Hey again! I hope you're all doing good and that you'll have an amazing year! I am done with this new chapter, so I decided to upload it. That will probably put up with all the times when I'll be late… With college starting again on the 28th, the posting of new chapters—because of their length—will surely be delayed more than once… I appreciate this rhythm while I can hold it! ;)

Hope you like this new chapter! Tell me what you think in the comments!

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 2: Rebellious souls

Why was it so hard to believe? Pit blinked, staring at Palutena. Why did he feel so surprised? Now that he thought about it, it was only a matter of time until Thanatos came back to life. Hades said himself that he had a sort of pass… or card… that granted him that sort of privilege… However, could he really trust his words? The angel cringed, remembering that God who enjoyed to make fun of his gullible character all the time. Maybe there wasn't such a thing… It'd be weird, a card to escape Death over and over… Pit asked himself a crucial question on the subject: How much credit did Thanatos have? Coming back to Life so many times must have cost him a small fortune!

Leaving that aside due to Palutena's sudden seriousness, he wondered why Thanatos decided to come back only now and not before—when he was certain that he could've if he had chosen to. Pit knew very well, just like Palutena, that the Underworld forces never did something casually… Pit just felt like they were trying to start a war or something along those lines… But… Why did they attack Dark Pit and not him—or even Skyworld as a whole? The only time they attacked a human city—so directly appealing to Palutena's interest—was when Pit was invited to go and get some 'Nintendogs trainer points' with Twinbellows—he was starting to believe that he'd soon buy all the toys in the game's universe with how much he'd gotten. That was roughly two weeks prior, what had they been up to since then?

Why target Dark Pit and not the poor, defenseless humans and their easily inflammable cities? The Goddess of Light had told him that she thought they wanted to recruit him—argument that was apparently stressed by her conversation with Medusa. As she put it herself, 'Anybody would die to convince such a ferocious angel to join their army'. Medusa also claimed that the Underworld army was not the only one looking for Dark Pit's service: she mentioned Poseidon and Zeus, amongst other names that Palutena did not mind telling Pit about. To be fair, knowing that so many Gods were fighting over his twin made him aggro enough.

Palutena stood back, looking at her captain with a strange glow in her eyes. She seemed sad, heartbroken, and Pit got the message that she wanted to stay out of those affairs. That theory was confirmed by what she said after she had asked the last Centurions to leave the room. "Getting Skyworld's forces involved in the fight would only result in casualties; I think we've had enough of them with the recent Uprising—"

"Lady Palutena, you do not need to send out regiments!" Pit interrupted, fluttering his wings, then he clenched his fist with determination. Why send the Centurions? It was highly unnecessary! Pit was almost sure that with him and Dark Pit fighting together, even Hades wouldn't resist for long! He just needed to be sent there everytime Dark Pit was fighting, and that would be more than enough! That way, no Centurion would be wounded, and he was certain that he'd work through it just fine with his darker version at his side. "I can go! I can do it, Lady Palutena!"

"Pit, that's not an available option."

"Why? I'm perfectly in shape for—"

"We have said that after the Uprising, you needed to rest," Palutena reminded him, too bitterly in her taste but she could not help with the worry she felt inside her heart. She noticed that Pit wanted to respond, to assure her that he was up to the task, that he was not afraid and felt ready, but she raised her hand for him to keep his mouth shut. The Goddess of Light shot him a glance, one of those loving, caring and highly protective ones that only he received from her, then sighed and attempted to smile. Even though it was a massive failure, she still managed to convince the angel of her sincerity. The last thing that she wanted was to lose her precious Pit… They all knew that the Uprising had been awfully tiring for him, his body still needed the constant assistance of the hot springs. He couldn't leave to fight by Dark Pit's side; if anything, he would put himself in danger, and push his darker twin into taking risks to ensure that he would make it out alive. She couldn't allow that to happen, for both of the angels' sakes. "That was the agreement that we found, Pit. You would rest. You swore to me that, no matter the emergency, you would do that. Now isn't that right, Pit?"

