Realms Untold: Seekers of Light (Nintendo/Kingdom Hearts)

[FedoraChar]

Chapter Two
The Deity of Space

“…Lady Palutena?” Pit timidly called out, wondering if his connection with the goddess had been cut off. He scanned the skies around him once more for enemies or interferences, but failed to spy anything out of the ordinary. The clouds were as white and unassuming as ever.

“Look out!”

The angel heard the goddess’s cry seconds before the sky split apart. The air became alive with sound and light, blasting Pit backwards into a rolling tumble. He fought against the dizziness and tried to get a handle on what was occuring. An ugly black and purple scar marred the skies before him, reminding him all too clearly of his episode with the Chaos Kin. Heart skipping with sudden fear, Pit watched the rift in space anxiously, half-expecting the unearthly creature to crawl out and threaten his goddess once more.

However, an entirely different creature emerged from the rift.

First to come through was a small head at the end of a sinuous long neck—wormlike, but ending in a sharp forward-facing crest. Sharp fangs jutted from its lower jaw, right before a pair of crazed ruby eyes. The creature released a raspy roar before the rest of its full form was revealed: a rose-tinted dragon with thick armor set over its shoulders, sword-like wings, and a thick, powerful tail.

“Watch out!” Palutena warned as the creature charged forward. Pit felt her influence jerk him out of the way before the dragon tore past him, but he couldn’t escape the wind whipped up in its wake. For the second time, Pit found himself tumbling head over heels.

“W-what was that thing?” the angel stuttered as soon as he righted himself.

“This isn’t good… That was Palkia, the deity of space. And she’s in a rampage…”

“Wait, Palkia?! As in…” Pit paused. “Wait, she?!”

“This is no time to fall behind, Pit. You need to stop her—she’s headed straight for the Temple!”

“R-right! Er, leave it to me!” Striking a pose, he declared, “It’s dragon-slaying time!”

“Heavens no! Don’t hurt her! Do you know what effect that could have on the very fabric of space?”

The angel’s brave stance faltered. “I’m guessing… it would be bad?”

“Very bad. Let’s just try to calm her down. And quickly—the power of flight is running out.” She started moving the angel through the air again in pursuit of the outraged dragon.

Pit frowned, preferring problems he could surmount by shooting things out of the air. This situations had more complications than he was sure he could deal with. “How will I do that?”

“I’ll equip a new power to your roster—with it, your bow shots should tranquilize Palkia without hurting her. Just be careful not to hit her more than three times, got it?”

“Got it!” To emphasize his readiness, Pit spun his bow in his hand before taking aim at the dragon. Her movement, however, was completely erratic. She squirmed rather than flapped through the air, her wings barely flapping as she sliced through the air like a sword. The first arrow Pit fired overshot his target by a mile.

“Sheesh, Pit—you haven’t gotten rusty, have you?”

“She won’t stop moving!” the angel grunted with a tone of indignation.

“Focus! You’ve dealt with worse before.”

“I’m trying!” Pit bit his lip in intense concentration before releasing a second arrow.

This time, his projectile found its target; the arrow imbedded itself into the dragon’s right flank. Unfortunately, the attack didn’t go unnoticed. Palkia stopped her craven flight and snaked her head around to face Pit. She marked him with those baleful red eyes, releasing a terse snort.

“Er, time for a new tactic.” Lady Palutena muttered in his head.

“W-what’s that?” Pit stammered, unnerved by the dragon’s livid glare.

Palkia released another bone-rattling roar before charging towards the angel.

“Try not to get eaten!” said Palutena as she turned the angel around.

*****

The battle with Palkia reminded Pit somewhat of his battle with Hewdraw—except with more blue-plasma dragon-breath blasts and a lot less bickering. Palkia was dangerously fast, as well as completely beyond reason. Palutena guided Pit’s flight, but it was up to the angel to dodge the frenzied creature’s never-ending onslaught.

“I could really use a fairy-type right about now!” the angel yelped as he rolled under the dragon’s glowing claws.

“You know, she’s really not that bad. She’s actually rather sweet, once you get to know her.”

“Sweet?!” Pit exclaimed as a blast of blue dragon fire nearly singed his wings. Somehow, even between the claws and the breath, he just couldn’t bring himself to believe his goddess at the moment.

