Hello people! Sentinel07 here with Chapter 22 of Kid Icarus: The Great War.
Thanks to everyone who enjoyed the last chapter.
Italics means a character's personal thoughts.
Bold and italics refers to quotes using telepathy.
Make sure you keep reading those AN's at the bottom for anything that might be upcoming. Also, in case you don't know, there has been a bit of a revision to Paralogue 4, featuring a much better battle. Check it out if you can.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kid Icarus or any other referenced video game or anime.
Now, let's begin!
(BEGIN)
Chapter 22: Catching Up
"Pit!"
Palutena cried as she embraced Pit, so glad to see him back. Pit smiled as he hugged her back as well. After the events on the island, everyone flew back to Skyworld, specifically Palutena's Temple. After Dark Pit revealed that he made up what he said, Iris immediately apologized to Pit, while also delivering a punch to Dark Pit's head.
"It's good to see you Lady Palutena." said Pit as he let go.
After they had gotten back, Pit had explained everything he knew, along with Sheba introducing herself and saying her side of the story too.
"I can't thank you enough for saving Pit." said Palutena.
"It's no problem really." smiled Sheba. "This is quite the place you've got here."
"I try." laughed Palutena. However, right after she said that, she got a bit more serious. "So you say that it was you who closed that special distortion? That isn't a power that just anyone has. I can't even do that."
"Are you suspicious of me?" asked Sheba with a slight teasing tone. Palutena waved her arms a bit.
"Oh I'm not trying to accuse you. It's just that….." Palutena trailed off. Sheba just laughed a bit at her reaction.
"Don't worry, it's okay. I'm aware that my powers aren't exactly common." she admitted. As this happened, they had asked Palutena if she could take Maya in for now. As Pit expected, Palutena had zero problems with allowing the girl to stay temporarily.
"So, it sounds like we have a lot of things on our plate." sighed Palutena as she took a seat. Right now, she, Pit, Sheba, Dark Pit, and Iris were the only ones in the hall. Pit looked left and right for the others.
"Um, where's Prometheus? Where's anyone for that matter?" he asked.
"Eres is at the Overworld Sanctuary. Arlon and Phosphora are with her. Prometheus, Pyrrha, and Luna have been spending most of their time away from Skyworld since two months ago." said Palutena.
"What happened two months ago?" asked Pit.
"Dark Pit, Luna, and Prometheus ended up in a battle with Amiti and Noire; Kronos' other Great Generals. It wasn't pretty how it ended." sighed Palutena.
"Pittoo got defeated?" asked Pit. Dark Pit scoffed at the remark.
"I'll get her next time. I'm not going to be humiliated a second time." said Dark Pit.
"I thought it was also because you had things to ask her." pondered Iris. Dark Pit sighed.
"Perhaps I do, but defeating her is top priority. That's why I've been training non-stop since then." he said.
"So, are the others doing the same thing?" asked Pit.
"Perhaps. They haven't talked much." said Palutena. She then turned her attention to the gem Pit acquired. "So Sheba says that we need to collect 2 more of these and then you can enter the Ouroboros?"
"It's a rumor, but I believe it to be true." said Sheba, all serious now.
"So where are the other gems?" asked Palutena.
"From what I hear, the Ice Gem is in the north, beyond the Aurora Glacier. The Light Gem is the hardest; it's supposedly at the Ends of the Earth." explained Sheba. Palutena raised a hand to her hand.
"The Ends of the Earth? Why did it have to be that place?" she groaned.
"What's wrong with it?" asked Pit.
"It's a treacherous place, far away from any human settlement. Legend has it that it's like a giant death trap. So many people have tried to brave it and die that it's like a giant graveyard." Palutena further explained.
"That….sounds morbid." sighed Pit.
"By the way," Palutena turned to Sheba. "How do you know all about this?" she asked.
"Well, I have been around since the beginning of the current era; about 2000 years ago. That's how old you are as well, so I don't see the problem." said Sheba.