Pit clicked his tongue, pissed off, and glanced away from his Goddess. He was careful not to let his disappointment show. Of course he'd said that, but it was almost three months prior to the current events. Was it so unbelievable that he might have changed his mind? Dark Pit was targeted… The stakes were too great for him to just stand there and watch. He understood Palutena's worry, it was totally justified, but… He couldn't abandon Dark Pit, he would die if he didn't help him. And he knew he could help him. Pit felt a sting in his heart but silenced it, keeping his composure. After he succeeded at masking his raging emotions, he raised his head and eyed at his Goddess. "So we should just leave him to die? That's the plan, Lady Palutena?"

Palutena shook her head and knelt down to be at Pit's level. She cupped his face and made him look at her in the eyes. "Pittoo is a smart angel, he can work through this on his own."

"And I should stand there and wait?"

The Goddess of Light felt the rage behind those words, and let go of her angel's face. The fire in his eyes was blazing; she had never seen him so upset about one of their common decisions. Usually, he would always side with her, never say anything to go against her orders. But this time, it seemed like something had changed in Pit, something had broken loose and threatened to steer him away from her. There was this wrath, this fierceness in his blue eyes that she loathed and feared. Maybe his dark side was manifesting? Spending time with Dark Pit might have triggered it somehow… "Pit, listen, I know you're anguished about this situation. But you have to understand that there is nothing we can do."

Pit's eyes glared into her own. "Nothing, you say? No, Lady Palutena, I'm not going to wait around while he's getting beaten up by enemies of mankind! We all know what they want, you said it yourself! They're trying to force him to be on their side!"

"Pittoo is smart, Pit, he will take his own deci—"

"NO!" Pit countered, overwhelmed by the intense fury he felt burning inside of him. "I am never going to let that happen!"

"Pit—"

"I will find him on the Overworld, and I'll save him—"

"PIT—"

"I can't let this go, Lady Palutena, they're threatening to kill him—"

"THAT'S THE END OF THIS CONVERSATION!" Palutena screamed at his face. Pit jumped and stood back on his feet, frightened. He had never heard his Goddess yell this way… She was always calm and collected, but there she appeared to have lost her temper… The angel gulped and stepped back, wanting to get away from her as soon as possible. Palutena stood up, glaring at him, but what he found in her eyes wasn't rage alone: there were heavy tears running down her cheeks, and her lips were trembling. Pit thought that he should reassure her, but that blazing passion inside of him wouldn't let him; he needed to save Dark Pit, no matter what Palutena thought about it. It was his decision. He had taken his decision. Palutena kept staring at him, her whole body shaking, and a sob passed through her lips. "I will not let you go on the Overworld, Pit. Never again. You will stay in your room, locked up for as long as you need to be until you get your thoughts straight."

"What?!" he reacted, shocked beyond words, and he recoiled even more. "You can't keep me here! You can't lock me up, you don't… you have no right…"

Palutena didn't reply and instead called her Centurions back into the room. She glowered at her captain, tears flowing down her cheeks, and asked that her guards take him back to his quarters. The Strongarms walked up to Pit, pulled him by the wrist, but he did all he could to fight back. He wasn't going to accept being treated this way. He wasn't going to accept being a prisoner of his homeland. Whatever the means, he would run away, he wouldn't stay there waiting for Dark Pit to get killed while staying locked up in his room. There was no way that Palutena could impose that on him. He had infinite respect for her, he loved her dearly, but she couldn't imprison him in his own castle, where he had been raised and trained his entire life. Pit fought against the Strongarms who managed to carry him up to his room. They threw him on the ground and quickly locked up the door behind them. The angel groaned, tears at the back of his eyes, and sprung on his feet in order to bang against the door. He screamed, begged, cried, but nobody ever answered.

