"Hey, get up," someone said, shaking me. My hearing started to come back, and I opened my eyes a little bit. Viridi's hazel-gold eyes were looking at me with some concern, her long blond hair spiraling down towards the ground. She was kneeling next to me. I wonder if she could tell it's me or not.

I grunted, pushing myself off the ground to sit up. I rubbed my head, and I finally opened my eyes all the way. The goddess frowned and then gasped.

"Wait," she shook her head, "Hold on, Pit?!"

She stared at me with disbelief. I guess my eyes gave it away. If I kept them closed, I could've just looked like any other human with light-tan skin and spiky brown hair. It was quite rare for a person with those traits to have blue eyes, let alone the shade of blue I have. Lady Palutena always told me she's never seen anyone with that exact shade of blue for eyes.

I shyly nodded at Viridi.

"Yup..." I laughed nervously, "It's me..."

She stared at me, scanning me up and down.

"Where were you?!" She screamed, "And where are your wings?!"

"I don't know!" I exclaimed, a little bit angry that those are the first two things people who know me asked me so far, "I literally just woke up realizing my wings were gone and that I was missing for months! I don't know how or why, I really wish I knew so I could fix it!"

I covered my mouth, a little bit taken aback about what I just did. I lashed out at a goddess. A goddess who really seems to hate me.

"I-I'm sorry—"

"No, it's fine, Pit," Viridi sighed, "I just... I never even knew this was possible. Like, okay, I know I'm a goddess and all, but even we have limitations. Who could be so powerful to remove an angel's wings? That's crazy talk! Back when you angels were still very populous, it was impossible to remove their wings— well, except with fire, but that leaves their feathers scorched! Yours are just not there! Not a trace! No god or goddess can remove an angel's wings like yours were! That's just..."

She paused with her ranting. She covered her face with her hand as her other one hugged herself by the waist. Even though she didn't like me very much and we have some beef, I moved in closer and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. It's kinda weird that she decided to appear in person, but that makes it easier for me to comfort her. She may be mean to me, but I will spread my kindness. She looked up at me with an expression that told me she didn't expect me to do that.

"Pit?" She frowned a little.

"Hey, it's fine," I smiled weakly, "I—"

"No!" She pushed me away, "This is not okay, Pit! Do you have any idea what this means?"
I stared blankly at her.

"It means I'm not an angel anymore, I know," I frowned.

"No, not just that!" Viridi face palmed herself, "Think deeper. I'll guide you to the answer. So what's the effect of you not being an angel anymore?"

"I can't help Lady Palutena as effectively?" I asked.

"Okay, closer," Viridi cocked her head, "So because you're not there for her...?"

"She's gone mad?"

"And what happened because she's gone mad and isn't here?"

"She's grieving and doesn't care about helping humanity?"

"Yup," Viridi nodded again.

I stared at her with confusion. I thought she wanted to exterminate humans! She literally had a whole factory made for Reset Bombs, which kill humans and everything made by them in the area the bomb sets off in, and make that specific area turn back to its original state. So now I'm just confused.

"Why do you care about humans?" I questioned, "I thought you hated them."
She turned a little red, but she immediately narrowed her eyes.

"It means that me and Hades are both basically fighting for no reason!" She bellowed.

"But your purpose was to exterminate humanity, and Hades is Hades— he wants chaos," I pointed out.

"Oh sweet mother of the gods!" Viridi screamed, her face red, "That's not the point! Here's another reason why you being human is bad! Remind me what I told you earlier!"

I thought. She told me so much. What did she want specifically?

"That it's not the point?"

"No!" She groaned, "Pit, can you just answer this— what did I say about a god's ability to completely get rid of an angel's wings?"

Oooooooh. That's what she wanted.
"That no god has ever been able to do that," I answered.

"Right," she nodded, "So what does it mean when some force somehow got rid of your wings?"

It could really mean anything, if I'm honest. Seriously. "Uhh..." I thought out loud.

"Pit, it means that there's a god or something or someone that's capable of such a thing!" Viridi practically screamed, "Like I said, no god has done that before! So what does it mean when there's a force that was capable of it?!"

"That there's a bigger threat?" I asked.

