Warning: Mature and dark themes mentioned toward the end
Music suggested: *Shiki OST Shi-ki*
=I=I=
Ares couldn't stop thinking about her. That angel, Galen. Part of him knew it was because it was she was the younger sister of his host. But another part was due to the immense curiosity he aroused in him. She was such an enigma to him. She fought against him relentlessly though she knew she was outmatched. That fighting spirit that dared defy him reminded him of his own sister. But then again, look where that got her. Philo was dead, yet his strong spirit lingered. What about Galen? A wicked smile crossed his face. Oh how he was going to enjoy breaking that spirit of hers.
=I=I=
"Wake up." A hand slapped her harshly across the face, jarring the girl from her slumber.
Gale winced as she felt a trickle of blood drip from her mouth. Her blue eyes glared daggers at the monster that wore her brother's face.
"What's wrong? Not happy to see your big brother?" Now he was just mocking her.
"You're not my brother." she spat.
Ares only smiled. His expression softened as he reached out to cup her cheek. "What are you talking about? I'm right here." Adding salt to the wound, he was using Pit's voice and tone. His expression grew to wicked glee when he saw her stare in shock at him.
She broke out of her stupor and shook his hand off her face.
"Come on," he was back to using his two toned voice again, "can't we all just be friendly. Master Hades has so graciously given me control of this fortress. It'd be a shame if this is the only part of it you'll see. So what do you say?"
Gale glared at him but said nothing. Those defiant blue eyes expressing her feelings toward him.
Ares' expression dropped and delivered a powerful right hook to her jaw. Gale spat out blood this time and winced in pain. Through the pain, she noticed that he had actually managed to knock a tooth out.
Ares snarled and stormed out. "Don't think that you'll be so lucky next time."
=I=I=
Palutena took in a deep breath. She looked at the array before her. It had taken a while, but it was nearly complete. This runic circle was going to open a pathway to the Underworld for her so she could save her angel. She only needed a few more symbols and components until the portal was complete. "Just a little longer. Hang in there."
=I=I=
Gale, please wake up. Please open your eyes.
Tired cerulean eyes opened to the sight of Philo standing before her. "Philo..?"
"Don't give up. You can beat Ares and purge him from your brother. I know you can."
"I-I don't know how. It's like Pit's not even there."
"Ares forced him into the darkest recesses of his heart, trapping him there. You just need to extend the light of your heart into his and reach him."
"How do I..?" her words were cut off as Philo gently grabbed her necklace.
"This is a keepsake your brother gave you. This should remind him of the love he has for you. Project your light through this and my sword and pierce the dark veil hiding your brother."
=I=I=
Ares had returned several more times after that. Each time to just taunt and jeer at her. Each time ended up with her glaring at him or verbally rejecting him with him retaliating with physical punishment. Gale winced harshly as each breath caused her ribs to ache from when Ares had decided to use her as a target for his hand to hand. The metal door opened again and Gale didn't respond, only bracing herself for more physical assault.
Two shadow angels appeared, their glowing red eyes acting as beacons in the darkness. One opened the cell she was in and they both walked toward her. They both reached up and released the chains from the hook on the ceiling, causing the girl's feet to hit the floor fully. The shadow angels began walking away, chains in hand, dragging the girl with them.
=I=I=
"Well, I am pleased to see you're still feisty as ever." Ares grinned as Gale was forced to her knees with her hands bound behind her back. She glared defiantly at him from her spot on the floor.
Ares walked down and knelt before the angel. He lifted her chin gently so he could look her in the eye. "Come on, we'll be together just like old times. That's what you wanted all this time, right, little sister?"
Steeling her blue eyes to glare at him she responded, "You're not my brother. You're just using his body. Mark my words, Ares, I WILL defeat you and free Pit!"
Ares threw her to the ground and stomped on her side. The girl let out a cry of pain, but turned so that she could glare at him.
"This is your final warning, Galen." He had drawn his blade and pointed it at her. "I'll give you one last chance to redeem yourself. Join me and rule by my side or perish."
Out of the corner of her eye, Gale spotted Philo's sword lying forgotten in the corner of the room. Unfortunately, her hands were still bound and she had no way of breaking the chains. The tip of Ares blade drew close to her face.
"Well?"
Gathering up her nerves and slowly edging her foot toward his, Gale made the gutsiest move of her life. "Go to hell."
