Reaching the Underworld proved to be less difficult than Pit had expected as he led the way down, Ephraim on his left and Kuro on his right. No one had said a word throughout the flight, though the fear, concern, and confusion they all felt was nearly tangible. He knew Ephraim was worried about Remiel and the attacks on the humans, while Kuro was probably silently raging over Nemo's actions. Pit was well aware that Kuro and Nemo had never had the best relationship, though they had learned to be civil and even somewhat friendly with each other. But then again, Kuro had seen something no one else could even guess at: Hades's destruction at Nemo's hands. Pit could only wonder how cold the Oracle had been, what Kuro had witnessed to see the previous lord of the Underworld fall so easily.

By the time they reached the City of Souls, which had remained largely unchanged in over a thousand years, several Underworld monsters showed up and opened fire on them. With a grunt of surprise, Kuro invoked the Energy Shield from the brace on his wrist, then switched to his bow as he and Ephraim returned the volley of shots. Pit summoned his bow as well and dove down, slashing through a shadowy creature that streaked toward him. He dispatched it quickly and circled around to meet his angels as they dodged around the attacks and jerked around in the air, Kuro retaliating with his bow and Ephraim with his Samurai Blade. Between the three of them, they managed to defeat the wave, but it left them panting.

"That was some welcoming party," Kuro huffed. "He definitely doesn't want us here."
"Let's move," Pit all but ordered. "We're on his territory. He'll have more where those came from and I'd rather have the option of fighting on the ground." They nodded and the three hurried forth, dodging around enemy fire and the blue pillars and white trees of the city.

"I'm having an odd sense of déjà vu," Kuro muttered.

"Why?" Pit wondered as he ducked under a shot taken at him.

"Nothing," the red-eyed angel said quickly, and Pit took that as a hint to close the subject and never reopen it.

"Well, at least he's keeping us busy!" Ephraim said sarcastically as he shot down something that resembled a shadowy insect of sorts. "Are we there yet?"

"Just about," Pit replied. "Hang in there, guys!" They continued on and Pit ignored the pain from the shot that hit him in the arm. A short while later that felt much longer as they dodged, were hit, and retaliated, they came to the landing in front of the entrance of the shrine where Nemo had long ago made his home. The trio landed and Ephraim curled over, bracing his hands on his knees as he panted.

"That could have been easier," Kuro grumbled as he wiped his forehead. "I liked the Underworld jerks from before he reformed the army better."
"Not much we can do about it," Pit sighed and dismissed his bow in favor of his staff, and a light illuminated from the blue orb atop it.

"Is a talk even necessary at this point?" Kuro inquired as he crossed his arms. "I think our buddy Nemo made his point quite clear when he sent that mob."
"I need to know if it's really Nemo," Pit insisted. "I know it sounds stupid, okay? But if there's something wrong, something controlling him, then I want to save him from it." Kuro's harsh gaze sent anger through him. "Do you want a repeat of the Chaos Kin?!" Kuro blinked, stunned into silence, and Pit could see on his face that he was wrestling with several sudden emotions inside him- anger, grief, and hate among them. Ephraim's gaze went from Pit to Kuro and back, and he shifted his weight awkwardly and rubbed his arm with his free hand.

"No," Kuro finally spat. "Fine. Let's go." Pit nodded and sighed.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I know you don't like me bringing it up. I don't like to either." Kuro shook his head and waved him off, though his irritation still darkened his eyes. Pit took the lead and strengthened the light of his staff as they entered the corridor leading toward the audience chamber, and three sets of footsteps echoed off the walls as they headed on in silence.

After some time, they came to the double doors they were looking for and opened them quickly, all three rushing in. Kuro and Ephraim brought their weapons up to the ready, but Pit attempted to remain calm as they walked down the dark, royal blue carpet leading from the doors to the throne on the other side of the room.

