Palutena's Vacation

(Cubed Cinder)

Palutena blinked and blinked and blinked, but she couldn't get the deep shade of red out of her eyes that she was seeing the world through. And it was a small world too. People running and screaming for their lives away from her giant strapped sandals (at least until they were crushed underneath). She wanted to cry, feeling sorry for the innocent lives she was crushing underneath, but all she kept hearing was Medusa's voice in a sadistic tone.
"Kill! KILL THEM ALL!" Palutena suddenly roared out.
"I… I can't…" Palutena then said in a soft, fearful tone, but right away she got back to stomping around as the ancient ruins she was once surrounded by burned to the ground. Some people begged and pleaded for the giant Palutena to stop, only for her red eyes to glow even brighter, almost overcoming them completely with paralyzing fear.

A little later, Pit came flying in and flew circles around the giantess.
"Lady Palutena! Stop! You can fight against the Medusa spirit!" Pit shouted. Palutena responded by throwing a fist towards Pit, who flew out of the way. Pit dodged blows from the giantess left and right… but his luck was about to run out.
"Oh no! My power of flight is wearing off!" Pit said as he felt himself descending towards the ground. At the same time, he didn't see Palutena making her next strike as he got slapped by the palm of the giantess, sending him flying towards the ground. He crash landed, leaving a hole in the ground exactly shaped like his body. His outfit torn and his skin full of scrapes and cuts, Pit could only watch as the giant Palutena walked up to and towered over him.
"Now to crush you like the puny bug you are!" Palutena said as she raised one of her feet high in the air.
"I'm finished!!!" Pit suddenly yelled as he closed his eyes and accepted his fate.

Suddenly, Palutena felt the urge to sit up.
"NOOOOO!!!" Palutena screamed. She rapidly blinked her eyes and realized she was somewhere entirely different. She was now in her bedroom, and looking like she was her normal size too. She breathed heavily as she realized what just happened.
"Just a nightmare…" Palutena said. As she collapsed her head on the pillows behind her, she continued to breathe heavily and stare at the ceiling.
"Between Chaos Kin, Medusa, Hades' invasion, and my body going through the World of Light… it's no wonder I'm having these nightmares." Palutena said as she thought about everything that has happened to her over the past couple of years. She need not say any more that it's taking a toll on her body, both physically and mentally. She then sprang up from her bed and walked into another room with a large tub of water in the center. With a quick flick of her hands, the water suddenly showed an image of the entire planet of Earth, which she moved around with her hands. She would widen out those hands to zoom in on different sections of the planet… at least until she came across the continent of North America. After zooming in on a particular part of the northeastern United States, she nodded.
"Hmmm… that looks like a nice place to visit." Palutena said. She then waved her hands again and the image disappeared, turning the pool back into an ordinary pool of water.
"But first… I need to put Pit in charge, as scary a thought as that might be. I'll wait until morning, though. He's probably deeply dreaming again!" Palutena said before she walked out of the chamber and back into her bedroom.

A few hours later, Palutena was sitting patiently on her throne, watching as the double doors swung open and Pit came running through. Pit got down on one knee and looked up at Palutena.
"Lady Palutena! You called and I came." Pit said.
"At ease, Pit. There is something very important I want you to do." Palutena said.
"Anything for our beloved goddess of Skyworld!" Pit said.
"I need you to watch over all of Skyworld for me. Can you do that?" Palutena asked with a smile.
"Er… well… yes, of course! But may I ask why?" Pit asked.
"I'm sure you'll agree, Pit, that it's time I took a vacation. With all that I've been through lately, especially in the World of Light, I need to take some time away from here. Visit someplace new down on the surface world." Palutena said.
"I don't blame you, Lady Palutena. All that fighting took a toll on me as well. I wish I could come with you." Pit said.
"Alas, we can't both take a vacation at the same time. I promise you can take one next once I have returned." Palutena said.
"So where will you go? And how long will you be gone?" Pit said.
"Oh, just a couple days. As for where I'm going… it's called New York City. It seems like a nice place to visit." Palutena said.
"Hmmm… very well. Still, be careful, Lady Palutena. The surface world can be very dangerous." Pit said.
"Of course, Pit, of course. That's why I always carry a staff. And I'm a goddess. Who would want to hurt me?" Palutena said as she winked one of her eyes.