“Yeah. She just has slight… temperament issues, that’s all.”

Pit merely grunted as he twisted about, taking aim at the dragon once more. As Palkia roared challengingly, he let another arrow fly. For the second time, his aim met its mark, striking the dragon square in the forehead. Palkia’s roar was cut off-mid bellow, finally giving the angel some breathing room.

“Oh, ouch…” Palutena grimaced. “She’s going to feel that in the morning…”

Honestly, Pit couldn’t say he shared her sympathy. He found it hard to feel sorry for anything that seemed bent on turning him into chopped and/or charbroiled liver. He was also having difficulty accepting that this being was indeed Palkia: a creature he had assumed only existed in games. If it—er, she—was real, what else did that mean? What’s more, what was she doing here?

Palkia shook off the attack and continued her pursuit. To Pit’s relief her movements were noticeably slower, showing that Palutena’s power-ups were working. One more hit, and that dragon would be sawing logs.

“Wow,” said Pit as he admired his handiwork. “If it takes only three of these arrows to take out a space-bending dragon, then I wonder what it could do on a single Underworld minion… Hey, is it just me, or is it getting hot in here?”

He glanced over his shoulder, wondering if the dragon’s breath had singed his wings after all. To his dismay, he could see his wings glowing red with heat.

“You’re running out of time,” warned Palutena. “You’re going to have to end this, or I’ll have to pull you out of there.”

Pit grunted in acknowledgement. He suspected he would have gotten the job done sooner, if he didn’t need to be so careful. Still, he felt no desire to find out what would’ve happened if something befell the deity of space itself. Dodging another swipe of the claw, the angel took aim once again.

Palkia, however, had more tricks up her sleeve. Holding back, she glared at the boy as the pearls on her shoulders began glowing with intense pink light.

“Uh, oh, Pit—watch out! Here comes her signature move!”

The boy angel nearly dropped his bow as Palutena jerked him to the left. Meanwhile, Palkia’s attack reached fruition. The energy stored by the jewels transferred down her arm, which she swung in a swift uppercut. Her claws raked the space before her, ripping it apart and unleashing a blade of pure pink-tinted energy.

“S-spacial Rend!” the boy yelped as the blade rocketed in his direction. He twisted his body into a barrel roll to speed up his goddess’s evasive maneuver.

Palkia’s attack narrowly missed, but Pit felt new pain flare up in his wings. His time had run out.

“That’s it. I’m getting you out of there. The Centurions can—”

“No, wait!” Pit objected, glancing at his opponent. The dragon hung motionless in the air, apparently recharging after the all-out attack. He still had one slim window of opportunity. “Cut off the power of flight!”

“What? I can’t just—!”

“Trust me! I can get this last shot!”

The goddess was hesitant, but Pit felt the pain in his wings ebb as she withdrew the power of flight. The sky began slipping away from him as he fell backwards, keeping his eyes on the dragon. Keeping his wings and legs spread out for balance, Pit drew back the ethereal string on his bow. Sluggishly, Palkia nose-dived after him, clearly deluded and weak but still intent on finishing her prey.

When the creature was directly overhead and in his range, Pit released his last arrow.

Palkia bellowed in surprise as it struck her shoulder, but its effect was swift. The dragon fell limp as the last dose of tranquilizer knocked her out. Pit cried out in victory, but soon realized he had a new problem on his hands.

An unconscious dragon was falling on top of him.

“That was your plan?!” Palutena’s voice scolded incredulously.

“It sounded better in my head!” Pit screamed out as Palkia’s mass descended quickly towards him.

“We really need to work on your critical thinking skills. Lucky for you, I got you covered. Catch!”

Palkia suddenly shimmered, and like a snake shedding its skin the dragon’s scales flaked away and scattered in the light. Soon all that was falling towards Pit was a small round object that the angel easily caught.

“A pearl?” He blinked.

“It’s a Pokémon thing… I’ll explain later. Let’s get you back on solid ground, first.”

“I won’t say no to that…” He didn’t feel particularly eager to find out what happened when falling angel met ground.

