Hello my friends! I am even more late than usual, which I admit is incredible… I have recently lost interest in writing, since I had so many exams for college and it was absolutely breathtaking. Now that that's done, maybe I'll get back into it! For now, I give you two chapters at once, to make up for the lost time! Hopefully the wait will have been worth it!

Yours truly,

Circle of J.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, although I took some liberties with both Tip and Blapi. 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 30: Complications right off the bat

"Pit, honest to the Gods, you are wasting our time!" Dark Pit sighed, pissed off, and he tugged at his lighter twin's cloak.

Pit was talking to a group of humans, asking them if they could show him the game that they were playing—nothing more than a board game with horses and a path to follow. It was only a simple game of ludo, but of course Pit had never seen any of them in his life before and it made him curious. The dark angel tried to pull his lighter half to him so that they could keep walking to Magnus' house, cursing under his breath and gritting his teeth. What had he done to deserve this? It was easy, wasn't it? They had one mission, one goal, why was Pit always doing something else entirely?! Dark Pit insisted and pulled on Pit's arm, however his lighter self showed resistance and begged him to stay with the humans for a little bit—'only a little bit', he said, 'it won't be long', he said. If he hadn't had such a good sleep, Dark Pit would've snapped at him, but he was in a decent mood.

Thus, the dark angel resolved to stay with Pit and watch the three adults roll a wooden dice and move their horses along the colored paths drawn on the board placed at the center of the table. It was really nothing interesting, he didn't understand how Pit could care about it; plus, these humans were not even good at the game.

One of them stood up, annoyed by the fact that he kept drawing ones from the dice, and yelled at his fellow mortals that it was not fair and that it was 'cheating'. Dark Pit rolled eyes and said bluntly that he sucked, to which Pit chuckled and suggested that he should try to roll the dice once, in case it could give luck to the losing human. Dark Pit gave him a stern look and pulled him by the arm, stating that they had wasted enough time, but the Angel of the Sun didn't listen and grabbed the dice from the board. He rolled it in his palm, hoping for good luck, and threw it on the board. Miraculously, it made three whole turns before it landed on six. The humans blinked, astonished, and Pit smiled proudly, asking Dark Pit to look.

The dark angel sighed and shook his head, like an exhausted parent. "Wow, that's outstanding. I'm at a loss for words. Now let's go, Pit."

Pit pouted but accepted to follow him, since he admitted that they had a lot of things left to do. He waved goodbye to the humans and gasped when he was nearly sent to the ground by a mortal that bumped into him. The angel grasped his cloak, ensuring that it would not fall off and reveal his identity, whereas Dark Pit glowered at the human girl who kept on apologizing. She appeared to be rather young, had long, blond hair and fiery orange eyes that took him by surprise. How could humans have such a strange eye color? It was almost as if this woman was an anime character. He remembered that manga… Perhaps was it called Light and Shadow—anyways, that manga that he had read, with the servant girl that had been sent because her mistress refused to marry a duke whom she considered a douche—what was her name already? Edna!—well, yes, she looked exactly like her, with longer hair that was. He frowned, taken aback, but this time it was Pit who told him that they should hurry.

The dark angel shook his head and glanced away from the girl, who ran off to another street without a look behind. Trying not to focus on that human girl, Dark Pit walked along the streets while Pit just couldn't stop talking. "I wonder what's Magnus' type of women. I mean, he never really talks about it. If we find someone who looks like Gaol—"

"Whom I have never seen, may I remind you," Dark Pit pointed out, his voice perfectly monotonous.

Pit rolled eyes and pursued: "Well that doesn't matter, because I have seen her. You know, that girl that ran into me? I feel like I've seen her somewhere… Uhm—I meant to say: she kinda looked like Gaol—at least I think so. M-Maybe we should present her to Magnus? Wh-what do you say?" The dark angel squinted his eyes suspiciously but didn't answer, which did nothing but upset his lighter half; he hated to be ignored, and he knew too well that his twin did it on purpose, just so that he could get on his nerves. Pit clenched his fists and sighed through the nose. "You're not helping me right now."

