"And we're off!" Pit said, jumping out the door as the Power of Flight took effect.

"I'm coming too!" I exclaimed, throwing Winged Star as I ran behind him. It expanded and I jumped on. I crouched to charge its boost, stopping its movement, aimed out the door and blasted off behind Pit.

I supposed I should detail it now, while we're starting this time. Winged Star is an Air-Ride machine from Kirby Air Ride, made to fly. My version is from the anime, which has unlimited flight capabilities and much, much better control than any other machine. It's also like Kirby's anime Warp Star, and can change between amulet size and flying size to suit my needs. It's an overall bird-shaped machine that still resembles a star. The pointy head is an almost white-looking light blue, as are the wings and tail. Said tail was shaped similar to a bird's three tail feathers, though also had the boosters in them. In the center and over part of the front of the wings it is a dark blue and looks very mechanical. My usual stance on it is usually like a surfer on a board, if said surfer was also a swordsman.

I received it in my previous adventure, which was also my first one. Oh yeah, that prequel won't be out for a while, so I suppose I should describe my physical look as well. My hair is a brown-ish blonde, I've noticed it getting darker over time, and my eyes are blue. My hair is shoulder length and a bit wavy, kinda curly at the ends. I should note that my current weapons were also gotten in my previous adventure. I'm also a bit stocky.

I usually wear a sleeveless green shirt, matching green wristbands, a green martial arts headband that also matches, and white pants or shorts, the former of which I'm wearing in this chapter. White ankle socks and Greek sandals like Pit's made due as my shoes. Hey, don't blame me, I'm not the one who made the outfit! Anyway, I also have a brown belt that has a clip for my weapons. On my right side is a golden sword handle with the hand guard shaped like wings, and clipped on my other side is my white boomerang. It had a green gem in the middle of the curve, and could change shape to look more like a part of a shield.

Returning to the story, we flew out into a cloudy, grey sky, an unnatural lightning storm happening. "Ugh, this weather's nasty!" Pit complained, holding his First Blade.

"Yes, but your next mission can't wait," Palutena replied. "You must defeat Dark Lord Gaol."

"Heh, 'dark lord'? Seriously?" Pit asked. "Hasn't the 'dark-lord' thing been done to death already?"

"Oh," I began, "There's only…Harry Potter, Legend of Zelda, Okami, and I few more I can't think of off the top of my head."

"Oh, Shane!" Palutena said, surprised. "You're going too?"

"Of course. I'm not just going to stay behind when I can help!" I said, drawing the Aura Blade- That's the golden handle's name- and channeling my aura into a green broadsword blade.

"Alright…Anyway, Gaol has earned his title. He's working for Medusa. Her forces are coming from HIS castle. A human army has gone to fight him, but…they don't stand a chance," Palutena explained as Pit shot down some Syrens- Human-bird monster hybrids- and I threw my boomerang to take down some Monoeyes.

"So what you're saying is, we need a brave hero to face the dark lord?" Pit asked, blasting some green spheres with purple mouths and small purple tendrils called Miks as my boomerang returned to me. Miks also have long, blue tongues they use to attack.

"I suppose it IS an old story."

"Try 'cliché'," I commented.

"But don't forget that this is the Underworld Army we're dealing with," Palutena continued as I fired three small, green energy spheres from my palm at more Miks. "And anybody with the title 'dark lord' won't be some low-level minion."

"So, what are we talking here?" Pit asked, slashing a few Moneyes apart as we flew near some funneling clouds. "Miniboss? ….Final Boss?" he continued, slashing at a Keron as we started moving past said funnel clouds.

"Well, final boss of the chapter…" I muttered as we continued.

"Well, whatever. I hope this dark lord's hungry for a hot plate of punishment!"

We dispatched more Underworld monsters while continuing to fly forward until-

"Whoa!" Pit exclaimed as he came to a sudden and quick stop before a burst of blue lightning that came very close to frying him. "Is this lightning coming from the Underworld Army?"

"Where else would it be coming from?"

"Uh, natural weather?" I asked, shrugging atop Winged Star.

"No, these patterns are quite unnatural. Have you ever seen a funnel cloud without a tornado?"

"…..Good point."

"I guess that was kind of obvious…" Pit said as we continued flying once more, shooting some more Underworld monsters. I even got a chance to slash at some of them, though it wasn't a big chance.

"If you don't watch out, we'll be having barbequed angel tonight! And though spicy angel wings sound tasty, I'd best get you out of there." Palutena said, unable to resist a food joke.

