The first two chapters were technically supposed to be one big chapter, but it seemed too long. Sorry if my summaries totally suck! they generally do. Crap, now I have to write the whole next chapter! Argh! Little sister, start bugging me until I do this! Anyways, thanks for reading my first fanfic!

Nighthawk soared along the cobblestone streets, keeping dangerously close to the ground. One false flap of his dark wings could send him sprawling to the ground. But down closer to the ground, the drafts were less harsh and there were no fore winds. So though his position was dangerous, it was also the fastest way to move. And speed, today, was the key.

Pit's house was like everyone else's, a temple-shaped building carved from white marble. But Nighthawk knew that Pit's home was the third to the right past the intersection of Swallow and Kestrel. Farther down Kestrel, past Pit's home about a mile down, were where the fields and farm areas started. That was where the food in Angel Land came from.

Nighthawk flew up to Pit's door. He landed smoothly and pounded loudly on the door. "Pit! Pit, are you there? Answer me!" He listened closely. No sound came from inside the house. Nighthawk sighed in exasperation. He tried the door to find it unlocked. Slowly turning the brass doorknob, he walked in.

The room was dark. Curtains over the window shielded the room from the light of the rising sun. Nighthawk rushed over, pulling them open. Sunlight flooded into the room. Every corner lit up, all the marble shining. Nighthawk flapped to the bed, floating above the ground so he could look into the bunk bed. Pit slept peacefully, his breathing slow and contented. Nighthawk would have been happy for his friend if Pit wasn't in such trouble.

He roughly shook Pit's shoulder. "Hey, Pit, buddy, wake up! Pit! Come on! You're late!"

The only response Nighthawk attained was the slightest of movement and a deep sigh of relaxation. Nighthawk growled. "Come on, Pit! We're already super late!"

Another deep breath and more movement was all Nighthawk got.

Nighthawk was tired of waiting for his friend to wake up nicely. He turned around so his back faced Pit and flapped his wings hard. Nighthawk knew his wings were strong and the wind that came from them was even more so, so he wasn't surprised in the least when he heard a loud thunk come from the floor behind the bed.

Pit stood up, rubbing his head angrily. "What was that for?!"

Nighthawk whipped around. "Do you know just how late it is?!"

Pit stopped, his eyes widening. "No! I couldn't have overslept! I made sure to go to sleep on time last night!" He gaped in horror.

"You did! We are so late it's insane! Get dressed! You're already slow enough as it is. Palutena's going to be in a rage! Now hurry up!"

Nighthawk flew out of the room, waiting impatiently. As soon as Pit came out, hurriedly shoving his laurel on his head and tying his belt around his waist, Nighthawk took off down the street, flapping his wings as fast as he could. He hurriedly made apologies to the other angels he almost hit, but other than that, he focused mainly on his speed.

Pit appeared next to him, his legs almost in blurs as he sped along. "I can't believe this! I even went to bed on time last night!"

Nighthawk flapped harder. "Well, you seriously need to have, like, a rooster or some other type of bird that can tell time sound an alarm for you. Do you know just how ticked Palutena's going to be when we get there?!"

Pit smiled. "She'll be fine. We've been late before, and besides, she's pretty cool about stuff like this."

"Where have you been?!"

Palutena's expression stopped Pit in his tracks. Her face was twisted in anger, her normally peaceful and smooth face looking as though it had aged with sharp lines. Her green eyes were ablaze with fury. Her mouth was screwed into a snarl, baring all of her teeth like an underworld wolf.

Pit wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to do. So he took the most natural path possible: absolute innocence.

He stepped forwards timidly, scuffling his feet in the grass. "Um…hi! Sorry we're late—."

"Sorry doesn't cut it!" Palutena snapped before he had finished, "Get into line!"

Pit didn't hesitate and immediately threw himself to the front of the line. He took careful care to straighten his toga and even combed down his hair with his fingers. Nothing was going to make Palutena angry again, at least not from him.

Pit watched as Palutena inspected each of the soldiers closely. She, upon finding a single minute detail that was out of place, would suddenly fly into another rage and insult the angel with extremely harsh words. Something was wrong with Palutena, Pit could easily tell. She never acted this angry or irritated. She now seemed to pick up on all the bad things about each of the angels, not the good things that she normally did.

When she came to Pit, she looked him up and down with shrewd eyes and thin, pinched lips. She blinked down at him coldly, her green eyes darker than ever. Finally, after a long look, she turned to the other angels. "The general is the only one that has managed to pass inspection, so it will be he that guards me today. Everyone else spread out." And, without another word, she span around and stalked off. Pit watched as the other angels flew off, looking absolutely confused and worried. Then he turned around and ran after Palutena.

He followed her out to the gardens, where he watched in amazement as she walked straight past the flowers, dark and not in full bloom. She didn't even give them a second glance. The flowers seemed to brighten for a split second with an invisible light when Palutena passed, but immediately darkened as her long hair flickered past them.

Sympathy for the poor delicate plants flowed into Pit. He walked slowly into the garden and gently touched one of the flowers. The flower perked up slightly and vibrated weakly to Pit's touch. Pit stroked the fragile petals before moving on to another desperate flower.