After a moment, completely worn out by his attempts to call out for help, he let himself fall to the ground, sitting with his back against the door. He kept on whimpering, his face drowned in his own sorrow, before he looked around his room for a way out. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing his medallion, and pulled it off of his clothes. He clung to it, crying over it, and his eyes examined it thoroughly. It had been his gift from Palutena, when he decided to join her forces after he had saved her from Medusa. The images ran in front of his eyes, as though he was reliving the moment, and he eventually threw the medallion across the room in rage. The medallion fell on his bed, amongst the bedsheets, and Pit didn't look at it.

The light angel fell asleep against the door, feeling his heart pounding at the thought of everything that had happened. He was to be the prisoner of his land. He had a nightmare because of that thought, he imagined the Centurions and Palutena forgetting about him until he died in his room. Pit woke up, breathing heavily, and clenched his fists before slamming them against the doors. Still nothing, no footsteps in the hallway, nothing at all. They were purposefully ignoring him. Pit groaned and tried to stand back on his feet, considering his different options.

He was to be the prisoner of Skyworld. His blue eyes looked up at the open window above his bed. "No," he whispered, pulling himself up and running to get his Palutena Bow. He scooped up his medallion but refused to put it on, keeping it in his pocket instead. Determined, he climbed out of the window, heading for the stables. "I am going to be the traitor of Skyworld."

.oOo.

"Pittoo, I told you to watch where you headed!" Viridi yelled at him and the dark angel rolled eyes and cursed the bad luck he had to work for her. It had been twenty minutes of flight, and twenty minutes of constant screaming and raging on the Goddess' part. Dark Pit remained as calm as he could be, focusing on the crowd of enemies that surrounded him, ready to take him down for whatever reason they saw fit. Armed with heavy weaponry such as guns and blades that were taller than the angel himself, the Underworld forces did not joke around anymore. They came for him, he knew they wouldn't leave until they had what they wanted: his servitude—at least that was what he thought they were after. But Dark Pit was not one to serve others without seeing interests of his own.

He aimed his laser gun, loaded with what Palutena once called 'Goddess power', at a wave of enemies and clicked his tongue. This thing was heavy, too much for his taste but he had to deal with it. This gun was probably the most appropriate for the battle that awaited him down on the Overworld's floor: one of the Undies Besties, as he liked to call them to make fun of them, was after him—they were quite relentless when he thought about it. It had only been two days since the previous attack with Thanatos, and another one was trying to take him down. Hopefully, it wasn't Thanatos again… Dark Pit knew for a fact that the God of Death had been brought back to life, but he didn't want to keep fighting him constantly. He liked diversity, even with his enemies. For that matter, he had also chosen a weapon that he usually refused to touch: a laser gun, no less; they were the new kind of weapon that Viridi was still testing out.

Dark Pit had figured that a heavy weapon with high damage, such as the one he had with him, would be best for occasions like kicking the Underworld commander's asses. At least, it'd be more efficient than his beloved Silver Bow… With the little to no damage it had done to Thanatos, he didn't want to bring it in a fight such as this one again. He cared too much for his life. What a shame that I don't know why exactly I care, he thought.

Dark Pit's wings stretched out, carrying more air to support him with this heavy thing, while he himself struggled aiming this gigantic gun that was around the size of his arm in length. When he finally found a way where he'd be sort of comfortable enough to fire it, a powerful laser beam disintegrated the entire troop of Monoeyes that was flying there, turning them into something close to 'pixie' dust, since it was purple-ish and glittered in the sun. For a moment, he wondered if putting some on his wings could grant him endless flight… Nah, that only happened in movies. What brought Dark Pit to reality was him nearly crashing down into a high branch. "Whoa there, tree, fuck right off!"

"HOW MANY TIMES—"

"I got this, Viridi," Dark Pit growled; he wanted to shut her up already. To illustrate what he said, he charged his gun and shot another wave of flying enemies in one single purple laser beam. Seeing them vanish in one shot was highly satisfying, he had to admit. "See? I'm doing just fine, now tell me what you know about our opponent today."

Despite the fact that the Goddess of Nature hated being told what to do—mostly from an angel—she inhaled deeply and told him all that she knew: "It's our little friend Pandora! Seems like someone's reviving those entities again and again… Hm, who's next, right?"

