Chapter 2

Dark Pit found that he enjoyed training more than the actual battles. It had been three days since they were welcomed in, and he had yet to fight. Even Palutena participated on the second day, and she'd proven to be a better fighter than Dark Pit had thought, although she did have some glaring flaws. "Every single one of your attacks uses your staff. I could pull it out of your hands and you'd be completely useless."

"Then I'd just pull it back," she said coolly, handing the staff to Dark Pit. He held it carefully, his confusion obvious, until he felt it move back to her as if she were a magnet. He tightened his grip. Tug-of-war, huh? They kept their eyes locked throughout the struggle, but Palutena's telekinesis finally triumphed and she held the staff close with a playful smile.

"Not to be disrespectful or anything, but that did leave you pretty vulnerable," Pit pointed out. "Oh, maybe you could levitate! That was super annoying when I fought the Chaos Kin."

"Unfortunately, I'm only allowed to levitate when moving. Not when I'm standing still, like I usually like to do. Although I could always add in some more shield-based moves!"

By the end of their training session, Palutena had developed a few new attacks where she used her shield instead of her staff, along with a kick, just because she thought it looked cool when Link did it. She was sometimes way too immature to be the Goddess of Light, or at least that's what Dark Pit thought. Pit clapped excitedly. "That's a start! Hey, Pittoo, want to spar? Or, you know, participate in battles? I thought you were the one who always picks fights for no reason."

He crossed his arms. "Don't wanna. Let's stick to training."

Pit didn't look convinced, but shrugged. "Alright. I could give you some fighting tips, since our moves are pretty much…" Dark Pit shook his head, not wanting to be reminded. He still heard the occasional comment about his pointlessness whenever people didn't think he was around, and it was getting worse with every day he didn't fight. "Um, okay. Hey, we should practice our Final Smashes!"

"Whatever." That meant he'd be using his staff. At least that was one move of his that had nothing to do with Pit.

"The Three Sacred Treasures are summoned instantly when I get the Smash Ball, but they should be here somewhere for training…" Pit went over to the weapons room, and they heard the clatter of metal on the floor. "Got it! Equipped!"

Dark Pit knew exactly what was about to happen when Pit rushed out, dressed in his golden armor, wielding the bulky bow and shield. "Three Sacred Treasures!" he announced, sprinting towards them. Dark Pit calmly stepped to the side as Pit ran straight into Palutena, who cried out in surprise as both of them fell.

"Pit! You're even heavier when you wear all this stuff, remember?" she laughed.

"Sorry, Lady Palutena!" His mischievous look made it clear that he wasn't sorry at all, and they lay there laughing for a couple of seconds before getting up. "Alright, your turn, Pittoo!"

"You didn't even do your Final Smash," Dark Pit pointed out. "Last time I checked, barging into your opponent wasn't a valid strategy."

"Yeah, but the real thing's not too special, just firing some arrows and stuff. Let's see yours!"

"Fine," he resigned, gripping his staff and changing his stance. "It's time." He pointed it directly at Pit and flicked it up a bit, choosing not to fire the actual beam. "Pew."

There was a pause, then Pit and Palutena burst out laughing. "I can't believe you actually did the sound effect!" Pit responded to Dark Pit's glare. "Pew pew!"

He decided he was done with them when they started imitating his sound effect to finger guns. "Okay, that's it. Which one of you do I kill first?"

"Seriously, Pittoo, learn to laugh a little! You don't have to be all doom and gloom all the time, you know? Just have fun, that's what this is all about!" Pit said cheerfully.

Dark Pit couldn't help but feel a bit jealous at his twin's carefree attitude. If only you knew what it's like to be a flawed clone of someone so annoyingly cheerful… and annoyingly good.

The fourth day was going to be just like the others before it, or at least that's how Dark Pit had planned it. He'd watch some battles, then go off and train, and at the end of the day, he'd probably go back to Skyworld with Pit and Palutena. After all, every fighter wanted to go home sometimes, so they got a chance to do so pretty often.

It wasn't long before his plans were completely shattered. After watching only three fights, he heard Pit call his name. His real name. "Dark Pit!" He was stunned for a second, but looked around to see Pit standing in the center of the battlefield, beckoning to him with his blade. "Come on and fight me with everything you've got!"

