Blizzaga Saga: Sorry for the repost. This was originally under an account which the site has cleansed and banned me from using. I took the opportunity to do some editing and fixed a few awkward transitions.

Dark Pit pleasantly surprised me. At first I was annoyed at the unveiling of yet another evil version of a Nintendo character, but unlike the others (Dark Link, Shadow Link, Wario, Waluigi, Cosmic Mario, Dark Samus, and Blood Falcon), Dark Pit actually reveals a lot about what kind of person his counterpart is. Read on to see what I mean.

"It's true: humans are simple, selfish little creatures who are driven by greed. Sounds a lot like us gods, wouldn't you say?"

"No way!" Pit laughed. "Nobody could be as selfish as the gods!"

Rest had not yet come to Skyworld. Hades' demise left a vacancy on the underworld's throne, and if she didn't act soon, the resulting war between power-hungry deities would be just as destructive as the last. Despite this, however, Pit's comment remained at the forefront of Palutena's mind.

"Pittoo, do you know where Pit is?"

Loafing near the edge of the floating island, the dark-winged angel scowled at her. "He's taking a break from rebuilding your city to train."

"It's just a name," she said with an apologetic smile. "Lighten up."

"I'm not some property you get to name, goddess of dimness. I'm Dark Pit." He stared with half-closed eyes at the coliseum in the distance, but she only laughed; despite how cool he tried to look, he was just as prone to making lame jokes as Pit was.

"Come on now. Think about it. If I was a copy, why would I kick my own butt?"

"So why are you here? I don't appreciate freeloaders." She grinned cheekily, but he avoided her gaze.

"Pit risked everything to save me. It's the exact opposite of what a god would do. I had to make sure he was okay, and I was hoping he wanted to go with me to find more things to fight."

"Aw, that's so sweet! You two are like brothers now."

"No. I just know that because of our bond, I'll die if he does, and if he stays here he'll work himself to death for someone who doesn't have his best interests at heart. Your grip on him is tight, but he'll figure out it's best to leave you one day."

Palutena bristled, all humor in her tone vanishing. "Pit and I are devoted to each other. He's made his loyalties clear, and I don't think he's going to change them."

"Give him time. He disobeyed your order to destroy me."

With a smirk, Dark Pit dove off the edge and spread his wings…only to scream and flail wildly as he plummeted, having forgotten again that he could no longer fly on his own. With a smile, she activated the power of flight for him, and he flew off without turning back to thank her.

He really was as thick as his better half. The reminder of Pit melted her anger, for aside from being dense and spouting lame one-liners, her sweet guardian angel was nothing like his rebellious destructive twin. She wondered not for the first time how damaged Pandora's mirror had been when it created Pittoo; the doppelganger was supposed to represent Pit's dark side, but Pit would never disrespect her as Pittoo did.

And while she loved teasing Pit, she would never use him as Pittoo suggested. Still, she couldn't get Pit's declaration that gods were selfish out of her head. She didn't know why it bothered her; it wasn't the first time Pit had disregarded the gods.

"These are goddesses you're talking to here, Pit. Watch your tone."

"Butt out, Phosphora!"

Palutena's confidence faltered. Maybe Pit was just as disrespectful as Pittoo was. He had unknowingly insulted Dyntos' craftsmanship, and when the gods teamed up to fight the Aurum, he had made a bewildered comment about the biggest egos in the universe working together.

He respected her, though. He would do anything for her. She was the reason he trained every day. Not even during the Chaos Kin fiasco, when she declared war on him and the humans, did he lose faith in her. His devotion had always given her strength before, but now it only made her wonder if she deserved it. Suddenly it was easy to see why someone would think she used him.

When she saw him gasping for air with his wings burned, she had instinctively taken him into her arms. Yet when he saved her from the Chaos Kin, he had run to her as fast as he could, only to stop mere feet away from her: stretching his arm out, longing to comfort her and make sure she was okay, but not actually touching her. She suspected he wasn't the one who built that pedestal he placed her on.

