Flight-paralysis
„Lady Palutena...", Pit wiped off the sweat on his forehead. He just finished his training, and he was sure he shouldn't feel as strained as he did right now. His body felt heavy as if something was pulling him down somehow.
"What's the matter Pit?", he heard the soft voice in his head. He knew he shouldn't disturb her right now, because she was in the middle of preparing for a feast. It was held by Zeus in the realm of gods and no god was allowed to miss it.
"I'm sorry that I bother you, but I don't feel very well. My body feels kind of heavy and somehow... a little numb too", maybe he should have tried to find a way to cure his sickness with a little bath in the hot springs first? He could have asked Lady Palutena for advice if it didn't help.
"You don't bother me Pit, you never do. Since when are you feeling like this? Did you try to take a bath in the hot springs? Maybe you just overdid yourself", she sounded worried, but Pit only shook his head. Until he reminded himself that she wasn't looking right now and wouldn't be able to see the answer.
"Thank you lady Palutena and no, I didn't take a bath till now, maybe I will go and see if it gets better. I feel a little uneasy since this morning, but it got worse after training", Pit rubbed his cheeks with the heel of his hands and closed his eyes, until he felt a little better again. Then he decided to follow the plan and go to the hot springs.
"Then go and take one, but message me when you feel better or not. I couldn't relax on the feast when I know you aren't feeling well", Palutena's voice still showed her worry, but she was confident that her little champion would feel better after soaking in the spring.
"Yes I will do so. I don't want to worry you, especially when you are going away for some days", that was the last thing he wanted to do. So he made one step before the other. But suddenly his sight became blurred, and he blinked in surprise.
"Not good...", he managed to mumble, when his legs gave in, and he stumbled over his feet. Pit tried to break his fall, but he couldn't move his arms quick enough and met the ground the rough way. He couldn't even feel the slight pain, when his vision faded into blackness.
"Pit? What's the matter?... Pit?", he heard the voice, but he wasn't able to answer his goddess. His mind was the last thing that faded away, and he couldn't even hear Lady Palutena's anxious cry: "Pit!?".
OoOoO
The next time Pit opened his eyes, the bright light dazzled him. He tried to blink and get used to it, but somehow his eyelids felt really heavy. He screwed his eyes and opened them again, it felt a little better after that. Pit moved his head to the side and looked around.
He wasn't at the training ground anymore, he was in his room. The white marble walls greeted him and the thick, white and golden sheets were soft on his skin. The pillows were white, gold and red too and the bed was framed with gold. It had white curtains at every bedpost that run over his head and connected the posts with each other.
Pit's room was completely filled with white and golden furniture together with red accessories like the lamp on his night stand or the carpet that saved his bare feet from getting cold because of the white marble floor.
"Are you feeling better now?", the voice pulled him out of his thoughts, and he turned his head to the other side. Lady Palutena stood at the opened window, the light colored the room in a golden shine and her green hair blew in the light breeze that came in.
"Uhm... I don't really know. I can't say how I feel right now. Everything is blurry and my body feels heavy", he wanted to get up, but he only managed to raise his body. He felt like something was pulling him down with a great force or like his muscles were made out of pudding.
"This sounds serious. I still have some leftovers from the drink of the gods. Do you want to try it? But I don't know if it will help in this case", Lady Palutena reached out her hand and a bottle with little wings and a pink potion inside appeared in her palm.
Pit couldn't really believe that it couldn't help him. This drink healed every possible wound in the past, when he fought in the uprising. So he reached out, what was more work than it should be, and grabbed the bottle she gave him.
"I want to try it", he said and held the bottle to his lips. The pink drink tasted sweet on his lips and a warm feeling spread into his whole body the moment he swallowed it down. He felt refreshed and far better than before, like a light grew in his belly and shone through his whole being.
"It helps! I feel much better!", he smiled after he emptied the bottle and gave it back to Lady Palutena. The goddess let it vanish and looked at him with curious, green eyes. But they still held some worries too.
"Be careful Pit, don't overdo yourself", she warned him, but the angel didn't want to hear that. He was alright! He could be back on the field and doing his duties! He didn't want to lie in bed all day just because he felt a little ill.
