Time for chapter ten of the Evil Route. As you know, there are still going to be a few changes throughout the rest of the route. You already know the disclaimer, so sit back and enjoy!

Chapter 10: The Wish Seed + DLC: A Boiling Treatment

Music playing: The Wish Seed (Volcano Route)

Pit rushed through the door with a Burning Palm to begin his mission. "I can't believe Hades was behind the entire Underworld invasion!" he said after leaping through the door. "And he created Medusa to distract everyone!" Palutena responded. "What do you think Hades is really after?" Pit asked while fighting more Underworld enemies. "Something big," Palutena explained. "He hasn't just overstepped his realm—he's kicked down the door. What I DO know is that Underworld forces have assembled at a volcano nearby. And that's where today's mission is taking us." "Oh, I just put it all together!" the angel responded. "The Underworld Army is here to steal magma!" "No, Pit," said Palutena. "Hades wants the Wish Seed." "Oh," said Pit. "Of course." "From what I've heard, it grants any single wish," Palutena explained. "As you might imagine, it's quite sought after." "I could really use one of those!" said the excited angel. "My wish would be to fly by myself!" "Yes, yes, I'm well aware of that," Palutena responded. "Anyway—" "Don't change the subject!" Pit interupted. "Heh heh!" giggled Palutena. "The Underworld forces seem to be very interested in the Wish Seed." "Who knows what Hades would wish for if he got it?!" Pit exclaimed "It could be a total disaster!" "I couldn't agree more," agreed Palutena. "Let's hurry, Pit. If Hades has entered the game, he's playing to win." "Plus, if anyone deserves a wish, it's me!" Pit responded. He then proceeded through the volcano and took out more Underworld monsters. "Get ready to go into that cave," said Palutena as she guided Pit into the cave. Pit then took out more Underworld and enemies and continued onwards until he was out of the cave. Then he saw a large pool of lava. "This is incredible!" he exclaimed. "Yes, the volcano's guardian puts on quite a show," said Palutena. "Who's the volcano's guardian?" Pit asked. "The immortal bird who lives there," Palutena explained. "The Phoenix." "Hmm..." Pit thought for a moment before saying, "So if the Phoenix is protecting the Wish Seed... Does that mean he created the Wish Seed too?" "That reminds me..." said Palutena. "Phoenix eggs make the most divine omelets. Or so I've heard." "What does THAT have to do with ANYTHING?!" exclaimed the confused angel. Along the way, Pit took out more Underworld enemies and continued into the lava cavern. He then received four more Recovery Orbs to replenish his health and Palutena decided to ask Pit about the heat. "How are you holding up there?" she asked. "I'm...very sweaty," Pit replied. "There's an alternate tunnel route that might be cooler," said Palutena. "Oh, good timing!" Pit sighed in relief. "But it will take us a little out of our way," Palutena continued. "I'll let you decide which way to go." (A/N: Now, as you can see, I'll be using the alternative route in the tunnel for this Evil Route. You'll see what I mean about it. Don't worry. Everything will be just fine...or will it? Now then, let us proceed.)

Music stops and switches to: The Wish Seed (Cave Route)

Pit decided to go into the tunnel for a shortcut. "Let's head into the tunnel," said Palutena. "I hope it's cooler in there!" Pit said and flew into the tunnel's entrance to make it across as quickly as possible. But what he didn't know is that the tunnel was actually a cave and it was crawling with Underworld enemies. Along the way, he took down more of them who were in his way. But then, he noticed something unusual. "The magma level's rising in here..." he said. "Hopefully it won't rise too fast..." said Palutena, worried about the situation. Pit then continued onwards, while avoiding more hot lava and taking down more Underworld enemies. But when he was about to exit the cave, he was blocked by lava pouring down in front of him. "Augh! There's nowhere to go!" he cried. "Stay calm, Pit!" said Palutena. "Stay calm?!" Pit exclaimed. "You're not the one who's about to get steamed like a dumpling!" "I said STAY CALM!" Palutena said again as she tried to find a way out of the lava pool. Soon enough, she found an alternative exit and Pit flew right to it. "Whew. That's a relief," he sighed. However, his reliefs were cut short when he heard a rumble. "Pit! Behind you!" Palutena warned. "Huh?" Pit wondered as he turned around, just in time to see lava coming right behind him and screamed, "Whooooa-oa no, no, please no!" "Hang on!" said Palutena as she quickly flew Pit out of the tunnel as quickly as possible, just in time before the lava incinerated the angel alive. In actuality, the cave tunnel was an entrance of a small volcano. "WHOOOOOOOOOOOA!" Pit exclaimed. "That was way too close for comfort." "No need to get all hot under the collar though, right?" Palutena joked. (A/N: That wasn't a good time to make a pun like that, Palutena.) "You just couldn't resist, could you?" Pit grumbled. He then continued onwards while taking down more Underworld enemies who were in his way. "Get ready to land soon, Pit," said Palutena. "Boy, I hope my sandals don't melt," said Pit. "Don't worry," Palutena responded. "I'll get you some new ones after this mission." She then guided Pit to his landing destination.

