And here we go for chapter sixteen of the Evil Route. In case if you're wondering about why I titled the DLC chapter "Robotic Apocalypse," I believe that the Aurum itself are like robots or machines because of how they act for their patriarch leader. Anyways, you already know the disclaimer, so sit back and enjoy!
Chapter 16: The Aurum Hive + DLC: Robotic Apocalypse
Music playing: The Aurum Hive
Pit rushed to the door with the Dynamo Cannon equipped. "Heading out!" he said. Until he was pulled into space forcefully. "Whoa-oa!" he cried upon impacting the vacuum of space. "The Aurum have been weakened, but not defeated," said Palutena. "We need to destroy their fleet next." "Understood!" Pit affirmed. "That fleet's going down!" He then flew onwards towards the battleships. "Remember to focus on the distraction plan, Icarus," said Lucifer. "Don't hold back and focus on the task at hand." Pit then approached closer to the ships. "Take out those green targets, Pit!" Palutena ordered. Pit did so and took down their weak points to destroy them. He then continued onwards and took down more and more Aurum enemies. "There are so many different ships!" he exclaimed upon seeing more of them. "Well, yes. There are battleships, cruisers, destroyers, kayaks..." Palutena replied. "No, I mean the AURUM have lots of ships. I doubt they have any kayaks," said Pit. "You think?" Lucifer asked, sarcastically. "Shut up," Pit groaned. "There ARE a lot of them," said Palutena. "It might be best to get you out of there." "Now why would you want to do that?" asked the Underworld ruler. "Where you pinheads see adversity, I see opportunity!" "Hades!" exclaimed Pit. "For example, this battleship looks like it could use a good home," Hades continued. "Now's your chance, minions! It's lootin' time!" He then sent a hoard of Monoeyes to swarm on an Aurum Battleship. "The Underworld certainly is enthusiastic when it comes to thieving," said Palutena. Pit continued onwards after watching the Underworld swarming one of the ships. "Up ahead is where the battleships are being hatched," Palutena continued. "Hatched? Don't you mean...built?" Pit corrected. "Sorry. I keep thinking of the Aurum as a bee colony," Palutena apologized. "And if their smaller troops are drones, their ships are killer bees. If we want to take down their fleet, we need to target the source of the problem." "Ugh, I just hope there's no Aurum queen..." Pit groaned. "No, not really," said Lucifer. "I'm not a married man. Besides, who else would be the one to take control over this fleet?" "Well...you," Pit replied. "Precisely," said Lucifer. "Now shut up and get a move on with the distraction!" Pit decided to end the conversation and then continued onwards and took down more Aurum enemies, while the Underworld Army fought and took them down, too. Then Pit noticed some green like-enemies raining down at him. "Those meteors are kind of pretty," he said. "Actually, those are also Aurum troops," Palutena replied. "According to my Celestial Super Scanner, they're 'Rozzes.'" "Your...Celestial Super Scanner?" Pit questioned before having a theory. "Oh, I get it. That's how you know the names of enemies." "Well, you can't actually pronounce Aurum names, so I took a few creative liberties," Palutena replied. Just then, everyone noticed something about the Aurum troops. They appeared to be copies of the Monoeyes and Miks. "Hey! Am I the only one paying attention here? Look!" Viridi exclaimed. "Those Aurum 'troops' are just rip-offs of Underworld enemies!" "What?!" Pit exclaimed. "I gotta hand it to them. Those are some pretty decent knockoffs," said Hades. "First they devour planets; now they're copying enemies? Ugh. Lowlifes!" Viridi scoffed. "So maybe the Treasure Boxes and Exo Tanks were also copies," Palutena suspected. "Can't say for sure," said Viridi, confused. "Full disclosure here: the Mimicuties were courtesy of yours truly," Hades confessed. "It WAS you!" Pit yelled as well. "What—don't you like presents, Pitty Pat?" Hades remarked. "You see what I mean about not trusting them at all, brother?" Lucifer asked. "They're just playing tricks on you. So it's best that we exterminate them all." Pit then continued to take down more Aurum enemies and was near a floating base. "We're nearing a floating island," said Palutena. "You can hide from the Aurum fleet by taking a lower route." Pit flew underneath the surface and received four more Recovery Orbs to replenish his heath. He then took down more Aurum Underworld copies and avoided the electric areas. Then there was trouble. "Uh-oh!" Palutena gasped. "They've sent a destroyer in! They're destroying themselves to get to you!" "I have to hand it to the Aurum," said Viridi. "They don't fool