*cracks knuckles* Well, I guess I've got an action scene to write. Better get on it!
Here we go guys! Fasten your seatbelts! Approaching Ludicrous Speed! (Bonus points if you get that reference)
Samus's eyes were drawn away from the massive display of firepower by a sudden vibration in her lap. Glancing worriedly down, she observed Pit, his eyes super-glued to the windshield. He was shaking violently.
But it wasn't from fear. Something else was going on.
Suddenly the angel's eyes flashed, the brilliant blue of his irises dissolving into a horrid shade of intense scarlet. Samus jumped.
He looked up at the huntress.
"I understand the situation, master. Please, continue course. I will ensure safe passage."
"Wha-?!"
Shaking the very hull of the ship, Pit rocketed out of the command chair and soared down to the deployment bay. In a second, Samus spied him as he blazed past the ship, an extravagant cyan flame enveloping his wings as he shot toward the fleet like a rogue comet.
Target-lock warnings rang out by the thousand in the interior of Samus's ship as the armada opened fire, splashing a little color onto the endless void of space by flooding it with the dark crimson tint of a million laser blasts.
Pit's figure instantly began to give off a massive cerulean light, like he had turned from a comet to a star. However, Samus could still make out him snapping out the mirror shield. He raised it, tapped twice on the back, and buckled down.
Like a black hole, Samus watched in awe as the sea of energy blasts was drawn relentlessly into the artifact, drawing them all into Pit's massive light and away from the Gunship.
The light surrounding Pit was tainted red. Samus could see the shield shake like nothing you had ever seen, like an immense earthquake condensed into about three square feet. The angel's teeth were gritted firmly, both his arms were against the shield, and his wings were beating furiously.
Pit was flung back a few football fields as the shield finally released, unleashing TRILLIONS of energy blasts in one titanic explosion, with each individual blast considerably larger than its original counterpart. The wall of lasers rushed out to meet the armada, spearing and incapacitating the guns on nearly every one of the vessels, excluding those that had been shielded by the attacking squadrons of fighters.
Said fighters lost nearly half of their assault force. The remaining forces still charged, locked onto the angel with everything they still had.
Pit lowered the mirror shield and stated calmly:
"Variable Weapon Access: Divine Bow."
Instantaneously a colossal bow faded into Pit's hand, tainted deeply with a sharp, dark green hue. Several sealing tassels were loosely tangled onto it, and it looked like it was made out of some extremely old wood. Pit tensed himself as the fighters approached, holding the bow behind his back, and spreading his enormous wings high and wide.
Just as he came into range for the Pirate's short-ranged guns, he shot off, giving off a blinding light as he blazed towards the fleet of hopeless ships. Immediately, as he passed one, he swiveled and released a flaming, azure arrow from the bow, spearing clean through the fighter and allowing it to explode milliseconds after.
He turned and shot arrows at the fighters swarming around him, pinning each one on the center of their windshields. Whatever fire the remaining ships could cough up was easily dodged and discouraged, while the angel flew literal circles around them and pierced them all with blazing sapphire arrows. The fire coming from the outlying vessels was slim to none, being that the majority of their cannons had been fried by their own blasts.
The fighters were mincemeat in less than fifteen seconds. Pit turned his attention to the remaining two-thirds of the fleet, smiled, and blasted forward, gripping his bow tightly in his hand.
The Pirates weren't out of the fight yet. Surprising Pit, two of the ships pulsed a dark indigo hue, the standard visual confirmation of when a ship lowers a cloaking field of some sort.
Samus's jaw hit the floor of her ship at the pride of the Space Pirate fleet, the Oblivion class-battleship Conquest, was unveiled, like it had been hidden under a blanket. The thing was enormous, spanning across more space than the Gunship could cover in a few hours of normal flight. The armament could bring about any world's end, packing twelve thousand Devastator class-Phazon cannons, three thousand pulse-powered shield disruptors, and two Annihilator-class superbatteries.
