Another incredibly long chapter that took me so long to write! But if you played the game, you know exactly why that was the case if you remember how the original chapter was about, so there is a justified reason for that.
Enjoy! ;)
Chapter 20: The Lightning Chariot
[BGM: Solo Menu (Viridi) – Kid Icarus Uprising]
Cutting back to where we previously left from Viridi's Temple, Viridi was right now having fun playing and petting Munchie while the rest watched, but after some time has passed, Phosphora quickly reminded the nature goddess:
"Say, I hate to break this up and all, but… don't these guys have a mission to go to, Mistress?"
Viridi's eyes perked up. "Oh! That's right!" she said while standing up, but then she looked down at Munchie with a frown. "…But I don't wanna part from Munchie…" she whined.
Eight knelt down to her level with a smile. "Hey, if it makes you feel better…" he said, patting her shoulder. "Once we're done with our mission, I'll let you play with him as much as you like."
"Really?" Viridi's eyes sparkled. "Oh thank you, thank you!" she thanked. "We'll play again sometime later, okay?" she smiled at Munchie, eskimo kissing him on the nose before handing him to Eight, who then immediately placed him back into the jacket's pocket.
[BGM End]
After that, Viridi readied the gates while Pit and his friends equipped their weapons. "You all ready?" she asked.
"We're ready to roll!" Pit nodded.
[BGM: The Lightning Chariot – Kid Icarus Uprising]
"Then let's get to rescuing Palutena!" Viridi replied, activating Pit's Power of Flight and the group's Magic Wings (remember, they're colored green now to match Viridi's theme) and they flew off the gates and into the twilight skies.
Just as they began to make the journey, Underworld monsters consisting of Gyrazers, Shrips and Komaytos appeared in front of them. "Underworld troops on the scene!" Pit reported as the gang began shooting them down.
"I'll send in some backup." Viridi said. "If they get in your way, I'll pull them out." as she said that, a group of Flages and Bladers came into the scene and went to town on the Komaytos.
"You know, you can be really nice when you try." Eight complimented, firing several homing shots at the Reapettes that appeared afterwards.
As they flew down towards an expansive woodland, Viridi tells them, "The force field around Palutena's temple is incredibly strong. We're going to need to borrow the Lightning Chariot."
"That sounds AWESOME!" Pit exclaimed.
"It's a superfast battle carriage that travels the galaxy. It's also pulled by unicorns!"
"Unicorns?! Ooh, I LOVE unicorns!" Jewel gushed.
"And that chariot's what we're gonna use to break through the force field?" Solo asked.
"Exactly." Viridi replied.
It then dawned on the rest, causing them to pale up a bit. "…So basically, you're telling us to slam a horse cart into a brick wall." Trifle said after a beat.
"Sure, if you want to put it crudely."
"Which means we might die."
"Well, anything's possible."
Trifle deadpanned. "You're not helping…"
"Does the Lightning Chariot at least have air bags?" Pit hesitantly asked.
"Last I checked, no." Viridi answered.
Pit gulped. "Uh, I'm not a safety nut, but even I draw the line somewhere!"
"So you don't really care about saving Palutena after all."
"Grrrr…" Pit growled under his breath in frustration while he and the others were taking down a Fort Oink.
"She could be in agony at this very moment. She could be trapped inside a dungeon of madness. She could be crying out, 'Oh, help me, Pit! Oh, please!'"
"OK OK OK OK OK!" Pit shouted. "I guess it IS my duty to rescue her."
"Yeah, I know! That was my point!"
"And don't forget about us too." Zelda interjected. "We were always at Pit and Palutena's side ever since!"
The gang continued to fly through the hilly forest region, dispatching any more Underworld monster that attacked them. Soon, Shulk proceeded to point out something, "Hey, aren't we a little low to be flagging down a galactic chariot?"
"That is a good point there." Pit threw in.
"It's not like those chicken wings of yours are really helping any." Viridi said.
"Yeah, yeah." Pit retorted.
"Don't worry. I've got a great plan."
"Oh, joy. This oughta be good." Arusu sarcastically muttered.
"Have any of you ever been to the circus?"
"Well, I have been to one." Eleven instantly answered. "All thanks to Sylvando…" he thought amused.
"Good! Now, my favorite act is the human cannonball. It's just such a…thrill ride!"
"Okay… Wait, where are you going with this?"
"We're going to do our own version…but with an angel and nine humans instead!"
Everyone's eyes widened in shock. "SAY WHAT?!"
"No way, uh-uh, absolutely NOT!" Pit vehemently protested. Despite that, Viridi still guided them all towards a large cannon.
"Ugh, you're so boring!" Viridi groaned. "Where's your sense of adventure?" they circled around the cannon for a bit before Viridi thrusted them all into its long barrel, which then pointed itself to the sky. "Three! Two! One! FIRE!" the cannon fired, blasting everyone into the sky.