around." But then, she noticed something off about the Aurum. "None of these battleships seem to have a helm," she said. "And I'm not detecting any life-forms in the ships either," said Palutena. "Something HAS to be controlling them," Viridi suspected. Then Hades said in a robotic silly voice, "Weeee aarrrre from outerr spaaaaaace..." Palutena wasn't amused by saying sarcastically, "Yes, yes, you're hilarious." "Lucifer, mind telling me how this is happening?" Pit asked his brother. "Have you ever heard of 'Mechanical Manipulation?'" Lucifer replied. "I'm well aware with technology and I can use this power to control the machines. Meaning that the battleships have their own brains and can attack anybody they detect." Pit decided not to say anything else and continued to take down more Aurum troops and battleships by destroying the weak points. "It seems like awfully poor design for these ships to have their weak spots exposed," he said. "Or you can just thank me for the user-friendly interface," Palutena responded. "Are you saying that you exposed the ships' weak spots?!" Pit exclaimed in shock. I attached large markers to the ships' exteriors that connect to their engines," the Goddess of Light explained. "In less technical terms, I used my power of weak-point exposure!" "Hey, thanks!" Pit thanked. "Anything to help you take down the Aurum fleet!" Palutena responded. "You still need to remember the distraction plan, Icarus," Lucifer pointed out. "So far, everything is still going as planned." Pit took down the last remaining ships and Aurum enemies and was nearing the entrance of the base. "We've arrived at the Aurum Hive," said Palutena. "There's just one problem." "What is it?" Pit asked. "There doesn't seem to be any way in," Palutena replied. "Really? There's not a single entry?" Pit gasped. "It doesn't look like it," Palutena responded. "And we can't just bust in?" Pit asked again. "We can't," said Palutena. "There's a shield to protect the ships on their way out," Viridi explained. "But...you ALWAYS find a way in, Lady Palutena!" exclaimed Pit. "So now what? We just go home and order a pizza?" "I DO have a coupon..." said Palutena. "You two have more pedestrian tastes than I expected," said Viridi. "Don't curse the darkness—light a candle!" said Hades. "When freaky aliens give you lemons, make freaky alien lemonade! Like this!" He then crashed the same looted Aurum Battleship into the shield. "Wah!" Pit cried upon moving out of the way. "Well, that's one way to do it." "That. Was. Awesome," Viridi gasped in amazement. "Now just pass through the ship to enter the Aurum Hive," said Palutena. "It's like a straw stuck in an orange," said Viridi, still amazed. "Commencing Operation Hive Infiltration!" said Pit. But as he entered the ship, the interior was engulfed in flames. "Hot hot hot hot hot hot HOT!" Pit yelled in pain as he flew into the base.
Music stops and switches to: In the Aurum Hive
Pit then landed into the Aurum Hive and ate the food. "Now that we're in the Aurum Hive, we're one step close to stopping their fleet," he said after he finished his meal. "Right. So the next step is to shut down the hive's power generator," said Palutena. Pit then moved onwards to stop the Aurum. However, he didn't notice a security camera waiting for him to arrive. Once he entered a room, the camera spotted him and this triggered the alarm. "Uh oh." Pit gasped as he was ambushed by Aurum enemies. "INTRUDER ALERT! ENGAGING DEFENSIVE MEASURES!" stated the system. "You must have set off an alarm," said Palutena. "Maybe you tripped their smell sensors," said Viridi. "Though the Aurum probably use more high-tech ways of detecting intruders. Like...a brain-wave scanner or something." "No, it was probably his smell," said Palutena. But after Pit took down all of the Aurum enemies, the system suddenly stated, "SYSTEMS SHUTTING DOWN..." This made everyone confused after hearing that. "What a minute. That's a bit unusual," said Palutena. "Yeah. Who would turn off the security system?" Viridi wondered. "Not going to lie, but even I'm a little confused to know this," said Hades. "Lucifer, what did you even do?" Pit asked his brother. "Listen, Icarus. I may have forgotten to shut off the security system," Lucifer elaborated. "But don't worry. Our enemies are not too suspicious about that. Just focus on the distraction while your at it." Pit decided to leave the conversation at that and continued onwards. "The ship the Underworld Army hijacked was really in rough shape," said Palutena. "Well, yeah. They DID crash it straight into the hive. But on the bright side..." Viridi began. "In doing so, they lost some of their own troops AND took out some Aurum forces." "I AM thankful for that