Dark Pit snickered at the question and rolled his eyes, shooting off another horde of Monoeyes at the same time. "You know, I bet it's going to be Thanatos." Viridi laughed out loud and said that yes, probably, since the God of Death got himself killed every second of the day. Dark Pit cursed when his gun refused to load, wishing he had taken another one of these that wasn't still in its 'trial' state. He tried his best to charge another blast before he was being targeted by other Monoeyes that grew closer. He flapped his wings to slow his flight down, thus giving himself more time to charge, and glared at the creatures closing in. He aimed the gun towards them and shot them. They all disintegrated, which helped him relax. The dark angel started flying at high speed again, still struggling with this ridiculously huge gun that he could barely hold, and thought about something: "Viridi, I can't recall. Did I mention that Medusa has arisen?"

"WHAT?!"

"Aw, guess not," Dark Pit smirked, enjoying the sound of Viridi choking in her words. Now that was satisfying, way more than charging up this stupid gun. After he had been back from Palutena's castle, Dark Pit had not talked much to his 'boss'—the notion was debatable but that was what she always called herself anyways. To be true, he had stayed enclosed in his room, thinking about the meaning of this glowing necklace and his possible romantic affection towards Pit. He refused to believe that he felt anything special for the poor idiot… He hated him, that was all he felt towards him. Of course, his heart kept telling him that he was lying to himself, but why'd he listen to that stupid thing anyways? He had time to think about all this, about their situation, when an idea had occurred to him, in relation to all events. He had made sure that nobody was aware of his thoughts though, since he was not certain yet. Giving false accusations was one thing he hated above everything. However, he was getting closer and closer to the truth. Soon enough, he would be able to take revenge on the Goddess of Light.

"Maybe it'd had been wise to mention it!" Viridi screamed in his ear and he shut his eyes to help soothe the headache he started to get. "Now what?! Medusa is out there, she could go on a killing spree at any given time!"

"And Pit will stop her like he always does," Dark Pit assured, keeping his eyes on the enemies lurking around, sometimes hiding behind the leaves of some high trees to take cover and charge his gun—mainly rage for his gun to charge, to be fair. Then he added under his breath, bitterness clearly noticeable in his voice: "Because he's the hero and that's what he does best: stop the bad guys."

Viridi snorted and couldn't help with the urge to reply: "You sure have a lot of faith in this so-called 'hero', Pittoo."

"Okay, when you say shit like this, don't call me that," Dark Pit briefly snapped, but he did not let his feelings carry him away from the actual battle he was putting up with. He shot a few more monsters before his wings felt like they were literally roasting. "Going down, Viridi!" he yelled towards the sky, and the Goddess led him to a path—far away from all civilization—in the calm, deserted forest that he had been flying over this whole time. When his feet touched the ground, burying in the grass, he felt relaxed and proud of the fight that he had given in the skies. Those enemies were nothing but a joke, even though they had gotten noticeably stronger; one beam could still decimate all of them if they stood in a line, like bowling. He'd have thought that the Underworld forces would have gotten even tougher than that, after the events of the Uprising and Pit's blasting victory… Mistake on his part, but he had to say that it made his life way easier: Dark Pit could focus on talking while battling with those dumbasses. No concentration required.

The dark angel's eyes zoomed across the trees and found absolutely no threat lurking in the shadows. Not there yet, I see, he thought to himself. He was just about to lay down in the grass and breathe in the fresh air of noon when he heard something creeping close to him, rummaging through the bushes.

Dark Pit raised an eyebrow and stared at the anime girl that was standing before his eyes; that was one thing she'd not changed. Still that long blue hair, those pink eyes with hearts in them… Still as ridiculous as she was at the Rewind Spring. Trying not to laugh out loud at the sight was hard for him: he hadn't seen anything more stupid than that in a long while. At least, it managed to lift up his spirits, as well as fill him with the urge to beat her up. "Well, who do we have here?" he smirked. Pandora played with her hair, running her fingers in a strand that she'd taken from her back, and shot him a challenging glance that only made him want to laugh even more. Did she think she was attractive in any way?