"WAAAAAAAAH!" they screamed, flailing their arms wildly as they blasted off all the way into space. They soon regained their balance and composure after they reached their destination.
"We could've been blown to smithereens!" Trifle complained.
"But you weren't! Look on the bright side!" Viridi replied as they flew around the lines trailing the sky, giving the area an ethereal look to it.
"So, what's all this?" Melia wondered.
"These are patterns formed by galactic particles. Beautiful, aren't they?"
"They sure are." Eight smiled. "Reminds me of the Galactic Sea a little."
The gang flew through the area, where they were attacked by more Underworld monsters as they defeated them and forged on. Regardless though, the gang would have better luck if they knew what they were supposed to be looking for.
"The Underworld presence is very strong. Hmm." Viridi mused.
"Do you think they're after the Lightning Chariot too?" Zelda asked.
But then, Viridi noticed something. "Huh? Here it comes behind you all!" and just as the gang turned around, they saw what appeared to be a streak of blue lightning zipping across the sky, charging through Underworld troops and sending them spinning.
"Ah!" Pit yelped. "It is CRUISIN'!"
"The chariot's headed for its home base. Stay on it!"
At Viridi's command, the gang looked around to find any sights of the Lightning Chariot again, and the moment they saw the same blue lightning zooming past them, they didn't even hesitate to follow it and stay on its tail. They watched as the Lightning Chariot created a warp tunnel of sorts in front of them, and they flew in.
"Well, hello again, friends!" greeted the mocking voice of Hades all of a sudden.
"Hades!" Pit shouted.
"Ugh, not you again." Viridi groaned.
"Just look at all of you sneaking around behind Palutena's back." Hades teased. "It's classic."
"Shut your mouth!" Pit snapped.
"What do you want, Hades?" Viridi questioned.
"The Lightning Chariot, obviously!" Hades replied.
"You creep! Just go away already!"
"It's one slick ride. A veritable goddess magnet, if you will."
Viridi scoffed. "Please. I'm a goddess, and I would never ride in that thing."
"But Pitty and friends here sure likes it!"
"Are you only here to get in our way?!" Pit questioned, anger and annoyance clear in his tone.
"My intentions are always honorable. You know that."
"Whatever you're REALLY up to, we're going to find out!" Trifle proclaimed… and then he almost got hit by a lightning bolt due to them exiting the tunnel and into an area where lightning struck. "Ugh! Whoa!" he yelped as the others also found themselves forcing to avoid the lightning bolts.
"It gives me such pleasure to see you all suffer."
"Oh great, now he's sounding like my dark clone!" Arusu groaned.
"Just ignore him, you guys." Viridi said. "The Lightning Chariot is up ahead."
"We've got to get to it before the Underworld does!" Shulk hollered.
"Both the Lightning Chariot and its master are in that tower." Viridi pointed at the structure that appeared in front of them, with the most noticeable part about it being the tall tower in the center. "I'll drop you all off on the ground floor."
"Got it. We'll make our way up from there." Solo replied.
"Just so you know, the tower's really, really tall. Get ready to feel the burn!"
"No worries there. Have you seen these thighs?" Pit grinned as he flexed his muscles.
"Ready for land battle, guys?"
"Affirmative!" Jewel nodded and they all flew down towards the ground floor. Little did they know, they were actually going to go through a veeeeeery long climb…
[BGM End]
[BGM: Lightning Chariot Base – Kid Icarus Uprising]
As soon as the gang landed, Viridi deactivated Pit's Power of Flight and the group's Magic Wings. They all looked around the area as Pit said, "So the Lightning Chariot is in this tower, huh?"
"Who dares trespass on my domain? Leave before you get hurt!" an elderly voice suddenly spoke to them before they could proceed.
"Who said that?"
"I've had many names in my life, but now I am called the Chariot Master."
"Oh, great! You're the guy we're looking for. Listen, I have a favor to ask you. Would you mind if we borrow your chariot for just a little while?"
"Your foolishness is matched only by your rudeness. How dare you all charge in here, flinging unreasonable requests at me? I've half a mind to turn you all into galactic roadkill!"
The group glared at Pit. "Way to go, Pit. Now we have another person out to kill us!" Arusu complained.
"Hey! How is that my fault?!" Pit protested.
"Well, you can't really blame him for being upset. That was kind of rude." Viridi pointed out.
"You have a point there…" Pit sighed. "Then I guess there's only one thing we can do. We'll go talk to this Chariot Master guy in person. He's at the top of this tower, right?"
"That's right. Hey, look at you acting all assertive! You're just grabbing life by the horns and shaking it until it moos!"
"That… hardly made sense." Melia raised an eyebrow.
With the conversation done, the gang entered the tower and proceeded up the walkway to the first floor, arriving in a room with multiple pits where various Underworld enemies popped out. The gang defeated them all and moved on, walking up another walkway to the next floor. "So…is there an elevator in this tower?" Pit sheepishly asked.