[FedoraChar]

Chapter Three
Woe of the Worlds

Palutena frowned as she personally checked over her last angel’s wings. Simple enough, but Pit made it more difficult by his constant fidgeting. She knew he was bursting with questions, but she refused to say anything until she was certain his health was intact. The last time he overused the power of flight was still fresh in her mind.

“Doesn’t look like there’s any permanent damage,” she finally concluded, releasing him.

Immediately the angel broke free and whirled around to face her. “I told you. Now can you tell me what’s going on? What’s Palkia doing here? Why was she acting so crazy? And why is she suddenly a stone? Does this mean that are Pokémon real? If they are… can I get a Pikachu?”

The goddess of light took a deep breath. “Yes. I don’t know. Not sure. Because all Pokémon came from earth. Yes. No.”

He stared at her blankly. “Um… Okay…? Now maybe explain…?”

She sighed. “Sorry, I didn’t think I’d have to bring this up until the next Super Bash Sisters game.”

“…You mean, Super Smash Bros.”

She waved dismissively. “What I’m trying to say is, other universes exist other than our own. A lot of those games you play come from the stories that occurred in those universes.”

Pit let that sink in for a while before grinning impishly. “So Pokémon are real!”

“But you won’t be getting one,” she gave him a stern look. “There are strict rules in place that keep the worlds separate and distinct, and for good reason. Can you imagine the chaos there would be if there were no boundaries between the worlds? People and things coming and going as they please? Think about it this way—what would have happened if Hades invaded the Pokémon World? Or stole the Triforce from the Zelda universe?”

The angel winced. “Yeah… That would’ve been bad…”

“Exactly. That’s why crossing-over is not normally tolerated—for the sake of maintaining order and balance in each world.”

“But then… what about Super Smash Bros? Does it take place in its own world, too?”

“It’s a bit of a special case. There has to be an opposite to everything; so, to create balance, order must be complimented by chaos. That’s why the World of Trophies was created—to channel chaos and keep it contained. No real people actually live there, however; instead, avatars of the worlds’ heroes are created and sent in their stead. These would be the trophies you see in the game.”

Palutena’s angel opened his mouth in a circle. “Ooooooh. I guess that explains why I’ve never been there before, even though I’m in the game. Wait, when did you make an avatar of me?”

“When you were asleep. I figured I’d tell you about it once we finally got our sequel, but I guess I forgot about it.”

Pit frowned, upset that he had missed out on that. The avatar thing sounded interesting, and he wished he could have seen his own in person before it got shipped off. Still, he thought it was neat that somewhere some tiny version of himself was fighting off calamities. Unlike a certain other version he could think off.

Glancing over at the pedestal in the center of Palutena’s chambers, Pit studied Palkia’s pearl. “So… if the worlds are supposed to stay separate, then why is Palkia here?”

The goddess followed his gaze and pursed her lips. Standing with her in person, Pit could see how much the situation troubled her. “As deity of space, Palkia is responsible for keeping the boundaries between the worlds, making sure they stay separate. She can freely move between them if the needs are great enough, but… Something terrible must have happened to her to throw her into a fit like that…”

“Like what?”

“…I’m not sure… We’ll just have to wait until—”

Palutena cut off as a sudden humming filled the air. Both goddess and angel stood at attention as the pearl in the center of the room began glowing. As if suspended by some unseen force, it began to rise and increase in size. Pit took a step in front of Palutena as the stone blossomed into a dragon once more—much smaller in size, but still a force to be reckoned with.

Eyes still red with rage, Palkia scanned the room hungrily. A harsh feminine voice pierced Pit’s thoughts.

“All right, where’s that puny little angel? I gotta score to settle with him.”

*****

Palutena took charge before the situation could erupt into chaos. Speaking quickly, she welcomed the legendary dragon.

“Lord Palkia, you gave us quite the scare back there. What on earth brings you to Angel Land?”

The dragon snorted. “Angel Land? Is that where I ended up? Huh. Guess there’s worse places… Hope I didn’t trash the place. Wasn’t quite in my right mind, if you know what I’m saying.”

Pit blinked, wondering at the dragon’s manner of speech. She spoke bluntly and with a slight drawl—not at all what he was expecting for the supposed deity of space. Half of him had been expecting another Arlon, or maybe even a sultry voice like Pandora’s. Instead, Palkia gave off clear tomboy vibes.

