Chapter 36

After a nice relaxing rest (IN A HOT SPRING), I sprang up. "Alright! Time to save the day! Today we're gonna get Phosphora back! Hooray, hooray, hooray!"

Hades groaned. "Will you be singing that all day?"

I nodded. "You bet!"

Arlon smiled. "It is most rewarding to see your jubilance, Young Master Pit."

I grinned back. "Thanks! Whatever that means. It was a compliment, right?"

Lady Palutena translated, "Pit happy, Arlon happy."

I stretched and kept walking. "Last time I was here, there was a wave of monsters around here, wasn't there?"

Hades innocently commented, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Lady Palutena affirmed, "Yes, there'll be a few waves of monsters before you get to the next room. Keep your guard up!"

I moaned as a group of igniots surrounded me. I meleed them before they could turn me into stone. A sinistew materialized. I snuck up behind it and meleed it until it died. I continued fighting off the onslaught until the door to the next room finally opened.

A few clubberskulls laid on the floor while a tempura wizard brandished its wand at me. I leapt out of the way of its spell, and heroically fell on my face. Arlon blasted the wizard to smithereens. I shot the clubberskulls from a distance, and the next room became available.

I rushed through a huge hallway and followed Lady Palutena's green arrows, ignoring and sprinting past all kinds of unfriendly monsters. Hades observed, "Skipping ahead to the good scene?"

I stopped for a short rest. "Whew. This is a lot of work."

Lady Viridi yelled, "Of course it is! You're saving the girl now! It's always the hardest one!"

Hades corrected, "The final boss is the hardest chapter. And I'm not being fought in this one, sorry to disappoint."

I stated, "You're not sorry."

Hades chuckled. "It's true. I'm never sorry."

I stood at the end of a huge platform that acted like a cliff. "Uh, how do I get to the other side?"

Lady Palutena reminded, "Remember this from last time? The small red lights are the edges of the path. Walk in between the two rows and you're on the invisible bridge."

Hades complained, "Why do you have to spoon-feed him the answers? I want a thrill in my life, and watching Pitty Pat make a fool of himself fulfills my deepest desire!"

I followed Lady Palutena's instructions until I made it safely on the other side. Lady Viridi praised, "Alright! You're halfway there!"

I pumped my fist in the air. "Phosphora's still here, right? Hades didn't move her while we were sleeping?"

Lady Viridi shook her head. "No. I sense her presence."

All of a sudden, I faceplanted onto the floor. I tried to figure out what attacked me from behind, but it was still pinning me down. I wrestled myself free to face . . . "Arlon?! What the heck?!"

Arlon dragged me back down. "Young Master Pit! Duck! A fire wyrm circling dangerously near you!" Sure enough, a fire wyrm indeed slithered very close to my head. I shot it from a safe distance while Arlon finished it off.

We continued into the next room where a long staircase led up to a Drink of the Gods. I hopped up the steps and drank. Arlon shook my hand. "Are you ready, Young Master Pit?"

I burst into the room, where Phosphora was unconscious and hovering limply in the air. As I moved toward her, a force shield blocked me from getting to her. I balled my fists. "What kind of trickery is this?!"

Someone snapped, and all of a sudden Pandora appeared. She cackled. "Did you really think it would be that easy? Your journey ends here!"

I glared at her while Arlon tossed energy beams at the stupid goddess of calamity. I meleed her while she threw more heart-shaped bombs at me. I maneuvered around them and shot her with my Phosphora Bow. Arlon kept up his energy beams, and we fought and fought until Pandora collapsed.

I rolled my eyes. "And she's going to say 'You got me' and then spring up and attack."

Pandora started coughing. "I don't think I can keep going."

Hades threatened, "You're going to keep it up until you die!"

Arlon used their bickering against them and finished her off.

The force shield disappeared. I was able to see Phosphora up close, covered in blood and dirt. I winced. She went through all of that torture for me. I pushed the thoughts out of my head and scooped her up in my arms.

Lady Palutena teleported us back home. Lady Viridi viewed Phosphora's unconscious form. "Hmm. She's more wounded than she appears. This isn't looking good. We're going to have to take drastic measures."