Viridi's realm seemed quieter than the other sanctums Dark Pit had visited. He knew it couldn't be right - it was always filled with the sounds of wildlife doing as wildlife did, and there was hardly a moment where the wind wasn't blowing. Still, it was a different kind of noise than the hustle and bustle of people, whether they were centurions or other godly servants.

It was a solitary kind of silent noise. It was easy to get lost in and just as easy to tune out - whatever felt best at the time. He simply existed, rather than being an outsider or a participant. At times, he didn't know whether he liked it that way or not.

Clouds of scattering birds put him on alert. He made his way towards the area they were flying away from and found Viridi crouched near a pool of water that served as a scrying surface. Her grip on her staff was rigid, and Dark Pit swallowed. She appeared to be giving orders...

"What's the situation?"

"Young Valley is under attack by Underworld forces," she said, not turning from the pool. "But, um, I think I have it under control."

He knelt next to her and gazed into the pool. It was difficult to make out Young Valley at all, with the sheer amount of Monoeyes and Miks crowding the view. "This is under control?"

"Well, yes, if you would just leave me alone and stop bothering me!" Viridi snapped, splitting the pool into a second view that showed some of the Forces of Nature. "I just need to figure out what troops are best to deploy against so many floaties..."

Dark Pit stared at the section that showed Young Valley - or would have, if not for the clouds of flying foes blocking it out. "Send me in."

"You want to fight?"

"Fighting monsters is fine. Plus, I've got enough divinity to channel Powers, unlike the rest of your army."

She stared at him for a moment, then jerked her head towards the gate. "Hurry up, then. I'm sending a squad of Bladers with you; try not to be too reckless with them!"

Dark Pit streaked across the gate, which sent him flying over the skies of Young Valley. From his height, it seemed to be blanketed in gnats - thousands of tiny pinkish and green dots - but he knew they were monsters set out to defile the land. He swooped down, the Bladers silently slicing through the air behind him.

Viridi's voice joined him soon after he started shooting. "If you see a bicorn, do everything you can to keep it safe! The Underworld is probably after them, since they're supposed to ward against invasions like these."

"Looks like they bruteforced their way in regardless," he said. "Doesn't matter. They're not going to hurt any ponies today!"

"They're not ponies! They're majestic, regal creatures that happen to be very small and look like ponies with little branches coming out of their heads! They're some of my most important children, so if one of them dies on your watch, you're going to get it!"

A gigantic Monoeye heaved its way into view, dragging long furrows in the ground with its tentacles. Its sheer size would have made it look fearsome, if it weren't for the fact it was just a floating eyeball.

"Yeesh! Look at that thing, tearing up the place!" Viridi said. Dark Pit felt his core fill up with energy. "Hold steady a second."

"I am not a laser focus!" he growled. "If anyone's shooting today, it's me."

"Alright, alright! Just don't use it all in one place, then."

He circled the giant Monoeye from a distance, far enough for it to spot him but not in range of its tentacles. It was too big to move quickly, and it struggled to keep him within its sights. He suspected he could incapacitate it by simply flying around it in circles, but time was precious. Once he was below it and had a clear shot of its pupil, he took aim and unleashed the laser pooling inside of him.

It struck the Monoeye straight in the eye, which should have been an instant kill, but the eye...wobbled around the laser, as if the beam was simply a stone hitting water, and once it passed, seemed unscathed.

"Okay, what. That's not supposed to happen."

"I'll say! Fly closer!" Viridi growled.

Another laser tore through the Monoeye's side, and this time, it scattered into pieces that flew everywhere. The laser streaked by Dark Pit's wings, not close enough to harm, but enough for him to feel the divine energy and heat. It struck the ground a moment later, leaving a searing line.

"That wasn't me," he said slowly, coldness crawling into his chest.

"Not mine, either! I wouldn't have aimed towards the valley..." Viridi wondered aloud. "...Is that Pit?"

Dark Pit's chest hitched, and he had to cough to remember how to breathe. "Take me towards the ground!" he shouted.

His wings glinted violet and green as he flew, firing stray shots at the pieces of the giant Monoeye - which turned out to be hundreds of individual Monoeyes and Miks tangled together. He cursed under his breath at the trail of light he was leaving behind him - if the other angel was indeed flying around, there was no way he would be able to miss it...

"Pittoo? Is that you? Hey, wait, please!" Pit's voice, telepathically broadcast, was filled with relief and concern.

Dark Pit landed on the ground with a heavy smack and made his way towards a nearby tree, shading himself from view as he caught his breath. He clapped his hands over his head as he tried to close his mind away from divine conversation.

"Dark Pit," Viridi whispered. "Bicorn, pool to your right."

He glanced to the aforementioned pool, and sure enough, a little white bicorn was hiding in the reeds, bleating fearfully as Underworld monsters rolled in and tainted the waters. Dashing towards it would make him visible...but he had to do it.

"Dark Pit? Are you still there?" Palutena's voice was barely audible, but it still made Dark Pit's body shake as if she had shouted at him. "We need your help...who is with you? Please come out."

Dark Pit chanced a peek at the sky, saw a glittering trail of power and blade fire, and quickly planted himself against the trunk of the tree he was under, wings tucked tight against his body. "I don't, I don't, I don't..." he said between heaving breaths, his eyes clenched shut.