The goddess of light nodded sympathetically. “I thought you seemed a little… out of sorts. What happened?”

Palkia’s grimace turned into a snarl. “What happened? I’ll tell you what happened! Some stupid franchise has grown bigger than its britches and is giving me all kinds of grief.” The dragon stomped its feet, shaking the entire room. “Hmph! Why anybody thought it was a good idea to create those soul-sucking leeches of darkness is beyond me. They keep popping up in all the wrong places and I’m at my wit’s end trying to keep them contained. Even with all my efforts, worlds are disappearing left and right. But of course, that’s what happens when you craft a game that has A COMPLETE LACK OF REGARD FOR THE BOUNDRIES BETWEEN WORLDS. THINGS WERE BOUND TO GET OUT OF HAND. BUT NO. IT’S ALL FOR THE STORY. ARGH, JUST THINKING ABOUT IT—”

Pit winced as the dragon’s voice skyrocketed in volume. The spatial Pokémon was getting worked up again, and the angel worried that he might have to calm her down again. Thankfully, Palutena intervened once again before things could take a turn for the worst.

“Palkia, calm down… You’re not making any sense.”

Palkia pressed her jaws into a thin line in an apparent attempt to retrain herself. Releasing her breath in a gusty sigh, the dragon said, “The boundaries between worlds are being threatened, Goddess of Light. My realm is diving into chaos. Been working my tail off to restore order, but the second I had my back turned, I was attacked.”

“But that’s impossible. You’re the only one with access to the Realm Between.”

“Not anymore,” the dragon snorted derisively. “Like I said, they’ve been breaking rules left and right. They’re making their own paths…”

Pit had been trying his best to follow the conversation, although ultimately failing. Palutena had only just introduced him to the concept of worlds. All this talk went over his head. Still, having sat on the side lines for so long, he felt he had to speak up.

“Who’s they?” The angel asked.

Palkia opened her mouth to reply. Before she could utter so much as a syllable, the doors to Palutena’s chambers swung open.

“Lady Palutena!” a tiny Centurion squeaked in the open doorway. “Milady, there’s been an attack! The humans are suffering!”

The deity of space slowly straightened, her face grim. “I was afraid of that.”

*****

Chaos. Familiar, but unwelcomed.

In the streets the people were screaming and shouting, some raising their voices to the gods and demanding why their happiness had been shattered so soon. Was peace that intolerable? Were the gods pleased only when mankind suffered?

While these stooped in their self-pity or bitter accusations, a few men—veteran soldiers—took up arms against the rising threat. However, their attackers were unlike anything they had ever faced before. Not even the forces of the Underworld compared; these new and foul creatures were mindless but unyielding, bolstered by their ungodly number. Their dead yellow eyes stared out of their black skins, hungrily eyeing their victims.

The human resistance was quickly discovering that their weapons were useless. Some breezed through these new enemies harmlessly, as if they were nothing but ghosts. Others discovered that those they managed to vanquish only returned.

Only one fighter was having any success: a masked youth with a strange sword and dark cerulean hair.

This chaos was all too familiar to this fighter, and all the more unwelcomed. One fight always led to another. The fighter was beginning to realize that the road to home would never be paved smoothly.

[FedoraChar]

Chapter Four
Attack on Heartless

Falchion slid through the creature with ease, dissipating it into smoldering clouds of blackness. The wielder of the legendary blade had little time to catch their breath before the next foe struck. Fortunately, its attack was reckless and easily dodged. One side step later, it met the same end as its former companion.

Lucina leapt back out of the fray, taking a moment to catch her breath. Although she had never encountered these foul creatures before, they were not unlike Risen—the undead warriors she had dealt with in the past. Both breeds of evil were similarly mindless and bent on killing anything with a beating heart. Neither left behind a corpse.

She found she could deal with this new threat the same way she had dealt with the Risen. In many ways they were easier to defeat, but what gave her difficulty were their numbers. For every creature she felled, three more filled their place. The creatures crawled all over the village she had found herself in, and no one but Lucina could seem to hold them off for long. Innocents were falling left and right, despite all her efforts. She was beginning to realize this battle was grimly one-sided.