"Oh, because you wanted an answer?" Dark Pit reacted, eyeing at his lighter version and smirking. "Aw, sorry, sweetheart~! I didn't think you wanted my opinion, because if you did then you'd have realized that I don't like her."

"What?" Pit asked, incredulous, and he couldn't hold back his laughter. "But you don't even know her!"

"You've ever seen someone with orange eyes before?" the dark angel sneered, before he placed his hands on his hips and faced Pit. They both stopped in their tracks, standing in the middle of a crowded streets, and stared at each other with both amusement and a tinge of disdain. Sure, most of the time it was all fun and games between them, but on some occasions it would definitely piss them off. Joking around and poking fun at each other was one thing, purposefully challenging the other with harsh comebacks and bitter responses was another. Dark Pit snickered at the absence of reaction from his twin and added: "It's not a very natural thing, now is it?"

The Angel of the Sun gritted his teeth and grunted: "Well, you have red eyes, so talk about natural!"

"But I am infected with Evil, it's different!"

"That doesn't mean anything! She can have orange eyes if she wants to!" Pit reacted, protective towards this human girl… He didn't exactly know why and how, but he felt linked with her—as though they had shared something in the past… When he met Dark Pit's slit eyes, the light angel's wings jerked up under his cloak. Some humans turned around when they heard the swift movement of fabric, and the two angels glowered at them so that they quickly returned to whatever they were doing before. The situation would soon go out of hand if they kept on arguing.

Dark Pit clicked his tongue and glared at Pit, who smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his hood in embarrassment. "Well, I didn't expect that to happen… Sorry, Pittoo…"

The darker version of Pit shrugged one shoulder and tugged at his arm. Pit understood the message and, thus, they kept on walking, concentrated on their surroundings. Dark Pit had only been to Magnus' house around three times in total, so he wasn't very comfortable with the directions. His lighter half was a lot more confident when it came to where they were going, but he was too busy glancing all around and gasping at every new thing that he saw out of the corner of his eye. He would sometimes pull Dark Pit inside a shop and show him several things that he would 'like', but the dark angel showed to be so unenthusiastic that he eventually gave up on the idea of pleasing him.

Instead, Pit looked for things that he could bring back to Skyworld as a souvenir, and Dark Pit had to constantly remind him that they were supposed to be on the Overworld for a week or so, and that they would have time later. The light angel nodded, but two minutes later he would run inside a shop again and look at everything.

"Pittoo, over here!" he heard Pit calling him out. Dark Pit paused when the light angel ran back to tug at his arm and pull him in one of those shops. He growled because he nearly lost his cloak and glanced at the merchant, who was chatting with another costumer. It was safe to assume that he hadn't seen Dark Pit's face, which the dark angel was definitely glad about. Pit brought him up to the candle section of the shop and showed him a few of them that he liked, that smelled nice according to him. "Try this one out, it's amazing!" he claimed, thrilled by his discovery.

His twin looked deadpanned but, when Pit insisted, he decided to try some of them. "Whatever pleases thee, thy Majesty," he said ironically. He brought that yellow one up to his nose and admitted that it smelled really nice: a sugary mix of honey and lemon. He eyed at it and back at Pit, telling him that it was fine to buy this one, but that they had to be careful with the money that they spent. They couldn't ask for more from Palutena, for it would raise suspicions amongst the human crowd that they would have to live with. Pit nodded and grabbed another candle, which was blue, and brought it to Dark Pit's nose.

The dark angel looked at him disapprovingly, thinking that he had made himself clear, and took in the delicious scent of that candle: it was like spending a summer night at the beach. Everything was there: from the sand that he could almost touch, the waves that he could hear and the moon above his head—all contained in a single sniff. Dark Pit blinked, curious, and grabbed a few other ones to make up his mind on which to buy. Pit squealed happily when he saw his twin so absorbed by those magical candles and tried a few for himself.