Ares let out an enraged roar and prepared to swing and decapitate her, but Gale had maneuvered her foot behind his and knocked him off balance, sending him crashing to the floor. Gale quickly scrambled to her feet and managed reach the sword. Using fancy footwork she didn't know she had, she managed to kick the sword in the air so she could grab the hilt with her teeth. Dashing toward the door, she turned so her shoulder busted it open. Not looking back, she took down the corridors.
"You can run all you want, Galen! But you can't hide! You're only delaying the inevitable!"
=I=I=
Palutena snuck around the corner of the hallway. The circle had worked perfectly and teleported her to the entrance of Ares fortress. There were no monsters guarding it oddly enough. But that didn't mean she could get careless. She heard Ares voice from a distance, but couldn't make out what he was saying.
She turned down another corridor and took cover when she heard footsteps. Her back hit a door when she heard Ares calling out to Galen. Palutena felt a small smile grace her lips despite the situation. Gale did have a knack for hiding and running, after all. Hiding in the room behind her, she waited until Ares had passed before opening the door again.
"L-lady Palutena..?"
Startled, the goddess spun around and came face to face with Galen. Even in the dim light, the goddess could see the condition the girl was in. Her tunic and shoes were gone, blood was drying on her skin, and she seemed overall exhausted. Palutena bit back a gasp when she saw the bruises and blood.
"Gale." Stepping forward, she could see that the girl's hands were bound behind her back and Philo's sword was sitting on the floor next to her. Immediately kneeling to the girls side, Palutena began using her powers to break the chains. "Are you alright? What happened?" In retrospect, the two questions were unneeded because the goddess could probably guess what had happened.
The chains clattered to the ground and Gale rubbed her sore wrists gingerly. "Why are you here?"
"To save you."
Gale visibly jumped at that answer. There was a look of disbelief written all over her face. "Why?"
The goddess' expression softened. "I realize just how much I put you through since this whole war started. All you wanted was to find your place in the world. Not be thrown headfirst into a battle that I couldn't fight."
The brunette shook her head. "That's not true…" she protested weakly.
Palutena shook her head and continued. "That's why I'm here. We will fight Ares off together and free your brother. It's the least I can do for you."
Emptions ran rampant through the girls head. Part of her was grateful that she wouldn't be alone in this battle, but another was worried that Palutena was getting in over her head in actually stepping foot on the battlefield. Finally reaching a decision she took a deep breath. "What should we do?"
=I=I=
Ares looked around the corridors and hallways of the castle searching for that fickle angel. "You can't hide forever, Galen. I will find you."
A loud crash resonated through the hallway. Ares turned and smirked. "Klutzy thing, aren't you?" He walked toward the sound and found a shattered vase on the floor. Looking at the wall, he smiled triumphantly when he saw a few drops of blood on the floor, leading back to the grand hall. "Thought you could get away could you?"
=I=I=
Palutena hid in the shadows of a pillar. She was putting all her trust in Gale's plan to work. The plan seemed simple enough: she was to wait to trap and bind Ares while Gale used Philo's sword to travel into the darkest depths of Ares' heart and free Pit. In words, it was simple, but actually executing it was a whole other matter. She could only hope Gale could pull it off. She saw the angel hiding behind another pillar across the room. Even from this distance, she could see the girl breathing heavily, weakened from the abuse at Ares' hands. Gale seemed exhausted beyond reason, but she insisted that this must be done now, or there will never be another chance.
The sound of the doors opening caught her ears and no sooner did Ares walk in. "Come now, Galen. We both know you can't possibly keep this game of hide and seek going any longer."
Palutena risked a glance at the girl hidden on the other side of the room. Gale seemed to hide her exhaustion, if only to prove him wrong. Despite the immense danger she was in, Palutena couldn't help but feel a sense of pride well up. Galen was trying so hard to save Pit and protect her at the same time. Palutena broke out of her thoughts when she heard Ares step closer. Before she could prepare, tendrils of shadow sprung from beneath her and ensnared her, dragging her closer to the mad warrior.
"Thought you could be clever, did you? Thought I didn't know you and her were here?" he placed his blade beneath the goddess throat. "You thought wrong. I could sense her light the moment she entered this castle. So if you don't want to see her pretty head roll, I suggest you surrender now, Galen."