Adrenaline flooded him as he grabbed the Silver Bow. There was no way he was going to surrender or lose, not when Pit had challenged him directly. "Bring it!"

Everyone was watching intently as he made his way to the battlefield, and he heard a couple of comments about the "fated battle" or seeing "who's the real deal", but one stood out to him. "Pit, are you sure about this?" Meta Knight asked warily. Kirby chimed in with a worried "Poyo!"

"Of course I'm sure!" Pit swung his blades around as he waited. "He's just as good of a fighter as I am."

Being on the battlefield, ready to fight, felt different. It was liberating and exhilarating. The angels locked eyes and yelled in unison, "Let's do this!"

Dark Pit immediately went in for the kill. He pulled the Silver Bow apart into its blade form and attacked ruthlessly, refusing to give Pit any openings. It wasn't that Pit was worse as a fighter; he was just caught off-guard by the aggression, and his occasional strikes weren't enough to deter his opponent. Dark Pit let his frustration seep into his attacks, and some slashes turned into vicious stabs without him even realizing. He felt the satisfaction of his Electroshock Arm connecting with flesh, and quickly followed up with charged arrows. A savage smile grew on his face as the fight continued, clearly in his favour. I'm not losing. Not this time.

Dark Pit didn't consciously make the decision to escalate his offensive; it just sort of happened. He grabbed Pit by the wings and threw him straight down, following up with a kick, and then more slashes with his blades. He barely let Pit land before grabbing him again for another throw, forwards this time, and Pit kept getting up only to be struck down more brutally each time. Dark Pit should have noticed when his opponent started to become more limp. He should have registered the moment when Pit stopped fighting back entirely. At this point, he couldn't tell whose yells were lingering in the dissonant atmosphere: his, Pit's, or the spectators'. Maybe a mix of all three. When he reverted to his fierce sword fighting, he didn't think much of it when the tips of his blades came back coated red with blood. In hindsight, that was a mistake.

A flash of colour caught his eye. The Smash Ball. In an instant, Dark Pit changed the target of his attacks. Pit made an attempt to get it as well, but he didn't stand a chance. Dark Pit landed the final blow on the item, which shattered in the air, and he took a deep breath as he felt the energy surge through him. He strode over to where Pit tried to get up from the ground yet again, but stopped him by placing his foot on Pit's stomach. Dark Pit pointed his staff directly at his twin's chest, and Pit's eyes widened at the realization that Dark Pit was beyond reasoning. "Goodbye."

The explosion was powerful and resulted in an instant KO as soon as Pit was struck by the beam of violet light. But the dust hadn't even settled before both angels were flung apart from each other by a translucent barrier that shimmered away just as quickly as it had appeared. Dark Pit pulled himself to his feet and looked around to see Palutena in front of the crowd at the entrance to the battlefield, holding her staff out in front of her. Her horrified expression was enough to snap Dark Pit out of whatever trance he was in. What did I just do?

He looked back and instantly regretted it when he saw the state his twin was in. Pit lay on the ground, unconscious but still taking shallow breaths, with the Palutena Bow next to him. His clothes were charred, and he had a few burns, but the most striking thing was the dark red blood trickling from his wounds and staining his usually white chiton. Burnt and bloodied feathers were strewn everywhere. Dark Pit felt nauseous as he glanced down at his blades, with sticky drops of blood slowly dripping off their tips. He dared to speak. "... Pit?" That was the first time he ever remembered his voice being so shaky.

No one paid attention to him, and he certainly didn't want them to. The first priority was Pit. "D-Doc! What do you need me to get for you?" Luigi asked, frantically.

"First aid, but we have to get him to my office… Mamma Mia, I think I'll need help from your magic if he wants to fight again anytime soon, Princess Zelda!"

"Of course. Let's get him somewhere safe first." Dark Pit agreed with Zelda completely. Please, get him somewhere safe. Not with me. If I did that to him… who knows how dangerous I am?