"Oh, would Prince Pit and his loyal servants like me to scatter rose petals in their path too?" Viridi sarcastically asked. "Listen, this is the only way up, so you'd better get a move on."
"Guess an elevator is a no." Jewel shrugged.
"…We're about to go through a loooooong climb, aren't we?" Trifle sweatdropped.
"Very likely…" Solo nodded, sweatdropping as well as they made it to the next room. Here, a large gap was separating the two doors and there was a platform moving along the gap.
"You'll need to ride that platform to move forward." Viridi instructed as they did it so.
"You know what's weird, Viridi?" Pit asked.
"What?"
"There sure are a lot of Underworld troops here."
"This tower does seem to be lacking proper defenses."
"Any riffraff can just waltz on in. After all, little Pitty and friends here had no problems." Hades interjected. "But I must admit that I ADORE running amok in other people's homes."
"Just like Link…" Zelda thought amused.
"Another uninvited guest? Very well. At least show your face. So my Lightning Chariot can erase you from existence!" the Chariot Master proclaimed.
"…Someone sure is cranky today…" Eight sweatdropped as they took down the enemies on the other side before going through the door, moving up another walkway into a room with a floor that was colored half blue, half red. But as soon as they all stepped in on the blue-colored floor…
"PBPBPBPBPBPB!" they were electrocuted by it, and so were forced to move to the other half.
"Owch…" Shulk winced before coughing out smoke. "What's the deal with this floor…?"
"Those floor panels alternate between hurting you and not hurting you." Viridi said. "They don't seem to have any effect on those Underworld enemies, though. Odd."
"That's a known issue." the Chariot Master acknowledged. "It'll be resolved in the next version of the tower."
"Someone needs a better QA department." Pit said as they fought off the Underworld monsters, trying their best to avoid the electric charge. Once done, they left the room and moved up the walkway to another room that was filled with pillars, with two of them having a Zurret camping on top.
"The Underworld has taken position up on top of the pillars." Viridi pointed.
Eleven immediately ran up to one of the pillars. "Well, what goes up… Must come down!" he swung his club to smash the pillar, sending the Zurret to the ground where he finished it off with a few good shots to the eye. He then repeated the same tactic with the other Zurret, and after this one was defeated, the way ahead was unlocked and the gang left the room… but the next walkway they encountered had gaps on it.
"Jump pads will help you over any gaps in the walkway." Viridi said.
"Man, climbing this tower is really a pain." Arusu grumbled.
"Tell us about it…" Trifle threw in.
"Aw, sounds like you all want a piggyback ride!" Hades teased.
The gang ignored him and moved on, using the jump pads to traverse the gaps in their path. They soon made it to another room, but this one was more weirdly-shaped: a sloping platform to traverse, complete with rolling balls. "OK, so we've got rolling obstacles." Pit observed.
"And don't forget the jump pads." Viridi added.
"Something seems familiar about this…"
"I guess the Chariot Master has played Donkey Kong." Hades said.
"Now all that remains here is a giant ape or anything similar waiting for us at the top." Jewel added with a hint of amusement in her tone as they traversed up the platform, using the jump pads to avoid the balls. They managed to make it to the top and out of the room, going up another walkway to a room where the floor was made out of solid ice, causing them all to immediately slip and fall.
"Whoa!" Pit yelped as he slipped and fell. "It's solid ice!"
"Was this the way you all dealt with the icy floor back at that cold room from the Seafloor Palace?" Eight asked as they tried to keep their footing.
"Yep…" Melia replied unamused.
"Using an Aether Ring should keep you from slipping around." Viridi said as the gang looked over to see ten Aether Rings nearby, and they immediately went for them.
"Great! There's one for each of us!" Jewel exclaimed as they hopped into the Aether Rings and begin piloting it around while shooting the ice-themed Underworld monsters with it.
"Why does the Chariot Master have a vehicle of the gods?" Pit wondered.
"Isn't it obvious?" the Chariot Master asked.
"Are you saying you're a god?" Viridi asked.
"I'm not saying anything."
"Aurgh! Then why even bring it up?"
After defeating all the monsters, the gang hopped out of the Aether Rings and went through the door. "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" Pit asked as they were moving up the walkway.
"No, we're not. No, we're not." Viridi replied in a mocking tone.
"Geez, and I thought Rydon's Tower would be the tallest tower I would ever venture through…" Eight thought. "This one easily takes the cake."
The next room they stepped into had four land mines on the ground, and there were also two Syrens, a Shelbo, a Zuree, and two Komaytos. "Be careful you don't step on any land mines." Viridi warned.
"We'll do our best." Solo said.
"Mines certainly are useless on floating Underworld monsters."
"Yes, yes, I'm quite aware of that." the Chariot Master interjected.
"Defense really isn't your strong suit, is it?" Hades asked. "Eh, whatever. Defenses are for the weak and insecure."
"…Has Hades been rubbing off on our dark clones lately?" the Loyal Bodyguards thought after noticing Hades's several shifts in attitude that sounded pretty similar to each of their evil counterparts, before quickly focusing back on taking out the Underworld enemies with the rest and exiting the room once they were all defeated.
