Well, this one took longer than I expected. In fact, it took me a whole day to write it!
But anyways, enjoy! ;)
Chapter 2: Magnus and the Dark Lord
[BGM: Alcamoth, Imperial Capital – Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition]
"Well, that sure was some start." Shulk remarked, as the group were sitting on the living room of Palutena's Temple.
"No kidding there." Trifle agreed.
"This adventure is definitely going to turn out extremely different than the previous ones we had in Mario's world." Eleven stated, as his comrades nodded in agreement.
"Oh, so you guys already had adventures in the Mushroom World?" Pit asked.
"Yeah, four different adventures in fact." Jewel replied.
"Huh, interesting…"
Then, Palutena came in. "As I thought, you people really were capable fighters out there." she said to the group. "You even helped Pit defeat Twinbellows, albeit with a bit of difficulty."
"True, but at least we managed to." Melia nodded. "So, any word on where to next?"
"Well, yes… but I do have a little surprise for you."
"Really? What is it?" Zelda asked.
"While you were all resting here, I requested the Centurions to design some new weapons for you and then I put on the finishing touches."
The group stood up nigh immediately upon hearing that. "You actually made us new weapons?" Eight asked in surprise.
"Yep!" Palutena nodded. "I mean, you guys were having trouble with some Underworld troops back in that town, correct?"
"You're not wrong about that. In fact, they did seem a bit stronger than Bowser's minions." Solo admitted.
Palutena chuckled. "Well, unlike Bowser's troops, the Underworld troops are able to think and plan ahead. But anyways, would you like to see your new weapons?"
"You bet!" Arusu smirked.
[BGM: Solo Menu – Kid Icarus Uprising]
Palutena then led everyone to the Arms Altar, where they could see nine different weapons on a shelf. "Introducing… The Roto Blade, the Angel Staff, the Diamond Claws, the Goddess Bow, the Dragon Palm, the Yggdrasil Club, the REX Cannon, the Telethia Orbitars, and the Grandrite Arm!"
"Whoa… You actually made all of the nine different weapons for each of them, Lady Palutena?" Pit asked.
"We've got to have all the variety, don't we?" Palutena winked at him, while the group was looking at the weapons in awe.
"Wow…" Shulk breathed.
"I'll be giving each of the weapons to you one at a time so I can explain how they work." Palutena said. "Starting off with you, Trifle." Trifle then stepped forward and Palutena tossed him the Grandrite Arm, which was shaped like the Crusher Arm, but was aqua-green in color with a crystallized texture, matching Trifle's Grandrite Stone that he uses to change his staff to its sword form.
"Ohoho! Now this looks neat!" Trifle grinned, immediately putting it on his left arm.
"Arms possess powerful melee damage and projectile attacks, only that the former is executed rather slow, while the latter doesn't have a lot of range and travels slowly." Palutena explained.
"Oh, that's fine. At least I now have a way to attack from a distance!"
"If you say so. Anyways, this Arm's shots are razor-sharp blade beams and its charged shot sends out a singular large blade beam, but it takes a little bit of time to charge compared to most other Arms. Try using it along with your own weapon when it comes to melee attacks, and you'll be a force to be reckoned with."
"Awesome." Trifle smirked. "Thanks a lot, Palutena!"
"You're welcome." Palutena smiled. "Moving on… You're next, Jewel."
"Sweet!" Jewel took a step forward as Palutena tossed her the Diamond Claws. They looked just like the Beam Claws, except that their bottoms were colored gold with a few colorful gemstones attached to it while the twin blades were diamonds.
"Claws increase physical damage and the user's speed at the cost of short-ranged shots and poor homing. The Diamond Claws' shots are all different sorts of gemstones, and a charged shot will send out a large diamond that plows through enemies. They also have a strong forward-dash attack, but a weak backward-dash attack."
"It's okay, I can just use my gemstones to compensate for that." Jewel said. "But what matters is that I finally have a close-range weapon for once! So thank you, Palutena!"
Palutena next takes the Goddess Bow. "This one is for Zelda." she tosses her the weapon, as it was shaped just like the Goddess Hylia's crest and colored a crystalline lavender. "Bows can fire out arrows made out of light that easily home in on enemies and travel fast, only that its melee damage is a bit lackluster. However, the Goddess Bow is an exception, as its melee damage is a bit stronger than other Bows. The arrows shot out are the Light Arrows themselves, and a charged shot will fire out a Silver Arrow instead. Use it wisely."
"I will." Zelda nodded. "The other Zelda taught me a little about archery, so it's time I make her proud!"