A couple minutes later, the two were standing on the edge of a cloud as Palutena took a deep breath and looked down.
"Remember, Pit, I am not to be disturbed during this vacation. Come and get me ONLY in case of a major emergency." Palutena said.
"Like if mutant carrots go on a rampage again?" Pit asked. Palutena had a slightly annoyed look on her face.
"Hey, come on! I said I'm not the best chef in the heavens!" Palutena said. Pit looked nervous like he was going to get bonked on the head, but Palutena smiled and gave him a gentle pat.
"Anyway, see you in a couple days, Skyworld!" Palutena said as she stepped off and dove down towards the surface, sprouting shiny glittering wings on the way down. Pit took a deep breath as he walked back towards the Skyworld palace.
"Wow… I'm in charge of all of Skyworld. This is gonna be awesome!" Pit shouted as he thrust his fists and ran back.

Palutena, meanwhile, closed her eyes and focused on where she wanted to go, which in this case was New York City. As she did this, however, she felt her head thump a little bit.
"Oooooh… I don't remember the teleporting spell being this painful. I'm probably just rusty." Palutena said as she concentrated again… eventually disappearing into a golden ball of light.

Meanwhile, all the way down in New York City, it was business as usual for the city that never sleeps. Tourists fumbling maps or their smartphones around trying to figure out where to go next. People arguing with hot dog cart vendors on how the relish tastes like melted snow. Women bragging about the new shoes (with seemingly 7 inch heels) they spent over a hundred bucks on. Police officers dragging someone who tried to rob a candy store into their car. Like I said, business as usual for the city that never sleeps.
But all that would quickly come to a grinding halt when everyone looked up and saw the thick white clouds suddenly spread apart. Some people who didn't know better thought this was some weird weather event going on, but they would quickly come to their senses when they saw a golden ball of light descend from the now clear blue sky. The ball of light was already quite big, but it slowly grew bigger and bigger, already scaring a few citizens away. The light gradually took the shape of a human body before finally breaking apart, revealing the gigantic Palutena. And gigantic she certainly was… towering over many of the nearby buildings thanks to being 300 feet tall.
"Hmmm? I thought this city was a lot bigger." Palutena said as she looked around. She then looked towards her feet and saw many people running away from her.
"The goddess has descended on us to unleash her wrath on our sins!!!" one male randomly shouted. Palutena heard that and raised one of her eyebrows.
"Well, I am a goddess, but I don't know any of your sins! Honest!" Palutena said. She then shrugged her shoulders.
"Oh well. Maybe they'll warm up to me if I'm nice to them, but first, I might as well look around this city." Palutena said as she slowly walked around the block, making sure not to step on anyone in her path.

At the size she was at, however, it would prove to be very difficult to not cause trouble. With one of her steps, she ended up crushing a row of parked cars.
"Oops! Sorry!" Palutena said. She kneeled down to get a close up look at the damage she caused.
"At least there didn't appear to be any people inside." Palutena said. She reached towards one of the crushed cars and picked up the wreckage. She saw the mix of black and golden fluids coming out (which were actually oil and gasoline) and took a sniff, giving off a cringed face afterwards.
"Ugh… what is that stuff they put into those things!? It smells rotten! Viridi would go berserk if she smelled that." Palutena said as she dropped the wreckage back towards the ground, rubbing the mess left behind on her hand on a nearby glass building. She stood back to her full height and looked inside the glass building, seeing some people pressed up against the windows.
"Hi, little people! Don't be afraid… I'm a friendly goddess! Well… as long as you're friendly to me. Otherwise, I will show no mercy!" Palutena said as she winked one of her eyes.

