I'm finished, Pit thought to himself. Dead. Done. No more. Where's that dang Reaper? He thought, what with all the Reapettes in his last two adventures, that they would be beside themselves with glee to finally grab his soul and drag it to the Underworld. Maybe they were still fighting with themselves over who would actually be the one to claim him. But none came, and he still felt pain. But he'd been falling with no one to save him. He should be dead, right?

He opened one eye a crack, followed by the other as he found himself staring at a warm brown ceiling with vines reaching up and across it.

"O-kay...?" he mumbled, confused and disoriented as he sat up, and his face blushed as he realized he was bare from the waist up save a few bandages over his wounds. His hair was damp, like he'd been bathing not too long ago. "Where am I?" He glanced around as he fixed his tunic over his bandages and found his staff leaning against the wall, and he grabbed it quickly before departing the room.

Not long after, it quickly became apparent that he was in Viridi's temple somewhere on the Overworld- the warm reds, browns, and golds among the foliage was enough to tell him that. He continued in silence until he came to her central chamber, where he found the goddess of Nature speaking with one of her top commanders- the Lightning Flash, Phosphora. They both turned toward him as he approached.

"Oh, so the sleeping prince awakens!" Viridi scoffed, and Phosphora smirked at her side. "It's about time. I was starting to think you'd actually managed to get yourself killed."

"What happened?" he wondered as he came to stand a few paces away from them. Viridi's humorous nature faded, and her tone softened.

"Skyworld was invaded, but I assume you already know that. Phosphora here saw the attack and your falling over the edge. I ordered her to bring you back here."

"So you owe me one!" the Lightning Flash snapped, and Pit blinked. "You're heavier than you look. Yeesh!"

"Uh... thanks," Pit muttered, still distracted by the memory of the attack on his homeland. "So... Skyworld really is... Lady Palutena is in danger! I have to get back there!"

"Huh uh!" Viridi interrupted, placing one hand on her hip while the other held her staff. "You go back to Skyworld, and you'll just get a repeat of what happened last night. And I may decide not to save you this time." She fell silent.

"You might as well give up," Phosphora advised, resting her arms behind her head. "There's no way some puny chicken like you can stop-"

"SHUSH!" Viridi hissed, silencing her commander before turning her attention back to the angel. "Sorry, Pit, but you're on your own. Much as I know you're probably worried sick and want to throw yourself head first into danger- again- I can't help you. I don't want what attacked you to come here after me!"

"Seriously?!" Pit demanded, anger boiling in his core. "So you're going to let Lady Palutena suffer and lose Skyworld because you're afraid of what might happen? What if it happens anyway? Fight back now!" He clenched his fists and grit his teeth.

"Look, I get you're upset," the goddess continued, "But I can't, Pit. I wouldn't dare risk my Children, Phosphora, Arlon, any of them against this."

"You can't even tell me what 'this' is?" he inquired, and she shook her head. He sighed heavily and looked down. "Fine. That's great." He looked back up, glaring at Viridi, and she only glared back. "I've made it to Skyworld on my own before. Whether I have help or not, I'm saving Lady Palutena!" He fell silent as he recalled his dream. "She said I need power- er, I need to find something that'll give me power." Again, he sighed, defeat crashing over him. "But what is that something?! What am I supposed to do if I don't know what it is I'm looking for?"
"You're looking for the physical embodiments of the elements that make up our world," Viridi replied.

"I mean, I don't even know where to start. I- wait." He stopped. "What?"
"Stop clucking and listen to me for a second," she scolded, and he remained silent. "Skyworld wasn't the first place this thing attacked, but it'll probably be the most heavily guarded. It's probably looking for you, Pit, knows you're the only one who'll openly oppose it simply because you're willing to die for Palutena."
"Gladly," he mumbled.

"Exactly," Viridi nodded. "But here's the thing, Pit. You don't mean squat to the Celestial Balance." He blinked. "That's why you can oppose this thing. Sure, you fight for it, but you don't actually hold or defend any part of it. That's why I can't fight." She paused and her gaze lost focus. "I'm arguably the only one this thing hasn't gotten to yet, especially since Hades and Medusa are down for the count thanks to you. And Pyrrhon, now that I think about it." She chuckled and eyed him curiously. "You're good at killing gods. You know that?"
"Er..." He didn't have the slightest idea of how to reply to that.