In the end, they ended up buying two candles: the yellow one from the beginning and a light pink one that smelled like a field of flowers. Dark Pit complained because they had spent too much money in his taste, but Pit was nonetheless pleased with the purchase and beamed at his darker version. When his red rubies met the ocean, glistening orbs of his lighter half, the dark angel blushed and looked away briefly. Pit thanked him for buying him those candles, to which he only hummed and said: 'Don't mention it' before resuming their mission.

They walked down several other streets—Dark Pit claiming that they were lost—and found Magnus' house. "Finally, we're here!"

"Finally indeed," Dark Pit sighed, rolling his red eyes. He was worn out; their walk had been long and the stress of not knowing where he was going had built up inside of him. The dark angel allowed himself to breathe for two seconds, before he looked up at Pit who was apparently concerned. "Also, just so it's clear: we were definitely lost back there. I know we were."

"Right, whatever helps you sleep at night, my Pittoo~!" Pit giggled, his eyes gleaming with happiness.

Dark Pit blinked, absolutely impressed by Pit's witty comeback. "Wow, Pit-stain, what character!" he exclaimed, genuinely surprised—in a very good way. "I didn't think you could be so bitchy. If we were alone, I'd make you mine right here and now, on this very pavement~…"

"I'm glad we're not alone then, because I like it better when I'm tops!" Pit chuckled, blushing wildly at the openness of Dark Pit's invitation. He then hurried over to the wooden door and knocked on it, excited that he was going to see his human friend again after such a long time. Magnus took some time before opening the door, and immediately invited them inside. He said that he was reassured to see them both together, because it meant that none of them had died and that was a relief.

Pit went to sit on the couch and showed the candles that he had found with Dark Pit, whereas the latter opened the backpack that he had put over his shoulder and pulled out a book. He sat in a chair, at a fair distance from the two friends, and was quickly engrossed in his reading.

Magnus and Pit didn't bother him and the human frowned, still wondering why the two angels had come to visit him. With the looming threat of Medusa, who was killing thousands of humans per day, they surely had better to do than pay him a friendly visit… It was totally unexpected, he had to say. "Pit, it might come off as rude, but can I ask why you're here? It's not that it bothers me, it's just that it's a strange thing to do in times like these…"

"We're bringing you to Skyworld," Pit answered, and he noticed that Dark Pit was listening because of the light flutter of his wings when he heard the name of Palutena's kingdom. The light angel focused his attention on the human, who was perplexed to say the least. His gray eyes communicated nothing but bewilderment. Pit's wings perked up and he kept on with his explanation: "Lady Palutena has asked us to bring two humans to Skyworld, to… keep the species going. Because at this rate, all humans will be eradicated in three or four days. We can't let your kind disappear because of Medusa."

Magnus nodded, understanding the situation, and asked: "Why me?", since it was a question that lingered in his mind. Pit told him that the choice had been given to him and his darker twin to save one human male, and that they couldn't let him down. The human accepted that explanation, since it warmed his heart to have his friends' support no matter what, and stood up. He headed towards the kitchen, asked if the two angels wanted something to drink or eat—since they probably had been travelling through the town by foot—but the two refused anything and said that they were just fine.

Dark Pit raised his head from his book, placed a bookmark in the shape of a sword and closed it, before he put it away in the backpack. He couldn't help but make a scornful comment: "Well, it's gone silent, hasn't it? You guys aren't the best when it comes to communication…"

"But you were reading, Pittoo…" Pit eyed at him, his cheeks slightly flushed at the mere sight of him, and decided to stand up and go sit next to him. He snuggled up to him and smiled widely.

Dark Pit rolled eyes but embraced him, his arm around his waist. "Now I'm not anymore. But I may just change my mind, since nobody's in the mood to talk."