"Pit!" Palutena's voice snapped. Pit shot up from his tenth flower and hurried after the changed goddess. He gazed sadly at the still drooping plants, but knew if he didn't follow Palutena, her bad mood could cause trouble not only for herself, but for Angel Land as well.

Palutena stood at the wall she and Pit had spoken at the day before. But today she did not look nearly as graceful as she had before: she had almost a sharp edge to her body that made her exceptionally beautiful but gave her a rather harsh look. Her skin did not glow with the aura she normally had around her. What had she done to herself to make her look like this?

"Palutena?" Pit asked timidly, slowly coming closer to the strange-acting queen.

"General," she whipped back, "You will call me 'your highness' or 'your grace'. I deserve the proper respect, do I not?"

Pit was taken aback, seeing as she had told him only the day before not to call her that. Was there something that had changed her mind? Pit shook his head and hardened his body before continuing.

"Is there something wrong, your highness? You do not seem yourself today."

Palutena's eyes flashed for a moment with something Pit could only identify as the look in a bird's eyes when it has been caught eating crops in an angel's land: fear, terror, and the insane desire to be rid of whatever was causing him to not get the food he wanted. Palutena looked ready to either kill Pit in that split second or throw him into the temple.

But less than a second later, the spark was gone and Palutena smiled. With that one smile, she almost looked back to normal. "I'm—."

"PIT!"

Pit whirled around as soon as the scream hit his ears. In the entrance to the Goddess's Temple stood Palutena. She stared at Pit with eyes that gleamed with only one emotion: fear. It flicked throughout her body, the aura of power and health that usually surrounded her almost completely sparked out. The way she stood implied injuries, many of them. Her feet turned in, as though her knees needed more support. Her normally flawless face was smudged with soot and grime. Her silky light green hair was tangled.

She struggled wildly against something, but could not move. Pit then realized that her hands were behind her back and being held. A dark shape slid out from behind her with oily sleekness. Pit bared his teeth. He recognized that face.

It was his own.

A smirk broke onto the face of the angel by Palutena. The red eyes shone with malice and, yet, with a kind of evil joy. His jet black hair fluttered in an unfelt wind, his golden laurel wreath shimmering in the light. "Nice to see you again, pal!" His voice was even like oil, smooth and slick, yet dripped with sarcasm and scorn.

"Can't say the same about you, I'm afraid!" Pit snapped back. He knew this guy, and hated him more with every passing second. "Drop Palutena NOW!" He roared, feeling his chest rise in anger.

Dark Pit threw his head back and laughed; a deep unnatural laugh that spoke of long hours in a place of echoes. It sounded like the earth, the underground, the Underworld. Every hair on Pit's head stuck straight up. The sound sent chills up his spine, made his mind go dead in fear. No one, Pit decided, should be able to make a sound like that, not even his rival.

"You want me to let her go?" He laughed again. "Fine." He slowly let go of Palutena's arms, but before she could move, he threw up one arm. He leaped up and slammed his elbow into the base of Palutena's neck. Palutena stopped, her eyes widening. Her mouth opened, a horrid choking sound came quietly from her mouth, as though it were impossible for her to breathe in. Her knees collapsed underneath her and she fell to the cold marble floor, where she lay, unmoving.

Now Pit was the one who felt as though he could not breathe. His mind had gone numb. Nothing else mattered to him at that moment than the woman on the ground, completely out. He watched, unable to move out of the shock he was still in, as Dark Pit reached down and gently plucked the beautiful golden crown from Palutena's head. He gazed at it with a mocking expression, and even polished it with the back of his hand, after breathing on it slightly.

Rage filled Pit's chest. "Get your filthy, stinking breath off of the goddess's crown!" Pit whipped out his bow with lightning speed and quickly drew back the string. An arrow of light appeared in the exact position a normal arrow would if he had strung it himself and Pit aimed it directly at Dark Pit's chest. Without a second though, he released the arrow, screaming a wordless sound of anger as the arrow flew.

Dark Pit held up his hand directly in front of the arrow. The light arrow stopped in front of his hand, disintegrating like a sand sculpture introduced to water. He laughed his deep laugh again. "Nice try, Pit," he said mockingly, "But you'll have to do more to harm me." He gently nudged Palutena's shoulder. "And relax. She's not dead." He held the crown in his hands and let it rise above his palms. "But this will have to change."

The crown floated above his outstretched palms. The beautiful gold bubbled dangerously. It glowed with bright light as it molded itself into a new form. Pit watched it with wide eyes. He dared not shoot another arrow, even with Dark Pit distracted. His hands were shaking from anger that he knew if he wasn't careful, he could possibly hit Palutena. And while unconscious, Pit knew that she did not have the protection abilities that Dark Pit did.