Instead of a walkway, there was a grind rail waiting outside. The gang, thankful for finally being able to rest their legs for just a little bit after a lot of walking, happily hopped on the grind rail. "Hey there, grind rail! Time to give these barking dogs a rest!" Pit exclaimed.
"You said it!" Trifle grinned as they all rode the grind rail up to the next door, where in here, there was a group of Reapettes oddly lined up like bowling pins on the lower part of the room. And to top it off, there was a giant boulder right in front of a ramp that led down to the Reapettes.
"Hey, there's an oversized bowling ball. And some ugly bowling pins!" Viridi observed.
"My troops are a worthy sacrifice for the sport of kings." Hades said.
Jewel ran up to the giant bowling ball. "Watch this, everyone! Let the Wii Sports Bowling master show you how it's done!" taking out the Size Peridot, she used it on the boulder to shrink it down until it was small enough for her to grab it, holding it like how a professional bowling player would hold it.
"Pfft, please. How can you possibly knock out my troops with such a tiny ball?" Hades mocked as Jewel launched the boulder… and the very moment she did that, she quickly used her Size Peridot's power on it again to regrow it back to its original size while it was rolling down the ramp. "…Oh." Hades said, and then all the Reapettes were killed instantly by the giant boulder slamming into them.
"STRIKE!" Jewel cheered, fist-pumping the air.
"Wow! That was impressive, Jewel!" Zelda praised, with the rest showering Jewel with more compliments.
"I have to agree with that." Viridi chimed in.
"Thanks, everyone!" Jewel thanked, and then they resumed onwards. The next walkway also had gaps, forcing the gang to heavily rely on the jump pads again to traverse while also having to deal with a massive Belunka. At this point, they all seemed to start getting pretty exhausted.
"Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" Pit asked in exhaustion.
"No. We're. NOT." Viridi replied annoyed, as the gang entered the next room to find a strong current of wind blowing through. "A severe wind advisory is in effect up ahead."
"Thanks for the heads-up. But no little breeze is going to slow US down!" Arusu declared as they ran through the wind, feeling themselves being pushed towards the abyss but they kept going strong, including dealing with some Monoeyes that also seemed to be struggling by the winds.
They managed to make it out of the room with no problems, and found another grind rail waiting for them. "How convenient!" Pit chirped as they all hopped on it.
"Oh, I'm so pleased that it meets your approval." Viridi sarcastically replied as the gang rode up the grind rail, shooting at some Skuttler Cannoneers along the way and walked through the next door to find themselves attacked by more Skuttler Cannoneers plus a Shelbo. Upon defeating them, ten Exo Tanks appeared in front of the spiraling pathway. "Look! The Chariot Master has a bunch of Exo Tanks!"
"Maybe he's a gearhead." Shulk guessed as they hopped on each Exo Tank.
"Or a nerd!" Hades playfully added as the gang proceeded to drive up the pathway, eventually landing on a luminescent track.
"Cool! It's a path made of light!" Pit exclaimed.
"Now this is reminding me of Rainbow Road!" Jewel beamed.
"Well, this is a nice design flourish." Viridi remarked.
"No. It's a practice track for the Lightning Chariot." the Chariot Master corrected. "It's not for amateurs!"
"Oh, whatever. Don't mind us, sir, we're just going to have ourselves a race on Not Rainbow Road!" Jewel grinned as they drove along the track, boosting off a ramp to traverse the gap and reach the exit. "Aww, it's over already?" Jewel whined as they hopped off the Exo Tanks. "But it was fun, right?"
"It sure was." Eleven nodded. "I almost fell off the corner, but that's because I never drove a thing like that anyways." he chuckled sheepishly. "Though… what's this 'Rainbow Road' that you kept mentioning?"
"Oh, that's the name of a recurring racetrack that Mario and his friends from the Mushroom Kingdom race on in go-karts." Jewel answered. "Remind me to take you Bodyguards to watch the next Mario Kart Tournament so you could see it for yourselves!"
The Loyal Bodyguards exchanged glances. "Okay, then…" Solo replied and they all walked out the door and made their way up the walkway again.
"Ugh, my feet are starting to kill me…" Trifle groaned.
"Same…" Melia chimed in.
Hearing that, Pit decided to ask Viridi again, "Soooo… Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?"
"You know that saying that there are no bad questions? Well, there are, and this is one of them! WE ARE NOT THERE YET!" Viridi yelled at the last sentence. "But I do wish there was a way to speed up this process."
"You're telling us…" Arusu muttered and resumed walking up the walkway until they got to the door, where they saw a large pillar in the center with gemstones encrusted in it.
"This pillar seems to have gems stuck on it. What should we do with them?" Pit wondered.
"The same thing you always do: shoot them." Hades said. The gang decided to follow his advice and shoot the first gemstone, making the pillar drop down lower.