Palutena was so focused on the people inside the glass building, she didn't realize she was about to step on a school bus that was rolling up to her footwear. As Palutena started to take her second step back, a young woman suddenly flew out of the bus and yelled…
"STOOOOOOOOOOOP!!!" the lady screamed.
"Whoa whoa!" Palutena said as she stumbled away from the bus (and the woman) but was able to maintain her balance. She took a deep breath after she realized she was about to step on that bus and the woman alerted her to its presence.
"Whew… that was close. My my… aren't you a brave woman? You remind me of a certain angel boy." Palutena said.
"Be gone, evil goddess! I won't have you stepping on this bus full of bright and smart children!" the woman said.
"Oh? There are children onboard?" Palutena said. She walked up to the bus, and despite the woman's objections, Palutena reached down and gently picked up the school bus. Most of the kids screamed as they felt themselves being lifted in the air and eventually saw nothing but the giantess's massive face.

"Hmmm… what a fascinating transportation device. Skyworld doesn't have chariots this big!" Palutena said. There were a few brave kids, however, and one such girl stuck her head out.
"Wow! Are you a real life goddess!?" the girl asked.
"That's right, young lady! Are you impressed?" Palutena said.
"You bet I am! I've been wishing to see a goddess my whole life!" the girl said.
"Well then, consider your wish granted!" Palutena said.
She then gently set the bus back down on the ground, next to the woman who had warned her.
"Now then, you all better get a move on while I go explore another part of the city. Oooooh… like that." Palutena said as she pointed out towards the distance, where she saw a tall structure with YANKEE STADIUM written in big blue letters.
"Hmmm… Yankee Stadium? I wonder what could possibly be in there?" Palutena said. With mighty steps over the bus, Palutena walked down the road and made her way towards Yankee Stadium.

Meanwhile, up in Skyworld, Pit paced around the palace already missing Palutena.
"Sigh… I miss Lady Palutena already even though it's only been like an hour since I took charge. I wonder what she's up to." Pit said. That's when he walked into the chamber with the pool of water and thought hard about wanting to see Palutena. It worked for when he wanted to watch the Super Smash Bros. tournament after all (before joining it himself). When the image suddenly took over the water, he gasped.
"What in the heavens!?" Pit shouted, watching as the giant Palutena walked towards the stadium clearly labeled Yankee Stadium, eventually stopping outside it and looking over its walls.
"Lady Palutena! But… but… why is she so huge!? She never grew that big when she went to other places! Well, except if Medusa were around…" Pit said. The angel kid then clutched his fists.
"Something's not right here! I need to find out what's going on… and make sure she doesn't hurt anyone innocent!" Pit said. After magically summoning his bow & arrows, Pit went charging out of the palace and approached the edge of the clouds. Not wasting another second, he spread his wings out and went flying for New York City.

Palutena, meanwhile, easily looked over the walls of Yankee Stadium and was bummed to see it empty.
"Awww… empty? I was hoping to see a big gladiator match! Or someone taming 10 lions! Nah… those are too primitive for this society." Palutena said. Nevertheless, she rose one of her legs high over the stadium and ended up crushing much of the lower level seats underneath her sandal.
"Whoops…" Palutena said as she raised her other leg, this time onto the field. She looked around the admired the scenery.
"Wow… such a big field. I wonder what they DO play here." Palutena said. Seeing the field stretch out as long as it did despite her massive size, she couldn't resist laying flat on her back. Her entire body almost took up the entire field.
"Hmmm… maybe I should make this my bed if I stay through the night." Palutena said. After laying for a couple minutes, she looked up and saw a couple helicopters flying overhead. That's when she stood up and shielded her eyes from the sunlight, just noticing one of them with an eye symbol followed by the number 2, and the other was colored blue and white with the letters NYPD in white.
"Hmmm? I wonder what those things are." Palutena said. The giantess shrugged her shoulders when she saw the copters doing nothing but hover several feet above her head of green hair.
"Oh well. They're probably just making sure I don't do anything stupid. Anyway, back to exploring this city." Palutena said. She floated above Yankee Stadium until she was over its walls and back outside the stadium, softly planting her feet on the ground.

