Author's Note: Well, here we go- something to break my silence. Even in End of an Era, I really don't get much of a chance to explore the relationship between Kuro and Lucina. But that may change in future installments *wink wink nudge nudge*. For now, here you go: The story of Pit's fear of fire. Enjoy!
"I really am sorry," Ephraim said again as he swept up the ashes of what had once been one of their arenas.
"It's not your fault," Kuro replied with a sigh as he looked around. "Guess you've got a really strong life force to fuel that Palm. Besides, we haven't seen rain in weeks."
"Even so," the blue-eyed angel grumbled, glancing up at the Centurions helping with the clean-up effort. Kuro had finally managed to talk Ephraim into trying out a Palm weapon, and he'd decided on using the Burning Palm- a decision that had near disastrous consequences. He'd accidentally set a blaze to their arena during a Light vs. Dark match against the Commander, and it had spread wildly until they'd managed to call in a few Centurions to help put it out. Unfortunately, Pit had been observing his angels' performance up close, and he'd frozen in shock. Once the blaze had been extinguished, Kuro had tried to snap him back to reality, but he'd only flown off back to his temple as fast as his wings could carry him and without speaking a word.
The red-eyed angel sighed and looked up to find Lucina approaching him.
"How is he?" he asked, and she shook her head.
"He won't come out of his chamber, and he won't even speak a word to me." He frowned.
"Great," he breathed and massaged his forehead. "I really hope he snaps out of this soon." They were both silent for a moment.
"Kuro," she prompted, and he returned his gaze to her. "Will you tell me what happened?"
"I think it's pretty obvious what happened," he replied as he gestured around the ruined arena.
"No, I mean... What happened to give him the scars on his back." Kuro's eyes widened and blanked.
"The Chaos Kin is going to destroy Pittoo! I'm begging you, Viridi. Let me fly! NOW!"
"Kuro?" Lucina said with a fretful tone as she touched his arm. "Are you okay?" He let out a heavy sigh and looked at her with weary eyes.
"Do you really want to know?" he asked glumly, and she nodded. He lowered his head and took a deep breath. "Then follow me," he said and took off for his home while she struggled to keep up with him. He didn't say anything until they were down the main corridor, up the stairs, and in his chamber lit by the windows around and above. "It's... not a story I like to tell," he admitted as she stood near the door with her hands folded behind her back. "Nor a day I like to remember." He paused and crossed his arms. "We were young," he began. "Pit was... about thirty three years, and I was- physically speaking- three." She stared at him with dumbfounded blue eyes.
"But you and he are twins, aren't you? How is that possible?"
"I'll show you," he said dully as he knelt down and pulled a small chest from under his bed. "This is where I keep... Well, things I don't want to forget no matter how much they haunt me." He opened it, though she couldn't see what was inside. "As far as I know of, Pit doesn't know I have this, and I'd like to keep it that way, okay?"
"Very well," she nodded. "I won't tell him."
"Good." He paused and hesitated before he retrieved a dark feather from within the chest. "This was once mine," he told her as he waved her to come closer, and she approached as she observed what he was holding. "My wings weren't always white like Pit's. Originally... They were pretty much the opposite." He set the feather gently on his bed and retrieved a black cloth, slowly unwrapping it until he revealed a broken piece of reflective glass. "And this is a piece of what I came from- the Mirror of Truth." He looked up to find her staring at him with the same confused gaze.
"I don't understand," she said, and he nodded.
"I'm not Pit's brother," he explained. "I... Well, I AM him. A part of him. Back when he was on his way to fight Medusa the second time, the Underworld Army basically tricked him into creating a clone of the 'truth' inside him via that Mirror. Me. I never did actually fight on the Underworld's behalf, but... Well, I didn't like the idea of being a servant either- or more a slave, as I believed back then. And I didn't like Pit either." He paused. "So I was given the name 'Dark Pit,' since I was basically a darker version of him, and later Lady Palutena decided to give me the gods-forsaken nickname 'Pittoo.'" She blinked and let out a brief snort before covering her nose and mouth.
"That's a rather unfortunate nickname," she remarked, and he smirked.
"Yeah, I know. Apparently it was supposed to be like 'Pit Two' or something stupid like that. It wasn't until almost four years later that they actually listened to my demands to stop calling me that. Anyway..." He took a deep breath and let it out heavily. "I'll spare you the story of our skirmishes after that, but eventually he accidentally let a monster called the Chaos Kin free." His voice briefly broke as he named the moth-like creature, and he cleared his throat as Lucina placed her hand on his shoulder. "Pit went through a pretty rough battle that exhausted him, or so I'm told, and the Chaos Kin managed to seal his soul in a ring, take command of his body, and also control of Lady Palutena. Meanwhile, I basically fell unconscious for three years."
"By the gods," she breathed, her interest in his story growing.
