Dislaimer: I own nothing that you recognize
amethystdreamstar: I haven't played many of the games that the characters in Brawl are from so I can't be sure if I get their personalities correct or not. I will write based on what I have read in other fics and a little bit of my own imagination. Besides, it's fanfiction, can't there be some OOC-ness?
Chapter 1: Snakes and Hands
The next few days seemed to fly by for Pit … and not just because he had wings that allowed him to fly everywhere.
Palutena had given Pit lots to think about. Did she really think so much of him as a warrior? He knew she thought he was good, he wouldn't have been named captain so young if she thought he was an idiot, but for her to praise his skills so much … it made Pit feel almost giddy. The feeling strengthened when he realized that Palutena must have actually watched a few matches for her to be interested enough to know who the victor would be. Pit couldn't wait to see Palutena again when she wasn't busy and ask her what she thought about the tournament.
The tournament was soon pushed from his mind to be replaced with another form of fighting. Strange creatures had been sighted around the boarders of Skyworld and it was Pit's responsibility as captain of the army to make sure that these monsters did not pose a threat for any of the inhabitants of his world. Occurrences like this were rare, but happened often enough that a working army was always needed just in case. If they were peaceful creatures the army could leave them alone but if they were violent, they would have to be eradicated immediately.
Immediately, Pit realised that they needed to remove of these creatures immediately.
As soon as Pit or any of the other winged soldiers got near one of the beasts, they would start to attack aggressively. Up close Pit saw that they looked rather liked winged snakes and figured that they were a small group that had broken off from Medusa's army many years ago and just happened to come across Skyworld.
One-on-one, these creatures were rather easy to defeat. All Pit had to do was dodge quickly when the beast let out a strike, then quickly slash or stab at its vulnerable next and belly. If that didn't work Pit would either jump or fly over them and slash at their wings, making them unable to fly – which was their main method of transportation was flight and their wings gave them incredible speed – an easy target for an archer as skilled as Pit.
However, their sheer numbers made it extremely difficult to fight just one at a time, not that Pit minded. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he dodged attack after attack only to slash out with his bow-turned-double sword (a gift from Palutena to be used only in times of great need). His tunic became stained from the blackish-coloured blood of the snake-monsters but Pit didn't care, he was enjoying himself too much. It had been close to twenty years since Pit had last needed to use his weapons for actually combat to care about a little blood on something that could be replaced.
Almost too soon for Pit, the last snake-monster fell at his feet after he had stabbed one of his blades through its throat. The fight had been going on for several days (turns out the original group had only been a small fraction of the colony), and everyone was tired. Even Pit had felt the fatigue creep into his limbs but it just made him that much more determined to keep fighting. He had been the only one to not take a break from the fighting, he was that determined. He also felt that it was his responsibility as captain and Palutena's best fighter to put forth his entire effort until he simply couldn't fight anymore. Only then would he take a break from the fighting, but he did not reach that point in the battle.
Despite his fatigue, Pit was grinning. He was pretty sure he looked like an idiot since he was smiling while being surrounded by the bodies of several monsters that had just been attacking him, but he didn't care. Even though his limbs felt tired, he felt more rejuvenated than he had felt in a long time. His restless fighting spirit was finally satisfied … for a while at least. He also felt no small amount of pride when he discovered that he hadn't lost his touch after years of inactivity.
After the threat had been defeated came the worst part, in Pit's opinion anyways, the clean-up. Many of his soldiers told him not to worry about cleaning up since he did so much in the battle and needed rest but Pit refused. He knew that no one would fault him in getting out of this duty but he knew that it was his responsibility to help keep Skyworld safe and clean, which meant disposing of the dead monsters. It wouldn't do to have one of the younger angels come out and play in this area to find that one of the 'dead' monsters wasn't quite as dead as everyone thought it was.
So for several gruelling hours, Pit dragged the carcasses to a center pile along with his fellow soldiers (after checking that they were actually dead, he didn't want a surprise bite from one that was only injured). After all the monsters had been piled together, one of the soldiers brought forth a small container of everlasting Angel Fire [1] and used it to burn the bodies. The process took a long time even with the fast-burning powers of the special fire so it was still several more hours before Pit could finally report back to Palutena in person about their success.