"Hey! It got lower!" Eight exclaimed.
"Keep knocking it down to reveal a way forward!" Viridi ordered and the gang shot the rest of the gemstones until the pillar lowered all the way down to the point where it was completely gone, and then they took care of some enemies in the room before stepping on the jump pad in the middle, launching them all up.
"Whoo hoo hoo hoo!" Pit cheered on the way up.
[BGM: Lightning Chariot Base – Super Smash Bros for Wii U]
"Now what do we have here?" Viridi wondered once the gang landed, where they were immediately greeted by more Underworld forces.
"It's time for my minions to do their thing." Hades said. "Underlings! I'm offering 100 gold for the putz's head… and 50 gold for his teammates!"
"The name's Pit!" Pit retorted.
"Yes. I know. Your tenure as a ring doesn't seem to have had any effect on that keen wit of yours."
"Wait, you know that I was turned into a ring?"
"Oh, is it a secret? Then don't mind me! Mum's the word!"
"Did YOU turn me into a ring?"
"Wow, you really are clueless. Don't you know, Pit? You're the cause of all this chaos."
"Whaaaaat?! That makes no sense!"
"Don't let him get to you, Pit. The Underworld Army is the one to blame." Viridi stated.
"Why, thank you. That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard you say." Hades nonchalantly replied.
"You know what? You're annoying."
"Not to mention really crude!" Melia added.
"Yow! Both of you are feisty! Wear gloves with these ones, minions!"
The gang defeated all the monsters and used another jump pad to get to a higher level of the room where the door was, and went through it to find themselves going up yet another walkway. "Sheesh… Are we ever going to get to the top of this tower?" Arusu groaned.
"I warned you all before we got here that it was a long way up." Viridi reminded.
"Yeah, but this place is so huge, we even had a line break in this chapter!" Pit pointed out.
"Don't forget a BGM change!" Jewel added.
"Shhh, they're going to hear you!" Viridi shushed. "We're not supposed to talk about that!" the gang traveled up the walkway to another room, this one appearing to resemble a maze of sorts.
"Uh… Are we there yet?" Pit asked.
"Yes. If by 'there' you mean 'at a maze'. But it's not that big, so you shouldn't have much trouble." the gang then proceeded to navigate around the maze, and while they were doing it…
"Hey, Hades?" the Chariot Master asked.
"Yes?" Hades asked.
"May I ask you about who's this blue-haired fellow that just showed up out of nowhere from where I am at?"
"What blue-haired fellow? You might want to be a little more specific."
"Well… He's wearing blue clothes, carries a sword and a shield, and appears to be human."
"Oh! You mean 'that' fellow! I'd love to tell you who it is, but I'm afraid that I don't want to spoil it for Pitty and his goody-goody friends!"
"Hmph. No matter. I will have Phos and Lux wipe him out from existence! Have at you!"
"Um…" Pit blinked.
"Whom exactly is he talking about?" Viridi wondered.
The Loyal Bodyguards, however, knew well who could that be. "A human with blue hair, blue clothes, and wields a sword and shield? Eleven, doesn't that sound like…?" Solo trailed off as he, Arusu and Eight shot a glance at Eleven with uneasy looks.
"I think it might be him…" Eleven nodded apprehensively. "…So this means we need to be ready for this. But, let's keep that a secret between us for now, got it?" he whispered to them.
"Got it." Eight whispered back with a nod.
"Well, whoever that is, it sounds like the Chariot Master is busy with him right now." Viridi said.
"And it's even making this tower rumble!" Shulk exclaimed. "It must be a very gruesome fight happening at the top, then!"
"So we better get a move on, and fast!" Zelda ushered, and so they managed to get out of the maze and walked through the door, moving along another walkway as usual while shooting down a Fort Oink and got to the next room, where they were attacked by an Eggplant Wizard, a Wave Angler, two Shemums and a Guttler.
"I've got a heaping helping of Underworld goodness for you all!" Hades grinned.
"He's saying that more enemies are on their way. Clever, huh." Viridi said.
"Yeah? Well, I whipped up a club-your-face sandwich! Hope YOU'RE hungry!" Pit exclaimed as they proceeded to destroy the monsters before a Crawler, a Pluton, and two Skuttler Cannoneers appeared next. Having picked up a Spike Ball, Pit used it along with firing arrows to attack the Crawler's behind while the rest dealt with the Pluton and the Skuttler Cannoneers.
When all of the monsters were defeated, the way ahead unlocked and the gang proceeded, encountering another grind rail outside, much to their joy. "Heh, walking's for chumps!" Trifle grinned as they hopped on it.
"Up you go!" Viridi said.
"It's like watching several roller-skating chickens." Hades remarked.
"Hey! Who're you calling chickens?!" Arusu offendedly retorted.
"And don't even pretend that that's not awesome!" Pit added as they rode and hopped on several grind rails all around the tower, eventually going through some sliding doors. "Look at us go! We're all, 'whoosh whooosh!'"
