The familiar sounds of bells chimed in the distance, sounds that Pyra heard a plenty during her slumber of five hundred years. As she crossed the beautiful field of flowers, she saw a much familiar tree at the top of a familiar hill. A very familiar girl stood by the tree's side, her back turned to her, long, golden locks swaying with the gentle breeze. She had one hand gingerly resting on the tree's trunk, her hip slightly tilted sideways, no doubt lost in thoughts, but not enough for her to not hear Pyra's cautious footsteps.

She did not turn around once Pyra stopped a few feet away from her. With a tired shake of her head, Mythra said: "I don't remember a field of flowers. Where did they come from?"

Pyra turned around and stared at the field of flowers behind them. With a tiny smile on her lips, she replied: "I guess I've been training with Alm and Celica's spirit a bit too much. It was suggested that I should try using other spirits, but I've taken a liking for this one in particular."

Mythra let out a sigh and swiftly turned around, golden eyes staring straight into Pyra's red ones. Pyra could not help but notice the difference in details regarding her attire, how her short, white dress suddenly lost its exposed cleavage and how now her legs were covered by modest, black tights.

"Nice outfit," she commented. "When did you get so modest?"

"You're one to talk," Mythra said, arms crossed over her chest. "You're also wearing tights."

"Curious, isn't it?" Pyra asked with a smile. "You should see the clothes that I have been trying out in the waking world. Much more comfortable than what we wear for battle, that's for sure."

Mythra did not seem all too pleased with that small talk, with her mouth slightly twitching and her arms still firmly crossed, a gesture all too familiar to Pyra. She asked, voice distressed, "Why are you doing this?"

"This what?"

"Getting all friendly with these people," Mythra said. "These… Smashers, is what they call themselves?"

"Ah, them," she said. "I thought that you had no problems with my plan of helping them out so we could get an audience with this world's gods."

"Don't get me wrong, I don't think you helping them out is a problem," her sister shook her head. "I think it's a good plan, but I can also see that you are growing attached to them."

"Whaaaat? Me?" Pyra asked, not at all shocked. "Maybe a little. They are not bad people, Mythra."

"Hmph."

Pyra fidgeted her hands and awkwardly looked at the field of flowers behind them. The bells chimed once again, bringing a feeling of nostalgia, as it always happened when she heard that wonderful, but melancholic sound. For five hundred years she heard those bells as she slept deep inside her glass casket, waiting for the moment when she was to be awakened by a worthy Driver.

Rex had woken her up, yet the bells continued to ring. It was rather frustrating.

"Mythra, I think… that Shulk might be right," she admitted.

"About what?"

"About… well, all of this," Pyra said, turning around. "About us being in another world and-"

"About us not actually being Pyra and Mythra?" Her sister scoffed. "You can't be serious! Did you hit your head or something?!"

Pyra's gaze lowered, suddenly too unsure of what she wanted to say to Mythra. Her sister had this aura to her, one that made Pyra feel small and even obedient, which made it especially ironic if she were to take Shulk's words to heart and think that Mythra was hiding behind her, like a gogol hiding behind a bunnit. That image itself was enough to almost steal a chuckle from her, had she not been so nervous to make her case.

Luckily, it seemed that Mythra had taken pity on her, because her gaze softened and she said, much too delicately for it to sound genuine from her, "Look, I know that it's… a very tempting thing to believe in. It would mean that we wouldn't have to deal with our powers and-"

"Our existence."

"Yeah, that. Being the Aegis and all that crap," Mythra said. "But Pyra, who in their right mind would want to create a replica of us? Aren't we enough of a burden to one world as we are?"

"I agree, but hear me out," Pyra paused, took a deep breath, and said, "What if we don't have the same destructive power here?"

"Debatable."

"I can't feel Ophion here," she said. "I don't doubt that you also wouldn't be able to control Siren either. We can't control Artifices here."