"Plus… chicken is much more economicaaaaal!" Pit exclaimed as Palutena sent him into a dive. I quickly followed, blasting some more enemies. "Ahhhh! much better!" He sighed as we flew down.

"You still have to watch out for fire from Underworld troops." Palutena reminded. I looked back up to see several Shrips spinning toward us. Shrips are big, buglike monsters with two legs and two eyes that have a very big blade instead of a nose. They spin vertically to attack. I boosted in front of Pit, who turned around and fired at them while I took care of several Gyrazers ahead with green blasts of aura from my left palm. "Let's get you headed toward land."

After shooting down the Shrips, Pit turned back to where we flew to shoot down three Monoeyes as we finally escaped the clouds and turned back to flying over the rocky mountains to our destination. I slashed through three Syrens as we continued, and I thought there was a Monoeye among them…

"How in the world would the human army make it across these mountains by foot?" Pit asked, noticing the terrain and how very unfriendly it appeared to grounded beings as we continued flying over and through the mountain, shooting Underworld monsters.

"Do I detect a note of smugness in your voice?" Palutena asked.

"Uh…No no no! I'm just really happy I can fly!" Pit replied.

"Angels shouldn't gloat, Pit."

"What I meant to say is that I'm eternally grateful for your help." Pit said as he passed through a hole in some rocks above ground and did an aileron roll, also shooting down three more Monoeyes. I shot some Underworld troops Pit missed before following him through the rock and doing my own aileron roll.

"Let's make our way underground," Palutena said, directing Pit over a wall and into a chasm that led under the mountains. I quickly followed, shooting some distant enemies Pit didn't get. "Not the most cheerful place, is it?" Palutena asked as we flew around.

"The Underworld baddies seem to like it," Pit replied as we flew onwards and shot down some Octos. Octos are similar to Monoeyes and Miks, being mostly spherical and having four small tendrils, but they also had two eyes and a tube-like mouth from which they expelled toxic rings of what looked like smoke.

"I suppose it makes sense they'd feel at home underground."

"It'd be like living in a basement," Pit said, shooting some Miks down. We continued flying for bit, but Pit came to a sudden stop just before a hard-to-describe place between a square of stone and a beam of stone. "Why'd we stop?" Pit asked before I could as I stopped next to him. On the wall, a Porcuspine appeared, with two Monoeyes in the background. Porcuspines are basically big blue stones shaped kinda like Super Mushrooms with one evil cyclops eye and a lot of spikes they can shoot at people.

"Oh, I thought you might want to take in the sights….and destroy some monsters!" Palutena replied as we took care of the three enemies and continued, then stopped at another of the same place not ten feet from it and destroyed a second Porcuspine that had two Gyrazers for backup. After taking care of them, we ascended out of the caverns and into a rocky valley. As we continued on through the valley- Not flying over it for some reason- Another issue appeared. "Boys, behind you!" Palutena warned, causing us to look back and see a Belunka head towards us.

Belunkas are basically green whales with purple undersides and fancy caps that are large, spherical, and barf up more enemies. This one chased us into the valley that we still did not simply fly over for some reason. "Let me at 'em!" Pit said, turning to shoot at it.

"I'll control your flight path so you don't run into anything. Just focus on shooting and dodging!"

"I'll attack it from the rear!" I called, already performing an aerial maneuver that made an 'O' shape to get behind it. Once I was on its tail, I slashed away while Pit dealt with the enemies it spawned. In mere seconds, I felt a surge and rapidly- albeit, a bit wildly, I'll admit- slashed the Belunka at high speeds, then ended by slashing into and through it, ending in front of it in a pretty epic pose. Pit quickly turned back to face where he was flying once that was done.

"Dark Lord Gaol's castle is just up ahead."

"But…but what about that wall?" Pit asked as we approached said wall. It was a massive rocky barrier, and flat, horizontal ground was very, very high up….I couldn't even see it from where we were.

"Don't worry, I'll help you over!" Palutena said, alighting Pit's wings even brighter as he flew up, suddenly at ridiculous speeds. I adjusted my position, my feet on the wings and my left hand gripping the head as I tilted upwards, crouched for few seconds, and blasted off upwards.

"Whoaaaa!" Pit cried as we ascended, "G-force….in my faaaaaaaace!"

"It's fun, right?"

"I ask in Pit's stead, seriously, how did a human army make it across these mountains on foot?!" I asked, slashing through enemy fire to defend while Pit dispatched them.