"Hear, hear!" Jewel chimed in.
"Eloquently put as always." Hades snarked as they eventually made it at the end and ran through the door into a room with ten Cherubots.
"Score!" Pit exclaimed.
"Hop on in, guys!" Viridi invited, and they gladly did it so. "The Cherubot is pure mechanical brawn wrapped in an adorable package! So decimate anything that gets in your way."
"Consider it done!" and right on cue, a huge swarm of Underworld monsters appeared in the room and so the gang got to work on defeating them with their Cherubots.
"So… How are you doing, Chariot Master?" Hades asked.
"Urgh… That fellow is putting up quite of a fight…" the Chariot Master groaned. "But he's still no match for-… ARGH!"
The gang's eyes widened. "Chariot Master?! What's going on?!" Zelda asked.
"I'm…being…restrained…in place…! He…appears to have…very high developed…psychic powers-… *BZZZZRT!* YAAAAAARGH!"
"…Was that an electric shock?!" Eight asked in shock.
"Oh no… Has my dark clone's powers been enhanced somehow?!" Eleven thought. "This isn't good…"
"Hades, what did you do?!" Viridi questioned.
"Me? Like I would even tell you!" Hades grinned, and at this point, the gang finished defeating the Underworld swarm.
"And that's the end of them!" Pit declared… but not finishing up without asking as usual, "…Are we there yet?"
"Good job and no, not yet." Viridi replied. "But there's just a little ways to go."
"Well, that's enough to satisfy us at the very least." Melia said as they hopped out of the Cherubots.
"Oh, and I have a special treat for you all up ahead."
They walked up the walkway, using the jump pads to clear its gaps and jump over the Miks camping in them… plus an Orne at the last gap, earning a jumpscare for the gang as they quickly rushed over to the door before the Orne could chase after them.
[BGM Pause]
What they found at the other side of the door? A sight beyond Pit's wildest dreams: a large hot spring that covered the entire room. Everyone's eyes widened up by that sight. "Holy crap…" Solo breathed.
"What what WHAT IS THIS?! A. HUGE. HOT SPRING!" Pit yelled excitedly and dove right into it, followed by the group who just slowly dipped themselves into it.
"You're not the only hot-spring fan." Viridi said. "Apparently Underworld monsters value relaxation too."
"What do you mean by tha-…" Pit wondered while looking around, until he cut himself off when he saw a Bumbledrop nearby soaking in the hot spring too. "Aw, man… Why can't they relax somewhere else? THIS IS OUR SPECIAL US TIME!"
"Oh, let it relax too. At least you should be glad that it's not attacking us." Shulk said, and with that, they decided to just leave the Bumbledrop alone.
After Pit had his wounds healed, everyone got out of the hot spring as the Loyal Bodyguards had to use healing spells on the group to heal their wounds due to the hot spring not healing them, and then they exited the room.
[Resume BGM]
As they were nearing the next door while running up the walkway, Viridi soon let them know, "Hey, guys, and especially you, Pit… I have some exciting news for all of us. The Chariot Master is just ahead. So you can FINALLY stop asking me if we're there yet!"
"Oh, sweet!" Pit beamed as they went through the door and into the final room, where they saw several columns surrounding a beam of light in the center. "Let's go pay the Chariot Master a visit!"
"…I just hope he's okay after what happened." Eleven said and they stepped into the beam of light, transporting them somewhere else.
[BGM End]
The gang found themselves transported to another of the Lightning Chariot's racetracks. "Chariot Master!" Pit called out as they rushed in… but what they saw in front of them was not a pleasant sight, which was enough to make everyone stop in their tracks and gasp: the Chariot Master – a being made out of ghostly blue flames and wearing tattered armor – was lying on the floor not looking too hot. And as for the cherry on top… a very familiar young man stood next to the Chariot Master, pointing his sword at his downed body while he had his back turned from the gang.
[BGM: With People and Darkness – Xenoblade Chronicles 2]
"Nnngh…" he weakly groaned, struggling to get up.
"What the… what happened?!" Trifle asked.
"That fellow… defeated me in battle." the Chariot Master glanced up at the young man, and the gang soon followed.
"Wait…is that…?!" Zelda gasped.
Eleven, meanwhile, was glaring at the familiar man. "I should've known it was you…" he muttered.
"Heheheh… I figured as much." the figure chuckled evilly and turned around, revealing himself to be Dark Eleven. "Well, well. Fancy meeting you all here." he then glanced over at the group. "I've heard from Lord Hades that you just returned to this world shortly after you were whisked out of here, so… Welcome back! I surely missed you all! Especially you, Darkspawn!" he mocked at his last sentences.
Eleven growled. "And this is why I never wanted to see your face again!" after he said that, the rest of the gang then glared at Dark Eleven as well.
"What about the Chariot Master?! Why did you do this to him?!" Pit questioned.