"Of course you can't, Ophion and Siren are in Alrest and you are in whatever place this world is," Mythra said. "So, granted, without them, we are a little less powerful here. Once we go back to Alrest, we will gain access to them again. What else?"

"There's also the fact that you woke up in this world without me breaking the seal of your power," Pyra insisted. "I told Shulk that you were asleep, but don't you think that it's weird that what I said was a lie? You should be asleep, Mythra, but you have been awake this entire time!"

"I may have miscalculated something," she contested, weakly.

"Miscalculated? A trauma response?!" Pyra exclaimed. "Mythra, I was created when you were at your lowest point! You had just destroyed three countries in your attempt to save Alrest from Malos! You were desperate, DESPERATE to contain your power and this is when I was created! So you could sleep eternally, while I kept your power hidden from people."

"I-"

"I refuse to believe you've miscalculated your desire to run away! You are NOT awake because you didn't know how to hide yourself from the world!"

Mythra's face was a vivid, bright red, her eyes dangerously close to watering and her teeth gritted with the force that they might shatter. Pyra stepped out of line, she knew that very well and had her face not been unbearably hot from the adrenaline of confronting her, she would have avoided her gaze.

"I've been facing puppet fighters, Mythra," Pyra insisted. "I've been talking to Smashers and living their lives. Even though my time in this world has been short, I feel different from before."

Mythra crossed her arms. With her face still red, she asked: "Yeah? Different how?"

"I don't know how to explain it, but I feel that what makes me dangerous is just… gone," Pyra said, touching her incomplete core crystal. "I feel as if, and this might sound awful, I don't need Rex anymore. I feel… incomplete, but that is what makes me feel whole."

Mythra looked at her with astonished silence and mirrored her gesture by touching her own core crystal. Pyra held her breath as she watched her sister take into consideration everything that she said, hand clutching at her crystal tightly as she waited for a verdict.

Her face faltered as Mythra said: "Pyra, we need to find a way to reach Elysium. Help these people free their gods if that's what it takes, but don't forget why we're on this journey to begin with."

"Mythra…"

"The world doesn't need me, Pyra," she said, bitterly. "Not Alrest and certainly not this one either. Please, just do this for me, okay?"

Defeated and without an argument to make, Pyra simply nodded her head and signalized that she was about to take her leave. Her sister gave a tired sigh and turned around, body slumping against the tree trunk beside her, slowly descending until she sat on the tall, verdant grass. Pyra could feel her exhaustion, even in that dream space.

She wanted to scream at Mythra, to shake her shoulders and slap some sense into her. Instead, she turned around and was about to walk away, but not before saying, "Mythra, I love you and I'm willing to bear all of your burdens for you, but to ignore what I'm saying like this is too cruel. Still, if you ever change your mind and decide to give living in this world a chance, I'll be happy to switch."

Mythra did not turn around as her sister finally left her alone in her bubble.

Pyra woke up with tears in her eyes. The bed creaked loudly as she slowly supported her weight on her elbows, the soft light of the full moon shining through her window and bathing her body in a silver light. Her room was drenched in an eerie silence, a sharp contrast to the screaming voice inside her head.

Stubborn, stubborn! Mythra was so stubborn, Pyra wanted to scream into her pillow. She furiously rubbed her eyes, wiping the tears away like they were dirt, and quickly got up from her bed. She was much too annoyed to try to go back to sleep, so she quickly changed into some casual clothes and decided to go out for a walk to clear her mind.

Thanks to the full moon, the night was incredibly bright, enough for her to see everything around her without the need to create a small flame with her hands. Things were a lot calmer around the resort at night, which was saying something when she considered that it was also very calm during the day, even with the Inklings running around and playing among themselves.

Pyra took a deep breath and let out the air through her mouth, eyes watching the many stars in the sky, stars that were becoming more familiar to her with each night. She had only been living with the Smashers for a few weeks, but something with that arrangement just felt right to her, she just wished that Mythra could see what she saw. Perhaps her sister was correct in the assumption that her desire to believe in Shulk's claims came from a place of not wanting to deal with being the Aegis anymore, of not wanting to be a legendary Blade with the power to destroy the world.

