Hello again everyone! I had time to write this chapter today, so I thought to upload it right now. I hope you guys are enjoying this so far, I try my best! Don't hesitate to give me your feedback, I always love to read your comments!

Enjoy this first chapter! This is where it all begins!

Yours truly, Circle of J.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from the Kid Icarus series. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.

Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light

Chapter 1: A Goddess' secret

Dark Pit could hardly pretend that he did not think about that necklace during his next missions. Even Viridi seemed to have noticed that something was off with him, since she'd perpetually ask about what he did at Palutena's castle and if Pit had 'confessed' about… something that she claimed were feelings of love towards him. Every time she mentioned this absurdity, the dark angel rolled eyes and shook head; she'd never stop being obnoxious, would she? She kept trying to tell him to open up his heart, whether it be to Phosphora, herself and now… Pit. That's how far she's gotten with time. Sometimes, he wondered if she didn't try to get him with someone just so that she could spy on their… private sessions. Dirty creep.

The dark angel shivered but kept his composure, not wanting to let his enemy know of his uneasiness. The enemy was a classic, if he could say so: Thanatos, born from the dead like he so often was. He'd always been pretty awkward to be around but, this time, it seemed to have reached a whole new level of cringe. Indeed, the demon kept talking about how 'handsome' Dark Pit looked in his clothes soaked with purple goop—that was the closest thing that resembled the blood of the horde of Underworld monsters he had to fight to get to Thanatos. The fight itself had been one of the easiest: just a bunch of Monoeyes, Miks and Komaytos—nothing that Dark Pit couldn't handle. However, when it came to the boss fight, it was a different story: Thanatos was quite resistant, which sincerely bothered the dark angel, who had lost his patience.

Dark Pit gulped down the blood flowing in his mouth, trying not to focus on it too much, and shook his head again. Keeping track of his thoughts that drifted in all unwanted directions, while fighting off one of the commanders of the Underworld, was tricky. Right now, he needed to concentrate on defeating this… thing, then he'd have time to think about Pit and his glowing necklace—because no matter what he did, his thoughts always seemed to come back to him.

Dark Pit held onto his weapon, which was none other than his precious Silver Bow, and aimed a charged arrow at Thanatos, who was drawing closer by the time he had decided to attack. The commander of the Underworld forces laughed and vanished in front of his blinking eyes, only to teleport behind him and deliver a crushing kick in the angel's wings. Dark Pit yelped in pain, sent crashing into a tree, and moaned when his body lied on the ground, amongst the watery grass. It was raining, which made it even worse. The dark angel managed to pull himself up right before he could be kicked in the face and separated his Silver Bow into two identical swords. He slashed the God of Death with them, targeting his round belly since it was easier. Thanatos started floating in the air, like he often did, and turned into one of those things again: a snake with three heads.

Dark Pit sighed, watching his heavy breathing, and barely avoided a venomous bite in his shoulder. He swung his right blade, cutting through the neck of one of the heads, and quickly dashed to the side when another one of the heads attacked him. He briefly lost his balance because of the speed at which he had to dive to the side, and Thanatos took advantage of that to slither up to him and wrap his long, slippery body around the angel's legs. Once he was unable to move, the God of Death rose over him and attempted to bite him again, only to get a second one of his heads cut off. The remaining head dived forward, showing its fangs, and succeeded at biting Dark Pit in the arm. He hissed in pain and pushed the snake off of him with swift kicks in its body, jumping to his feet. Thanatos slithered up to him, launching himself towards the angel's arms, but Dark Pit dodged at the last second. The snake crashed into a tree trunk, knocked out, but the angel knew it wouldn't last.

Viridi noticed that Dark Pit had stopped fighting and cried out his name, sounding way less annoyed than she used to be. "Pittoo, are you alright?!"

"I'm fine, Viridi," he lied, getting back on his feet and cringing at the pain in his arm, which was quickly spreading in his entire body. He felt rather numb, so much so that his sword dropped to the grass. He had barely felt it slide, but startled when he heard it fall. "Shit, I'm starting to feel strange."

