Pit emerged from the portal looking a bit worse for wear after having to carry both the Ylissean Prince Chrom and the legendary Monster Hunter Richter Belmont.
"Whew, that was a close one!" gasped the angel. "Who thought something like this would happen?"
"I'm just glad we were able to make it out in one piece!" said Chrom, stretching. Hanging from an angel's legs was not the same as riding a Pegasus.
"What could that strange ball of light have been, though? It's unlike anything I've ever seen before, and I've been witness of most of what hell has to offer!" wondered Richter.
"Wait. Do you guys think anyone else got away?" Pit asked.
The Angel tried to make a telepathic connection to Palutena, but was unable to reach her. That meant either she was busy, or she had been captured. The thought filled Pit with dread.
Similar thoughts were going through the heads of Chrom and Richter. They were both worried about Lucina and Simon, respectively.
"Do you think we're the only ones who made it?" Chrom asked.
"We can't be. If we made it out, surely others did as well!" replied Richter. He didn't feel too confident in his answer, however. Truth be told, this was too outside of his wheelhouse to be confident of anything.
"Yeah!" said Pit, enthusiastically. Having Chrom and Richter with him filled him with hope regarding the others' fates. There was no doubt in his mind that both Lady Palutena and even Pitoo were safe.
"Of course. And if they didn't, then it'll be our job to avenge them!" added Chrom, which immediately put a downer in the others' moods.
Pit shook off the pessimism quickly, however. "Anyways, where the heck even are we?" he wondered, looking around.
All any of them saw were grassy fields and a few other small plants as far as the eye could see.
"We appear to be in some kind of field. But I can't say where exactly this field is. Or which way we should go from here." Chrom stated.
"Oh! I know! I know! We should go that way!" said Pit, enthusiastically, pointing at some mountains in the distance.
Both Chrom and Richter looked at him quizzingly. "Why do you think that that's the direction to go?" asked the latter.
Pit simply shrugged. "Because it's a good a place as any, I guess"
"Riiiight." Chrom commented.
"I suppose we have no other ideas. Plus, surely we will discover something in the mountains. We all know there are a few among the Brotherhood who enjoyed spending their time there. It would make sense for them to retreat there in a time of crisis." Richter stated.
Chrom thought for a moment before looking toward the mountains.
"I suppose that makes sense. Very well, mountains it is."
With that, the trio set out for the snowy mountains of the north.
They traveled together for several miles. By now, the sun was beginning to set and the trio was starting to get very tired.
"Pit, how far do you expect us to go before resting? We will not be of much use if we exhaust all our energy." Richter stated.
"I just want to keep going until we find something of interest." Pit replied.
"And what might that be?" Chrom asked.
"Beats me. I don't know where we're going."
Pit's statement made Chrom and Richter stop in their tracks.
"Wait" said Richter, baffled. "You mean we're just going off in a random direction?"
"Yeah!" said Pit, completely confident in his answer.
"PIT! We need to know where to go!" said Richter. "It can't be the first place that comes to mind!"
"Why not?" said Pit, shrugging. "We don't know where to go either way"
"Because" said Chrom, chiming in. "We need to consider all of our options before heading anywhere! Now, where can we go?"
"Well, there's nothing but plain valleys to the east, a forest in the distance to the west and the mountain range to the north" noted Richter. "Wait. I think I see some lights up in the mountains."
"And there's some near the forest as well" said Chrom. "Where do we go, then?"
"What about this door?" asked Pit with a curious tone, pointing to a door that stood behind them. It was black and filled with strange imagery, depicting creatures in battle.
"Wha-" asked Chrom, taken aback. "This isn't suspicious at all."
"This design!" exclaimed Richter, ignoring Chrom's comment and approaching the door slowly. "It... it looks like it belongs to a church! It appearing here must be His doing! Although... the imagery is rather different from what I'm used to."
"Well, as long as it leads to something." Pit replied.
Without any hesitation, Pit opened the door. The inside looked like some kind of tavern. There were tables and stools everywhere, and an open bar on the far end. The walls were all bleak grey in color. The only bit of color that could be seen was the neon blue lights behind the bar, illuminating several bottles of alcohol.