"Bingo! Finally!" The goddess sighed with relief, pushing her blond hair from her face.

I looked away. A someone capable of taking an angel's wings away entirely? Who is this someone? Why would they do it? Are my wings gone for good or is it possible to get them back?

"Hey," Viridi peeked over, "I know this is tough, but you okay?"

I turned to face her. She's never shown signs of care towards me until probably now. I didn't know she did care at all about how I felt.

"No," I sighed, looking away, "Believe me, I really do believe that we can solve this issue and face this force. But there's also a small part of me worrying that I couldn't do it."

Viridi's eyes went wide.

"Pit—"

"I can't, Viridi," I shook my head, "I almost died! From a bunch of Underworld monsters! When I was an angel and had the help of Lady Palutena, I definitely would've done that with ease! But now that I almost didn't make it, my confidence is so much lower. I really want to stay optimistic, I really do, but I just—"

"Pit, you dork, listen to me," Viridi interrupted, frowning, "You might not have Palutena right now, but you have me. So quit whining. We're going to get your wings back, we're gonna find Palutena, we're gonna find the person who caused it, and we're gonna restore everything. Got it?"

Again, her face was red. I can't believe that she actually said that.

"You... you're gonna help me...?" I asked. Don't get me wrong, I didn't think she wouldn't, I just never thought she'd actually take it to this level. That she'd take it to Lady Palutena's position in my life.

"Well, duh!" Viridi rolled her eyes, folding her arms as she stood up, "I want to get rid of this threat really badly. Looking for your wings will definitely help with that goal."

"But what if they're gone for good?" I asked her, a sick feeling growing in my stomach. I do not want what I said to be true.

"They can't be," the goddess assured me, "Remember? The wings are impossible to get rid of. The only way to get rid of an angel's wings are by burning them. Other than that, super strong." She paused. "Actually, wait, I was wrong. You see, this has happened before, but only once. It was Poseidon's angel, I think. Back then, it's hard to imagine now, all of us had an angel. Well, I didn't, because I was a really young goddess back then. A new one. So Poseidon's angel woke up without wings one day, losing all of his angelic abilities and unable to contact his god the way he always did. The wings were found eventually, and the one behind it was trying to burn them. They wouldn't burn. He was put to sleep by the rest of the gods. By sleep I mean death. With the divine powers combined, we gods were able to strip that god from his immortality and powers and killed him."

My eyes widened as she told me this story. "How long ago was this?" I asked.

"Pit, didn't you listen?" Viridi groaned, "Back when I was a new goddess. Back when most of the gods had an angel of their own, meaning back when angels weren't almost extinct."

"So wait," I recalled, "The wings didn't burn. Why is that?"

"Because they weren't on the angel himself," Viridi rolled her eyes, "For some reason, angel wings can only burn when they're actually attached to the angel they belong to. So your wings are probably hidden somewhere if anything."

I smiled. I hope Viridi is right. There's a chance for everything to go back to normal!

"Phew," I sighed with relief, "Good to know that."

Viridi looked away and sighed. Her long ponytail swayed in the breeze. She looked upset.

"Thank you, Viridi," I said, hoping it'd make her feel better about the situation, "For the information and offering to help."

She looked back at me and smiled a little bit— genuinely for once.

"Yeah, yeah, don't mention it," she rolled her eyes, still keeping that smile on her face, "I know I'm great and all."

"Very funny," I laughed.

Viridi rolled her eyes again. I swear, that's like her signature response to everything. An eye roll.

"So you're not gonna kill me?" I said, my small laughter dying down, "Because, you know, I'm a human now?"

"No," Viridi shook her head, "I'm not gonna kill you. I hate humans, sure, but you're different. You didn't start off as one of those greedy hairless monkeys. You might be a human on the outside right now, but you're really an angel."

"You still attempted to kill me when I was still an angel," I pointed out.

She blushed.

"We don't talk about that right now," she frowned, "Point is, I'm helping you now, so don't look at our past like that."

I tried to get up, but Viridi pulled me back down, yanking my arm.

"Nonononono don't get up yet!" She exclaimed.

"Why?" I asked.

"I'm healing your leg," she answered, turning a little red again, "You lost a lot of blood. I started healing you straight away since you were passed out and all. It's almost done, don't worry. Then we'll be on our way."

