Chapter 20: Palutena's Temple

Chapter 20: Palutena's Temple (20章　女神の魂 20-Shō Megami no Tamashī, "Chapter 20: The Soul of a Goddess") is the twentieth chapter in the storyline of Kid Icarus: Uprising.

Having obtained the Lightning Chariot, Pit's goal is to infiltrate Palutena's Temple in order to save the goddess of light.

Air Battle
Now possessing the Lightning Chariot, Pit hops into the vehicle and begins soaring through space. As he travels at incredible speeds, Viridi reminds him of their mission: to use the chariot to pierce the force field surrounding Palutena's Temple. Pit then heads into a warp tunnel and, remembering that Hades placed the blame for their predicament on him, asks Viridi how he could possibly be at fault for the situation at hand. She informs him that the Lunar Sanctum served as a prison to the Chaos Kin, and that when he destroyed it three years prior, he set the creature free. She attempts to explain the creature further, but cuts herself off prematurely once they arrive at the temple.

Land Battle
The Lightning Chariot successfully penetrates the force field, finally granting Pit access to Palutena's Temple. He is subsequently thrown from the chariot and roughly lands below, and Phosphora zips by to reclaim the vehicle before it can run loose. Palutena begins communicating telepathically with Pit soon after, reiterating her resentment towards humanity. Pit attempts to counter this claim by pointing out how the Palutena he knows would never say such things, but she insists that Pit is naive and that she has simply changed. With the conversation not heading anywhere fruitful, Pit is forced to seek her out in person.

As Pit traverses through the ruins of the temple, he laments the condition of the once-beautiful structure. He then reminds Viridi of their earlier conversation, to which she continues and informs him that the Chaos Kin is a vicious creature that steals souls and consumes them in the Chaos Vortex. In addition, it has the ability to take control of its victims, and the two deduce that Palutena is likely under its control at this very moment. They agree that Palutena was the one to turn Pit into a ring as well, and the angel presses on with a stronger resolve to save the goddess.

Intensity Gates
A level 5.0 Intensity Gate can be found at the beginning portion of the Exo Tank race track. This leads to a series of small platforms, a Souflee, and a Treasure Box.

A level 8.0 Intensity Gate is located within the maze beneath the jail cells, which can be found by taking the trapdoor to the room with the Erinus and proceeding down the path to the right.

Zodiac Chamber
Among the jail cells is a Zodiac Chamber, located next to a cell containing a Skuttler Mage. Should the player head into the cell with the Skuttler, they can walk through a passable wall in the back in order to reach the chamber and obtain the Capricorn Club.

Boss Battle
Once Pit arrives at the heart of Palutena's Temple, he encounters Palutena, who attempts to guilt trip the angel by commenting on his decision to fight her. He corrects this, stating that his ultimate goal is to save her before initiating the battle.

During the battle, Pit must avoid harming Palutena directly and instead search for openings to shoot the Chaos Kin. A purple aura radiating above Palutena will give away the Chaos Kin's location, which must be shot at in order to turn the creature visible. Once exposed, the Chaos Kin will become temporarily vulnerable before retreating behind Palutena, forcing Pit to wait until it flies away before continuing his attacks. Should Palutena take too much damage, the player will receive a game over, forcing them to start the battle over from the beginning.

Palutena is capable of unleashing a wide variety of attacks during this fight, and will levitate around the battlefield to keep Pit at bay. Her attacks include firing an array of light-based projectiles, summoning pillars of light, firing halo-shaped projectiles, striking at her foe with melee attacks, summoning Centurions or Centurion Knights to aid her in battle, blinding her foe with a massive flash of light, and quickly darting into her foe.

Epilogue
After the Chaos Kin has been defeated, Palutena collapses on the ground, causing Pit to rush to her side. As she begins to regain her composure, Viridi warns Pit of an incoming attack before the Chaos Kin suddenly darts by him and rips Palutena's soul from her back. Without her soul, the goddess of light turns to stone, and the Chaos Kin quickly rips open a portal to the Chaos Vortex and retreats inside of it. Pit orders Viridi to send him in after it, to which she complies, but the portal quickly becomes too narrow to pass through and the angel collides with it instead.

Although it seems like they are out of options, Dark Pit appears riding the Lightning Chariot, ramming it into the portal to split it open. The dark clone tumbles backwards and loses the chariot in the process, though Phosphora rushes in to secure it once more. Pit attempts to question Dark Pit's sudden appearance, but the dark angel silences him, ordering him to focus on saving Palutena instead. Viridi then extracts Pit from the battlefield in order to prepare for their next battle.

Weapons
The following is a list of weapons most commonly obtained in this chapter.


 * Drill Arm
 * Burst Blade
 * Angel Bow
 * Doom Cannon
 * Capricorn Club

Trivia

 * Rather than the usual rail shooter mechanics of Air Battles, the Air Battle of this chapter plays more like a vertical scroller.