The Aurum Hive
- This article is about the chapter. For the hive itself, see Aurum Hive.
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The Aurum Hive is the sixteenth chapter in the storyline of Kid Icarus: Uprising, which continues the three-part Aurum story arc and has Pit infiltrating the dangerous Aurum Hive. Unlike the previous chapter, Pyrrhon is hardly present until the mission’s boss battle, while the Underworld Army and Forces of Nature help Pit along the way.
Aerial Mission
The aerial mission begins with Pit being pulled straight into battle, as hundreds of Aurum ships scattered throughout the skies head for Angel Land. Palutena conveniently uses her “power of weak point exposure” to attach markers to many of the crafts, which connect to their engines. This allows the angel to optionally destroy many of the Aurum ships along the way by shooting these green markers. Meanwhile, Hades sends in a large squadron of Monoeyes to loot one of the larger ships. Pit heads for the massive Aurum Hive in the distance, while the Aurum themselves deploy a new kind of troop to attack. Viridi notices that these new enemies are actually knockoffs of Underworld monsters fused with the digital design of the Aurum, although they are not much stronger than their counterparts. Palutena also realizes that the Exo Tanks and Treasure Boxes from the previous chapter were likely copies as well, although Hades gleefully admits that the presence of Mimicuties was his doing, much to Pit’s annoyance. The angel proceeds to dive under cloud cover and through one of the floating island bases near the Hive, which seemingly produces the enemy clones. Growing desperate, the Aurum send in one of their destroyers in an attempt to eradicate Pit, but fail as he makes his way to the massive Hive. When the angel finds the only entrance blocked by a force field, Hades crashes the ship that his forces took over earlier into the Hive, allowing Pit to fly into the structure for land battle.
Ground Mission
The ground mission has Pit making his way to the center of the Hive, where the Generator keeping the structure afloat is located. The Hive is very large, containing what appears to be a whole separate world within. It is also home to many deadly traps and enemies that often attack in waves. One area has collapsing platforms in a large room filled with Aurum Clones, while another contains many rotating blades of energy that must be avoided. Midway through the level, Pit encounters a dangerous machine that moves very fast down a curving hallway, and must use the indents along the walls to avoid getting hit. An Aether Ring, although likely copied, is also used to battle waves of enemies and advance through some more traps. Pit eventually reaches an enormous room where the building containing the Aurum Generator can be seen in the distance. It can only be reached by riding across a trio of Grind Rails, where the Forces of Nature will fly in and assist in destroying some of the enemies that attempt to knock Pit off. If Pit is riding the left rail, he will descend to a platform with some enemies on it. After defeating them, another grind rail appears. After defeating one more wave of Aurum troops in a small room thereafter, he will finally be able to access the area containing the Generator.
Intensity Gates
An Intensity Gate requiring a difficulty level of 7.0 or higher can be found in the hall with the automatic doorways that can be opened but not entered. While the other doors toss out Hearts, this Gate will spawn a random weapon to collect.
Zodiac Chamber
A Zodiac Chamber can be found after acquiring the Aether Ring, which can be used to float down slowly to the hall where it's located. There is also a switch that can be shot at to create a floor where the hall is located, allowing for easier access.
Boss Battle
The boss of this chapter is the large Aurum Generator that provides all power to the Hive. It is unique in that it has Pit riding along three cords that surround the structure, using them like Grind Rails. He is able to switch between these cords in areas where they are close together. Although completely immobile, the Generator has multiple defensive shields that deflect projectiles, as well as numerous drones that attempt to shoot Pit off the rails.
Halfway through the battle, Pyrrhon flies in and attempts to fry the Generator with a fire attack, but unintentionally adds more power to it instead. Embarrassed at the situation, he hastily wishes Pit good luck and flies away. With the added power, the Generator now begins to spawn electrical barriers that it places over certain rails, making switching between them a greater priority. Also, the Generator now begins to spit out fireballs, but the shots are woefully inaccurate and will rarely hit unless Pit is directly in front of it. Overall, this is one of the easier bosses in the game, and as long as Pit switches grind rails when necessary, the Generator will be destroyed with relative ease.
Attacks
- Barriers: The Generator is surrounded by defensive shields that reflect Pit's shots.
- Electric Orbs: When powered up, it will spawn electrified barriers on random Grind Rails.
- Tribytes: Large Tribytes float around the Generator to defend it.
- Fireball: The Generator's only direct attack when powered up. It will occasionally spit out a fireball at Pit.
Epilogue
When it takes enough damage, the Aurum Generator explodes, causing the entire Aurum Hive to collapse in on itself. Pit is quickly extracted by Palutena as this occurs, narrowly saving him from being caught in the implosion. Meanwhile, Pyrrhon watches the destruction from a distance, saying that it’s now time to go for the Aurum Brain.
Trivia
- An optional conversation that occurs if Pit rides the left grind rail reveals that Viridi has a soft spot for Pit.
- This is in fact the only chapter in the game where Hades actually helps Pit by allowing him to enter the Aurum Hive.
- During the flying sequence when Pit is being attacked by Aurum ships, Palutena incorrectly states that the Aurum have sent a Destroyer to stop him, the ships that are attacking Pit are actually Cruisers. This may have been a mistake in the scripting for the dialogue.