The bicorn bleated again, and he broke out into a sprint, tucking it under his arm as he dashed by. He felt Viridi's gratitude as a quick, wordless sensation, and the bicorn vanished from his grasp with a whirl of leaves. "So I just have to hold them, huh?" he said under his breath, spraying shots against the oncoming waves of Miks.

"There he is! Hey, Pittoo!"

Dark Pit didn't wait to see where Pit was. Instead, he made for the next lake as fast as he could on foot, ignoring his shrieking lungs until he could find cover.

"Wait! Pittoo, I just want - ugh, I just remembered we're not supposed to call you that anymore. Wait up!" Pit had landed as well, and was fighting off his own cloud of floaties...if Dark Pit just avoided shooting anything, it was entirely possible he could avoid being detected...

Viridi's displeasure rattled in his head, and he had to hold it again to shake off a potential headache. No, he had to clear his path between lakes, at the very least. And Young Valley could be damaged if the Underworld monsters weren't destroyed...

"Hey, give me a sign if you're there?" Pit called out. "I could use some help..."

"Well, I don't need yours!" Dark Pit shouted, loosing a charged shot towards the enemies mobbing Pit. Then he broke into another run, bolting away from the other angel. The Blader squadron that was supposed to be following him finally caught up with him, though not without a significant decrease in their number. With the additional support, he started making his way towards another lake, where he could see a bicorn fleeing a Mik formation shaped like a bear trap.

"Dark Pit, now's not the time to be reckless!" Palutena's voice wasn't accusatory, but concerned. "You can't do this alone, and neither can we. What are you doing? Let us help you -"

"I'm trying to get rid of these monsters, what does it look like!?"

"That we can help with!" Pit said, vaporizing a mob of Monoeyes with another laser. That seemed to get the attention of most of the other monsters, and Dark Pit was able to scoop up the bicorn while they were distracted.

"I'm sending reinforcements for the other bicorns," Viridi was barely audible in the back of his mind. "So just focus on clearing the area!"

Dark Pit was about to protest, but had to devote his attention to a fleet of Koymatoes approaching him. He didn't want to have anything to do with anyone from Skyworld, not now, but it seemed like he didn't have a choice...he took out his frustration by overloading his staff and firing off charged shot after charged shot, roaring defiance at the Underworld.

"Try to conserve your energy. This might take the better part of the day," Palutena said.

"Don't tell me what to do!"

Distantly, Dark Pit felt the goddess of wisdom recoil. "...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. Be careful. Pit will look out for you."

Dark Pit rumbled, clearing out the lake he had stopped by and moving on to the next watering hole. By the time he reached it, the place he had left was infested again. "We're going nowhere with this..."

"The Centurions should arrive soon!" Pit said, trying to make his way towards the other angel.

"Don't get near me! We need to cover as much ground as we can!"

"But!" Pit began, and quickly fell to fighting the monsters around his area.

Slowly, in twos and threes, Clobblers began to sprout from the ground, forming tight circles around the water to keep anything from coming in. One of them hobbled over and handed Dark Pit some apples and melons, which he ate carefully, hoping they weren't ungrown members of their squadron.

Pit and Palutena spoke amongst themselves regarding the appearance of the Forces of Nature, but Dark Pit closed his mind from their conversation, focusing instead on keeping his aim steady. Even with angelic and divine stamina, he felt exhausted from the sheer numbers of enemies. His body felt only half there, an extension of his staff, only existing to provide support and aim. Distantly, he hoped all of the bicorns had been rescued.

Just when the skies started clearing up, it was again glutted with flying creatures - but this time, it was clouds of Nutskis and Centurions that blocked out the clouds. Dark Pit twitched, nearly shooting them, but shook his head and stayed his hand.

"It's almost over," Viridi said, her voice clear in his mind. If he had the energy, he would have wondered about that, since he thought he still had his mental barriers up, but he chalked it up to the growing exhaustion and apathy in his chest. "You can rest."

"Finally." Dark Pit planted his staff in the ground and collapsed against it. The sounds of fighting slowly died down, until all he could hear were stray shots fired by lesser members of Palutena's army.

"Hey," Pit said gently, his walk slow and unsure.

Dark Pit didn't look up, but his grip around his staff tightened. "Don't come any closer," he said, though he couldn't make himself sound confident or angry or anything, really.

Pit stopped a few yards away, wings fluttering. "Please? Can I...can I just sit with you, maybe?"

Dark Pit spread his wings, but couldn't find it in himself to close them around himself again. Pit stared and stared, then dropped his blade and approached slowly, dropping down to a kneel an arm's length away.

"We did this together. We're a good team," Pit said, trying to laugh. Dark Pit managed an empty chuckle. "Hey, um..."

"What."

"I'm really sorry, I miss you, I want to make you feel better," Pit said, reaching out tiredly. "I...Lady Palutena and I have been thinking a lot, about what to say when we saw you, but I forgot everything. I'm just really sorry for hurting you. Lady Palutena is too. I want to be friends again...can we?"

Dark Pit felt Palutena's presence in his mind, but she did not speak up. He turned towards Pit's offered hand and blinked hard.

"I don't know if I'm ready to forgive you," he said thickly. "But I want to...does that make sense?"

"Sure," Pit said. "Can I hug you?"

"We're both dirty and gross, why do you want that."

Pit crawled over and put his arms around the other angel. Dark Pit rested his head against Pit's shoulder and tried not to cry.