Nemo leapt into the air, flipping quickly as he dodged around Pit's shot. The angel-turned-god grit his teeth, trying to process his options. Mere force, he knew, wasn't going to win this battle. Once he landed, Nemo smirked a bit, and a thrust of his hand sent several balls of light masked by a wave of darkness toward his challenger. His vision suddenly useless, Pit sighed and quickly invoked his Energy Shield, but the impact still forced him back several steps.
"Dyntos's creations truly are the strongest in existence, are they not?" Nemo inquired, but Pit was in no mood for talk. As a plan finally flashed through his mind, he summoned his staff in a quick, bright light and gripped it tight in his right hand, held low behind him. Nemo watched him curiously, wound tight as he prepared to shift between offense and defense at a moment's notice. "So, you really are the new god of Light. Palutena found she had no other choice, hm?"
"It's your fault," Pit growled in reply. "If you hadn't tormented her soul like you did, she'd still be around!"
"If I recall correctly, you're the one who set her soul loose," Nemo reminded him. "If you'd left her with me, I could have saved her. I had no intention of harming her, but you forced me to those measures."
"Only because you were a coward and wouldn't fight us yourself!" Pit yelled.
"I wanted to test your resolve. It was up to you to decide to fight, regardless of the consequences. If you hadn't taken her soul away from me, I may have been able to keep her alive." Pit tried to think of an argument, but Nemo's words played with his head and he couldn't seem to think straight.
"I did what I thought I had to do," he replied flatly. "If you hadn't started all this in the first place, none of this would have happened."
"Pit! For the love of… well… you, I guess, GET IT TOGETHER!" Kuro all but ordered from the sidelines. "Don't let him mess with you like this."
"Right…" Pit shook his head and refocused on Nemo, his eyes shining with determination. "Hear me, Nemo. You've got something of mine, and I'm taking it back!" Nemo stared at him momentarily in annoyed confusion as he summoned forth his power and thrust his staff forward toward his adversary. Two bright streams of light, one colored yellow and the other a light green, shot forward and pierced through Nemo before he had a chance to dodge, and he cried out in what sounded like confusion and pain. He stumbled and fell to his hands and knees as the light recollected above him, shining even brighter than before, and it retracted back to Pit's raised and outstretched hand. He took a deep breath as he felt his inner power strengthen.
"V-Very good, Pit," Nemo grimaced as he jumped back to his feet and pulled his hand back, a dark energy gathering around it. "You learn quickly. Palutena gave Levica her power, but you could take it away, eh?"
"Indeed," Pit replied and readied his staff again. "And that's not all, Nemo. I'm sure you know better than anyone that the goddess of Darkness's powers were lost to the world. I may not be able to steal your power as the Oracle of Darkness, but that's all you are- an Oracle. And," he pointed his staff at his opponent, "I am the god of Light, your ruling goddess's opposite. I don't need to remind you that, despite everything, the gods are more powerful than the Oracles. I can seal you back." With those words, and a glare of anger from Nemo, another bright light flashed from the orb atop his staff and Pit rushed forward, his wings spread wide and he thrust it forward again. Like a cage, the light enveloped a panicked Nemo and he grit his teeth as it died down. Anger even more evident in his expression, he thrust his hand forward in retaliation, but the dark aura sparked from it fizzled quickly.
"Well played," he remarked. "But I have much more up my sleeve."
"That's no surprise," Kuro called. "They're huge!" Nemo glared at him out of the corner of his eye before turning his attention back to Pit.
"Pardon me for prying," the visionary Oracle went on, "But I did take a peak into Palutena's memory briefly. And something I found was rather interesting." He suddenly faded out of sight and Pit sprinted forward, glancing around wildly. A warning call of his name from Kuro reached his ears, and not seconds later his eyes flew wide as a blast of fire hit his wings. He was launched forward and landed with a thud, his eyes wide as his mind blanked.
"Pull yourself together, Pit!" Kuro called out. "Don't let him play at your fears!" The blue-eyed angel grit his teeth and pushed himself up, only to find another ball of fire shooting straight at him. He rolled onto his back and sprung to his feet, then turned around wildly, but Nemo was nowhere to be seen.
Then, an idea hit him, and he shut his eyes and scanned the area.
"There you are," he mumbled, feeling a grim satisfaction as he focused his power into his bow and shot forward an arrow at blinding speed that managed to connect with Nemo before he got a chance to shift position again. The new lord of the Underworld bowed forward a bit, gripping his shoulder.