Palutena couldn't help but giggle at that, before moving on. "Shulk is up next." she tossed him the REX Cannon, as it was shaped like the EZ Cannon and was colored red, gold and gray; the same colors of the Monado Replica EX from Future Connected. Shulk instantly put it into his left arm as Palutena began to explain about it, "Cannons fire out explosive shots with a large area of effect, making it efficient in clearing out groups of airborne enemies, but its melee attacks are fairly weak."
"Not a problem. I can just use the Monado for that." Shulk said.
"Oh, of course. Anyway, the REX Cannon fires out shells made out of scrap metal that detonate instantly against a surface or enemy, and its charged shot fires out a blue energy beam, only that it travels quite slowly. But if it hits an enemy, the damage it deals is incredible, so it's a high-risk, high-reward sort of attack."
"I see… Thanks."
"Now, for the Telethia Orbitars to Empress Melia." Palutena said as the Orbitars floated over to Melia. They were basically a pair of miniature Telethia that just simply float near on either side of her head. "Orbitars are very efficient in shooting, as they come in pairs and so can fire two shots at once in addition of having strong homing capabilities, but they lack in physical damage. The Telethia Orbitars' shot damage affects the type of element you are currently summoning and they gain unique properties as a result. For example, flare does extra damage, bolt makes the shots travel faster, ice reduces enemies' defense, and so forth."
Melia looked over at the Orbitars, as her eyes widened a bit before closing them. "Brother…" she whispered quietly, flashbacking to when her brother was transformed into a Telethia and sacrificed himself right in front of her eyes, causing her to stiffen for a split second but relaxed. "Uh, I mean… Thank you." she said to Palutena.
"Okay…" Palutena blinked. "Now it's finally time for the Loyal Bodyguards to receive theirs. Eleven, you're up first." she tossed him the Yggdrasil Club, as the handle consisted of entangled tree branches that would go up to form a miniature replica of the World Tree itself for the battering part of the club. It was also smaller than all the other Club weapons, and so Eleven was able to hold it with only one hand (think of the downsized Ore Club item in Smash Bros).
"Are you sure you're able to hold it with only one hand, Eleven?" Solo asked. "Doesn't it feel heavy at all?"
"No, actually." Eleven replied, looking at the Yggdrasil Club on his left hand. "In fact, it feels a little bit lighter than my greatsword weapon." right after saying that, he stood quiet in order to hear Palutena's explanation of it:
"Clubs are extremely powerful, as they can fire out charged shots that can pass through walls, perform strong melee attacks, and deflect projectiles. However, they possess no continuous fire altogether and have a limited melee combo. The Yggdrasil Club's shots consist of beams of light that travel at a decently good range, and they can be made even more powerful if you use your Luminary powers."
"Oh, interesting!" Eleven exclaimed. "Thank you, Palutena!"
"Next up, Arusu." Palutena tossed him the Roto Blade, as it was just his Sword of Light stylized into the Kid Icarus Uprising blade design, that with the gun-like appearance. "Blades are the most balanced of all the weapons, having no defined strengths or weaknesses whatsoever. The Roto Blade's melee attacks, dash attacks and charged shots, especially side-dash ones, are very strong, but its continuous shots don't deal much damage compared to other Blades. But despite that, who wouldn't want to have a second blade for dual-wielding?" she winked at the last sentence.
"Heh, I've always wanted to dual-wield!" Arusu grinned. "Now Eight won't be the only one!"
"I can also dual-wield too." Eleven spoke up. "I just rarely do it."
With only two weapons remaining, Palutena went for the Staff. "Now, for Solo." she tossed him the Angel Staff, as it looked like the Insight Staff but with sharper and more jagged protrusions and was colored in green, gold, blue, white and red; the main colors of the Zenithian Equipment. "Staves are designed for shooting at very long distances, or in other words, sniping. As for their drawbacks, they're near useless for close-range combat, as their melee attacks are extremely weak, and not to mention that their shots hardly home in on enemies, requiring the wielder to aim well. To slightly compensate for the latter, the Angel Staff has great shot cancellation and strong continuous fire."
"Thank you." Solo smiled.
"And now for Eight's weapon." Palutena tossed the Dragon Palm to Eight, as he caught it in his left hand. At first, the Dragon Palm appeared to be just a black orb depicting a fiery Dragovian symbol in it, while red flaming dragon scales were orbiting it.
"Oh, um… How does this one work?" Eight wondered… and then the Palm suddenly absorbed itself into his skin. "Ahh! It went inside me!" he shrieked. The fiery Dragovian symbol has now become a tattoo on the palm of Eight's left hand, and the flaming dragon scales were now circling around his arm in a spiral formation.