bit of good news," said Palutena. "Um, you're welcome?" Hades replied, confused. Pit continued onwards and took down more Aurum enemies and security cameras along the way. He then entered a room with Jump Pads and electric charged floors. "The power generator is somewhere deep inside the Aurum Hive," said Palutena. "I'm against this place. It's so cold and sterile," said Viridi. "Oh, I don't know. It's nothing a lava lamp and a few posters couldn't fix," Pit suggested. He then took down more enemies and proceeded onwards to stop the Aurum fleet by using a a Jump Pad to move on. "The path forward isn't very sturdy," Palutena warned. "You'll have to move quickly." Pit then carefully maneuvered his way through the path as fast as he could and made it across. He then fell through a hole and encountered a new enemy. "What's that enemy with the green dots?" he asked. "It's called a Biota," said Palutena. "You can send its shots back at it with melee attacks." Pit took it down, continued onwards. and entered a room with rotating fan blades. "What do we have here?" he asked. "They seem to be fans made of lasers," said Viridi. "Hm. Not the most effective method of cooling." "But they're a pretty effective method of hurting," said Pit. "Specifically, hurting me." "Good thing you're so quick and nimble!" said Palutena. Pit continued onwards and took down more enemies. Then he felt rumbling from the next room. "Do you feel a rumble?" he asked. "It's coming from a behemoth of a vehicle!" said Palutena. "It looks like it runs on a loop." "As a disclaimer, your insurance doesn't cover getting run over by alien trains," said Viridi. "Outer space IS a bit out of the coverage area," said Palutena. Pit managed to get through the behemoth vehicle and entered an elevator and found a Hot Spring. "Pit! There's a Hot Spring!" said Palutena. "Hold on. This is an Aurum Hot Spring. You don't know if it's dangerous," said Viridi. "Dangerous? Come on now. I've spent this entire fanfic story getting shot at," Pit complained. "Plus, if Aurum hot springs are so deadly, why didn't you warn me in the last chapter?" "Because that's Palutena's job, not mine," Viridi replied. "Now's not the time to break the fourth wall, brother," said Lucifer, annoyed. "Don't even think about saying another one or you're going to regret it." Pit decided to stop talking and continued onwards. Then he entered a room with a rotating floor and an Aether Ring. "Look, an Aether Ring," said Palutena. "It's probably another cheap Aurum knockoff," Viridi suspected. "It's another vehicle I copied from its data," said Devil Pit. "I don't care! If it works, I'm gonna use it!" said Pit. "I'm an angel! And this is how we get things done!" "No, that's how scavengers get things done," said Viridi. "Are you a buzzard, Pit?" "Now, now, I think we can all agree that Pit's not a buzzard," said Palutena. "Though I have seen him eat some questionable things off the ground..." "Floor ice cream gives you health!" Pit yelped. "God damnit," Lucifer groaned with a facepalm. Pit used the Aether Ring to take down the Aurum enemies and continued onwards with it. He then entered a hallway with moving block walls. "Careful you don't get squished ahead," Palutena warned. "Unfortunately, that Aether Ring won't protect you from moving walls." Pit carefully used the Aether Ring to move through the walls and continued onwards. He then entered another room and took down more enemies. "There appears to be a passageway that leads downward," said Palutena. "Good thing you're riding that Aether Ring. It's easier to aim your shots when you're floating down." Pit did so and found another Zodiac Chamber. He hopped out of the Aether Ring, entered the chamber, and collected the Scorpio Staff. After that, he hopped back into the Aether ring and continued onwards. A door opened up and spilled out some hearts. "Yow!" Pit exclaimed in shock. "Are those hearts Aurum copies too?" Viridi questioned. "Well, scavenge away!" said Palutena. Pit then opened up more doors to collect their goodies. One of them opened up to reveal Aurum troops. "Hey, you were supposed to be a heart!" Pit exclaimed. He hen continued onwards and was ambushed by more Aurum enemies. "Wow, the Aurum really know how to make a guy feel welcome," he said. "You can avoid damage by using the Aether Ring's shield," said Palutena. "Activate it by pushing the button." Pit did so and used the shield to avoid enemy fire. After that, he took down all of the Aurum enemies. "Fist pump!" he exclaimed in victory. "Use that jump pad to move forward," said Palutena. Pit used the Jump Pad and then hopped on the Grind Rail to move onwards. He also realized that he was in a more spacious room. "I can't believe this thing