"I will Lady Palutena!", he assured to her and brushed the blankets back. So that he could throw his legs out of the bed and stood up. It felt good, his sight wasn't blurry anymore and his legs felt strong enough to carry his body without problems.
"You see! Everything alright. I only faltered a little, it's back to normal now", Pit threw a big smile at his goddess and wanted to flap his wings, when a sharp pain spread through his body: "Ngh!"
"What's the matter Pit? It's not everything alright it seems. Do your wings hurt?", the sorrow was back in his goddess voice and the young lady walked over to her little champion. She softly forced him to turn around and took a look at his wings. She didn't need to lean down anymore, to examine his wings. Pit grew up after years passed by and was as high as she was now, but he would be her little angel for eternity~
She touched the roots of his wings and started to message the muscles and tried to move them. Every time she did so, she received a sharp hissing sound from the angel. Pit watched her doing, while looking over his shoulder and his blue eyes narrowed sorrowful and in pain.
"It really hurts and I can't move them. What's wrong with me Lady Palutena? They should be alright. I know they were never the best when it comes to flying but it's even worth when I can't move them at all...", he whined and reached out for his own wings. But Lady Palutenas only gave him a soft slap on his hand when he got in her way.
"I know it pains you. But it seems like you suffer from something that can't be cured so easily. Illnesses that concern angel wings are more serious. They often can't be healed from the outside, your body needs to fight against it. It seems like you suffer from flight-paralysis, it paralyzes your wings and over time your whole system and makes it hard to move and to breath. It can be caused when the growth of your wings is abnormal. The drink can help to fight against the symptoms in your body, but I'm sure they will come back quickly. I can't let you out Pit, you need to rest and give your body the time to heal itself", she demanded him and Pit felt a soft pressure on his shoulders. He understood and sat down on the bed again, facing his goddess. Her eyes were full with worries, and she felt helpless in this situation, just as helpless as Pit.
"But it's not the time for this right now. You need to go on this feast and you ordered me to look over the temple. I need to be fit if something happens, how am I supposed to fight in my current state?", he couldn't bow down to that illness! His body needed to cure itself while he was on his mission! There was no other option.
"You will lie down Pit! I forbid you to move around more than needed. It will worsen your condition and this illness can kill you if you don't cure it out! I will not risk loosing you again! I can't transfer your soul back in your body if he is destroyed... ", her voice and look was stern when she talked with him and Pit bit his bottom lip. He definitely didn't want to risk his life! Not this way at least! To a stupid sickness...
"But what do we do then? I mean... the centurions are strong enough to protect the temple but, they aren't the best when it comes to running everything... I don't want to leave the temple without care, what if you come back and everything looks run down?", he couldn't bear that. This temple was his home, and he couldn't allow this! Skyworld couldn't be without someone to look over it and make sure that everything was fine.
"That's not your problem Pit. I will find a solution... I worry more about you, I can't leave you alone like this and like you said, the centurions aren't good at dealing with this. I fear they will not be able to look after you good enough. I will need to ask someone to take care of you.
But... maybe I know someone.", Pit shot her a questioned look, but she only smiled and softly pressed him down onto the bed, so that she could place the blanket over him again. Pit felt like a little kid right now... it wasn't really comfortable. He was a soldier and a captain! Not a kid that needs to be pampered...
"I feel better right now Lady Palutena. I don't want to sleep again...", still he didn't try to stand up again. He couldn't go against the will of his goodness... and she was very serious when it came to him resting and such...
"Now go back to bed you need to sleep a little, it will help you recover. I can't let you run around when you feel well just because of the drink, it will worsen your condition", she explained and placed her hand on his cheek, before she leaned down and gave him a soft kiss on his temples. Pit furrowed his brows a little, but a sudden fatigue covered his mind like a soft cloud, and he couldn't force his eyes to stay open any longer.
"But... Lady Palutena...", he whispered while falling asleep under her spell.
OoOoO
When he woke up again, Pit felt weakened. He awoke slowly and it seemed like the effect of the drink of gods had worn off. He needed some seconds to come back to his senses, but his breath and his eyelids felt heavy.
