Her Guard Captain

As the captain of the guard, Pit's sole duty was to ensure the protection and safety of the goddess Palutena. It was not a duty that he took lightly; after the invasion by Medusa that dragged all of Skyworld into a living nightmare, Pit had personally seen to the rescue of the goddess. In doing so, he had seen exactly what it was that went bump in the night, the sights and sounds that made hairs stand on end and shivers run down his spine.

It was Pit's resolution to never let those horrors creep back up from beneath them. And so the once cheerful little angel had changed into an unyielding guardian, taking it upon himself to ensure Palutena's safety. There became little doubt among Palutena's personal guard that their young captain shouldered most of the burden himself, refusing to let his duties end; Pit refused to relent his duty in the fear that a strike would be made when he was not present.

So his schedule continued, as Pit alternated between pushing his combat prowess further and putting those skills to use protecting their goddess and ruler. If he ever tired, his face didn't show it. After all, this was his duty. Pit was her guard captain and it was only through his devotion to that task that he could possibly stop another nightmare.

It caught him by surprise the day that she called him to her. Usually she left him to his station, and they only met to discuss the guard's responsibilities. That didn't mean Pit would refuse to meet with his goddess; he answered her summons immediately, making arrangements for his absence at a post.

Like he always did whenever they met, Pit took a knee and bowed before his goddess. And like always, Palutena reached up and gestured for Pit to rise, cupping his chin with her hand and meeting his eyes with one of her kind smiles. Then she gestured for them to walk, stroking the feathers of one of his wings as she disclosed to him his new assignment.

Pit was to head down from Skyworld to the world below, where Palutena had put in a vote of confidence in him for a tournament. Without hesitation Pit began to offer protests; his place was here, ensuring the safety of Palutena and Skyworld. But Palutena wouldn't hear him, and he was to be sent down to the tournament. He would just have to trust the guards to perform their duties. After all, as Palutena pointed out, he had never flagged any of them as anything but highly competent.

Smiling at the young captain's concerns, Palutena placed a hand on his cheek, looking into blue eyes that had been formed into determination. She leaned into his ear and whispered something to him. Then Palutena ruffled Pit's hair and walked away, leaving Pit to travel down to the lower world.

Apprehensive as he was, Pit wasn't about to disobey a direct order from the goddess of light. He readied what little he had, triple-checked the guard's schedule, and then passed through the gates to the lower world. The trip to the tournament area was short; Pit had been fortunate that a gate was close enough. He took it as the ability to return to Skyworld the instant something was wrong. After all, Palutena had never said how long he had to be there, right?

When Pit arrived, he landed and looked at the giant mansion looming ahead of him. He hadn't heard of the Smash Tournament before; then again, he had never spent much time looking at such events. He had been concerned with more important matters. Now that he was here, Pit wanted to know as much as he could. He was met by a shorter, mustached man that he recognized as Mario. Mario led him into the mansion itself, and Pit was taken by storm.

After years of exact order and procedures, Pit's jaw was dropped. There seemed to be only one rule in effect at the mansion that housed the Smash Tournament, and that was chaos. People and creatures he'd never seen before ran amok as they chose outlandish choices. A green dinosaur with a big snout was chasing a pink fluff ball, which had a bowl of some sort of frozen dessert in his hands. A metal armored warrior was butting heads with a giant ape, as a green clad elf swordsman tried to hold each of them back. A yellow mouse was arguing with a fox man about whether the windows should be opened or closed.

There were only a few people who weren't in total chaos, but more resembled the same alarm and apprehension that Pit did; he assumed that these were newcomers as well. As some of the chaos migrated to other parts of the mansion, Pit was introduced to his roommate. It was the green clad swordsman, whose named was Link. Link shared a few historical traits with Pit; they were both the saviors of their appropriate worlds.

One thing that Pit didn't understand about Link was that he seemed to possess an immeasurable amount of good cheer. Despite the multiple hardships, tussles with death, and even occasional nightmares, Link remained in high spirits. It was something Pit couldn't fathom, a gap that seemed to put distance between them. How could Link remain so happy? Shouldn't he be working to be prepared against his own nightmares?