In a good ten or fifteen seconds, we made it above the wall… and I had to fly in a spiral pattern in order to not blast off into the atmosphere. Once I returned Winged Star's speed to normal, I followed Pit as he cheered. "Yeah! Take that, wall!" He then gasped, "Look!" Somehow, beyond all logic, there really was a human army fighting the Underworld forces, but they were clearly outmatched. Pit and I destroyed a few Monoeyes and Gyrazers as we passed by, but…

"The people will never defeat Gaol with the Underworld forces in their way," Palutena said as we flew over, still destroying monsters on our way to castle, backlit by a gorgeous full moon silhouetting Gaol's lair.

"The humans are taking a beating!" Pit exclaimed, "They need our help!"

"Normally I'd agree with you, but…"

"What is it?!"

"Do you remember how long the Power of Flight lasts?"

"Five….minutes?"

"And remember what happens when it runs out?"

"My wings... burn up?"

"We don't have time to assist the people. We have to go straight for Gaol. I'll take you into the castle. From there it's up to you to face the dark lord."

"Hold on," I interrupted as we flew by and began circling Gaol's castle. "I can still help."

"Huh?" Goddess and angel replied in sync.

"Winged Star doesn't have a time limit," I stated, stopping and turning back to the battleground of humans versus Underworld. "I'll stay out here and help the humans while you face the dark lord! ...This could NOT sound more cliché!"

"That's a good idea. Pit, you'll have to face Gaol on your own. His defeat will force the Underworld Army into retreat."

"Roger! Get ready for a display of raw angel power!" Pit declared as we both flew off in our directions.

Blasting forth, I slashed through three Monoeyes in one swipe and threw my boomerang which took out several Shrips, and then put away my Aura Blade for a moment to charge and fire a large green ball of aura at a Nettler like an Aura Sphere attack before catching my boomerang and switching its shape as I drew the Aura Blade once more and readied both, resulting in a green shield made of aura on my left arm that was shaped like an upside-down triangle with a rounded downward point. I took a moment after this to look back at the castle and ponder Pit's progress. I only then noticed the chasm around it.

"Huh. Kinda like Ganondorf's castle," I mused, before returning to the battle.

"So this is the dark lord's castle," Pit observed upon landing on the balcony of said castle.

"Yes, he must have scrambled to build it after Medusa's resurrection." Palutena said as Pit grabbed some food beside the doorway that was for some reason perfectly set for him. They had plates under them and everything, which vanished as soon as he scarfed it down. "He's using this castle as a stronghold for Underworld monsters. Monsters designed to wreak havoc and sow sadness. Are you excited?"

"Yeah," Pit sarcastically replied, "it's like a birthday party where everyone wants to kill me." He then walked through the open doorway before him into a rectangular room with two Skuttler statues, a glowing, evil-looking, automatic door, and a blue switch.

Skuttlers are the most common and weak of grunts in the Underworld Army, at least on land. The have completely purple torsos with short, stubby limbs and large skulls with only one red eye and a crossbones symbol on their foreheads.

Pit slashed the switch, activating it. He then walked up to the door, which opened into a small room with a square hole near the back wall that led into the great hall. A Monoeye popped up, but it was quickly dispatched by a downward slash. Pit hopped down the hole, landing on a purple-ish red carpet that led up to a treasure box and had two metal lampposts next to it. At both walls, a curved staircase led to the second floor. A bridge above and behind Pit allowed quick access to two switches, and on the front wall at the top of the staircase in front of Pit was another door exactly like the one in the previous room.

Two Skuttlers with cannons guarded the treasure box, but Pit dispatched them with charged shots, easily evading their slow fire. "This must be the great hall," he observed as he walked over and opened the treasure box, receiving an Impact Amplifier power up.

"At the top of the stairs, there's a door with switches across from it."

"Switches, huh?" Pit replied as he dashed up the stairs. "That probably means I should hit them!"

"Very….perceptive of you, Pit."

At the top of the stairs, Pit turned right and decided to get the switch to his left first. Unfortunately, in his way was a Boogity. Boogities are-

"They know!" Pit interrupted.

….What?

"You don't have to describe ALL the enemies, author! Everyone reading this already played the game!"

Maybe most readers, but not all-

"Oh come on! Who would be browsing the Kid Icarus section of Fanfiction without having played Uprising?"

Well, some people probably decided to check out my other stories after seeing Pokemon: Black and White or Weapon Master.

"They can still look them up!"

What kind of author makes their readers look up mystical creatures when writing a fantasy novel?