Pit forced his eyes to open up and the bright light dazzled him like before. He fought against the urge to close them again, especially because he wasn't sure if he would be able to open them again if that happened. Pit's body felt numb, and he let his gaze glide through the room. Lady Palutena told him that she would search for someone who could take care of him, but he was all alone right now.
It took the young angel some time till he managed to set up in his bed. He felt so incredible weak right now, and he hated it the most. He couldn't bear giving in to his situation, even if it was dangerous to over-strain his body. But he could never give in to the illness just like that!
And he was thirsty...
Pit shove his legs out of bed and managed to stand up slowly. He was very unsteady on his legs and was about to fall over again. Automatically he tried to get his balance back with the movement of his wings. But the moment he wanted to flap them an excruciating pain seared through his body.
"Ngh! That hurts", he whined and let himself fall back onto the bed. His eyes fell on his wings when he looked over his shoulders, and he knitted his eyebrows. They looked normal, but he wasn't able to move them an inch, and when he tried it they hurt like hell.
He wanted to curse but... he wouldn't let those words come over his sacred lips. Definitely not, so he only closed his eyes for some seconds and let his hand brush through his hazel-brown hair. After he braced himself enough, Pit opened his deep blue eyes and stood up again. This time he didn't rush things and waited till his dizziness wore off.
Then he grabbed the tunic laying on a chair and wrapped it around his body. He had only worn a white cloth top and similar shorts. Pit knotted the two parts of the tunic above his right shoulder and used his brown belt on the table to keep the fabric in place.
The angel left his accessories and the rest of his clothes on the table and made his way for the door. He still felt very unsteady on his feet, but he forced his body to keep going and opened the door. When he was outside he looked around, but nobody was there. Pit still felt thirsty and there were no centurion he could ask for a favor, so he needed to go to the kitchen himself.
"Man... why is nobody around?", he growled in a low voice, while he stumbled against the wall. Pit needed to rest every 5 minutes, trying to suffocate the numbness in his body. It felt like it got worse the longer he walked around.
"Shouldn't you be in bed?", Pit shrieked back at the sudden voice and lost his footing in the process. He tried to grab something while he fell, without any success. But right at the moment when he was about to hit the hard ground, someone grabbed his wrist and stopped his fall. Not that it helped much, now he hung midair and his legs refused to bear his weight, so he wasn't able to get up again. His body being just as useless as his wings right now.
Pit lifted his head to look at the one causing all this mess, when his blue eyes met their ruby red copies. Oh no! Why Pittoo, from all people? Their relationship was very complicated, and they could hardly call themselves friends after Dark Pit started to murder humans because they got to greedy and caused mischief to the world. He would never dare to lay a finger on his friends Magnus and Gaol, but still... Pit couldn't accept that. He protected the humans and this made them enemies, even after they got friends with the goddess of nature, Viridi.
"Why are you here?", he growled at his twin and the other shot him a look with narrowed eyes, before he pulled Pit back on his feet. Or at least he tried, Pit wasn't capable of keeping his stand, and so he fell against the marble wall again. But this time he could at least hold onto the wall instead of Pittoo.
"Because your goddess asked me to. She wants me to take care of your worthless ass. I have better things to do thought, but if something happens to you, it happens to me. I could pass on that", Pittoo only gave him the answer and crossed his arms with an annoyed look on his face. This time it was Pit narrowing his blue eyes at the other. Not that Pittoo cared for that in any way.
"Then why are you strolling around instead of looking after me?", the lighter angel accused his brother, while he tried to persuade his legs to hold his weight again. He didn't want to show any more signs of weakness when Pittoo was around, even if they didn't meet as enemies this time. Why did everything end like this? After the uprising they were really close... maybe a little too close at some point in time. But it didn't last long when Pittoo started to follow his own sense of justice.
Pit knew it would happen someday, he never bounded himself to anyone in the first place.
"Shut up! The last time I watched after you, you were sleeping like a baby. I don't see why I should sit at your bed like a nurse and I definitely won't let you accuse me. Don't get on my nerves or I will kick your ass!", the darker angel snapped at him, but Pit only glowered in return.
