Chapter 22
Pit POV:
"WHOA! This is some crazy fast speeds!" I exclaimed from being in the cockpit of the Lightning Chariot as Phos and Lux proved how fast they could go.
"No wimping out, Pit! This isn't even the fastest it can go! Tell them to go FASTER!" I heard Coca say in my head.
"Okay! Faster, boys!" I said as I smacked the reigns, the unicorn duo then zooming off at speeds that made it barely able for me to hang on! Thank the gods that the chariot came with a strap! "WWWWHHHOOOAAAA! THIS IS CRRRAAAZZZZYYY!" I exclaimed, my eyes starting to tear up as I rode faster than light through the portal as I then heard Coca's voice in my head again.
"YEAH! That's it, Pit! Keep going! DON'T STOP NO MATTER WHAT! We need to destroy that barrier, so keep 'em straight!" Coca yelled at me, me nodding, but it was kind of hard for me to do that.
"BRACE FOR IMPACT!" Viridi yelled as I saw Skyworld at the furthest point of my view emerging and Phos, Lux, and I closing a distance of about 20 miles in only half a second! The moment they connected with the barrier, they pierced right through it and I could feel the barrier fail soon after!
"AW HELL YEAH! The barrier's broken through! Pit! You okay?" Viridi smirked at me.
"And kicking! Now time to rescue Lady Palutena!" I yelled as I leaped from the Lightning Chariot and fell onto the solid ground, Phosphora going off to corral the unicorns.
"Alright, Pit! Now time to fly to Palutena. Come over here," Coca said as I saw her right next to me. But she had actually made herself grow taller, around 9 feet even.
"Roger," I said as I approached her and Coca then held me in her grasp by her stomach as she then took flight, Pandora flying along with us and taking out any enemies that came in our way, most of them being Centurions, but I saw there were also some Underworld monsters and, get this, something that, last I checked, was still in the design phase! "Is that a Centurion Juggernaut?! I thought they were still in design?" I asked aloud.
"The Chaos Kin forced Palutena and her armies to finish their production and use them to attack anyone that the Chaos Kin deems unimportant, which includes any sentient life and Underworld monsters," Coca said... but then I heard a voice in my head. And I knew it wasn't her.
"So, you actually broke through that barrier, huh, Pit? I guess you aren't as useless as I once thought," I heard Palutena say to me. But I knew it wasn't her.
"There's no use in trying to confuse me, Chaos Kin! I know you're controlling Palutena!" I yelled at the evil creature.
"Oh, silly Pit. I'm not sure what you are even talking about," the bug tried to feign innocence. But Coca gave it to him straight.
"We both saw you controlling Palutena with your dark magic, you fucking bug! Now talk on your own terms and stop trying to persuade us that Palutena is at fault, because it won't fucking work!" Coca swore multiple times at the bug. Palutena's voice was silent for a few minutes before I heard it again.
"It appears that you still think you can rescue the goddess of light... but you don't know what kind of power I can have her do! I can have her grow gigantic if I so desire and then you'll never defeat me!" the Chaos Kin said, finally lifting his guise of trying to use Palutena's body against her.
"Just give it up, you fucking bug! We have you completely surrounded and, in case you've forgotten, I'm impervious to magic. You can't hurt me at all, but I can sure as hell hurt you for forcing my own sister, the protector of humanity herself to kill all of those innocent lives! You. Are. Fucked," Coca growled angrily as she then zoomed forward very fast and we finally reached Palutena's Temple, it looking in a very sorry state as well as all of Skyworld. All of it looked in decay, no thanks to the Chaos Kin. Coca then forced us to the ground and we saw Palutena appear from the temple entrance with a shield and her large staff, but her also looking to be a bit in pain.
"So, you wish to die, do you? Very well, allow me to end your misery," the Chaos Kin said through Palutena's mouth, me growling and seething my teeth.
"Hang on, Palutena! I'm going to save you!" I yelled as I had to wonder where the Chaos Kin could possibly be... but then Coca looked up and I saw it. A small bit of purple light hovering slightly above Palutena.
"Bingo," Coca said as she flew up to the light and, get this, tackled the Chaos Kin right out of the sky, making it finally reveal itself as well as force Palutena to weaken a bit from a loss of power.
"Rgh... Pit! HELP!" I heard Palutena yell at me in her own words before the Chaos Kin controlled her again!
"DON'T!" Coca yelled as she slashed a claw right at the Chaos Kin's face. "HURT!" she yelled again as she pinned the Chaos Kin's body to the ground with her wings. "MY! SISTER!" Coca exclaimed loudly as she breathed a large flume of flame directly at the bug, me then gasping as Palutena fell to the ground, me seeing that she was in control of herself again!
"Oogh... P-Pit... C-Coca..." Palutena groaned as she tried to get up, but failed miserably.
"Palu! I'm here!" I said as I rushed up to Palutena as I then saw someone appear out of nowhere.
"Wait, Coca!" I heard Viridi say as she appeared out of nowhere in front of us, me seeing that the Chaos Kin was still alive, just not controlling Palutena anymore.
"If anyone is going to destroy the Chaos Kin, it's gotta be me," Viridi said, Coca then moving a bit, but making sure the Chaos Kin was still pinned down and couldn't escape. It then shrieked angrily as Viridi approached it slowly, every footstep feeling like an hour.
