Hello again! Sorry for not posting yesterday, I was busy with my special someone on Valentine's. I hope you all spent a good Valentine's Day! :) Things are about to go downhill in this fiction, you should like the changes that will occur! Don't hesitate to tell me.

Yours truly, Circle of J.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. 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 23: Safety first!

In his lifetime, Dark Pit admitted that he consumed way more books than he had kissed lips. He was an angel who yearned for knowledge more than he longed for the warmth of a body against his own, although he wasn't going to spit on it. For the longest time, he had regretted his decision to stay away from Love, to stay away from people in general… Well, that until very recently. With all the legends and prophecies surrounding Pit's story and future, he was glad that he chose to lock himself up in those libraries in his dimension! His mother Aphrodite used to tell him to go out, to enjoy the daylight, though he never did: everytime he had been around people, he had immediately felt bored out of his mind. That helped him however, since in the meantime he sparred in his own corner, training his aim with his Angel Bow, which was a gift from the Goddess of Love.

Oh, he remembered it clearly, for it looked similar to the one that Pit owned: it was red and golden, and shot arrows with hearts as tips. Very sharp hearts though, one didn't want to lure those ones. The rest of the time, he kept reading, and reading, and reading, every single book that was related to his and other dimensions had always seemed to fascinate him the most. The idea that some version of himself, somewhere in the Universe, might be the strongest God of his dimension brought a smile on his lips. One thing had always allured him: power. He had wanted it so badly, but knew that, in his dimension, in his context, it was impossible to get it. Though that did not deter him, he had still tried to get in contact with another version of himself that may hold such power numerous times. He had followed weird, shady rituals that he found in his readings; all to no avail. If he had known that the Sacred Mirror was the answer to all of his problems, he would've dived foot first into it immediately.

Dark Pit shook his head, steering himself away from his burdening thoughts, and began reading again. He was in Skyworld's library, which was filled with interesting books dealing with the Gods and their stories—that included their artifacts, which particularly struck his fancy. He had read a whole section about the stabilizer, and knew exactly how to use it; that was one thing that worried him less now. He also read about the Ancient Portal in this dimension, which was very similar to his own, but couldn't find where it was located and how to make it work. It kept saying that Hermes could open it, and only him, so... no luck there. Dark Pit swore to himself that he would look around; it had to be on the Overworld somewhere, probably at a pond since those things were erected in the middle of them.

The dark angel kept on reading, scavenging through different bookshelves in order to find all that he wanted, however he had found very few information about Aphrodite's necklace. All that he found was that it thrived on the life force of whoever wore it. That honestly turned his stomach: Pit kept this thing on him all-day long. Was it slowly eating his soul? Dark Pit abruptly closed the book that he was reading and put it back in its bookshelf. He walked towards the door, opening it on Palutena. "Oh, I didn't think I'd see you today," Dark Pit said, shrugging one shoulder before looking off to the side. "Though it doesn't make such a difference to me, I have to admit."

"Can you go and inform Pit that I want to talk to the two of you soon?" The Goddess of Light asked; she sounded worried.

Dark Pit eyed at her and raised an eyebrow, his hands on his hips like usual. "How soon?"

"Uhm, ten to fifteen minutes? Maybe? If you're not too busy by then, that'd be perfect…"

The dark angel nodded, absent-minded, and walked past her without a glance behind. Palutena smiled to herself, nervous even though she wasn't surprised by his indifferent behavior, and quickly headed towards a bookshelf to grab a good dozen of books. Dark Pit glanced back at her, perplexed by her attitude, though he decided that he couldn't possibly care less. So, instead of asking her pointless questions, he headed towards Pit's quarters. He could almost go there with his eyes shut: he had been there a lot of times already, he knew the way like the back of his hand. Dark Pit barely noticed the Centurions glowering at him on the way, for he was too absorbed in his own thoughts. Palutena's soldiers held onto their bows tighter whenever the dark angel was close to them: they hated the sight of him. He was so insolent, such an asshole all in all, with everyone. Mostly with their captain Pit, and that was where they drew the line; Pit was their little protégé. They didn't allow anyone to talk to him the way Dark Pit always did.

