Hey everyone! I've got another chapter lined up here for you all to enjoy reading! Before I continue, I just want to say thank you for all the support you've given to the story so far. It really means a lot! We pick up where we left off in Skyworld where the fighting continues to rage on. All that remains unanswered now is which side will prevail? Now, as always, don't forget to fave, follow, review, and all that good stuff. Without further ado, let's get into this chapter!
Skyworld, World of Trophies
Link was roaming through the interior of the Lightspace army mothership, slashing through any Lightspace troops that stood in his way. He even brought down a Light Golem with nothing but his special bow and a couple of shock arrows. He was going through one hallway when something stopped him in his tracks. A Light Soldier similar to a knight was standing in front of him with a greatsword. He had golden armor and like the Light Golem he had a helmet decorated with horns.
"You look tough." Said Link coldly as he engaged the knight in a swordfight. "You won't get in my way though!" After some brief sword clashes, the hero sliced through the knight, bisecting him in two.
Samuel was watching the chaos unfurl from his command deck. "Sir! The swordsman is cutting his way through our troops!" Shouted one light primid. "They can't hold him off much longer!"
Suddenly, the Mii Gunner thought of an idea. "Lure him to the uppermost level. I shall meet him there."
He then went into an elevator which soon ascended toward the upper levels of the ship.
More Light Primids were converging on Link's location, all armed with super scopes. However, the hero had no problem against them since he had his indestructible Hylian Shield and a field of protection given by his old friend Daruk.
The hero picked them off with fire arrows until only a few were left. They started to run toward a nearby elevator. The doors were about to close, but Link ran toward it at an astounding speed, just barely making it in and dispatching the few remaining Primids inside.
Meanwhile, on a stray floating island far from the main battle, Pit and Kirby continued to face off against the fearsome Ridley. The space pirate attacked the angel with a fire blast, but Kirby managed to get in front of the angel and swallow the attack into his body. Due to his inherent copy power, he transformed into his fire variation with added flame power and the ability to withstand any form of heat.
Ridley didn't pick up on this power trick as he kept on spewing fireballs at the star warrior, only for them to have no effect.
Kirby then inhaled once more and unleashed a devastating stream of flames that could burn any ordinary being to a crisp. However, Ridley only came out with a few black spots after the blast subsided.
Pit was aiming at Ridley with his bow in order to distract him, but the space pirate suddenly got behind Kirby, catching the angel off guard. "Kirby!"
Ridley then dealt a brutal attack toward Kirby's backside, knocking him off his warpstar and stripping him of his fire ability. This sent the unconscious puffball falling at an exponential rate.
"Don't worry! I got you!" Cried out Pit as he flew down to rescue his puffy comrade.
It took some exercise on his wings, but Pit just managed to save Kirby just before he hit the ground on a floating island below.
The angel warrior decided to set Kirby down on the island before going back to Ridley. Once he got to the space pirate, the look of cheer and positivity he had before was gone. The face he had now showed only aggression and pent up fury.
"You hurt my friend!" Shouted the angel. "I won't let you hurt anyone else!"
Pit then charged forward once more. Only this time, he pulled out a peculiar looking fist weapon called the upperdash arm. "This is the end for you, monster!"
Before he could land a decent blow though, Ridley stopped the fist with his claws and started to push back. Pit then realized how strong Ridley was, so he pushed his wings to his absolute limit and opposed the strength of the space pirate. This left the two winged warriors in an intense deadlock that could spell doom for one of them if the other let go.
Pit was giving his all in the strength to oppose the space pirate. "You've… got… incredible strength…" Said the angel through gritted teeth. "Unlike you however… I have people… I have faith in!" Pit then looked down toward the floating island Kirby was on. "Now Kirby!"
Ridley also looked down to see Kirby, partially recovered and wielding the Star Rod once more. He fired a concentrated blast of devastating stellar energy that utterly finished the enemy off.
This left the space pirate in a completely unconscious state, plummeting to the ground and passing the cloud barrier below Skyworld, disappearing from sight.
Pit then went for Kirby and helped him to his feet. "I really appreciate your help, Kirby!"
The star warrior could only smile and hug Pit back in return.
From Pit's perspective, this was more than a valid response. "Let's get back to the battle!"
Link got up to the highest level of the ship. Once he got off the elevator, he felt an overwhelming breeze because he was essentially on the roof of the large craft with a view of the endless cloudy skyline.
"Quite the marvelous view. Isn't it?" Said an unfamiliar voice.
Link turned his head to where the voice was coming from as he drew his Master Sword. The voice was coming from Samuel as he stood about a few hundred feet away from the Hero of Hyrule.
"It's not every day you get to see the world so high up." Said the Mii gunner. "I was surprised myself when I saw it for the first time."
"Why have you guys come here? What did this place ever do to you people?" Asked Link aggressively.
"Nothing. But Lord Galeem wants this world destroyed because it holds one of the vast armies greatly capable of opposing him." Answered the gunner. "Unfortunately, you won't live to see its destruction. And for that matter, neither will your allies."
Samuel then pulls out a remote with a microphone function. "Unleash the beast!"
A huge section of the ship's roof suddenly opened up behind the Mii Gunner as something monstrous and enormous crawled its way out. This creature was revealed to be a dragon covered in red and black scales. He had large wings and a tail akin to that of a sharp mace. He made a mighty roar as Link covered his ears. Despite the deafening sound, the hero noticed something peculiar on his head. It looked to be a gold and silver crown attached to the skull with chains and locks. On the crown's frontside appeared the Lightspace Army logo.
"So you captured and enslaved an innocent creature!" Shouted Link. "I've encountered dragons that harbored no hostility toward us!"
