Chapter Text
The world was flipped on its head, quickly and without warning; in one instance, perfect, the next in chaos. Like a rug being pulled out from underneath your feet, leaving you to tumble to the ground. The impact was harsh and unpleasant. No one could have seen Medusa’s revival. No one could have prepared for it, or the waves of monsters she brought with her. The monsters were like an infection, spreading everywhere. They destroyed cities, homes, belongings. Humans could barely hold their own without the gods, but now a god was causing their problems. Humans were rightly disgruntled, their relationship with the gods becoming strained.
Hope had faded, and it would've been gone if it weren't for Pit. Pit was the sliver of hope humans needed to keep fighting. Enthusiastic, kind, enduring, the sign that the gods hadn't completely abandoned them. He fought valiantly against Medusa till her defeat, celebrating peace once again.
But it wasn't over. Claws ripped through the end credits, maniacal laughter ringing out. It was unprecedented, it was heinous—it was Hades. His appearance was shocking, a turn for the worse after Medusa’s defeat. More monsters and more damage, forcing everyone to keep going until exhaustion. At that point, running on little rest, people started to turn on each other. And it's all exactly how Hades envisioned it.
The wishseed
The reset bomb
The Aurum Hive
Lady Palutena’s possession by the Chaos Kin
Each thing (while not all of them were planned by him), was another step in glorious chaos. One step closer to taking over the world, he thinks so pathetic, and another closer to letting the underworld and overworld collide. Pit wouldn't let this slide; however, he wouldn't let anything like that slide. He had lost too much this time around to lose anything more.
After Hades’ defeat, the Gods agreed to team up in the case that something like that were to happen again. The whole war made them realize that out there may be a bigger bad, and whatever issues they had with each other could wait.
Mocking.
He was mocking them, right to their faces.
Hades stood projected on the horizon like some sick joke, laughing like it was all funny. But all it did was make everyone's stomachs churn.
How was he alive?
No one could answer that question, or anticipate the answer that would come later, not even the gods. And with his resurrection brought new problems, and new monsters. Sickly, gaunt, gnarly, and not like anything anyone's seen before. Some wondered if this was all Hades; some thought the Aurum; and some thought they were something all of their own.
Pit, Dark Pit, and Magnus (whom they ran into) had been fighting tooth and nail through waves of oncoming monsters. All three of them were sweaty, grimy, and covered in monster guts. But they had a mission to bring down a large hive of monsters, which was disturbing a nearby village. The hive was located in a small colosseum that used to be the said village's, but now it brimmed with monsters. As well as an unknown powerful force, according to Lady Palutena.
"Careful goin' 'round these corners, boys," Magnus grunted, bringing his sword down onto a monster's head.
"Yeah, okay," Pit said.
"Be careful with corners, Pit," Lady Palutena echoed through his crown.
"Yes, of course, Lady Palutena! You're so right!" He agrees quickly.
Dark Pit rolls his eyes at Pit's behavior, it being entirely too typical. Always has been, even as a teen. He follows every word Palutena says, every command, every ask, every favor. She could ask him to jump off a cliff and he would. But it wasn't his loyalty that was the problem, it was how Lady Palutena treats his loyalty. She brushes him off, teases him, or makes jabs at his expense. He was still the same kid in her eyes, and always would be. So for her, it was easy to dismiss, but for others, it was painful to watch. It caused friction and affected their missions. Viridi or Dark Pit have tried to express their opinions, but Pit would always tell them to let it go.
"Rolling your eyes at something in particular, or just for fun?" Magnus mused, slashing a monster in half.
"Just Pit being a goody two-shoes for Palutena. Like you didn't just say the same thing," he muttered back, shooting an arc of arrows at monsters on the ceiling.
"Oh yeah? Not surprised, she's got him wrapped around her finger."
"What are you guys talking about?" Pit asks, shooting a monster in the face.
"Not anything worth mentioning right now, so keep going," Magnus prods him forward with the handle of his sword.
The three of them make their way down the inner-colosseum hallway, fighting monsters. Some from the underworld, many not; those new monsters that have been showing up. They were twisted and eerie, but strong, posing a challenge to the group. Especially with how many there were. What was more, they didn't disappear in a dark mist; the underworld monsters did. Instead, they dropped dead, like an animal. Left to rot.