"2000 years, and yet I've never even heard of you." said Palutena.
"I'm pretty good at drifting. It's kind of necessary." said Sheba. Those words caught everyone's attention.
"Why's it necessary? You running from something?" asked Iris.
"Something like that. I'd rather not talk about it." said Sheba, adamant on that part. The others looked at each other but didn't say any more about it.
"A-Anyway," Pit decided to get the conversation moving again. "We don't have much choice. If this Ouroboros place has what we need to defeat Kronos, then we should take it."
"For once, I agree." said Dark Pit. "The problem is how do we balance those needs with our other needs."
"That's right. First of all, we need to bring the goddess of nature back." said Sheba. "Eres can't hold it for long, and the dimension may start collapsing once she runs out of energy."
"But what can we do?" asked Iris.
"Well, I'm not sure myself. I think we'll need to talk to Eres directly to get anywhere on that front." said Sheba.
"I agree. Let's take a trip to the Overworld Sanctuary after a little break." offered Palutena.
"I like the sound of that." said Pit. Then something came to mind for him. "Hey, you guys mentioned that you've been getting some help during these last few months?
"Yes. They've been quite helpful." smiled Iris. Pit raised an eyebrow in confusion. Suddenly, he felt as if the temperature was rising quickly. He heard a boom as a nearly door was burned down, with a figure walking through.
"Heh…sorry about that Palutena. Sometimes Pyrrhon can't keep his hands off flammables." Pyrrhon sheepishly laughed as his hand held the flamed remains of the door. Palutena just sighed.
"Pyrrhon, that's 12 doors you've burned down. We don't have an infinite supply of those." Palutena face palmed. However, they all heard a loud noise as Pit's chair hit the ground, his voice stammering.
"W-What the heck?! What's he doing here?!" Pit stammered out. Pyrrhon raised his hands in front of him.
"Woah, calm down there, little angel. Pyrrhon is a reformed man." he chuckled.
"Why do I have a hard time believing that?" Pit groaned. "And how did you get back anyway?"
"Akihisa, the son of Thor, found him and brought him back. Apparently, Pyrrhon claims that Akihisa royally chewed him out upon seeing him." smiled Iris.
"Akihisa?" asked Pit.
"Another ally of ours. He's around here somewhere." explained Dark Pit.
"And of course, there's one other." smiled Palutena.
"And who would that be?" asked Pit. As if on cue, a dark portal appeared off to the side, allowing a certain goddess of darkness to walk out.
"Ugh, finally. Thanatos and Pandora really are a pain sometimes." moaned Medusa. Pit was, almost literally, petrified on the spot.
"M-M-M-M-Medusa?!" Pit stammered out, his face all pale as his eyes rolled backwards. Almost immediately, he fainted on the spot.
"Medusa! What have I said about petrifying people?!" chided Palutena.
"Oh please. I didn't do anything. The stupid angel did that on his own." sighed Medusa.
It took some time before Pit came to, overwhelmed by both Pyrrhon and Medusa appearing together like this. Everyone tried to explain it to him, which only made him more confused as to why they were even fighting alongside Palutena.
"So why are you guys fighting alongside us?" asked Pit.
"I've got nothing better to do. Besides, I'm not stupid enough to pick a fight with Kronos on my own." sneered Medusa.
"Stow your fear, Pit! We gods must band together to face this new evil!" declared Pyrrhon, making everyone else just sigh.
"Believe it or not, he's actually a bit more tolerable than he used to be." said Palutena. Pit groaned at this. This was a bit too much for him to handle; Pyrrhon alone was bad enough, but Medusa? No way would he be able to get any sleep around here now.
"Anyway, I believe we should talk with Eres. We need to get a move on with bringing Viridi back." said Sheba.
"I agree. I still haven't had a proper discussion with her since my own war." said Iris. Everyone was in agreement on that front.
Soon enough, Pit, Dark Pit, Sheba, and Iris were ready to go, with Palutena supervising them. However, right before they left, something else came to mind.
