Chapter 3

Pit opened his eyes drowsily as he took sight of his surroundings. Clearly, he'd been asleep, and was laying on a bed in an unfamiliar room. Light filtered in from a window facing one of the battle arenas. What am I doing here? I was just fighting Pittoo. Oh, right. He winced at the memories that were flooding back. Dark Pit was way more aggressive than Pit had expected, to the point where Pit was sure he was about to die. He'd blacked out after the point-blank shot with the Dark Pit Staff, and he guessed he'd been brought here for treatment, judging by the fact that all of the burns and open wounds from the fight were now healed or barely visible as faint scars.

Meta Knight's words from the first day of battles rang in his head. 'Dark Meta Knight was made in the exact same way as Dark Pit. As much as I want to like your… twin, I only have bad experiences with this sort of thing. Watch out, you never know when he could snap.'

Meta Knight was right. Dark Pit snapped during that fight, and Pit could only blame himself. Of course he felt bad after hearing what people had to say about him. I should have noticed that. And I shouldn't have let him suffer alone.

A bright voice distracted him from his thoughts. "Mama! Mama, he's awake!" That's when Pit noticed the glowing yellow Luma bouncing beside him. Pit grinned and waved at it as it waved back.

The door to the room was pulled open a few seconds later, and Rosalina floated in, a group of Lumas following her. "Is he now?" she asked with a gentle smile. "I hope you're feeling alright, Pit. Let me inform the others." She faced her children and gestured with her wand. "Go on, keep him company."

He couldn't stay disappointed when the Lumas floated into the room and started to look around curiously. He cuddled the ones who approached him as the door opened again. "Pit! How are you feeling?" Palutena entered the room with some Lumas surrounding her, too.

"Never been better, Lady Palutena!" He sat up quickly, surprising the Lumas that were snuggled next to him.

"You'll have to thank Dr. Mario and Zelda for healing you well enough that you can fight again by tomorrow," she explained as they stepped in as well.

"Really? Thank you so much!"

"Always happy to help!" Dr. Mario checked off his chart with a satisfied smile.

Zelda clasped her hands together. "Dr. Mario did most of the work. I just used my magic to divert your energy to healing faster, so I'd suggest you sleep for slightly longer today. Perhaps you should also thank Ike for bringing you here."

"Thanks!" he called, and Ike nodded his acknowledgement.

Palutena sat down beside him and ruffled his hair. "I knew you'd be alright. You've been through much worse, after all."

"Tell me about it. That had to be the billionth time I thought I was about to die. I never thought Pittoo would– Wait a second. Lady Palutena, where's Pittoo?"

Her cheery smile faded. "Honestly… I don't know. I asked a couple of people to look for him, but no one has seen him since the fight."

"You can't even find him with your All-Seeing Eye of Palutena?" he pressed. He refused to think about why Dark Pit would be missing.

"You know I'm not omnipotent. I do my best, but it doesn't look like that's enough…" She took a shaky breath and stood up, leaving the room to come back a few seconds later, holding something carefully. "But I do have this. Meta Knight said Pittoo dropped it when he fled." She handed him a laurel crown identical to Pit's own, which he took from her immediately.

"I have to go find him," Pit vowed, running his finger over the golden leaves.

"I'm aware that it isn't in my place to ask, but do you think it is reasonable to confront him so soon?" Zelda queried.

"I hope so. Pittoo was going through a lot. He probably feels better after letting everything out."

"It doesn't help that he used you as a punching bag," Ike pointed out. "You could've died. You know him better than I do, but be careful."

"That wasn't him fighting," Pit insisted. "We can't just ditch him. The last thing I want is for him to take out his emotions on someone else. Or worse, himself. Then he wouldn't hold back."

"In any case, you should rest for now," Rosalina suggested. "You have to be in sound shape if you want to be of help. It's nap time for the Lumas, too. Come on, let's leave Pit alone, shall we? I'll read you a naptime story." The Lumas followed their mother excitedly as everyone left the room one by one.

The sleepiness from Zelda's magic kicked in pretty suddenly. Pit's eyelids felt heavy, and he curled his wings around him as he lay down. There's no way Pittoo disappeared completely. I'm sure he'll come back soon, he reassured himself as he closed his eyes and let the world fade away.

Pit woke up to a clattering sound that he recognized as someone trying to open the window, but kept his eyes closed in hopes that he'd fall asleep again. The sounds only continued, and his imagination was keeping him from drifting off again. Whoever that is, they're really having a hard time opening that window. Maybe I should help. Actually, maybe not. They'd definitely yell at me for being awake.

The struggle didn't stop for another full minute or two, when he finally heard the satisfying click of the window opening. He expected that the visitor would walk back to the door and leave the room, but instead heard the distinct ruffling of feathers. That could only be one person. Or rather, angel. "Pittoo!"

Pit threw out any attempt at acting like he was asleep, and sure enough, he opened his eyes to look directly into Dark Pit's ruby-red irises. The white around them seemed more pink than usual, and the faint streaks on his face betrayed what had just happened. Was he crying? I didn't think that was possible. Dark Pit jumped back, understandably startled. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!" Pit apologized as sincerely as possible. Dark Pit didn't react and chose to keep his eyes fixed on the floor instead. "Hey, I'm not mad at you, you know?" Pit added, softly.

Dark Pit finally spoke. "I shouldn't have bothered coming," he muttered.