Dark Pit eventually opened an eye and realized that a Centurion was staring at him. "What in the Underworld do you want, little bitch?" he asked aloud, which caused the pointless 'soldier' to draw back. Maybe he feared that the dark version of Pit would attack him? He could've, if he hadn't been so busy thinking about Pit. Thus, he closed his eyes again, folding his arms, and continued on his way to Pit's quarters. Once he reached the big, golden doors that he had been looking for, he knocked and waited for his lighter half to open.

He heard fast footsteps closing in, and soon the right doorway opened on a joyful little angel. "Hiya Pittoo!" he beamed at his sight.

"Yeah, hi. Will you let me in or do I have to stand there endlessly?"

"Why, do your legs hurt, Pittoo?" Pit smiled, a sparkle of mischief in his gorgeous eyes.

The dark angel couldn't help but smile and asked if he could come in once more, a little more insistent this time. Pit moved out of his way and closed after he had walked in, wondering why he was visiting him since he had said that he would spend his day in the library. Dark Pit sat on the edge of his bed and joined his hands on his thighs, before he eyed at Pit and furrowed his brows. "Come here, Pit," he demanded, extending his arms.

Pit nodded and went to sit on Dark Pit's lap, enjoying their embrace. Since they had been one two days earlier, the dark angel had opened up to the idea of cuddles, touches and kisses—way more than he had in the past, that was. It still wasn't his favorite thing in the world, but he accepted them and didn't push nor punch Pit across the face for trying to hold him in his arms. On some rare occasions, such as this one, he would even initiate the hugs, which always made his lighter half feel ecstatic. It was promising for the future of their relationship. "Did you want to talk to me?" Pit asked, curious.

Dark Pit rested his head on Pit's shoulder and the light angel felt his hand trail up his back, until it reached his neck and started to massage it. "Yes, Palutena said she wants to talk to both of us in ten minutes, I assume in her quarters. But for now, I'm more interested in this." Feeling the warm, comforting hands against his tensed up neck, Pit closed his eyes, not seeing the real intentions behind his twin's actions, and soon felt the necklace fall on his lap, as though it had been detached. His eyes blinked open and he eyed down, only to see that Dark Pit had snatched it from him.

Pit was about to protest, when he noticed the gleam of concern in his rubies. "Are you okay, Pittoo? Why do you look so worried, what's going on?"

"I only realize now what it's truly doing to you, and I sure loathe it," Dark Pit replied, still quite vague, and he fastened the necklace around his wrist, to make sure that the stone wasn't in contact with his skin directly. Or, at the very least, that it wouldn't constantly be touching him, since that would allow it to suck out his soul to feed its own energy. Pit peered at it, puzzled, and his darker half continued his explanation: "I read in a book that this thing keeps its energy flowing by eating the life force of what it touches. That's why it's glowing so bright now: it has a little of your soul absorbed in its stone."

Pit gasped in horror and tried to detach it from Dark Pit's arm. "Then you also need to take it off!"

However, the dark angel pushed his hands off and glared at him dangerously. "Don't touch it! Did you not hear what I said?! It's eating up your soul, Pit, your very core! I can't let you have it."

"But you can't keep it on! It's also doing that to you."

"I could care less."

Pit frowned and groaned under his breath. "Well I care! So take it right off!"