Once again, I was shocked Viridi even cared to help me. I know that she's afraid of the one who cursed me because it's a kind of power that surpasses her limitations, but why does she need me for it? I thought she would've just left me to die. She wanted to kill me off so many times, and now here she is, trying to heal me.

"There, done," she sighed with satisfaction, "Good as new. Get up and tell me if it feels better."

I obeyed, and I stood up. I looked at where there used to be a huge cut on my leg. There's no sign of it now.

"It does," I smiled at Viridi, "Thanks again."

"Yeah, don't mention it," Viridi smiled proudly, "Now come on."

She stood up next to me. We've never actually been physically next to each other until this day. I always saw her as a huge hologram in the sky trying to threaten me, or I just heard her engage in my conversations with Lady Palutena once in a while. I never realized that this is what her physical form really is. She's probably an inch or two shorter than me, and her hair is really freakishly long. It can reach the ground if she lets it all down from that ponytail! Then again, Lady Palutena also has freakishly long hair, but it's not all the way down to the ground— probably to her ankles at most. If she was Viridi's height, then yeah, it definitely would.

"Oh, and I found this," Viridi interrupted my thoughts, my golden laurel crown appearing in her hands. I touched my head in the area where the crown would've been, and I realized it wasn't there.

"H-how...?"

"I found it on the ground," she answered, "Not far from here. I immediately knew it was yours. I found it before I got some prayer from someone. I knew it was from a human, so I didn't really listen to most of it because what humans usually want from me is to have mercy on them and stop attacking them, but this one was unique because it asked for help. That never happened, so I was intrigued. Anyway, about the laurel, my army was heading for the village, and one of them approached me saying they saw something shiny in the grass. I went to go see what it was while the rest went off to fight, and I realized it was your laurel crown. I got excited, because I knew you were still out there, and since you're alive, that means that everything can go back to the way it was... like before Palutena went mad."

She then proceeded to gently place the crown back on my head. I'm surprised I didn't even realize it was gone from the start.

"How many times am I gonna thank you?" I finally laughed after not knowing what to say at that point.

Viridi shrugged with a smirk, "I guess that only means that I'm a better caretaker than Palutena, eh?"

I laughed, even though I should've taken that comment a little more seriously. I knew she was joking, though.

"Viridi, Lady Palutena practically raised me," I said, "But you're a close second."

I didn't even believe the words that just came out of my mouth, but I couldn't turn back. A close second? If Lady Palutena heard me, she would've killed me for sure. Then again, what I said is kind of true, despite Viridi trying to kill me on some occasions. But since the Aurum invasion, she acted more caring towards me, even though it was in a weird and different way. But that's Viridi for ya— the Goddess of Nature that hates humanity and decides to tease me constantly and use her sarcasm against me. The one and only.

Viridi blushed a little bit at my comment.
"Well," she sighed, "That makes sense. I was only kidding, you know. I didn't expect that from you."

"Just like I didn't expect all that care coming from you," I replied.

We walked away from the town that I met Ella and spoke to Magnus in earlier.

"So uh, if you don't mind me asking," I scratched the back of my neck, "Where are we going?"

"Humans shouldn't be in Skyworld," Viridi said, "But then again, you're not really a human— you were just turned into one. I'm taking you back to my temple so you could recover and we can discuss more there. I can help you get down to the ground and help you fight like Palutena did while she's gone. Of course, I can't use the Power of Flight on you because you don't have wings..."

I'll be honest, even though she treated me terribly back then, I wanted to hug her right here on the spot. She can be so nice if she tries. Why isn't she like this more often?

With that, she extracted us from the ground and we appeared at her temple. I was never there— I was only at her factory. But her temple was almost as large as Lady Palutena's. It was palace-like with tons of greenery and nature surrounding the area. Gardens and trees were everywhere, and fountains with clear water were in the middle of these gardens. I looked around her home with awe, and she looked at me with a smile.

"This is what I want the Overworld to be," she said, "Wouldn't you love it like that?"

I knew she was trying to get me on her side— trying to make me go against humanity.