"I figured you would come," the seat's occupant greeted rather emotionlessly, and Pit clenched his free hand into a fist as his blue eyes met Nemo's red gaze.

"You did, huh?" he replied as the lord of the Underworld stood slowly. "Well, then you probably know why I'm here." Nemo nodded, taking several steps forward and folding his hands behind his back.

"We're at war," he said matter-of-factly. "I trust Remiel delivered my message?" Pit desperately scanned over the silver-haired Oracle, looking for any sign of an outside source controlling him, a reason for this sudden change in behavior. But he found nothing externally nor internally. As far as he could tell, this was the same Nemo he had met in the Chaos Vortex so many centuries ago. The realization sent Pit's blood boiling.

"How could you do this?!" he demanded, his voice loud and angry. "You attacked your own son!"
"He stood in my way," Nemo said solemnly. "I didn't want to, Pit. But in the end, I had no choice."

"Is that why you imprisoned Levica?" Kuro inquired sharply from Pit's side.

"Yes."

Nemo's blunt nature was almost unbelievable. If he felt any pain over what he had done, he was doing an excellent job hiding it. Pit found himself taken back to their first few meetings, and Nemo's words from so long ago echoed in his head.

"My personal feelings have no place here."

The god of Light took a deep breath in a somewhat successful attempt to calm himself.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked, his voice low. "Why now?"

"Grima left me weak," Nemo replied. "If it hadn't been for that, I would have finished off the humans back when they resurrected him. But now, I've recovered, and it's time they fell. I've waited far too long." Under different circumstances, Pit would have accepted his explanation, but it just didn't make sense to him.

"The humans saved Henry's life!" he pointed out. "They ultimately defeated Grima. They've been peaceful since then."

"It doesn't matter," the lord of the Underworld sighed. "It's only going to happen again. It doesn't matter if it's Grima or Medeus, Fomortiis or Loptyr. They will try to overpower each other again, and it will only lead to bloodshed."

"But they've always managed to save themselves!" Pit argued. "We haven't had to involve ourselves since Mastema. I'm not even sure if they needed us to stop Grima. Yes, things may go wrong, but they know how to set it right!"
"At what cost?!" Nemo demanded. "No. Pit, you're still naïve even after all these years. You've seen how they slaughter each other. There is no hope for them."

"Then why are you attacking them like this?" Kuro asked sharply. "Why are you sending your monsters to kill them? Why make them suffer? Why not just wipe them all out at once like Hades did?" Nemo scowled at him.

"Because it would leave me weak," he snapped. "And because you managed to find a way to avoid it last time. I'm not leaving myself open for you to come in and kill me while I don't have the energy to fight back."

"Then I'll fight you now," Pit challenged, dismissing his staff and summoning his bow. "I won't allow this, Nemo. If you want to rewrite existence, you'll have to go through me just like last time." Nemo sighed and shut his eyes.

"Very well. I won't be nice this time, Pit. I will see you fall." With that, his eyes snapped open and a sweep of his hand cast a blast of darkness that knocked the Skyworld trio off their feet. Pit sprung off his hands and regained his balance, and he retaliated with a strike of light from his staff. Nemo melted into the shadows and remained there for a moment, and the two angels and their god scanned around quickly for any sign of him.

"Wah!" Pit gasped as their opponent suddenly appeared next to him, and Nemo's fingers wrapped around his throat before he had a chance to retaliate. Nemo smirked briefly before summoning his power with his free hand and hitting the god hard, sending him flying up and crashing through a window above. Somewhere along the way, he dropped his staff, and he hit the ground outside the shrine with a thud that left him stunned for a moment. "H-He's gotten stronger..." he mumbled as he forced himself back to his feet and summoned is bow.

He could vaguely hear the shouts of battle inside, but it wasn't long before Nemo suddenly appeared from the shadows a short distance away from him. He said nothing, only cast forward several shots that sped toward their target. Pit summoned a barrier and rolled to the side just before it broke, and he looked up to find Kuro and Ephraim arriving. Kuro's gaze scanned around before his eyes widened and he readied his bow again.

