Within a few moments, the two angels arrived at the gate and entered Palutena's temple. Once his feet touched the floor, Pit immediately hurried away from the entrance and knelt down as he approached his ruling goddess.
"I'm back, Lady Palutena," he announced lightheartedly and looked up to her. She smiled and chuckled a bit.
"Yes, I know," she teased. "I directed you here, remember?" He laughed and got to his feet as she looked past him. "You can come in, you know. You may be here a while, so you might as well make yourself at home." Dark Pit returned her gaze, his crimson eyes unreadable, then slowly approached them.
"Look, I'll do what I need to if it means figuring out what's going on and stopping it," he reminded them, "but that's it. I'm not becoming your puppet- not that you need another one."
"Hey!" Pit protested. "One, I'm not a puppet. Two, you can't talk to Lady Palutena that way!" Palutena raised her hand, silencing him.
"I understand. But," she smiled mysteriously. "By the time this is over, you may just find where you belong. Whether that's here, with Viridi, or out on your own, that will depend on you, Pittoo."
"Okay, seriously," he sighed. "ENOUGH with the whole 'Pittoo' nickname. I couldn't care less as to what you call me, as long as it isn't that." He paused. "And I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Though his face lacked a smile, Pit thought he could see some trace of emotion in his dark look-alike's eyes.
What is that? the white-winged angel wondered. Understanding? Gratitude? ...Longing? He frowned a bit. Despite Dark Pit being a copy of him, he found that the dark angel was the hardest being he'd encountered for him to read. Perhaps he knew Pit would be prying, and found ways to mask what he was feeling- even from the one who'd sparked his creation.
"Well then," Pit scratched his head, trying to clear his mind of it. "What should we call you then? 'Dark Pit' is just kind of awkward, especially if I'm the one saying it." He looked up at Palutena. "Any ideas?" She thought it over.
"Not off the top of my head," she admitted. "But I'll think of something." She smiled at the angels. "I promise." Dark Pit blinked.
"Okay, what's the deal?" he demanded, to Pit's confusion. "When I was... created, I guess, you said yourself that my very existence was unnatural and that I had to be eliminated. But now, not only are you completely accepting that I'm here, but you're treating me just like you would your little servant here." Pit clenched his fists. "So, which is it? Are you okay with me, or do you just want to keep me around so you can use me in this fight? Are you just going to get rid of me when it's over?" Pit stared at him as Palutena remained stunned in silence. "Well?"
"P- Dark Pit," she sighed. "Even that name doesn't seem to fit you anymore. I misjudged you when you first came to be, but I think you did the same to yourself. You thought you needed to defeat Pit. But you, along with the rest of us, realized that you cannot survive without him. It made me realize that you aren't just a dark copy of him: You're a part of him." Pit shifted his weight awkwardly, unsure what to think. "And you've acted on your own accord based on what you think is right. No one made you fight the Chaos Kin. Though you were resentful about it, it was your choice to head to the Rewind Spring to save Pit. No one asked you to retrieve him from Hades. You did all of that on your own." After a moment, he nodded.
"So, you trust me," he concluded, something Pit realized he never would have been able to figure out on his own.
"Not only that," Palutena agreed, "But I also respect you. I've realized that you are your own person, more than anything. Sure," she shrugged, "you do have similar tendencies to Pit, but you don't just do what he does or the opposite. You make your own decisions. You think for yourself."
"You're more like my brother than my reflection," Pit suddenly blurted without thinking about it. Both Palutena and Dark Pit turned to stare at him. Palutena seemed surprised, while Dark Pit was simply struck with disbelief. But, Pit noticed, there wasn't a single trace of hostility in his red eyes. After a few awkward moments, Palutena nodded.
"I think he's right," she finally said. "You two act, bicker, fight, and support each other like brothers." Both angels stared at her, and Pit felt relief surge through him when Dark Pit actually smiled and laughed a bit.
"I guess we do," he replied simply, looking at the blue-eyed angel.
"Yeah," Pit rubbed the back of his neck. "So, anyway, I suppose we should get you situated, show you around, figure out where you'll be staying." Palutena nodded.
"I hope you can handle that, Pit. I need to figure a few things out." He nodded and quickly bowed.
"Understood. Then, if you'll excuse us," he headed toward the large double-doors he'd entered through earlier, beckoning to Dark Pit to follow him. The dark angel did so, and their footsteps echoed off the walls of the temple as they made their way to the entrance.
"So, uh," Pit tried to start a conversation: anything to fill the awkward silence around them. "I... don't think I ever actually got a chance to thank you."
"For what?" Dark Pit wondered rather casually.
"For... saving my butt on multiple occasions," he finally managed to admit. "Both with my wings and the whole thing with Hades." He shivered, the memory of his traversing the lord of the Underworld's bowels still fresh in his mind. Dark Pit smiled a bit and shrugged.
