Pit rubbed at his eyes, tired from the previous night. So tired, in fact, that he couldn't help but stumble a bit as he walked along, letting out a grunt of surprise.

"Ah..." he groaned as Ike steadied him, catching him before he could fall to the ground.

"You okay?" Ike asked in concern, looked just as haggard as the angel. Pit smiled up at the mercenary, nodding in thanks. It was times like this that he was incredibly grateful to have met the man; the way the mercenary had been looking out for him over the course of their journey affected him beyond desciption. It was proof that Ike genuinely cared for him.

Of course, it had led to some rather heated arguments along the road...

Pit shook his head. There was no need to dwell on the unpleasant memories of how they got to where they were, and everything worked itself out along the way. The battles and conflicts they had been in were numerous, but they rose above them and now, they were here; they were at the very place where Pit could return to where he came from.

"It's been a long road getting here, hasn't it?" he found himself saying, looking at the blue haired man. "Now that we're here, I can't help but feel nervous somehow." he admitted, shifting from foot to foot as they stopped at their destination. It was a crumbled ruin, with cobblestones strewn about everywhere. However, right in front of them was a stone arch, old and looking decrepit, but Pit could feel the power coming off of it. It was the way back to the tournament.

Ike snorted. "Considering that the portal that's supposed to take us to this tournament of yours is this old thing, I can't blame you."

Pit couldn't help but snicker. "Be serious! How long has it been since we've been looking for this thing?"

"Probably a year..." Ike admitted, blinking slowly. "Possibly longer than that. It just seems so unimpressive now that I see it."

The angel rolled his eyes. He had learned to deal with Ike's blunt comments over their time together, and at times, just hearing him speak his mind was trouble all in itself. But that blunt honesty was part of why he loved the man, even if it did hurt at times.

"...it really has been a long time, huh?" Ike commented as he sat down on a stone outcropping, staring at Pit. "It feels like it's been so much longer than a year, now that I think back on it..."

Pit held the wooden bow in his hands, frowning. Perhaps it was because he was too used to the magical bow given to him by Palutena, but the weapon he held now felt awkward, to say the least. To his relief, he found that his skills as an archer hadn't decayed any, and only took him a few hours to properly learn how to use his new bow.

Ike had also bought him two daggers to keep with him for close combat purposes, after hearing how his previous weapon could separate into two short swords. It wasn't a perfect substitute, but it worked well nonetheless.

Closing his eyes, he bit back a sigh. They had no clue on where to start searching, and no one in the town had any idea what they were asking about. Thankfully, there was another town not that far away, so Pit hoped that things would be better once they set out.

"Don't lose hope so soon, Pit," Ike said from across the room they were staying in for the night. "We'll find something...even if it takes us a while to find what that something is."

Pit nodded. Maybe he was just thinking on it too much...

Pit shuddered as he remembered. He thought back onto his first kill, something he was prepared for...

Along the way to the next town, bandits stood in their path. Ike had warned the angel to show no mercy, because rest assured, the other side wouldn't.

He took it to heart as he fingered a few of the arrows in his quiver; the way that some of the men were leering at him disgusted him, and the grip on his bow only tightened as he waited for Ike to start. He was so immersed in his concentration that it was almost a surprise when Ike suddenly shot forward, slamming Ragnell into a few of the large men that blocked their path.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he quickly took out an arrow and aimed it at one of the bandits surrounding Ike, who was taking out the armed men at a frighteningly fast pace. He hesitated a bit as he aimed, his hands shaking. "Just think they're demons..." he chanted to himself, steeling his eyes. He knew this was going to happen sooner or later. "Demons...they're demons..." With his resolve recovered, he let the arrow fly.

The scream that rung out as the arrow hit the back of one of their necks didn't phase him as he immediately fired a second one into another bandit. After firing a few more arrows, he refastened the bow to his side as he took out his daggers, ready for the bandits approaching him. Dropping under an overextended swing, Pit immediately buried his daggers into the man's gut, withdrawing them as the man screamed and crumbled to the ground. The blood that splattered all over the ground didn't bother him as he turned to the other two who dared approach him.

"Who's next?" he asked calmly.

Minutes later, Pit stumbled away from the dead bodies that surrounded him, a glazed look in his eyes. He made his way over to Ike, who had just finished mopping up the rest of them, dead bodies pooled at his feet. The mercenary's eyes softened as he saw the angel, his cloak covered in blood. "Pit..."

"They weren't demons, were they?" he mumbled softly, looking down at the blood smeared all over his fingers.

Ike could say nothing, drawing Pit into an embrace. The angel clutched to the man tightly, trembling in his grasp. He refused to let tears come, because in his heart, he knew it was the right thing to do.

It just hurt so much...

It had taken Pit a while to come to terms about killing humans; he had never expected to do so as an angel, and the shock of taking someone's life was large. Thanks to Ike's support, he slowly managed to get over it, although he still didn't like killing...even if it was necessary.