Was that really such a bad thing to wish for, though? What if it was true? Perhaps then Pyra could stop being so afraid of herself. Perhaps then she could feel like she actually deserved to live a fulfilling life. Wouldn't that be nice? Was it such a sin to want one nice thing? She would get an audience with this world's gods, she would get the answers that she and Mythra needed. She prayed to the Architect that she got the answers that she wanted. She prayed to the Architect that that would be her last prayer to Him.

The sound of leaves rustling in the distance snapped her out of her thoughts. Now in high alert, Pyra materialized her sword and looked around, trying to find the source of the noise. She did not need to search hard, however, as the source decided to show herself, along with her three, yellow puffball companions.

Standing a few feet away from her, adorning a dress of gold that shone even in the night, was the puppet fighter that had been giving her camp anxiety. Rosalina stared at her with vacant red eyes, not a single expression of emotion in her perfectly placid face as she raised her wand. An aura with all the colors of the rainbow enveloped her, much more intensely than what she ever saw on any other Smashers.

It was at that moment that Pyra realized that she was completely and utterly screwed. Without the help of a spirit, she could either try her luck at fighting Rosalina regardless or she could run away. She had fought the occasional puppet fighter here and there, but from what it was informed to her, she had yet to face a legendary spirit, which just so happened to be the classification of this particular spirit controlling the puppet fighter.

She took a step back, ready to turn tail and run to get some assistance, when Mythra's image came to mind. Pyra did not know what it was in the mental image of her sister stubbornly crossing her arms and stomping her foot like a child, but it was enough to make Pyra stomp her own foot on the gravel path and get in a fighting stance.

Rosalina took the challenge.

Sometimes Pyra had the feeling that she was a pushover and she was unsure if that act of defiance only confirmed that feeling. She did not know if she wanted to prove something to Mythra or if she was following some stubborn wish of hers, but all that Pyra knew was that the distance between her and Rosalina (along with those three Kirbies) was growing shorter. Pyra dashed towards her, holding her sword with both hands, and jumped. She swung her sword, but was caught off guard by the blade cutting right through her body, like a knife cutting fog.

"W-what?!"

One of the Kirbies assisting her grabbed her wrist and threw her off balance, while a second one kicked her stomach with such force that Pyra was forced to recoil. She clutched her stomach with one hand and threw her blade at the Kirby who kicked her, the weapon spinning like a propeller of flame in the air, which gave her time to recompose herself.

She was so focused on the Kirbies that she did not notice Rosalina raising her arms in the air. It was too late for her when she realized the golden star atop of Rosalina, expanding, growing and pulling Pyra towards it. Her sword returned to her hand and she quickly stuck the tip on the ground, holding for dear life to not be pulled in by the gravitational force. Her hands were sweating and she could not concentrate on anything else that wasn't not being pulled. One slip up and she could very well die there.

How ironic the situation was, Pyra realized, to be so afraid to die when that was exactly Mythra desired. She would have laughed if she was not so terrified.

Rosalina lazily approached her, ready to grab Pyra and throw her, when she was intercepted by a red blur.

"PYRA!"

Before Pyra could understand what was going on, Shulk grabbed her arm and pulled her away from Rosalina and her deadly power star. His feet and hands were glowing blue, and to Pyra's surprise, so were hers. They ran as fast as they could, abnormally so, until they gained a considerable distance from Rosalina and her trio of Kirbies.

"Shulk! What are you…"

"Really, Pyra? You were going to fight her without assistance?" Shulk asked, breathless. "Don't put yourself in danger like this."

"How did you know I was there?"

Pyra saw a shadow looming over them and looked up. She saw Charizard hovering above, slowly circling them as Leaf rode him on his back.

"Your future vision never fails, Shulk!" She shouted in excitement. "I'll keep an eye on you guys!"