"No you, no me, remember?" he replied. "And besides. Palutena and Viridi both needed you, I guess, and I suppose I've actually come to sort of tolerate you."
"Oh, thanks a lot!" Pit shoved him, grinning. Dark Pit quickly recovered his balance and smirked, humor shining in his eyes. The two chased each other and tumbled down the corridor before finally reaching the exit. Pit readjusted his tunic and laurels before grabbing the handle. Dark Pit took a deep breath, regaining his composure.
"So, you ready?" Pit wondered. After a moment, Dark Pit nodded. Pit smiled and opened the door, letting in a bright light that briefly blinded them both before revealing the great floating islets that made up the homeland of the angels. "Welcome to Skyworld," Pit announced as the dark angel scanned their surroundings. Many of the islets featured simple but elegant architecture, from temples to what merely seemed like gathering spots for the residents. Others were home to endlessly bubbling springs that flowed over the edge of the islet in soft waterfalls, becoming mist among the clouds. Centurions darted between the islets, in and out of sight. "Welcome home," Pit continued.
"...Home," Dark Pit repeated, disbelief evident in his voice as he continued gazing at the islets. After a moment, he shook his head and looked over at Pit. "So... uh, not that you need the reminder, but neither of us can fly by ourselves. So how exactly do we get around?" Pit smiled and laughed.
"Like this." Pit dashed toward the edge of the large islet they were on and shoved himself away from it, spreading his wings as the wind gave him the lift he needed to reach a nearby islet. "Sure, we can't fly," he called back, "but we've still got wings! So, we glide! Updrafts make their way in between the islands. They give you the extra boost. Go ahead," he encouraged. "Try it!" Dark Pit did as the white-winged angel demonstrated, launching himself away from the islet and opening his wings. Sure enough, the winds from below gave him the altitude he needed to join Pit on the next islet. "Woo," Pit grinned. "Good job."
"Ever heard the saying, 'Anything you can do, I can do better?'" Dark Pit smirked.
"Yeah, but it's not like it applies to you," Pit retaliated lightheartedly. He started toward another large islet as the sun began sinking in the sky, making his way through lush, green grasses and clear waters, past the marble and stone structures that dotted the floating landscape that was Skyworld. After passing through what seemed to be a central plaza where a statue of Palutena stood tall, overlooking the rest of the realm, Pit changed direction toward what looked like a temple with Dark Pit following closely.
"So, yeah, this is where I crash," Pit explained, shrugging, then frowned for a moment. "Er... bad choice of words."
"Where you rest, I assume," Dark Pit guessed. Pit nodded.
"Yeah. Come on." The two entered the temple and Pit led the way down its main corridor that branched off to several hallways before he finally reached one toward the end. He ascended up a staircase and stopped in front of a door at the top, then entered and immediately plopped face first into a bed.
"I suppose the Captain would have a decent room," Dark Pit remarked as he glanced around the chamber. It was largely open, with several windows and a skylight that showed the orange-and-red sky streaked with the sun's final rays.
"I guess," Pit's reply was muffled, and he tilted his head up. "So, yeah, this is my place. There's one similar to it on the other side of the main hall, and the last doors at the end lead to a hot spring. I don't go to that one very often, though."
"You? The guy who has to dive in with no questions asked as soon as he sees one?" Dark Pit scoffed. "Unbelievable."
"No, it's not that it's bad or anything," Pit explained. "But it's pretty crowded. The Centurions like a bath every now and again too, you know?" He got to his feet. "Anyway, shall we?" He led the way back downstairs and up another flight on the opposite side of the main corridor, then motioned for Dark Pit to enter.
"Thanks," the dark angel mumbled as he went inside.
"Excuse me?" Pit gasped. "'Thanks?' Who are you and what have you done with P- With Dark Pit?"
"Yeah, you're right," Dark Pit realized. "That does sound weird coming from you." Pit scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly.
"I hope Lady Palutena can come up with something better." Dark Pit nodded in agreement. "Well, anyway, I'll let you get situated, and you know where I am if you need anything."
"Okay." Dark Pit frowned for a moment as Pit turned to leave. "'Night, Pit," he called out.
"'Night," came the angel's reply. Dark Pit meandered over to one of the windows to catch the last few moments of the sunset before he turned to his bed- one of the two or three things in the room itself, along with a table.
So, this is it, he thought to himself. Is this where I really belong? He smiled a bit, unable to deny the strange part of him that felt at home in Skyworld. He stretched for a moment, then pulled off his cuffs and boots, throwing them into a corner before he untied his belt and unclasped his tunic, pulling it off as he sat down on the edge of the bed. After a moment's hesitation that he couldn't explain, he removed his laurel crown from his head and set it down on the table before laying down on his side, gazing out the window before rest managed to take him.