"Thinking about the hard times?" Ike asked, relaxing near one of the crumbled walls. The artifact wouldn't work until the sun was at its apex, according to what the scrolls said, so they were biding their time until then.

"You could say that," Pit responded, sitting down near the man. "Were we really so stupid a few months ago?"

Ike chuckled. "Of course. Everyone is stupid at times, you know?"

Pit knew exactly what he meant, that night nearly six months ago...

Pit grumbled as he looked up at the stars, angry over the events that transpired only hours ago. They had finally gotten a lead on where to go, nearly half a year from where they started. With their hope renewed, the two had set out for a large city near the coast...only to run into yet another bandit gang, as was the norm. Pit had long ago accepted that his hands would be stained with blood, and had readied himself to kill even more.

Only this time, it seemed that this gang was smart.

Ike had decided it was safer to fight together, considering the numbers of bandits and other mercenaries on the road usually outnumbered them. At first, it was going well. Brigands fell to Ike's blade in droves while Pit picked off any stragglers that ran with his arrows. Those that came close to him were introduced to the cold steel of his twin daggers, and more bodies were laid around the two. When Pit saw the apparent leader start to retreat, he immediately bolted after him, intent on stopping these stupid attacks from happening again. He heard Ike shout out something, but didn't pay it any mind as he chased the leader and his flunkies through the forest.

What he found waiting for him was another group of men as the leader turned around and drew his sword. Pit gulped; he knew he had just been led into a trap, but he was certain he could take care of it.

He had killed five or so of the bandits when he felt the leader's sword nick the side of his arm. He grunted as he spun around to face the man who injured him, immediately retaliating with a slash to the chest, causing the leader to fall back with a pained yell. Pit could feel some blood run down his shoulder, but ignored it in favor of felling the other three bandits that grouped around him.

Soon enough, Pit was walking away from a pile of dead bodies with nothing to show for it but a few injuries. Because of his nature, his wounds healed quickly, but it didn't stop the blood flowing down his arm. He groaned as he tore a piece of his cloak off, trying it around his bleeding injury before making his way back to where Ike was.

When he did, he found the mercenary standing over the dead bodies that littered the path, unmoving. Pit walked up and made a move to say something, but Ike suddenly whirled around and smacked him with enough force to send him to the ground.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Ike nearly shouted, looking a lot angrier than Pit ever saw him. "You could have gotten yourself killed!"

Pit absentmindedly felt the place where Ike had slapped him, his face still stinging from the blow. But the physical pain wasn't the issue here. "I saw the chance to take down the bandit leader, so I took it." he answered simply, not trusting his emotions at the moment. Ike had never gotten angry at him before, and to feel it directed at him...it was frightening.

Ike took a few deep breaths, trying to rein in his anger. "You're smarter than this, Pit. You know very well why not to pursue a fleeing enemy." he said as calmly as he could, fists clenched.

"I could handle myself perfectly fine, you know," the angel suddenly growled. "You don't always have to worry about me, so stop being so overbearing! I'm not a general for nothing!"

"Overbearing?" Ike snarled. "That has nothing to do with it! Anything could have happened to you and I wouldn't know it-"

"See?! You're doing it again! You can't trust me to take care of myself!" Pit yelled at the mercenary, cutting off any protest by flapping his wings angrily. "I'm just fine, thank you very much, and I don't need to hear your unneeded worries after all of this." he growled before stomping off.

"Where are you going?" Ike called out, still fuming.

"To think, I don't know." Pit spat before leaving the mercenary's line of sight.

And now, hours later, Pit sat in a clearing of the forest, wings closed over his body to keep him warm. He sighed, thinking over what Ike had said. Now that he had time to cool off, he had to admit that Ike had the right to be mad. He rushed into a situation without thinking and got injured. Thankfully, it was only a group of bandits, but what if it had been an army? Or demons? He might not have survived if that was the case.

Not for the first time, Pit looked at his hands. The desire of wanting the pointless attacks to end must have somehow given him the idea that if he killed their leader, it would stop. Or maybe, ironically, his solution to end the battle painlessly as possible was to kill all the opposing people. He didn't like that train of thought.

"So this is where you were," Pit heard Ike say as he stepped up to him, sitting down beside him. "Nice view."

The angel sighed. "Ike, I..."

"Hold on. First, I want to say I'm sorry," Ike said, looking into Pit's eyes. The angel was surprised; wasn't he the one in the wrong? "I do trust you to fight by yourself, but you know what? Every time I think about it, I keep seeing you when I first found you, broken and on the verge of death. I don't want that to happen again..." Ike whispered.

Pit was silent, completely ignoring the fact that Ike didn't apologize about slapping him. "Maybe I have been too protective of you. I didn't want you to get hurt like that again." He understood now. He never imagined what it felt like to be the one to find him in such a state, and worrying over how he could ever prevent that from happening again.

"I'm sorry for the outburst earlier," Pit apologized, closing his eyes. "Just...trust me a bit more from now on, okay?" he asked, giving Ike a weak smile.

Ike gave him a small smile in return before Pit was in his face, giving him a small kiss. Stunned, Ike sat there, looking at the grinning face of the angel.