As the giantess got back to walking around, she once again took note of how scared everyone was of her, even at times when she stood still and put on a gentle face. She felt compelled to do something to alleviate their worries. And so she approached a group of buildings and then gently sat down in front of them, making sure not to cause too much damage as she sat down. Next, she reached down, and with a lot of people suddenly watching out of curiosity, and undid her strapped sandals. In a short time, Palutena's legs were fully exposed as she wiggled her toes. She also threw her green hair back to keep from sitting on it for too long, covering up some of the buildings behind her with it.
"I politely request that you all give me a foot massage!" Palutena shouted, watching as the people looked at each other.
"Don't worry. I won't crush you! I even have the power to rewind time if I do!" Palutena said as she winked one of her eyes. Even though that was a bluff, the people seemed to buy it thanks to how gentle the giantess appeared to be acting. And so, they finally approached Palutena's bare feet and rubbed as much as they could. Palutena gently helped out by picking up some of these people and dropped them on her ankles.
"Oooooh… that's kinda ticklish!" Palutena said with a smile. Eventually, she felt relaxed to the point where she almost closed her eyes.

In fact, she was about to when she heard a familiar voice calling from above.
"Lady Palutena!" Pit shouted. Palutena watched as the little angel boy descended from the heavens, eventually landing in the palm of one of her hands after she held it out and allowed him to land.
"Pit? What are you doing here? I thought I told you to watch over Skyworld!" Palutena shouted.
"Don't worry about that… things are kinda boring up there, but what about you!? What's happened to you?" Pit said.
"What does it look like? I'm enjoying my vacation. I didn't think New York City was this small, to be honest!" Palutena said.
"Ummm… Lady Palutena, it's not." Pit said.
"What are you talking about?" Palutena asked.
"Remember when you flew down to that one city named Tokyo that one year? It looked normal sized to you, right?" Pit said.
"Wait, are you saying…" Palutena said.
"Yeah, this place is like that. You've somehow grown gigantic!" Pit said.
"Hmmmm… I thought something felt off as I came down from the heavens. Then again, I've been off for the past couple of weeks… like I told you up there." Palutena said.
"Obviously…" Pit said underneath his breath, but that caused Palutena to move her hand towards her face and give Pit an extreme closeup look at her green eyes.
"What was that!?" Palutena shouted.
"N-n-n-n-n-nothing, Lady Palutena! Nothing at all!" Pit said.

Then Palutena pulled her hand back and laughed.
"Hahaha! HAHAHAHA! You should've seen the look on your face, Pit!" Palutena said.
"Er… I have?" Pit asked.
"Hmmmm… between that and seeing the people massage my tootsies… I don't know what I'm not this big more often, actually. In fact…" Palutena said. She moved her hand again… this time towards the top of her outfit and her chest.
"Ummm, Lady Palutena, what are you, WAAAAAH!!!" Pit said as Palutena suddenly tilted her hand, causing Pit to lose his balance. Pit landed on Palutena's chest and slid downwards. The giant Palutena laughed as she watched Pit slide down her outfit. He tried to grab whatever clothing of the giantess he could, but his momentum kept him from staying on. Eventually, Pit crashed down on one of Palutena's legs, but he couldn't relax for long when he looked up and saw a couple of Palutena's gigantic fingers coming down.
"Watch out! The finger monsters are invading!" Palutena said.
"Yikes!" Pit said as he ran around, trying to avoid being crushed by the giant fingers as Palutena moved them around like two giant legs trying to crush Pit.

The chasing went on for a couple minutes until finally Pit was gasping for air and collapsed on his knees. Palutena flapped her gums as she watched Pit collapse before she could put a finger on him.
"Oh, Pit. You're a little out of shape, even after all the fighting we've been through lately!" Palutena said.
"Hey, come on! It's not often I have to rapidly dodge a couple giant fingers!" Pit said. He then watched as Palutena wrapped those fingers around him, leaving only his head sticking out as she lifted the angel boy to her face.
"You dare question me, the goddess of Skyworld!?" Palutena said in an angry voice.
"N-n-n-n-no, Lady Palutena, I…!" Pit said.
"Hahahaha! Come on, Pit. Lighten up! Here, I know what will cheer you up." Palutena said as she moved Pit towards her face, pinning him against one of her cheeks.
"Ooooof!" Pit said as he was rubbed up and down the giantess's face. As she did so, Palutena took another look at the tiny people who were still massaging her feet.
"You know, I gotta say it's nice to see these people giving me a nice foot massage. It's like they know this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Palutena said. The giantess finally tired of rubbing Pit against her face and gently placed him on her right shoulder.
"Opportunity, Lady Palutena?" Pit asked.
"This city's probably never ever seen a living, breathing gigantic goddess. It's probably all fiction to them until today." Palutena said.
"I guess you're right, Lady Palutena. Maybe it will give them hope that there is a world above in the clouds?" Pit asked.
"I hope so." Palutena said.