It was about a month before Pit started to feel restless again. He took to spending long hours in the training fields practicing his moves against invisible enemies. Other days, he would take full advantage of his exceptional, angel-stamina and shoot arrows at targets, stationary or moving, from dawn until dusk. These lengthy training sessions could not full satisfy his desire to fight and could only barely keep his restlessness at bay, but there was nothing else Pit could do. He felt isolated from his people and wished there was someone who he could talk to … someone who would understand.
He was a warrior trapped inside an angel, a being of purity and peace. He was supposed to like making music and singing songs in praise to the goddess that watched over them. Instead of dancing, he liked using his body to perform feats of battle and war. Pit rarely ever felt peaceful enough to sing with joy, usually his voice was used to call out battle cries or to command his troops in battle since he so rarely spoke to others besides his goddess.
No one could understand.
SSBBSSBBSSBBSSBB
Pit arrived in the practice archery fields for the eighth day in a row. He had been working on bending his arrow shots a little more sharply because he wanted to see if he could direct the arrow enough to turn it around midair to shoot behind him. No one else was there, like always, so Pit would be able to shoot at stationary targets until midday when one or two others would show up for an hour or so to help him with moving targets.
Pit started off with some light stretching and a small jog around the field. Angels' bodies may be more resilient to damage and injuries, but Pit didn't want to take the chance of accidentally hurting himself while practicing just in case there was attack on the city.
Pit had just finished when he heard a rustling noise. Pit whirled around, bow at the ready only to see –
A pigeon. Sitting calmly on one of the propped up targets was a snowy-white messenger pigeon holding a letter in its beak.
Pit was rather confused. 'Who would be writing to me?' he thought as he walked over. He didn't have any close friends other than the goddess. This was partly because of the demands of his jobs but also because he was just too different from everyone else. The other angels were always polite to him, but it still hurt Pit deep down that everyone was so distant from him. He longed for a friend, just one, who he could share anything with. Sure he had Palutena but, she was a goddess, and he was just one of her angels.
Pit finally reached the pigeon and gently stroked its head. "What have you got there?" he asked softly as he carefully removed the letter from the bird's beak. The bird hooted [2] softly at him in reply before he took off and flew gracefully out of the archery field.
Pit looked down at the letter in his hand. It was addressed simply as, 'Captain Pit Icarus' in a handwriting that he did not recognize. Pit turned the letter over and saw that it had a wax seal in the shape of a closed fist.
Intrigued, Pit broke the seal and read:
Dear Captain Pit Icarus,
I am delighted to inform you that out of the many able candidates we had selected, you have been chosen to become a contestant in the Super Smash Brothers: Brawl Tournament.
If you are unaware, Super Smash Brother Tournaments are highly competitive tournaments between only the most capable fighters of the many realms and dimensions that exist. Only the strongest of heroes and the most capable of villains are selected.
As the creator of the tournament, I would be overjoyed if you decided to accept your invitation and become a part of our next tournament that will be held in a month's time. The tournament will not interfere with any of your duties as captain as I have the power to freeze time in your world while you are in the tournament.
I will arrive in Skyworld in two days' time to discuss the tournament with you and answer any questions you may have.
Sincerely yours,
Master Hand
Pit's hands trembled as he read the letter over a second, then a third time, hardly believe his eyes. 'They want me to …' he thought in a daze as he sat down since he wasn't sure if his legs would support him. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought that he would be asked to join the Smash Tournaments. Sure he had defeated Medusa but that was nothing compared to what some of the other Smashers had done! Link had saved his realm at least eight times and Pit had lost count how many times Mario had saved Peach from Bowser. Besides, if he were to mark his age in human years, he'd be only around fifteen or sixteen at most! Sure there was Ness but he had the power of ESP! Pit could do nothing like that, all he could do was shoot arrows and fight with his blades. He couldn't even do the lowliest of Angel Spells [3] so why would they want someone like him?
Another thought occurred to Pit as he read the letter one more time. The Master Hand said that he could freeze his realm but Pit knew that would be impossible. Skyworld was the link between all the other realms, it was that huge. Many realms had their own names for it, the most common being 'Heaven', but those were usually parts of Lower Skyworld where souls went after they had departed their bodies. While there they had a choice, they could remain there for however long they wanted or they could be reborn. Being reborn was a tricky process since you could either be reborn as a human or any other type of humanoid creature without any memory of your past life. Certain souls didn't have a choice. Some souls, such as Link or Princess Zelda's, were constantly reincarnated and never stayed in Skyworld, they went somewhere else entirely.