Listening to their conversation with a smirk across the lips, Magnus sat at the table, in front of Dark Pit, and ate what looked like a piece of meat. Dark Pit barely paid any attention to him, remembering the last time that they had seen each other with a smile on his face. He hadn't told him that he was important to him, nor would he ever: he was still cautious when it came to expressing his feelings—he knew how sick and twisted Medusa could be, and she would definitely use that information for evil purposes. He remembered that forest, that time when he was still scared to move close to Pit. They had gone a long way together since then… Magnus would surely be surprised to see them so close, and to see that Dark Pit gladly accepted hugs and kisses from his lighter half when he used to recoil at the slightest brush. The situation was so different, but so similar at the same time; still the same threat, still stuck with no way of stopping Medusa.

The dark angel thought about it, ruffling his own hair to soothe his frustration: he couldn't open up a portal to his world without the Mirror of Truth, since Hermes was against them. Perhaps that was why Palutena had wanted to send them over to Medusa's castle? Could be. But since she hadn't said anything about it, he couldn't know for sure…

Dark Pit looked at Pit with a slight blush on his cheeks and realized that he had shut his eyes, leaning on his shoulder. His breathing was so regular that his darker twin knew that he was asleep. He pulled him closer to him, kissed his forehead, and rested his head over that of his other half. The dark angel took out his book, started reading again, and enjoyed the scent of Pit, who was lightly moaning with ease. "Aw, you're cute…"

"That's new," Magnus reacted, startling Dark Pit who jumped on his chair. Fortunately, it hadn't awoken Pit… The dark angel still glared at him but the human didn't pay it no mind. Instead, he shook his hand towards them. "Usually you push him off."

"We've grown close," Dark Pit only said, then he eyed at Pit and his cheeks flushed. "Way closer than before."

"I won't ask for details."

"Wouldn't give them away anyways."

Pit yawned and woke up, blinking his eyes open. He looked up at both Magnus and Dark Pit, apologizing about him dozing off in the middle of the conversation, but the other two said that they hadn't minded it. His darker half let go of him, though he pouted, and grabbed his book. He turned away from Pit and Magnus, engrossed in the story.

In the meantime, Magnus looked out the window when he heard screams in the streets—not just usual screams of teenagers that were partying, but bloodcurdling screams of terror. He quickly stood up and noticed that Pit was also listening to them. Dark Pit, on the other hand, couldn't care less: he was already back to his reading, since he had decided that he didn't want to stop mid-chapter. Pit glanced at his darker twin, who raised his head when he felt a pair of eyes locked on him, and nodded towards the door. "Pittoo, humans need our attendance."

"But I'm in the middle of an important dialogue! He's gonna tell her that he loves her!" Dark Pit complained, his wings perking up to illustrate his anger.

"That can wait, dark angel," Magnus intervened, and he grasped the hilt of his tall, imposing sword that he swung over his shoulder. "Duty calls."

The three partners ran out of the house, even though Dark Pit wasn't really into it, and were immediately assaulted by hordes of Reapers and Eggplant Wizards. Pit barely had enough time to avoid being turned into a vegetable and groaned in annoyance; there were so many of them! The sky was painted red, with dark, threatening clouds looming over the city and spurting troops such as Ornes and Shootflies—everything that they needed, really. On the ground, roaming the streets, were also some Skuttlers armed with cannons. Dark Pit growled and attacked head first the enemies coming at them, while Magnus dealt with a crowd of Skuttlers and tried to avoid their devastating dashes in his direction.

Pit sighed, tired already, and grasped his Palutena Bow reluctantly. He separated it into its blades and lashed out at the bodies of his opponents, praying to the Goddess of Light that it would be enough to finish them off. But even though they were putting on quite a fight and managed to evade most of the enemies' vicious attacks, they were outnumbered and it soon became a problem; a flood of enemies rushed towards the three fighters. "Pit-too we're-ngh!-losing ground! Ahh!" Pit screamed when he received a fully charged shot from one of the Skuttlers' cannons, and he was thrown to the ground. He fluttered his wings, frustrated, and tried to get back up but he was kicked in the gut by one of his opponents.