"It's okay, it's supposed to do that." Palutena assured. "Now, Palms act very differently from the other weapons since they're not physical weapons at all, as they instead let you shoot bullets from the palm of your hand… while they feed off your life force."
"WAIT, WHAT!?" the Loyal Bodyguards yelled, while the others except Pit had looks of horror.
"Y-you mean… My life will be shortened every time I use this?!" Eight questioned.
Palutena laughed. "No, no, no! Nothing like that! Like I would let that happen."
"You know, Lady Palutena said the exact same thing to me once and I reacted the same as you… and when she revealed that she was joking, I complained…LOUDLY." Pit grumbled.
Palutena giggled in response. "Well, anyways, there's nothing for you to worry about." she addressed the group as they all sighed in relief, with Eight's sigh being more emphasized than the others. "Okay, where was I…? Oh, yes. Palms have a very high shot rate while also being capable of homing in on enemies very efficiently, but they lack in melee attack power and the range of their shots aren't that good either. The Dragon Palm's shots are basically dragon scales on fire that have a high chance of inflicting the burn ailment on enemies, and every one of its dash charged shots are able to blast away projectiles."
"That sounds cool! Thanks!" Eight thanked.
"Well, that's all the weapons, everyone! Ready to go test them out?"
"You bet we are!" Trifle smirked.
"There's a Practice Range right over there." Palutena directed to it. "Return to me and Pit once you're ready to depart."
The group nodded and took off to the Practice Range, ready to test out their new amazing weapons.
[BGM End]
Later…
"Alright, you all ready?" Palutena asked once everyone made it back.
"We're ready!" Trifle nodded, along with the others. With that, Palutena made the Magic Wings appear on the group's backs before opening the gate.
"And we're off!" Pit exclaimed as he and the group took off… only to be met with a stormy weather outside.
[BGM: Magnus and the Dark Lord – Kid Icarus Uprising]
"Ugh. This weather's nasty!" Arusu complained as they all opened fire on a group of Monoeyes.
"Yes, but your next mission can't wait." Palutena said. "You must defeat Dark Lord Gaol."
Pit scoffed at that. "Heh. 'Dark Lord'? Seriously? Hasn't the dark-lord thing been done to death already?"
"To be fair, the title 'dark lord' is a little overused…" Solo pointed out, as they were flying through and around the thunderstorms ahead while shooting down Monoeyes and some Syrens.
"He's earned it. He's working for Medusa. Her forces are coming from HIS castle." Palutena informed. "A human army has gone to fight him, but they don't stand a chance."
"So, what you're saying is we need brave heroes to face the dark lord?" Eleven guessed, before swinging his club to deflect the Miks' plasma projectiles back at them to defeat them. "Man, I love this new weapon." he thought with a smirk.
"I suppose it IS an old story. But don't forget this is the Underworld Army we're dealing with. And anybody with the title 'dark lord' won't be some low-level minion."
"So what are we talking here? Miniboss? …Final boss?" Pit asked.
"Miniboss, obviously!" Jewel replied, slashing at a pair of Ganewmedes in front of her. "Medusa would be the final boss!"
"Well, whatever. I hope this dark lord's hungry for a hot plate of punishment!"
Everyone continued to fly through the turbulent and stormy sky while shooting down more Syrens, Monoeyes and Miks that came into view… until a lightning bolt nearly struck them.
"AUGH!" everyone yelled.
"That came out of nowhere!" Arusu exclaimed, and then they found themselves having to dodge more lightning bolts.
"Is this lightning coming from the Underworld Army?" Pit asked.
"Uh… Where else would it be coming from?" Melia questioned, shooting Pit a deadpan look.
"Oh, sorry… I guess that was pretty obvious." Pit replied nervously, firing shots at some Wave Anglers.
"If you don't watch out, we'll be having barbecued angel and humans tonight." Palutena said. "And though spicy angel wings sound tasty, I'd best get you all out of there." she at times just couldn't help but make some kind of food-based joke.
"Plus…chicken is much more economiCAAAAAAAL!" Pit shouted at the last sentence as Palutena made him and the others fly down hard through a massive funnel cloud. "Ahhhh! Much better!"
"Not too much for us…!" Shulk grimaced, he and the others struggling once again with the G-force.
"You still have to watch out for fire from Underworld troops." Palutena advised. "Let's get you headed toward land."