"You really are learning," he commended. "Palutena's power combined with your battle skill… such as you were blessed with as your path was set on becoming an angel. Impressive combination." He straightened up. "But Pit, as you are the god of Light, I am the lord of the Underworld. You won't beat me so easily."
"I beat Hades TWICE," Pit replied simply.
"Only once with the Great Sacred Treasure, and the other with the help of Palutena and the Forces of Nature."
"I have Lady Palutena's help now," Pit reminded him. "And even beyond just help, her power is now mine. And the only reason I needed the Forces of Nature is because I couldn't fly on my own." Again, he aimed his bow. "I've grown a lot since I first defeated your master, Nemo."
"Indeed. I've watched you in your training as much as I could. I may not have liked Medusa, but- Hey!" He was cut off as he dodged another arrow, and it barely missed grazing him.
"I'm really not in the mood to carry on conversation. Let's just finish this."
"Very well." Nemo leapt into the air and quickly fired several large orbs of light and fire, and Pit again summoned the Energy Shield. "Not so fast," Nemo pointed forward and one of the orbs exploded just as it hit the Shield's barrier, causing it to shatter, and a pain shot up Pit's arm.
"What the heck was that?" he demanded as Nemo touched down again.
"Don't worry. It's not completely out of commission, but it'll take a while to recharge." He lifted his hand and a fire erupted above it. "And I have no intention of letting you live long enough for you to use it again." With that, he shot the fire forward along with some sort of barriers of his own. And, before he had a chance to react, the attacked slammed into Pit and he was sent flying back, smashing into the wall.
The sound of a crack combined with the spike of agonizing pain in his right wing was enough to remind him his armor didn't defend him from everything.
"Good luck flying now," Nemo's words may have carried a taunt, but his tone was flat as usual. With pain shooting through his wing and back, Pit got back to his feet and glared at him.
"I won't need flight to beat you," he replied through a clenched jaw. Nemo leapt back into the air and levitated there, crossing his arms.
"Maybe, if you surrendered, I'd be able to revive Palutena," Nemo continued, catching Pit off guard.
"D-Don't even joke about that!" he spat.
"I'm not," Nemo insisted. "I'm quite serious. There's no way, as you probably know by now, that you could coexist with her. But, if you wished it, I could likely bring her back using your soul, now that her spirit has merged with yours. Would you give your life, your very existence, if it meant having her back?" Despite everything, Pit found himself agreeing with his opponent.
"I would…" he admitted, lowering his bow.
"I swear to you, I would revive her. Just as she was before- albeit without her memory of recent events." Nemo's eyes softened a bit. "Look, Pit. I really never wanted her to be hurt. That's one of the things about all this I regret. I realize now I shouldn't have let her fight you again, but even I didn't realize the damage her soul had taken. But… if you'll so allow me to…"
"Pit, don't even think about it!" Kuro cautioned.
"I… If I had my way, even if it meant costing me my own life, I'd have her revived," the blue-eyed angel mumbled, staring at the air in front of him. After a moment, he looked back up at Nemo. "But… my personal feelings have no place here. Lady Palutena would never want the world like the way you're planning on reforming it. I won't let her live in a lie. As her servant and as the god of Light, I'll honor her wishes and bring you down! You won't get to me so easily, Nemo. Nice try, though." Nemo clucked his tongue and shook his head.
"Very well. Then it's back to force. I just figured I'd offer you a bit of honor in your death, Pit. Because whether you surrender or not, that is how this will end." He sighed slowly. "You'll have to die."
"That's only if you defeat me," Pit replied, his voice hostile, and he quickly shot another arrow toward his adversary. Nemo, caught off guard, took the brunt of the blow and fell back to the ground, but quickly recovered himself. A sweep of his hand sent another arch of flames toward his challenger, and Pit found himself panicking. Unable to do much else, he tucked his wings in and rolled forward, the fire clawing greedily at him as he passed through it. He found his armor and skin both singed, but ignored it and retrieved his staff.
With a focus of his power, he lifted it momentarily and felt a relief spread through his body as it patched the broken wing he'd suffered. He dodged around another barrage of orbs from Nemo and pushed himself into the air, aiming directly at his adversary. Unfortunately, Nemo then warped out of his path and a blast of fire hit him straight in the head.