"I've got him. Where to?" Ike handed his sword to Samus, and normally Dark Pit would have been impressed by how she was able to hold it with one hand while gently petting a distraught Pikachu with the other. For now, he could only think of how small and vulnerable Pit looked in Ike's arms. That doesn't happen with one hit. I saw it and kept going. A reflection of his dark side… there's no other way for someone to be so heartless.

He was surprised that he could register anything at all through his racing thoughts. But he spotted a glint of metal to his side, and swiftly blocked a slash, facing his opponent directly. It was Meta Knight, wielding Galaxia threateningly. "Dark Pit!"

He forced himself onto the defensive with his blades, but Meta Knight easily overpowered him. One of Galaxia's spikes got caught in Dark Pit's laurel crown, and as Meta Knight swung the sword, the crown clattered onto the stone floor.

Meta Knight was distracted for a second, and that gave Dark Pit valuable time. He sent a volley of arrows to hold Meta Knight off, and succeeded in making him fall over. As Meta Knight stood back up, Dark Pit did the only thing he'd known to do all his life. He gripped his weapon tighter and ran.

In the day after his disastrous fight, Dark Pit avoided everyone, for good reason. As much as he wanted to check on his twin, he knew there would be someone else nearby. So instead, he perched himself on the branches of some of the large trees in the training park, shrouding himself in their foliage.

People had come to look for him occasionally. Peach and Shulk were much more inviting than Little Mac and Captain Falcon, but they all had the same effect: Dark Pit continued to stay away, changing his hiding place from time to time just in case they spotted the right tree. In the time where he wasn't staring into space or planning his next move, he fiddled with a pair of feathers. A black one from his own wings, and a white one that had gotten caught on his chiton during the fight. He had no motivation to do anything else, and eventually, people stopped looking for him.

Being alone with his thoughts was scary, but who else was there to go to? If there was anyone who didn't dislike him before, he could guarantee that they hated him now. I almost killed him. I almost murdered Pit. After everything he's done for me. If I'm an echo, why can't I just be more like him? What's the point of a clone that's worse than the original?

His breathing was getting more erratic and his vision blurred with unshed tears, but thankfully, the sound of approaching voices pulled him out of his thoughts. "That boy doesn't know whether he wants to be a hero or villain." That was Ganondorf, his tone full of disdain.

"It was set in stone from the beginning," Bowser growled. "Don't see why he tried avoiding it in the first place. A dark clone can only ever be a villain."

"Perhaps playing the guitar is the only thing he's good for." Dark Pit couldn't argue with a fact.

"I'd be happy to welcome him if he decided to join the anti-hero squad!" King Dedede piped up. Dark Pit didn't even consider it. No, I'm too far gone to be an anti-hero at this point.

Their voices faded into the rustling of the leaves as they walked away, replaced a couple of minutes later by those of Fox and Falco. They're probably on an evening stroll. That means the fights are over for today.

Dark Pit listened in on their conversation. There wasn't much else to do, anyways. "You checked on him, right? How was he?" Falco inquired.

"Those were the worst injuries I've seen since we let Link and Ganondorf at each other with no restraints," Fox replied with a bitter laugh. "But he'll live. That's good for his clone, otherwise he'd be a murderer."

"We should really change that rule about not entering the battlefield during a match. What would've happened if the battle lasted longer?"

"That was a perfect example of what not to do. Drawing blood, attacking with moves that aren't in your moveset, attacking with the intent to kill, using a Final Smash at full strength…" As the rest of the rules he'd broken were listed off, Dark Pit curled himself up tighter and covered himself with his wings. They were right all along. A worthless clone shouldn't even bother fighting.

"Did they end up finding him?"

"Nope. Good riddance, I guess."

As they left, the thoughts came back, and Dark Pit simply resigned himself to them. To everyone else, I'm a murderer at this point. Not even an echo or a clone. I deserve it. My only option now is to leave.

He realized suddenly that the portals to each of the fighters' home worlds would be open soon. Then I'll just go to Skyworld, and from there, I can figure things out. The Underworld doesn't sound too bad. It's probably the only place there is for a heartless echo. I guess I was meant to be there from the start.

Having made his decision, Dark Pit stretched his wings and carefully climbed off the tree in search of the portal, leaving a pair of black and white feathers amongst the leaves as the only sign that he'd ever existed.