Author's Note: Okay. Okay. Okay. Yes, I know it's been almost two years since I last updated this story. And yes, that is my fault. BUT, I did promise this would be out before 2017. Be lucky that I was able to keep that promise, because this literally just got done as soon as it's being uploaded. Now, without further wait. Chapter 4.

Chapter 4: Ready, Fight!

"3!" Master Hand shouted.

Dark Pit snapped the silver bow in half and toke his stance.

"2!"

Lucina unsheathed Falchion and toke a breath.

"1!"

Both looked each other in the eye.

"GO!"

Lucina was first to move. Using the direct approach, she dashed for Dark Pit. To prevent her from getting closer, he pulled his Silver Bow up to his face, aimed, and shot three arrows in Lucina's direction. Lucina barely dodged the first shot by swaying to the left, avoiding the arrow by less than a foot away. The second arrow came closer as she had less time to react. But as the third one drew near, Lucina raised her sword and deflected the projectile.

Dark Pit snapped his bow in half as Lucina closed the space between her and him. Lucina went for a downward slash, but Dark Pit's blades caught it in an X formation. With their blades clashed together, Dark Pit pushed Falchion back and quickly summoned his Electroshock Arm and dashed toward Lucina. The impact of the arm knocked her a good twenty feet away from Dark Pit. Lucina pulled herself back to her feet and raised her blade once more.

"And here I was thinking you were a skilled fighter," Dark Pit said with a cocky smile.

"We've only been fighting for half a minute," Lucina stated, "Don't get confident just yet."

The ground began to rumble as smoke emitted from the floor. Both Dark Pit and Lucina felt the ground rise beneath them. As the floor of which they stood changed levels, a wall came to separate their view of the other. Dark Pit dropped down to the lower level and readied his bow. Waiting for her to follow suit. A couple seconds passed before Dark Pit caught drift of what she was doing, moving just in time to dodge Lucina attacking from above with downward trust. Dark Pit took a few jumps back to get some distance as Lucina pulled her blade out of the ground.

"I'll give you this, you're clever," he complimented her skill.

"And you're faster than expected," she returned.

Dark Pit rushed forward, winding up his arm and summoned his Electroshock Arm again and went straight for her. In one quick motion, Lucina brought up her blade to block the attack and then pushing the weapon off of her and knocking Dark Pit off balance. Seeing her opening, Lucina counter attacked with a power sword strike, sending him flying toward the edge of the arena. With her momentary advantage, Lucina rushed across the floor and met him where he landed and proceeded to open up with an onslaught of blade slashes from her famed Falchion.

Dark Pit skillfully deflected the sword strikes with his bladed bow. Knowing he didn't fair well on the defensive, Dark Pit needed an opening so he could make a move. He was suddenly knocked unbalanced again, leaving another opening for Lucina to pull her blade back and attack with her Shield Breaker strike. Unfortunately for her, by time the attack made contact with its target, Dark Pit had just enough time to react and summon his Guardian Orbitars, preventing any damage to be dealt.

With Lucina wide open after her attack, he took the chance to grab her, catching her by surprise. In one swift motion, Dark Pit threw her behind himself toward the back of the arena. Lucina was able to stop herself from falling of the edge by stabbing Falchion into the ground, leaving a drag mark on the field. As she came to a halt the ground began to rumble once again, then all previous platforms that had come up earlier suddenly began to fall and disappear.

With no more cover to hide behind, Dark Pit took to the skies with his Power of Flight, bringing up his Silver Bow and began to rain down arrows. Lucina started deflecting a few shots, but quickly changed her approach as she soon became overwhelmed. She ran across the field, just trying to avoid the fire as much as possible with no real plan in mind. Dark Pit tried as hard as he could to hit her, but she just kept on dodging every hit. He was caught off guard when he fell back to the ground as his Power of Flight wore off.

Seeing her window, Lucina darted for her target, weapon raised. Dark Pit faced her head on, running at top speed. He brought his right arm up, winding up behind him, ready to summon his Electroshock Arm once again. As he summoned it, Lucina brought her Falchion up, ready to strike. The gap between the two shortened as they charged for one another.

"AGH!" they screamed as they both lunged into their attacks.

At first glance, it would look as if they had just passed each other and both had missed their strikes, and for a brief moment it seemed just like that had happened. But then it was clear what happened when an echoing scream overcame the entire arena.