Then again, perhaps it was related to what Palutena had whispered to the young angel before she had sent him on his way. Palutena's only command for Pit during the tournament was for him to smile.

None of it made sense to Pit at the moment. He ultimately decided that if he was here to participate in a tournament, then he'd better get to work. Pit would be putting a lot of his new free time into more training. He could already see how stronger he would be when this tournament was over and he returned to his proper post.

But before he started training, Pit wanted to check on any updates Palutena's guards might have made. No sooner did he try than the angel learned a frustrating development; Palutena had ordered the guards to specifically leave their captain out of the loop, so that he could properly enjoy his vacation. Pit groaned to himself. He didn't want a vacation! How would he be able to sleep with himself if something happened?

Pit had better make the most of it then; he would simply have more time to put into training. Link was generous enough to show him to their room and to some of the more important areas around the house, such as the battle arenas and the dining area. Then he was stolen away to help prevent another participant from using the pink puffball from before as some sort of ball.

Link had shown him where the training areas were, so Pit headed straight for them. He reserved one for himself and then began to go through his training routines. Pit also took his time to learn about how fights would operate in the Smash tournament. The whole list of items and conditions was staggering; it was obvious that he had a lot to learn, which probably gave the veterans a leg up on the competition. That was all the more reason for Pit to train harder.

Hours later, as his arms ached from his sword and bow practice, Pit paused to check the time. He had been in the training room for quite some time, and if Pit remembered Link's explanation correctly, it was getting close to mealtime. Pit fired a few more shots at a target before exiting the training room and heading in the direction he hoped was the right way.

Pit was actually headed in the wrong direction, but luck was on his side. A pink dressed lady named Princess Peach had gone looking for him and anyone else that was straggling. After receiving proper instructions Pit found himself entering the dining room. It was larger than he'd expected; there was room for every one of the tournament participants as well as a number of what he would learn were assist fighters. He took a seat and waited for his meal to begin. If he ate quick enough, he could squeeze a few more hours of practice before he assumed his patrol… that's right; Pit didn't have a patrol now.

He was upset for a few moments as he remembered that Palutena had literally forced him to go on a vacation. Pit didn't have time for vacations; what if Medusa was attacking right now, while he was just sitting here? The thought was unbearable.

As luck would have it, two of the people who were sitting near Pit were Link and the armored warrior, Samus. Samus was staring at Pit, or at least the angel assumed so. Then without warning Samus offered for him to join Link and her in training. Pit agreed; there were probably several things he could learn from two veterans. He was also curious as to how Link would act in battle if he was so light-hearted.

The entity Master Hand came to the front of the room and greeted everyone before disclosing tomorrow's matches. Pit had his first match in the morning, a two on two timed battle. He and ROB would be fighting Metaknight and Wolf. Pit would head to bed after eating then, so that he would have plenty of energy for his match and training with Samus and Link.

Quietly he ate his food and listened passively to what the other smashers had to say. Most of the veterans and some of the newcomers were making guesses on who might win the tournament. Link, Mario, and DK were favorites, DK having beaten both out last time by inches. Pit absorbed it all quietly and then excused himself, heading to his room. This time his destination wasn't too hard to find.

As Pit worked on finding a comfortable position to sleep in, his thoughts turned to what the guard must be doing in Skyworld. Were Skyworld and Palutena being kept safe? He wished there were some way for him to contact the goddess and assure that nothing had gone wrong in his absence. Beyond paranoia, Pit also felt out of place. The view outside the window was nothing like what he knew back at home. Now that he was gone from it, Pit wished it was back.

Night came and went, and so it was time for Pit's first match. As it turned out, he had nothing to be overly concerned about. Thanks to his constant training back at Skyworld, he was at top performance, able to match Metaknight's quicksilver blows with his swords. He even managed to strike the ball knight with an arrow as he teleported to his cape. Pit and ROB won the match with three lives between them.