Gale bit her lip and came out from her hiding place. From this distance, she could see the sick and maddening grin on Ares' face. Oh, how she wanted to punch that grin right off him. Before she could even react, something from behind her pulled her feet out from right under her. Turning her head, she saw that shadows had wrapped themselves around her ankles. Ares' feet stopped before her head and his hand gripped her by the hair, forcing her head up. Through the pain, Gale spotted Palutena, still trapped by the same shadows. Gale's blue eyes conveyed sincere apology and regret, but Palutena got the message and shook her head slowly.
"Galen." Ares' voice brought her attention back to realize that he had a look of sadistic glee written on his face. The girl grimaced when she realized that there was little that she could do in this situation. Ares released her hair only to grab her by the face. The shadows released her legs as she was lifted in the air.
"You may think that you have a chance, but time to face reality. I'm stronger, I'm faster, I'm smarter, I'm on the winning side. And you? You have nothing. You're just a pathetic little girl who's crying for her brother. You were destined to lose this fight the moment you stepped into this war. And now you can join your brother in the eternal darkness."
Gale glared at him through one of the cracks of his fingers. With one hand gripping his wrist, she reached for the gem around her neck. The one that Pit gave her all those years ago. As she closed her hand around it, it began shining brightly. Ares looked away from the intense light, but his face contorted in agony as Gale forced the gem into the skin of his chest. He dropped her and stumbled back in agony. The shadows holding Palutena dispersed, releasing the goddess of light.
Ares began screaming as the gem began shining even more intensely. Darkness and light began spewing from his chest, both forces clashing. Gale grabbed Philo's sword and with a battle cry she plunged the blade into the light from Ares' chest.
=I=I=
*Opening her eyes, she spotted nothing but darkness. Just like that dream. Gale cautiously looked around and realized that she still held her sword. A dark purple light shone from ahead. Turning the girl's jaw dropped in surprise when she saw a dark purple crystal ensnared by shadows. And inside that crystal, was her brother. His eyes were closed as if simple sleeping and his expression was neutral.
Gale rushed forward towards Pit, but Ares suddenly appeared in front of her. Though his appearance was no longer just a sickly distorted version of her brother. His hair had darkened to pitch black with crimson streaks. His eyes a malicious red and his skin tanned as opposed to the sickly grey it had been previously. "So you got guts, I'll give you that. Take a good look, Galen, this is the last you'll see of me before being cast into eternal darkness." He held out his hand and his sword manifested in a cloud of shadows.
The girl glared and held her blade in front of her. As if responding, the blade lit up with white flames. Blinking in shock, Gale swung her sword, dispelling the darkness around them.
The darkness fled, revealing an old coliseum style arena. The sky above was darkened with storms. The crystal trapping Pit stood high above them in the sky, held by shadows descending from the storm. Gale looked around in shock once she figured out where she was. This was the old arena where she first fought Vitiosus. And lost, badly.
No, not this time. The angel shook her head and readied herself for Ares' first strike.
"Remember this place, do you?" Ares asked as he looked around to marvel at the area. "How ironic. This is where I fought and killed my foolish sister all those years ago. This is where your whole ordeal began. Fitting that this be the place where we fight now."
Gale gasped at the news. This is where Philo died… The blade in her hands pulsed with power. It was as if Philo herself was telling her to end it here. I'll do it. I'll finish the fight you couldn't. She let out a cry and charged at Ares.
He smirked and blocked her strike effortlessly. He didn't anticipate her to kick his midsection however and skidded back. He growled and swung downward, aiming to slice her in half. Gale sidestepped and swung horizontally, only for Ares to jump over her swing. Mid jump, he managed to kick her shoulder, sending her to the ground.
Gale winced as her shoulder scraped along the ground. She managed to roll away before Ares' sword pierced the ground where her head was. Jumping to her feet, Gale swung toward his arms only for him to deliver a powerful right hook toward the side of her face. She retaliated by sweeping his feet out from under him. She tried to swing down and end the fight, but Ares brought his sword to block her strike.
"You realize that what you are doing is futile, don't you?" he pushed her off him and jumped back.
"What are you talking about?"
"Pit and I are bound. My soul is no longer overshadowing his. Our souls have entwined together. Defeating me means killing him."