"Oh, he was already fated to fall like this since the beginning." Dark Eleven replied. "You see, this Chariot Master used to be a great warrior. A warrior who suffered countless war wounds, but none of them was greater than the loss of his previous master."
"He had a master?" Shulk asked.
"He did, and that master was the previous Chariot Master. But going back to this one's backstory… He once had many comrades in arms, but they, too, have returned to the dust. Now all he has left in this life are his faithful steeds, Phos and Lux." he pointed at said unicorns, who were already attached to the Lightning Chariot. "His body has long since degraded, and his soul grows thin."
It was then that the Loyal Bodyguards showed sights of remorse on their expressions. "A warrior's path inevitably leads to loss…" Arusu mourned quietly with eyes shut. "And that's exactly what happened to my father…" he thought.
"Hmph, now you finally understand. So you could say that I did him a favor… and after he finally succumbs to death, his soul can be put to rest. And since I was the one who slayed the current Chariot Master, this means that I get to have the Lightning Chariot now!"
"Not on our watch!" Pit declared, everyone striking battle stances. "WE'RE the ones needing it the most! We need it to save Lady Palutena, so we'll be taking it instead… even if it means we'll have to fight you!"
Dark Eleven laughed in amusement. "Seems like to me that you grew a backbone during these three years, little angel! As for me, however…" his eyes glowed as orbs of psychic energy appeared around his head. "I've been developing my telekinetic abilities ever since, so it won't be just like last time my good self and that dreamy princess fought me before." he took a battle stance, holding his sword and shield aloft. "This time, all of you shall fall at my hands right here!"
"We'll see about that!" Eleven said.
[BGM: Boss Fight 1 – Kid Icarus Uprising]
Eleven lunged directly at his evil clone to slash him, but Dark Eleven just stopped the attack in place before telekinetically throwing Eleven to the side and proceeded to launch the psychic orbs at him as he quickly dodged and proceeded to fire a Luminary-enhanced charged shot from his club, only for Dark Eleven to vanish and reappear next to his good counterpart where he would stun him with a Zap spell and was about to land a slash at him, but then he got hit in the back by Arusu's charged shot as he turned around.
"Tch." Dark Eleven scoffed as he saw Arusu charging at him and slashing him as he took the hit, but then suddenly countered the attack by vanishing and reappearing on the same spot while unleashing a wave of psychic energy that threw Arusu off-balance, and then shield-bashed him straight in the face to knock him away. He next saw Solo and Eight firing a Kafrizz each at him as he easily stopped both projectiles and sent them back at the senders who both dodged out of the way, but before they could do anything else, Dark Eleven suddenly caught both of them into orbs of psychokinesis as he telekinetically lifted them into the air.
"Wh-what the heck?!" Eight stuttered, and before he and Solo knew it, Dark Eleven snapped his fingers, electrocuting them both.
"AAAAAARGH!" they screamed and they were thrown back to the ground.
"Hahahahahaha!" Dark Eleven laughed evilly. "Is that the best you can do?!"
"Dammit, he's way more trickier than before…" Eleven thought after he snapped out of his stunning and proceeded to fire another Luminary-enhanced charged shot at Dark Eleven, but he just shield-backhanded the light beam away before receiving a charged shot hit from Shulk's cannon, then Trifle came in and delivered a strong blow with his arm, knocking Dark Eleven's sword away from him in the process.
"Ha! We disarmed you!" Trifle grinned.
"Oh, you think?" Dark Eleven smirked, pulling out his own greatsword weapon and first trapped Trifle and Shulk's legs in ice with Frost Fangs before launching them away with a Helichopter. After that, Dark Eleven proceeded to launch more psychic orbs at the rest of the gang, but Pit got in the way and repelled the orbs away with his Guardian Orbitars.
"This guy's nuts!" Pit exclaimed, as he then tried to attack but got caught by Dark Eleven's psychokinesis and sent flying away.
"You guys weren't kidding when you said that there were evil clones of the Heroes working for Hades!" Viridi remarked.
"Ignorant as always huh, rosebud?" Hades teased. "I couldn't bring any of them out due to that Aurum fiasco… but now, watch as one of my top commanders puts up a great energy show for Pitty and friends!"
"This is not looking good… I need to think of something!" Jewel thought, and then she looked over at the downed Chariot Master. "I wonder…" she ran over to him without anyone else noticing, and then she whispered to him, "Hey, Chariot Master?"
"Y-yes, young lady…?" the Chariot Master whispered back.
"Do you still have some strength left in you?"
"M-maybe… W-why…do you ask…?" Jewel then whispered some sort of plan to him in his non-existing ear. "R-right… Got it…"
"Razor Wind!" Melia shouted while Zelda fired a Silver Arrow at Dark Eleven, but he conjured up a psychic forcefield to block the wind magic and arrow, then he teleported and slashed Melia before kicking her away for good measure and fired a larger psychic orb at Zelda, but she used Nayru's Love to send it back only for him to teleport again and grabbed Zelda from behind before throwing her, as she slammed right into Eleven and were both knocked down.