Dark Pit scoffed at the gesture and overheard Viridi's voice in his head—of course, she was jealous; they all were, for some reason. Even Palutena was uneasy when she encountered Pandora's anime self for the first time. The angel could only remember the fun he had witnessing the two Goddesses attempting to break down their own insecurities by criticizing Pandora. 'She just has better hair, that's all!' did Viridi say, he could almost hear it again.

"Focus, Pittoo! I know she's pretty but she's the e-ne-my!" Viridi yelled in his ear and Dark Pit winced in discomfort.

"Wanna get your ass kicked again, Pandora?" he said, crossing arms against his chest with his laser gun under his arm. He seemed a lot more confident than he really was; when he fought against a boss, there was always this sort of apprehension, this lingering feeling that, if he made one single wrong move, everything would go down hill and he wouldn't be able to hit them again. There was always adrenaline rushing in his blood and a slight fear that turned his stomach. Although sometimes it made him all the more excited, some others it was sort of crippling, since he could feel out of breath for no particular reason at all. However, he usually succeeded at hiding it. It was easy for him: a smirk, an attitude and the enemy wouldn't see anything! Piece of cake. Pandora flashed a smile and a long sword appeared in her hands, surrounded by a sort of pinkish steam.

Dark Pit frowned but shrugged it off. "Lost your tongue? You don't know how nice it is when you keep quiet."

"Now's not the time for a conversation, Pittoo! Remember what she's here for! That's you!"

"I knew that, don't take that tone with me!" he snapped at Viridi, closing his right hand into a fist. He observed his strangely calm opponent and he couldn't help but add one last comment to push Pandora to her limits—if she had any: "I think she really is going to be quiet today. Anyhow, enough time wasted: let me at her." Not wasting any more time in trying to get a reaction from the seemingly numb Pandora, he brandished his gun, tried his best to charge the damn thing, and aimed it right at the woman's gut. She managed to avoid it by just jumping over it—with her newfound dynamism—and counterattacked with a slice on the angel's forearm. The blade was so thin that it was able to cut through his skin like paper, almost painlessly. Dark Pit didn't mind bleeding, a wound such as this one would not kill him. It actually made him more excited, if he could say so. The refreshing feeling of being beatable, of not feeling so invincible, was enough to drive him. Always more fun to fight an enemy that can defend themselves, he thought.

Dark Pit returned the favor and grabbed onto his gun to shoot Pandora in the hip—and he succeeded to do so, since she fell back down with a deep moan of pain, lying face first on the ground. He dashed forward, in order to get closer to her, and was about to finish her off with a loud dazzling blast in the head when she moved away, barely avoiding fire, and crept behind him. Dark Pit jumped to the side, holding onto his gun which started to be too heavy for him, and tried to shoot her several times in a row but missing everytime. He cursed and attempted to load the gun again, however it had stopped working. Dark Pit gritted his teeth, irritated, and threw the thing on the ground before kicking Pandora in the stomach.

Pandora moved back, but she didn't even moan at the pain that she must have felt. Instead, she rose on her feet and evaded one of Dark's Pit punches. Viridi told him to hold on, that she was getting him a new weapon, while the dark angel pummeled Pandora with kicks in the chest. Medusa's commander fell to the ground, gasping for air, and succeeded at catching his foot which had been directed towards her face. She held onto it and pushed Dark Pit, making sure that he'd fall back. Taken aback, Dark Pit tripped and landed on his back, but fortunately he didn't crush his wings. He immediately got to his feet, still waiting for Viridi, when he felt a slight breeze behind him. He didn't have time to turn around: Pandora had already wrapped an arm around his neck and started to choke him, leaning his body against her own to restrain his movements.

The angel struggled to get free, wiggled around despite her arm tightly pressing against his throat, to no avail: eventually his vision drifted to black. Pandora wouldn't let go of him, squeezing her arm around his throat to make sure that he'd not be able to breathe.

