Smile to Win
These times of peace could not have arrived sooner for Lady Palutena. She had had no idea how much longer she could keep up her cheery, mischievous, know-it-all façade.
Finally, she could find time to retreat into the unreachable depths of her temple to worry, to plan, to strategize. Pit could busy himself with tasks throughout Skyworld during those times, Palutena didn't have to fear being find out.
At least, there was a smaller chance of that happening now. A boulder off of her shoulders, most certainly.
It wasn't to say that Palutena wasn't cheerful or sly. She was all that, and so much more. Afterall, she was Light, she was Blessing and Protection. The humans threw festivals of jubilation in her honor, her guiding light was a metaphor for the road to happiness to them. And mortals weren't wrong. But to enforce certain aspects of her over others for prolonged period, that was taking its toll on her whole being. She had been running the risk of losing her personality and become an empty shell of "joy" (an ironic concept, surely), she knew that well.
But it had to be done. For the world. But more importantly, for Pit.
If Palutena was carefree, Pit was carefree. If she lost her grip, he lost his grip. Pit depended heavily upon Palutena's state of mind, a fact the goddess had thankfully discovered before Medusa's resurrection. Upon laying eyes on the first waves of darkness spreading across the land, Palutena had known she had to deploy Pit against it, and by result, to put on a mask of carefree mischief. It had to be done, because it had worked. By not showing how many times and how close he had gotten to being killed, how horrible the situation actually was, Pit became unstoppable. He was fearless, he joked away danger (in a lame but endearing way), he laughed off hits and taunted the enemy into a stupid maneuver. He faced gods because if Palutena was fearless, then so was he. If she mentioned his wings in a playful manner, he was less inclined to be embarrassed about them.
The goddess doubted her method. There were times when she wasn't sure if she had remained within the boundaries of reasonability. Taking things just a bit too lightly, letting her mischievous side carry her too far, to the expense of her beloved angel. Probably, yes. She wasn't infallible afterall, and the more she had forced herself into a single aspect of hers, the less she remembered reason.
But the other end of the spectrum may had been even worse. Whenever Palutena slipped and her worry and panic seeped through the cracks, Pit immediately reacted with worry and panic of his own. In Pandora's Labyrinth, against Arlon's Lunar Sanctum, facing Pyrrhon the Aurum Brain, Pit's wings burning up, the first time they faced Hades… Pit lost his grip and his cheeriness the second he detected distress from Palutena. It was because he was loyal to the death, she knew. After fighting his way up from the Underworld and rescuing Palutena, the little angel took it upon himself to guard her with his life. A fact she was eternally grateful for. But it was in Pit's nature, as an angel, to be overly attached to their masters. This was even more emphasized in his case, as he could not fly without her help. All this resulted in him being in sync, probably far too much, with his goddess.
There was nothing Palutena could do about that. Except use it to give Pit the power of his own inner joy, and shield him from fear and harm. Was it lying? Hard to tell. It had definitely been what had saved Pit's life many times during the war…
Palutena brushed her green hair aside with a loud huff as she sipped her hot cup of tea. Before her a screen flashed, showing off the condition of her beloved angel. Pit was in good physical health, and even the Rot was more withdrawn than usual. That was good news.
"My wish would be… to fly by myself!"
Oh, how Palutena wanted to grant him his wish, but it was easier said than done. Most Centurions had small wings, but they weren't as complex creatures as Pit was. Centurions were, at their core, her thoughts. Reflections of her Protective aspect. They could defy gravity with their laughable wings because they were not full-fledged beings. Sentient beings, sure. But they were much closer to the drones of an ant nest, than to Pit. When she had been corrupted by the Chaos Kin, they had toughened up, certainly, but for all the wrong reasons. Their state returned to normal (and quite weak, if she had to be honest with herself) once she was back in the lead.
But Pit? Angels were the bridge between mortals and gods. One step away from both sides. Most of them had held an immense inner potential to be gods of their own, had they been gifted the opportunity by the Godly Council. But they were all gone now, safe for one. Despite his wings, Pit also carried this potential within, and Palutena hoped she could bring it to fruition one day, starting by mending his wings.
But for that, the Rot had to leave his body. It was an arduous process.
Pit had been imprisoned into the Underworld for far too long. Being a creature closer to the Light than to Darkness, that meant the realm was technically poisoning him constantly with the Rot. It was subtle and in small doses, but with enough time it cumulated to alarming levels. The fact that despite all that, Pit had managed to battle his way out of the Underworld and into Skyworld, and even bring down Medusa, had been a true miracle. One that, Palutena had no doubt, was brought about by Pit simply not knowing of his condition.
The goddess wasn't about to change that.
Since then the Rot retreated significantly in Pit. It thankfully had no visible or obvious effects on him, he wasn't corrupted or violent, a feat probably achieved by his joyous nature. His powers were slowly rising as he was healing, but still, to this day, remnants of the Rot remained in him. When Dark Pit had been born out of the Mirror of Truth on accident, Palutena had secretly hoped that the Rot had been removed that way and shaped into the mirror image. But no, unfortunately that was not the case. The Mirror simply reflected it and gave it form.
As if they had needed a personified sickness among them…
Still, as few of the Rot as remained, it was still enough to hinder Pit in his condition. Like a nasty cold that even after weeks lurked within the body, making the human tire easily. Palutena couldn't risk elevating Pit while it was inside him: there was little to know about this sickness, how it would react to being tempered with divine magic. It might result in something far worse. The goddess had been monitoring its regress, though, and she was hoping that soon, the Rot would be gone completely, and she could start asking for the other gods' help in giving Pit new wings… And maybe even godhood down the line.
The goddess was immensely proud of her little angel, and could only imagine what he could still achieve in his life.
But for that, she had to keep him safe, to ensure that he used his inner optimism as a shield against the horrors of the world. And for that…
Palutena had to joke and smile away those horrors. Even if it meant risking burning up her own being.
Smile to win, old girl, she caught herself smile at her reflection on the screen. Smile to win.
Another quick oneshot for the KIU verse! This one came to me in the flash, and I knew I had to write it down. :)
Inspired by my and Pit's reaction whenever Palutena started panicking in-game. Mostly during the Lunar Sanctum flying stage. Being someone who is always very emotionally invested in every game I play, I tended to be in sync with the characters, and whenever shit went down, I panicked as well.
It's an interesting experience, I must say.
I hope you guys enjoyed reading this oneshot! Take care, and may we meet here again soon!