"So, where is exactly is Prometheus right now?" Pit asked. Palutena smiled at him.
"Where else would someone called the Dread Reaper train?"
(LINE BREAK)
In a dark room, Prometheus sat in wait, reminiscing over the past two months. He had gone through more than he ever had before.
***** Flashback, two months earlier*****
The Reaper Fortress stood tall over Prometheus as he approached the front entrance. This wasn't exactly a place that had been visited a lot. Certainly not much since Pit invaded it years ago. Iris kept regular maintenance though. Anyway, Prometheus had business to attend to here, so he casually walked in, barely even bothering to knock as he knocked the door open.
"Anyone home?" he smirked.
Soon enough, the reapers that inhabited the fortress roared out of the walls, screeching at Prometheus, not that he really cared that much. Prometheus calmly asked to see the leader, the Great Reaper. Even the reapers knew his power and they wouldn't be able to take him in a straight fight. Reluctantly, the reapers lead him towards the central chamber. There, the Great Reaper, in a much smaller size mind you, was laying there, his giant scythe at the ready.
"Dread….Reaper…" growled the Great Reaper. Prometheus.
"Hello. Long time no see. I presume you know what's going on, right?" he said.
"Reapers…only care about death." growled the reaper.
"Well that's great, so do I most of the time. However, in case you haven't noticed, the rest of the world has issues. Long story short, I need a place for a little training. You guys care to do the honors?" he smirked. Manners he did not have.
"Grrrrr….you have nerve, "Dread Reaper"…." he growled.
"Look, I'm aware you guys aren't fond of my nickname, but hey, I didn't come up with." said Prometheus nonchalantly.
The Great Reaper certainly didn't appreciate his tone, threatening to kill the Underworld warrior. Of course, even he knew that Prometheus was too strong for him to handle. What Prometheus was asking for was obvious; training.
"…..Fine…." growled the Great Reaper.
"Glad to see you understand." smirked Prometheus.
*****End flashback*****
Since then, Prometheus honed his skills amongst the reapers. The setting was perfect for him after all. While the majority of reapers took to their jobs as soul carriers, Prometheus endured many of their exercises in the ways of death. One of the more grim parts of his regimen was "taking care" of any evil souls he found. Of course, such a thing was pretty dangerous: absorbing a soul, even if evil, had quite the consequences on the body. However, being the Dread Reaper himself, Prometheus was more than prepared to embrace any such things.
However, one thing that often gnawed at Prometheus was, as he grew in strength, so did his inner "demons" so to speak.
As he sat, his left eye slowly swirled with dark energy, as if something was forming around him.
"Prometheus…the darkness in you grows…..Heh heh heh."
"Ugh, will you ever shut up? How can someone like you keep talking for 2000 years?" groaned Prometheus.
"I was called the Dread Demon for a reason after all…..You and I…..are more alike than you like to think….You have no problem with their ways of destruction….."
The remains of Orcos inside Prometheus also grew in power from Prometheus' soul consumption. Prometheus that it was a real bother. Still, he would have none of it. He focused his mind, causing the swirling mass around his left eye to vanish.
"Sometimes, I really do wonder…" he muttered to himself as he got up. It was time for more work. As he walked, Helswath seemed to resonate with strength.
(LINE BREAK)
*****Flashback, two months earlier*****
Pyrrha walked through the harsh sand, wiping her forehead as she walked. She knew that it was around her somewhere; her old training grounds. She moaned to herself. She really should think of a way to move to a cooler place. Anyway, she finally saw a dark-looking ship situated on the sand.
"Finally."
This was the Nidhogg, a ship from long ago that sailed the sea where this desert was. However, it dried up over millennia. They say that older spirits roamed the ship, although Pyrrha often used it as a hideout long ago. She jumped onto the ship and began looking around; it looked as cruddy as ever.
"Anyone home?!" she called out.
Almost immediately, some spirits rose around her.
"Pyrrha? How long's it been since you last came here?" smiled one spirit.