And then there was the icing on the cake. Attached to the underside of the main hull, nearly as large as the hull itself, was the Armageddon-class solar cannon, referred to by G.F. troopers as the "Planet Destroyer." The battery was said to have wiped out an entire Federation fleet in one shot. Just by looking at it now, Samus found it easier to believe the rumors. Samus never was able to make heads or tails of where the hell the Pirates were able to get their hands on something like that, but they had, and that was all that mattered now.
Pit didn't seem discouraged. He continued to charge straight for the Conquest, not a shred of fear to be found in his eyes. He loaded his bow and unleashed a few shots into the battleship's hull, shaking it up a bit, but utterly ineffective due to the vessel's great size.
Samus began to tremble as she recognized the Planet Destroyer's warm-up sequence. The barrel of the immense cannon unfolded into a sun-shaped pattern, and the titanic cords running in and out of it began to flow with surges of a canary-tinted energy. The whole thing began to shake, and the ships surrounding the Conquest began to back off, wary of the massive force the thing gave off when it finally fired.
At first, the huntress was a bit confused. Why the hell would they want to use the Planet Destroyer? They'd never be able to hit Pit with it, he was too quick. As soon as the shot had gone off, they'd be at a loss for power for a few minutes. They'd be sitting ducks; Pit would tear them apart.
She suddenly came to a realization as a tiny little warning sign came up on her control panel.
They weren't aiming at Pit.
The angel continued to buzz around the upper half of the ship, like an angry hornet around a bear, easily evading all of the battleship's weapon fire and unloading arrows into the ship's hull. Meanwhile, the Planet Destroyer underwent its final stages of preparation, a colossal sphere of golden power swirling in the cannon's barrel.
Desperate, Samus grabbed the control sticks and swerved the ship into a hard left.
The cannon simply followed her. They were locked on. It was too late.
Samus began to panic. She had no way of contacting Pit. The biggest weapon in the galaxy was trained on her. She still didn't have enough speed to initiate space-jump. She was out of options, and out of time. All she could do was slowly seat herself in her chair, take a small breath, and stare blankly into the brilliant sun about to fire on her.
A tiny voice echoed in her head.
Go on…call him…
Her head lifted just a tiny bit. She knew that voice.
And she knew she could trust it.
With quivering words, she called out to the angel.
"PIT!"
The Gunship's cockpit was illuminated brilliantly as the Planet Destroyer fired.
A blinding radiance flooded in through the windshield, blinding Samus and forcing her to raise her arm to shelter her eyes. The gunship's warning sirens screamed fiercely into her ears as the gigantic beam pillaged towards her, growing larger and larger with every passing second. Soon, it was nearly on top of her. All she could make out was a blinding golden light…
…and a small, winged figure standing in front of it.
The Gunship rocked ferociously as the blast impacted short of its target, colliding with some obstruction that was standing between Samus and the monstrous beam. It took a good thirty seconds for the light to die down, as for the slowly lessening sirens echoing on the inside of Samus's ship.
When Samus could finally see, the solar battery entered lethargically into cool-down mode, the crackling cables entwined with it wholly drained of their power. The Conquest lost all energy, all the lights on the ship flickering off as the battleship switched to its backup generators. The Pirates inside were scrambling to find out why the Gunship hadn't been vaporized, or how it wasn't even harmed in the first place.
Pit's little figure was flapping heroically in front of the huntress's ship, smoldering fiercely, crippled, and singed beyond belief.
Samus gaped. The angel had taken the blast full force.
And he was still standing.
Pit shook his head, as if brushing off a daze, coughed, dematerialized his bow, and raised his right arm high above his head.
"Variable Weapon Access: Doom Cannon."
A colossal steel cylinder materialized over Pit's right arm, bent and warped into a demonic-looking battery. Amethyst-tinted power cells encircled the weapon and streaked up its sides, pulsing vehemently. The extending end of the barrel was tipped with three crooked, curved prongs, connected tautly by blistering strings of violet-colored electricity. He tightened his grip on the gun and pointed it dead on the Conquest.
Samus felt chills of fear run down her spine as she spied Pit's crimson eyes flash, his gritted teeth contorting into a vile grin.
