Artemis wandered up to the gate and leaped out with less than her usual gusto. "What's wrong, Artemis?" Palutena asked. "What do you think, Palutena? Dark Pit is dead!" Artemis responded. "Oh…" Palutena could only respond with a single grunt. "Anyway, while Palutena gets over insulting you," Viridi started, with Palutena interrupting by saying, "I am no goddess of light," and finished with, "Your objective this time is the lair of Lord Dyntos."
Artemis, with plenty to think about, emerged into the constellation home of Dyntos. "Wait, why am I here, again?" Artemis asked. "A good question, I might add. I worked the forges day and night to bring back everything from the war, and I was promised a good nap. I've been sleeping for less than a month!" Dyntos replied, clearly enraged. "My apologies, Lord Dyntos," Viridi said. "We're here to collect the Three Sacred Treasures." Dyntos peered at the angel. "Well well, I suppose I could help you out. But I can't just hand out the Three Sacred Treasures to just anybody, you know. I'll have to test you to see if I can count on you," Dyntos pointed out. Artemis sighed. "Why must everything try to kill me, too?" she asked. "Because Hades," Viridi and Dyntos both said.
Artemis landed, and her first note was that she couldn't move along three planes, forcibly restrained to two-dimensions. "What sort of challenges are these?" Artemis asked, noticing that her speech came in text form. "The four trials will take place according to the laws of Pit's first adventure. It is designed to test your true skill… and I didn't feel like making a third plane," Dyntos explained. "Was the 8-bit formation really necessary?" Artemis texted. "Yes. Now let me get some beauty sleep!" Dyntos ordered. Artemis shrugged, and began the long trek up.
The first trial was perhaps the trickiest of the bunch. Fire. She dodged and weaved through the pillars of fire, and the powerful enemies that lay in wait, until she encountered the boss of the trial. 8-bit Twinbellows. "Why must I fight this guy like this?" Artemis complained. Viridi observed the attack pattern. "You can attack this guy from anywhere, and it doesn't use as much fire as he did in the third dimension. I'd sent Nutski to attack it, but they didn't exist back then," Viridi evaluated. Artemis, already firing arrows anywhere on Twinbellows' body and dodging the few fireballs, questioned, "Obviously. Anything else?" Palutena looked down in the corner. "He's got-" she started, before Twinbellows fell and became the First Sacred Treasure. "-one hit point left…" Palutena finished lamely. Artemis took the Sacred Trasure, and continued on to the next fortress.
Thankfully, this next challenge was an oceanic dungeon. She swam through the place, noting that she was possibly the first angel to swim. Smiling to herself, she popped out of the sea. The ocean turned purple, and a blue lung emerged from the waters. "Hewdraw!" Palutena roared. "So this is how Hewdraw spent his 2D days?" Artemis asked. "Stay on the platforms! He can't hurt you there!" Viridi pointed out. True enough, the Hewdraw's leaps didn't affect her because he had to land in the water. Artemis still had some good aim with her bow, and thus could easily trump the Hewdraw. He became the Second Sacred Treasure, and Artemis collected it.
The third dungeon made the Labyrinth of Deceit look like a straight path. Artemis couldn't be sure, because of the 2D nature of the place, but she could swear she revisited some rooms on a different wall. Even Palutena couldn't divine the way. After emerging on what she hoped was the floor of the boss chamber, she met a blue orb she didn't recognise. "Pandora!" Palutena shrieked. "That's Pandora? Last time I saw her, she was an amazon beauty that was definitely human…" Artemis wrote, before running out of room on the screen to put it on. "She was cursed from that form to this one. She used the Rewind Spring to become the amazon once more," Palutena explained. Artemis was in the long haul to defeat blobby. Once she did, she became the Third Sacred Treasure. Artemis combined the three, and equipped them all.
The fourth and final trial was obviously a tutorial for the Three Sacred Treasures. Specifically, the Mirror Shield. She was in a 2D air battle, where she dodged, weaved, and took attacks to the new Mirror Shield. After all the practice she needed, she encountered the fourth trial… another one of these faces. This time, it was Medusa. From behind the Mirror Shield, Artemis fired her bow straight into the face, dodging Tanatos as he leaped forward. Hitting the final time, Artemis could progress to the victory chamber. "Congratulations, Artemis. You have done well," Palutena put onto the screen, returning Artemis to the base. Dyntos added one parting remark: "Don't come back for another 25 years, or whenever Hades revives himself. Whichever comes last!"
Artemis landed in Skyworld. As soon as she arrived, she removed the Three Sacred Treasures, and gave them to Viridi. "Next time, Hades will pay!" Artemis threatened. Viridi smirked, and patted Artemis on the back. "Yes, yes he will. But for now, relax. The fight against Hades will be the hardest yet."
Oh, and it might be! I have several different plans for the Underworld. Whether or not the Underworld will be the longest chapter will depend on how much content I can deliver.
And yes, for those of you who haven't played (or seen) Kid Icarus for the NES, this chapter was pretty dedicated to it. Three mini dungeons, ending with Twinbellows, Hewdraw and Pandora, who drop the Three Sacred Treasures. Zelda I inspired text. No swimming. The aerial section at the end with the Three Sacred Treasures, right down to Medusa, Thanatos and Palutena. Only the obvious is different.
And for those curious, the weapon spoiler effectively begins now. Was Artemis using a bow for this chapter? Or was she using a staff, and technical limitations forced her to use that straw-shooter? Find out next time on Lady Artemis: Rising. ...Moving on.
I am phineas81707, servant of the goddess of dawn!