actually fits inside the Aurum Hive," he said. "It is quite expansive," said Palutena. Suddenly, multiple Aurum enemies appeared to slow Pit down. "So...many...enemies!" he exclaimed. But then, Forces of Nature troops swoop in to take them out. "The Forces of Nature?" Pit questioned. "Don't get the wrong idea, Pit. I'm not here to help you," said Viridi. "It's just in my best interest to keep you alive for now!" "Hmph. That's funny coming from you of all people," Pit scoffed. Something is clearly not right here, Palutena thought to herself. I've never seen him so serious before. This is... odd... Pit then continued onwards and defeated more Aurum enemies with the help of Viridi, even though he didn't feel like he needed her. "It looks like this will take you to the Aurum Hive's power generator," said Palutena. "Destroy the generator to bring down this whole place." "Not a problem!" Pit affirmed. He hopped on another Grind Rail and took down more enemies. He then hopped off the Grind Rail and was ambushed again by the Aurum forces. "It's their last line of defense," said Palutena. "I dedicate this beatdown to the honor of our precious planet!" Pit exclaimed. Pit soon took down all of the enemies and then drank another Drink of the Gods. "Alright, Pit. Enter through those doors and you'll shut down the Generator!" Palutena ordered. "With pleasure!" Pit affirmed. He then drank another Drink of the Gods and entered the doors to finish his mission.
Music stops and switches to: Boss Fight 1
Pit entered the room and spotted the Aurum Generator. "That's the Aurum Hive's power generator," said Palutena. "It's as bright as the sun!" Pit exclaimed as he hopped on a Grind Rail and nearly lost balance. "Whoa!" he gasped and after he regained balance, the battle began. "So I should attack the center?" "Yes, and don't forget you can switch between Grind Rails as you see fit," said Palutena. "Weapons have different ranges, so feel out how far the rails are from the generator." Suddenly, Pit heard another voice. "HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Pyrrhon laughed. "Pyrrhon? What are you doing here?" Pit asked in shock. "Looks like you could use a hand there, little angel," the Sun God responded. "The heroic hand...of justice!" "No, I'm fine," said Pit. "Try my pyroweaponry on for size!" said Pyrrhon and shot at the Aurum Generator, but instead of taking damage, it heats up. "That's...odd," Pyrrhon wondered. "Apparently adding heat to heat only makes things hotter," said Palutena. "HA HA HA HA HA!" Pyrrhon laughed, nervously. "That is to say, oops. My bad." "'My bad?' That's all you have to say?" Pit questioned. "No. I have one more message to impart to you," Pyrrhon responded. "I wish you luck! You're going to need it. And with that, I must leave you! Until we meet again!" He then left Pit to fight the Aurum Generator himself. "Arrgh! What an idiot!" Pit groaned. "Wait for when the rails are parallel," Palutena explained. "Then jump on the rail that's closest to the power generator and fire away. But be sure to watch out for incoming fire." Pit managed to avoid the attacks and hopped on different Grind Rails to swtich positions. After that, the Aurum Generator was defeated. "Pulverazed!" he exclaimed in victory. "Nice. Now let's get you out of there!" said Palutena. Pit was then extracted by Palutena via a light pillar while the generator shut down. Just in time as the Aurum Hive imploded on itself while Pyrrhon watches. "And now on to the Aurum Brain..." he said.
Music stops and switches to: (M)TMB ARC Extended Music: Athenaeum Riba's Theme (A.K.A. Lucifer's Theme)
Meanwhile, Lucifer was still in the Void watching the whole battle. "Excellent. Our disguise is still going well," he said. "Even though I forgot to deactivate the cameras earlier. But still!" He then walked away and headed straight to the ritual circle. "It won't be long before we gathered all of the required souls needed for the ritual," he continued. "Once our distraction is done, it will be time to move on to the next step of our master plan. This Void will forever be their tomb and our vengeance for our family will belong to us! I'll bring back the Aurum to bring forth our robotic apocalypse and the new world will be ours soon! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He then continued to wait with a sinister smile and black bloody eyes.
Oh dear. Looks like everything is going exactly as Lucifer planned. Now, he and his brother are only one step away from completing their diversion. What will happen to the brothers once their distraction is complete? What is going to be their next step of their master plan? Stay tuned for chapter seventeen of the Evil Route, review, and have a great day!