With his match over, Pit went to train with Samus and Link. They had already started, using what time they had since Link had a match of his own soon. Pit watched for a moment as sword and arm cannon battled back and forth. Then they paused for a moment; Link sheathed his sword and smiled at his battle partner, giving her a light elbow nudge. Samus ruffled Link's hair as the blonde swordsman left the training arena, nodding happily to Pit as he left for his match.

Pit watched Link leave until he was out of his sight. Samus had ruffled his hair, just as Palutena had done to Pit every time he left. Was there a meaning in the gesture beyond what he knew? Perhaps it was some sort of farewell women used. Samus put a hand on her hip and called out to Pit, asking if he was ready to start. Pit broke from his thoughts and entered the training room with her. Samus whipped her gun at him faster than Pit had expected and their dual training session started in earnest as both shot towards the other.

Not too long after, Pit fell to his hands as one of Samus's missiles hit him from the side. His breathing had gone ragged from their dueling and his muscles ached. Off to the side, Samus had her cannon trained on him, tired but not as much as Pit; her experience had awarded her better endurance and fewer injuries. The bounty hunter waited for the angel to get up before continuing. Pit didn't waste any time in doing so and came at Samus again, changing his bow into swords.

Samus blocked his attack with her cannon and tossed him with her hand, firing several quick shots as he tumbled through space. Pit avoided them and replied with a light arrow. Samus side stepped it and switched to heat-seeking missiles. As several missiles hunted him out, Pit swerved to avoid them… and came right into Samus's screw attack. He was knocked upwards by the attack, and as he tried to right himself Samus's grapple beam seized his leg. Pit changed directions abruptly and slammed into the ground.

He slashed out with his swords to defend himself, forcing Samus to keep some distance, but he had no sooner gotten up than a massive energy blast was coming his way. He pulled out his shield and deflected it just in time. But when Pit looked, Samus had vanished. Instead she was slamming her foot into his chest from above.

Panting, exhausted, and beaten by the bounty hunter, Samus decided to call it a day. She turned to leave him to pick himself up when Pit stopped her. The angel called out to her and asked her a question. What was the meaning of ruffling someone's hair? Samus stared at him for a minute before answering she meant it as a sign of affection. The bounty hunter turned and left, leaving Pit to get up and ponder her words.

To Samus, ruffling Link's hair had been a sign of affection. Yet Palutena had always done the exact same thing to Pit, in just about the same way. Did that mean that Palutena… Pit shook himself of the thought. The thought that a goddess like Palutena was affectionate towards him was laughable. He was only a guard captain! Besides, wasn't it illegal or morally wrong in some way to be connected to a deity like that?

It didn't matter even if Pit had his own feelings for his goddess—which he didn't, the warrior was pretty certain of that—she was a goddess. Angels did not go around thinking affectionately about the affection Palutena paid him. Great; now Pit had himself thinking about it. He couldn't prove that they were shows of affection, and why should it matter to him so much, right?

Pit decided to do some personal training in order to take his mind off things, but he was unable to think straight. All that was coming to his mind were constant reminders of the little things Palutena did, her smiles and gentle touches, and what their purpose was. Frustrated with his inability to focus and his blasphemous thoughts towards his goddess, Pit left the training area to look for something to distract himself with.

His attention wobbling as he headed down a hall, Pit bumped into one of the other smashers, Red. The younger smasher by a handful of years was on the look for other smashers, as he explained to Pit that he was caught in the middle of a game with some of the younger and older smashers. Pit had never heard of hide-and-seek before, but if the odd mortal game could distract his mind then it would all be for the better.

As he and Red found the last smasher—Jigglypuff had flattened herself and was hiding in a manila folder—Pit couldn't believe how fun he'd just had. Not only had the mortal game been amusing to find each other, it unconsciously taught how to hide and how to search. The subject was interesting, and Pit wondered idly if Palutena would ever object to his playing the game with the guard; surely hundreds of years of similar experience would make the game more interesting.

The angel shook himself of the odd thought. He didn't have time for games like that; he was a guard captain. As fun as it had been, he had more important duties to attend to. That mindset reaffirmed, Pit politely refused their offer to play another game—something called tag—and returned to the training room.