"Hot hot HOT!" He complained, tugging at the knot holding his helmet in place and he quickly pulled it off, letting it drop to the ground below him. Nemo's eyes taunted him with a challenge, and he took a deep breath.
"It's hard to hit a target that moves so unpredictably, is it not?"
"Not if you can keep it from moving!" Pit replied quickly, recalling a trick Palutena had used against Medusa when he'd fought her close to eight years previous. He released his staff and pulled his hand back, and two small crescents of light illuminated above his palm. He thrust them forward and both hit their target, cuffing around Nemo's wrists.
"Not bad," Nemo commented. "But not good enough." With that, he raised his hand high and quickly brought it back down again, and Pit was quickly forced down to the ground, the wind knocked out of him, by a glass-like barrier that had quickly extended from above. Nemo landed and held his hand out, palm pointed toward the trapped angel, and a fire erupted from it. "Any last words, Pit?" Pit's mind raced to process some escape, but he couldn't find any. He grit his teeth and let go of his bow, and thrust both of his hands forward. A blinding blast of light shot forth, striking Nemo and forcing him back. His distraction dispelled the barrier and Pit again got to his feet, grabbing his bow as he stood, and he sprinted over as Nemo recovered himself.
"Can't believe I'm doing this," he mumbled and smiled a bit, then launched himself off his back foot and delivered a vicious kick to Nemo's abdomen that sent the victim flying back. He landed on his back with a painful thud, and, within a second, Pit stood over him with one foot on his chest and the edge of the Winged Bow against his throat. Despite everything, the angel's expression was soft.
"You lost," he said simply. Nemo lifted his head briefly before letting it fall back against the ground.
"You said this was to surrender or to death," the lord of the Underworld pointed out sharply. "And I haven't surrendered."
"But I can't kill you," Pit acknowledged. "You hold too much. Killing you would ruin everything, practically destroy the world as we know it, and there would be no way of fixing it. But…" he smirked a bit. "You are, above all else, an Oracle. A spirit in human form. It's your first concern to protect the Balance, isn't it?"
Caught in a corner, Nemo sighed heavily and nodded slightly. "Indeed, it is. Well played, Pit." He paused and shut his eyes. "Finding my weaknesses, no matter how well I hide them, and bringing them to light. No matter what I do, I can't change who I am. You think of the Balance above all else… and that's how I know I can trust you as the god of Light. I yield. You win." Pit felt something shock his free hand as a light sparked from both his and Nemo's. The angel withdrew his weapon and let it disappear in a bright light, and he held his hand out toward his adversary. After a moment's hesitation, Nemo took it and Pit pulled him to his feet. "Uh… if you'd be so kind as to release my power…"
"Right," Pit lifted his hand slowly, then pulled it down quickly and a pale light shattered away from the silver-haired boy. Nemo took a deep breath and took a step back.
"Thank you. All right… I need to prepare. This won't be easy, but I'll stay true to my word."
"I know," Pit smiled. "Good luck, Nemo."
"And to you, Lord Pit." With that, Nemo again disappeared within the shadows, and Pit heard Kuro's quick footsteps approach him as he turned around. Never before had he seen such a bright and genuine smile on his red-eyed companion's face.
"You seem happy," Pit chuckled.
"Well, yeah. You won!" Kuro shoved him playfully. "But JEEZ. Don't scare me like that again. And DON'T sideline me. That was agony watching." He let out a heavy breath. "Seeing several times where he nearly killed you and being unable to do anything about it… ergh."
"But it's over," Pit smiled. "Man… it's over…" the realization crashed over him along with his sudden exhaustion. "We won."
"Yeah, about that," Kuro grinned. "What's the deal with stealing my moves? I thought a surprise kick to the gut was too cheap for you."
"At that point, I didn't care. I needed to end it, and that was the best way I could think of."
"Well, don't do it again," Kuro laughed. "I want to have SOMEthing that sets me apart from you." He looked past Pit's shoulder and out the broken window. "Hey, Pit, look." Pit again turned around, following his twin's gaze, and found the souls around the shrine suddenly reacting to some unseen command. Before long, a blinding flash disoriented the angels, and when it died down, only a few stray souls remained.
"I'm sorry I can't see you off in person…" Nemo's voice sounded exhausted in Pit's head. "But I need to rest. Head back to your homeland, angels. I'm sure you'll find a warm welcome waiting for you."