"That is where you're wrong." Said Samuel. "This creature was already a savage and hostile beast. It took a lot of guts and resources to force that thing on our side." The gunner then made another order to the dragon. "Destroy any who oppose the Lightspace Army!"
The dragon then flew down toward the fighting below as Link became worried.
"As for you, you should focus on the fight in front of you!" Said Samuel as he dealt a barrage of charge shots, missiles, and grenades at Link.
The Hero of Hyrule was successful in either evading or deflecting each projectile the Mii gunner shot. However, Link knew he wasn't going to hold them back forever. He decided to use his bow again and fire rounds of arrows ranging from ice to explosive.
This onslaught dealt some damage toward Samuel, but he was far from defeated. "You have no idea with who you're dealing with, kid."
"Don't underestimate me. I'm more crafty than you know." Rebutted Link as he charged toward the gunner.
"Good. This might be a fight worth my while." Responded Samuel as he charged up his hand cannon once more.
Palutena, Dark Pit, and Bayonetta were successfully holding off whatever Lightspace Troops came their way.
"It looks like their numbers are dwindling." Surmised the dark angel. "We'll win in no time."
"Don't speak so soon, angel." Said Bayonetta. "We still have to take care of the main ship."
"Have faith in Link. I believe he'll disable it." Said Palutena as she was taking out Lightspace gunships left and right.
All of a sudden, they heard a loud roar coming from the sky.
"Now what?" Said Dark Pit exasperatingly.
The three heroes all looked to the sky as they saw a dragon larger than life spewing fire across Skyworld, burning any unfortunate centurions in its path.
"What is that?" Uttered Bayonetta curiously. "I've never seen a creature like that before."
"It's a Rathalos." Answered Palutena. "They are known as the kings of the skies according to some new inhabitants. In the time since the Great Light Convergence, I managed to see a few roaming the world. The Lightspace Army must have captured one and bent it to their will."
"Well, whatever that thing is, we have to take it down!" Said Dark Pit eagerly.
"Agreed." Responded Bayonetta.
The Umbra Witch and Goddess of Light used their Wicked Weaves and Heavenly Light offensives respectively, but Rathalos was successful in evading each attack.
The brainwashed dragon then swooped down onto the floating ground and unleashed balls of fire that had tremendous explosive force on impact. The flames spread for several meters on end, but Palutena and Bayonetta were successful in evading or withstanding the tremendous heat. However, one of these fireballs managed to incapacitate Dark Pit by slightly singing his wings, grounding him and forcing him out of commission.
Palutena warped Dark Pit to a safer location away from the battle on a nearby floating temple with a good view of the fighting from afar. "That should keep him safe."
Bayonetta attempted to attack the grounded Rathalos with her four pistols but they had no effect.
"It's no use!" Shouted the Goddess of Light. "You need to buy me some time! I have a plan to bring him down for good!"
"Understood, goddess." Responded the Umbra Witch.
Rathalos then charged toward Palutena, only for Bayonetta to step in and stop the dragon in its tracks with her Wicked Weaves. This time, they were two giant hands that held the beast in place. However, Bayonetta knew he would break through her defense eventually.
Palutena charged up an attack by forcing her staff to the ground, charging an overwhelming amount of divine energy.
"Any… time now… Goddess!" Said Bayonetta as she struggled against Rathalos's overwhelming strength.
A few seconds later, Palutena's eyes began to light up in a white aura as her staff ignited tremendously. "May you be free from this pain." Suddenly, a huge beam of light began bursting from the staff, ripping a hole through the crown of the dragon as it began to roar in pain. Soon enough, the crown fell to pieces as Rathalos recovered from the mind control. Seeing as he was confused, the dragon left Skyworld and dropped into the clouds below.
As Bayonetta recovered, she saw Palutena lying on the ground, exhausted from using that powerful attack. The Umbra Witch was very conflicted about what to do as she gripped one of her pistols. Part of her mind was saying to kill her and fulfill her duty as an Umbra Witch, but there was a more benevolent part in her head prompting her to help her up because she harbored no evil thoughts and shared a common enemy. Ultimately, she chose the latter option as she put away her firearm.
As Palutena was waking up, she was offered a helping hand by Bayonetta. Once the goddess got on her feet, most of the Lightspace troops and gunships had been destroyed. The remaining few were being defeated by the surviving centurions.
"I owe you one." Uttered Palutena.
"You've given me a lot to think about, Goddess. Especially about my outlook on angels." Responded Bayonetta.
"If that's the case, I think we could be good friends later on." Said the Goddess of Light as she smiled at her new ally.
The two heroines then looked up at the ship. "Do you think that swordsman's overtaken the ship yet?" Asked the Umbra Witch.
"Hard to tell." Uttered Palutena. "Although, I have faith in him."
"So do I." Said Bayonetta with a smile on her face. "From the moment I saw him on the battlefield, I knew he had the spirit necessary to face insurmountable odds. He reminds me of myself when I was young."
"I'm glad you feel that way." Said Palutena. "Let's clean this mess up."
The two powerful warriors stood by the Skyworld centurions as they were clearing up the ground forces overtaking the buildings and islands of the angelic kingdom. Deep down in their hearts, they knew they would win.
Despite this apparent victory for the Skyworld defenders, Galeem's hologram appeared in the command bridge. One Light Primid came up to him. "Lord Galeem! We are taking heavy losses! We need to fall back now!"
The Lord of Light was unfazed by this. "I refuse. I always knew that there would be some possibility of victory. Because of that, I always have a last resort." Galeem then turns his head to the Primid Pilots. "Execute Operation: Skyfall."