He came back hours later in time for dinner, thanking Ness for helping him find the right way again. As they were all seated and waiting to begin, Master Hand announced the next matches. Pit would be battling against Ike in a one-on-one match in three days. He glanced at Ike; the blue-haired mercenary was leaning back in his seat and elbowing Marth about something. That would be a difficult battle; Pit could tell that Ike was more than accomplished with Ragnell in the seeming slouch of his posture.

Duly, Pit put all of his energy into his training sessions, which lasted from when he ate breakfast to when he joined the smashers for supper. He rarely saw any of the other smashers unless they came to train with him, but the only ones who did so regularly were Link and Samus. The only times that Pit wasn't engrossed in his training was at night, where the angel tossed and turned in tormenting curiosity, unable to help but ponder the meaning of her touches. After endless practice and sleepless nights, three days passed.

Pit was nervous. His first match had been small, mostly to break him into Smash tournament fights. This one counted towards his actual standings in the mansion; those helped to determine which tournaments people could enter. And Ike was no pushover; Ike had already had a fight against Luigi, where he'd barely been edged out by the veteran.

A large crowd had come to the stadium where Pit and Ike were to duel, and Pit had never fought before crowds either. He reminded himself to keep calm. What was the worst that could happen, right? At that moment he got a tap on the shoulder. Toon Link, Link's younger incarnation/brother/self/clone had been sent to fetch him; somebody wanted to see him in the VIP box. Pit frowned as he let Toon Link lead the way; who would want to see him?

When Pit turned the corner and found the entrance of the VIP box, he found Palutena had come, smiling contentedly at her captain.

Pit panicked.

His eyes darted left and right. What was Palutena doing here? Where was her personal guard? The mansion hadn't been properly shaken down! Pit was torn between taking the respectful knee to his serving goddess and turning his back to her to check for anything remotely dangerous. His expression must have been amusing, because Palutena's smiled widened. Finally, Pit decided upon taking a knee first.

Like she always had before, Palutena lifted him up by his chin and met his eyes. His former torment of questioning returned, and Pit felt something warm inside of him. This was preposterous! Palutena was not showing affection towards him… was she? He'd never seen her cup her hand against anybody else's cheek. Pit's focus went from checking for threats to his goddess to keeping his face from showing any tint or blush.

Toon Link, the young child that he was, was more than happy to explain Palutena had come to see Pit participate in his match. That sent Pit into worse fear. How was he supposed to focus now, knowing Palutena would be watching him? And her eyes still hadn't left his. Smiling, Palutena asked him if he had started smiling again.

He didn't dare speak, out of fear his voice would betray him. Palutena gave him another smile—he could have sworn there was something hidden behind it—and then ruffled his hair before turning back into the VIP room, leaving Pit to feel drenched in cold sweat. The intercom called for Pit and Ike to head to the stadium ready room, and Pit left feeling a tumult of emotions running through him.

Ike and Pit stepped out onto the stage to begin a four stock match. They took up their weapons and began to fight.

Three minutes into the battle, it was over.

Pit had fought as best as he could against the tough mercenary, using his speed to his advantage. But his encounter with Palutena was interrupting his thoughts enough to weaken his attacks. Ike had easily mopped a distracted Pit aside with destructive swings of his sword; Pit was surprised he hadn't cut through the stage at several points. But the fact remained that he had lost, and that set his record at 0-1.

Worse, Palutena had seen it.

As he left the room that connected to the stages, feeling himself at a low he hadn't reached in a while, Pit couldn't stand to say anything to Ike. He had a feeling the mercenary had noticed something was wrong. They walked out together, having finished at the same time. Ike said nothing about the match but merely grunted, patted Pit on the back, and turned a corner. Pit appreciated the privacy. It didn't last long.

A more delicate hand reached his shoulder, and Pit found Palutena walking alongside him. She gave him a sympathetic smile and recounted that nobody won all the time. It helped a little, but that combined with her stroking his wings threatened to bring heat to his cheeks. She was just being kind, he told himself. Why would a goddess be interested in an angel?

