So...apparently Kid Icarus: Uprising turned 5 Wednesday. So a late celebration of that.

Important Information:

1) SPOILERS FOR KID ICARUS: UPRISING THROUGH CHAPTER 21!

2) Meta Knight is based on the anime Hoshi no Kaabii, where he's more of a father figure to Kirby

3) Lucario is female and Greninja is male

Disclaimer: Never mine, never will be mine, and that's probably for the better! XD

Ashes to Ashes

Sum: In which a fight with Master Core brings up some bad memories for the two angles. And an over due conversation.

~ ~ ~ Us ~ ~ ~

It was Crazy Hand who suggested it. "We work together, so why not let our beloved children work together?"

Master Hand had agreed. Not on the children part, but letting the Smashers cooperate in a Classic Run. He announced it to them a day after his brother's proposition and asked, "Who would care to do the first run through?"

"Ooooo! Pittoo and I!" Pit immediately volunteered himself and his darker counterpart.

"What?! Hold on!" Kuro marched over to the Captain of the Royal Guards, but was interrupted by Crazy Hand.

"Oh! Fantastic! I do so love the yin-yang theme we have! The light and the dark! The salt and the pepper! The chicken and the egg!"

Lucina looked to her ancestor for answers. "What?"

The emperor shook his head, "Don't think too hard about it."

"Kirby hungry..."

Meta Knight patted his student on the head, before discreetly handing him an apple from the folds of his cape.

"Very well, Pit and Kuro will be the first to run through Classic as a team."

"Don't I get a say in this?!"

Crazy Hand leaned down and joyfully whispered, "Nope!"

~ ~ ~ Us ~ ~ ~

It was the debut of the Co-op Classic. Pit and Kuro had breezed through most of it, with only two hiccups at the beginning; both due to an Intruder. They had even opted for a harder setting where their fellow Smashers hit harder and stronger. But they weren't the only ones who got a buff….

The dark angel readied his bow. Master Hand was letting the dark spores(*) take over.

"Here he comes..." His lighter counterpart muttered.

The spores wrapped around the host, transforming his shape into a huge shadowy beast. Mario, Ness, and a few other Smashers claimed the back half resembled a scorpion.

Kuro didn't care what it was similar to. He wanted to defeat it and move on with his life in this tournament. He raised his Silver Bow and pulled back his left hand, letting the energy build up and bend it to his will. To the untrained eye nothing indicated the bow had any sort of energy; to Kuro, Pit, and Palutena, they saw the etching in the metal give off a subtle glow.

The dark angel growled as he heard someone shout 'Get the clone!' He shot at the beast imagining, not for the first time, it was the idiot who said that. Throughout the whole run, he'd been plagued with watchers shouting out heated comments about him.

"Worthless clone!"

"Waste of space!"

"You don't belong here!"

"Copycat!"

And those were some of the nicer ones.

He rushed forward spinning like a top, blades slicing into the black spores. Kuro immediately backed away letting the Captain of the Royal Guards jumped over him, spinning Paltena's Bow horizontally. It cut into the snout and dark spores scattered from the attack.

He fired an arrow, guiding it around his lighter counterpart. It didn't even flinch. The beast glanced upward, its tail shaking in the air as it summoned lightening to attack his lighter counterpart. Pit cried, immediately jumping safely away as the energy engulfed the beast.

"You hurt?" Kuro asked, setting another arrow.

"No, just surprised that's all." The white winged angel replied, mirroring his twin. Two beams, one blue and one purple, hit the beast. Pit charged from the air again, spinning his blade horizontally, while Kuro got closer and unleashed a two blade attack. The hits connected sending spores into the air. Apparently it wasn't concerned as spikes shot out of the beast's body.

"Look out!" The dark winged angel yelled he saw a thin purple line head for them. Pit jumped in the air while Kuro dodged on the ground as massive spikes jutted from the spot they once stood.

"He's gotta be tiring out in that form." Pit commented from the air, releasing another arrow before landing safely on the ground. Kuro eyed the beast. It was true, there were gaps in the body, indicating Master Hand was running out of energy to hold this shape.