As they were all flying down towards the surface, Pit turned around and aimed at a trio of Shrips to shoot them down. He then turned around to spot a group of Monoeyes, Gyrazers and Syrens in front of him and the group, so he quickly fired a rain of arrows down at them to destroy them instantly.
Eventually, they all made it to the surface, flying over a foreboding canyon surrounded by jagged and pointed rocks. Once the group recovered from the G-force, they proceeded to help out Pit again and shoot down the Monoeyes and Wave Anglers ahead.
"How in the world would the human army make it across these mountains by foot?" Pit pondered, looking around all the dangerous terrain of the canyon.
"Do I detect a note of smugness in your voice?" Palutena teased.
"Uh… No, no, no! I'm just really happy I can fly." Pit waved his arms dismissively.
"…Pit, we all know you're dismissing it." Trifle rolled his eyes playfully, before opening fire at a pair of Gyrazers.
"Angels shouldn't gloat, Pit." Palutena chided.
Pit slightly blushed. "What I meant to say is that I'm eternally grateful for your help."
They all continued to navigate through the canyon, passing over several tainted rivers and waterfalls and flying through a massive archway, until they reached a small ravine. "Let's make our way underground." Palutena said as she steered them down into the ravine, as it was shown to be pretty dark and dim inside. "It's not the most cheerful place, is it?"
"The Underworld baddies seem to like it." Zelda said, shooting down a few Octos.
"I suppose it makes sense they'd feel at home underground."
"It'd be like living in a basement." Pit shuddered a bit, taking out a group of Miks as he and the others continued to fly around the cavern, but then they came to a sudden stop.
"Why did we stop?" Eight asked, as they were soon being confronted by more Monoeyes, Gyrazers and a few Porcuspines standing along the twisted structures within.
"Oh, I thought you might want to take in the sights. And destroy some monsters." Palutena replied.
As Melia easily took out the Monoeyes with shots from her orbitars while Shulk fired explosive shots from his cannon to destroy the Gyrazers, the Porcuspines fired their spikes at the rest of the gang, but they barrel-rolled away from them and retaliated by firing charged shots at the Porcuspines, killing them instantly.
With that taken care of, the group finally flew out of the cavern and going along another ravine. All seemed quiet for a few moments… until Palutena shouted:
"Everyone, behind you!"
They turned around… and were greeted by a massive angry Belunka chasing after them.
"HOLY MOLY!" Trifle yelled. "What the HELL is this?!"
"A Belunka!"
"Let me at 'em!" Pit got ready for combat as he proceeded to immediately shoot the Belunka repeatedly, while it spawned a few Monoeyes and Miks to help out.
"I'll control your flight path so you don't run into anything." Palutena told them. "Just focus on shooting and dodging."
"Got it!" the others nodded as some of them helped Pit out in shooting the Belunka down, while the rest dealt with the enemy reinforcements it spawned out. Then, once the Belunka was finally defeated, the gang found themselves reaching the end of the pass as Palutena announced:
"Dark Lord Gaol's castle is up ahead."
"But…but what about that wall?!" Pit asked hesitantly, as they were indeed facing a tall wall right in front of them.
"Don't worry. I'll help you all over."
"…I'm having a feeling that I know what's going to happen…" Trifle muttered as his friends had the same reaction… and it was at this moment that everyone felt a familiar boost in speed.
"Wh…Whoooooooooooooooaaaaaaa!" Pit screamed as he and the group were flying along the wall at a very high speed, feeling as if their faces were going to peel off. "G-force… in…my…FAAAAAAAAAACE!"
"It's fun, right?"
"NO IT'S NOOOOOOOOOOOOT!" Trifle screamed.
Eventually, everyone made it over and the speed boost stopped. "Yeah! Take that, wall!" Pit cheered, feeling perfectly fine despite that happening… while the others weren't feeling so hot as they were groaning.
"Uuuugh…" Eleven groaned. "I think I'm going to be sick…"
"Ugh… no more of this, please…" Eight groaned.
"How is Pit perfectly fine after that…?" Solo groaned, massaging his temple.
"You guys okay?" Pit asked in concern.
"W-We'll live…" Melia groaned as they soon recovered from all of that G-force for the third time, and then Pit suddenly gasped upon looking down.
"Look!" he pointed down as the group followed, and their eyes widened when they saw the human army trying to fight back against the Underworld monsters in the middle of an open wasteland lit up by the massive full moon. The area was also lithered with fires producing large clouds of smoke, and many flying enemies can be seen attacking the group troops below.
"It's the human army!" Zelda said as they flew right above them.