Palutena spent a few more minutes in Pit's company before she left to return to Skyworld. Pit immediately offered to escort her, but Palutena only shook her head. She ruffled Pit's hair and reminded him to smile more often. Pit managed a small one, and Palutena's grew wider. Then she stepped through to Skyworld and disappeared.

Pit then spent the next ten minutes mentally beating himself up, for making a fool of himself, for assuming that mattered, for foolishly thinking Palutena held affection for him, for wondering if he held affection for her, and for all of his thoughts in general. If he were back in Skyworld, Pit would be submitting himself for imprisonment. His thoughts were foolish fantasies inspired from being stuck there at the tournament.

So if they were just fleeting imaginings, why did Pit miss her already?

Two weeks passed in the Smash mansion. During this time Pit devoted even more of his time to training, from sunup to sundown. He even wore out Link and Samus through sheer grit and determination. Pit won two out of four matches during that time; his wins were by large margins, but so were his losses. He took all of it in stride and worked harder on improving himself to get a good seed in the coming one-on-one tourney. The angel took little time to sleep and less time to eat or relax.

Because when he went to bed late at night, he found himself instead staring out the window and wishing that he could be back in Skyworld. When Pit paused to take a break and sit down, he thought about Palutena ruffling his hair and cupping his cheek. After eight days he'd given up trying to fight his thoughts and had tried to ignore them, distracting himself with brutal training measures. But even in combat, he found himself wishing she was there.

But she couldn't be, because if Pit were to even try to admit his feelings to her, he would likely be removed from existence for such blasphemy. There wasn't even any proof Palutena held feelings for him. The largest point was the most important; Pit was her guard captain. He was there solely to ensure the safety of her and Skyworld. Nothing could come first, including his own feelings. With these points Pit fought against himself, furthering himself into endless practice and a sorrowful demeanor.

The two smashers he saw most noticed his low spirits. Link was the one who tried to shuffle him out of it, thinking that the angel warrior was lonely. In a way Pit was. He had already known his life as a guard captain was forfeit; he gave himself to the nightmares and horrors to save others from them. Pit just wished that his suffering had never included his plaguing thoughts of another type.

At the end of those two weeks Pit learned something shocking enough to wrench him from his behavior. He had been training with Link, who had been as cheerful as always. The Hero had concluded his time training to go prepare for his match against Ganondorf. Pit had made an off-hand comment about how Ganondorf unnerved him. Link agreed good naturedly and made a similar off-hand remark detailing the irony of facing his arch nemesis in a fighting tournament.

Pit had felt something snap. Catching Link by surprise, Pit slammed him backwards into the wall and howled at him. How could he just let his enemy walk the halls? Why didn't Link care about his daunting burden as the savior of other lands? How could he go through everything—the screams, the blood, shapeless evils lurking in the dark, nightmares, flashbacks, regrets, chills, near deaths—how could he shrug it all off and smile?

It was one of the few times Pit had seen Link's smile fade a little. Then in a calm, cool voice, Link said things Pit would never forget. Of course Link suffered from the evils he had faced, and he probably would. Yet that didn't mean he could have a life as well. He took the time to appreciate the things he could. Because if he didn't, then the evils he'd faced would win. Link chose to fight for the moments he had, which only increased his determination to save his home. He suggested Pit do the same, if only to save himself.

Link left the angel to think about what he said. Pit sat down against the wall and let Link's words run through his head. Something to fight for… didn't he already have that? He fought to protect Skyworld and Palutena. And yet, he could sense the truth behind Link's words. If Pit continued as he did, he would end up empty and broken. But his fear remained; what if evil came his way and caught him unawares?

Time passed. Pit got up from where he was and left the training room. He passed at random through the halls until he came across some of the other smashers, namely Red, Lucas, Yoshi, and Fox. Red greeted him and offered for him to join them; they were about to play a game of tag. Silently, Pit nodded his head.

Over the course of the next two months, Pit stopped training so intensely. He began to spend time with the other smashers, joining them in their conversations and participating in all of their games. Pit even participated in a prank against Wario, joining the others in their revelry when they convinced him garlic was extinct. He also wept with them when Wario found onions.