"FINE!" Dark Pit sighed, before he reluctantly took off the damned jewel. He kept it in his palm for a short moment, then opened Pit's drawer and put it away in it. He demanded that Pit never open it again, for that would put him in grave danger. Intimidated, the angel of light had agreed and didn't look back at it. Dark Pit appeared to be relieved: he couldn't let Pit take it again, it was too risky, so it eased his mind to know that he wouldn't touch it. With the light angel's energy flowing within the stone, the necklace could be taken from them at any time and never stop glowing, which would… make the opening of an interdimensional portal at anyone's reach, even that of Medusa. They couldn't afford to lose the necklace. Like Palutena had said, they had no idea of what the evil Goddess planned to do with it. Little did they know, they would soon have a very, very clear idea of what she had wanted.

But before that, Dark Pit had decided to give an answer to Pit's lingering questions about his conversation with Poseidon. He was about to talk when he remembered that they had to be somewhere, and he pulled Pit by the wrist. Despite the light angel's protest, they went to Palutena's room, since the Goddess of Light had said that she wanted to meet them, Dark Pit holding two big books under his arm. Pit glanced at them and inquired if he had ever read them completely, question to which the dark angel snarled and said that, of course, he had even read them several times. His lighter counterpart had pouted, looked down, and said that he also would like to learn how to read.

Dark Pit smirked, since he had understood the message behind his complaints, and suggested that he should ask Palutena. After all, wasn't she a mother figure to him? Why would he, of all people, be the one to teach this angel how to read when he had something akin to a parent by his side? However, Pit had replied that Palutena wouldn't have time for that, and that besides he'd like it better if it was his twin who taught him anyways.

This time around, the dark angel didn't reply and opened the tall, heavy golden doors leading to Palutena's private quarters. He immediately noticed the difference with Pit's: they were way… richer, to so many extents. The walls were covered in gold paint, and the bed itself was gigantic, with green silky blankets and dozens of gold-and-silver-coated cushions.

The Goddess of Light was laying down on it, surrounded by her pillows, and looked up to them when they walked in. She sat up, cross-legged on the bed. "Oh, there you are! I was starting to believe that you had forgotten. Come sit next to me!"

The two angels walked up to the bed and looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders. Dark Pit scanned the room with his eyes for a minute, doing a small tour and running his fingers along the golden furniture around, before he raised his head towards Palutena and Pit. There was a ridiculously small pile of books at her side, and the dark angel couldn't help but snort at the sight of them. He admitted that he felt amused: she wasn't much of a reader, was she now? Those books were meant for kids… "Aw, such teeny-weeny little books, it's almost adorable that you, O Goddess of Light, would read them! I mean, seriously. What even are those, bedtime stories?"

"No, Dark Pit, I haven't called you to put you to sleep," Palutena chuckled, then she patted the bed by her side. "Come, I won't bite you."

Pit laughed. "Oh no, we all know that you would never do that, Lady Palutena!"

"I considered eating grilled angel wings more than once actually—"

"L-Lady Palutena, pleeeaaase~! Not that again~!" Pit cried out in sheer terror, his wings stretching in his back while he himself took a sudden step back. "I thought we were done mentioning my wings being cooked!"

"Aw, you poor guy! You know I'm joking, right? Are you really scared?" The Goddess of Light giggled, since she noticed that her captain was shaking from head to toe. Did he take her seriously, again? At least she was comforted by Dark Pit, who had a big smile on his lips: he had understood the joke, perhaps she should switch angels someday. Palutena shook her head and waited for the two angels to be sitting on the bed, in front of her, before she grabbed one of her books from the pile and scanned it with her green eyes. She knew how much Pit wanted answers, how much he craved to know who he really was and why everyone seemed to be fascinated by him, whether they be friends or foes. For that, she had went to the library, shortly after she met Dark Pit, and gathered several books that retold the story of Eros, the God of Love, and his golden, glowing wings. In order to know where he was going, Pit first needed to know where he came from.

