Though every step caused a new throb in his legs, Pit continued on through the Earth Sanctum and made his way through another passage, his staff dragging in the dirt behind him. He prayed that, somehow, he wouldn't run into another ambush. He quickly realized he didn't have the option of getting himself finished anymore: No goddess would save him, seeing as Palutena had been captured and Viridi seemed to have no desire to budge on her lack of granting him any actual aid.

He sighed and stretched his shoulders, sending pain through them and his back, but continued walking through the rock corridor until he reached another chamber. Puzzled, he glanced around to find an empty rut of sorts running around its perimeter, the next passage blocked by a heavy metal gate. He looked into the crevice to find several large wheels resembling gears and frowned.

"I'm guessing I have to do something with these," he muttered and glanced around to find a metal sheet hanging on the wall, and the rock itself was streaked a darker shade of brown underneath. He made his way over to it and brushed his fingers over the streaks to find water. After thinking for a moment, his face lit up with an idea. "Okay... I just need to get this metal thing off... right?" He pursed his lips and looked up to find a gem hanging from the ceiling, colored a bright milky white. "Hey, Viridi?"
"Can't you do anything by yourself?" she grumbled. "I've got problems to deal with too, you know."

"Okay, okay, never mind," he sighed. "Just figured I'd take your advice and not just randomly shoot this time." He knew his body couldn't handle springing a trap designed to harm him.

"Well, you got anything better to do?" the goddess inquired.

"Guess not," he said glumly and pointed his staff at the crystal above, then fired. The shot traveled quickly and was absorbed into its target as soon as it made contact, and he heard some sort of mechanical whirring noise. He turned back to the metal sheet to find it cranking open, and water began gushing out- much more than he expected. It poured into the crevice and flowed quickly through, turning the wheels to pull the gate open. He smiled and headed through once he was sure it was clear.

"Careful!" Viridi advised. "You have enemies waiting for you up ahead."

"Thanks for the warning!" he replied as he dodged the fire of a waiting monster. In addition to the first little things he'd encountered, there were several worm-like creatures as well made of the same substance. They hissed at him and reared up, then snapped forward like an angered snake. Though he managed to avoid one, the other struck his leg and left what appeared to be a bite mark once he shook it off. "Oh, groooooooss!" he complained and knocked it away with his staff before firing and finishing it. With a mix of dash shots and evasion, he picked off the others and looked around the chamber. "I hope those things aren't poisonous or something."

"Venomous," Viridi corrected. "Things like that are venomous. Things like plants or frogs or ones that are toxic when you eat them are poisonous."
"Whatever!" he sighed. "I don't really care."

"Hmph!" she scoffed. "Just thought I'd enlighten you with a little knowledge." He ignored her and moved on, coming to another incline that he trekked up even as his limbs continued protesting. Finally, he reached the central chamber again and frowned as he realized he was on the wrong side from the gate.

"Okay, now what?" He'd hit a dead end, found no other paths that he could take. He looked around and found another cliff just out of his jumping range. "Great. I probably have to get there, don't I?"

"I think there's another mechanism on it," Viridi agreed. "If I'm right, and I probably am, it'll trigger the gate and should lower that metal sheet on the ceiling so you can get across. How you'll get to it, however, I don't know."

"Wonderful," he groaned. "Let's see..." All he had was his staff, and there didn't seem to be anything useful to shoot.

Wait.

His staff?
Pit stared at the weapon for a moment as another idea managed to formulate in his head. He stepped forward to the very edge of his cliff, trying to avoid looking down as he reached his staff out with both arms. With a grunt, he drove one end of it into the rock face and tugged on it a bit to assure it would stay. Sure enough, it did.

"Dare I ask what you're doing?" Viridi wondered.

"Something stupid," he replied and backed up several paces, then sprinted forward through the ache in his limbs and launched himself, planting his feet briefly on the staff and springing off of it. He rolled onto the other cliff and couldn't contain his laughter, a mix of relief and disbelief that it actually worked. He pulled a lever on the mechanism he found, and a moment later the metal platform from the ceiling lowered as the gate opened.