"Oh stop with this empty threats. Those times are over, it would only backfire at you", he answered, and he was angry enough to push his body away from the wall, he wanted to continue his way to the kitchen. Getting some water in his system. But it seemed like it was a bad idea. The moment his body lost its support his legs gave in again, and he fell to the ground. This time Pittoo didn't move a finger to help him.
The darker angel only crouched down and gave him a look with a satisfied grin on his face.
"You should know it better. That's not how you treat someone you're depending on. Where did you want to go?"
"And that's not how you treat someone you are supposed to take care off! That's not helping at all...", he wanted to snap, but in the end it fainted to a mumble. Slowly he felt incredible exhausted from all that and his sickness was giving him the rest, so he gave in: "I'm thirsty... I want something to drink...".
Pittoo only gave off an amused sound, while he stood up again.
"Alright, stay here", he only grinned, before he left him alone.
Pit couldn't believe that, now he left him lying on the cold ground just like that! Where did Pittoo think he would go too!? He wasn't even able to get up in the first place!
Nonetheless, the angel tried to get up, but after some failed tries he collapsed on the ground and felt his consciousness fade away.
OoOoO
This time he woke up rather rough. Because a certain someone splashed water in his face, and he couldn't breathe. Pit coughed and tried to get the water away from his mouth, but his movement was heavy and slow. Still the water and the feeling of suffocating vanished.
"Finally... took you long enough", he heard the grumble and when he looked up he saw Pittoo sitting beside him. The dark angel had one arm under his shoulders, right above the wings and held his body up. Pit's head rested in the crook of his arm while Pittoo's other hand hold a glass with water. The culprit of his rough wake up.
"What?", Pit started to stumble, while he shot his brother a questioned look.
"You wanted to drink, so I got you something. Do you want it now or not?", Pittoo didn't waste the time to say something to the things that happened and it didn't look like he felt guilty in the least...
"Yeah... I want some", Pit was too weak to start a fight now, so he tried to grab the glass, but Pittoo didn't intend to give it to him.
"Open you mouth. Otherwise, you will get everything wet", the black angel only growled and Pit shot him a look. That was embarrassing! But he had no other choice, so he clicked his tongue, did as Dark Pit told him and opened his mouth.
He felt the cold glass pressing against his lips and swallowed the water down the moment it washed into his mouth. Pittoo was careful, for once, and only lifted the glass slowly, so that Pit could swallow the water without spilling half of it out because it got into his throat.
Pit took a deep breath when the other lowered the glass and looked Pittoo in the eyes.
"Thanks...", he mumbled with a faint voice. The water was exactly the thing he needed, his throat was feeling so dry. Pittoo only made huffing noise and placed the glass on the ground. Then he pushed his other arm under Pit's legs and with one swift move he lifted the lighter angel up in his arms. Pit was flabbergasted when he got lifted so suddenly.
"Hey! Let me down! That's embarrassing! I don't want you to carry me!", he shouted and tried to wiggle, but it was in vain. He didn't have the strength to do so in the first place and so his attempt was no problem for Dark Pit.
"Shut up! You can't walk, how are you supposed to get back into your bed?", Pittoo only growled and adjusted his twin in his arms until he could carry him easily. Pit pouted but the other was right... he wouldn't be able to get back. He would lie there all day...
Still, he would rather get carried by a centurion instead of Pittoo.
The white angel huffed and crossed his arms, while he got carried bridle style back to his room.
Maybe... better than getting thrown over the shoulder and carried like a bag of rice.
He only hoped nobody would see them... that would be the worst!
After a short walk Pittoo made it back to Pit's room. He opened the door with his elbow and pushed it open. Then he walked over to the bed and threw Pit right onto it.
"Ouch! Are you stupid!? That hurt!", his wings got crashed by his body, and Pit rolled over on his side. He took a heavy breath and made a hissing sound until the pain subsided after some seconds.
"Get a grip on yourself!", Pittoo only snapped and crossed his arms, while he looked down at the sickly man. Before Pit could say a thing, the dark angel hovered over him and the lighter ones eyes grew wide.