Dark Pit grunted and briefly eyed at him, despite being in the middle of a merciless battle with several Reapers. He gritted his teeth when he realized that Pit's enemies were the clingy type, and waited for the right opportunity to shoot down the one pinning his lighter half to the ground. "Pit, are you alright? Don't get yourself killed, will ya?" Dark Pit groaned, before he quickly had to dash to the side in order to avoid a Reaper's claws from piercing into his flesh. "If you can't handle them, let me at 'em."

"Alright, I'm fine for now," Pit promised, and he sprung to his feet to stab an enemy in the chest. Several other cannoneers walked up to him and started shooting endless streams of magical orbs, which were hard to maneuver away from for a flightless angel like him. Pit groaned and let out an enraged scream when he spun his bow so fast that his light shield was almost thrown towards the enemies instead of sticking to the blades. He increased the speed, and soon his attack felt like a tornado, sucking in the opponents and immediately tearing them to shreds. Dark Pit watched with growing jealousy; he didn't know how to do that yet, but he would make sure to learn. There was no way that Pit could be better than him with a bow, he refused it.

Pit torn apart a few more Skuttlers and turned to look at his darker twin, with a smug look on his face. "Did—"

"Don't brag, asshole!" Dark Pit protested, and his grip around his staff tightened when an enemy attempted to shoot at his arm. He pierced through the Reapers' skull with one arrow of purple light and rolled his eyes at Pit. "I had to save your ass seconds ago, can't remember that?!"

Pit placed his hands on his hips and his eyes shone with pride. "Mhm, but you can't do that, can you Pittoo~?"

Dark Pit growled. "Just keep dealing with the bitches instead of showing off!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, beyond pissed off. To take out his anger, he kicked a Reaper in the face and stomped on it once the monster was on the ground. His black bangs were sticking to his forehead because of how sweaty he was. Pit ogled at him, aroused by the sight, and hesitated to draw closer but decided to focus on the fight at hand. Dark Pit punched and kicked the monsters surrounding him, with extreme precision and loads of strength that it didn't seem he owned: his arms were quite thin, you'd never expect him to hit so hard. The dark angel hissed in pain when a Reaper bit into his left wing and turned around to stab it in the throat with the blade of his staff. Seeing that Pit was leering at him, Dark Pit rolled eyes. "Are you serious?! That's all you've got to think about right now?! Did you not hear me when I told you to fight?! For Zeus' sake, Pit, move!"

"Roger!" Pit beamed in response; he was pretty satisfied with the reaction that he had earned from Dark Pit.

The two angels went back to fighting, all the more violent in their attacks and tactical in their movements, but eventually Dark Pit clicked his tongue and examined the battlefield. In spite of their best efforts to hold on, the three fighters were almost surrounded. He needed to get them out of there before they could get harmed or, worse in Magnus' case, killed. Medusa knew that they would come there, and she had planned everything to make them fall. Pit evaded several shots and gasped in pain when his shoulder was bitten by a Reaper. Fortunately, there was little blood and the bite mark was barely visible, but it still stung enough to incapacitate him with his bow. Magnus glanced at them, out of breath and luck since he was stuck against a wall with several Eggplant Wizards blocking his way. "Dark angel, what do we do?" he asked, panicked, and he tried to pick up his breath.

The dark angel dealt with the enemies around him with ease and replied bitterly: "Well, what do you think we should do, you senseless cunt?!"

The human shrugged and was about to say that he had no idea, because there was no possible way that they would win this battle, when Dark Pit tugged at Pit's arm and ran in the opposite direction. He headed right towards the exit of the town, to that forest that they often visited together during their afternoons. Dark Pit quickly spun around and shot down the enemies that cornered Magnus, nodding towards the town's gate before picking up his pace, forcing Pit to follow him. Their human friend understood the message and followed them, using his sword as a shield so that enemies couldn't shoot at them from behind. It deflected a few attacks, which he was glad about, and the dark angel led them towards the forest, where they would have to hide until the hordes of Underworld troops were gone.