Music stops and switches to: Phoenix Mountain

The angel arrived at Phoenix Mountain and tripped over the edge. "Whoa. Whoa whoa whoa. Whoa!" he cried as he fell. "Ah!" he sighed after getting back up and started to move on his way. "Take it easy, will ya?" he groaned to Palutena. "The Underworld Army has already reached the Phoenix," responded the goddess. "But they're facing severe resistance." "The Phoenix sounds pretty tough," said Pit. "So if we want the Wish Seed too..." "That's right," said Palutena. "You'll have to defeat the Phoenix." "I was afraid you'd say that," the worried angel responded. "Don't worry," told Palutena. "He's the Phoenix. He'll come back to life." "That's not exactly what I'm worried about," said Pit. "What I mean to say is...I'm not scared. I'm not scared at all!" "Saying it twice doesn't make it more convincing," responded Palutena, unconcerned. "How about if I say it a third time?" Pit boasted. "I'm not scared at all!" The angel continued on his way and then heard Hades' voice. "Well, helloooooo there!" he greeted. "Glad to see you made it!" "Hades!" Pit exclaimed. "Settle down there, Pitty," Hades responded. "Ladies don't like high-strung fellows. So the 'good guys' covet the Wish Seed too. Tell me, goddess, what do you wish for? Is it all kittens and rainbows, or is it something more...interesting?" "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours!" Palutena answered. "Thanks so much for asking!" Hades commented. "I just have one humble, little wish." While Pit was taking down a lot more enemies, Hades sent him a picture of a girl and two coffins. "You see this poor child?" he started. "Both of her parents are dead. Awww... There was an unfortunate accident, if you know what I mean." "You mean you murdered them!" Pit suspected, while fighting more enemies. "It was a simple case of distracted chariot driving," Hades continued, although he was actually lying about doing that. "I shouldn't have been doing my hair. Anyway, I was hoping to use the Wish Seed to bring back the parents." He then sent Pit another picture of the girl with a cake and two zombie parents. "Can you think of anything more joyous than a family reunion?" he continued. Then he gave Pit a picture about the same people with loadsamoney. "Then after that, they'd strike it rich—like, rolling-in-dough rich!" he continued further. And finally, he gave Pit a picture of all of them in crowns while he was in an Exo Tank fighting enemies. "And then we'd slap crowns on all of them and make 'em royalty!" he concluded. "And that's the general gist of my wish. Pretty noble and not at all evil, right? I can't think of anyone MORE deserving of the Wish Seed than yours truly." But Palutena wasn't concerned about Hades' wish. "Let me get this straight," she started. "You, the lord of the Underworld, want to revive the dead. That's somewhat at odds with your 'mission statement,' wouldn't you say?" "Don't tell me the Goddess of Light hasn't heard of altruism before," Hades responded. That and she doesn't know that I was telling the truth, he added in thought. I didn't do anything to that girl's parents. "What a load of baloney!" Pit complained. "My intentions are pure," Hades replied. "As Lord of the Underworld, you have my word." And my wish to get back at the one responsible for committing that crime, he added in thought. "That just makes me more suspicious," Palutena suspected. "How cold of you," said Hades. "Your words pierce my heart like an icicle." And you're also not listening to my warning, he added in thought. And I have a feeling that he's plotting something more vicious than me. Pit then proceeded to take down a lot more Underworld monsters. Then Hades decided to ask Pit a question. "Tell me, Pitty Pat, why exactly can't you fly?" he asked. "Oh, real original," Pit responded. "Like I haven't heard that one before. Not to mention, it's NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" "So sorry," Hades apologized. "I didn't realize it was such a sensitive subject." "Oh, don't worry about him," said Palutena "He's fine. His wings just don't work right." "Hey, whose side are you on?" Pit groaned and then entered a room and saw Remoblam & Remoblamlings. "As a rule, Remoblamlings will blow up," explained Palutena. "You can wipe them all out at once by eliminating their leader first." Pit did so and proceeded onwards, then he found a switch