"Forgot." she smiled sheepishly. "Anyway, I have business here. My old training grounds are still here right?"
"Yep, everything is how you left it, including "those"." spoke the spirit.
"Good." said Pyrrha.
****End flashback****
Pyrrha constantly punched a punching bag. She had been going nonstop, using the old spirit's guidance. She was often asked why she didn't go train at the Reaper Fortress with Prometheus. Pyrrha's simple answer was that that was Prometheus' path. Hers was different.
"Phew, good workout." she smiled as she wiped her forehead.
"You think you'll be able to use "those" now?" asked a little female spirit.
"Well, shall we find out?" smiled Pyrrha as she cracked her knuckles.
(LINE BREAK)
*****Flashback, two months earlier*****
Luna sighed as she rose past Earth's atmosphere, already dreading what she had to do. Heading back home for the first time in centuries wasn't exactly ideal. However, she had no choice; Celestial Court held things that she needed. She just had one problem; her dad. Sighing yet again, she fully emerged from Earth and to a familiar little glyph. It was the gateway to Celestial Court, which was hidden from normal view. Luna touched the glyph, which then proceeded to scan her like some kind of sci-fi flick.
"Sheesh, Dad takes security way too seriously."
Anyway, once the scanning was done, Luna watched "doors" open in front of her as the Celestial Court emerged in front of her. Appearing as grand as Skyworld, Celestial Court was home to the Galaxy Spirits, some of the older spirits in the world. Quite a few gods and goddesses, like herself and Pyrrhon, were descended from these Galaxy Spirits. Luna groaned as she flew forward, avoiding any stray gazes that she may have gotten from its inhabitants; she didn't really care right now. Soon enough, she saw the central palace; where the higher spirits lived. That included her own family for that matter.
Luna flew and landed at the base of the palace, sighing as she approached the door. She gently knocked on it, remembering how she hadn't seen it in centuries. After she knocked, the door slowly opened, revealing a couple of small children; a boy and a girl. Both of them immediately gasped and started running.
"It's Lady Luna! Lady Luna is back, Mistress Virgo!" They kept chanting it until it kept reverberating off the walls. Luna cringed as she kept hearing it.
"So much for a quiet entrance." she groaned as she entered. She didn't have to wait long to get another greeting though as another figure soon entered. It was a woman, one who looked pretty similar to Luna, who gasped and ran over, hugging the girl.
"Luna! You've finally come back to us!" cried the woman as she hugged. Luna wasn't very enthusiastic about it, but she lightly hugged back.
"Hello Mom."
Lady Virgo, Luna's mother, briefly broke away from Luna, gently combing through her hair.
"You've gotten much bigger since the last time we saw you." cried Virgo. Luna blushed lightly at her mother's cuddling. Luna was a kid when she left so long ago, and she often didn't like being reminded of her life beforehand.
"Where's Dad?" Luna asked simply.
"Are you in a hurry? It's been so long since you've been home. Won't you have something to eat? It's almost dinner time." offered Virgo. Luna sighed.
"Mom, in case you've been living under a rock, Earth is in trouble. I can't waste time. I need to see Dad." said Luna.
Virgo sighed to herself. "He's busy in his office right now. Dinner is close. Will you join us then? Won't you please Luna?"
Luna really wasn't looking forward to it, but she had no choice. "Fine." This made Virgo smile.
"Wonderful! We can eat as a family again!" said Virgo, happy to see her daughter finally back. If only Luna shared that enthusiasm.
A little while later
Luna was soon seated at a familiar long dinner table, not exactly comfortable though. It was the kind of table you'd expect from a "rich family" so to speak. Her mother, Virgo, was situated opposite of her. Her dad, Orion, had come down and sat at the end. The rest of the table was occupied with other such people, including the kids from earlier.
"Luna," Orion smiled at his daughter. "It does me good to see you alive and well."
"Yeah, sure." muttered Luna. Orion gave a stern look to his daughter. He wasn't stupid; she was here for a specific reason.