Dark Pit folded his arms and lied down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling while waiting for her to read out loud. Pit, on the other hand, remained quiet and was sitting in front of her, slightly bouncing. The bed rocked with his movement, which caused his darker twin to sigh, curse under his breath, and eventually sit up and slap him behind the head. Palutena gasped at the sudden hit that was given to her angel, but noticed just how effective it had been: Pit had completely stopped moving. Dark Pit stayed in his position, pissed off, and the Goddess of Light took advantage of their silence to start: "Pit, you know who Eros is, right?"

Pit looked up, a smile spreading across his lips, and nodded vigorously: "Yes, Lady Palutena! He was the angel God who worked alongside Damsel Aphrodite!"

"'Damsel'? Wow, Pit, you switched camps pretty fast!"

"N-No, that's not—I didn't, Lady Palutena!" Pit defended himself, then his wings fluttered down. "You know how faithful I am to you, Lady Palutena, don't you?"

"Yes, I was joking, Pit! Relax."

Palutena shook her head and eyed at Dark Pit, who had started cursing again since Pit, being very upset by the sudden accusation and wanted to suppress his stress, had started bouncing up and down again. "I swear I will push you to the fucking ground!" Dark Pit growled loudly, taking the two others by surprise, then he looked off and clenched his fists. He would soon reach his breaking point, and that wouldn't be pretty…

The Goddess of Light looked down at the book that she held in her hands and opened it on the bookmark that she had slid in it. She instantly found the paragraph that she wanted to read, and thus began doing so, which instantaneously caught the attention of Dark Pit: "The God of Sensual Love and Desire, Eros, son of Aphrodite and Ares, was the only angel creature in existence. He was regarded as the protector of homosexual love between men—"

"Now you're making this up," Dark Pit interrupted her, wide-eyed. He grunted and shook his head. "I know who I am and that's not the guy you're talking about. Even though I considered Aphrodite to be my mother, I'm damn sure that she didn't create me."

Palutena eyed at him, her green orbs clearly asking him to shut his mouth, and kept on reading the paragraph: "One night, during Medusa's rise by Hades' sides, he was targeted, for he was the angel with the golden wings: the sun glowed in their core, and that sun blinded the darkness that Medusa represented and wished to expand to every living thing. She made sure to erase him from existence, by using Hermes against him. For that, she cast a spell that enthralled the God of Travel's soul and corrupted it, before she sent him to fight the 'Angel of the Sun'."

She looked up at Pit, who seemed to be even more confused than he had been before. What did this have to do with him? If Eros had been killed, why did Dark Pit talk about an 'incarnation'? And, above all, why would it be him, of all people? Somehow he could see the link between them: they both had wings. But Pit's wings didn't glow, did they? He had never witnessed them do such a thing… Or maybe that was why Poseidon had been scared? Maybe that was why Dark Pit had shielded his own eyes when he got close to him? Perhaps he… hadn't noticed but he was glowing? Still, what did this have to do with anything? Perplexed and intending to get more information, the white-winged angel looked into his Goddess' eyes: "Lady Palutena, that's a nice story, I guess, but… Why exactly are you telling me this?"

"Because, stupid, that's who we are!" Dark Pit growled, and despite Palutena warning him with a glare, he rolled eyes and kept going: "In my dimension, Eros, aka me, has been created by a primary God that we call Chaos. The most important thing to note is: I was also the 'Angel of the Sun', or whatever the fuck that even means. Aphrodite told me that she caught my wings glowing a few times, and had claimed that I was the only one able to take down Medusa and, thus, put an end to her reign of fear and terror. Of course, since I'm here now, I can't do that, and my wings have stopped glowing completely."

Pit frowned, listening to his every words, and turned to face his darker twin, with confusion plastered on his face. "So what you mean is that… I'm a God?"

"YES!" Dark Pit snapped at him—this time, he had lost his patience. How long did he need to understand such a simple concept? Palutena had explained everything! Well, she hadn't specifically said that Pit was linked with Eros, she hadn't really brought up their countless similarities, but still! There was only one angel in existence, she had said that and had even emphasized on it! What in the Underworld was wrong with this angel, didn't he have a brain? Dark Pit groaned, about to strangle his lighter half, before he clenched his fists and turned away. The lesser he looked at him, the lesser he'd be willing to squeeze his throat until his eyes bulged out of their sockets.