Pit's battle record for his matches began to rise. He won nineteen matches out of twenty-two, bringing his record to a high 21-6. Pit's seeding for the upcoming tourney shot through the ranks, outpacing most of the newcomers and even some of the veterans. The angel still trained regularly in order to keep his skills sharp, and he took that seriously. But he was beginning to understand the meaning of Link's words. By taking the time to enjoy the little moments, it life all the more precious.

Pit started laughing again. He started smiling again.

And in the midst of this, he began to hope. If he could maintain a happy outlook while keeping stalwart against darkness, then maybe, just maybe, he had a chance. Perhaps he could learn to enjoy Palutena's little touches and her smiles. Perhaps, against all laws of existence, something could happen. His nights, which had formerly been sleepless and haunting, began to be fond dreams. He would gaze happily up at the clouds, hoping for her safety and for a chance to see the goddess again.

Soon the tourney dropped itself on the mansion's doorstep. It was to be one of the massive tourneys of the year: a vicious and thrilling twenty-eight competitor battle to the top. In a twist of fate, Pit's first match was going to be against Ike, one of the few newcomers who had kept up with Pit's record. The swordsman had only grunted and traded a smirk with the angel.

Hours before his first rematch with Ike since two and a half months ago, Pit was warming up for his coming match. Ike had already descended into the room linking to the stadium, waiting for the match to begin. As Pit finished a short flight to get his wings ready, he was called over by Samus. The bounty hunter jerked her thumb behind her and moved on, leaving Pit to look further down the corridor.

Palutena. She was there.

A smile split Pit's face wide, and the guard captain dashed over to her, dropping to a knee as always. Palutena raised him to his feet and cupped his chin in her palm, bringing his eyes to hers. Her smile grew at the sight of the beaming one on Pit's face, and Pit felt like a fire was underneath him. It occurred to him that something might showing in his cheeks, but he didn't care at the moment. Palutena was there with him.

The intercom called for him and Ike, and Palutena ruffled Pit's hair again, smiling more than he remembered her doing. The angel took off like a cannon, still grinning as he raced into the preparation room. He was brimming with excitement and was eager to make Palutena proud this time. Ike, noticing the sudden burst of energy in his opponent, raised an eyebrow. The mercenary settled on a smirk as the doors opened and Pit soared out, gaining cheers from the crowd.

They took their positions on the stage—it was the same one as before, in a further twist—and then the match began. From the first blow it was a different match from before. Neither held the advantage in a battle of power versus speed. Ike threatened to wipe out half the course with his blows, and Pit came close to blurring in his movements.

Their battle was a standard five minute brawl, with the winner advancing in the tourney. After four minutes, the combatants had yet to knock each other off the stage. Both were too well matched for the other. Then came the game changer that would cause collective gasps around the stadium. A smash ball appeared in the air.

Both Ike and Pit dashed towards it. Pit had seen Ike unleash his Final Smash in a match before, and the attack was certain to wipe Pit off the screen. On the other hand, Pit had been unlucky and never gotten the smash ball before.

Using range to his advantage, Pit fired arrows at the smash ball. He struck it, but not with enough force to break it. It then began to drift—right towards Ike's path. Pit's mental alarms went off in panic as Ike's Ragnell swung at the smash ball. Then something marvelous happened. Ike's blow glanced off the sphere and sent it straight back towards Pit. Pit struck, and it broke.

Power flooded the angel's body, and he looked at a grimacing Ike. Pit raised his hand in the air and called forth Palutena's Centurions. A regiment of guards appeared, surrounding Ike. Then they lunged at him. Ike swung at the first one and was hit by the rest, rocketing off the stage and resulting in a kill for Pit. Just as Ike reappeared in the angelic platform, the timer ended.

The crowd was wild as Ike and Pit waved to them, Pit bursting with enthusiasm. They left the stadium and went back into the mansion, parting ways with a grunt by Ike and another pat on the back. Pit headed straight towards where Palutena was. She was waiting for him, smiling brightly. Ignoring any laws that may have forbidden it, Palutena embraced her captain in a hug, reinforcing the fire inside of him. His grin grew and Pit felt his hope grow. Perhaps there was a chance.