"Wow," Viridi said bluntly. "That was actually kind of cool. But how are you going to get your weapon back?" His pleased feeling at his accomplishment faded.

"Uh..." Even if she wasn't actually present, he could imagine her rolling her eyes and sighing heavily. He turned back to the staff and stared at it. "No problem! I've got an idea."
"This should be good," she muttered. He took a deep breath and leaped at it, allowing himself to fall a slight bit short. His hands grabbed the staff and he swung himself toward the first cliff, building up his momentum before finally launching himself toward it, pulling the staff out and landing less than gracefully as he rolled to the side to avoid any further injury to his wings. "Yeah," he said once he was back on his feet. "Like that."

"You're crazy, you know that, Pit?" she chuckled. "But whatever. You've got it, so get going!"

"Right." He turned back to the metal sheet and jumped onto it, steadying himself as it swung to the side a bit. "A gate that impressive and hard to get to has to have something important behind it!" Viridi snorted, but said nothing, and he jumped to the other cliff before proceeding through the gate.

He came to a large chamber with several misshapen dips in the ground, making for some rather uneven footing. On the other side appeared to be another tunnel, and he could smell fresh air flowing in from it.

"Didn't you promise me a Hot Spring?" he complained as he stepped forward.

"I said I thought there might be one!" she snapped back. "Sorry. I guess I was wrong."

"I was really looking forward to it..." He shook his head and continued on until he heard something of a rumble. He stopped. "What was that? Augh!" he grunted as the ground below him suddenly started shaking, and cracks in the ground formed before the odd, smoky substance like the stuff that had attacked Skyworld shot out. He readied his staff as he watched it carefully, adrenaline shooting through his body as it collected above, forming into a burly creature that watched him with blood-red eyes that shifted to other shades of red, but not to other colors like its minions did. He stumbled as it dug its razor-sharp claws into the ground, causing it to shake.

"What, are you the boss?" the angel asked with a challenging smile on his face. "Alright! I have an issue with whatever's commanding you, but I can take it out on you first!" He redistributed his weight to lighten his steps and sprung to the side as it lashed out at him. "That all you got?!" he yelled at it as he rushed forward and released a charged shot that hit it in what he assumed was its chest. It glared at him and threw forth several rocks, and Pit's eyes flew wide as he rolled forward and flattened himself against the ground as one passed hairs over him. Once he was sure his heart hadn't stopped, he jumped back to his feet and focused his energy, casting a power into his staff to charge its shots almost instantly. He fired at his opponent's head, and it strangely and seemingly fell apart before sealing back together.

"I don't like you," the angel said flatly as he ran to the side to dodge another boulder being thrown at him. It quickly lashed out its other arm, however, and struck him, knocking him to the ground as his injuries from the previous fight complained rather violently. Gritting his teeth and swallowing his pain, he forced himself back to his feet and fired again, hitting his opponent and causing it to again fall apart briefly before coming back together. But with each time, its form became less defined, more like the goo that made up its allies that had ambushed him earlier. But with that came its ability to lash out more unpredictably, and it wasn't long before Pit found himself sitting against the rock wall with pain shooting through his body.

"I don't think I can take much more..." he mumbled, but again got back to his feet. But I've got to. I have to save Lady Palutena. With that in mind, he dashed forward and fired shot after shot, narrowly avoiding the creatures limbs and the rocks thrown at him. Finally, as his heart pounded in his chest, he shouted and lunged back, letting loose one more shot that hit it square in the chest. It gurgled and seemed to melt, evaporating back into the smoke it came from before disappearing. The immediate threat having passed, Pit sat down with a plop as he tried to catch his breath, sweat making his face shine.

He watched curiously as water rushed forth from the cracks in the ground, steaming as it swept over his body and filled the dips in the earth. A laugh of relief escaped his throat as the waters of this new Hot Spring erased his pain and returned his energy to his body.

"See?" Viridi teased. "I told you there was a Hot Spring in here!"