"Eventually, he managed to get back his body, and I woke up around the same time. That's when I realized that he and I... Well... we're connected. Two sides of the same coin. I'm not just a copy of him. I'm a part of him, and he's a part of me. We share the same soul." He shook his head. "Anyway, eventually Pit got back to Skyworld and saved Lady Palutena from the Chaos Kin, but it stole her spirit and escaped into its own dimension- the Chaos Vortex." He looked up at the ceiling, and she did the same curiously. "I think the rift between our world and there still exists above the temple.
"But that's beside the point," he went on. "I basically helped him get into the Chaos Vortex and he and I fought off a ridiculous number of monsters before we finally got to the Chaos Kin itself and killed it- or so we thought. While he was doting over Lady Palutena..." He sighed again softly. "I figured it was a good time to take my leave. But... It turned out we hadn't totally destroyed that stupid moth, and..." Again, his voice broke with no signs of repair, and it took him some time to compose himself enough to continue. "It was like a thick rope of ashes. It grabbed me and sent me over the edge of the platform we were on, and I couldn't break free on my own." He bit his lip briefly. "I'm still haunted by wondering what it was going to do to me."
"So... You said it was ashes," she guessed. "Was that what... hurt him?"
"No," he shook his head rather vigorously. "Let me explain real fast that neither of us could fly on our own back then, like you really can't now without the Power of Flight. But that power can only work for about five minutes at a time, and if you go over that limit... Your wings catch fire." He shivered. "Pit dove over the edge of the platform after me and begged Viridi to help him fly... all to save me." Again, his voice broke, and he curled forward with his head in his hands. "He nearly killed himself to save me- the jerk who'd hurt him so many times, who practically wanted him dead, who tormented him about the life he led... and he sacrificed his wings and almost lost his life to save mine!"
Lucina wrapped her arms around his shoulders as water dripped down his cheeks, and he buried his face in his palms as he trembled for several long moments. She did not speak, but chewed her lip slightly as she waited for him to regain control of his emotions. She'd never seen him break down like this and knew the cause bothered him greatly.
"I... I'll never forget that," he said with a quivering voice. "The heat of the flames around us when he grabbed me, the look of pain and desperation on his face, that awful smell of burning feathers, hair, clothes... I couldn't sleep for days after that."
"I'd imagine," she said softly. "It sounds horrible..." He pushed her back lightly as he nodded.
"When I saw him lying there with what was left of his wings, the burns on his body, and when Viridi told me he was barely breathing, I felt like I was going to be sick," he admitted as he tried to sort through the memories. "Lady Palutena tried to patch him up as best she could, but there wasn't much she could do. He... He was dying. She sent me to the Underworld, to the City of Souls, as a last attempt to save him."
"Wait... Did Pit actually... Did he die?" she asked in a weak voice, and he shook his head.
"No, though he gave it his best shot. There's a fountain in the City of Souls called the Rewind Spring. It has the ability to turn back time, basically. We brought him there and healed his wings, though I guess it didn't entirely heal the burns on his back. And to this day, as you know, fire still terrifies him."
"How terrible," she mumbled and rested her head on his shoulder, and he turned his head slightly in confusion before surrendering and deciding he'd allow it- for now. "That explains a lot, though. Thank you for telling me, Kuro."
"Yeah," he sighed lightly. "No problem. You might as well know- you are his partner, after all."
"Mm..." She agreed. "You know I have- or had- a brother, right?" He nodded. "I would do the same thing for him, just as he would for me. Pit loves you dearly, Kuro. I'm sure you know that." He nodded again, slowly this time. "Regardless of whatever start you two had, you're brothers now, and he knows he can trust you with his life. You can do so much more for him than even I ever can just because you know him better than anyone, and he trusts you more than any other."
"Sharing a soul tends to cause that," he said with a rather pathetic chuckle.
"Indeed it does," a voice agreed, and they both looked up to find Pit standing in the doorway with slightly red-stained blue eyes and a weak smile on his face as he leaned against the door frame. "If I had a chance to redo that fight with the Chaos Kin, I wouldn't do anything differently. I'd let my wings burn all over again if it meant saving your life, and I know you'd do the same for me." Kuro got to his feet and smiled softly, nodding as Pit approached him and hugged him briefly.
"Gotta watch out for my brother, right?" the black-haired angel said, and Pit chuckled as he pulled back and wrapped his arm over Lucina's shoulders, then placed his lips briefly to the side of her head.
"So, now you know the story of me and my evil twin," he said with a brief laugh, and she smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"You're lucky to have him," she replied, and he nodded as he released her.
"Right, then. I think we've got an arena to clean up," he pointed out, and Lucina followed him out of the chamber. Kuro began to follow, but stopped and turned around to dig through his chest before he pulled out a half-burnt white feather.
"If we did it over again, hopefully you wouldn't have to," he murmured before replacing it in the chest along with his feather and the mirror shard before he closed it and shoved it back under his bed, then headed out after his brother.