"Huh?"

Have you ever read a real, original novel where the author said "just look it up" instead of describing whatever mystical creatures they thought up?

"But fanfiction is different!"

Good description is the mark of a good- or at least, decent, book, fanfic or no.

"You didn't describe me or Lady Palutena."

Because you two already show up in the prequel book and I'm TRYING to make sure I don't have to make a million edits when Twilight Embrace is written and released!

"But you described yourself and your stuff."

Because this is the first book released publically and I had to! I'll make appropriate edits in the future, or I can just leave it as is in case this ends up being someone's first read in the series when the other book is out. Can we just get back to the story?

"But-"

No.

"Ugh, fine!"

Ahem, Boogities are basically small goblins with larger arms and hands than legs and feet which have large metal backsides that are basically shields from any and every attack. Their front is vulnerable, though, and they have to reveal their faces to attack.

Pit slowly got closer to the Boogity while its back was turned, and when it whirled around to fire, he dashed forth and fired a charged shot into its face, destroying it. Then, he ran up and slashed the switch for the door and walked up to the bridge. He walked halfway across before ducking and sliding under a Monolith, which is basically a floating blue square that flips around or acts as platforms for grounded Underworld troops, and then fired at the Coral and Skuttler guarding the other switch. Corals are literally pieces of coral with mouths that break apart when attacked and shoot towards someone who shoots them, but fly in the opposite direction if hit by a melee attack.

Once those two were dispatched, he struck the second switch, unlocking the door and spawning a large, cyclops skull with four spider legs. "The door is 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. So I suggest using melee attacks or dash shots to take them down," Palutena explained as Pit ran over to the door, and, upon hearing her suggestion, slashed through the Ganewmede, instantly defeating it. That done, he went through the door and found himself on the upper level of the interior garden.

From where he stood, to his left was a path to a bridge in the center of the room that connected his side of the upper level to another side, both of which had spiky railing keeping one from simply falling over the edge. Even more to the left was a Skuttler holding a cannon guarding a door. "I'm sensing treasure somewhere to your left." Palutena stated.

"How do you know that?" Pit asked, dashing over to the door and dispatching the Skuttler with a powerful slash.

"From the heavens, I can see through your laurel crown to divine your surroundings!" Palutena replied in a mystical tone.

"Really? That's amazing!" Pit exclaimed as he walked through the door into a new room. It was a somewhat fancy room, with eight statues around it. Two near the door he entered by, as well as across the room in front of where it led off to the right somewhere, were statues of humans, both sets in pairs directly across from each other, like a stone staring contest. Between those four statues were another four arranged like them, but instead of people, they were Skuttlers. In the center of the room was a treasure box.

"And that's not all I can see, Pit. I can also see what's in your heart."

This made Pit pause a moment. 'I hope she doesn't know about my plan to steal some cake….' "Oh…heh heh…That's really….something…" Pit hesitantly said.

"So you'd better not be thinking about anything….naughty!"

"What?! How did you-?!"

"Just kidding! Seriously, reading hearts through laurel crowns?"

"I know…I was….also kidding…"

"Sure you were…"

After recovering from that conversation, Pit walked over to the treasure box to get….nothing. It was a trap, he quickly realized, dodging purple beams as the Skuttler statues came to life and a purple fire blocked both the door and the hallway at the far end of the room. The trap box vanished as Pit charged and slashed through one of the Skuttlers, destroying it. Then, another fired at him, but he jumped aside and fired back, rolling on his shoulder and getting back to his feet quickly. The Skuttler was destroyed by the blast, and Pit quickly used the rapid fire function to destroy the third Skuttler. The final one took aim, but he dashed forth and slashed it into oblivion before it could fire.

As the barriers of fire died out, Pit walked to the back of the room to find a small area with four statues of people and two treasure boxes. He opened them both and received two weapons: An Insight Staff and a Fortune Bow. He immediately put away his First Blade and switched to the Fortune Bow. "Hey, how come you aren't describing these weapons?" Pit asked.

Because the Insight Staff is ridiculous!

"Seriously? That's it?"

You know what? Fine! The Insight Staff's handle had a golden wing at the end that curved down, which shaped it more like a two-handed gun, a silver spike on the end that shots come from, which is never used, a silver lining thing on the handle like a katana handle, a pointless silver hook where you'd expect a scope seeing as it's a sniping weapon, a short brown part with a strange red stripe going around it at the ends, a small golden wing on the center of the shaft, and a small part that sticks out directly across from the useless hook which is presumable the trigger. Are you happy now, guys?!