"I would have preferred it BEFORE I fought that thing," he replied. Though his words were harsh, his tone was light, and the goddess laughed briefly. It faded, however, as a bright reddish-brown light appeared among the steam. It appeared similar to a human but had no distinguished features save the slight definition of a face, hands, feet, and a bit of shorter hair. It appeared neither male nor female.

"My thanks, Master Pit," it said, though the voice seemed to come from within Pit's head. "You performed admirably to stop that foul creature from stealing the essence of the Earth."

"Do you know what that thing was?" Pit wondered. "Where it came from? Who attacked Skyworld?"

"Would that I could, I'd gladly tell you, young angel. But your time is short. Should you save the other spirits, they will explain to you the threat you face." It held its hand out as a small object bearing an earthen symbol flashed into it. "For now, take this, the charm of the Earth, and you may use my power when you need it most." The charm floated over and Pit took it carefully, glancing at it for a moment before returning his gaze to the spirit. "Now, hurry, young master. You must go quickly."

"Alright," Pit nodded. "Thank you." The spirit appeared to smile for a moment before disappearing in flecks of light. Pit remained in the Hot Spring for a moment longer as he observed the charm. It felt heavy in his hand, strangely enough, and he felt oddly tethered to the earth underneath him.

"Not bad, Pit," Viridi remarked. "Now, seriously. Get going. No time to lose! And once you're out of here, I'll show you to the base you can use."

"Alright." He got back to his feet and stored the charm at the back of his belt. "Can I just get out through this tunnel?"
"You should," she agreed. "So go!" He picked up his staff and set a quick pace through the tunnel, going through dim light before emerging into the partly cloudy sunlight among the mountains themselves. What he found there, however, confused him.

Several other monsters made of the same substance as the ones he'd been fighting in the Sanctum whirled around to face him, taking their attention away from what looked like a large glass container filled to the brim with a murky brown liquid. Whatever it was, it made him strangely ill, and distracted him until one of the monsters screeched and lashed out at him. Its claws raked against his leg and he leapt back, hitting it with his staff several times before turning and firing on another. After a few moments, they had dissipated and he found himself alone with the glass.

"So..." he mused. "Viridi? Any idea what this thing is?"

"Not a clue," she replied. "But I think they were guarding it. So do what you do best- destroy it and see what happens." He smirked for a moment as he gripped his staff, then approached the glass and thrust the weapon against it. A crack ran all across it, the liquid inside leaking out in spurts, and Pit jumped back just as the entire thing shattered. The liquid fell to the dirt along with a dark, motionless form that caught the angel entirely off guard.

This form was dressed in black trimmed in gold, with midnight hair and dark, shadowy teal wings. Yet his face was the same as Pit's, albeit bruised and unmoving. Pit's heart jumped with panic in his chest as he scrambled among the broken glass and liquid that ran across the dirt, sapping the life from the blades of grass nearby once it reached them. He knelt down at the former prisoner's side and shook him gently.

"Pittoo!" he yelled, but Dark Pit remained motionless and Pit wasn't entirely certain he was breathing. He was soaked by whatever it was that had been imprisoning him, his eyes closed and his body limp. "Pittoo?" Pit shook him again, this time more mindful of the cuts and bruises on his arms, face, legs. "Viridi! What's wrong with him?!"

"I don't know!" Viridi replied, panicked. "Um... I think he's alive, right? Take him back to the Hot Spring you just released. If anything, that should help him... I hope." Pit nodded and bit his lip, then lifted his darker counterpart as best he could and hoisted him over his shoulders.

"Hold on," Pit practically pleaded as he made his way slowly back inside, Dark Pit a limp weight on his back as he went. Once his feet had splashed into the water, he lowered his twin down carefully and sat down beside him, his eyes focused for any sign of life- a gasp, a flutter of eyelids, a groan, a twitch, anything.

"Did they do this to you?" he wondered quietly as he hoped the Hot Spring was working. Could they? Was his mysterious enemy truly so cunning as to even go after the independent dark angel without anyone noticing? Was it truly planning that far ahead, so Pit would have nowhere else to turn?

Despite the Hot Spring's warmth, a shiver went through his body at the thought.