Pit was second-in-command to Palutena, the goddess of the entire realm. Pit would never be allowed to leave, nor would he put his world in that kind of position. 'Palutena needs me,' Pit thought sadly as he folded the letter back up and put it back in the envelope, 'I will not abandon her or the realm just to chase wild dreams that will never amount to anything. Besides, what chance did I have in the tournament anyways?'
With that final, sad thought, Pit picked up his bow and for probably the first time ever, left his training early to go home and gaze silently out his window.
SSBBSSBBSSBBSSBB
Pit didn't train at all in the next two days. He didn't notice the concerned looks that were sent his way as he walked slowly down the palace hallways, wings drooping and his feet dragging along the floor with each step. He didn't speak unless directly spoken to and everyone was greatly concerned for Palutena's captain.
Pit knew he was doing what was right, so why did it feel so wrong? His stomach churned every time he thought of the letter that was still on his kitchen table (he didn't have the heart to throw it out) and every time he looked at a sword or a bow his heart clenched.
Pit didn't know what time the Master Hand was showing up since he didn't mention that particular detail in his letter. What Pit did know was that when he saw him, he'd tell him that while he was delighted to be chosen to compete, he would sadly have to turn the invite down because of his duties. The very thought of what he was going to do almost made him feel ill. 'How am I going to be able to do this?' Pit thought desperately.
"Captain?" a small voice intruded into Pit's chaotic thoughts. Pit turned to see one of the palace sentries standing there looking vaguely confused but still mostly composed.
"Yes?" Pit asked, mostly keeping his depression out of his voice.
"There's a giant talking hand who calls himself 'Master Hand' who wishes to speak with you," the sentry said quickly, as if saying it faster made it sound more realistic.
Pit's heart gave a sudden clench. 'He's here already?' Pit swallowed the lump that suddenly appeared in his throat and said quietly, "Send him in."
The sentry nodded and left, leaving Pit alone in the room with the scrying pool. How ironic that the place where Pit discovered his dream would be the very same place that he denied it.
"Captain Icarus?"
Pit froze. He knew that voice. It was one he had only heard from within the very pool in front of him. It was much deeper than any of the angels in Skyworld and much more powerful. Pit knew that that voice belonged to only one person, or rather, hand. The Master Hand.
Pit turned to see that he was right. Hovering in front of him was a giant, white-gloved hand that was probably twice as long as Pit was tall. Pit forced a smile onto his face and said pleasantly, "Yes, that's me. You can call me Pit though, only my soldiers call me Captain. It's very nice to meet you Master Hand."
Master Hand chuckled. "I take it from your lack of surprise that you have seen me before?" At Pit's nod Master Hand's voice turned thoughtful, "I wonder how that is possible. As far as I'm aware, your realm isn't one of the ones that receive coverage of the tournament."
Pit gestured to the scrying pool that was behind him. "My goddess, Palutena, created this scrying pool. It allows the viewer to look upon anything in any realm or dimension they wish to since Skyworld is directly connected to all of the realms. You just have to think about what you wish to see and either touch the water or project your thoughts into it. I accidentally found the tournament a while ago, during the original tournament actually, and have been watching it ever since."
Master Hand floated a little closer as if he were curious about the object. "May I?" he asked as he gestured towards the pool.
Pit nodded and stepped back, allowing Master Hand to float closer the pool. He peered into the pool with his invisible eyes and Pit could help himself from looking as well. He was curious as to what Master Hand would look for.
Pit didn't have to wait long. Pit watched as the image of a blurry left hand slowly sharpened into focus. 'Crazy Hand,' Pit thought as he watched the hand zoom around erratically, uprooting trees and twirling them around like basketballs.
"Crazy Hand, stop that at once!" Master Hand commanded. He seemed to shake with anger when Crazy Hand seemed to ignore him and picked up another tree and spun it around on his smallest finger.
Pit couldn't help it, he laughed. Master Hand turned sharply to him and to avoid getting yelled at Pit spoke quickly. "He can't hear you, he doesn't even know you're watching. The scrying pool is one-way."
Pit was sure that if he could, Master Hand would be blushing. He quickly backed away from the scrying pool and said, "Of course, how silly of me."
Pit stifled a giggle.
