Chapter 3
The Dark team waited for orders from their angel, Dark Pit, who sat casually on the bench, polishing a pair of Viridi Claws while waiting for the last Fighter on their team. Beside him, the newest Fighter to join their team, Darren, was watching the angel intently. Dark Pit seemed to take notice of this, and he set the claws down.
"You all right, kid?" he asked, noticing a slight hint of fear as Darren continued to stare at the claws.
After a minute, he looked at Dark Pit, and then immediately looked down.
"Sorry," Darren said apologetically. "It's just… The claws reminded me of…" He trailed off and looked away, his gaze swamped with embarrassment.
"Reminded you of what" Dark Pit insisted, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's all right; nobody's going to laugh at you."
By this time, all the chatter in the armoury had died down to an eerie silence as everyone waited for Darren's response. It was a while before he could gather his courage. When he finally turned his head to look Dark Pit in the eyes, his emerald green gaze was filled with pure terror.
"Livn' Hell," Darren muttered fearfully.
"Livn' Hell?!" one of the older Fighters echoed in disbelief. "The dude's just a myth. No one's ever seen him-."
"Shut up, Ayden." Dark Pit interrupted, flashing him a glare as though it could kill him. "I have seen Livn' Hell for myself!" He shouted, addressing the rest of the Dark team. "I saw him defeat Pit time and time again, using one of two claws, taking him down with a melee combo."
Another Fighter stood up and raised her voice over the chatter that had built up.
"That's impossible," the Fighter hollered, instantly silencing the crowd and turning to Dark Pit, alight with smug defiance. "No living Fighters have ever accomplished a full melee combo with one claw, let alone try to attempt it. Besides, what was Livn' Hell doing with the other claw anyway? Attacking another Fighter?"
"Precisely, Melaya," Dark Pit retorted with such force that Melaya sat down again. "My point is; believe. All of you should take this into account, and I'm not saying you absolutely have to. However, I'd advise you all to keep in mind that Livn' Hell exists. Because you never know, he might just end up-."
"Being your team mate!"
The door slammed open with such force that everyone jumped, looking over.
"Finally," Dark Pit sighed, and grabbed a clipboard with the schedule. "Name?"
The Fighter didn't answer and simply walked over to the armoury and carefully eyed each weapon available. He took the Palutena Blade that was near the top of the shelf.
"Hello?" Dark Pit insisted. "I need your name before the match starts!"
"Cray," the Fighter said rather inattentively, while looking at his weapon's stats, and going wide-eyed when he saw 5 stars in melee and 4.5 stars in ranged. "I'll be back in a few moments."
With that, Cray reached for his power belt and disappeared in a flash.
"Weird," Dark Pit muttered, preparing to write on the attendance sheet when he heard a loud battle cry, followed closely by high-pitched screaming.
Cray reappeared in the doorway, breathless with laughter, and he shouted down the hall at the Light team.
"That's what you get for last year, Pit," Cray hollered, a hint of smugness in his voice.
Dark Pit looked at Cray in amazement as the Fighter sat down on the bench next to Darren and continued to laugh hysterically. As he replaced the clipboard on the top shelf, Pit stormed into the armoury and promptly walked over to Cray. His hair was extremely ruffled up, and some of it in the back was slightly charred and still smoking. Before Dark Pit had the chance to react, Pit delivered a hard right hook to Cray's jaw. The whole room was waiting in tense silence for Cray's reaction. For a moment it seemed as though every person had turned to stone, and then, the familiar cheer rose up, growing louder and louder.
"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"
Even Dark Pit, Ayden and Darren had joined the cheer. Minutes passed before the crowd gave up cheering and watched in dismay as Cray kneeled down and bowed respectively to Pit. The angel smiled triumphantly and turned to leave.
It happened in the blink of an eye. Cray kicked open his treasure chest, containing his favourite Silver Bow, and launched himself at Pit, pinning the angel to the ground. He broke his bow into two swords, and crossed them over Pit's neck in the shape of an 'X'. Cray's eyes were flaming green marbles, fuelled by the fires of battle. As he raised one of his swords for the kill, Pit saw an opportunity to lash out. He kicked Cray in the face, nearly hitting him in the throat, and knocking his helmet clean off. There was a flurry of light-brown hair, and a female voice reached Pit's ears.