"Well, I guess there's no need to beat around the bush. What do you need?" asked Orion. As Luna put her fork down, she stared at her father.
"I'm here for two things." she stated plainly.
"And those are?" asked Orion.
"I need Leviathan and Forseti." said Luna, as serious as ever.
Most of the people at the table, including Virgo, were surprised to hear that. After all, what Luna was referring to weren't ordinary things. Leviathan was a sacred dual-bladed spear that was not to wielded lightly. Forseti was the strongest ice spell in existence, said to channel the power of all living things into a powerful blast of ice that could rival the Ice Age.
"L-Luna…!" cried Virgo before Orion raised a hand.
"Luna," he started slowly before continuing. "You come back after centuries, after running away, and suddenly demand that you have two of the most precious possessions of this Court?"
"Yes, I am." stated Luna, as she had no time for games. "Kronos and the Legion of Time have invaded in case you've been living under a rock over the past few months. I'm right in the middle of it, and I need to be prepared."
"Luna, you're not a warrior." said Orion.
"Well I am now!" cried Luna, her face beginning to redden. "When are you going to stop treating me like a child? I. AM. A. GODDESS! I can take care of myself!" she almost yelled, putting emphasis on the goddess part.
Needless to say, many were surprised. When Luna last lived here, as a child, she was rather meek, never speaking a whole lot. Of course, Orion doted on her like no one's business. Frankly, Luna absolutely hated that. It was one of the reasons she was glad when Prometheus and Pyrrha broke her out.
"Luna…" started Orion. "We'll discuss the rest in private."
Luna patiently waited for that.
Later on in Orion's room
"Luna, I meant what I said. You are no fighter, and especially not with a real weapon." said Orion.
"Well, now's the time. I can't keep on fighting with my parasol if I hope to be of use." pleaded Luna.
"But even you know what careless use of Leviathan and Forseti can do." said Orion.
"Of course I do. That's why I want you and everyone to train me." said Luna.
*****End flashback*****
To this day, Luna still wondered what ultimately caused her Dad to allow her to train.
"Oh well, back to work." she said as she started stretching.
(LINE BREAK)
"AHHHHHHHHHH!"
Back in the Realm of Oblivion, Noire had been put back in the experimentation room, just as Eldran and Amiti threatened. Both of said generals just waited outside as it happened.
"Hmph, serves that girl right for failing like that." scowled Eldran.
"Calm yourself Eldran." spoke Amiti. "We need to keep the search for the Scion up. Also, I've noticed how much stronger our opponents seem to have been getting since that encounter two months ago."
"Hah, as if whatever they did would even cause a dent in our ranks." smirked Eldran.
"All the same, we shouldn't take any more chances. Given how the Earth's dimension is beginning to destabilize, they're likely going to try and bring the goddess of nature back."
"How would they even do that? She's dead."
"I wouldn't underestimate Mila. Even back then, I could tell that that woman had some idea. If she had an idea of what the goddess was going to do, she might have prepared for it. Thus, I think we should begin preparations to stop that. Her friend, Eres, should be first to go. Not only that, but given their progress on our normal ranks, I'd say it's time to unleash the Einherjar."
Eldran smirked at that idea. "I look forward to it. Time to kill that goddess."
(LINE BREAK)
Meanwhile, at the Overworld Sanctuary, Eres and the Forces of Nature generals were all present in the central hall. Eres was pacing around, which was driving Arlon crazy to be honest.
"Lady Eres, might you please refrain from further pacing? It is a bit dizzying." said Arlon. Eres smiled briefly.
"Sorry Arlon. Guess I'm really nervous. My energy is pretty low. Soon, I'll have to cut off using my power for the Overworld. When that happens…." she trailed off, not wanting to say more about it. However, Arlon gave her a small smile.
"Don't worry Lady Eres. I'm sure there are some clues somewhere that will lead us to Mistress Viridi's revival. We just have to keep looking." he assured.
"But how?" asked Eres.