and flipped it. It caused the statue he was standing on to slide downwards. "Umph!" he yelped after noticing it. "Now that the statue has settled into the lava, I don't think it'll budge," said Palutena. "Well, I wouldn't either if I was soaking in a nice hot bath," Pit responded. He then continued on his way and found a very hungry Underworld enemy; a Guttler. "Well, look at that," said Palutena. "It's an Underworld Guttler." "So, what's its deal?" asked Pit. "It gobbles up friends and foes alike, getting extremely strong in the process," Palutena explained. "It eats its friends to get stronger?" Pit exclaimed. "Sheesh. Talk about a monster!" "And its strength grows with every bite it takes, so if you see one, defeat it quickly," Palutena warned. Pit did so and continued onwards. He also found another Zodiac Chamber and was gifted with the Leo Cannon. After that, he left from the chamber and continued onwards. Then, he found a Hot Spring. "Look, Pit!" exclaimed Palutena. "A Hot Spring!" "Score!" exclaimed Pit. "Who's got two thumbs and loves Hot Springs?! Everyone with two thumbs!" After his little relaxation, Pit left the Hot Spring and continued onwards. He then defeated more Underworld enemies and took an elevator to move up. "Oh, Palutena!" sang Hades. "Pretty Paluteeeena! Can you hear me?" "Of course I can hear you," Palutena replied. "You never told me your wish," Hades reminded. "Even after I bared my very soul to you!" Despite the fact that what I said was true, he added in thought. "Right," Palutena replied. "Your wish? I don't buy it. In fact, it makes me doubt this entire story. Answer me this: does the Wish Seed even have the power to grant wishes?" "You're a sharp one," said Hades. "How'd you guess?" "What?!" exclaimed Pit. "Are you serious? The Wish Seed is a fake?" "It's so obvious to me now," said Palutena. "I mean, the idea of a Wish Seed is pretty far fetched. An item like that could make anyone more powerful than the gods." "Dang," Pit grumbled. "I was totally gonna be like, 'I wish for...a kazillion wishes!' Wait—if the Wish Seed doesn't work, why's the Underworld Army going after it?" "To make everyone—us included—believe that it's real," answered Palutena. "Can't get anything past ol' Professor Palutena, now can I?" asked Hades. "If there's one thing you can predict about humans, it's their greed. It's physically impossible for humans to resist the lure of a wish-granting item." "And since they can't get the Wish Seed from the Phoenix to see it's a fake..." Palutena began. "You need them to THINK that someone has made off with it." "At which point, they'll drive themselves to extinction battling for it," Hades responded. "And that's good for my business. An ingenious plan, if I do say so myself." "But the Phoenix himself could wipe out humanity if the Underworld sets him loose," said Pit, concerned about humanity's danger. "You're right," agreed Palutena. "We have no choice but to defeat him. We've fallen right into Hades' trap." "Flattery will get you nowhere, my dear!" Hades responded. "Actually, scratch that. It'll get you a hot date with the Phoenix. Ciao." Pit then continued to take down more Underworld enemies. He proceeded onwards to face the Phoenix once he makes it to his destination. "Even though Hades was behind this plan, the Phoenix won't be happy to see you," Palutena pointed out. Pit took note at that and carefully made sure that he'll be ready for the fight against him. Then, he came a large ditch with floating platforms. "You can get across these rocks by jumping," explained Palutena. "OK," Pit responded. "I just dash up to the edge to jump, right?" Pit did that and continued onwards while also taking down a lot more Underworld enemies. He also unlocked and opened a Level 4 Intensity Gate which led him to the upper level of the previous Hot Spring room. "Yessss!" he exclaimed. "It's Hot-Spring time! "It seems that there are hot springs on the upper and lower levels," sald Palutena. "Nothing brightens the complexion like a mineral spring," said Hades. "And lava." There was also another Mimicutie and after defeating hit, Pit collected its goodies. After a little relaxation from within the Hot Spring, Pit continued onwards and took down more Underworld enemies. "The Phoenix is up ahead," Palutena pointed out. "Go die now!" said Hades. Pit then drank another Drink of the Gods and entered the platform.