"N-nnnngh…" Eleven groaned.
"How disappointing. I thought you were way better than that, Darkspawn!" Dark Eleven teased. "But then again, I am better than you anyways!"
"Grrr… SHUT UP!" Eleven yelled, thrusting his left hand to the sky with his mark glowing in order to unleash a Quadraslash and slam a gigantic sword of light on Dark Eleven… oooonly for him to stop said sword with his telekinesis, and then it faded away. "What?!"
"What is this, a replicated sword? Pathetic!"
Dark Eleven then walked straight to Eleven to finish him off, but a few shots hit him in the shoulder as he turned around to see Jewel. "Oh, you think you can outsmart me again?" Dark Eleven said, using his psychokinesis on her. "Not this time!"
Despite being held into the air, Jewel formed a smirk. "Actually… Th-that was just a distraction!"
Dark Eleven raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"
"Chariot Master, NOW!"
"What- UNGH…!" all of a sudden, Dark Eleven was impaled from the back by a sword… belonging to the Chariot Master, who used the last of his strength to perform said action.
[BGM End (for extra impact, do this right when Dark Eleven gets impaled)]
Dark Eleven let out a few pained gags, before he collapsed to the ground still with the Chariot Master's sword attached to him. Everyone, except Jewel and the Chariot Master, watched this happening before their very eyes in surprise.
"Serves him right!" Jewel exclaimed. "You did great, Chariot Master!" she praised him.
"Th-thanks…" the Chariot Master weakly thanked.
"You secretly went over to him during the battle, Jewel?" Eleven asked, as Jewel nodded in response and then he smiled, "That was a well-thought-out plan." his face went serious again as he turned around to his dark clone on the ground (don't worry, he's not dead yet), and walked up to him with sword in hand. "Now to end this…" he rose his sword up, ready to deal the finishing blow…
*SLASH!*
…but someone slashed him away before he could do that. Before everyone knew it, the rest of the Dark Heroes stood in front of Dark Eleven defensively.
"Get away from him!" Dark Eight growled, but then they looked over and saw the rest of the gang rushing to stop them.
"Oh no, you don't!" Dark Arusu barked, his eyes glowing as he punched the ground to make a barrier of large rock formations shoot up and cut off the gang's path to them.
"Good. That should prevent them from stopping us." Dark Solo said, as he was left with tending up to Dark Eleven; first removing the sword and then casting Fullheal on the impaled spot to close it back up. Despite that, Dark Eleven was still unconscious and so Dark Solo picked him up. "Let's be off."
With that said, Dark Arusu went to pick up Dark Eleven's sword, and then Dark Eight made a portal as they went off in it and disappeared. The large rock barrier retreated back into the ground as a result.
"Dang it!" Eleven punched the ground in frustration. "I was so close!"
"Oh, we'll get him next time… considering that we also have our dark clones to worry about." Solo said as he helped up Eleven back on his feet.
Just then, everyone heard a groan coming from the Chariot Master as they all turned to look at him… and gasped when they saw him glowing blue and seemingly fading. "What's happening to you?" Pit asked.
"Ah heh heh… I seem to have drowned in that fellow's reservoir of strength." the Chariot Master chuckled weakly. "But you all did save the Lightning Chariot and Phos and Lux from him… and so… you've proven yourselves worthy of my Lightning Chariot."
A few tears of guilt started streaming down Pit's cheeks. "Wait! I don't want it to end this way! If only we had stopped Dark Eleven in time… this wouldn't have happened to you!"
"Ah, but this is the only way things can end for an old warrior. In a way, that fellow was right… and I have no regrets." he then rose up a hand into the air. "I'm trusting you all with Phos and Lux. And the future of this realm." and with that, the Chariot Master faded into blue particles, disappearing for good.
Pit silently wept as he fell on his knees, while the group felt incredibly sad as they bowed their heads with their eyes shut in respect of the Chariot Master's death.
"He was an honorable warrior. Don't let his death be in vain." Viridi said, her tone surprisingly full of solemn and lacking the snide sarcasm it usually held for once. "Now let's go save Palutena." she then extracted the gang and the Lightning Chariot back to her temple.
To be continued…
The reason why I replaced the battle with the Chariot Master for a Dark Eleven one is because I had absolutely no idea how I could make the former's battle work with ten people, and so I was left with the idea of bringing one of the Dark Heroes for this new fight. In the end, I chose Dark Eleven since not only is he the leader of the Dark Heroes, but it was also to show how much his powers had evolved since I felt I did it so little with him from his previous fight and so I wanted to improvise.
Time to save Palutena next! Until then!
Trivia for this chapter:
1. This is the only chapter where Palutena does not appear at any point, but she is still mentioned.
2. Most of Dark Eleven's new powers were based on the ESP Copy Ability's moveset from the Kirby series. This Ability first debuted in Planet Robobot, and reappeared in Star Allies.