"He bit you, didn't he?" Viridi asked him, definitely worried. "I should warp you back."

Dark Pit shook his head, though his vision was starting to get blurry. This thing was quick… He didn't know how long he could last with this burning sensation running in his veins. The snake started moving again, catching his attention, and three heads grew back, next to the previously remaining one. Dark Pit couldn't tell if there were four or ten at this point, taking a few steps back until his back bumped into a tree. He used it for support, hearing his heart pounding all the way up to his ears. His vision blacked out for a moment, but he shook himself up and grasped the blade he held in his left hand. Thanatos laughed, deeply amused by the sight before him, and launched himself around the angel's neck. His body wrapped around it, slowly squeezing it and preventing Dark Pit from breathing in.

The dark angel's eyes opened wide and he wiggled around as much as he could, in order to throw the snake off of him. He could hear Viridi screaming his name, swearing that if he didn't move, she'd warp him back to the Sanctum, but couldn't reply, even though he'd have loved to tell her to shut up.

Dark Pit shut his eyes, feeling his mind drift off, and slashed one last time into Thanatos' body. He managed to miraculously hit the head that kept the snake alive, and it fell into the grass, releasing the dark angel. Dark Pit stumbled on his feet, falling face first into the grass, and since it was wet it managed to wake him up a little. "N-ice try…" Dark Pit muttered, before he held out a hand to grab his fallen blade. Once he reached it, he wrapped his fingers around it and let out a pained sigh. "But you… need to… Ngh… "

"Pittoo!" Viridi was screaming in his ear, since she had briefly lost connection with him—to be fair, he was good at ignoring someone when he really intended to. Dark Pit grunted and tried to stand back up, only to realize that his body was a living pain in itself and that he couldn't move at all. He gritted his teeth, feeling his strength leaving his body, before he was warped back to Viridi's Sanctum in a snap of the Goddess' fingers.

A halo enveloped Dark Pit's silhouette before lifting him off the ground. He appeared in the main hall of the Sanctum, underneath the golden glow of the sun. The first thing that hit him was the delicious smell of the trees, the wildlife as a whole. The sun spread its rays through the leaves of the huge trees that surrounded the main hall of the Sanctum, and shone a wonderful golden-green light that made the atmosphere as welcoming and warm as an atmosphere ever could be. The Sanctum was filled with gold and orange colors, as it was already fall on the Overworld below; it changed according to the seasons, which Dark Pit found impressive, if not even fascinating.

The dark angel gasped at the sight of those huge, tall branches, and let his amazed expression fall when he felt a throbbing pain in his right arm, right where Thanatos had bit him. He then noticed a familiar silhouette kneeling down next to him, with a leaf in hands. Viridi. She was wearing her usual natural dress and had an orange flower in her hair; probably a lily, with its big, elegant petals. It was wide open, with vibrant colors, and it suited her blond hair quite well, he had to say. Though he despised having to compliment someone, Dark Pit felt like she deserved it for once. "Well, aren't… we luminous today… Viridi?"

"Now you're quite brave to say that sort of things to a Goddess, even more in that state!" Viridi exclaimed, deeply amused, and she rubbed the leaf on his bite mark. Dark Pit hissed at the pain that it triggered, but she only told him to soothe down and to watch his breathing. She had her free hand running through his hair, and the light, worried glimmer in her brown eyes filled Dark Pit with trust. He knew she would save him, she always had; that was the main reason why he was working with her. She had sworn that she'd keep him away from the Underworld, and he knew he could count on her.

Viridi smiled, satisfied with what she had done to his bite mark, and stood back on her feet. She joined her hands behind her back and a ravished smile spread across her lips. She briefly narrowed her eyes at him and giggled, just as the child she was pretending to be. "So," she started again. "How do you feel now?"

"I sincerely don't know how you do that," Dark Pit answered, and he jumped back on his feet. He felt way better, as though the poison had been sucked out of his body. When he saw her raising a hand towards him, aiming to check the state of his wings, he gritted his teeth and took a few steps back. "Hey, it's not because you touched me to heal me that you have to keep doing it."

