It was a long journey. A couple weeks at least. Pit led the angels to the faraway land. The land of Hyrule. Clovis' life was hanging on by a thread. Everyday, Doxa and Ariel tired out more easily than Pit and Pittoo.

When they made it closer to the castle of Hyrule, Pit started to get excited. He enjoyed traveling to different kingdoms. Hyrule was one of his favorites.

"So which Link are we meeting up with?" Pittoo questioned. Pit grinned, "Twilight." He replied.

Doxa raised an eyebrow. "So let me get this straight. There are multiple versions of Link? That makes no sense."

"It's because of magic and a little bit of time travel. I wouldn't question it." Pit shrugged.

Ariel adjusted her cloak. "These cloaks are so uncomfortable. Why do we have to wear these?" She whined.

"We stick out like a sore thumb with our wings. People could get the wrong idea." Pit explained, "Don't worry. We can take them off as soon as we get into the castle."

Doxa gave him a look, "This is a castle. Where royal people live! We can't just walk in."

Pit grinned, "Yes we can. As long as we know someone in the castle."

Moments later, a man with pointed ears and dressed in green came trotting up to the castle. He looked down and immediately recognized their faces. Or at least two of them.

The man signed to Pit. Pit waved enthusiastically.

"Hi there Link! It's good to see you again too." The angel grinned.

Ariel gasped, "Oh neat. He speaks through sign language. Keeps the title of a silent hero." She cooed.

Doxa raised an eyebrow, "Yes, it's neat. But I can't understand him. Neither Ariel or I can."

Link gazed upon the other angels and then looked back at Pit.

"They're with me. We came here to talk with you and Princess Zelda about something." Pit explained. Link nodded and signed something to the guards at the gate. The guards seemed to understand and opened the gates to the castle.

Pit glanced at Ariel and Doxa, "Link will help you understand him once we're settled, promise."

xXx

Link alerted the Princess and took the others to a sitting room. He released a purple fairy from a bottle. This allowed the others to understand Link.

Zelda didn't take long to arrive. But she did have someone following her.

A little girl with long blonde hair in a pretty purple dress tailed behind the princess.

"Who's that?" Pittoo questioned. Zelda patted the girl's head. "This is Nia, our daughter. She's five years old. We had her a little bit after our fight with Tabuu in subspace." She replied.

'We can talk about her later. Pit, who are these people and why are you here?' Link asked.

Pit gave a nod to the other angels and they removed their cloaks. Ariel sighed in relief, "Finally. My wings are free!"

Pit introduced them, "You've met Pittoo in training so I'll introduce the others. The redhead is Doxa and the girl with blue hair is Ariel."

"Who is the one still wrapped in the cloak?" Zelda raised an eyebrow as she walked over and unwrapped the cloak.

"That is Clovis. He's one of the reasons why we're here." Pit stated. Both Link and Zelda gasped at the sight of him.

"Oh my! His wings, one is broken and the other is burned to a crisp." Zelda covered her mouth, "I can't heal him. Link, saddle back up and take them to the nearest fairy fountain."

Link nodded, 'We'll all talk more later. He needs to be healed immediately.'

"Fairy fountain?" Ariel and Doxa questioned in unison. Pit smirked, "Oh you'll see."

xXx

Link saddled up his horse once again. He took Clovis into his arms and had Ariel hold onto him. Doxa and Pit took another horse. Both Ariel and Pit were wary of the horses. But Doxa seemed right at home.

Doxa was more than happy to take the reins and ride alongside Link. Pit held tightly onto the redhead. She got a little flustered herself.

Doxa shoved him off when they arrived. Doxa helped Ariel off the horse and Link hopped off himself with Clovis in his arms.

The Hylian led them into a cave. Once they got to a large clearing, the cave lit up with shimmering pixies. Then a beautiful woman appeared from the pond in the center of the cave.

"Hero of courage, how may I be of service?" The woman asked.

Link set Clovis in the water and looked to Pit. The angel stepped forwards. "Miss Great Fairy. My friend here is injured. All we ask for is healing." He explained.

The fairy nodded, "As you wish, sir Pit." She folded her hands together. The water began to glow as Clovis' wings began to heal.

"Magical water!" Ariel cooed. Doxa blinked, "It's just like the rewind spring, except not dangerous."