"Damn you, Featherbrains," Alexis screeched, wiping the blood from the nosebleed he'd given her.
Lady Palutena appeared in the doorway, but instead of interfering, she stood there and didn't say a word as the scene before her began to calm down a little.
"Alexis, you can't play unless you're filing in," Dark Pit said, taking authority. "No more than one angel is allowed to participate in Light versus Dark."
"How is she an angel?" Ayden questioned, as Alexis got up and sorrowfully began to remove her armour. "She doesn't even have any wings!"
"Oh, believe me, she does," Pit replied smugly, removing his laurel crown and walking slowly over to Alexis. "You just can't see them."
Before Pit could place his laurel crown on Alexis's head, Lady Palutena shouted for him to stop. As everyone looked at her in shock and amazement, Diana appeared behind the goddess.
"Alexis," Diana shouted gleefully.
Alexis looked up, but when she opened her mouth to speak, all that came out was a piercing shriek. When she had looked up, Pit's laurel crown had been inches from her head, and now it sat just above her ears, causing her agonizing pain. She collapsed to the floor and curled herself protectively into a tight ball. The Light team rushed in and watched in horror as Alexis screeched ever louder. Moments later, there was a sickening pop, and a pair of jet-black wings sprouted from her back. Pit reached out a hand to help her, but she returned his laurel crown and dragged herself away from him.
"Get away from me," Alexis sobbed, tears of agony streaming down her cheeks.
Diana pushed through the crowd, and wrapped her arms around her sister, who seemed to calm her slightly, but the tears kept coming.
Dark Pit noticed something, and he nearly gasped out loud when the realization dawned on him. Her legs weren't moving at all; they just hung there, limp and useless, and it seemed as though they weren't even a part of her body anymore. Lady Palutena walked over with a Drink of the Gods in her hand. Alexis took it and drank the whole thing, and most of the pain subsided.
"Can you get up?" Lady Palutena asked, extending her hand out to help her up.
Alexis looked from the goddess to her legs and took a deep breath before gathering all her strength and standing up without any assistance whatsoever.
"Lady Palutena, I say this with the deepest respect," Alexis sighed, looking at the goddess with a tear forming in her eyes as some of the pain returned. "But if I could have your permission, I would gladly slap the smile from the captain of you guard!"
Everyone turned their attention to Pit, of whom was smiling from ear to ear. His smile immediately turned to shame and embarrassment. As Pit cast a swift glance at Alexis, he swore he could see her giving him a smug smile.
"Heh," Pit scoffed, taking his turn to bask in triumph. "So she can stand on her own after all. I'd say she's fine, Lady Palutena."
"You're absolutely right, Featherbrains," Alexis barked. "But you're also forgetting that I can still walk and run on my own. On that thought, I'd suggest you start running before I've half a mind to slap that grin off your putrescent face!"
Pit noticed that her wings were raised threateningly behind her and he sighed in despair when he remembered he still couldn't fly yet.
"Don't worry, Pit," Alexis reassured him, using his real name for the first time in weeks. "One more week and you'll be able to fly."
With those words, the doors to the arena opened, both teams grabbed their weapons and ran out as one. The arena stretched vast and gloomy before them, with pillars erupting from the floor and the ceiling, connecting with each other in the middle. Darren recognized this place as the Cave of Spirits. His teammates consisted of Alexis, Melaya, and himself.
"Watch out," Melaya whispered in Darren's ear, her own voice wavering fearfully. "They say that Livn' Hell's spirit lives within the walls of the Cave of Spirits, and he tries to possess the weak of heart."
"We can worry about that later, Melaya," Alexis snapped, giving the senior Dark Fighter an intense warning glare. "More importantly, the match hasn't started yet!"
As if in response to the teams' questioning fears, the announcer said the one thing Darren would never have wanted to hear.
"Fighters; Light and Dark," the announcer's voice boomed, resonating throughout the Cave of Spirits. "It has been 13 years since the day Livn' Hell's demise. As a result, the first Light versus Dark match of the season will be held in the Cave of Spirits, where you now stand. I wish you all good luck, may the best team win, but most importantly…" There was an eerie silence for an instant, and then, without any warning whatsoever, the Cave of Spirits went pitch black. The announcer's voice came back and uttered the bone chilling words, "May the gods have mercy on your souls!" And with those last words, the Livn' Hell Light vs. Dark match began.