The dark angel let out a pained gasp, his body begging for air, though there was nothing he could do. The weapon Viridi had brought to him was there, glowing, on the ground. If he could lean it, he'd grab it and start fighting again, however he was stuck. Pandora kicked the Rose Blade away from them, thus ensuring that Dark Pit wouldn't get to it, and strangled him even more. Even though he was not strong enough to fight off any longer, Dark Pit was still conscious enough to hear a familiar voice screaming at the top of his lungs: "Phos! Go!"

Suddenly, a ray of light flashed for less than a second in the forest, decimating trees and burning off the grass in a linear fashion. The streak of light had struck Pandora, who was now laying on the ground, knocked out right next to a tree. Maybe the hit had missed but the speed still managed to push her off violently, so that she went crashing against another tree. Though how come that Dark Pit hadn't been pushed as well? Maybe the hit hadn't missed after all…

Dark Pit blinked, sitting in the cold grass, and took the time he needed to get air in his lungs again. He moaned in discomfort, but gritted his teeth to suppress the pain from his body. He had longed for air so much that his lungs ached. The dark angel calmed down, breathed in slowly, then opened his eyes to the figure that held out a hand to help him up. "Pit?" he asked, incredulous, only to receive a hug in response. The embrace was strong and warm, even if the dark angel admitted that he loathed it. He hated physical contact… Pit liked touches, cuddles, kisses, but he needed to understand that, sometimes, other people didn't.

In spite of his efforts to hate him, Dark Pit could only find his twin's affection kind of heartwarming. Perhaps it wasn't so bad after all... "Pit, what are you doing here?" Dark Pit asked when his body had recovered enough to form a sentence without gasping for air.

"Dark Pit, you hear me? What happened, did you beat Pandora?" Viridi's worried voice called him out, and Dark Pit took some deep breaths.

"One minute, Viridi."

Pit looked at him, concerned, still kneeling down next to him with a hand on his darker version's shoulder, and eyed at the Lightning Chariot that he had brought with him. It was then that Dark Pit remembered that Phos was the name of one of the horses… Suddenly, everything made sense in his confused mind. Pit gently helped him on his feet and watched proudly as his twin was saved from danger: Pandora had vanished from sight. He had made it on time, he couldn't feel better about himself. "Pittoo, I was worried about you so I decided to come."

"Wait—you decided? What about Palutena?" Dark Pit inquired, concern in his tired, croaky voice. Lacking air can really fuck someone up, he thought to himself. "Wasn't she the one telling you to come here?"

Pit rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed, and Dark Pit's eyes widened. Was he serious? Wait, was it even what that glance meant? Maybe he misunderstood: Pit would never go against Palutena's orders, not even for him. Did he really leave Skyworld behind to come and save him—Was it even possible? Did he—Pit—captain of Palutena's army—push his responsibilities aside for a moment, just to make sure that his darker twin was out of a dangerous situation? First, did Pit even know what he was getting himself into? If Palutena knew that he disobeyed, he would be punished severely. He was the captain! Of an army! Protecting a whole city of angels! And a Goddess, no less! Did he run away despite knowing all of this?

Was he really that stupid?

With all of this in mind, Dark Pit nearly choked on his words when he asked: "Don't tell me that she wasn't—She wasn't, Pit?!"

The light angel bit his lower lip and looked off to the side, staring at the grass and collecting his thoughts. "Lady Palutena… doesn't know I'm here, and she shouldn't know," he answered, much to Dark Pit's surprise and worry. What had happened to the Pit he knew? Who was this doppelganger? It couldn't be true, he couldn't trust his ears… Maybe he was still knocked out? Or perhaps he misheard him? As soon as his darker twin opened his mouth—probably to curse, rage—Pit raised his hands in the air to surrender. "Don't snap at me! You don't know what I went through to get here!"