"The people will never defeat Gaol with the Underworld forces in their way." Palutena said with a hint of despair.
"The humans are taking a beating! They need our help!" Pit hollered.
"Normally I'd agree with you, but…"
"What is it?!"
"Do you all remember how long the Magic Wings and the power of flight lasts?"
"Five…minutes?"
"And remember what happens when it runs out?"
"My wings…burn up?"
"And our Magic Wings…will disappear?" Shulk added, paling up just like Pit.
"We don't have time to assist the people. We have to go straight for Gaol." as Palutena said that, the group could already see Gaol's ghastly castle down below as they flew around it. "I'll take you all into the castle. From there, it's up to you to face the dark lord. His defeat will force the Underworld Army into retreat."
"Roger! Get ready for a display of raw angel and human power!" Pit exclaimed.
"Yeah!" everyone else cheered as they all flew into the castle.
[BGM: Dark Lord Gaol's Castle – Kid Icarus Uprising]
They soon landed on the castle's balcony and the group's Magic Wings disappeared from their backs. "So this is the dark lord's castle." Eleven said, observing the gothic appearance of the castle.
"Yes, he must've scrambled to build it after Medusa's resurrection." Palutena said. "He's using this castle as a stronghold for Underworld monsters. Monsters designed to wreak havoc and sow sadness. Are you excited?"
"Yeah. It's like a birthday party where everyone wants to kill me." Pit grumbled.
"I'm sure it won't be that bad… hopefully." Zelda spoke firmly as they walked into the castle, where Palutena instructed:
"Make your way to the great hall down on the first floor."
"Okay!" Trifle nodded as he hit a switch to open the door, where he immediately slashed through a Monoeye standing on the other side before everyone jumped down the hole on the floor to reach the castle's grand hall. It was quite an extravagant sight, with a long burgundy carpet trailing down from the entrance door to the center of the room, and twin curved stairways trailed to the room's upper part.
"Hmm… For a dark lord, he sure has quite a grand-looking castle." Solo mused, looking around the room before using his staff to snipe the faraway Skuttler Cannoneers standing in front of the curved stairways while Pit shot arrows at the two Skuttlers that were standing on the stairways.
"Eh, it looks just like any ordinary evil-looking castle we've ventured through in our universe." Arusu said, with Eleven and Eight nodding in agreement.
"…Yeah, true." Solo replied.
"Sounds like you guys have been through a lot back in your universe, then." Shulk noted.
"More than you can ever imagine." Eight said as everyone went up the stairs and Pit hit the switches while having to avoid a Monolith on the way, unlocking the door… but it also made a Ganewmede appear in front of it.
"The door's unlocked now. The enemy with the big skull guarding the door is a Ganewmede. They'll attack when fired at, but they don't do much at all if you don't shoot them." Palutena explained.
With that, the gang rushed over to the Ganewmede and Trifle, Jewel and Eleven made quick work to attack it with melee blows, easily defeating it.
"The way is now clear!" Jewel winked and then everyone went through the door, and through another one to reach the next room; the top level of the interior garden.
"Hold on. Pit, I'm sensing treasure somewhere to your left." Palutena said.
"How do you know that?" Pit asked.
"From the heavens, I can see through your laurel crown to divine your surroundings."
"Really? That's amazing!" Pit exclaimed, as they all went to the left path while taking out some more Skuttlers.
"And that's not all I can see, Pit. I can also see what's in your heart."
Pit went silent for a moment as he and the others arrived at a room containing a single treasure chest, before replying with a blush, "Oh… Heh heh… That's really…something."
"So you'd better not be thinking about anything…naughty."
"What?!" Pit flinched, while the others looked flabbergasted by this. "How did you-?!"
Palutena chuckled. "Just kidding. Seriously, reading hearts through laurel crowns?"
"I know… I was…also kidding."
"Suuuure you were…" Melia rolled her eyes, causing Pit to chuckle nervously.
They then opened the treasure chest to get its goodies, but that also caused the Skuttler statues to come to life and begin attacking the gang. They quickly defeated all the Skuttlers and ran further down the room to find two more treasure chests, and after they nabbed more items from them, they ran back only to come upon a Specknose inhabiting the room. The Specknose proceeded to launch bombs at them, but Eight did a backward-dash charged shot to blast the bombs back at the Specknose while also managing to set it on fire with the Burn status ailment, and then he slashed through it to finish it off.