"Aw, in a bad mood?" Viridi laughed, and Dark Pit rolled his eyes and grumbled. The only person that stupidly dared to jump at his neck, hug him, touch his arms, play with his hands and such things was Pit. He was actually the only person Dark Pit allowed to touch him in any sort of way; mainly because they looked the same, if it wasn't for their eye and hair color. No, mainly because you like it when he touches you, his heart told him again, but Dark Pit only growled and sighed heavily.

Viridi's fingers brushed against his back and he shivered, standing straight and moving away from her. His wings did hurt, so he didn't want them touched. He tried to stretch them, but winced at the shooting pain that spread in his wing bones. Dark Pit clicked his tongue when Viridi insisted and pushed her hand away from him. "I'm fine, Viridi, though I am growing annoyed! I hate to repeat myself!"

The Goddess of Nature decided to drop the case and to move away with swift, agile movements that almost made her look like a snake. Dark Pit shivered at the thought; he had had enough of snakes for the next centuries to come. She glared at Dark Pit and was about to say something—probably her usual commentary that he loathed so dearly—when she stopped in her own tracks. She seemed to have remembered about one specific detail, and the way she was now staring at him, with a raised eyebrow, didn't exactly make him feel comfortable. Was it about Pit, again? That was the only name she ever pronounced lately! He started to think that maybe, she liked him way more than she was pretending to—pretending, because Dark Pit knew that she had a severe crush on the angel of light.

Right as he was, once again, lost in thoughts, Viridi stood before him and snapped her fingers in front of his eyes to catch his attention. Dark Pit blinked and gave her a mean glance in return. However, like usual, that did not seem to unsettle her. "Don't even think about snapping at me, Dark Pit! I wanted to inform you that, while you were on the Overworld, Palutena talked to me!" she said, eyeing at him to watch carefully his reaction.

Dark Pit cringed when he heard the familiar name and looked off, frowning and gritting his teeth to contain his anger. "And what'd she want?"

"She thinks she uncovered the 'secret' behind Pit's 'jewel'. No clue what this all meant, now that I say it again…" Viridi explained before rubbing her hair and shaking her head. She then darted a look towards Dark Pit, who stood there and watched her with empty, lost eyes. What were they all up to behind her back, hm? Why didn't she hear about that 'jewel'? For a second, she thought about asking her captain, however she quickly withdrew; he would not cooperate, even less when he was involved in some shady business with Pit and his precious Goddess Palutena… Asking him to elaborate would be beyond pointless.

Dark Pit brandished his Silver Bow and ran off to the entrance of the Sanctum, asking Viridi to grant him the Power of Flight. Viridi laughed out loud. "Are you serious? Let me check your wings first, you can't fly with wings all crumbled up."

The dark angel turned to her, sighed, and nodded in agreement. He had almost forgotten that he was wounded, because he was so enthusiastic at the idea of seeing Pit again. Viridi walked up to him, her hands glowing green, and she brushed her fingers against the soft, teal feathers of her angel. Dark Pit shrieked, deeply hurt, though he bit his lower lip and tried to suppress the urge to scream at the top of his lungs. He felt his bones slowly reconnect and solidify, which he was grateful for, but it was horrendously painful. The Goddess of Nature chuckled, told him to stop whining, and eventually took a step back. Dark Pit instinctively tried to move his wings, and when he was successful to do so, he couldn't help but smile. Viridi pointed towards the entrance of the Sanctum, and the angel nodded, making his way up to its edge. He gulped down his fear when his eyes landed on the void beneath his feet, and briefly spun around to look at the Goddess of Nature.

"We're ready?" he inquired, folding his arms. The only answer he ever got from her was the shimmer of his wings and the rapid flight that he began taking through the Heavens. "Thanks, Viridi. I owe you one."

"Nah, you don't owe me anything! Also, make sure to tell me what that's all about when you head back here!"