Pit struggled to break free, but Dark Pit's hold wouldn't weaken, even though they had walked farther away from the town. The dark angel turned to face his lighter half, worry glistening in his ruby eyes, and he tried to reason with him: "Pit, listen to me—"

"No, you listen to me: I'm not retreating, never!" Pit immediately retorted, then he managed to recoil from Dark Pit's grasp and stopped in his tracks.

"You're wishing to die, today?" Dark Pit scornfully replied. "I'm trying to protect you here, in case you haven't noticed!"

Pit gritted his teeth. "These humans are going to get killed if we don't do something!"

"Pit, they will kill you."

"I'll go down fighting!" With that said, Pit grabbed his Palutena Bow, and was about to head towards the city before it was too late. But before he could do so, Dark Pit shot the weapon out of his hands with a very precise arrow that barely missed his skin. The light angel gasped, startled by the suddenness of the action, and turned around to face his darker twin. He still held out his staff and pointed it at Pit in a rather menacing manner. "Pittoo, what are you doing?!"

Dark Pit's eyes glimmered with rage when he tightened his grip around his weapon. He seemed awfully serious, even more so than usual, which wasn't a good sign… His posture was that he adopted before a dreadful battle, and his eyebrows were slightly frowned, so as to intimidate the Angel of the Sun. He was definitely prepared to shoot him dead the second he moved. Dark Pit's 'look threatening' strategy proved itself to be effective, since Pit stepped back and raised his hands in the air, his eyes sweating with heavy tears. Though Dark Pit hated the sight of him when he did so: what he could read in those blue eyes was nothing but terror, and he loathed to think that he was the origin of it. He shut his red rubies, collecting his thoughts, but didn't let go of his weapon, nor pointed away from his lighter half. "If you go back in there, I kill you."

"What?!" Pit reacted, his wings perking up in sheer horror when he heard those words. Somewhere inside him, he wished that his twin didn't mean them… but he knew that he definitely would own up to them if Pit took a step towards the city. The thought alone made him tear up even more, and he asked, his voice cracking up in his throat: "You would do that…?"

"Definitely; I'll have the decency to make it quick—which is something that those freaks won't do."

"But, Pittoo, you know that we have to protect the humans, their kind is endangered…" the light angel tried to explain, though his voice was leaving him. His stomach was heaving and he could hear very distinctly his heart pounding in his eardrums. He began to sweat, his body taken over by fright, and his hands shook as much as his soul within. He couldn't believe that Dark Pit would threaten him… Palutena had sent them to protect the human race, wasn't that right? Then why was he behaving as such? Why wasn't he doing everything to save the innocent humans of that town? Why didn't he keep fighting, he who was a wondrously talented fighter? He was strong, fast, alert—Dark Pit had this fight in the bag, most undoubtedly! Yet, they were retreating, they were walking away without a glance behind, without a thought for all these human lives that would be spoiled because they hadn't stood up for them in dire straits. Pit bit his lower lip and eyed back towards the city, which was being demolished by the Underworld troops that lingered around the area; he would never forgive himself if he didn't save them… He would die fighting, like a hero, because that was who he was.

Pit took his decision and glared at Dark Pit, who challenged him with a dangerous glisten in his eyes. "You think I wouldn't do it?" the dark angel gnarled, pissed off.

"I know you would, but… listen to them…" The angel of light looked at the city, heard the heart-rending pleas of the humans being massacred. He spun around to glance at Dark Pit, who had his finger on the trigger and was ready to pull it. "I'm sorry, I can't let this happen."

"PIT, DON'T YOU DARE OR I WILL KILL YOU!" Dark Pit screamed.

"Then kill me right now!"