"But, but… PIT!" his twin snapped, victim of his own panic, before he clung to Pit's shoulders and shook him wholeheartedly. "ARE YOU INSANE?!" Though he was not concerned for Palutena, he felt beyond nervous for Pit! Did he have any idea of what he just did? Disobeying the orders of the Goddess he served—she even created him with her own hands… Wait, did she? No, surely not—but she was still his Goddess, he worked for her! How could he defy that? Did he get hit on the head and wasn't thinking right? What in the Underworld was happening to this young angel's mind?! Dark Pit shook head, dumbfounded, though he admitted to be deeply moved by Pit's initiative. Such a little hero… but absolutely crazy nonetheless! "Pit, wake up, are you out of your fucking mind?! You left Skyworld behind Palutena's back, what do you think she'll do to you when she learns about it?!"

"She won't!"

"Of course she will, stupid fucking moron! She's a Goddess! She created you!"

"No she didn't!" Pit countered, bringing his left fist to his chest. He frowned and shook his head, getting pissed off. "I don't care what she says!"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" Dark Pit screamed at the top of his half-filled lungs, his voice cracking up everytime he tried to speak louder. He faintly perceived Viridi's voice asking about what was going on, but refused to listen to her; knocking some sense into Pit's brain was more important to him at the moment. "You have no idea what you just got yourself into. You're a fucking idiot. Get back to Skyworld and tell Palutena that it was all a mistake, that you didn't want to leave but that… I don't fucking know, that I forced you to! I'd rather be blamed than have you fired."

Pit lowered his head and his face became somewhat darker… He did not care to listen to his words, nor did he move one finger to go back to the Lightning Chariot. Instead, he stood his ground, waiting for Dark Pit to pull him by the arm or beat him up to convince him—even that wouldn't anyways. He was not leaving, no matter what he had to go through. He'd not abandon Dark Pit to his unfortunate fate when he knew he could play a part in this war and help him overcome the dangers. He would not leave for Skyworld and be imprisoned in his room again, he could handle this situation on his own. If Palutena was willing to keep him locked up, then he'd do everything in his power to stay away from her. Even though he missed her and loved her, he would never give up his own free will and wait for Dark Pit to get killed.

So, Pit stood there, straight, determined, but dark, frowning, looking off… awfully serious, all in all. Dark Pit blinked, at a loss for words since he had never seen his lighter version this way, and attempted to grab him by the arm to lead him back to the Chariot. "Don't touch me!" Pit recoiled, pushing him off with unexpected strength.

Dark Pit stepped back and glared at the lighter angel. He growled and glared at Pit, clenching his fists. Fine, he wanted a war? Then he'd get it. "Right, you're not going to cooperate. That's fine, I can kick your ass too."

"I'm doing this for you," Pit said before he looked back at his twin with tearful eyes, but his expression had not softened in any way. He gritted his teeth. "I know I can help you and that's what I'll do. If Lady Palutena doesn't let me help you, it's because she's scared I may fail; but I can't fail, not this time. I'm not finished, and as long as I'll be breathing, I'll protect you from these monsters, whether you like it or not!"

Dark Pit felt sort of moved by this speech but… at the same time, his concern was overwhelming and he did not want to deal with Pit during the following battles. He'd hate for him to be wounded, even if it were just a scratch on the cheek. He'd hate for him to be depressed because he decided to go against his precious Palutena and she took action to bring them both down… He'd hate for him to be killed. If not, he'd hate for him to witness Dark Pit's fall—he knew that, at one point or another, he'd be too weak to fight and would get killed by one of Medusa's men… That was inevitable: the Underworld forces were still the strongests he had to fight, with Zeus' army being ridiculously underpowered and Poseidon's forces very rare. The ones who would get his blood on their blades would be Medusa and her friends. And he couldn't allow Pit to witness it. "Look, I can't let you help me. It's way too dangerous," Dark Pit expressed himself, frowning. "Turn back and go back to Skyworld now, will you? I have work to do and hardly any time to waste."