"Link brought me and a few other swordsmen to a similar fairy fountain to recharge after our battle in subspace. It's amazing." Pit sighed happily, "It reminds me of a hot spring."

"He has been healed. Come again if you ever feel wary." The fairy disappeared.

Link pulled Clovis out of the water. It took a few moments but Clovis' eyes fluttered open. He rubbed his head as he sat up.

"Oh dear. How long have I been out?" Clovis mumbled. "Roughly two weeks, give or take." Doxa shrugged. Ariel hugged him, "Oh! I'm so glad you're okay. We all are." She grinned.

Clovis blushed and awkwardly patted her back, "W-well thanks for the warm welcome." He gazed up, noticing the Hylian.

Link waved, 'The name is Link. It's a pleasure to meet you.'

Clovis smiled, "Pleasure is all mine. Thanks for healing me."

Doxa raised an eyebrow, "You seem very calm considering you've been unconscious for two weeks. We're in a different land."

"I know. I've been here before. I'm not restricted to our lands. I travel a lot. I've actually gotten the opportunity to bump into several heroes who have been brought to subspace." Clovis shrugged, "Marth, Ike, Mario. Those guys and more."

"Aren't they cool?" Pit grinned.

Clovis chuckled. "Marth is an amazing person. A great ruler too. Ike is serious but he can be a softie. His actions show it better. And Mario….he's something. The Mushroom kingdom and his whole world is really something. Light-hearted is the best way to describe it. The princesses are nice though. I love Peach's cake."

'It can be a bit overwhelming meeting people from almost a completely different world. But it's a great experience nonetheless.' Link shrugged, 'Now let's head back to the castle. We have matters to discuss.'

xXx

They reconvened in the sitting room once they made it back to the castle. Pit took the honor of explaining the situation.

"To put it simply, not including Pittoo, the four of us are known as the Four Pillars in our lands. Four different kinds of protectors, if you will." Pit stated, "Pit. The protector of the skies and heavens."

"Ariel. The protector of the seas." Ariel giggled.

"Cupid. The protector of the forests." Clovis brushed some hair out his face.

"And Doxa. Protector of man." Doxa popped her knuckles.

"We found this out when we learned the news of Hades, the god of the underworld, has emerged to reek havoc on the lands." Pit explained, "As of right now, our gods are being held prisoner by Hades and our home is being defended by one goddess and three of her commanders."

Doxa stepped forwards, "We need help to free our gods and defeat Hades."

"I mean no offense but you just said the four of you were called the four pillars, four different kinds of protectors." Zelda inquired, "Why do you need our help?"

Doxa gestured to Ariel and Clovis, "Dumb and dumber here don't know how to fight. Not at the level of Pit and I. We also need to learn how to work as a team. And, we have an entire army to fight before we even get to Hades. We need back up and extra training." She huffed.

"Hey! I know how to work with a team. I teamed up with Link, Mario, Yoshi and Kirby to fight evil before reaching Tabuu." Pit snapped, "You're the one that needs to learn teamwork."

"Excuse me?! I command an army, just like you command the centurions." Doxa scoffed, "I know what teamwork is."

'Technically, leading an army is not the same as teamwork. That's just being a good leader. Which is an admirable trait. But teamwork means you work together. You know each other's strengths and weaknesses. You aid each other when one is struggling.' Link clarified.

"Let's head to the courtyard. If you're going to train, we'll need more space." Zelda suggested.

xXx

A servant joined Nia outside, to watch her while Link and Zelda trained the angels.

"Why am I apart of this?" Pittoo questioned, "I'm just Pit's reflection."

"Because you may not be apart of the four pillars but you would be a great ally. You need to work with all of them while they work with each other." Zelda stated.

Zelda clapped her hands, "Now I wanted to point something out. The four of you seem to have a special ability. Each connected to an element. Water, Earth, Fire and Air." She hummed. "I sensed it when Doxa got angry at Pit. A good idea would be to unlock these special abilities."

'Doxa has already unlocked this ability.' Link added.

Doxa blinked, "Eh?! How? I'm just a strong fighter."

"You serve the god of war and bloodlust, correct? War can spread like fire." Zelda explained, "Any extra strength you've had has been because of this special ability. A fiery ability."