"And the Fortune Bow?"

Ugh! At least it's somewhat less ridiculous….The Fortune Bow has a black handle with two small parts that stick out the front, and silver blades that are a bit wavy in the back with a pink, jagged stripe through the center. Actually, it's a lot less ridiculous. I'm NEVER forgiving the designers of the Insight Staff!

"Hang on, don't you have more complex descriptions in the unreleased ML(Emeral)-"

No! No I do not! I make everything up on the fly!

"You do realize that makes you sound worse than the reality does, right?"

They still don't need to be spoiled on that! We are done talking about this! Let's get back to the story already!

"Alright, alright, we'll stop."

Thank you!

Pit walked back around the corner, but found his exit blocked by a Splin and Specknose. Splins are basically giant shurikens made of bubbly green Jell-O with a single red eye that has a reptilian slit in it. Splins can split apart and fling themselves at foes, rotating rapidly to deal slash damage. Specknoses are giant noses with ridiculous eyes that look like they wear glasses and they deal damage by sneezing or launching bombs from their nostrils.

Pit immediately dispatched the Splin with a charged blast from his bow, and quickly returned the Specknose's bombs by splitting the bow at the center of the handle and slashing with it. Once they were gone, the purple firewall vanished and Pit was free to move on. He returned to the interior garden and crossed the bridge, dispatching some Shernums and destroying the jar spawning them before heading down some stairs. "You're heading to the lower level of the interior garden," Palutena stated as Pit shot a Skuttler waiting at the end of the staircase. Once he got near a tapestry on the wall at the end of the stairs, Palutena spoke again; "Wait. I'm sensing treasure again…Pit, try going behind that tapestry," she instructed. Pit walked up to it…and it vanished as he walked through it and found a strange blue circle of light and runes that had a symbol of a bow above it.

"What is this, Lady Palutena?" he asked, walking into the center…and suddenly warping to a black void with a single, blue, circular platform in it, the angel himself landing on a small walkway in front of the same light circle that warped him there.

"A Zodiac Chamber…Pit, head over to that spotlight," she replied. He dashed over to the other platform and saw a sparkling ball of light descent to the center of it, which then materialized as a bow bearing the star sign of Sagittarius. "I'll tell you more later. For now, put it away and resume your mission."

"Alright…" Pit replied, running back to the warping light and soon finding himself back behind the tapestry. He ran back through it and down some more stairs, only to skid to a stop as he was greeted by an astonishing sight. "Look at that!"

A muscular human man, dressed mostly in black with dark skin and shoulder-length black hair, was holding his own against the Underworld army. Pit watched as this man, probably in his thirties or forties, swung a behemoth of a sword that was a big as himself and slashed through a Skuttler and a Shernum, before simply kicking away another Skuttler. "How did a human make it into the castle?!"

The man had black pants and a sleeveless black shirt that left a bit of his chest uncovered, as well as dark brown boots. Both his forearms, as well as his right bicep, were wrapped in white cloth, and his left arm bore a notably large, red tattoo that extended even up to his neck. Speaking of his neck, there was necklace around it with some stones on it, and attached to his shirt was a sheathed dagger, though why he'd need such a thing when he clearly had a much better weapon in his absurd sword was a mystery. Overall, he had, for some reason, nine belts. Three on his chest and three on each leg. The current wave of Underworld troops dispatched, the man turned around, slinging his weapon over his shoulder, and noticed Pit. "Well, I didn't expect to see an angel here," he said, his voice deep. He rubbed his head before letting his blade hit the ground while still in his grip. "Hope this doesn't mean I've kicked the bucket."

"I think you should help him," Palutena said as a second wave of enemies showed up, Pit too busy being awed by the human before him, who had already started slashing through monsters.

"He's taking on the Underworld Army himself…and surviving!" Pit said. "Are you sure this guy is really a human?"

"Absolutely."

"You having a private conversation with yourself, angel face?" The man interrupted, kicking a Shernum. His words snapped Pit back to reality, and the angel split his bow to slash another Shernum that got too close.

"Oh, right. Sorry about that," Pit replied, putting his bow back together and shooting a Monoeye. "I'm Pit, servant of the goddess Palutena!" he continued, slashing a toxic fungus with legs called a Shulm.

"So, you're here for a slice of the pie too?" the man asked, bringing his sword down on a Specknose.