Pit rocked backwards as the firearm released, exploding a thunderous, titanic beam of solid, indigo energy roaring towards the defenseless battleship. The huntress watched in awe as the ray pierced the vessel, bursting out of the other side and ruthlessly searing through any of the smaller ships that happened to be within its crosshairs. As the beam deceased, there was a gaping hole left in the hull of the ship, stretching straight through to the other side.
In a massive fireball, the pride of the Pirate Fleet detonated, showering waves of debris and fire upon the remaining ships, which were all righty scared out of their wits. Like wounded dogs, they all about faced and fled, tails between their legs. The blockade's formation easily dissipated, allowing Samus to cautiously weave through the wreckages.
As the Gunship warily cruised ahead, Samus's eyes were peeled for Pit. After he had put the weapon away, he had simply disappeared from sight, leaving the huntress in the dark.
Samus was almost at the required speed for space jump when something crashed onto her windshield. The ship rocked and the huntress stumbled.
When the Gunship stabilized, she could see what appeared to be nothing but a blurry, smoldering cloud of midnight-black smoke clinging fiercely to the chilled pane. It was latched on surprisingly securely.
Two pitch-black hands materialized from the smoke, suddenly clutching onto the glass so fiercely it began to actually crack it. Dual, blood-colored blots of light pierced the fog, relatively in position to be considered its eyes. A shadowy pair of massive, twinkling wings abruptly burst out of the cloud, easily covering the visibility range of the Gunship's cockpit.
In an instant, the smoke dispelled, unveiling the insanely darkened figure of Pit, grasping furiously onto the rupturing panel. His body was warped into a malevolent state of being, his arms exceedingly long and spiked, his wings elongated and disheveled, and his teeth stretched into a jagged, crooked, blood-curdling smile. His entire body was colored a menacing shade of endless black, like he had become a shadow himself. His eyes were a fiery shade of bloody crimson, and were directed right at the huntress.
Samus took a few terrified steps back in her cockpit as the monstrosity continued to splinter the faltering windshield. Acting on instinct, she snapped up her arm cannon and reequipped her helmet, ready for the beast.
However, it seemed that the second she did so, the creature began to hesitate. He lessened its grip on the Gunship and leaned back a tiny bit, the horrendous smile he wore drooping into a worried frown. It began to withdraw, like he was afraid of her.
Samus raised an eyebrow. Still concerned for her safety, she began to draw a charge into the cannon, taking aim at the beast's head.
Suddenly, the monster shook his head in a few sharp flicks, like he was coming out of a daydream. Samus furrowed her brow.
When he opened his eyes again, the heartless crimson of the creature's irises was absent, replaced by a familiar, soft, icy blue. He looked repeatedly from the armed huntress to himself, seemingly becoming more and more ashamed with every pivot of his head. Gradually, his figure slowly reverted into Pit's smaller, regular body type, however holding fast to the black tint.
Samus began to lower her arm cannon as Pit began to regain his consciousness. Without a gesture or even a look, the crippled angel silently flew under the ship, into the landing bay. The huntress directed her attention to the elevator, arm cannon still ready for action.
When the door opened, Pit immediately rushed in and dropped to one knee.
"Master, I sincerely apologize for you having seen that. I assure you, there is no need for-"
He swiftly glanced up, catching a glimpse of Samus, who had deactivated her helmet, and was now holding her hand to her features. From what Pit could tell, she was fighting back a terrible nosebleed.
The angel immediately followed her eyes to himself. He was surprised, to say the least, to find himself completely unclothed, his body coated in dark black singe marks. The solar cannon must have seared his toga clean off.
Sighing, he stood quite calmly, and simply wrapped his lower half in the tattered feathers of his wings. This did nothing, as one might expect, to relieve Samus's perspective. Now she was stuck alone in a ship with a half-naked angel who had the physique of a god. This would be one interesting ride.
Almost immediately, Samus marched him back to her room. Ripping a Zero Suit out of her closet (she didn't have any men's uniforms on board) she forcefully handed it to Pit, her other hand covering her eyes.