"I guess I do use fire against my opponents. I thought that was just a power that Lord Mars gifted me." Doxa rubbed the back of her neck.

'We need to train you to use your element more effectively. And the others need to unlock theirs. That's what we'll start with.' Link concluded and then pointed to Clovis, 'And we'll start with you.'

Clovis gulped and clutched his bow, "W-why me?!"

'Zelda has figured out how to unlock your special abilities. And yours will be the easiest to unlock first. It goes along with your power as a god.' Link unsheathed his sword, 'With love comes pain. A pain that can be difficult to deal with but can be overcome. All you need to do is experience a great amount of pain.'

"B-b-but I can't do offensive fighting!" Clovis panicked, "All I know is defense!"

'Then this will be easy.' Link winked, 'You need to fight me. I'm a strong fighter that deals a lot of pain.'

Ariel, Pittoo and Pit quickly got out of the way.

"Hey wait!" Doxa stepped forwards, "Don't just throw him into a fight. He should be taught to fight first!" She countered.

"His current state is the best state to unlock his special ability. Since he's so weak. It'll be over with faster." Zelda stated.

Clovis thought about it. They were right. Time was of the essence. He needed to be powerful as soon as possible.

The redheaded boy put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Let me do this. If this is the way to unlock my special ability, then I need to do it. By myself too."

Doxa looked at him with worry. "Pit told me about Link while we were traveling. He's powerful. There's a reason he's a hero of the land. You can't fight him!" She argued.

Clovis spread his wings, "No I can't. But I have to. I'm going to learn how to fight like you. So I can save and protect the people I care about." He huffed. "Now back up please. I don't want you to get hurt."

Doxa hung her head and walked back to join the other angels. She didn't pay any attention when the fight began. Clovis was very good on defense but could never land a hit on Link so he kept getting thrown back.

Pit glanced at Doxa. "I know you can be a bit of a softie. But you've only ever gotten defensive over lord Mars. What made you defend Clovis?"

Doxa sighed and gazed up at the sky, "I was left in lord Mars' care just after Clovis' birth. He came into the world as a baby so I've always felt like a big sister to him. He could never fight on his own so I naturally became defensive of him. I was the person who taught him to fight defense. Just in case I couldn't come to his aid."

"Aww that's so cute!" Ariel cooed. Doxa glared at her and the bluenette quickly shut up.

"Ariel is right though. That is cute. Angels never have siblings." Pit smiled. "It's endearing how you care for him."

Doxa blushed and looked away. A half hour later, Clovis was beginning to reach his limit. He could barely hold up his bow. Doxa wanted to step in but Zelda wouldn't let her.

Eventually, Clovis collapsed. Link was about to call it off when something happened. Small boulders began to circle around him. Clovis was lifted into the air; eyes glowing green. With a flick of his wrist, a boulder was launched at Link. This threw the Hylian across the courtyard.

Pit jumped up and down, "Yes! He did it. He did it!" He cheered.

Zelda smiled pridefully, "Excellent. Two elements down. Two to go."

Moments later, Clovis was dropped back on the ground. Zelda ran over to heal his wounds. Nia went to help her father, pulling him back to his feet.

Once the two had recovered, they gathered together again.

"I think that's enough for one day. I don't want to overwhelm any of you. Plus Pit's and Ariel's elements will be harder to awaken so some research is in order." Zelda hummed as she brushed off some dirt from Link's tunic.

'I'll help you research.' Link stretched his arms and glanced over at the angels. 'You all are free to train out here or go off and explore the kingdom. Just be back by sunset.'

"I think we might hit up the market. Ari and Doxa have never traveled before and I know the market here is nice." Pit smiled.

"That should be fun. I hope you enjoy yourselves." Zelda chuckled. "But allow me to give you a hand with your attire."

xXx

The princess was nice enough to help the angels change into different attire. They wouldn't totally blend in, since their wings were impossible to hide without a cloak. But at least with a change of clothes, the only things standing out were their wings.

A royal guard showed them to the market. Ariel was in awe, her eyes sparkling. Doxa was just as excited as her but kept it low key.

Pit and Clovis showed them around the market. Thankfully, the people were friendly and only kids questioned their wings. Ariel bounced around from station to station. But one shop in particular caught her eye. A jewelry shop. It was run by an older woman. But she seemed to recognize Pit.