Palutena smiled at her little angel and explained calmly, since she had been gifted with way more patience than Dark Pit: "As I said, there was only one angel in existence. So that's necessarily you. Eros used a bow when he was still among us, a bow that could make people fall in love."

"Which is why everyone is attracted to me."

"And who the fuck is 'everyone' in your sentence, Pit-stain?!" Dark Pit snapped at him, his cheeks blatantly red.

"Well, you of course, my dear Tsun-Pittoo!" Pit chuckled, and he hugged him. He didn't expect to be brutally pushed away by a grumpy dark angel, who had folded his arms and was mumbling under his breath that he hated that nickname above all things in the Universe—even Medusa and Hermes combined, and that was definitely saying something coming from him.

The Goddess of Light laughed at the sight and eyed at Pit. "Yes, you are right, Pit. You are a natural charmer, thanks to Eros' soul within you."

Dark Pit rolled eyes. "It's clearly the only thing, Pit-stain."

Palutena smiled and ran her hands through her long, tied up hair, before she grabbed a strand and curled it around her finger. She had to say that she had expected things to be harder: Pit could be very… dense at times. Palutena had feared that she would have to explain things over and over, draw countless parallels to help him understand, but in the end he had been pretty receptive. Perhaps growing closer to Dark Pit had stimulated his brain cells, or maybe he was just becoming more mature and perceptive. "Anyways, boys. To go back to the main subject, Medusa wanted to get rid of Eros because he represented a threat to her."

"How so?" Pit inquired.

Dark Pit was on the brink of becoming insane. He turned to face his lighter twin and said, trying to keep his cool despite his boiling anger inside: "Because your wings glow, idiot! With the rays of the Sun! I swear to Zeus' name, how oblivious can you be?! She's the Goddess of Darkness, Pit, wake—"

"Actually, no, that's not the main reason," Palutena countered. The dark angel blinked, taken aback, and frowned: what did she mean by 'not the main reason'? He knew what he was saying, that was why she had feared him in his dimension, because he alone could bring an end to her reign of darkness. Or was there something else in this dimension? Because he knew for sure that it was the only thing in his own. He cringed at the memory of his Medusa: she was even more bothersome than this one, to be fair. She occasionally flirted with him, quite openly, and he had hated her for that; such a creep. The Goddess of Light's voice arose, forcing him to focus on their conversation again: "Medusa had always had a little crush on Eros. When they fought for the first time, Eros shot her in the heart, which… caused her to instantly fall in love with him. That's the reason why she asked Hermes to kill him: she couldn't do it anymore, for she longed for him."

Dark Pit became suddenly more possessive and wrapped his arms around Pit's waist, pulling him close to his chest. "Yeah, whatever, she can keep dreaming. He's mine, she'll never get him in her entire existence."

"Those are satisfying words to hear," Palutena said, thankful, and eventually she stood up, untying her hair. She put the books on her bedside table, putting her shoes back on, and walked out of the room, asking for the two angels to follow her. She claimed that there was something that they needed to see. Dark Pit snorted and said that he didn't have time to waste, but even then he followed Pit when he walked after his precious Goddess of Light. She led them to a room with highly restrictive access, where she had set up a table and a chair.

The two angels didn't say a word, glancing around in amazement since the whole room was made of pure gold, and Palutena turned to face them. Her staff appeared in her right hand and she immediately slammed it against the floor, which produced a loud bang that echoed within the room. Dark Pit cringed, was about to tell her never to do that again, when he noticed the light emanating from the staff's orb. Soon after that, it faded completely, and Palutena was able to look at them again without both of the angels being blinded. "I just set up a barrier around the palace. It also covers the training grounds and the gardens, but be careful not to go any further without my assistance."