"What are you doing!?", he shrieked but couldn't move away. So Pittoo only grabbed his arms and pushed him over on his belly. This couldn't be true! Was Pittoo about to take advantage of his weak state to do something to him!?
"Shut up Pit-stain! I only do what I got ordered with!", Dark Pit snapped and the next thing Pit felt were his hands in his soft, white wings. Pit took a sharp breath and made a hissing sound when Pittoo started to knead the roots of his wings. It hurt!
"Stop that! That hurts! Get away from me!", Pit tried to wiggle out of Pittoo's grip, but it was in vain. He only dug his fingers into his wings and made the lighter angel scream in pain. Pit bit down on his teeth and clawed the blanket. It was only then, that Dark Pit loosened the grip on his wings.
"Just shut up and let me do it. Palutena told me to message your wings when you wake up", the darker angel explained while gritting his teeth. He wasn't sure why he even followed her orders. Pit shot him a look over his shoulders and glowered at his twin.
"I'm sure it's not helping when you crumple my wings like that!", he growled and didn't even think about shutting up!
The darker angel narrowed his eyes and let go of his wings.
"You are getting on my nerves, but alright, then do your shit alone, I'm fed up with this", he snapped in anger and rushed up from the bed. He was about to leave the room, when Pit called him: "Stop Pittoo! Don't leave me here alone... but please, don't hurt me any more than that, this is already hard enough to bear without you treating me like shit...".
The angel turned around and sat up in the bed. Pit knew why Dark Pit behaved like that, why he was so angry about him... but he couldn't help it at all.
Still the young man stopped and looked over his shoulders, before her turned around and faced him with crossed arms. Pittoo was still annoyed, but he didn't have much of a choice too, Pit needed to get well again otherwise it would only worse his own condition if anything happened to his twin.
"If you don't want me to treat you like that then shut up and let me do my job...", Pittoo growled and came back to the bed again. Pit sight but nodded, he had no other choice, had he?
"Alright... I will try", he mumbled and turned around again after Dark Pit made a face and rested on his belly. He braced himself for what was about to come and pressed his face into the pillows when Dark Pit started to knead the roots of his wings. It really hurt even when the darker angel was more careful now.
He massaged the roots and his fingers went up, always following the bones and the direction of his feathers. But he didn't only massage them, when he started to fold them and move the muscles Pit clenched his teeth. Small droplets of sweat formed on his forehead because he tried to suppress the pain the other gave him.
"Believe it or not, this is no fun for me either", the black angel grumbled, while he tended to his wings. Sure they didn't part in good ways, and he was angry about him, but he still didn't like it when Pit was in so much pain.
The white angel shot him a look over his shoulder and smiled softly.
"I know Pittoo... you aren't a bad guy, you never were...", it was nice to talk with him now, it distracted the champion from the pain he received, even if it got better slowly. It didn't hurt as much as before, at least the massage didn't, but moving his wings was still hell.
"Hmpf... you are the only one still believing that. You worthless, good for nothing optimist... ", still, Pittoo couldn't hold back the little smile forming in the corner of his lips.
Pit didn't care for how he called him, he knew Dark Pit only wanted to save his reputation, not that he ever could in Pit's presence. He always saw through his character, he knew exactly what he thought. But this wasn't always the case... it surprised him a little that he could still talk with him like that. Somehow it was... like in the past. None of them wanted to part though...
"I believe it because I know it's right. You never want to let your guard down. I wish you could do it when I'm around", Pit mumbled and placed his head sideways on the pillow, staring at Pittoo's belly right beside him. The dark angel stopped what he was doing for a moment and returned Pit's look, but with an emotionless face. Pit couldn't tell what he thought right now and still... he knew it.
"I could... but not anymore. I wasn't the one ending it all, it was you", he accused with a gloomy voice and anger showed on his face, while he started to rub the wings again, a little harder than before. Pit made a hissing sound when he felt the pain again, but it vanished when Dark Pit stopped being so rough.
"Not like I wanted to... but how can I give up everything I archived so far just to come with you? Especially supporting your doing!? You should know me better! I can never allow you to kill innocent humans!", Pit couldn't hold back on that now. It always bugged him, and he had never the time to talk with Pittoo about that. He hardy saw him since they parted, and he did everything on his own.