"Whatever. Okay, let me explain." She turned to Phosphora. "Do me a favor and scout out Skyworld, will you?" Phosphora snorted and shrugged. "Keep your distance, though. I just want to know what's going on up there."

"Of course," Phosphora nodded, though her tone was far from sincere. "Be back soon." She winked at Pit, making a blush form on his face, before departing quickly.

"Anyway," Viridi went on as she turned back to the angel. "I'll tell you everything I can, Pit. I'll help you get on the right path. I'll even give you a place to rest when you need it- and you're going to need it. But don't expect any help in battle. And if I think my helping you is putting me and my Children in danger, then I'm pulling back."
"Understood," he nodded. "I'll take whatever you can offer. So what's up with these elements?"

"Again, let me explain," she snapped, and he silenced himself. "Okay. This world is made up of many different elements, but there are six that are the most prominent: Earth, Wind, Water, Fire, Light, and Darkness. Take out these, and everything falls to pieces. And if you've got control of all of them, then you've basically got the world in your hands."

"So I need to get the power of those elements in order to challenge whatever it is that attacked Skyworld?"

"Will you stop interrupting?!" she demanded, and he mumbled a quick "sorry" before she continued. "I'm getting to that. So each element has a... well, an avatar, if you will- a form it takes that guards it as a whole, kind of a fail-safe in case something happened to the gods and goddesses whose power is linked to that element. Like I said, you managed to destroy Medusa, more or less, and send Pyrrhon to the other side of the galaxy, and now Palutena is down for the count." He swallowed his fears and continued to listen. "So these elemental forms are basically the last line of defense for what they embody.

"But it goes beyond that. There are six sanctums, if you will, scattered around the world- one for each element. And unless someone has already gotten their paws on it, each one houses the physical embodiment of the element's power. It's kind of like a charm. Get that charm, and you can borrow that element's power and use it- I think."

"You THINK?!"

"Oh, shut it!" she snapped again as he tried to calm down. "It's not exactly clear how they work- probably to prevent something like the whole thing with the Wish Seed from happening. Some say each element is independent and can be used that way, and others say you need all six charms to actually unlock their power. Either way, you'll need all of them if you want to fight this thing and save Palutena."

"I see," he nodded. "So where are the sanctums?"

"Let's see if I can remember..." she muttered, her eyes losing focus in thought. "Well, some of them are easy: Darkness is in the Underworld, Light is in Skyworld, and Fire is over near Phoenix Mountain." He groaned. "Then Water is... well, underwater. Can you swim?"

"Uh... I think so," he admitted. "I haven't exactly gone swimming recently."

"Well, you better learn!" She sighed. "Anyway. Earth and Wind are both around different mountain ranges. But Wind is in the peaks while Earth will probably have you actually go inside the mountains."

"Great," he muttered. "This isn't gonna be easy, is it?"
"Nope!" She smiled. "If you were expecting it to be, then you're in for a rough surprise. Anyway, I suggest you go to the Earth Sanctum first. After you're done there, I'll show you the place you can use as your base."

"Why not just show me now?" he wondered.

"Because you'll be more pumped to finish up in the Earth Sanctum if you can't just retreat whenever you feel like it!" The logic didn't exactly make sense to him, but he decided not to question it.

"Okay, okay," he sighed. "And let me guess. I'm walking."

"Yep!" she agreed. "Here's hoping you can get through without getting yourself killed."

"Right..." he shook his head. "Alright. Let me get ready, then I'm out of here." She nodded.

"By the way, you've only got that staff on you, right?" He looked at his Lancer Staff for a moment before returning his gaze to her and nodding. "Hm. I hope you find some other stuff on the road. So get moving! I want you out of my temple and on the road before the hour is up!"

"I'm going, I'm going!" he replied before hurrying back toward the room he'd woken up in, his brain working hard to process everything she'd told him. At least he had either her or Palutena's help when he was fighting Hades. Now, from the sound of it, he would be on his own with maybe a few pointers from the goddess of Nature to keep him going in the right direction. Collecting these elemental charms was not going to be an easy task, but he knew he had little choice in the matter. He would rescue Palutena.

Or die trying.