He walked her back to the way back to Skyworld, taking in every moment he could. Palutena still stroked his wings, but every now and then she would put an arm around his shoulders and give him a little squeeze. The action sent Pit's temperature soaring, and he was surprised he hadn't caught fire yet. It seemed too soon for Pit when it came time to say good-bye again. He asked her how long it would be until she return. Palutena said nothing, but ruffled his hair and whispered that she was glad to see him smiling again. Then she stepped through.

The angel sighed after Palutena was gone, wishing that he could just follow her through. But she hadn't released him from the tournament yet, and so Pit started to head back towards the stadium. If he was quick, he could catch Red's match against Mario, sitting with Link, Samus, and the rest of the group. On his way there, Pit was called by Lucario. There was somebody trying to reach Pit through the messaging system.

Curious, Pit headed there and found one of his guards apologizing for contacting him. He smiled and waved it off, asking what was up. He was asked when Palutena was returning. Pit frowned; she had just left the mansion. Then came the news that she hadn't arrived.

Pit felt his blood ice. His fears had come true.

Before anyone could stop him he raced out of the mansion. Desperation fueled him. Of all the things he had learned to love, Palutena's smile was the one he refused to surrender. It would be his life before that.

He found her, trapped behind a curtain of power that rendered her power useless. Medusa, the goddess of evil, waited for him. Pit's eyes met Palutena's concerned ones, and without hesitation he flung himself at Medusa.

Moments later, he was thrown aside again, gasping for air and feeling the wincing pain. Medusa stormed towards him, barely touched. Pit didn't understand. Had he fallen somehow? He couldn't seem to land a blow on the evil goddess. She struck again, and Pit felt himself weaken. He couldn't keep up with this. He aimed and fired his bow, shot flying wide of Medusa. The evil goddess didn't look to see it had destroyed Palutena's prison. Pit aimed another arrow at Medusa, holding her attention. If he was going to die, at least let it be for a reason. Palutena's safety.

Medusa raised a hand to strike Pit down once and for all, and she was stopped. Pit looked in wonder as another hand caught Medusa's, stopping her. Then light burst from behind her as Medusa was bodily thrown. In his weakened state, Pit watched in awe as fury flowed from the one person he'd never expect it from.

Pit had been willing to sacrifice his life for Palutena's smile. Palutena refused to let Pit die.

The wrathful goddess gestured, and power unlike Pit had seen struck Medusa, disintegrating her with the pure force. Medusa snarled and shot back at Palutena; Palutena brushed it away. She raised her palm and shot power at Medusa, striking Medusa into the earth. Again, and again. Medusa's powers failed against Palutena, and Palutena gestured to finish the one-sided fight. She grabbed Medusa by the face, and power exploded from her palm. Medusa zipped backwards and slammed into a mountainside, scattering rock and stone in a violent explosion.

Pit stared, and then tried to move to see to Palutena's health. His hand slipped, and he fell backwards, only to be caught in the arms of the goddess. Palutena's eyes brimmed with concern and fear that her captain wouldn't survive his wounds. Pit only saw the face of his goddess without a smile. It wasn't right. This time, it was Pit who put his hand on Palutena's cheek, wiping away a stray tear.

A smile came to Palutena's face again, and Pit felt warmth return. That was much better. Then Palutena bent low and placed a kiss on his forehead.

Fire sprang through Pit again, and he knew no force would kill him. Forget possible blasphemy; with what strength he could muster, he pulled himself up to her and brought his lips to hers. In more excitement and joy than he had known, she returned the kiss.

Because of Pit's injuries, Ike advanced in his place; the mercenary ended up in third place overall. Pit returned to Skyworld and recovered until he could compete again. Every morning he was there, he would always go to Palutena and take a knee. Every morning, she would smile and pull him up into a kiss, each embracing the other. Then with arms intertwined, they would walk through the halls of the palace, sharing their smiles and company.

After all, she was his goddess; and he was her guard captain.