The dark angel sighed—but agreed to do it—and flew to Skyworld, only to find out that there was nobody outside. Even the Centurions were out of sight, which he thought to be quite the unusual sight. He set foot on the pavement, at the same spot as he always landed, and inhaled the clear, fresh air of the night. The moon started to be more apparent as time went by, and the angel stared at it with glowing eyes. He went back to sit on his bench, grasping its edges, and lost his gaze into the darkening sky above his head. He felt way closer to night, personality-wise.

While he saw Pit as a ray of sunshine in himself, Dark Pit identified with the darkness taking over the light and slowly invading the sky to settle down for hours along. Thinking about it brought joy to his heart. He joined his hands, leaning forward, and squinted his eyes to see a horde of birds flying through the Heavens. Such a calming spectacle. After the battle he had been through, he yearned for a peaceful moment like this one. He closed his red eyes, enjoying the cool evening breeze on his cheeks, and exhaled. If only he had brought a book, it seemed like a perfect atmosphere to read. But he hadn't thought of it, he was there to meet Pit and Palutena.

Dark Pit shook himself up and went to the giant doors of the marble palace. He gently, silently opened them, cringing as they still creaked and announced his arrival. He wanted to remain unnoticed… Too bad for him, nothing ever worked out the way he wanted it to. In the main hall, which was devoured by somberness and held a somewhat gloomy atmosphere, he found himself to be on his own, once again. Palutena's throne, in the far center of the room, was empty, and the carpet on the floor was dusty. It seemed most peculiar in the castle of Light herself… Had something happened?

Despite his increasing fear, the dark angel walked across the room without glancing back and headed right to find Pit's room, at the very end of a seemingly never-ending corridor. It was just as dark in the corridor as it was in the main hall… Creepy. Never had Dark Pit seen such desolation around Palutena's castle before. Something had to have happened, it couldn't be otherwise. He dared hope that Pit was okay. Once at Pit's door, he noticed that it was half-opened, which was, to say the least, highly out of the ordinary. He'd always keep everything a secret, mainly his room that he considered was his sanctuary.

Leaving it open when he wasn't in it was a very, very bad sign. "Pit?" he asked, his throat feeling raw and dry. "Pit, are you there?"

While Dark Pit was starting to feel sick, nauseous at the thought that someone could have hurt his twin, he picked up the sound of two voices, away in the castle, that… yelled at each other? How surprising… He recognized easily Palutena's voice, since it angered him instantly, but the other was hard to describe: it was dark, deep, like a bear's growl. But at the same time, it felt feminine. He started to think about all the female Goddesses or else that he may have met that had such a voice and only one of them seemed fit to him. Medusa. Dark Pit's heart skipped a beat at that realization. Pit was nowhere to be found and Medusa was arguing with Palutena… Did the monstrous Goddess of Darkness hurt the light angel in any way? If she had only touched his hair, he would… Dark Pit clenched his fists and inhaled deeply. His brain couldn't register yet what was happening, not before he saw it with his own eyes.

Thus, the dark angel rushed towards the origin of the voices and peeked through the keyhole of the door to see what was going on. Indeed, Palutena was there, but he had no sight of the woman she was screaming at. His heart felt like it was about to implode from all the stress he'd been feeling from his arrival to then. He leaned forward to try and see the other woman but suddenly, a pair of powerful hands pulled him back. He jumped and took out his Silver Bow, aiming its purple, glowing arrow at… a strangely familiar face with deep sapphire eyes. His lighter counterpart blinked and raised his hands in the air. "Pitto—"

"Shhh!" Dark Pit whispered, covering almost instantly the other's mouth with his hand. Pit blinked, trying to push his hand off, clearly not understanding what his darker version was up to. Exasperated, Dark Pit sighed and let go of him, turning back towards the door just as the screams intensified. He made sure to keep a low voice when he said: "I wanted to listen inconspicuously, mind you."

"Incon-wha—"

"SHHHH!"