But, Kuro wasn't sure how much more he (himself) could take, his body was aching all over; a good indication that his damage was high. Even with two people, Master Hand was putting up a good fight.

"What do you think?" His lighter counterpart asked after backing off from an attempted attack and settled next to him.

"Yeah...okay. I'll bite."

"Wait, what?" The Captain of the Royal Guards questioned. "Pitto?! No wait!"

It was a gamble.

He charged forward, ignoring his lighter counterpart's shouts. Once in range, Kuro pulled out his Electroshock Arm and rushed at the beast. As usual, it didn't move from it's spot and took the full attack without flinching; black spheres splaying from it.

Then it countered. It leapt from the stage to the back giving the audience a full view of its mouth before snapping it shut on the stage and the dark angel. Kuro let out a short yell as he was launched quickly from the stage.

But some of the dark spores adhered to him as he left the platform. They clung to him almost like a second skin, wrapping around his arms, legs, and wings. Kuro panicked and dropped his Silver Bow. The audience vanished, replaced with floating boulders and small rocks. The stage melted into a rocky platform and the swirling vortex took a orange, burning hue.

The Chaos Kin was dragging him down and down; attempting to consume his soul in order to live.

~ ~ ~ Us ~ ~ ~

The moment his darker counterpart flew off the stage to plummet down tangled in dark spores, Pit panicked. Master Core wasn't there; the swirling colors became browns, reds, oranges. The ground was rocky and dust kicked up as Pit ran towards the edge and flew off. "Pitto!" His bow was left forgotten on the ground.

He reached a hand out, retracted it to steady his falling position. The white winged angel focused on his twin, seeing the swirling orange streams below them among the falling rocks.

~ ~ ~ Us ~ ~ ~

The dark winged angel fought the Chaos Kin's Ashes. It was tangled in his wings making any attempt at the Power of Flight useless, so he flapped them trying to dislodge it. Kuro grasped at his attacker, but his fingers slipped through the collected ashes before a firm grip could be established. He briefly took his eyes off of Chaos Kin's Ashes and looked above him.

Pit was falling. He reached a hand out, before pulling it back. The dark winged angel could see the Captain of the Royal Guards adjust his position.

"Help...me..." Kuro pleaded. He didn't want to go. He didn't want to disappear.

~ ~ ~ Us ~ ~ ~

Pit's wings glowed as he propelled him closer. He could see the fear in his twin's eyes. If he failed, if he let Chaos Kin take his twin...Pittoo would be no more. The Captain of the Royal Guards wouldn't let that happen. "Pittoo!" His hand finally grasped his twin and in a a few seconds he'd embraced Kuro. "I've got you." And in a flash of light they vanished.

~ ~ ~ Us ~ ~ ~

The audience and Smashers weren't sure what just occurred. It happened so quickly.

Kuro should've recovered and rejoined the battle. Instead he fell.

Pit should've continued to fight against Master Core. Instead he jumped after his darker counterpart.

Palutena frowned as the stage faded away. There were loud complaints, questions, and other comments among the fans and Smashes.

"What just happened?" Ike asked, voicing the prominent question. The Goddess of Light shook her head seeing all eyes on her.

"...there was an incident after Pit attended the last tournament..." She began.

~ ~ ~ Us ~ ~ ~

Kuro bolted up from where he laid. "PIT!" He scrambled over to his lighter counterpart, aware he wasn't moving. The stench of ashes and burnt feathers still overwhelmed his senses.

"Pit!" The fallen angel knelt down and shook the other, ready to smack the Captain of the Royal Guards if necessary.

The white winged angel groaned, slowly sitting up. "Pittoo?" He stiffened and brought his wings around him. Pit gently ran a hand over one wing, releasing a relieved sigh. They were still there and there was no pain radiating from the base where skin and feathers met.

Kuro leaned closer; a hand carefully caressed the pure white wings. He felt the softness of his twin's feathers. They were there. Not blackened sticks. His lighter counterpart could still 'fly'.

Slowly, they began returning to the present.

They weren't in the Chaos Vortex. They were in the transportation room.

They hadn't just rescued Palutena's soul. They had failed Classic.

