Chapter 26: The Past Twists of Fate
Dark Pit remained still on the ground, so still that Pit actually poked him with the staff a few times before finally stepping back and assuming that he was either totally unconscious or dead. No, not dead, because if he was dead, Pit would be dead too. Zephynn sat up slowly and painfully.
"Well, that was tough wasn't it?" he asked as he rubbed the side of his face, feeling it slightly wetted by blood. Pit didn't respond. He noticed the small gash that had opened on Zephynn's right cheek, where he had been hit by Dark Pit's blade.
"I wonder..." said Pit to himself. He touched the tip of the staff to Zephynn's cheek and tried to use the healing magic, but it didn't work.
"I guess not," said Pit aloud as he withdrew the staff. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Raven walking back from the ocean as though nothing had happened to her. Clearly, the events were still on her mind though.
"What happened?" she asked, "I woke up and father's subjects were helping me heal. Is the battle over?"
"You fought bravely," said Pit, though his heart wasn't into it. He looked over at Vinnia. Her face was bruised and her dress was torn in a few places. Pit decided to attempt the healing magic again, feeling that this time it might work. He touched her forehead and concentrated. He suddenly felt a burst of magical energy coming from the staff. When he opened his eyes, the staff was glowing blue, and the blue was going all throughout Vinnia's body, fixing everything.
Her eyes fluttered open.
"What did I miss?" she asked groggily. Raven hugged her tightly.
"I was so worried!" she cried out. Vinnia struggled out of the grip of the young girl.
"Well, when I said get over your fear of weapons, I didn't mean charge into battle in order to save me," said Vinnia in annoyance, "But you did good. I don't know what happened after you got hurt, just that you did good while you were up. Hey Pit, did you screw him over for me?"
"Not exactly," said Pit as he looked over at Dark Pit again. The dark angel was twitching. The ground around his face-down head was beginning to become wet.
"Serves him right," Vinnia muttered not seeming to notice that the dark angel was weeping under the heaviness of his head. Then, out of nowhere, the staff screamed out. Pit was so startled that he threw the staff in the air and it landed on the other side of Dark Pit. All four of them covered their ears in pain. When they uncovered them, they heard the staff repeating over and over again, "No... Lilia... no..." And in the staff's mind, this was what was happening:
The attack had come on suddenly. Ladon didn't understand what was going on at first when he heard the screams coming from outside. He had figured it was bandits again, so he grabbed a blade from in his room and charged outside, only to find himself at a large group of Monoeyes that were firing at random. Villagers littered the ground like flies already.
Ladon dropped his sword in panic. He looked around frantically for a second and then dodged under a Monoeye's bolt of energy. He ran for his life. He had to find Lilia and take her to safety until Dark Pit showed up. Ladon knew that the dark angel would certainly come for them. As he searched for Lilia in the crowds of people that were running for the gates, blue bolts of energy flashed overhead and Monoeyes fell out of the sky, smashing into bits the second they hit the ground.
Ladon took cover at the mouth of an alleyway as he watched a figure descend from the sky. He couldn't tell who it was; for some reason it was blurry, but it appeared to be an angel of some sort. He wanted to say it was Dark Pit, but this angel was surrounded with radiant light quite unlike Dark Pit. As this angel began taking down foes, people running around trying to escape the monster fire, Ladon spotted Lilia across the square. He began to run towards her so as to get her out of danger.
However, fate was about to play a nasty trick. As Ladon reached just over halfway across the square, a Monoeye came up behind Lilia. The angel fired his bow so as to hit the monster. He misjudged his target. Time slowed down. Ladon could only watch with wide eyes and shock as the bolt of blue energy hit Lilia right in her center as she turned to run from the Monoeye. The angel had already gone after another enemy, not taking the time to see if he had hit or not.
Ladon was still and shocked for about five seconds until a Monoeye's bolt hit him at his feet and threw him out of the square. He found himself almost fifty feet from the square, struggling to get up. As he stood up, he got another look at Lilia. The arrow of light had penetrated her center. Her clothes were steaming with angelic energy. Tears broke from Ladon's eyes.
"Lilia... NO!" he cried. However, before he could sob, he felt a presence behind him. He didn't have time to turn either, because out of nowhere, something sharp came down hard and hit him in the side. Ladon's eyes went wide with terror and pain. He couldn't scream. His voice wouldn't work. The reaper's scythe was pulled out of his side and the monster walked away to the gate at his back.
Ladon fell to his knees, clutching his side. He wouldn't survive. There was no way. Not even with Lilia's healing magic could he possibly fix the damage that was done, and Lilia was far from being able to heal. A little ways off, an angelic light appeared and shot up to the sky.
"N-no..." he gasped, "H-how... w-w-why?" He had to get to Lilia, to at least reassure her before she died. He pulled himself up painfully and found himself unable to walk, almost unable to stand up straight. He took a step and his side jerked in pain. He continued to hold it, despite the fact that his hands were getting very bloody. He began to step with his left foot, trying to limp along gently, but he found that his head was in a rush. He couldn't think straight, and the pain in his side was killing him.
He heard the death cry of a reaper from a little ways behind him. Then he sighted Dark Pit through blurring vision as he almost collapsed. Dark Pit supported him as he ran up.