"Okay, okay!" Pit murmured, having trouble keeping his voice down but thinking that it was probably what Dark Pit wanted. Even though he didn't understand the word he had used there, if it even was English, he could guess that, since he himself was whispering, he was trying to hide his presence from his Goddess. "So we hide, watch and listen? That's what you want to do, Pittoo?"

The dark angel nodded at him and, much to their surprise, the door opened right away since Palutena was walking out. When she saw the two curious angels peeking through the keyhole, listening to her very secret and serious conversation, she gasped and stepped back. There wasn't anybody else in her room though, so Dark Pit frowned and flashed a dangerous, suspicious look at the Goddess. Palutena breathed in and gave a gentle look to Pit before pulling the two spies by their arm to the main hall, where she needed to talk to them anyways. Dark Pit tried his hardest to break free from her grip while Pit just followed her quietly, guilt invading his blue eyes that did not dare to lay on his Goddess. He couldn't believe that they had been caught spying on her… Where did he go so wrong? Was Dark Pit having a bad influence on him? Why did he even consider… He facepalmed.

Pit was capable of having bad ideas himself after all, he did not need to be under whatever influence he blamed… Palutena told them to stay where she had left them, which meant standing in the middle of the hall, and went to sit on her throne, calling her staff to her hand. Dark Pit looked off, annoyed, but decided to play along. Just for Pit, though. He had forced him to listen to the Goddess himself, so he could not exactly walk off and let him deal with it on his own—even if the idea in itself was extremely tempting. He bit his lower lip, he just about had it when the Goddess stood up and walk towards them. Pit knelt down to express his respect. Dark Pit just stared with anger, hatred in his red eyes. "I'd like you two to tell me what you were doing at my door, peeking in," Palutena began, very accusative when she set her eyes on Dark Pit. "Was it your idea to spy on me?"

"Yes, it was." The dark angel owned up to his action, with a little smirk on his lips. Now was the perfect time to be provocative. "What will you do about it~? If you were less secretive in your ways, I wouldn't have to do this." Pit raised his head and gave his twin a warning look, however the latter just shrugged it off. Still arms crossed and that insolent expression glued to his face, he challenged the Goddess who was frowning with a glance. Palutena shut her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to contain the fury that was burning inside of her. Dark Pit tapped his foot on the ground, waiting for a comeback which never came. How disappointing. "Well? That's it? Can I leave now?"

"Before you do," Palutena said, incapable of keeping her glaring eyes off of him. "I wanted to tell you that I know where the necklace comes from. It's a gift from Aphrodite, it seems to unite the two of you."

"Ha!" he laughed, quite humorlessly. Who was she kidding? Aphrodite didn't have time to waste giving gifts to angels to unite them, he knew that for a fact. Well, at least, the Aphrodite he used to know didn't. Maybe she was different there? His heart ache at the thought, but he firmly refused to concentrate on it. Instead, he looked at Palutena, only to notice her serious expression. Panicked, he quickly turned his eyes towards Pit, who did not look any less convinced about what the foolish Goddess of Light was claiming. Dark Pit's face started to turn pale and his eyes darted off to the floor. There it was, he felt sick again. "Why are you two looking at me like that?!" he snapped at them, his wings stretching up from his scream.

"Because it's true, Pittoo!" Pit asserted, then he stood up and stared right back at his twin. He did not seem as mortified as Dark Pit truly was within himself. If anything, the light angel's cheeks flashed red for a moment after he had grabbed his twin's hand.

"B-But! N-No!" Dark Pit protested, however his words remained tied to his throat. This was no way to convince him that there was such thing. Dark Pit was nearly certain that there was something else to this, that they were looking in the wrong direction. Why would it shine to unite two people 'in love' when they were not in love? That had to be the wrong angle… Or maybe you should quit lying to yourself, that works too, his heart told him, and Dark Pit groaned. "D-Don't you see, Pit?! It's i-impossible! W-Why would we even—?"