"Hey! You guys gonna just stand there and let all the air out?"
The three warriors turned and saw the barkeeper glaring at them.
He was a dark-skinned man dressed in a black coat and shirt and beige pants. He had a pair of shades covering his eyes and several intricate tatoos on his face. He had an amused look on his face.
"Sorry" said Pit with an apologetic smile. "I'll come in." He motioned to enter.
The other two were more aprehensive. "Wait, Pit!" said Chrom. He felt very wary of a stranger whose door stood in an open field. "What is this place? How did a door appear out of nowhere?" he asked with suspicion in his eyes. "It doesn't seem very trustworthy."
"I agree" whispered Richter. "Although, the design and magic indicates the presence of a powerful being. One we don't want to be on the wrong side of." The two could tell that the stranger was getting impatient, so they hurried along inside, closing the door behind them.
"Well, if it ain't the lost angel, the exalt and the monster hunter" said the man behind the counter. "Welcome to The Gates of Hell"
"What?" panicked Pit at the name.
"The Gates of Hell?! What kind of place have you brought us to, monster?" immediately jumped Richter. Chrom pulled out his sword, readying for a fight.
"Relax, hotshots" said the stranger. "That's just the name of my establishment here."
"I see." Chrom stated, lowering his weapon. Richter and Pit kept their guards up however.
"Is there something I can get for you three?" The bartender asked.
"Right now, we just want some information. We were recently involved in...an attack. Many of our allies were either captured or ran away. We were wondering if you saw anything that could lead us to some of them." Chrom requested.
"I...may have seen something like that. But info like that ain't cheap." The bartender responded.
"How much do you want?" Chrom asked.
"My price for this ain't money."
Chrom instantly became even more wary of the man. One thing he'd learned is not to take deals from shady people without at least giving it some thought first. Problem was, he always had Robin to run things by first, and he had the feeling that Pit and Richter weren't adequate replacements. "What is it, then?" said Chrom, finally. "What do you want us to do for that information?"
The man, relaxed as ever, explained: "You see, I've had some problems of my own. Some of the forces of Paradiso have been stirrin' some trouble round here, and the one that usually takes care of that isn't answerin' me."
"Wait- Paradiso? As in Heaven?" balked Richter.
"Seems like somebody knows his stuff" said the man, smiling shrewdly. "Yes. The soldiers of Heaven are attacking, and I want you three to take care of it for me. In exchange, I'll tell you what you need."
"Can't you just take care of them yourself? What do you need us for?" asked Chrom, irked at the man's attitude. He instantly regretted it, as he saw that the man did not appreciate the response. His big mouth might've gotten him in trouble again...
"I don't need you. I'm simply makin' you a deal. Are you in or not?"
"Could I have a second? I want to ask my friends what they think of this before giving you a definitive answer."
"Sure. I'll be waitin' right here."
The three sat at a small table on the far end of the bar and made quiet conversation among themselves.
"Do you think we can trust this man?" Chrom asked.
"I'm not certain. On the one hand, we do need all the information we can get. And he does seem to have the information. But on the other, I cannot fathom how heavenly soldiers could be a problem, unless this man was demonic in nature. His bar is called 'The Gates of Hell', after all." Richter argued.
"I don't know. Angels can be problems too. Just ask Pittoo. He can be a real handful sometimes. Plus, like you said, we need help, and he is offering it. We just need to do a quick chore first." Pit replied.
"I still don't like it. " said Richter. "But... there's something about this man. I've met demonic creatures in the past, and he strikes me as something... different, and yet still incredibly powerful. More than we could likely take on if he decided to turn on us."
"I'm guessing staying in his good graces is important, then." noted Chrom. Richter nodded.
"Relax, guys. Like I said, it should be quick and easy." said Pit with a smile.
"I hope so." said Chrom.
"And I hope God can forgive us for this."
The three of them walked over and faced the bar owner. "We'll do it." said Chrom. "When do we start?"
"Right now. Those creatures out there are relentless, and the longer you take the more havoc they wreak." said the man non-chalantly.