“Retreat! Retreat to the temple!”

Lucina glanced up through her mask to see a small group of militia fleeing through the streets. Leading them was a man she had recognized from the start of the invasion. He wielded a weapon she was unfamiliar with—a dark, barbed sword with no hand guard. With it in hand, he seemed to have an easier time fighting the enemy than his comrades, although he could not dispel the creatures like Lucina could. Still, he fought the harder battle in keeping his men alive.

His eyes glanced her way with a hint of recognition. Waving to her, he shouted, “Help me get these men to the temple!”

The ex-princess’s momentary reprieve was over. Grunting with a nod, Lucina sprinted after them, slashing at any creature that threatened to impede the group’s progression.

Keeping her voice low to mimic a man’s voice, as she had done so long ago, Lucina asked, “Does this temple offer a better defensive position?”

The leader smirked. “In a way. You’re not from around these parts, are you? The temple is dedicated to the Goddess of Light—Palutena. Those foul monsters cannot set foot there.”

He sounded confident. Lucina could only hope that confidence wasn’t misplaced. While she had never heard of this deity, her travels had taught her to be open-minded. “Are you certain of this?”

One of the soldiers promptly spoke up. “Yes! I’ve seen it with my own eyes. The temple is protected!”

“The women and children have been ushered inside,” the leader continued. “We’ve tried our best to search for stragglers, but my men can’t handle much more. It’s high time we saved our own hides, and live to fight another day. The name’s Heracles, by the way.”

“Marth,” the word spilled quickly out of her mouth before she could give it a thought.

“Hmm, foreign for sure,” the man grunted. “But I appreciate your help, nonetheless.”

He continued to lead the retreat seemingly unbothered, while “Marth” fell to the rear of the column. The group continued to wend their way through the ruins, with Lucina and Heracles giving it their best to fend of the attacking creatures. She hadn’t noticed it at first, but some of the men they protected seemed affected by the onslaught. Their faces were pale and taut, as if stricken with illness. Although concerned, Lucina kept the brunt of her focus on protecting them, whirling Falchion through the air left and right.

“There it is!” Heracles announced as they rounded a block of half-collapsed buildings. The only intact structure in the area was the one he gestured at with his barbed sword. Rectangular in shape, the temple’s outer walls were lined with tall, snow-white columns, the statue of a graceful woman guarding its doors. The village’s assailants were gathered around it, although they seemed physically incapable of venturing inside. The creatures would stretch their claws out with vile intent, only to shrink back as if striking an unseen barrier. Between the pillars, she could see the relieved faces of the townsfolk watching their failures.

Heracles beamed at his men, waving his weapon about. “Take heart, men! Just a few steps more!”

Those that still had energy surged forth, but the sickly ones stumbled. Lucina and Heracles skidded to a stop.

“Men?” the older warrior asked, hesitant.

No answer came from the stricken. They gaped at their protectors mindlessly, black auras radiating from their beings. Lucina’s mind went blank as she laid witness to a new horror. Before her eyes, the men lost all humanity. Thier forms became twisted and stained with black. Their vacant eyes grew large and pupil-less, turning on their former comrades with hunger.

The first to recover, Lucina shouted a warning at Heracles.

The warrior, left dumb stricken at the transformation of his once close allies, could not react quick enough before the monsters jumped him.

*****

“No!” Pit shouted as he watched the battle through Palutena’s scrying pool. “This… This is terrible!”

Turning to Palkia, he asked, “What are those things?”

The dragon scowled at the vision with distaste. “In the world they come from, they are known as Heartless—manifestations of the darkness in people’s hearts. They were supposed to stay in their own Realm. But since everybody and their grandma has darkness in their hearts, there ain’t many places they can’t get to. This is only the beginning…”

Pit didn’t like the sound of that—not one bit. He glanced up at his goddess, hoping for some encouraging word, but Palutena looked uncharacteristically grim as she stared at the vision in her pool. Following her gaze, Pit watched as the masked warrior struggled to rescue the group’s leader. He was dismally outnumbered…

“We’ve gotta help them!” the angel declared, clenching his fists. “Lady Palutena, I need to get down there!”

His bold declaration shook the goddess from her reverie. She slowly turned to face him, her expression was unreadable.