Suddenly, Pit looked down by one of the bare feet of the giantess and gasped. The people that had been massaging the giantess's feet also looked and gasped.
"Lady Palutena, look down there!" Pit shouted. Palutena focused where Pit was pointing and saw the same thing. A black portal opening up and numerous creatures coming out. Palutena knew right away what was coming.
"The Underworld Army." Palutena said.
"Ugh… I guess they're still angry for what happened to Medusa and Hades." Pit said.
"They have some nerve to come to this part of the world!" Palutena said as she started to get up, but Pit flew up to one of her ears.
"Wait, Lady Palutena! Please stay put. I can handle these jokers." Pit said. Without hesitation, the angel boy leapt off the giantess's shoulder and flew down to the ground. Palutena sighed as she wanted to help herself, especially given her increased size situation, but then thought about the tiny people down by her feet and legs.
"Everyone get out of here and head to safety! Those monsters are bad news!" Palutena said, gently using her hands to help the people flee for their lives. Once everyone was out of the way, Palutena looked down and watched Pit fight against the monsters.

Pit, of course, did not hesitate even with a large swath of monsters (and Eggplant Wizards) coming out of the portal.
"You monsters think you're ready to take me down thinking you can avenge your masters?" Pit said. He then split his bow apart into two short swords.
"Well, you're not ready yet!" Pit said as he swung his swords around and then charged into battle. The monsters were easy pickings for Pit… who obviously were not at full strength without anyone to lead them around. They instead made up for it in quantity, as for every few monsters Pit would defeat, another dozen or so would come storming out of the portal. As sweat poured down his forehead, Pit knew this too.
"Ugh… there's so many of them! It's like the entire Underworld is coming for me!" Pit said.

The fighting kept going for the next few minutes even as exhaustion started to set in for Pit. He couldn't even see what was approaching next, even with the ground thumping and booming. That was one of Palutena's giant bare feet, crushing numerous monsters underneath.
"Lady Palutena!?" Pit said.
"Sorry, Pit, but I'm not about to let all 300 feet of this height go to waste!" Palutena said.
"Heh, who am I to argue?" Pit said, watching as Palutena crushed another group of monsters beneath her feet before getting back to fighting himself.
Another couple minutes passed as Palutena marched all over the block stomping more monsters. But as the monsters kept pouring out of the portals, with more opening up by the minute, Pit knew the odds were stacking against him and the giantess quickly. A quick hop on top of a parked bus showed the streets getting littered with Underworld creatures.
"Ugh… this isn't working, Lady Palutena! They just keep coming!" Pit shouted. Palutena could see it much better than Pit could given her height advantage. All the crushing in the world wasn't going to stop the monsters from coming until she got rid of the sources.
"We have to cut off their means of transportation, Pit! I'll deal with the portals…" Palutena said as she raised a foot up to flatten one of the portals. However, the portal had the means to fight back against the 300-foot-tall goddess, as it shot purple lightning bolts at the incoming sole. Despite her massive size, Palutena felt the electricity go through her body.
"OW!" Palutena said as she stumbled backwards, eventually tripping over one of her sandals (that she had removed from her feet earlier), and falling down… crushing a group of apartment buildings underneath her behind and causing a tremendous shake around the area.
"Ooooooh…" Palutena said. Pit flew towards the green haired giantess to check on her.
"Lady Palutena! Are you alright!?" Pit asked.
"Oh yeah. Just a sore butt. Nothing unusual for a goddess, right?" Palutena said.
"Er… right, I guess." Pit said.