"It's beautiful," I nodded, "But that doesn't mean you need to kill humans with Reset Bombs for it. I know they're ruining it, but there are some good people out there. Others do actually fit your description of greedy, but most aren't like that. Besides, they are the only ones to respect and pray to the gods. That's why I protect them."

The goddess folded her arms.

"Pfft, sure," she rolled her eyes, "They pray to Palutena. Not me. So I don't really care."

I shrugged. Viridi's just Viridi, and she'll always be that way. She's pretty stubborn from what I've seen.

"Anyway," Viridi sighed, taking my hand, "Let me take you to where you could stay."

She took me inside her temple, which also was filled with nature-related decor. The pillars were tree trunks, and the ceiling was made of leaves from the trees. It let natural sunlight peek through the leaves in certain patches. She really has a unique style, I'll give her that. I'll admit, it's gorgeous.

She took me through multiple halls, and I already worried I wasn't gonna be able to get around the area. Finally, she took me to a room that was just as nature-y as the rest, but was a bedroom.

"Here," she walked in, motioning for me to follow behind her, "Just don't kill anything."

And with that, she walked out, not even telling me when we're gonna set out. I shook my head. Viridi can really be the most vague goddess there is. I laid down on the bed that was in the room (surprisingly it wasn't hay), and I drifted off to sleep. She did say I needed to recover and rest, after all.

Pit, I heard my name immediately as I fell asleep.

I groaned, and as my vision cleared, I realized I was back in Lady Palutena's temple. There she was, her long green hair flowing in the wind as she held her staff. Her green eyes were looking down from the floating island her home was on down to the ground.

"Where are you?" She muttered.

I know what this is. She was talking about me.
Suddenly, the scene flickered, and the background changed, even though the setting was the same. Lady Palutena still stood there, but she looked more tired. More... insane. Viridi and Magnus were right. She was not okay while I was gone.

"Pit... Pit... Pit..." she kept saying, like she was on the verge of tears.

My heart sank seeing her like this. Why did this even happen?

"Lady Palutena, I'm right here..." I whispered. But I knew she wouldn't hear me. This was a dream showing me the past. I can't change that.

"N-no, I-I'm hearing things, haha!" The goddess laughed to herself, "H-he's not here, haha! He's gone! He's been gone for months! There's no way he's still alive! Haha! I can't even contact him!"

She really did sound insane. I couldn't believe my ears. The very mother figure to me, who always sounded so calm and cracked jokes here and there, was in this state. Where is she now? How long ago was her disappearance?

The scene flickered again, and this time, her temple was in ruins. Lady Palutena was also gone from the vision, only the sound of wind blowing through small piles of rubble near the destroyed temple. My heart sank seeing the state of my old home like this. And to know it was my fault that happened was even worse. I disappeared, and Lady Palutena went mad. I just don't know why or how I was gone for several months. Gah, if only I could look into the past or look at the future chapters of this book—Uh, I didn't say anything.

I didn't cry, but I felt tears forming in my eyes. I don't know how many times I've asked this already, but who could've done this? To me? To her?

Then everything went black. I was alone with my thoughts again, just like I was back in that void. However, it didn't feel like I was in a void. I actually felt the ground under me. I heard a laugh in the distance— a masculine laugh.

"Who's there?" I called out, a little frightened. Lady Palutena isn't here to help me, for one, and I'm pretty sure Viridi can't access dreams. Also, I couldn't even defend myself because I had no weapons with me to help. I was just a normal human with an angel's laurel crown.
The laugh came again. It became more clear, and it sounded so familiar.

"I said, 'who's there?!'" I shouted again.

Then, tons of scenes appeared before my eyes in a matter of seconds. Each flickered into the next. I wasn't able to see all of them because of how fast they came by, but the few I saw were a coin with my laurel crown around it, a trident, a book, some sort of chariot, the Three Sacred Treasures, a large throne in darkness, and finally my wings. And for the very last scene, a hand reached for me so fast, I woke up with a jolt. I'm gonna have to speak to Viridi about them the next morning.

• • •

A/N:

Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed! I'm trying to make everything in character as best as possible, but I'm not sure if I'm doing well XD

Well, hopefully the story'll make up for it I I didn't do well.

Anyway, until next time! Bye!

~ Sweggy