"Huh? Pie? Where? No, I mean… I'm here to defend the humans from the brutality of the Underworld Army." Pit replied, splitting his bow again to attack a Keron, slashing left with the right blade, right with the left blade in a reverse grip, and then bringing both blades down in a proper grip on the cyclops frog and killing it, before quickly putting his bow back together.

"Sure, sure, you're the angel here, but me? I'm in it for the reward money," the man said, cleaving a Skuttler in two with a slash directed left. "Since we both want to take down Gaol, how about we work together?"

"I don't know about that," Pit said, shooting another Skuttler with three light arrows.

"What have you got to lose? It'll be easier on both of us."

"Lady Palutena…what do you think?"

"He makes a compelling argument."

"All right, then. Resuming mission Dark-Lord Suppression!"

"I'm Magnus by the way, pleased to meet you. Don't hit me, and we'll get along just fine."

The two resumed fighting, teaming up to slash a Ganewmede dead and generally making quick work of most of the monsters. Magnus distracted a Boogity and Pit blasted it while it focused on protecting itself from Magnus, and then Pit shot down some more Miks. Eventually, they finally finished off the last of the monsters.

"I'll follow your lead from here," Magnus said as the purple firewall vanished. "I've got your back." Pit ran over to a treasure box that had appeared, opening it to receive a new power that he would check out later. The two hopped down a square hole into a cavern of sorts and encountered a group of Miks that also had a Fire Wyrm. Fire Wyrms are oversized flying bone serpents with insectoid heads that also spout flames from their backs and generally use ramming attacks.

Pit blasted the Miks easily enough, and Magnus took care of the Fire Wyrm by heaving his giant blade above his head and charging, countering and bisecting the bone 'dragon' as it attempted to ram him. "Magnus sure is strong," Pit couldn't help commenting.

"Yes, especially for a human."

"He must really want that reward."

"He may not be made of the sturdiest moral fiber, but that's fine with me."

"I'm surprised you feel that way."

"Humans are driven by desire," Palutena said, the duo having made their way through the cavern and now in a large room with a cage elevator. "It's convenient to know what bait they'll chase."

"That's kinda cold, but it makes sense….I guess," Pit hesitantly replied, not used to Palutena talking about humans that way. "Actually, what about Shane?" he asked as purple firewalls trapped them in the room for a brawl with several Skuttlers, Specknoses, a Shildeen- basically, a small blue humanoid alien-looking barrier maker- and some Shulms.

"His desire is helping out with the powers he has. Desire doesn't have to be a bad thing, but it's not always a good thing either. Greed is desire gone horribly wrong, when a person wants too much more than they can or should have."

"Hey," Magnus interrupted, "If you're chatting with your precious goddess, give her a message from me. Tell her she's been sleeping on the job! My world is on the edge of collapse!"

"I take it back, this guy's a jerk."

"Oh…kay…" Pit awkwardly said, shooting a marble near the cage lift that launched several purple blasts around the room, decimating the Underworld troops. Pit and Magnus cleared the stragglers and got on the lift. At the top, they noticed a door immediately on their right with a fancy carpet like the one back in the great hall leading from it to a part of the castle exterior. The two entered the door and were greeted with a sight that made Pit's heart soar. "Wait, is this….Ha! It is!" he exclaimed, diving into the golden, steamy pool with glee. "A hot spring!"

"Apparently someone likes his spa time," Magnus noted, sticking his oversized sword into the ground and leaning on it with his other hand on his hip as he waited for Pit.

"Ahh….Now that's what I'm talking about!" Pit sighed as the spring's healing properties kicked in.

"You go in fully dressed?" Magnus questioned. "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!" Pit replied, standing back up.

"I guess you wouldn't be an angel if you didn't do things by the book."

"Yeah…and I don't wanna steam the sacred-"

"We're done talking about this," Magnus intercepted, resuming his normal stance and walking out.

"H-hey! Wait up!" Pit cried, running out after him with full health. Upon meeting up, the two followed the carpet to a square-shaped, open area of the roof of the castle. The carpet turned at a right angle at the corner, leading straight to a treasure box sitting out on the open roof for anyone to pop open. "Yeah! A treasure box!" Pit cheered.

"That's clearly a trap," Magnus stated as Pit ran over to it. "Think about it. Who would leave treasure just lying around outside?"

"Actually- Oh," Pit started, the treasure box opening on its own when he was close enough and trapping them there via purple firewall.

"What is wrong with you?!" Magnus asked, annoyed.

"If there's a treasure box, I open it! I can't help it! Besides, I've opened plenty of treasure boxes just lying around before and gotten treasure!"