Pit glanced at it confusedly.
"Master, what is this?"
She snarled at him.
"THEY'RE CLOTHES! NOW PUT THEM THE HELL ON!"
He furrowed his brow and pulled his head back, almost like it was in disgust.
"Master, are you completely serious? These are your garments. I do not believe that I am of the proper body type for this sort of-"
"JUST SHUT UP AND WEAR IT ALREADY!" She shouted, a hot blush branded into her cheeks.
He took a step closer.
"But master, would you not prefer me in this form? I've detected sharp spikes in the production of your pleasure-inducing endorphins. Your body is currently preparing itself for sexual intercourse. Do you not wish to remain like that?"
He took another step closer. He was nearly on top of her now. Samus's heart rate hastened as she heard the delectable sound of his wings lowering and tucking behind his back, revealing himself fully to her. She was truly finding it a struggle to keep her hand over her eyes.
"…master…" he whispered, almost seductively, "…I may relieve you at any time…please…just give the word…"
He leaned in even further, running his hands up and down the lengths of her arms. He breathed slowly and consistently, delicately connecting two fingers with Samus's creamy, exposed neck, peeking out from the armor of her suit.
She couldn't stifle a small gasp as the tingling electrified her skin once again. It felt so…so warm…so good…like honey was running through her veins…so sweet and smooth….
…
…maybe it was alright…for her to enjoy herself…even if just for a moment…
…
Her eyes shot open.
WHAT THE HELL WAS SHE DOING?!
Utterly exterminating the mood that Pit had worked so hard to cultivate, she rapidly swiveled on her heel and drove a metal fist clean into Pit's unsuspecting cheek.
THWACK!
The poor angel was flung across the room, smacking into the opposite wall with a pained grunt.
Samus began to fume when she saw that the angel's toga had returned, rematerialized out of thin air onto his figure, like nothing had ever even happened. She furiously threw the Zero Suit to the floor and stomped over to him, grabbing him sharply by the collar.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" She barked, jerking up on the pale white garments. Pit regained his composure and looked up innocently at her.
"I apologize. I neglected to mention. My apparel regenerates much like my body. They were the robes I was born into, and the ones I shall perish in."
Samus crossly discarded his scarf from her grip as she pulled back. She watched in frustration as he stood calmly, the lacerations and scorches on his skin diminishing as he began to heal himself.
As soon as he was standing erect, Samus crossed her arms indignantly and stared him down. Explanation time.
"So, Pit, feel like giving me a clue as to why you went demon-mode earlier and nearly cracked my windshield?" She hissed.
His eyes snapped to her. If one looked closely enough, a twinge of horror could be made out, faded into his irises. He seemed absolutely terrified about something.
Tearing his widened eyes from the huntress, he placed his gaze on the floor, resting a few fingers on his temple. He heaved hard for a few seconds and began to whisper something erratically to himself.
Samus raised a concerned eyebrow and spoke again.
"Pit? Pit, are you listening to me? That was an order."
Suddenly, as if a demon had been exorcised from his body, he instantaneously regained his poise and took a slow breath. He turned his head and gazed dead into Samus's eyes. The fear in his pupils was gone, but instead replaced by a chilling, merciless apathy.
"I am fine, master. The prior events were nothing more than unforeseen hiccups in my composure. I assure you, there is nothing to be concerned about."
Samus didn't like it. He was avoiding the question. There was something he didn't want her to know.
She kicked into investigator mode and took a step forward, cornering him.
"The fact that you morphed into something grotesque and nearly wrecked my ship is ENTIRELY reason for concern. Are you hiding something from me, Pit?"
His expression didn't change, but Samus could feel him panicking on the inside. He was about to crack.
Hurriedly he rushed around her, placing himself at the doorway.
"Master, I assume that we have passed the required speed to initiate space-jump. Please, let us be on our way. It is dangerous for us to tarry any longer."
She scowled. Whatever he didn't want off his chest must have certainly been important. However, she realized that she'd never be able to get any answers out of him like this. Not to mention, there was a little reason to his excuse. Loitering too long in Space Pirate territory was never considered a good idea, at least by Samus's standards.