"Why not, Pittoo?" Pit asked innocently, a slight smile on his lips and his eyes shining with delight. He had always kept the thought of them being together forever close to his heart—whether it be as friends or something more, whatever it was. As long as Dark Pit stayed in Skyworld and spent his days in his company, he'd be the happiest angel! Plus, he couldn't really tell why, but he felt thrilled at the idea of sharing something more with his darker version. He felt so close to him, so enthralled by his sight alone. Reading stories on their bench until the end of Time didn't bother him in the slightest, quite the opposite: he looked forward to it. He kept the feeling of Dark Pit's lips on his' very dearly in his memories. They only kissed two times before, and his twin always said that it was just to bother him, but… Pit somehow wanted it to be more than a game. The light angel entwined his fingers with Dark Pit's, not minding the fact that he quickly recoiled, like burnt. "Why does it seem so uncanny?"

"Pit, do you even—?" Dark Pit shook his head, shocked, unable to form a sentence. Everything in his brain was being turned upside down, shaken until it was liquefied. That couldn't be… He had never had such intents towards his twin, never! Thus, he was absolutely sure of one fact: it could not be a 'gift' from Goddess Aphrodite. He just knew it, a weird… instinct told him that there was something eerie behind the very existence of the artifact. What it was, he had no clue, but if it had been the Goddess of Love, he'd never have felt this way… right? Or are you just trying to persuade yourself again, Dark Pit? he thought to himself, rolling eyes.

Palutena walked closer to them and caught Dark Pit's attention when she took the necklace out of her pocket. It started shining when she put it in Pit's palm, of that light blue shade, and Dark Pit attempted to touch it at the same time. He had no idea if the thing would just blow up or if there would be any sort of change at all, but he felt like trying it. "Here, let me try something."

"What are you—"

"Just keep your hand up, Pit-stain!" Dark Pit snapped at Pit before he wrapped his fingers around Pit's palm, to make sure he would not just drop the stupid necklace on the ground. When he touched it, the glow turned a light but frank shade of pink, just like the former stone itself.

"Woah!" Pit exclaimed, amazed by the discovery and the reassuring light of the jewel.

Dark Pit pouted; he hoped that the cursed thing would explode, blowing up Pit's face along with it. That would have been reassuring, to so many extents, since it'd have meant he didn't have to deal with whatever was happening in his heart when he was close to that idiot. He was disappointed. The discovery that they made was intriguing nonetheless, he had to say. What could this mean though? Pink, just like the stone… Weird how the color was specific. Could this, after all, be a gift of the Goddess of Love to make them realize what they felt towards the other? Now you're on the right track!

Dark Pit gulped at the words of his inner voice and, as his saliva went down his throat, he felt a strong burning feeling down his trachea… An acid taste, as if he had swallowed a whole lemon without peeling it first. He nearly coughed to get it out, but Palutena looked at him with worried eyes—for once, she was caring at least a little bit about what he felt. "Are you okay, Pittoo?" she asked him and, for the first time in months, he growled at the nickname. "You're looking pale, do you need to lay down?"

"I'm fine," he sighed. "I should head back to Viridi. It's late and I've had a long day."

Pit smiled. "Then maybe you can sleep here?"

"I'm not sleeping with you!" Dark Pit snapped at him.

"Oh, I didn't mean that! We have a spare room, it would rest your wings to settle down for the night. Viridi will be understanding."

Dark Pit scoffed and turned away from the Goddess of Light and her precious angel. He looked over his shoulder, meeting the blue eyes of Pit, and said: "Have you ever seen Viridi being understanding?" Pit shrugged one shoulder and chuckled lightly at the question. Dark Pit couldn't help but slightly smile at his sight, before he turned back towards the doors of the palace and opened them. A gust of wind rushed in, freezing the three of them, but the dark angel didn't pay attention to it. Instead, he ran off to the garden, calling out the Goddess of Nature.

Soon enough, and while he was thinking back at everything that he had learnt, his wings started glowing and he took flight back towards the Sanctum. As he fluttered his wings, feeling the cold wind brushing against his delicate and highly sensitive teal feathers, he gave a second thought to the events he had just been a part of.

Why not?

To be continued…

Updated: 02/11/2019