Chapter 28: The Dark Triad Plus 1
Dark Pit woke early in the morning. The sun had not yet risen. That sat fine with him. He wanted to experience the peace of watching the sun rise. Even if it did dredge up painful memories, he was all too aware of the fact that Lilia and instilled his like of the sunrise, it still helped put his heart at ease. Maybe, just maybe, he could learn to move on. However, that would be a long, long time in coming.
He examined his coat as he moved to put it on. He still had his sword, but something was missing. It was his supply sack. He cursed harshly to himself. That sack had been a gift from a village elder on one of his early missions. It was an uncalled for act of kindness, one for which Dark Pit was grateful. That sack was magic, and it would hold anything that could fit through the opening; meaning that it held a lot more than it should have been able to.
There was also one other, small, tiny, insignificant, major problem: That sack held all of the keys of the Underworld that he had collected so far. II, III, and V had suddenly slipped from his grasp. Worse, they landed with Pit. Dark Pit may no longer have the desire to kill his doppelganger, he purposefully ignored the little voice that told him that Pit was the original, but he didn't want to see the angel while his emotions were still raw.
In fact, he nearly panicked at the possibility that he would have to go see the angel again. Lilia's death, despite the years of ignorant bliss, was still too fresh in his mind. He couldn't bring himself to face her killer. There was no way to predict how the dark angel would react. He might go into a blind rage, not unlikely given the previous fights, or he might enter into an embarrassing breakdown. A depression wasn't unlikely either. He was depressed now, after all.
He was busy wallowing in his depressing thoughts when he heard the noise. At first he could scarcely believe it. Yet it was. There was someone blindly bumbling through the forest. He only knew of one person who could possibly be that stupid when it came to navigating the forest. A girl who had gained his trust in maybe two short weeks. The only true bright spot in his currently dreary life (reuniting with his team currently slipped his mind).
He yelled as loud as he could: "ARIA!"
She cursed herself for being so stupid. She'd left a group of good people and gone out into the woods. She knew full well that she had zero ability to survive, let alone navigate, the wilderness. Only now, when it was too late to do anything about it, had she realized that she may have very well walked to her death. But it may have been worth it.
In less than two weeks, the first man she had ever liked weaseled his way into her heart. Had she stayed in safety, she might never have seen him again. That wasn't true though, now that she thought about it. Her ability so see paths to items of importance also allowed her to glimpse the threads of fate. And the threads surrounding the two angels were inexorably intertwined. Especially with the situation currently surrounding them. They were bound to run into each other before all would be said and done.
Still, she had felt so empty around Pit and his team. She couldn't even begin to imagine how the angel had had any appeal when the two first met. Sure, his lot seemed to be made of good, if odd, people, but she didn't want them. She wanted the company of the one person in her life whom she truly considered a friend. And, if things went her way, he would become more than a friend.
But enough mushy stuff, she had to concentrate on getting through the forest. However, she was rapidly discovering that she had a wonderful sense of direction. That is to say, it resembled that of a blind bull. She faintly remembered all the times that she had gotten lost in her own home. The place was huge, of course, but that was no excuse. There was one occasion where it had taken her three hours to get from the front door to her room. Of course, that was the only time she had ever been that lost, but her sense of direction still sucked.
As the hours wore on and the sky began to brighten, she began to lose hope. She was hopelessly lost, and she knew it. What scared was the fact that it could lead to her death. She didn't want to die. She cursed herself again for her stupidity. That's when she heard a voice that made her heart leap in her chest for joy.
"ARIA!" came the yell of Dark Pit. Her sense of direction may have been below par, but even she could find the source of a scream that loud. And she rushed toward it with all that she was worth.
She nearly leapt for joy when she saw her dark angel burst through the foliage. She didn't even notice the fact that she had called him hers. Apparently, she liked him even more than she consciously knew. She loosened Dark Pit's supply pack and prepared to give it to him.
Dark Pit burst through the foliage and saw her. He rushed forward and embraced her without thinking. He might not have known how deep his feelings for her went, but he was glad she'd found him safely. She hugged him back.
"You forgot this," she told him when they took a step back from each other. She offered his supply sack.
Dark Pit was radiantly happy. Not only had the one bright spot in his life come for him, she brought a solution to his current depression. "Thank you," he said as he accepted the pack.
"It's a miracle I found you." "It's a miracle you found me," two voices sounded at once.
Dark Pit was the first to follow up. "I know you can't navigate the wilderness. I'm glad you caught me before something caught you."
She chuckled nervously at that. With her head bowed nervously down, she mustered enough courage to say, "It's a bit worse than that. My whole direction sense is off, except when I'm linked with my powers. On a really bad day, I'll get lost in my own home," she admitted shyly.
Dark Pit held her once again. She melted in his embrace. However, his joy was not to last. Slowly, the bleakness of his memory was returning to him, effectively destroying the moment.
Aria must have sensed the change. "What's wrong?"
"I remembered everything." There was no need to say anything else. She knew what he meant.
"Will you tell me?" Silence met her. She thought desperately to find something to say. She looked up and noticed the sky getting brighter. "Hey," she said, grabbing his attention, "let's watch the sunrise."
He smiled weakly. She already knew what could make him feel somewhat better. He scooped her up and used his Power of Flight to take them into a tree. He chose a branch that was high enough to get a clear view of the eastern horizon.
Together, they sat there, watching the sun rise. Dark Pit felt peace enter his soul. Combined with Aria's reappearance, it would be enough for him to shake depression for the day. The risen sun soothed both of their souls. Now, there was one other thing that needed to be taken care of.
He gently helped Aria out of the tree.
"Aria," he said, "There's some people I want you to meet."
Without waiting for a response, he ushered her into a clearing, where the now married members of his team were just waking up. It still stunned Dark Pit to no end to see those wedding bands. He had seen it coming for a long time, but to have it happen out of nowhere still shocked him.
He turned to Aria. "I never properly introduced my team." He took Aria and moved her to the now wide awake members of his team. He brought her up to Magnus. "This is Magnus. He's a little rough around the edges, but a good person." He moved to Gaol, missing Magnus's miffed look. "This is his longtime partner and new wife Gaol." Geez, it was awkward even to say.
"Magnus, Gaol," he continued, before either of his team could get a good response in. "This is Aria."
"Nice to meet you," Gaol said pleasantly, despite being annoyed at her lack of speaking opportunity.
Magnus was silent for a different reason. Despite her change in armament and her more upbeat appearance, he recognized her as the girl Dark Pit had kidnapped from Pit. He was shocked to see how at ease she was around her former captor. Magnus could tell she was no longer a prisoner. It wasn't just her body language that showed it either. Dark Pit was just as comfortable around her. He smirked as he said, "You two make a great couple."
The both blushed, too embarrassed to respond. Magnus knew he had struck home. He had regretted the decision he made to leave Dark Pit several times since the falling out, but now he could see beyond a shadow of a doubt that he had made the right choice. Leaving the two of them alone together had given his sour-faced friend another shot at happiness. Judging by the way he'd been acting before Magnus left, Dark Pit needed that chance.
"Well, we'd better get moving. Where to, love birds?" He asked. Now Dark Pit replied with a sour look. If Dark Pit was responding to banter, perhaps things would work out great in the end.