"I can definitely see us getting used to these new weapons!" he smirked and then they made it back to the interior garden, but this time they crossed the bridge to get to the other side and turned left, where Arusu charged for the jar spawning out Shemums to destroy it by slashing it repeatedly with his dual-wielding, while Zelda split her bow into twin blades like Pit does to slash the spawned Shemums before firing a Silver Arrow at a Commyloose at the entrance of a corridor. After its defeat, everyone pressed onwards and down into the corridor.
"You're heading to the lower level of the interior garden." Palutena informed as the gang rushed down the stairs while taking out more enemies on the way.
[BGM End]
As soon as they arrived at the very bottom, the gang exited to the interior garden… where they were met with the most astonishing sight in front of them: a muscular man was swinging around a large club that was as thick as it was sharp, pummeling a group of Skuttlers and Shemums by himself with almost little effort.
"Look at that!" Pit said.
"How did a human make it into the castle?" Palutena wondered.
"Your guess is as good as ours!" Eight exclaimed.
Once the man finished fighting off the monsters, he turned around to immediately face the gang as if he could somehow already sense their presence here. "Well, I didn't expect to see an angel with a couple of humans here. Hope this doesn't mean I've kicked the bucket." he said… but then more Underworld troops appeared, forcing the man to clobber them again.
[BGM: Magnus's Theme – Kid Icarus Uprising]
"I think you should help him." Palutena suggested, but the gang just stood there and watched in amazement as the man was easily taking down the monsters with just a club.
"Incredible… He's taking on the Underworld Army himself…and surviving!" Zelda exclaimed.
"Are you sure this guy is really a human?" Pit questioned.
"Absolutely."
"You guys having a private conversation with yourselves?" the man asked once he was done defeating all the enemies.
"Oh… I guess he can't hear Palutena's telepathic calls." Shulk said as everyone snapped out of their awed trance.
"Sorry about that." Pit apologized, finally striking a conversation with the man. "I'm Pit, servant of the goddess Palutena." he then gestured over to each of his friends. "And these are my friends, Trifle, Jewel, Zelda, Shulk, Melia, Eleven, Arusu, Solo, and Eight. They're not exactly servants of Lady Palutena since they were unintentionally dragged into our war with Medusa."
"I wouldn't say unintentionally dragged… I'd say formally invited!" Palutena said proudly, causing said group to sweatdrop.
"Very funny…" Arusu muttered.
"Anyways…" Pit quickly changed the subject. "We're here to defeat Dark Lord Gaol."
The man grinned. "So you're all here for a slice of the pie too?"
"Huh? Pie? Where?" Pit questioned, having misunderstood the man's statement.
Trifle facepalmed. "Not that kind of pie, dummy…"
"Oh, uh…" Pit's eyes widened in realization before correcting himself for the man, "No, I mean… We're here to defend the humans from the brutality of the Underworld Army."
"Sure, sure, you're the angel here while dragging in your human friends here. But me, I'm in it for the reward money." the man smirked. "Since we all want to take down Gaol, how about we work together?"
"I don't know about that…" Melia replied hesitantly, due to everyone knowing nothing about this man despite him being against the Underworld Army and were unsure whether to trust him.
"What have you got to lose? It'll be easier on all of us."
"Lady Palutena…what do you think?" Pit asked.
"He makes a compelling argument." Palutena answered.
"You know, she has a point." Solo stated. "We could sure use some help from him."
Pit nodded in response. "All right, then. Resuming mission Dark-Lord Suppression!"
"I'm Magnus, by the way. Pleased to meet you." the man, finally introducing himself as Magnus, said. "Don't hit me, and we'll get along just fine."
"Like we would ever do that to you!" Jewel giggled as they all began to make their way to the lower level of the castle by jumping down another hole on the floor, reaching an underground cave area.
"I'll follow your lead from here. I've got your backs." Magnus assured, and right on cue, a horde of Miks, Wave Anglers, Corals, Shildeens, and Fire Wyrms showed up as they all proceeded to dispatch them, with the gang marveling at Magnus's incredible strength.
"Magnus sure is strong." Eight noted.
"Yes, especially for a human." Palutena agreed.
"He must really want that reward." Shulk said.
"He may not be made of the sturdiest moral fiber, but that's fine with me."
"I'm surprised you feel that way." Trifle threw in.
"Humans are driven by desire. It's convenient to know what bait they'll chase."
"That is so true…" Zelda thought, albeit looking a bit saddened as she remembered that in her version of Hyrule, a war happened just because the people was desperate to reach out for the Triforce, aka, humans being driven by desire.
"That's kinda cold, but it makes sense. I guess." Pit replied with a shrug, not used to hearing Palutena talk about humans that way.