"No no, I'm glad you did! I was worried about you. So was Lady Palutena." Pit sat up, but his twin refused to meet his gaze. "So… where did you go?"

"None of your business."

"That's not helpful! Why were you avoiding everyone who went to look for you?"

"I told you the first time. It's none of your business." He walked back to the window, but Pit only realized what he was doing when he placed his hands on the sill to hoist himself over the same way he'd come in.

"What are you doing, Pittoo?" Pit jumped out of bed and grabbed his twin's hand. "You can't just disappear again! We're all–"

Dark Pit already seemed on edge, but the physical contact proved to be too much. "Get away from me, you idiot!" he shouted, shoving Pit back forcefully. Pain shot through his already sore body as he fell onto the bed, but he ignored it as he propped himself up on his arms. Dark Pit was strong and uninjured, and Pit knew he couldn't physically stop him, not while he was still recovering. So he resorted to words instead.

"What is your problem?" he yelled, equally angry. Dead silence. Dark Pit didn't move or even turn to face him. Pit realized how harsh he must have sounded, and lowered his voice. "I didn't mean it like that, Pittoo, I–"

"You really want to know?" Dark Pit's voice was quiet, but he was finally looking at Pit directly.

"Of course I do! You can tell me anything." They'd just been pretty loud, so Pit hoped no one would come to check on him. Then he'll leave and he'll never get to tell anyone what's bothering him.

Dark Pit took a deep breath. "The portals to our home worlds have been open since yesterday. Come to the temple gardens this… no, tomorrow night. At the spot with the stream. Don't you dare think about bringing anyone else along."

Pit nodded slowly, and Dark Pit didn't say anything else. He just folded his wings against his back and opened the window slightly wider. "Please don't go," Pit murmured, knowing that he'd be ignored. Dark Pit didn't even turn to look back at him as he climbed out. I guess I have no choice. If he's not staying, I'm going to go find him.

That evening, Pit and Palutena returned to the small house the three of them shared. It was nowhere near as spacious as Palutena's temple back in Skyworld, but it was a home away from home after long days of fighting. And it felt empty without Dark Pit. Pit resisted the urge to go to Skyworld right then. The last thing I want to do is lose his trust.

That was when he realized he hadn't told Palutena about the confrontation. Dr. Mario was the only person in the office at that time, and he'd been busy, so Dark Pit hadn't been seen by anyone but Pit since the fight. "Lady Palutena?" he ventured. She hummed in response, adjusting the ornaments on her dress. "I saw Pittoo earlier today. He came to visit me."

She froze. "You saw Pittoo?" He nodded, and she sighed. "So I shouldn't have gone to look for him while you were asleep. I'm glad he's safe, at least. What did he say?"

Pit shrugged. "Nothing much, but he's still feeling guilty about our fight. He wouldn't even look at me. But I got him to tell me to meet him in Skyworld tomorrow night."

Palutena tapped her finger on her cheek thoughtfully. "I don't think he meant for you to notice him. Maybe he just wanted to see you before he left."

Pit hadn't exactly thought of it like that. "Well, if he was trying to be stealthy, he did a bad job at it. I'm surprised Dr. Mario didn't hear him force the window open. Why couldn't we just meet in Skyworld tonight? After all, if he wanted to hide somewhere, he'd try to hide for as little as possible."

"Maybe he wanted to give you a chance to recover. Deep down, I think he does care about you a lot." Palutena took Pit's hand in her own and gave it a small squeeze. "I'd offer to talk to him, but honestly, I don't think that would change anything. Whatever he needs to hear, it needs to come from you."

Pit nodded, his resolve strong. "Then I'll do my best."

They decided not to tell anyone about the encounter, except for Lucina. "She's been helping me look for two whole days now," Palutena explained. "It would be wrong not to tell her."

Pit knew Lucina was eager to help, but he didn't expect her to get any more involved than that. Not until he heard a knock at the door and opened it to see her there. Lucina got straight to the point. "Good evening, Pit. I had something I wanted to tell Dark Pit, but since that is not possible at the moment, I'd like to tell you instead."

He was caught off-guard. "O-Of course! I'll let him know when I see him."

"Tell him that being an Echo fighter doesn't mean that he's useless."

"Lucina, I think he already knows that."

"I thought I already knew that." She looked directly at him so he could see the brand in her left eye. "Back when I first came here, I was honoured to fight like the Hero-King Marth himself, and I knew my own worth as a warrior. Yet I still felt useless rather quickly. Who needed an inexperienced warrior whose only difference from the Hero-King was the way they applied force to their sword? And when he defeated me in battle, I thought I had no chance at proving myself anymore. Dr. Mario told me he felt the same way at first, but we helped each other through those times. And I came to realize that my fears were unfounded. Hero-King Marth is my ancestor; we're family. We can always appreciate each other for who we are." She stopped and brushed her hair out of her face bashfully. "'That's all I had to say."

Pit was awestruck. "That's… that's so cool, Lucina! I never knew you felt like that!"

"I don't anymore. Hero-King Marth and I train together now. Maybe Dark Pit never had those feelings, but I thought I'd tell you." Pit could agree with that. Pittoo can be pretty prideful at times. I'm sure he knows his worth just fine.

"I'm glad you chose to!" He bounced a little. "Oh, when I bring him back, all four of us should have a joint training session together! Maybe we can invite Link too!" Lucina smiled as he continued planning for their training session. That was the positivity that had gotten him through a war, and it would also get him his brother back. He'd make sure of it.