"Pit!" he called down. "We've got company!" Pit would have liked to turn and find out just what was coming, but he knew taking his eyes off of Nemo for even a second would only end in disaster for him.

"Well?" the lord of the Underworld inquired. "Make a move, Pit. Why are you holding back?"
"Because something's wrong," he replied, gripping his bow as Ephraim landed with his god's staff in tow. "Because none of this makes any sense! The Nemo I know would never, under any circumstance, attack his own family. What's wrong with you?!"
"Take a look at me, Pit," Nemo said rather bluntly, spreading his arms as he took a few steps forward. "Do you see anything? Sense anything?" Pit chewed his lip, his heart pounding as he again desperately looked for any sign of something amiss with his friend. But, of course, he found nothing.

"...No..."

"This is my doing. I had to be ready to do anything. And you know our bargain: If I decide to act on my end, then you can't stand in my way. I have every reason to kill you." The sharp iciness of his words stabbed at Pit's heart, and he swallowed back a sudden lump in his throat. "And if I must, then I will."

"Nemo," he pleaded. "Tell me what happened! What's wrong with you?!"

"For the last time, there's nothing wrong!" he snapped. "Deep down, you're still a child, aren't you? Desperately clinging to some false hope when the truth is right in front of you. Open your eyes, Pit! If you're going to fight, then fight! If not, then get out of my way and stay there." Pit clenched his jaw and held his hand out, summoning back his staff to earn a brief grunt of surprise from Ephraim as it disappeared from his grip and reappeared in the god's. He dodged to the side and hit Nemo in the abdomen with the staff's handle, forcing him back and following up with a blast of light. Nemo skidded back but lurched forward as Kuro's charged arrow hit him in the back. The red-eyed angel landed with a harsh look of anger on his face.

Without a word or a change in his expression, Nemo swept around and cast another wave of darkness that knocked the angels back, stunning them both, and Pit felt his heart jump with fear as he finally noticed the Underworld Army closing in on them.

"Don't worry, Lord Pit!" Ephraim called as he heaved himself back upright. "We can handle this. You focus on Nemo!"

"All the better," Nemo said lowly. "I'll have you to myself."
"Just you and me," Pit agreed and dismissed his staff, casting his power into his bow to strengthen his arrows. He rushed forward and released a charged shot, but Nemo cast a barrier that shattered once the arrow hit it and the pieces flew forth and struck Pit several times. He grit his teeth and sprinted toward his opponent, slashing his blade down and managing to score a cut on Nemo's chest. Nemo glared at him before a dark smile flickered on his lips.

"All right. Now, I'm done playing."

"Wha... Oof!" Pit grunted as Nemo rushed forth, cloaked in darkness that blinded him before he had a chance to force it back, and hit him hard in the stomach with something that sent a searing pain through his midsection. Nemo wasted no time and didn't give him a chance to even consider recovering. He was at Pit's throat and slammed him to the ground, wracking his body with pain.

"N-Nemo..." he gasped, fear spreading through him as the Oracle smirked dangerously at him.

"I've been waiting far too long for this," Nemo said darkly and quietly. "To finally pluck you from the sky and crush you." He chuckled, only adding to Pit's fear. "It's been nice knowing you, Pitty."

Pit blinked.

"Hello, Pitty Pat!"
"Welcome to MY Underworld, Pitty Pat."
"Oh, snap. Poor Pitty got duped."

"Enjoy your journey south, Pitty!"

The god of Light launched himself up, springing and planting his feet firmly against Nemo's abdomen and kicked up, sending his adversary sprawling as he got back to his feet and gripped his bow tight enough for his knuckles to turn white. His heart hammered in his chest, his mind working to find some other explanation. It couldn't be. It was impossible. And yet, here it was. He clenched his teeth and raised his voice.

"Hades!"