Gale faltered for a moment. She wracked her brain for answers. Was he telling the truth? Her mind went back to Philo's words. "Pierce the veil hiding your brother. Extend your light to him." Gale looked down at the sword in her hands. In response to her thoughts a brilliant light shone from the blade. The angel stared at it in awe. "Pierce the veil…" she mumbled. Her blue eyes darted to the crystal above them for a brief moment. That's what she had to do. She wasn't going to defeat Ares. She was going to free Pit. Gale's eyes looked around the arena. None of the surrounding stands reached high enough. Her gaze drifted to Ares. But maybe he could reach it.
Ares let out a yell and charged. He tried a quick stab and managed to catch her off guard. Gale barely managed to twist to avoid any serious damage, instead taking a more shallow hit to her side. Gale jumped and tried to swing down upon his head. Ares blocked and sent her higher into the air.
Exactly what she wanted. She glanced behind her and noticed that she wasn't high enough. Gale angled herself so that she landed in the stands. "What's wrong? Can't hit me?"
Ares jumped up toward her and started slashing toward her. Gale parried a few, but suffered some shallow cuts. Gale tried to goad him into sending her airborne again. Inwardly she smirked, she was purposefully trying to make him mad by insulting his pride. His anger obviously clouded his judgment and made his attacks sloppier than usual. He let out a cry of anger and sent her flying, higher than before. Gale turned so that she was facing the crystal. She held her blade out in front of her and slashed the tendrils of shadow keeping the crystal suspended. Both the girl and the crystal crashed to the ground. The crystal seemed to take no damage upon landing. Gale however only managed to slightly soften the blow by angling herself so that she glided into the stands. She hit the stone seats hard and lay paralyzed by pain for a few moments.
"Clever little prick." Gale managed to open one eye to see Ares glaring at her. "Thought you were so clever, trying to get close so that you could shatter the crystal. Too bad for you. That crystal is the darkness of my heart given form. Nothing you do will crack it."
Gale winced as Ares grabbed her roughly by the collar of her shirt. He smirked and threw her back down toward the crystal. Her back hit it hard and she slid to the ground, but true to Ares' word, it showed no outward sign of damage. The girl looked back feebly, her tired blue gaze searching her brother's sleeping face for any signs of waking. "Brother, please…"
Ares stomped hard on her leg, causing the girl to scream. The dark warrior smiled viciously before grabbing her by the throat and slamming her into the crystal.
"Foolish girl. I told you, it's futile to try and wake him." To emphasize his words, he slammed her hard into the shadow crystal. Gale whimpered in pain, no longer having to strength to scream. She was so tired. Honestly, she was surprised she lasted this long.
Unbeknownst to the both of them, when Gale screamed and Ares slammed her into the crystal, Pit's expression twitched for a brief moment.
"I applaud you for lasting this long," he punched her hard in the face, "but this is where you battle ends." He kicked her leg. "You tried to play hero, but failed miserably." He grabbed her arm and twisted it painfully, causing the girl to scream again. "Say farewell, Galen." He was now holding her roughly against the crystal several inches above the ground. He reared back for one more punch.
The angel wearily opened her tired eyes. Her face was a gory mess of blood and cuts and bruises. She coughed a few times, blood spewing from her mouth each time. She knew she wouldn't be able to withstand this final punch. She closed her eyes in defeat, waiting for the final blow. I'm sorry, Lady Palutena. I'm sorry, Brother, I couldn't save you.
Ares' fist was inches from her face before he came up with another idea. He dropped the girl to the ground. He stomped on her shoulder hard. The crack was audible to the both of them. Confused tired blue eyes peered up at wicked crimson ones.
"I know what is much more satisfying than simply defeating you."
Gale had a look of clear confusion on her face as Ares knelt down and straddled her hips with his legs, preventing escape. She caught on immediately when she spotted him undoing his chest plate and tried to squirm her way out from underneath him in pure terror. Her arms were heavy as lead, from Ares twisting the one and stomping on her other shoulder. Unfortunately, he had her pinned down firmly. In utter terror, the girl could only watch as Ares rid himself of his armor, exposing his chainmail shirt, and move onto his lower half. Nonononono…!