"Ladon!" he cried.
"Dark... Pit..." Ladon wheezed. He couldn't think straight, and the words that he heard coming from Dark Pit's mouth were almost gibberish to him.
"Wha... penned..." Dark Pit seemed to say. Ladon answered the best he could.
"Monsters came from nowhere..." Ladon gasped, "We were... lucky... angel... appeared..." Ladon couldn't understand what Dark Pit said next.
"P..." Dark Pit's voice echoed in his mind, and he could only hear the first letter. He decided to appease his friend and said, "Yeah, him." Ladon felt himself begin to lose consciousness but he shook himself awake.
"Where's Lilia?" asked Dark Pit, this time, the words quite clear to Ladon. Ladon pointed to the square, with a bloody hand.
"There..." he croaked. He almost fell but he kept his balance. Dark Pit made sure he was steady and helped him to the square, looking to the sky with his eyes shut tight. After they arrived in the square, Dark Pit began scanning the area. A few tears slipped from his eyes, and then he sighted Lilia's blue hair among the fallen, towards the edge of the square, close to where she had been hit by the angel's shot. Dark Pit yelled, "No!" and laid Ladon down carefully before rushing over to Lilia. As Ladon watched Dark Pit helplessly pull Lilia's head into his lap, he felt a presence behind him. He jerked and gritted his teeth in agony. The wound was too much. But the turn was enough to see Lilia's father, George, behind him.
"You'll be alright Ladon," George said comfortingly as he bent down to Ladon. Ladon shook his head.
"No sir," he said sadly, "The wound goes deep. I won't survive. And Lilia..." He burst into tears again. George knew his pain, perhaps even more than Ladon himself did, and joined him.
Ladon looked over to where Dark Pit had found Lilia. Both he and George watched as the two exchanged words and Dark Pit slipped a ring onto her left ring finger. He kissed her hand and more words were exchanged. George was weeping helplessly now, and Ladon couldn't help but watch as his vision fluctuated between clear and fuzzy unable to stop the tears that were streaming down his cheeks and wetting the collar of his shirt.
Then Ladon watched, his skin beginning to become white. They came close, and Ladon watched as Lilia said her last words. He read her lips and cried harder. "I love you too." Then he saw Lilia's life leave her. Dark Pit pushed the hair out of her face. Ladon almost lost consciousness from the mournful scene, as it added to his injury. Then Dark Pit screamed to the sky in agony. Ladon couldn't cover his ears and he didn't want to. He shared whatever feelings Dark Pit had at the moment. Whatever the dark angel had on mind, Ladon felt it. Night fell and Dark Pit continued to scream and sob aloud. Ladon almost fell into an everlasting sleep a few times, but he shook himself awake with his crying. Then, as the sun began its rise, Dark Pit said loud and clear:
"Someone get me a shovel and some blankets. And get me a stone as well." Ladon wished he could do it himself but he almost lost consciousness, barely being able to stay awake. Night began to fall as someone (Ladon couldn't figure out who with his mind so foggy and leaving him) helped him to the graveyard where Dark Pit was already making a grave for Lilia. Ladon's vision began to fade as he watched Dark Pit make the headstone. He told his supporter softly, "Take me over to that shed over there..."
The supporter did as he was told and set Ladon on the ground by the shed where he could see the finished grave. Dark Pit stood up and finished the burial. Ladon's tears had long since stopped. He couldn't cry anymore. The pain was gone, but on the inside, he was in agony. He felt his side. There was no more blood. Only water. He was a dead man. There was no time left in him. The last thing he saw was the headstone. It read:
Here Lies Lilia Hecatesdaughter
A bright cheerful friend and bride-to-be.
She was loved by all around her.
"Th-thank... you... D-dark... P... p..." Ladon couldn't finish his sentence. The world was beginning to fade into black. The last thing he thought was how much he owed Dark Pit, and how much the one who had killed Lilia owed him. Then he breathed his last.
However, after the last breath he took, his eyes shut, and then he opened them again and found himself still breathing. The world around him was white. He heard a voice echoing around him.
"Ladon, you have been given an unfair death," said the voice, clearly one of a goddess, "I will preserve your soul within a Somewhat Staff, that one day, you might revive and live on as a human." Ladon wanted to protest and ask for Lilia to be preserved instead, but he couldn't speak. He saw a strange looking weapon, a Somewhat Staff, materialize in front of him. Then he felt himself being sucked in. As his whole being was sucked into the staff, he struggled and screamed and kicked on the inside, but stood no chance on the out. The second he was fully sucked in, everything went blank.
A/N: The mystery of the Somewhat Staff... it has finally been developed. All of the pieces are in place but one. It is a dramatic and ironic fact that many (if skills of perception are strong) should have figured out already. The hint? Who accidentally killed Lilia? Once you answer that, link the beginning of this story (before the Somewhat Staff began to have troubling memories) to this flashback. Get the irony yet?
If anything in this chapter could not be understood, it is likely because you haven't been reading The Dark Triad with this story. These stories are fiercely intertwined, so it is highly recommended that they be read side by side. My friend and I accept collective criticism too! :D Just sayin'. Oh, and by the way, neither of us own Kid Icarus and all characters, places, and ideas belong to Nintendo (except for the ones we made up).