Despite her curiosities, she forced herself to trudge past Pit and off to the cockpit, the angel following her obediently.
"Alright, kid, strap yourself in."
Situated comfortably in Samus's command chair, Pit smiled cutely and fastened the 20-pound brace around himself like a seatbelt.
The huntress had long since before made the Varia Suit's external physical features compatible with her Gunship's internal hardware, just for an occasion such as this. Nodding to Pit, she turned toward the windshield and pulled up a few options on her visor.
INITIATE BRACE-INTEGRATION OF VARIA SUIT TO HUNTER-CLASS GUNSHIP? YES/NO
Samus selected "yes."
INTIATING…
Four panels, two located on the ceiling and two on the floor, slid open slowly with a soft whish! Extending out of the pockets stretched four heavy robotic arms, outspreading to align with the power suit's arms and legs. They swiveled for just a few seconds before finally locking onto the lengths of Samus's appendages, fortifying themselves with several bolts, screwing into opened pores in the suit. A fifth arm reached up from the floor and lock itself onto the suit's spine, latching itself to the huntress's metal back. Numerous braces developed out of Samus's boots, fastening themselves to specified components in the floor.
Once she was battered down, she pulled up a final option on her visor.
ACTIVATE SPACE-JUMP TO :DESTINATION = GF FEDERATION HQ:? YES/NO
Samus smiled triumphantly and clicked "yes."
INITIATING SPACE-JUMP IN 3…
2…
1…
"Well, good. It looks like they're on their way."
Palutena was standing hunched over the Skyworld Universal Viewing Fountain, or UVF, as it was usually referred to. She was currently situated in the main viewing room of her temple, which could be considered as nothing less than a floating Taj Mahal. It was nestled in the very heart of Skyworld, a city resting on a sea of fluffy, wispy clouds.
The image in the crystal waters billowed with every miniscule motion the goddess made. The huntress's Gunship was in view, just rocketing into light speed as Samus and Pit undertook space-jump. Palutena smiled pleasantly, a single strand of her extensive, neon green hair falling into her eyes. They would be safe once they exited that jump.
The titanic doors behind her suddenly smashed open. Palutena swiveled affrightedly on her heel, shielding her eyes from the onrushing cloud of dust that swept over her. The countless golden charms fastened to her milky white dress pinged against each other as they were mercilessly thrown about by the wind.
As the roar of the gales began to die down, an unsettlingly familiar voice hissed into the air.
"So tell me, Palutena, how long has your little pet been on retreat?"
The goddess's eyebrows jumped in fear at the disconcerting tone of her sister's voice. When the dust settled, none other than Medusa herself could be seen leaning against the side of the doorway, spinning the cracked helmet of a Centurion on her index finger. The long, royal violet robe she wore was splattered with dried-up patches of age-old blood, keepsakes from battles before. Her skin was a dreary shade of lavender, her eyes as black as coal. Extensive, whip-like snakes writhed incessantly about her disheveled tiara, hissing and snarling hungrily.
Palutena scowled and backed herself to the fountain, summoning her winged staff and directing it at her accursed sister.
"How in the Underworld did you make it all the way here?! My guard surely-"
"Your guard is nothing more than a group of spineless, half-hearted idiots without that boy." She caustically remarked. "You really opened the door for me when you sent him on that little quest of yours. I never even had the chance to thank you."
Palutena scoffed and roused her staff, frustrated at the fact that it wasn't even making Medusa blink.
The Goddess of Darkness sighed.
"Come on, sister, put the staff down. I didn't come here today to start another war."
Palutena furrowed her brow and faltered, lowering her weapon to her hip.
"If that truly is the case, then why are you here?"
Medusa snickered malevolently and stalked a few paces forward, unnerving the green-haired goddess stationed at the fountain.
"I came to see how far Pit was in his little adventure. We don't have viewing fountains in the Underworld, you know…"
Immediately, Palutena stepped in front of her, raising her staff horizontally, barricading the fountain off.