"Okay, we'll see how long you survive with that strategy!"

A Belunka barfed up a Specknose and Shulm, which Magnus went after, while Pit fired at the Belunka with his Fortune Bow. Magnus performed a rising swing with his blade, sending the Specknose flying into a wall, which it bounced off of. It fell to the ground, and he finished it with a downward slashed that bisected it. Then, he ran over to the Shulm and kicked it away while Pit continued firing on the Belunka. Unfortunately, it simply kept spawning more and more enemies without losing much health. It had opened its mouth to spawn even more enemies, when suddenly, a Smart Bomb flew into the mouth and detonated, obliterating it.

I flew over Pit and Magnus, then back flipped off of Winged Star as it rammed into a Skuttler, impaling it, and then hit the wall. It exploded in a star-shaped pattern of miniature, light Winged Stars before flying back to me. I caught it in my hand while crouched on one knee, and held it up between my left index and middle fingers while doing a stereotypical ninja pose- that two-fingers-in-front-of-face thing you always see in the less serious/realistic depictions, and then put it away. I stood up and waved. "Hey guys!" I called, walking over as another wave of enemies showed up, consisting of Monoeyes, Skuttlers, and some more Shulms. Noticing this as we met, the three of us quickly went back-to-back, facing the enemies.

"So, what happened with the human army, Shane?" Pit asked as he fired at the Monoeyes.

"Once they saw the two of us flying over, the guy in charge called for a retreat. I held back Underworld Troops until they got to a safe distance," I replied, before charging through some Skuttlers. "Luckily, there weren't too many casualties."

"And who exactly are you?" Magnus asked after delivering a jumping kick to a Shulm.

"My name is Shane. I also serve the goddess Palutena," I stated, blocking a shot from a Monoeye and jumping at it with a downward slash.

"I'm Magnus," Magnus replied, cleaving through two Skuttlers at once. "So you're with angel face?"

"Yep."

Pit finished off the Monoeyes while Magnus and I cut the Skuttlers and Shulms down to size, ending the ambush and dissipating the barrier. Pit took the lead as we walked back to a door beside the carpet path. Walking through brought us to a spiraling path on the walls. "It looks like a long way up…." Pit complained as we encountered a Boogity floating over the void in the center of the room and a Handora- small, blue hands with small forearms and a single red eye that shoots projectiles- appeared on the path.

"What, your legs not work or something?" Magnus asked, charging at the Handora and bringing it down in one kick.

"It's not that far," I said, throwing my boomerang so it flew around the Boogity and dispatched it before it could do anything. We dashed up the path until a Shildeen appeared, its barrier preventing progress and protecting a Skuttler Cannoneer. Together we made quick work of the barrier, though I had to block a shot from the Skuttler when the barrier went down, and the two monsters were easily dispatched by running slashes before we continued. Not two seconds later, a Porcuspine and another Handora spawned, but with the three of us, they were gone before anything could happen.

"I think we're closing in on Gaol's lair," Pit said, presumably sensing his darkness.

"I hope you're ready," Magnus said. I stayed quiet as we walked up the path and through the door to Gaol's throne room.

The room was large and very dark, rectangular, and at our feet was another carpet that led all the way up to the large, intimidating throne. Sitting on said throne was our target, who promptly stood up. The best way to describe Dark Lord Gaol would be "demon knight". His armor was purple and red, with many spikes and a helmet with larrge, curved horns. Said armor covered everything but a pair of glowing, lime green eyes. The armor also had a red cape with a pattern consisting of many eyes, making their Underworld allegiance quite clear.

"Prepare for defeat, Dark Lord Gaol!" Pit proclaimed.

"It's checkmate for you!" I added, making my stance fiercer. Oh, I should probably go over that. My stance is pretty much the same one Link usually takes in Smash and Soul Calibur; Shield in front, body at a bit of an angle, legs spread, sword back.

"Aw, Palutena's little messenger boys!" Gaol responded, his voice distorted and demonic. "And Magnus, it's always a pleasure!"

"Sorry I'm late," Magnus said, slamming his sword down before resuming his stance, "I had other business to attend to!"

"Wait, you two know each other?!" Pit asked in confusion, looking between the two before focusing on Gaol.

Gaol opened the fight by launching himself at us while surrounded by electricity of some kind, which the other two dodged while I blocked, stopping him in his tracks, though not without effort and a bit of lost ground. Magnus kicked him before he could break through my defense and Pit started firing with his Fortune Bow.