"You can see the future?!" Pyra exclaimed.

"I thought you already knew."

"NO, I DIDN'T?!"

"Well, there you go, I can see the future," Shulk said as he offered her the Alm and Celica spirit. "It's how I knew where to find you back at the train station."

Pyra had so many questions that had nothing to do with the very dangerous puppet fighters approaching them. They would have to wait. For the moment, she simply channeled the spirit into herself and readied her weapon.

"Keep an eye out for when Rosalina starts to glow," Shulk warned. "It's when she becomes temporarily invincible."

"So that's what has happened," Pyra muttered. "Got it, I'll keep an eye out."

"If we destroy Rosalina, we'll free the spirit, but first we need to get rid of her bodyguards."

"Okay."

The battle was resumed, this time on a more balanced plane. By balanced, it meant that Pyra was not in immediate danger of dying, though hitting Rosalina was still a struggle when they had three, small puffballs who were very annoying and very strong getting in the way. Every time Rosailna glowed, they focused only on the Kirbies and they waited until her invincibility wore off to try another stab at her.

It was a sound strategy. They even managed to get rid of two Kirbies in the process. Shulk breathed heavily, switching the power ups his Monado sword gave him to have an edge over Rosalina, while Pyra concentrated on taking out the last Kirby.

With a mighty swing of her blade, she killed the last bodyguard and was ready to celebrate internally, when she heard Shulk scream: "Pyra, get back! Get back!"

With her body sore from the fight and without stopping to notice what she was doing, she did as she was told and ran. As she turned around, she saw Rosalina summoning the same gigantic gold start from before. Her face paled as she realized why Shulk shouted at her to get back.

Rosalina grabbed Shulk and tossed him in the air. He was being pulled in.

"Shulk!"

Pyra was stopped by a small hand grabbing her wrist and pleading for her to stay in place. She saw Leaf, trembling, shaking her head and hugging her arm. "W-wait for the Final Smash to be over," she said. "Don't go there yet!"

She watched, helplessly, as Shulk's body glued to the power star like a magnet. He let out an agonized scream as the star started to damage his body in ways Pyra could not even begin to imagine. To make matters worse, Rosalina decided that now it was the perfect time to focus her attention on Leaf, who had to join the fight to save Pyra from doing something stupid.

Leaf's Charizard descended upon Rosalina, who dodged his claws with ease. The little star who accompanied her decided to keep the dragon occupied by shooting little star bits at him, giving Rosalina enough time to approach her. Pyra jumped between them and gave her a swift kick to the stomach, making Rosalina slide away and giving enough space for Leaf to reunite with Charizard.

"Keep your eyes on me," Pyra said, panting heavily.

But Rosalina was not having any of that. To Pyra's horror, she began to glow once again, the temporary invincibility kicking in, and Rosalina decided to focus on Leaf once again. Before Pyra could react, the puppet fighter glided away from her and forced the girl and her Pokemon to retreat further and further away from her.

"No, no…" the words came out of her mouth in a desperate plea. "Get back here… Leaf…"

Shulk's body laid on the ground not too far away, petrified in solid metal, almost like a trophy, from Rosalina's Final Smash. If she did not do something, Leaf and her Pokemon would meet the same fate. But Pyra's movements were too slow, too sluggish to reach the invincible puppet fighter and the struggling trainer in time. All of that power, yet Pyra felt powerless.

"Please… please, help me out…" Pyra pleaded as she threw her blade at Rosalina like a propeller, only for it to not even scratch her. "I know you're scared… but please, help me save her!"

She watched Rosalina's little companion knock Charizard out, who had been unable to so much as scratch her. She watched Rosalina use her wand to keep Leaf's body in place, making her unable to draw another Pokemon. She watched the fear in Leaf's eyes and she struggled to break free from the puppet fighter, her eyes darting back and forth between her and Shulk's trophy form.

"Help us, Mythra!"

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to the shine sprite battle that gave me quite a lot of headache when I first played World of Light.