"We have to keep faith. Is there anything that comes to mind of something that we can use?" asked Arlon. "I've also obtained the services of one of Mistress Viridi's more reliable acquaintances."
"Acquaintance?" asked Eres.
"Yes, someone she knew from some time ago. A very reliable soldier for us." smiled Arlon.
"Well, I hope they're up to snuff." said Eres.
"Oh, rest assured of that." said Arlon. "Isn't that right Cragalanche?"
The giant boulder nodded in understanding. Eres was glad to have their support. Then, Arlon's question came to mind.
"Well, I have been thinking about one thing." she pondered. Arlon raised an eyebrow.
"And what would that be?" asked Arlon.
"Something I made at Mila's request long ago….." Eres started.
However, right as she did, a loud bang resounded throughout the central hall, startling them. At once, Aki and Phosphora burst into the room.
"Legion of Time soldiers!" cried Phosphora.
"Loads of them too." said Aki. However, Eres noticed that something was on Aki's mind, and it wasn't good.
"What else?" asked Eres. Aki sighed.
"I noticed new soldiers in addition to the old ones. They match the descriptions of the Einherjar." said Aki.
"Einherjar? Didn't Eldran say something about that at Yggdrasill?" said Eres.
"Those must be the super soldiers they were making. They combine some aspects of their soldiers with our own to create something brand new." Arlon said with an angry look.
"We can discuss that later! They're coming in soon!" said Phosphora as she prepared for battle. "They're going to pay though. Aki was just about to teach me something cool!"
Aki just chuckled as he prepared Armads. "Priorities Phosphora." he warned.
As the generals got ready, Arlon turned to Eres. "Hide milady! We can hold them!"
Eres honestly didn't want to. Part of this mess was her fault after all. She didn't like being useless. Heck, even Iris, who wasn't even a goddess, was fighting. And yet here she was, doing nothing. She clenched her fist tightly; no more running. She had to be a part of the solution to this problem.
"I'll be back in second." said Eres as she ran out towards a hallway. Arlon wasn't sure what she was planning, although he soon turned his attention back to the wall. Soon, the door burst open, as wildebeests, tallons, and the dragon-like salamanders. However, as they looked further in, they saw exactly what Aki feared: the humanoid Golems, tall and armored with large clubs, three eyes, and white in color. They were parts of the Einherjar.
Meanwhile, Eres ran downstairs to a storage room. It was here that she kept something special. Something that she hadn't used in about a millennium. Primarily because the last time she did, she blew up half of Viridi's sanctuary. She lightly giggled at the memory as she opened up a certain chest, revealing a long spear inside. The handle part of the spear was dark blue with accents of gold. At the end, there was a gold rune before it extended to a golden spear, large and triangle-like in shape.
"Hello Gungnir. Long time no see." she smiled as she picked it up, feeling it's familiar power all over again.
(END)
Another chapter in the books, and a lot of story in this one. Action to come very soon.
Also, Luna's flashback isn't over. It got a little long, so I cut it short here. Luna will be showing the remaining part in the next chapter.
So, today we have two bios for the first time. One is an item and another is a spell: Prometheus' Helswath and Iris' Valflame.
*****Helswath*****
Appearance: A scythe with a silver handle. The top part is red and black with a special rune. The blade itself is also black.
Bio: This was once a sword Prometheus used. It became a scythe soon after he absorbed the remains of the Dread Demon Orcos. It becomes stronger as Prometheus does and is always sharp. At the peak of its power, it's capable of even causing dimensional rifts. It's naturally attuned to darkness.
*****Valflame*****
Incantation: "Fires of all creation, level the earth with your fury!"
Bio: Iris's most powerful spell and also a specialty of her ancestor, Duma. Among fire spells, it's in a class on its own. It causes a blast of dark flames to converge on the target. Many believe that it has the impact of a meteor, although their claims have been subject to dispute. It's one of the 3 most powerful natural spells on its kind, building its power from its user's will.
*****End bio*****
Well, that's all. Review as always.
Sentinel07, out!