"From dust I created you, and from dust I'm going to return you to! For hurting the humans, destroying the home of the gods, and for hurting the goddess of Light... I am going to return you to where you first came," Viridi said as she pulled out a seed and I gawked at it. It was the same seed that Hades tried to fool everyone into believing it granted wishes. It was a Yggdrasil seed! Viridi then did something that I gasped at. She started to exude magic that I couldn't even comprehend! The Chaos Kin's body turned to ash in an instant and Viridi, looking to be getting very taxed from the experience, yelled in agony as she sent the dust of the Chaos Kin directly into the Yggdrasil seed! And then, get this, she then did exactly what Coca could do, but on a much grander scale! She breathed a flume of fire so fierce that Coca actually had to retreat out of the way as the fire consumed both Viridi and the Yggdrasil seed! And when the hotness cleared, all we could smell was smoke.
"V-Viridi?" Coca gulped as she walked to where Viridi was. I walked in the direction of her footsteps and I heard Coca start to cry. "Viridi..." Coca sobbed as she held up what Viridi looked like now. She was covered in soot and burn marks all over her body, she could barely move, and she looked to be in severe pain.
"C...Coca..." Viridi groaned, her voice sounding incredibly strained. Palutena soon joined us and she looked to have recovered a bit, but not by much.
"Viridi?..." Palutena asked as she had to actually crawl on her hands and knees as she hadn't finished healing.
"I... I'm not good... at making soldiers... am I?" Viridi said with a groan and a squeak in her voice.
"Of course you're good at making soldiers, Viridi! Don't say things like that! It was just one bad soldier amongst your entire army!" Coca said with tears in her eyes.
"Coca... put me down... please... it hurts..." Viridi groaned, Coca doing just that, but conjuring up a small white cloud for her to rest on. "I... need... Rewind... Spring..." Viridi said, me helping Palutena stand up on her two feet and her groaning at that, but doing something that made me surprised. She kissed me on the lips!
"I thank you, Pit... You saved me from a fate worse than death... you and Viridi as well, Coca..." Palutena said with a smile.
"I'm sorry it took so long, sister... it was really hard trying to find Pit when his soul was stuck as a ring," Coca said with a sigh as she had the cloud console Viridi on the non-burned parts, making Viridi fall unconscious, but still alive. I could even hear her snoring... she snored loudly it seemed.
"Don't worry, Coca. We'll help out Viridi. We just need to get to the Rewind Spring... it would be easy if we could go there by making a straight passage, but I'm not able to use my full powers right now... that Chaos Kin took a lot out of me..." Palutena said with a groan.
"Okay, here's what we're going to do," Phosphora said as she parked the Lightning Chariot next to Palutena. "I think that, in Viridi's absence, we have me be in charge of the Forces of Nature temporarily. So, first order of business, getting Viridi patched up. I can help out in making a passage to the Valley of Souls, but then it'd be up to Coca, Dark Pit, and Pandora to go to the Rewind Spring from there. And once they arrive, we can warp in Viridi to join in as we can trace your location," Phosphora said.
"In the meantime, I'm going to need a bit of a rest... I need to recover my powers after that long a torment," Palutena sighed.
"I agree. Phosphora, why don't you have Palutena meet my little ones to help her recover? You and Xuli can handle taking care of the Forces of Nature until Viridi wakes up again, right?" Coca smiled at the electric demigod.
"Heehee, okay, I can do that. And Palutena? Next time we have a war with anyone, a word of advice, never send all your troops out at once. You were left completely defenseless to the Chaos Kin after the final battle against the Aurum," Phosphora said, Palutena groaning at that.
"Yeah... I guess you're right about that... that wasn't my best idea..." Palutena groaned.
"Okay, enough talk, time for us to get going! Dark Pit!" Coca exclaimed, her snapping her fingers and my clone appearing in an instant out of thin air.
"What the?! How'd you do that?" Dark Pit asked in confusion.
"No time to argue, Dark Pit! We need to get off to the Valley of Souls," Coca said as Phosphora opened the door for us. "I'm comin'," Dark Pit said.
"Me too," Pandora smiled as the both of them followed Coca into the door and having it close afterward.
"What did she mean by little ones?" Palutena asked.
"Something that she and Viridi made together... after they got married," Phosphora smirked, Palutena gasping at that.
"She had children with Viridi?" Palutena gawked.
"Yeah... they're... adorable..." I heard Viridi say from the cloud, her not even attempting to move anything but her mouth.
"Don't strain yourself, Viridi. You're badly hurt," Phosphora said to her with care in her voice.
"If... If I don't make it... tell the kids... I've joined my momma..." Viridi said with a giggle.
"Don't say such things, Mistress Viridi! You're just badly burned all over! You're not gonna die!" Phosphora said with concern in her voice, something I never heard before.
"I know... it feels like... I'm dead already... but... the Chaos Kin's dead... and that... makes me happy..." Viridi groaned as she tried to force a smile, but failed miserably.
"Don't worry, Viridi. Coca, Pandora, and Dark Pit are going to the Rewind Spring as we speak. They'll get you healed up, I'm sure of it," Palutena said with a smile.
"Okay..." Viridi squeaked again. I hated seeing her so badly hurt like this, but I didn't know what I could do... but then I remembered that I had something on me.
"Here... you must be hungry," I said as I held out an ice cream cone to Viridi's face and she smiled at it. She then licked at it a little bit and gave a small smile from the taste.
"Strawberry... I love strawberry..." Viridi smiled as she continued to lick the ice cream in small doses as Phosphora then warped back to Viridi's floating garden.