Pit sighed and looked back at Phos and Lux, much to Dark Pit's relief. Perhaps he was still going, maybe he understood the stakes of his actions. For once, he listened to me! Dark Pit thought, reassured. However, Pit clapped hands and asked that the two horses leave and go back to Skyworld… without him aboard. Dark Pit was about to protest, to tell him that he was even more of an idiot than he had thought he was, but the light angel took out the glowing necklace that he had brought along with him. When his darker twin's eyes were caught by its light, Pit walked up to him and handed it to him. "If you don't want me to fight for you, then let me fight to find the meaning of this."

"Pit, I'm about to become mean," Dark Pit groaned, narrowing his eyes. "You cannot fight this war, alright? With the Uprising, you—"

"I'm fine!" Pit interrupted him, eyes burning with a secret passion that he did not know Pit had within him. The strong will to fight for justice, for Light… Dark Pit found the same fiery desire within those sapphire eyes that were locked on him. Pit stared at the necklace his twin now held in his hands and started talking again: "Why does everyone worry about me? I am fine! I am up to fighting! This stone bears a secret, and I'll find out what it is—with or without you!"

"Pit, you are not fi—"

"Don't say anything! I am fine, I am doing great, thank you," Pit cut him off without looking away from Dark Pit. "Now we both need to find the origins of this stone, since it's supposedly linking us together. I believe in it, even if you don't!"

Dark Pit stared at him, folding his arms, and bore his usual bored expression in his ruby eyes. "I told you, you need to rest. Do I not speak English?"

Pit glared at him, which surprised Dark Pit enough for him to take a step back. What was that rage he could read in these gorgeous oceans? Where did it come from? He had never seen it there before… Did something happen with Palutena that made him so desperate? Or was he just grumpy? No, even when he was pissed off, he'd never have that much hatred in his eyes… Dark Pit suddenly felt heavily concerned and, though he would never say it, kind of threatened.

Pit shook his head, gritting his teeth, and snatched the necklace from his darker twin's hands. "I don't care what you have to say. Once we do know how and why it's there, I promise… I swear I'll go back to being locked up in my room in Skyworld's Palace for the rest of my life, just like you and Lady Palutena want me to," he assured, even though his eyes did not exactly express as much certainty. He seemed rather hurt at the thought of leaving Dark Pit to deal with the greedy Gods that were after him, but… Pit could not take part in a war that was not his', he understood that fairly well.

Dark Pit furrowed his brows and thought that he hadn't heard him right. "Pit, you said… 'locked up' in your room?"

Pit's eyes filled with tears, and he turned away from his twin. Dark Pit observed him, a tint of worry in his unexpressive ruby orbs, and put a hand on his lighter counterpart's shoulder, thus encouraging him to explain what had happened. The captain of Palutena's army sniffed and his whole body started shaking, while he brought his hand over that of Dark Pit. The dark angel wanted to draw back but couldn't, it would break his heart if he recoiled, no matter how much his body wished to be away from Pit. Pit looked over his shoulder, tears streaming down his face, and his twin loathed it immediately. "Lady Palutena said she didn't want me to come to the Overworld to save you. But I couldn't let go…"

"So she was pissed at you and decided to keep you on lock down?" Dark Pit asked, almost innocently, before he snorted. "Seems like I'm not the only one to be bothered by your presence alone."

"You know you aren't."

"Shut up," the dark angel growled under his breath, rolling his eyes. You know he's right, his heart whispered to him, which made Dark Pit even angrier. He decided not to focus on it, but rather give his attention to the shaking, broken little bird holding onto his hand. The dark angel breathed in and his eyes softened when they landed on Pit's trembling figure. He would not let him down, not after he had sacrificed everything to come to his rescue. He owed him, whether he liked that idea or not. Dark Pit stepped forward, taking his hand off of his lighter twin's shoulder, before he bit his lower lip and said: "I guess you can come and live with me, since you can't go back to Skyworld. I have a spare room."

Pit raised his head, a slight smile on his lips, before he jumped and hugged Dark Pit. His heart was pounding against his darker twin's chest, which delighted him, even though he'd never say so. "Thank you, Pittoo."

"If you call me that again, I also have a courtyard."

To be continued…

Updated: 02/11/2019