Magnus, perplexed by the conversation, caught the gang's attention by interfering, "Hey, if you're chatting with your precious goddess, give her a message for me."
"What kind of message?" Eleven asked.
"Tell her she's been sleeping on the job! My world is on the edge of collapse!"
Palutena immediately deadpanned by this. "I take it back. This guy's a jerk."
"O…K…" Eleven trailed off, as everyone made it into a room where they had to fight against an army of Skuttlers, Skuttler Cannoneers and Handoras.
After that, they got into an elevator that went up, and once they got out of it and went through a door on the right… they came upon something that made Pit's eyes sparkle with glee.
"Wait, is this…? Ha! It is! A hot spring!" he beamed as he immediately dived in it, much to the others' surprise.
"Apparently, someone likes his spa time." Magnus remarked.
"Ahhh… Now that's what I'm talking about!" Pit sighed as the spring's healing properties went to work on his wounds while the others just stood outside watching.
"You go in fully dressed? Don't you at least want to change into a…swimming tunic or something?"
"Oh, no no no! The angel's code of conduct says that we must always be ready for duty."
"I guess you wouldn't be an angel if you didn't do things by the book."
"Yeah…and I don't want to steam the sacred buns." Pit finished, making the entire group cringe a bit by this, as they clearly understood the squick delivered from what Pit just said there.
"We're done talking about this." Magnus muttered as they all exited the hot spring room and went straight ahead, where they found a treasure chest lying out in the open.
"Yeah! A treasure box!" Pit exclaimed as he ran towards it.
"That's clearly a trap." Magnus stated. "Think about it. Who would leave treasure just lying around outside?"
"Honestly, I'm with Magnus on that one." Melia agreed.
"Oh, you all worry too much!" Pit dismissed. "It's clearly something cool!" he opened the chest anyways… aaaand that caused a purple barrier to appear along with a Specknose, a Belunka, some more Miks, and Skuttlers.
"What is wrong with you?!" Magnus questioned annoyed.
"If there's a treasure box, I open it! I can't help it!" Pit protested, with no one noticing the Loyal Bodyguards looking… a bit nervous after hearing Pit's protest.
"We can relate to that…" the four thought as they nervously exchanged glances, flashbacking to their many ambush encounters with fake treasure chests that happened to be Canniboxes in disguise throughout their own individual journeys.
"OK, we'll see how long you survive with that strategy!" Magnus scolded as everyone worked together to defeat the spawned enemies, and then the barrier disappeared upon their defeat as the gang went back to go through a door that took them to a large stairway.
"It looks like a long way up." Pit said, with a small hint of complaint on his voice as he was mentally cursing about his inability to fly.
"What, do your legs not work or something?" Magnus asked as he and the group ran up, cutting down any monsters unfortunate enough to stand in their path as Pit ran after them. Soon, the large group finally made it to the top of the room, stopping in front of a door that was different from the others.
"By the looks of it, I think we're closing in on Gaol's lair." Jewel stated.
"I hope you're all ready." Magnus grinned. The gang first downed the nearby Drinks of the Gods before they along with Magnus entered the throne room to confront the dark lord.
[BGM End]
Inside, everyone could already spot Dark Lord Gaol at the far end, sitting on his throne.
"Prepare for defeat, Dark Lord Gaol!" Pit proclaimed.
"Aw, Palutena's little messengers!" Gaol responded with a distorted and demonic voice as he stood up from his throne. "And Magnus, it's always a pleasure."
"Sorry I'm late. I had other business to attend to." Magnus smirked, dropping into a battle stance.
"Wait, you two know each other?" Trifle questioned.
[BGM: Boss Fight 1 – Kid Icarus Uprising]
But Trifle would receive no response from that as Magnus charged at Gaol with his club raised, but the dark lord responded by creating a barrier in front of him, blocking the attack. "It's so typical of you to pawn off your work on someone else." he said to Magnus.
"Hey! In this economy, everyone's looking for work. Even part-time work." Magnus replied, dodging a blast of dark energy that Gaol launched from his horns.
"That's funny. Business is booming for me. We're even hiring more staff!" Gaol exclaimed, and to further emphasize his point, he summons two Skuttlers to assist him.
But Magnus only smirked cockily, in a way that would even make Sonic proud. "Huh, are these the new hires?" he questioned, shredding them to pieces nigh immediately before he and the others proceeded to focus on attacking Gaol while he was firing blasts of dark energy at them.
"I don't know much about the situation…" Palutena mused. "But it seems that Magnus and Gaol used to be close friends."