"Is that you, sir Pit? I haven't seen you in quite some time." The woman smiled, "Not since you got that pretty bracelet for your guardian."

Pittoo quirked an eyebrow, "Does she mean Palutena?" He sighed.

Pit nodded, "Yes. Lady Palutena looks out for me. I believe that it's a good title."

Ariel looked around at all the pretty things around the shop. "Everything is such good quality. It's so hard to choose." She gasped.

The shopkeeper chuckled, "I pride myself in mine and my family's craftsmanship. Is there anything in particular that you're looking for?"

Clovis perked up, "I've got it! What if we each get something? Something to represent our bond." He suggested.

Ariel nodded, "That's a great idea!" She grinned. "I have a lot of jewelry as it is but I don't have a necklace yet."

"We could each get something different. It would show how we're different but also how we're connected." Clovis chuckled. Ariel pouted, "But what kind of gem do we choose?"

The older woman smiled, "I'd suggest a diamond. It reflects all the colors of the rainbow. But when you follow the rainbow, it all comes back together at one point. The diamond."

Clovis clapped his hands together. "Sounds perfect. Let's do it!"

xXx

The shopkeeper worked with the angels. Each piece of jewelry had a diamond somewhere on it.

Pittoo wore a ring on his right hand. Clovis got an anklet that he put on his left ankle. Ariel got a pretty necklace.

Doxa and Pit got matching drip-style earrings. Pit put his on the right and Doxa put hers on the left. They didn't think anything of it until they headed back to the castle.

Link escorted them to the dining hall. Zelda was the first to notice the jewelry.

"So all of you are matching huh? I like it. It shows unity." Zelda hummed, "Miss Doxa, Pit. Did you mean to get matching earrings?"

The two paused and looked at each other. Pit's face turned red. Doxa became flustered and quickly looked away.

Zelda smirked, "Matching jewelry aside, Link and I made some progress in our research." She stated.

Ariel blinked, "Wow. That was fast."

'We have some theories on how to unlock your power, Ari. But we haven't had much luck with Pit.' Link elaborated, 'We'll keep training hard over the next week. At one point, we'll need to contact the other fighters. I'll worry about that. You focus on your training.'

Doxa sighed, "I hope everyone is alright. I hate being so far away from home."

"Hey, don't be sad. Our gods may be captured but they aren't weak. They wouldn't surrender to Hades so easily." Pit assured.

xXx

"Cages. Of course he locked us in cages." Mars sighed as he tapped the blade of his battle axe against the bars.

Mars and Aphrodite were locked in one cage. Palutena and Posideon were locked in two separate cages.

"I hope the angels are alright. Everything happened so fast." Mars muttered. Aphrodite gulped, "Oh my sweet boy. He was nearly burnt to a crisp."

"Don't worry. Pit took him to a place to be healed. He'll be alright." Palutena smiled.

Mars groaned, "In any case, hey Posideon. You know of a way out of here? Aren't you and Hades brothers?"

Posideon rolled his eyes, "Us being brothers means nothing. Hades is clever. He can outsmart anyone if he tries. And since we're all gods, we're pretty evenly matched. We'd need outside help to overpower him."

Palutena sighed, "I still don't understand why or how he became so strong. I knew he was going to recover his strength eventually but . . . he seems stronger. I'm not crazy, right?"

Mars snorted, "Please. You're the last person to be seen as crazy. We may bicker but I trust your judgment." He smirked and glanced around. "Hades is getting power from somewhere. He's definitely hiding something."

"While we're stuck in literal hell, we should try and figure something out. My brother may be clever but not everyone can cover their tracks so easily." Posideon suggested.

Aphrodite glanced to Mars, "I'll try and get into contact with Filikos. Perhaps he can be used as a link between worlds." She nodded curtly.

Palutena snickered softly, "Heh. A link between worlds."

Mars quirked an eyebrow, "Why are you laughing?" He huffed. Palutena hummed, "Oh nothing." She winked.

Oh my god. A new chapter after over a year? That has to be a record for me.

In any case, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and the others to come. My ADHD has allowed me to fixate on this story. And I've got some ideas too.

Keep an eye out for them.

Until next time, my fellow nerds, remember that floor ice cream gives you health!

~Lady Churro