, this will be the last time we meet in battle! I will defeat you, once and for all!" Despite everything, she only laughed.

"Very well. Come, little god. Fight me! Prove your strength and power!" He gathered his power into his staff and shot forth a blinding light, and she screeched in pain as it enveloped her and left her breathless. "Ha… you certainly are Palutena's successor… even stronger than she ever was. But you could never replace her."

"I don't want to replace her," he replied. "I'll do the best I can in her stead. But, I will do as I see fit as I rule over Skyworld. I am not Lady Palutena. I am Pit, the god of Light!" With that, he dismissed his staff and angled up, dodging around her snakes as they snapped at him and the beams shot from her eyes. She released several shots from her palm toward him, but he cast a barrier that blocked them and focused his energy into his bow. He inhaled, pulled the arrow back, and released it to hit his target. And hit her, it did. She shrieked and shrunk down to a more manageable size, and he flew down to meet her as she fell to her knees, her serpents drooping in exhaustion.

"Y-You're so strong…" she gasped as he approached her. "I… miscalculated…"

"I've been this way for over twenty years," he told her. "I've learned a few things. I know all your tricks, Medusa. There's nothing more you can do. But…" he paused. "I'm not like you. If you'll surrender your power and behave, then I'll spare you." With her façade of beauty dispelled, she stared up at him with her single, monstrous red eye, and he couldn't tell what she was thinking. One thing, though, he could be sure of: he saw fear in her.

"Fool…" she spat. "I don't need your charity." She heaved herself to her feet, bracing herself against her staff. "You're too soft. If you're going to defeat me, then stop being a coward and finish me off."

"Lady Medusa!" Pit leaned to the side and dodged the shot Elora fired at him, and she showed up on their islet a moment later with Kuro right behind her. The goddess of Darkness stared at her, and her eye narrowed.

"It's time." That's all she said, one more order for her newest minion, but Elora only nodded and made no move as Kuro approached her with his bow ready to strike at a moment's notice. Medusa turned her attention back to Pit. "Well? Are you going to finish me off or not?!" He simply watched her carefully, unable to dismiss the pity he felt for her. She had gotten sloppier with every battle, more desperate to see him fall. But, if anything, he'd proven that she simply couldn't defeat him. He opened his mouth to reply.

But, before he could say anything, a black flame suddenly rocketed down from above and enveloped her. She screamed, sending a sharp chill through Pit's body, and within moments, she was gone as Nemo resumed his physical state of being, his eyes dark and unreadable as Pit stared at him.

"I can't believe you would even consider keeping her around," he said simply.

"How did you…"

"She was weak. She couldn't overpower me any longer."

"Oof!" Pit whipped his head back to see Kuro crumpled on the ground, clutching his abdomen with his face twisted into an obvious expression of pain. Elora was nowhere to be seen.

"Kuro!" He raced over and summoned his staff as he knelt down next to his twin. "Are you okay?" Kuro only groaned in reply, but slowly uncurled himself with a huff.

"Ow. Man, she really does pack a punch when she wants to… now I know how you felt when Magnus smashed you in the face."

"Where did she go?" Pit demanded.

"I think she jumped," he answered as he got to his feet. "Why, I don't know." Pit nodded and dismissed his armor, then leapt from the side of the islet with Kuro following a moment later.