“Ha!” Palkia barked. “Don’t be brash. You? They’d eat your light for breakfast, kid.”

“I’m not a kid!” retorted Pit. Returning his focus on his goddess, he begged, “Please. I can’t just stand by and watch the humans suffer like this. There’s got to be something we can do.”

“…We may be the only ones who can do anything,” Palutena glanced at Palkia, who frowned. Turning to her angel, the goddess sighed, “But you’ve already used the power of flight today…”

Pit fidgeted in place, stealing another glance at the scrying pool. “Isn’t there some other way to get me down there?”

Palkia snorted derisively. “What am I? Chopped liver?”

He shot her a confused look. Palutena, however, shook her head. “I couldn’t ask you to do that—you’re still recovering from the attack.”

“Please, goddess,” the dragon rolled her eyes. “I ain’t delicate; it would take more than the likes of chicken-wings over there to take me down. Us Legendaries are made from tougher stuff than that. If you really think your angel’s gonna do any good here, then you get him geared up. I’ll get him down there and throw him into the fray.”

Palutena’s angel was about to ask how she was going to do that, until it clicked. Space-bending dragon and that… how could he forget? “Er, I hope you don’t mean that literally,” he piped.

Her reply was an unsettling tooth-filled grin.

*****

“One… Two… Three… CONTACT!”

Pit barely had time to blink before he descended into chaos, promptly falling on his face. His journey through Palkia’s wormhole had been less than enjoyable. Running through it felt like sliding through a kaleidoscope, full of vibrant colors and constantly shifting shapes. With all the constant motion, Pit felt like he had been running in place; it seemed like magic when the light at the end of the tunnel jumped at him, tossing him back into reality.

The wormhole had been completely devoid of sound. Now, suddenly finding himself literally thrown into the midst of a town in peril, the cacophonous choir of battle stung his ears.

“Still in one piece, chicken wings?” Palkia’s voice reached his mind as he picked himself up from the ground.

He listed to the side, wobbling unsteadily on his feet as his vision danced in a circle. “Ugh… I feel like I’ve been on Pandora’s merry-go-round…”

“That sounds like a riot, heheh.”

“Seriously, though. What did you do to me? Am I missing a liver? Did something go wrong?” The angel’s imagination ran wild with everything and anything that could go wrong during a trip through space. What if his insides had ended up on the outside? What if his kidney ended up in Timbuktu?

“Calm down, kid. That’s just a side effect. The dizziness will wear off soon enough.”

“Hopefully sooner than later,” the angel muttered, still trying to get solid footing. He was thankful, at the very least, that the trip through the wormhole hadn’t been any longer; it had reminded him somewhat of Pandora’s maddening Labyrinth. Even Palutena had difficulty guiding him through the twisted dungeon, where right could be left and up could be cheese.

“Look alive, chicken-wings. Shadows at twelve o’clock!”

Pit shook his head and tried to focus. Sure enough, a pack of insect-like creatures squirmed towards him, antennas twitching above their saucer-shaped eyes. Steeling himself for battle, Pit raised his new bow—the Kingdom Bow, as Palutena had called it. Glinting with both gold and silver, it had a simple, gradual curve to it, much like his signature weapon; the grip had a shape reminiscent of a crown, although the arrow rest itself was etched in the symbol of a heart. The goddess of light had crafted this bow specifically to face these creatures.

“The Heartless are embodiments of darkness,” she had informed him. “Only weapons of magic and light can keep them at bay.”

“Let’s see if this works,” the angel grunted as he drew back his hand. An arrow of pure white light formed down the bow’s sight, aimed directly for a witless Shadow. Mentally crossing his fingers, Pit let the projectile fly.

His aim was spot on. The arrow struck the creature in the forehead, and instantly it evaporated into black smoke.

“Yeah!” Pit hooted, pumping his fist in the air. “It worked! Lady Palutena, did you see that? It worked!”

He heard her brief guffaw. “Of course it did. Was there any doubt that it wouldn’t? It is my own handiwork, after all.”

“Don’t get cocky, you two,” Palkia huffed. “That’s only one Heartless out of a thousand, with more are popping up by the second.”