"That was payback for slapping me earlier." he said cheekily. Ike couldn't help but laugh.

Ike had wrapped his arm around Pit's shoulders as the angel leaned into him, the sun climbing higher. "It's almost time, huh?"

"Yeah..." the mercenary answered, staring at the gateway.

"I've changed a lot, haven't I?" Pit asked suddenly, looking off into the sky. "I wonder, will they still accept me even now?"

"Don't think that," Ike said, nudging the angel with his elbow. "Who wouldn't like you?"

Pit snorted but didn't answer. In his mind, he knew how he changed, and he accepted it. He accepted that he could kill in cold blood, letting go of his feelings to do the job. A true mercenary, like Ike.

He left unsaid of the one time he let his hate kill someone.

"All those people..." Pit started, glaring hatefully at the man in front of him. "You killed them...all for the pleasure of seeing their suffering?! All for your stupid notions of wealth and comfort?!"

The man, dressed loosely in a robe, could only stare in fear of the winged boy in front of him as he held his bow, an arrow already aiming at him. Ike stood beside the angel, his eyes burning in cold fury.

After several months of searching, both of them had finally found the way to get Pit back to where he needed to be. A scroll in an ancient library depicted a shrine that was used to warp people across dimensions; a gate that could only be used once per year at the height of the longest day in the year. Thanks to directions from several people, both of them were well on their way towards the valley where the shrine rested, their journey finally drawing to a close.

Of course, that was until they came across the burning town, bodies littered in the streets.

In shock, Pit looked at the faces of the dead townspeople, and nearly threw up as he caught sight of a child. The boy's chest had been stabbed multiple times, and he had died by severe blood loss; a slow and painful death if the expression on his face was anything to say. Pit felt something in him coil in anger, wanting to find the culprit that did this...atrocity. Only Ike's hand on his shoulder prevented him from doing anything, although he looked just as furious as the angel was.

They had found the remnants of the survivors, who were scavenging for any available weapons. They had said that the nearby noble, who had raised their taxes steadily for the past few months, had suddenly invaded the village and plundered everything of value before taking all the women, killing all those who resisted. Pit felt Ike's anger roll off his body, as he asked about where the noble's castle was.

It wasn't long until they invaded the castle, and Pit could only marvel as he saw Ike cut a bloody swath through any who opposed him, his rage only adding to his ferocious strength. The angel found his own rage only increasing as he pressed the slaughter of the guards, and when he finally found his way to the noble's chambers, he was greeted with the sight of the disgusting man having his way with one of the village women.

Something in him snapped as he immediately drew his bow and pointed an arrow at the man. "You!" he snarled.

Which brought him to the present moment, as Ike helped the woman up and managed to get her out of the chambers. As the noble trembled in fear, Pit never took his eyes off of him. "So many people dead...do you have no life within you, monster?!"

"Who are you to call me a monster?" the man asked, finally finding his voice. "Who are you to decide if I get to live or die?"

Pit could only stare at him for a few moments before smirking. "Your angel of death." And then he let the arrow fly.

The arrow found its mark in the middle of the man's throat, cosigning him to a quick and painful death.

As the body laid dying on the floor, Pit could only lower his weapon, the hatred and anger within him now fading into emptiness. Now, he only felt drained.

"Pit..." Ike said, uncertain of what to say. The angel could only give his loved one a sad smile in return.

"I'm fine, Ike. I will be..." he breathed, closing his eyes in recognition of what he had done. "Let's get out of here."

He would never forget that day. He had committed great sins, but Ike was by his side the whole way. The mercenary had said he'd never leave his side, and Pit chuckled. He wouldn't want it to be any other way.

"It's time," Ike said, getting up. "We should get ready to run through the portal when it appears, since I have no idea how long it will stay open."

Pit nodded as he got up, walking over to the stone arch. "Hey Ike?" he asked, standing beside the larger man.

"Yeah?"

"...you've never regretted coming with me, right?" he asked shyly, counting down the seconds of when the sun would be at its peak.

Ike shook his head in amusement. Pit would ask this question from time to time, and the answer would be the same. "I've never regretted it, and I never will. You're precious to me, Pit. More so than you can probably imagine."

Pit felt that familiar wetness gather at the edge of his eyes, but wiped it away. This wasn't the time for tears. "That means a lot to me, Ike."

The mercenary suddenly kneeled down and gave the angel a deep kiss, who then returned it with equal fervor. After a minute, the blue haired man pulled away, ruffling Pit's hair. "No regrets, right?"

Pit could only chuckle. "Right, no regrets."

There was suddenly a loud crack in the air as the arch glowed with power, a curtain of light appearing before them. "It's time...just think of the place you want to go with all of your heart, and we'll arrive." Ike mumbled, remembering what the old scrolls had said.

"You'll be with me, right?" Pit asked, looking at the mercenary, who nodded in return.

"I'll hold on to you with all my strength, Pit."

With one last look shared between them, they dove into the portal before it closed, their hands intertwined.