Mintpaw pressed her wings flat against her back as she pulled her tunic down over her head, spreading them up and out when Pit pulled down the back of it, where it was cut low to allow her wings to spread out. She went to put on her sandals, when Pikepaw snatched one of them and took off.

"See ya!"

"Hey! Get back here!"

She chased him for a minute then jumped up and spread her wings, rapidly beating them in an attempt to fly, but she only managed to get a foot off the ground for a few seconds before her wings gave out, and she flipped over, landing on her back. Pikepaw landed on the balcony, where he dropped her sandal, before leaving again.

"Still can't do it, huh?"

Mintpaw scowled as she grabbed her sandals and put them on.

"Be quiet."

Pit chuckled amusingly at Mintpaw's reply, much to her chagrin.

Once Mintpaw had strapped on her sandals, she ran off in search of her brother. Pit lay down on his bed, gazing up at the ceiling, in thought, when a black feather whizzed over his head. He got up and headed to the main hall, while unknowingly, a dark figure circled in the sky overhead, like a raven searching for its next meal.

Mintpaw spent a good several minutes looking around until she finally found Pikepaw on an island near Palutena's temple, along with Chiron. The centurion was teaching him how to dive.

"Now, you don't want to use your wings when you dive, because if you're diving to rescue someone, it will make it harder to catch up to them. What you want to do is just fold your wings and let gravity do the work."

"But how do I stop myself?"

"You just right yourself, open your wings, and flap them. They'll generate enough lift to stop your descent."

Mintpaw climbed up into a tree near the edge of the island, wanting to watch.

The centurion spread his wings, then looked back at Pikepaw.

"Watch me."

He flew straight up into the air until he was just a dot in the sky. He hovered there for a second, then came straight down, head-first. Several feet from the ground, he flipped over upright, spread his wings, and rapidly beat them, instantly stopping his descent.

"You try it," Chiron said as he landed.

"Can...Can I do it jumping off? It's hard for me to lift off without jumping off."

"Yes. I trust you."

Suddenly, the sounds of clashing weapons made all three of them look up, and they saw two identical figures, one black, the other white, flying overhead, shooting and slashing at each other.

"Look who finally caught up!"

"What is your problem?"

As the two started to vanish into the distance, the darker one fired a charged shot at the other and it missed. The shot hit the tree Mintpaw was in, causing her to cry out in shock as she fell out of the tree, and down towards the distant ground.

"Mintpaw!"

Pikepaw quickly leapt off the island and dove after his sister, folding his wings flat against his back.

But Mintpaw was falling at almost the same speed as he was descending, and he was barely making any head way in catching up to her. In desperation, he opened his wings, and started flapping them, in an effort to get himself going down faster.

Chiron watched with growing concern as the young angels went further and further down. Millie came running out to see what was going on, and was shocked when she looked down and saw the two.

"What happened?"

"Mintpaw fell off, and Pikepaw went after her."

"He's not strong enough of a flier! Mintpaw will be too heavy for him! Chiron, you have to get down there and catch them before they fall all the way to the ground!"

Chiron just nodded once at her, and dove after the two angels.

"Pikepaw, hurry!" Mintpaw cried out, as she glanced over her shoulder, and noticed the clouds starting to thin out. Pikepaw flapped his wings, moving inches closer to her.

Again, he folded his wings, and dove, then opened them again and started using them to propel himself down, his hand outstretched. He gradually got closer and closer, and when his fingertips brushed against hers, he grabbed her, and pulled her to his chest. But when he tried to stop their descent, he was caught off-guard when he found her weight exceeded what his wings were capable of lifting. After several futile attempts, he hugged her tightly to him.

"It's no use...you're too heavy for me..."

Mintpaw hugged him back, and the two braced themselves for the death they were about to face...

When Pikepaw felt someone grab the back of his chiton, and he stopped going down. He looked up, and there was Chiron. Securing his hold on the two, the centurion flew them back up to the island where Millie was anxiously waiting.

"Pikepaw! Mintpaw! Are you two alright?"

Upon being set down, Mintpaw instantly ran up and threw herself into her mother's arms, sobbing in fear. Pikepaw ran up to her too, and hugged her back as she held them both close.

"It's okay, little ones...it's okay...you're safe..."

Mintpaw softly whimpered and nuzzled her head up under Millie's chin, tightly clinging to her tunic. Pikepaw let out a tiny yelp when Millie re-positioned her arm, moving his wings.

"Pikepaw, you're hurt!"

"I'm fine," he protested, but then Chiron came up and pulled the boy aside. The centurion had him spread his wings out, then began feeling along the bony edge of his wings. Pikepaw cried out and recoiled his wings when the centurion felt around the area where they attached to his back.

"He just pulled a muscle in his wings," Chiron remarked, averting his gaze to Millie. "It's a common injury in young angels who've yet to figure out what their wings are capable of, and what they aren't. It is not a serious injury, but he won't be able to fly for a few days."

Pikepaw looked back at the centurion, his eyes wide. Chiron just gazed down at him calmly; he knew what the apprentice was thinking.

"Your training will have to wait until your wing heals."

The centurion took off.

"Let him go. He's in for a big fall, and we need to get back to defeating Medusa."

Pit closed his eyes as a shaft of light engulfed him, and seemed to lift him up into the air. Everything became fuzzy for a second, then he descended down out of the light as it opened up and he landed in the center of the main hall. The light then faded away.

After having a brief discussion with Palutena, he started heading for the springs to relax, when he heard faint whimpering coming from his room, and decided to make a little detour, to see first what the whimpering was about.

The door was already half-open. He quietly peeked his head in, and saw Millie sitting up against the footboard of his bed with Pikepaw between her legs. The boy's face was contorted in pain as she firmly rubbed his back with a wet cloth, around where his wings attached to his shoulder blades.

Pit was about to leave, when he made direct eye contact with Mintpaw. She was curled up in the corner, trembling, her cheeks wet with tears. She looked terrified.

I don't blame you, he whispered, nodding a bit at her. Falling out of the sky is horrifying like that.

The angel left, and resumed heading for the springs.