As if to emphasize the dragon’s point, more Shadows pooled around the angel, slowly rising out of the ground with their claws ready. They started closing in on Pit, but he was hardly intimidated. Smirking with new confidence, the angel yanked his bow apart and readied its blades.

“Time to go to town!”

The Shadow Heartless fell just as easily to the blades as they did to the arrow. Although they outnumbered him, Pit utilized his speed and dexterity to mow his way through them. The first wave quickly fell, but replacements were on the way. Pit frowned as more Shadows scurried towards him.

“Forget the small fry,” Palkia chimed in. “They ain’t worth your time. Keep your strength up for the real fight.”

“What do you mean by that?” Pit asked, warily drawing another arrow.

Before Palkia could respond, Palutena voice lanced through his thoughts.

“Pit, you need to get to those humans, and fast! They need you, now!”

The angel was running even before he eagerly replied, “On it!”

The Heartless gave chase, but Pit stubbornly refused to be impeded by their efforts. Charging up a shot, he gave his pursuers a powerful backwards dash attack before speeding around the next corner, where he knew the humans’ temple would be. Already he could hear their distressed screams. Hopefully, the goddess’s blessing would continue to shield the—

Pit skidded to a halt as soon as the temple came into sight. The humans cowered inside, their eyes locked a hulking monstrosity rampaging outside their sanctuary. Unlike the Heartless before, this beast stood almost as tall as the temple itself. Sharp horns rose from its bull-like skull, which in turn was supported by a sinewy man-like torso. In both hands it held crude swords, square in shape but hooked at the tip. As the Heartless twisted about, Pit could see a heart-shaped hole running all the way through its chest.

“A Minotaur Heartless? Well, that’s original…” Palutena grumbled.

Ignoring her comment, Palkia cheerfully said, “Well, congratulations! Looks like you found the boss! Now hurry and go kick its trash so we can get this over with. I’m getting hungry.”

“Is it lunch time already?” asked Pit, momentarily forgetting the situation as he always did when food was brought up. He was quickly recalled when the Minotaur suddenly bellowed, swinging one of its blades down in apparent frustration. Pit blinked as he saw something a blue blur dash between its legs.

“Hey, someone’s trying to fight it!” he needlessly shouted.

“What? But who…?” Palutena trailed off.

Making no further delay, Pit leapt back into action, pulling back on another arrow. He let it charge up a moment before rolling forward, using his momentum to create a powerful forward dash attack. The Minotaur was completely blindsided as his arrow impacted its shoulder, causing it to lose its balance. Taking advantage of the distraction, the blue blur leapt at the creature’s face, spinning twice before bearing a golden sword down on its face.

Pit arrived right where the warrior landed with another arrow nocked.

“Thanks,” the golden sword’s wielder gruffly acknowledged, speaking in a low but youthful voice. His face was obscured by a butterfly-shaped mask, but as far as Pit could tell, he seemed human. The angel had to wonder otherwise, given his unusual apparel and remarkable fighting prowess. His attacks seemed to be having real effect against the Minotaur Heartless. It clutched at its right eye in obvious pain.

“Er, don’t mention it?” Pit replied, experiencing major déjà vu. Strangely, he felt like he was reliving his first encounter with the human, Magnus.

“Wait, is that…?” Palutena spoke up, mystified. “No… It can’t be…!”

“Is something wrong, Lady Palutena?” the angel frowned, ignorant of the strange look he earned from the masked warrior.

The Minotaur was on them again before he could hear her reply. Pit jumped backwards, avoiding its massive blade before firing his next light arrow. This time, the creature was prepared for Pit’s attack. It lifted its hilt in time to deflect his attack, and would have followed up with a counter strike if the masked warrior hadn’t interfered. The Minotaur instead stepped backwards to avoid getting grazed by the golden sword.

Pit surged forward to assist the warrior, but the Heartless boss suddenly spun around, whipping the both of them with its tail. The duo was sent flying backwards, landing hard on their backs several feet away. Both the landing and the blow knocked the wind from them.

“He sure packs a punch,” Pit winced.

“We need to work together,” the masked warrior grunted, using his sword as a crutch as he got back on his feet. “The eyes and the ankles are the weak points… Cover me while I go for the ankles!”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Pit lifted the Kingdom Bow and took aim.