The crown's glow died and the object landed in Dark Pit's hands. He held it up, inspecting it closely. The beautiful gold was gone, as was the strawberry red gem that once laid, attached to the crown, on Palutena's brow. The new crown resembled molten lava, with a black ring that looked as though glass had been melted down improperly. In the small holes and cracks blazing red, orange, and yellow streaks glowed. Where the gem had once been was now the roundest piece of obsidian Pit had ever seen. It too glowed from deep inside with the colors of flames. The crown had changed from being completely circular to looking more like a tiara as well, with the back open. It was made to slide on and off the brow line, not to be worn on the top of the head.

Dark Pit smiled. It was an eerie smile that made his pale skin seem to glow with a strange aura. "Your crown is ready, my Queen."

During this conflict, the woman Pit had been following around the whole day watched calmly, her strange eyes following Pit and Dark Pit during their conflict. Pit turned around and watched as the woman stood up and walked over to Dark Pit and took the crown gently from his palm. Dark Pit closed his eyes and bowed slightly.

"Just who do you think you are?!" Pit screamed, drawing back his bowstring for the second time.

The woman's poisonous smile made Pit feel sick to his stomach. Her green eyes flashed from beauty to a terrifying yellow. The light pupils changed to cat slits and the irises shrunk so the white of the eyes dominated the area. Her voice came out in a rasping growling tone. "You are quite the General, Pit! You don't even notice an enemy in your midst!"

She slid the crown on. The fire that at one point seemed dormant inside the obsidian gem suddenly flared to life. And the woman changed.

Her body grew taller, the healthy skin over her body paling from months without sunlight. Her clothes changed shape as well, the pure white and gold of the fabric morphing to black at the chest and flowing like blood until it hit dark red at the skirt's hem. Gold jewelry strung gaudily around her body. Her face's once smooth jaw became hard. Over her left eye, which was still white and yellow, was a dark tattoo of snakes. And to complete her transformation, the beautiful long hair the color of paling pine, looked as though it had been suddenly cut short. The pieces clumped together and changed from green to dark colors of purple and blue. The clumps hardened and scaled. Slits cut into each long, smooth trunk, where immediately they opened and long white fangs erupted from. The snakes that now littered the woman's head hissed in unease as they stretched themselves out.

Pit released the arrow he had been holding back without a thought. The longer he held back his arrows, the more power they had. And with this long transformation, his arrow had gained in immense amount of energy. The arrow streaked with lightning speed towards the now fully grown Medusa.

But even in her brand new form, she was still as fast as a swallow. She snapped her fingers, her huge staff appearing in her hand. She slashed it fiercely through the air and from the tip of the staff spewed a great breeze. Pit felt himself suddenly blasted back. He flipped over himself and slammed back into the paved stone ground of the garden. The light arrow, which should not have been affected by the wind, was blown in a completely different direction and hit one of the large fruit trees in the garden. Leaves flew in every direction and rained down on the party of people.

Pit screamed in fury. He whipped around his bow like a baton and ran at Medusa. The faster he span the bow, the warmer the tip became until it literally glowed red from the heat. Medusa threw up her staff, catching the tip of the bow and holding it in place. She sneered at Pit. "You think you're so noble, don't you?"

She shoved her staff, throwing Pit to the ground. She threw another wind at him and he flew backwards, slamming his head on the ground with a groan. Medusa walked over almost leisurely, placing one shoe on his chest. "They tell me you can't fly," she whispered harshly, her voice sounding as though she hadn't had a drink of water in years. "But I don't know if I believe them. Why would the goddess make the one angel that cannot fly the General of her army?"

Pit glared back up at Medusa and struggled to move. But her foot was planted firmly on his chest and could not be moved.

Medusa had barely stepped off him when she hit him with another blast of air. Pit slammed into the low garden wall. He moaned in agony as his skull slammed into the bricks. Medusa walked up to him. "Why don't we see, then? See if the goddess was smart enough for her own good," Medusa drew close, "or see if she picked the wrong angel."

Medusa must have been extremely strong, for she grabbed Pit by his scarf and held him over the edge of the island, over the wall and over open air. Pit dared not struggle. Any movement could cause him to fall. And out of a falling position, he could not fly.

"How about we do an experiment, you and I?" Medusa hissed, the snakes on her head doing the same. Their tiny malicious eyes gleamed and their hisses cried for blood. But Medusa still held the angel. "My hypothesis is that when I drop you, you will spread out your tiny wings and try to fly. And," her voice went deathly quiet, "like a new hatchling, you will fall. And nothing will be able to stop you as you fall past the clouds and are crushed." Her eyes gleamed. "Say goodbye to your goddess, Pit of the Centurion's Guard!" And with that, she released her fingers from Pit's scarf. Pit's eyes grew wide as he realized nothing was going to hold him back from falling. His heart felt as though it were being shocked with a bolt of lightning and his mind went completely dead. And as he fell, the last thing he saw of Angel Land was Palutena's unmoving body and, in his speeding heart, the only thing he could feel was the growing knowledge that he had failed his duty.

(*sniff, sniff*) okay, so I almost cried when I wrote about him failing! POOR PIT! (*sigh*) Anyways, please review, so I know if I should continue writing this! I really appreciate feedback! I'll write as fast as I can, but I've been sick for the past week, so writing has been hard. I have a few ideas though about what happens next. :)