But then he noticed a change in Palutena's behavior. She had a not too pleasant look on her face all of a sudden as she slowly got back on her feet, tightly clutching her signature staff, of which the crystal on top of it glowed brightly. At the same time, Pit's wings glowed a bright blue.
"Oh? I feel my wings recharging…" Pit said.
"Pit. I need you to fly as high as you can. There's only one way I can stop the Underworld swarm." Palutena said.
"Huh? What's that?" Pit asked.
"By growing bigger than anyone can ever imagine…" Palutena said as she breathed deeply and closed her eyes. Pit gasped as he watched the goddess rapidly grow even bigger in size.
"Lady Palutena! What about the city… whoa!" Pit said as he had to fly out of the way before one of Palutena's arms could hit him. The monsters on the ground, meanwhile, watched Palutena continue to grow and grow. Of course, this was concerning for the panicking citizens of New York City as well, which was looking quite puny now at the size Palutena was reaching.

By the time Palutena finished growing, even her pinky toe was taller than any of the buildings in the immediate area… at least the buildings that didn't get bulldozed by her growing bare feet! And speaking of the feet, Palutena raised it up and stomped the area flat, shaking and cracking the ground immensely and sending booms that seemed to echo halfway around the world. After taking a couple more steps… there was hardly anything left. The monsters and the portals they came from all disappeared, and so did everything else in the city that was beneath her foot. Quickly, Palutena shrunk back to 300 feet tall afterwards.
"L-L-L-Lady Palutena… you just…" Pit said as he flew towards Palutena's right ear.
"I know, I know. A bit overkill, but it worked, didn't it? All the monsters are gone. They'll think twice before coming out of the Underworld again." Palutena said.
"But still… all those innocent people. And more than a quarter of the city gone…" Pit said.
"Oh, don't despair, Pit! I prepared just in case something like this ever happened." Palutena said as she winked one of her eyes at the little angel boy. Palutena waved her free hand around, and after her staff glowed briefly, she suddenly found herself holding an object that made Pit gasp.
"A RESET BOMB!?" Pit shouted.
"Fire in the hole!" Palutena shouted as she dropped the Reset Bomb on the ground and quickly stepped out of the destroyed area.

A few seconds later, the bomb exploded and covered the area in a bright white light. Pit nervously chewed on a couple fingers thinking a vast forest would take the place of the parts of the city Palutena crushed, but instead… these areas were back to their normal state as if nothing happened. No buildings, vehicles, or people crushed.
"Huh? It's back to normal… the city that is…" Pit said.
"Hmmhmm. Viridi lent me one of her Reset Bombs as an apology gift for the trouble she once caused. And in my free time, I modified it with some time crystals I had laying around, that way it wouldn't replace the destroyed area with trees, plants, and vegetations anymore!" Palutena said.
"I get it! You made a literal time bomb!" Pit said.
"Haha! Sure did! Who says I can't build my own gadgets from time to time?" Palutena said.
"Heh… very clever, Lady Palutena. You had me going for a moment." Pit said.
"Just be glad it wasn't Viridi wielding one of those bombs above this area." Palutena said.
"Urk… a giant Viridi doesn't sound very pleasing even though she's changed her ways." Pit said.

After brushing her green hair back, Palutena smiled and looked right at the flying Pit.
"I think it's time we both got back to Skyworld, Pit." Palutena said.
"Are you sure? Didn't you just start your vacation?" Pit said.
"Well… yeah. But clearly I shouldn't take one until I'm 100% capable of using my powers correctly. I mean, look what just standing here causes." Palutena said as she carefully walked around and picked up her gigantic sandals.
"Good point." Pit said. Palutena finally waved down at the crowd.
"Farewell, people of New York City! Perhaps we will meet again under normal circumstances. Oh, and save one of those famous hot dogs for me!" Palutena said.
"Um… what, Lady Palutena?" Pit asked.
"Long story. I'll tell you when we're back at the palace." Palutena said as she held her staff high.
"Does that story include why you felt so compelled to take off your footwear?" Pit asked. Palutena winked one of her eyes as the light atop the staff glowed brightly. Eventually, it covered Palutena and Pit and they both vanished into thin air.

While Palutena (back at her normal size) and Pit got back to their normal lives in Skyworld, the people of New York City slow got back to their normal lives as well, though some couldn't stop talking about the giant goddess for the rest of the day. Some even wondered if they had too much to drink at that bar last night!

END