"It's so typical of you to pawn off your work on someone else," Gaol said to Magnus at the two began clashing.

"Hey, in this economy, everyone's looking for work. Even part-time work," Magnus replied, slamming his sword into Gaol from the left. I tried a jump-slash, but Gaol put up a barrier at the last second, blasting me back and protecting himself from further assaults before quickly spinning to knock Magnus back.

"That's funny. Business is booming for me. We're even hiring more staff!" Gaol replied, summoning two Skuttlers as we humans returned to our feet, Pit getting closer and spinning his bow at high speeds to rapidly slash Gaol, who sent a purple wave of energy across the ground to knock him back and repeatedly deal damage.

"Huh, are these the new hires?" Magnus asked, instantly defeating both Skuttlers with a single slash to his left.

Pit recovered while I threw my boomerang at Gaol, who simply blasted it away and left me without a shield. Gaol summoned more Skuttlers and had them guard my lost weapon. I growled at this and put away my blade, backing away.

"I don't know much about the situation," Came Palutena's telepathic voice, "but it seems Magnus and Gaol used to be close friends."

"What?! Seriously?" Pit asked in disbelief as Magnus and Gaol slashed at each other.

"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."

"Seeing them fighting, it's hard to believe they were ever friends!"

"Magnus knows only one way to fight: Ferociously. Perhaps his fire is fueled by the child he lost to underworld forces."

"I had no idea! That's so sad…" Pit said, just before Magnus was launched back beside him.

"Hey, enough chit-chat! We need to concentrate here!" he said after getting back up.

"Feeling a little agitated, Magnus?"

"Don't make me laugh, 'dark lord'!" Magnus responded, he and Pit resuming their stances. "Now put on some pants and fight like a man!"

The two charged at Gaol, but the dark lord was prepared, charging shortly before slamming his hands into the ground and creating a shockwave that blasted the two away and nearly broke my focus. I was almost done….My allies recovered before they hit the ground, springing on their hands to land on their feet. Pit dash forward and fired a charged shot from his bow that hit its mark, but Gaol was still able to continue. He fired a large beam from his hands, turning to pursue Magnus, who continued to evade. He was almost to me, when…..

"How's this?!" I yelled, finally ready. Once every directed their attention to me, I fired a huge wave of aura in a move called 'Aura Storm'. It blasted Gaol and the Skuttlers, dispatching the grunts, while Pit and Magnus leapt aside. Once it ended, I dropped to one knee as Gaol roared in defeat.

"Dark Lord suppressed!" Pit exclaimed as Gaol's armor lost its glow and became faded.

"Nice work angel face, emerald boy!" Magnus said as Gaol stumbled around, a purple energy seemingly draining from his armor. When Gaol fell, the armor around her head and arms broke off, revealing a blonde-haired human woman. Magnus walked up to her and stuck his sword in the ground, kneeling beside her. "I'm sorry it had to come this…" he said, his tone remorseful.

"Gaol was a human?! I-I didn't know…what have I done….?" Pit sorrowfully said. I walked….Well, 'stumbled' is probably a better word, considering how I was after that blast. It was rather short, but it still drained me. Anyway, I made my way over to Magnus and Gaol, an idea in my mind.

"You can't feel bad. Just think of all the other people you've saved," Palutena assured him. "Besides, she looks like she's still holding on."

"Really?!" Pit asked, about to run over when the light shined upon him and levitated him.

"But we need to regroup. The war against Medusa is just starting." She continued as she extracted him and started to extract me.

"Wait," I said, causing the glow to fade for a moment. I turned to Gaol and pulled out a Heart Container I'd kept for something like this. Actually, I'd kept a few Smash items with me when I ended up in Skyworld…anyway; I carefully pulled out a Heart Container and made Gaol's body absorb it. "She'll live," I said. "And this guarantees it." It was then that I was extracted.

"You know, that might end up costing you a future battle," Palutena said once I was back in the temple. I nodded.

"I'm aware."

"And you still did it?"

"Of course. So, I really am part of your forces now?"

She paused for a moment. "…Yes."

Chapter complete! Accomplishments and treasure:

Fortune Bow

Insight Staff

Sagittarius Bow

Reflect Barrier Lv.1 Power

Ridiculous length second chapter achieved!

-Continue-

Well! I hope this is more satisfactory than the previous chapter. Oh yeah, once this uploads, I'm going to add a special scene to Chapter 1. Please reread it if you read it before this chapter uploaded: You'll find some spelling and grammar improvements as well. Chapter three coming in seven days!