Dark Pit's heart skipped a beat and he tried to call back his lighter half, but he paid him no mind. Instead, Pit took a step towards the tall buildings. Magnus looked at him disapprovingly and tried to calm down the dark angel, who was strongly hesitating to pull the trigger and kill Pit right off. His hands were shaking, his body trembling, and his red eyes filled with heavy tears that he couldn't suppress. He was about to pull the trigger when he met Magnus' desperate eyes. The situation was getting out of hand. Dark Pit shook his head, for his heart stung too much; he couldn't do it, but he had to do it. He couldn't let Medusa get to Pit, she would make him… endure things he didn't want to even name. He gripped onto his weapon, still targeting the angel of light's back.

The dark angel tried to shut his eyes and gulp down his fear, but that only increased it. "FUCK, I CAN'T DO IT!" he cursed, and he quickly lowered his staff.

Thus reassured, Magnus decided to rush after Pit, and managed to get a hold on him, pulling him back by the arm right before a huge Orne landed before him. The light angel gasped and jumped back, nearly falling down with how scared he was. That was probably the last thing that they needed: being assaulted by a rogue Orne that nobody had expected to be there. Medusa knew their position and she was trying to kill them. It was safe to assume that she had been following them all along.

Dark Pit groaned possessively and pointed his staff at the monster. "Don't touch him, he's my property," he said, which caused the Orne to eye at him. The dark angel took his chance and shot at it, but he clicked his tongue when he realized that it was no use: no harm was done to the thing. "Damn it, should've brought the Silver Bow…" he said to himself between his gritted teeth.

Before his eyes, Magnus forced Pit to run in the dark angel's direction and the latter told them to find shelter in an old cave that he used to live in, farther into the woods. Magnus didn't ask where it was, assuming that it would be easy to spot, and pulled Pit towards the deep forest, which looked all the more threatening with Medusa's cursed skies above their heads. The angel of light protested, yelled Dark Pit's name at the top of his lungs whereas his darker half was trying to distract the Orne to buy them time. It was rather effective, since the creature was focusing its attention on its opponent, but it eventually drew dangerously close to him as well. Dark Pit felt his life energy being sucked out of him and attempted to scoot off, only to fall face first in the grass and groan. The Orne towered over him and the dark angel knew that it was the end for him: even his fingers, which were wrapped around his staff, were stiff as stone.

Dark Pit heard Pit calling him from afar: "Pittoo, no! Hold on, I'm coming! LET ME GO MAGNUS!"

"N-no, P-Pit… S-s-ave your-s-elf…" the darker angel moaned lightly, completely worn out. The Orne dived towards him, ready to engulf him, when a comforting hand patted his back. He briefly glanced up at the intruder, and all he could see was a red scarf before his eyes closed.

Tip glared at the creature which had recoiled upon his arrival and grasped his bow with determination. This thing was going down, whatever it was, he wasn't afraid of it since he couldn't die. He was glad that he had followed his two friends… It allowed him to pull off some nice deus ex machina and it was always a delight. It reminded him of his debut in this universe… The Orne glowered at the angel and tried to attack him, but Tip didn't care for dodging; instead, he pulled up his bow and forced the Underworld monster to choke on it. The skull-like creature shrieked as it was pierced through and through by two sharp blades and eventually turned into smoke.

Tip spun his weapon in his hand, proud of himself even though he didn't really have to do much in the end, and glanced back at Dark Pit who was grunting. He was awake, that was one thing. Now, if he was wounded or not was a whole another question, to which Tip sought answers. He somehow knew that Dark Pit wouldn't give them, considering his, well, character, but he decided to ask anyways: "Glad to see I wasn't late, are you okay? No sprained ankle, no broken bone, no bleeding injury?"

Dark Pit blinked when he recognized that voice, and immediately looked up in shock. "What in the Underworld are you doing here? Can you fly on your own now? And that timing… were you stalking us or was it a plot hazard—as I like to call them?"

Tip smiled and placed his hands on his hips. He simply answered: "I'm the most powerful character in this story, am I not? What purpose do I serve if I don't come in at the last second to save you from certain death?"

"You know, that's… not very convincing."

The angel with the red scarf shrugged his shoulders and beamed: "See ya!" before flying off towards Skyworld.

To be continued…