"This brings me back." He said in malicious glee. "Care to guess how many other women of my time were in your position?" The girl continued to stare in wide-eyed horror, the only sounds coming out her mouth being high pitched whimpers. Tears were slowly gathering at the edge of her terrified eyes. "Of course, none of them had a spirit like yours. They all submitted so lifelessly. Like lambs to the slaughter. Of course, they foolishly thought that keeping me satisfied meant that their pathetic lives were spared another day. They thought wrong. None of them satisfied me. So of course, I ended their lives." His chest was now bare and he was now caressing her wounded side. Gale shuddered in fear at the intimate and so very wrong gesture. "You, on the other hand, are very different than those fools. You resisted me at every turn. You vexed my soul since the day I laid eyes on you. Your constant struggle to defy me only fed to the flame of desire burning up in me." He laid his hand against her hip and gripped the fabric of her shorts. He smiled viciously. Tears were now freely flowing from her eyes, mingling with the blood on her face.
Th-this can't be happening… Brother… please…
"I will take pleasure in breaking that spirit once and for all." His other hand snaked it's way to her collar and he slid a finger down, ready to rip the fabric. "Are you ready, Galen?" he whispered sadistically in her ear.
"NOOO!"
*CRACK!
Both froze and Ares looked for the source of the sound. His eyes widened when he looked past her. Confused, and somewhat relieved, she followed his gaze and her eyes widened at the sight.
The crystal encasing Pit had cracked. Slowly his eyes opened as the crystal began cracking more and more. Ares jumped off her and slowly backed away, shaking his head in denial at the sight before him. "Impossible!" He looked down and saw that his hand was evaporating in shadowy wisps. "No!" his entire body vanished from view in dark smoke.
Gale slowly got up and managed to turn around. "Brother..?" Exhaustion and pain came back at full force, sending the girl to the ground on her rear. She did all she could to stay awake and watch as the crystal slowly began coming off in small chips. Pit's eyes were slowly opening as more and more crystal fell away. Soon all the crystal fell away, freeing Pit entirely. He fell to the ground slowly and landed on one weakened knee. He looked around in confusion before catching sight of the girl before him. His eyes were tired but clearly confused.
Gale managed to get to her feet with great difficulty, but before she could reach him, the world around them began to shatter. A great light shone from Pit's chest and soon overtook the entire area. Gale tried to reach him, but fell back as everything went white.
"Sister..?"
=I=I=
Palutena took cover as the light exploded from Ares' chest. When she poked her head around the corner, she gasped.
Gale now lay on the floor, in even worse shape than before. She was drenched in blood and covered in wounds. The goddess rushed to the angel's side in worry.
"Galen! Gale, wake up!"
Weak blue eyes met worried green eyes. "L-lady… P-Palutena.." her voice was so weak and quiet that Palutena barely heard her. Palutena gasped in relief and pulled the weakened girl in her lap. "Wh-what… happened..? Whe-where's Ares…?"
A cry of agony caught both females attention. Ares stood several feet away as darkness and light began coming off his body at a rapid pace. The darkness began gathering above him in a dark sphere. Soon no darkness remained and Pit fell to the floor, his appearance returned to normal and unconscious.
Gale tried to weakly reach him. "Brother..!"
"You fools…" a low voice growled.
Their attention was drawn to the sphere above Pit's unconscious body. Two eyes blood red eyes glared from within. The sphere condensed and soon exploded, releasing waves of darkness. A figure, obscured by the darkness, raised it's hand and released a dark purple light, ravaging the entire area.
Gale felt herself fly from Palutena's grasp. She couldn't see Palutena or her brother. Exhaustion and pain washed over her entire body as everything went dark.
=I=I=
A/N: Got to say, I was a bit anxious about this chapter but I thought it came out perfectly the way I wanted it to. I honestly wrote the internal battle on the spot too. I had not planned it to go the way it did, but I'm glad it did. Honestly, it was going to originally end up with her tricking Ares into destroying the crystal, but that seemed a little too dull, typical, and boring to me. Pit responding to the pain and distress of his sister and breaking free himself was a much better way to end it to me. And as for the whole… her nearly getting raped before he broke free, I will say it again, that was not my original intention. So I apologize if it seemed too… mature for some, but the way it played out ended up working perfectly. And nothing really happened so, there's that. But it added to the desperation of the situation. For those wondering, while the battle inside Ares' heart took a long time to Gale, it was only a moment or two to Palutena.
I decided to include music tracks. The way I'm going to signal them is by an asterisk. In this case Shiki OST Shi-ki should be played during the parts between the two *, the first starts music and the second ends it. I'll also include these at the beginning of the chapter for convenience. Let me know what you think.