"And just what makes you think I'll just freely let you use the UVF, after you invaded my realm, slaughtered my guard, and broke into my palace?!"
Medusa grinned evilly, placing both hands on the staff and leaning over it. She was inches from her sister's fearful face, the serpents on her head nipping at Palutena's crown.
"Honestly, sister, you couldn't stop me if you tried. Even if you defeat me in here, I've got the entire Underworld Army surrounding this palace. You're pinned."
She took another step forward, drawing her expression nearer to Palutena, who was beginning to panic.
"I'll make it simple for you. Let me through, and I'll take a look and be on my way. Refuse…"
In a flash, she had roughly grabbed Palutena by the collar of her dress, jerking her in closer.
"…and I burn this city to the ground."
The Goddess of Light gulped. Beads of sweat began to form on her forehead. She had to look at this logically. On one hand, if she denied Medusa her will, and with her newly understaffed army, she'd be hard pressed to save the innocent civilians of Skyworld. Not to mention, she'd have to fend off the entire Underworld Army (in case Medusa WASN'T bluffing), and then attend to repairs of the realm. On the other hand, if she let her by, Medusa would undoubtedly locate Pit and find a way to send forces to exterminate him while his guard was down. It didn't look good either way, but if worse-case scenario came around, the second option would be the least costly. She cared dearly for Pit, but she couldn't allow her feelings to cloud her judgment when it came to the welfare of her people.
Palutena sighed and lowered her staff. Medusa's smirk grew larger and she pushed the goddess aside, stomping up to the UVF. She took one glance into the quivering waters and froze.
"Who's the girl?"
Palutena looked away indignantly.
"I haven't the faintest."
Medusa growled and redirected her attention to the fountain. Reaching into one of the folds of her dress she pulled out a small vial, and in a flash, she scooped up some of the fountain's water and screwed the lid on tight.
Palutena caught the sound of the disturbed waters and swiveled her head swiftly.
Medusa had already concealed the flask. He fingers were half-submerged in the water, providing her excuse. She swished the water around a few times, then withdrew and turned.
"There. That's all I needed to see."
She leaned in closely. MUCH too closely for comfort.
"Thanks for everything, sister." She hissed victoriously. "I'll be seeing you again."
And with those words, Medusa coolly exited the expansive chamber, rubbing her fingers elatedly along the obscured vial.
I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!
Did you guys miss me? It's been a while since I updated this story, so I figured I'd throw a chapter of this out before I got down to business on SSBB Summer. I'm really starting to love this one. Anyway, on to the author's notes:
First off, the elephant in the room. Pit's little demon-spaz out thing. If you're confused about it now, don't worry, all will be explained later. I can't wait until this story really gets rolling, because I've got ideas out the *ahem* that I've been coming up with for you guys. You're gonna love 'em. I can't really say much without giving out any spoilers, but I can say that Pit's little dark-side flashes are going to come quicker and more often, with growing intensity. *rubs hands together and chuckles evilly*
This chapter, while it took me the entire course of four days to get the darn thing down on paper, was exceptionally entertaining to write. I hope you guys got the same thrill while you were reading it.
And now, the other elephant in the room. (My, this is a big room.) Palutena/Medusa is not, I repeat, NOT, going to be a thing. Not even I would stoop that low. (If you like the pairing then more power to you.) I…I just don't like yuri pairings. Call me gay or asexual or whatever, but I'm strictly keeping this a STRAIGHT fanfic. The only reason I wrote what I wrote was to make Medusa seem more evil. (And don't get me wrong, I don't have any problem with homosexuals, I just can't write anything about them.)
You know, I'm starting to notice a pattern here. The way I have this story set up is: lemon, fight scene, lemon, fight scene, lemon, fight scene…you get the idea. Well, I am a guy, maybe that's just the way I like it. I'm trying to throw a little mystery on the side, but I've never really been good with that sort of thing.
Other than that, I hope you all are having a great New Year, and I look forward to talking to you all in the reviews!
-Mohawkman2233