Music stops and switches to: Boss Fight 1

Pit then noticed the Wish Seed floating. "The Wish Seed looks real enough..." he said. Suddenly, he heard a loud screech and saw that it was a bird flying down at him like a fireball. "The Phoenix!" he yelped, surprised. The Phoenix noticed Pit and screeched at him loudly. "He's not going to let you go without a fight!" Palutena warned. The battle has begun. "So I should go ahead and attack him?" asked Pit. "You have no choice," Palutena responded. "Unless you want to be flambéed. The Phoenix is cranky after fighting the Underworld forces. Who knows what he's capable of? You need to stop him." "Oh, I WILL!" Pit yelled in determination. But before he could continue with the fight, he decided to destroy the Wish Seed first, since it was a fake. "Yeah!" he said. "You broke my toy!" groaned Hades. "It was only a bomb anyway," said Palutena. During the fight, Devil Pit was watching him. "The Phoenix is not to be underestimated," he said. "He'll burn you alive if you don't avoid his attacks. Unless you want to be cooked, let's see how well you can beat him." Pit also noticed a Jump Pad he can used and Palutena explained it herself. "You can use the Jump Pad for attacking and dodging too," she said. "Not to micromanage you or anything." But the Phoenix was not making things easy for our hero as he continuously circled around Pit to slow him down. Palutena decided to help Pit out. "When the Phoenix is circling overhead, try leading your shots," she explained. "So, shoot in front of him?" Pit asked. "Right," Palutena continued. "Your shots will take awhile to land, so shoot where the target's going to be." Although Pit seemed to be having trouble to do so. "Considering his size, he's not that easy to hit!" Pit exclaimed. (A/N: You think?) "No need to panic," said Palutena. "You just need to wait for an opening." Pit did as he was told and continued to attack the Phoenix. The damage the Phoenix took was enough to knock him down. "He's down!" said Palutena. "Now's my chance!" exclaimed Pit. He then attack the Phoenix with a melee combo and at long last, the Phoenix was defeated. "Phoenix extinguished!" Pit yelled in victory. "I'll have a nice, cold drink waiting for you when you get back," said Palutena. The Phoenix suddenly exploded and left behind a fiery beacon in its place. "Now everyone will know the Wish Seed was a fake!" Pit exclaimed. "No no no," said Hades. "That beacon shows the world that the Phoenix has been defeated! Which will only make the humans believe that someone has taken the Wish Seed. Now I'll just give them a little nudge." He then called to the humans in the Overworld. "People of the world, the Wish Seed has been liberated!" he called. "This is your chance to fulfill your wildest dreams! All you have to do is conquer anyone in your way!" "The people will NOT be so easily deceived!" Pit yelled. "I wish that were true, but I foresee major bloodshed," said Palutena, sadly. "This is all my fault." She then opened up a light pillar and whisked the angel back to her temple.

Music stops and switches to: (M)TMB ARC Extended Music: Athenaeum Riba's Theme (A.K.A. Lucifer's Theme)

A few moments later, Lucifer arrived at scene of the conclusion and saw the beacon. "Perfect. Since Icarus defeated the Phoenix, this beacon is its last remains," he said. "Now I just need to absorb it to reveal the soul." He then used his powers and absorbed the beacon into his body. After he was finished, the Phoenix's soul was floating in midair. "Excellent. Now to take the soul and bring it to the ritual circle." he said and soon took the soul into his hands. He then snapped his fingers to open a portal to the Void and entered it to place the soul where it belongs. After arriving into the Void, Lucifer snapped his fingers again to change the portal's entrance. "Oh, Icarus!" he called. "Come here into the Void. I have something special to show you." Pit was in his room about to rest for the day. But once he saw the portal and heard his brother's voice, he decided to enter it. He then arrived at the Void where he saw something unfamiliar. "Um... Lucifer, what is this...?" he asked. "This is the ritual circle I've been telling you about, Icarus," Lucifer explained. "This is where all the powerful souls of humans or deities, either full of sin or innocence, are all gathered. Their powers are strong enough to complete the ritual and open up a portal where a realm of sealed powerful demons reside." "Demons?" Pit questioned. "They're not the same type of enemies you faced in the Underworld, like the ones you saw at that mountain," said Lucifer. "These demons I'm talking about were banished from the Underworld." "What? But why?" Pit asked. "And why are you bringing up innocent souls?" "I would explain to you a bit more about it, but I'm afraid we're on a tight schedule right now," Lucifer replied. "Right now, we must continue in finding the next victim for the ritual. I need you to find another powerful creature somewhere while you're out on your next mission. I'll be waiting for you here." "Well...OK," Pit reluctantly replied. "Oh, and one more thing before I forget," said Lucifer. "I saw how silly you were during the mission. Right now is not the time for some stupid funny business. This is a serious situation we're currently in right now. Stay focused on our mission at hand, got it?" "G-Got it...!" Pit stuttered. "Good. You're free to go now," said Lucifer as he snapped his fingers to open up a portal. Pit entered it and was back in his room before the portal closed up. "Our plan is going smoothly," Lucifer continued. "With my brother's help, there is no way those foolish mortals and gods can do anything to stop us! Now then, I must take my leave as well. Better gather up a lot more souls for the ritual while my brother is busy." He then left the Void as well to find the bloodshed battlefield.

Music stops

Things were starting to become a lot more intense than the last time. Lucifer was taking his mission way too seriously and didn't like the way his brother was acting a few times during his mission at the mountain. What will the brothers do now that Hades has made the humans believe something so false? How will Palutena put the pieces together about something wrong going on with Pit? Stay tuned for chapter eleven of the Evil Route, review, and have a great day!