"I don't kill innocent humans! But she never told you, un? Why do you think Palutena never gave you a mission to kill me off or stop me? Because she fears you can't do it? That's not it, but she can't bring herself to save this kind of human beings. She knows that what I do is gruel but right", Dark Pit snapped back, but let go of his wings. He knew he would only hurt Pit again if he let it out at his wings.
The other turned around and shot him a confused look. He really didn't know that, he only knew that Pittoo was killing off humans. He never thought about what kind of humans...
Wasn't it the same with Gaol in the past? She was a human and Palutena knew, still she told him to kill her because she served the underworld, he was glad that he didn't kill her thought. He would never be able to forgive himself if he did that and... especially because of Magnus and because he knew that Gaol wasn't a bad human.
"So you are doing something like vigilantism? Why didn't you tell me? I mean... I still could never do such a thing, even if I kill demons like it's nothing. I can't bear killing humans... even if they are the worst piece of... you know", Pit sighed. If he knew that, maybe he would have acted different...
"Because of that. You would never agree with me on that, even if you can understand it somehow. And still you would never come with me, like you said. You will never give up on everything, on Skyworld and Palutena. They are more important to you than I am", Pittoo gritted his teeth and crossed his arms. He didn't really want to talk about this now. And still... it was true and it bugged him.
Pit couldn't say a thing against it. Those things weren't more important than Pittoo, but not lesser too. He cared for everything and... he just couldn't give up on them, not on Skyworld and Palutena... and not on Pittoo.
"I don't want to give up on either of you. They aren't more important, they are of the same importance, but... if I try to hold onto one thing, I will lose the other. How should I decide such a thing? I can't... and... don't you think it would change me? If I go away with you, I wouldn't stay the same, I wouldn't be the angel you know anymore..." the angel he fell in love with.
"I don't care. You will lose either one or the other... you decided for Palutena and you still do, that's all I need to know", he would never grow up... he would never leave the nest, Dark Pit knew that. He wanted to stand up and go, but the moment he turned around Pit grabbed his wrist.
"Don't leave now... and stop twisting my words so that they confirm what you think of me... I never decided for Palutena or for you. I can't decide that and don't force me to make such a decision! Just because I continue living the way I do doesn't mean I choose one option. I only try to find a way that allows me to live like I do... together with you. Why do you want to have it easy? Why should I follow you? You could follow me for a change. We should think about something that helps us both... not just one of us... ", Pit met his eyes with a stern face, and he knew he was in the right this time! Pittoo wouldn't want to give up on his life either. Pit could turn it just the other way around, that Pittoo was the one deciding for his independent life instead of Pit.
This was the first time the other thought about that fact and... it hit him. He understood what Pit wanted to say and damn, he was always cursing him... but he was the same. The dark angel let himself fall back into his seat and shook his head slowly.
"How did you come to that thought? It's not like you thinking so hard about something...", now he sounded tired and met those blue orbs that held so much concern.
"Maybe I'm not the smartest... but how can I not think about such a thing? I always thought about you, but you never gave me the chance to talk to you and then... I thought it was already too late", Pit confessed and pulled himself up a little, while still holding on to Pittoo. The other didn't remove his hand now and allowed Pit to use him as leverage till he sat in bed.
"Maybe we are both stupid...", Dark Pit gritted his teeth and sighed. Was it always that complicated? A relationship... he didn't know. It was twisted and still... Pit's words sounded like... hope.
"Hm... maybe", Pit mumbled tired and used the last of his strength to let go of Pittoo's wrist, just to wrap his arms around his neck and press his head against his shoulder. Dark Pit returned the hug and felt Pit collapse in his arms. He held the white angel tight and Pit could finally rest again, he was so incredible tired right now. From all that talk and the massage of his wings.
"Let's start from zero... I'm not going to give up on you ever again... I will never let you go", Dark Pit mumbled against Pit's forehead and pressed his lips on the soft skin. Pit's lips formed a soft smile, before he drifted away into slumber, knowing he had the best caretaker he could wish for.