"What?! Seriously?!" Pit exclaimed, his and the group's eyes shooting wide by that, leading them to get distracted when Gaol suddenly planted his hands to the ground to create an explosion of dark energy that knocked everyone back, including Magnus.
"Ooh, that's got to hurt…" Palutena winced. "But back to what I was saying… They were part of the same band of monster-fighting mercenaries. But Gaol's heart was weak, and he couldn't resist the temptation of the Underworld."
"That's so sad…" Melia frowned.
"Seeing them fighting now, it's hard to believe they were ever friends." Arusu said, firing some charged shots from his blade while Magnus and Gaol were busy hacking and slashing each other.
"Magnus only knows one way to fight: ferociously. Perhaps his fire is fueled by the child he lost to Underworld troops."
"He had a child…?" Zelda whispered in shock. "Oh, that poor kid…" she whimpered as she hit Gaol with both a Silver Arrow and a Phantom Slash, but Gaol measly just shook them off and manages to blast Magnus away by firing a laser at him, as he crashed to the ground next to the gang.
"Hey, enough chitchat! We need to concentrate here!" he ushered them as he got back up.
"Oh, right!" Shulk exclaimed as he quickly fired a charged shot from his cannon, hitting Gaol square in the chest.
"Feeling a little agitated, Magnus?" Gaol taunted.
"Don't make me laugh, 'dark lord'! Now put on some pants, and fight like a man!" Magnus roared as he and the others charged towards Gaol, only that he began to channel dark energy through him before slamming the ground to create a large shockwave.
Everyone thankfully jumped over it to avoid it as Magnus closed in on Gaol to smack him away, followed by Trifle slashing him and firing from his arm, disorienting the dark lord a bit. Melia took this opportunity to attack him with Spear Break and a Starlight Kick afterwards to send him to the ground, where she proceeded to use Summon Ice and discharge it on her orbitars to not only shoot him, but also to decrease his defense for good measure. Growling, Gaol got back up and fired a large purple orb of darkness in order to suck in the gang, only for Eleven to destroy it with a Blightsplitter, much to Gaol's surprise. And before he could even react, Eleven fired out a charged shot from his club as it was powerful enough to send Gaol flying to the throne and left dazed.
"Magnus, now!" Eleven hollered.
"You got it!" Magnus nodded, immediately rushing towards a dazed Gaol and doing one final smack with his club.
[BGM End]
"Dark lord suppressed!" Pit declared as Gaol screamed in agony.
"Thanks for your help, you all!" Magnus thanked.
Gaol staggered around a bit with his hands on his chest, as dark energy poured out of his armor. He then fell to the ground, with his armor shattering from impact… where much to the gang's surprise, it was revealed that this 'dark lord' was actually a woman!
"…Whaaaaaaaaaat?!" they exclaimed in unison.
"Wh-… H-He… s-she…" Trifle stammered, too shocked to form words until he finally blurted out loud, "HE WAS A WOMAN?!"
Magnus, however, didn't seem fazed at all by this as if he already knew this hidden truth. "…I'm sorry it had to come to this." he lamented in remorse as he knelt down gently next to the woman.
"Gaol was a human? I-I didn't know… What have we done…" Pit whispered sadly.
"You can't feel bad. Just think of all the other people you've saved." Palutena said. "Besides, she looks like she's still holding on."
"Really?!" Zelda beamed as they began to run and see, only for Palutena to stop them by starting to extract them from the castle as she told them:
"But we need to regroup. The war against Medusa is just starting." the gang then vanished by the column of light, leaving Magnus and the woman alone in the castle.
To be continued…
How'd you like the new weapons I came up with for each member of the group? I actually had to look up every weapon from the game to get some ideas of strengths and weaknesses for the new weapons, but overall, coming up with them in terms of concepts was a lot of fun!
Next up, the Hewdraw! Until then!
Trivia for this chapter:
1. "Roto" is Erdrick's Japanese name, and this name is even carved into Eleven and Arusu's shields in Super Smash Bros Ultimate as a reference to both sharing the same linage.
2. Just like how Palutena was inspired by the Goddess of Wisdom, Atena, Magnus might be loosely inspired by Hercules, a demigod who's the son of Zeus. Like Hercules, Magnus is considered to be the strongest human ever on earth and even fights with a club-like weapon.
3. The part where Magnus and Gaol discuss the state of the economy and how jobs are currently hard to come by is likely a reference to the real-life Great Recession.
4. Gaol revealing his true identity as a woman at the chapter's end may be a reference to the ending of Metroid, since Samus was originally believed to be male only to be revealed as a female.