"AAAGGGHHH!" Lucina shouted in agony as a surge of electricity enveloped her body.

Dark Pit took turned and showed a cocky grin, taking satisfaction that his attack hit its mark. The feeling did not last as something went off in his peripheral vision, making him look down to his arm. His eyes widened upon seeing the source. His Electroshock Arm had a huge gash along its side, and said gash was now sparking out of control. Before he could properly react, his Electroshock Arm erupted from sustaining too much damage. The blast sent Dark Pit flying, and as he landed, he skidded across the floor of the arena. He frantically tried grasping for something on the ground to stop himself, only to narrowly be sent off the stage, only saving himself by firmly gripping the edge with his now free hand.

He took a momentary sigh of relief, knowing that he wasn't done for. So long as he was hanging, this fight was long from over. Dark Pit brought his other hand up to grab the edge. Unable to firmly hold both it and his Silver Bow, he stabbed his blades into the upside of the edge for better support, and using his upper body weight, he rightly brought himself completely back onto the stage. He could feel his heart beating a hundred miles a minute from the rush of the fight, and he felt alive again after what seemed like forever. The last time he could remember feeling this exhilarated was his first bout with his lighter counterpart. He looked up to see Lucina back on her feet and currently running in his direction.

"Lucky," he said to himself as he rose back to his feet, "Let's see if you're lucky enough to dodge this!"

He pulled his arm behind his back, and with the last bit of strength in him he summoned his final trump card. The Dark Pit Staff. A weapon of the same name and one he highly considered his absolute best weapon. He quickly aimed the rifle toward his target, making sure she was right in its crosshairs.

"Goodbye!" he said pulling the trigger.

With a large light purple glow, the shot went off flying across the field. Lucina's eyes widened as the blast quickly closed in on her. Dark Pit grinned as his victory had all but closed. If not for what happened next. With no time to come to a stop with her charge and move out of the way, Lucina instinctively side dodged the attack, only barely missing her, doing a complete 360 spin to keep her momentum constant. The entire crowd gasped as they thought she was a goner.

"What the hell!?" Dark Pit shouted upon seeing such a miraculous feat, "Did she just-"

"Time to change fate!" Lucina shouted.

In one swift motion, she dashed across the remaining distance in blinding speed, catching Dark Pit off guard. With one move, Lucina delivered a powerful strike, sending Dark Pit flying once again. Despite all his struggles, this time he was unable to save himself. It was over for him. In an eruption of red, Dark Pit had vanished, signifying he had left the boundaries of the arena. The crowd rose and cheered as their victor stood before them and the stage changed back to its default appearance.

"The winner is!" Master Hand's voice echoed throughout the stadium, "Lucina!"

Sheathing her sword and turning toward the crowd, Lucina grazed a smile upon her face.

"You'll never defeat me!" She boldly stated in full confidence.

Her image was plastered on the large screen above the arena, with her name in bold golden letters. The same image would be on any television currently set on the previous fight. It was this image Dark Pit saw on the monitor while in what he presumed to be a recovery room for, well, losers. While no physical pain was on him, and his exhaustion from the fight now mysteriously gone, which he presumed was the work of this 'Master Hand', he still felt the need to rest.

"I lost, I lost my first fight in the place, making me look like a fool," he repeatedly said to himself, "Why am I not angry?"

It was truly confusing to him. This was no doubt going to look bad for him, losing his first ever match, one where he was the challenger. Now he would have to work even harder to prove himself. Why was there not a shred of anger in him? He had always gotten mad over a loss before to his counterpart, which the best he considered fair as they were equal. But here, he was stronger, had more maneuverability with his flight, more range due to his bow, and his aim was second to none. He even rivaled gods. All things considered he should have won. So why was he happy?

Dark Pit began to replay the fight in his head. He recalled every attack, every move they made, every counter and how the match constantly jumped sides. He could feel his heart picking up with adrenaline. That's when he figured it out. He got out of his recovery bed and began to walk toward the door. Before leaving, the corners of his mouth curled into a smile.

"That fight was really fun."

Author's Note: Before you even ask, no. I don't know when the next chapter will be done. Unlike "The Branwen Rose" I really don't have a schedule for this series. While this was my first story, "The Branwen Rose" has proven to be my most successful and as of now my largest. So, by all means, it kinda takes priority over any other series right now. So don't go asking for when the next chapter is, because frankly, I don't know.