As they reach the end of the hallway, they stop at the entrance to the battlegrounds. The large area is infested with monsters, making them realize just how much will be left for cleanup. Monsters writhe and push through the stands, climb up onto the king's balcony, and crawl over each other. They've damaged most everything, sitting in piles of rubble and mess. It would take weeks to restore this place, if they are able to get rid of the monsters, however.
The monsters growl uncertainly before jumping down into the middle, attention turning to the group. Heads swiveling from them to the other monsters screeching on the other side of the grounds, determining if the three were worth it. But in a moment, they turned away from the three and went off towards the other side.
"They were fighting us just a moment ago..." Pit mumbled, scratching his head.
"They still will be, let's bring the fight to them," Dark Pit said before marching forward, Pit and Magnus following after, readying their weapons.
As they get closer, monsters scurry and dash around their feet, kicking up dust. Weaving through them as if they are pillars, part of the colosseum. Not avoiding them, but something else entirely.
Crunch…
Squeal…
A monster slips out in front of them, claws slipping on the dirt. It scrambles in place for a moment before a large spiked ball crushes it flat. Its skull and body crack open, innards pop out, blood splattering on Pit's sandals. Their gaze moves from the spiked ball, up the attached chain, and to the one holding it. And there's a sort of pause when they see the person. They are not remarkable, nor did they leave an impression (well, sure, their strength is remarkable), but because there's nothing particular about them that stands out appearance-wise. Their clothes are dark and heavily armoured, which makes it easy to fight or slip into the shadows. A hood hung over their head, a mask on their face, not easy to recognize. They start reeling back in their weapon.
“Hey! We're here to help!” Pit called out after refocusing.
“Or we're here to fight if you cause issues,” Magnus added.
The masked stranger pauses and looks at them, the chain clinking softly against itself in their hands. Only for a moment, until a monster launches at their head, grappling onto their face, clawing at their mask. They drop their weapon and stumble back, grabbing at the monster's limbs. One clawed limb being removed, another latching on.
Their moment of distraction gave the three a chance to insert themselves. Pit went to help the stranger, and Magnus and Dark Pit chose to fight.
“Can you hurry it up? It's getting a bit intense out here!” Dark Pit yells at Pit.
“I'm- I'm working on it! Not exactly easy to peel a monster off someone's face!”
Dark Pit growls and turns, shooting at a few Miks flying towards Pit. “At least pay attention to what's around you!”
“That's hard too!”
Magnus slices a Mega muscle down, then hits a porcuspine in the eye with the handle of his sword. He then turns and heads over to Pit and the stranger, ripping the monster off their face. “Can both of you shut it and keep fighting?” he grunted, dropping the monster and crushing it under his foot.
The masked stranger straightens out their mask and hood, then quickly pushes past Pit and Magnus. Getting back into battle.
“You didn't say thank-”
“Let it go, Pit,” Magnus said, joining them.
Pit pouts and shoots a monster through the head. “Okay…”
The three stand amongst the piles of monsters, blood pooling at their feet. Every last one of them was dead, the hive now dismantled. What took weeks for monsters to build, the group tore it down in minutes. And, now that the place is monster free, the town will hopefully restore the place back to its former glory.
“Good job Pit,” Lady Palutena congratulates him. Pit feeling his chest puff up in pride, hand rubbing the back of his neck.
“Thanks, Lady Palutena, we try our best.”
“Yeah, good job I suppose. That could've gone better, though,” Viridi added.
Dark Pit rolls his eyes and crosses his arms. “Not like we had much help from you two anyway. So take what you can get.”
Magnus watches the two for a moment, squabbling with each other and something (or someone) he couldn't see. He could only presume the gods were ‘talking’ to them, if they were even real. Something he'd continue to maintain resentment towards, so he'd turn his head away in annoyance. Instead, he looks around the arena. Observing the damage done, what it would take to restore it, and clean the dead monsters out.
Magnus’s eyes eventually fall on the stranger from before, standing there, breathing heavily. They were trying to clean blood off themselves, although it was going rather poorly.
“You aren't so bad at fighting when a monster isn't trying to claw your face off, kid,” Magnus says, walking over.
“You aren't so bad yourself,” the stranger mumbles, swiping blood off their arm guard.
He gives a slight smirk, crossing his arms. “How long were you fighting before we got here?”
They shrug. “Not sure, I wasn't keeping track of time,” they admit, shifting from one foot to the other. “Did someone send you to help? Or-”
“Complicated, but sure.”
“Right.”