"You know what, Lady Palutena? Even though I almost died, I've really enjoyed our time together."

"Aw, you poor guy. You really need to make some friends. Now let's go find Pandora!"

She hadn't thought much of his crestfallen expression at the time. It was just part of their game: she teased him, he made a funny observation or did something oafish, and they ended the day making bad puns together. But now she wondered: was she being selfish?

"And that's not all I can see, Pit. I can also see what's in your heart."

"…Oh…Heh heh…That's really…something."

"So you'd better not be thinking about anything…naughty."

"What?! How did you—?!"

"Just kidding. Seriously, reading hearts through laurel crowns?"

"I know…I was…also kidding."

"Sure you were."

She didn't need special powers to see that Pit was infatuated with her. Was she so entitled that she could tease him for his affection without doing anything about it? She had even lied about parting the ocean to impress him, knowing full well he was already enamored with her. Accepting or rejecting his feelings would be much kinder than ignoring them.

Selfish… entitled… Poseidon had said humans were arrogant, but what was more arrogant than claiming the whole ocean, or nature, or an angel's heart?

"Is something wrong, Lady Palutena?" She turned to see that Pit had returned to her side, his eyes filled with concern. "I saw Pittoo flying and figured you were behind it. Do you need something?"

She had no doubt that Pit would be willing to get or do anything she needed, and with that a strange thought occurred to her. The only difference between gods and humans was that gods had power to back up their selfishness. Pit had showed during their latest quest that he had plenty of power. Did that make him a…

Possibilities and dreams filled the immortal woman with mortal warmth, and abruptly she wondered what it would be like to serve him for once. Yes, he adored her, and as she shifted her lips to ease his worry, she knew she adored him too.

Seeing her smile, he gave one of his own which was both mature and boyishly cute, an impossible dichotomy that made him all the more endearing. Before, she had overlooked that maturity, but now thanks to Pittoo she realized what she should have known all along: Pit wasn't some naïve angel who followed orders. He served her because he had faith in her. It had absolutely nothing to do with her being a deity, and it wasn't just because he liked her either.

"I followed your orders because I trusted you. I can't even count all the times I've risked my life for you! I trusted you because I knew you were on the side of justice and…and light! But something is blocking that light right now. This isn't the real you."

"It's good to see you smile again. We haven't seen you much lately. I'm nothing without you, and forget about the Centurians!" Pit said with a laugh.

"I am Pit, servant of the goddess of light!"

"And I am Dark Pit, servant to no other but myself!"

That was the only difference between them. Pit didn't even realize that Pittoo came from part of him, but as Palutena had said to Medusa, he could be thick sometimes.

"The mouth on that guy! I'd never talk like that."

Pit continued. "With all the training and rebuilding I've been doing, I'm tougher than ever! Have you noticed?"

He struck a heroic pose—not to show off his strength, but more likely to get a chuckle, a smile, any reaction at all from the woman he yearned for and admired. She couldn't help paying more attention to the glistening sweat from his training than to his pose, however.

"You're such a dork, Pit," she said with a laugh.

Palutena didn't need power to get what she wanted; Pit offered it freely. His face took on a handsome shade of red when she wrapped her arms around him, and he returned the embrace, eager yet restrained. She was struck with a sudden urge to kiss him, but for now a hug as equals was enough: better to gradually chip away at the pedestal than to tear it down and have it fall on them. She promised herself that she would kiss him if he ever saved her again, though.

She knew she was weighing the scales in his favor...and in hers. "Come on. Let's take a dip in the hot spring."

Predictably, he leaped into the air and cheered. "All right! I love hot spr—" His eyes widened. "Wait. Together?!"

"Of course," she answered easily, smiling with her eyes closed. "Both of us are covered in sweat now. It's undignified, wouldn't you say?"

She grinned at his stunned expression as she held his hand and led him toward the divine water.