Pit's eyes widened and he frowned, thinking. He brought his hand to his chin, humming lightly, whereas the two others waited for him to speak up. "Since the Lightning Chariot has been destroyed, nothing can go through, right?" he asked Palutena, who nodded. "Then that means we can still go outside and enjoy the sun rays!"

Dark Pit looked at him, deadpanned, and shook his head. He folded his arms, tapping his right foot on the ground, and a thought crossed his mind. Right when the question occurred to him, he turned around to face the Goddess of Light, who had to leave her staff in the room to make sure that the shield was constantly protecting them. The orb started glowing again as the staff rested on the table, meaning that the barrier was on—probably at least, that was what Dark Pit could assume. "Palutena, what about the hot springs? I think we'll need them a lot, mostly for Pit."

"Because he loves them and you like to see a smile on his lips~?" the Goddess teased him.

The dark angel glowered at her. Touchy subject, she thought to herself, though she couldn't help smirking at his facial expression: he was blushing but kept a bored look in his ruby eyes. He exhaled, pissed off, and turned away from her. "I said that because they are a source of light, primarily. And with all the darkness surrounding us, we'll need to keep an eye out before it devours his soul. We can't afford to lose him," he explained, in a stern voice. Then he looked down at the golden tiles beneath his feet. "You know just like me that… once Darkness eats him, there's no turning back…"

Palutena watched Pit run out, happy that he could finally lay down in the grass under the sun, and stepped closer to Dark Pit. "Yes, I know that… I have lost a few of my peers due to Medusa's darkness: once it invades the soul, there is no cure. You are definitely right, which is why I'd like you to be with him, at all times, to make sure that he's not… succumbing. If you notice that he is starting to get affected, I have a hot spring in my quarters where you ought to bring him immediately. Unfortunately, that is all that I can suggest, since the hot spring temple was out of reach and isn't under the protection of my barrier."

"I guessed that, but that'll do. It's better than losing him, so I must comply," Dark Pit grumbled. He put his hands on his hips when Pit called him out, asking him to come along. Keeping silent so as not to draw his attention on their conversation, the darker version of Pit waited for him to walk back out before talking to Palutena. "Though, I may need your powers for something else before I do that."

"Oh, and what's that?"

"My wing," Dark Pit whimpered, his red eyes filling with heavy tears. The Goddess of Light stood there, taken aback, since she had never seen the proud, arrogant dark angel on the verge of tears. What was happening to him? What bothered him so much about his wing? She remembered how loud he had cried out when he had fallen on his back at Viridi's Sanctum… Could it be that he was wounded? Was it serious? In order to answer her lingering questions, Dark Pit sighed and attempted to flutter his wings; his left wing reacted very well, although it wasn't the case for the right one… It seemed to be broken. In fact, it had barely moved, and that simple shiver had caused the dark angel to moan in pain. He glanced back at the Goddess of Light, a silent tear running down his left cheek. "Please, help me, Palutena… It really hurts and I can't take it anymore…"

Palutena awed and hesitated to take him in her arms, since she was deeply moved by the sadness that she deciphered in his eyes, but opted for a slight touch on the cheek. She told him to follow her back to her room, where she would help him to heal his crippled wing in the hot spring water. She promised that it would be warm and agreeable, and thus he accepted to do it. Dark Pit eyed at Pit, who was standing in the grass, clenching his fists and looking out in terror at the sky.

The angel of light appeared to be lost in his thoughts, his eyes locked on something in the distance, until he shook his head and clenched his fists. Dark Pit decided not to think about it too much, for his wing really needed attendance. They had to take care of it before problems arose… While everything was peaceful, they could relax. As they entered Palutena's quarters and headed right for the hot spring in her bathroom, the dark angel faintly heard his lighter half scream: "Medusa!" and instantly froze.

We left him alone outside, he thought to himself. Fuck.

To be continued…