Kuro hadn't been taken by the Chaos Kin. He'd fallen off the stage.

Pit hadn't sacrificed his wings to save his twin. He'd leapt off the stage.

Kuro let his hand fall away, and Pit pulled his wings back. The dark winged angel sighed and rested his head against Pit's shoulder. A few tears of relief found their way down his face and into the scarf.

The white winged angel gently gripped his other's hand. "I'm okay. We're okay." They sat there, soaking up each other's presence. Pit wrapped his wings around the other, brushing them against black feathers. Kuro squeezed the other's hand.

"You did it again."

Pit nodded. "...yeah..."

"…you're an idiot."

"...yeah." He rested his head against his twin's. "...I'll always be there for you Pittoo."

Kuro huffed, but didn't move away. Silence for a few beats. Pit closed his eyes breathing in the scent of sweat and his twin's unique aroma.

"...why...?"

"Huh?"

"Why do you care for me so much?!" He pulled away and stood up. "Why care for a flawed copy?! A clone?! A waste of space!?" With each question, the dark winged angel had backed away.

The Captain of the Royal Guards got to his feet. "Pittoo...what?"

The dark winged angel looked away. "...why did you jump?" His voice was abnormally soft and scared. Something Pit never though he'd associate with his dark counterpart.

Pit frowned. He wasn't deaf. He knew what the audience thought of his twin.

Clone.

Pointless.

Copy.

A waste.

Didn't belong.

Shouldn't exist.

His twin stood nearly against the wall, arms folded over his chest, almost curling into himself. Even his wings were half wrapped around him.

Seeing his twin before him brought an unbelievable ache to his heart. Kuro wasn't as strong as Pit thought. For a brief moment he felt a well of hated those who were causing his twin pain and doubt. What right did they have to dictate the value of someone's life!? The Captain of the Royal Guards had to take a moment before answering.

"I jumped because you're important to me." He raised a hand, halting his darker counterpart's words. "No, I don't mean the whole weird life connection. Sure..." the white winged angel smiled. "We fight. We argue. We generally don't get along...but even so...I always look forward to seeing you. You're not just a reflection." Pit carefully crept closer. "You're not just a clone. You have your own thoughts, actions, consequences, feelings...your own life."

The dark winged angel flinched at the words 'reflection' and 'clone'. Pit closed the distance between them and gently hugged his twin.

"Kuro...you're family. Your my brother, my twin. I'll risk my wings, my life, my soul for you every single time."

He didn't move. Pit always had the better heart. He was always more open, more honest, more caring to others then his darker counterpart could ever be. So, Kuro knew Pit was telling the truth. He would sacrifice himself if it meant the dark winged angel would be safe.

Pit's words echoed in his thoughts.

Family. Brother. Twin.

Pit considered him family.

And knowing that, Kuro fully relaxed into his twin's embrace. He knew this wasn't the end, but Pit affirmed he was important to someone.

And that counted for something.

(*) Black spores as seen in Chapters 5 and 6 – 'Mirror, Mirror'. I still need to write out Master Hands…relationship with those things…

So, I didn't realize that Kid Icarus: Uprising had it's 5th anniversary until like yesterday. This oneshot had been sitting for a while in pieces after I finished Kid Icarus: Uprising. It took a while to find a physical copy. After I found out about it's anniversary I sat myself down and forced myself to finish this! So a late, Happy Anniversary to Kid Icarus: Uprising!

And for anyone who needs a refresher, it's the end of Chapter 21 – The Chaos Vortex that the two angels relived. I think it was a pivotal moment for Kuro.

And the two never did talk about it. Maybe they had an understanding...but I'm going with the fact they didn't talk about it for one reason or another. Plus, this gives Kuro some much needed emotional support.

Now, I don't think the whole clone-hate is as strong as it was at the beginning of Smash being released. But I've always wanted to address it some how. And from what I could gather, Kuro seemed to get the most hate. Dr. Mario didn't seem to get a lot, and neither did Lucina. I chalk that one up to her being people's waifu.

Meh. Don't make a big deal out of it, kay?

I promise the next one will have Marth, Ike, and Meta Knight together. I...just need to finish it.

ZeroGD out!