Master Hand seemed to compose himself and said, "Well Ca-Pit. Do you have any questions? The tournament starts in a month but the first two or three weeks will not have any actually matches. You will be interviewed so that the viewers will know who you are and you will be given an internet page similar to a blog where you will be expected to write about yourself to let the viewers see the a different side of you. You can write about anything you like and –"
"Actually, Master Hand," Pit interrupted. 'This is it,' he thought sadly. "I'm … I'm really happy that you asked me to … to be in the … tournament but …" Pit closed his eyes as he forced the rest out, "But I have to refuse."
Master Hand almost fell out of the air in shock. "Refuse? No one has ever refused an invitation to the Smash Tournaments, not even Ganandorf – although that's mostly because he wanted out of the sacred realm for a bit. Why won't you compete?"
"Because of his duties to me."
Pit and Master Hand whirled around to see Palutena in her shining glory. Pit rushed forward and dropped to one knee in respect and Master Hand seemed to … nod would be the closest thing that was similar to the action.
Palutena smiled at Pit and bade for him to stand up. Pit did so but could not meet his goddess' eyes. 'I didn't tell her about the invitation so how did she know?' he thought in confusion and almost immediately answered himself, 'duh, she's a goddess … of course she knows everything that happens in this realm.'
Palutena smiled at him before looking at Master Hand. "Pit is my second-in-command. He takes care of Upper Skyworld when I am looking after things elsewhere and is the captain of my guard. He is duty-bound to not only protect my citizens, but to make sure things run smoothly in Skyworld."
Master Hand seemed to nod again. "If his duties are a problem, I would be able to freeze this realm while he was at the tournament so that it would be as if no time had passed when he returned."
The goddess smiled sadly. "If Pit lived in any other realm that would be possible. However, Skyworld is directly connected to all other realms. Whenever a person dies, their spirit is sent here. If you were to freeze Skyworld, all the other realms – yours included – would have to be frozen as well or else the spirits would just wander and could be lost forever."
Pit felt his eyes begin to burn and looked down so no one would see that he was almost crying. Master Hand seemed to droop as he said, "I-I hadn't realized …"
Palutena nodded. "Yes, however …"
Pit looked up in confusion. 'What?'
Palutena smiled warmly at Pit. "Pit is different from other angels as I'm sure you noticed. I can see how much it has hurt him to put his duties before his desires. My old captain is willing to come out of retirement and fill in for Pit while he competes in the tournament."
Pit was stunned. For a second he thought he hadn't heard right but when Palutena seemed to sense his shock and nodded at him, Pit felt excitement begin to bubble through his veins.
"You really mean it?" he asked Palutena excitedly.
Her smile seemed to get even bigger as she said, "Yes, I do Pit. I could never forgive myself if I did not let you compete in this tournament, something that I know you've desired deep within your heart since the first time you laid eyes on it, after all of things you've done for me. You've never asked for anything, even now you were still willing to put duty before your own desires. The tournament will not last forever, but I am sure you will make great friends there and come back an even better warrior."
Pit couldn't help himself, he ran up the steps and hugged the woman he loved like a mother. Palutena seemed to expect it as she laughed and wrapped her arms around him.
Pit wanted to say so many things to the goddess, however the words seemed to be stuck in his throat and all he could make out was a hoarse, "Thank you." Palutena seemed to understand and smoothed the hair on his head as she held him.
After a few moments, Pit finally regained himself and released Palutena. He smiled at her half in excitement and half in embarrassment for having hugged her so suddenly. The goddess just smiled at him and gestured towards Master Hand, who Pit had forgotten was even there in his emotional turmoil.
Pit nodded to Palutena and walked back down the steps towards Master Hand.
He stopped when he heard Palutena speak again, "Oh and Pit?"
Pit turned around to see and almost … mischievous smirk on the goddess' face.
"I took it upon myself to look up the 'Final Smash' component for the tournament. I think you'll like what yours will be … if it's alright with Master Hand?"
Pit watched in confusion as Palutena looked at Master Hand and seemed to speak mentally with him. After a few seconds a delighted Master Hand said in an excited voice, "Oh yes, yes! That will be perfect for his Final Smash! I was wondering what his was going to be and you just solved my problem!"
Palutena nodded. "If that will be all, I will leave you two to discuss tournament matters."
With that the green-haired goddess turned and gracefully walked out of the room leaving Pit alone with Master Hand.
Master Hand picked up right where he left off. "Yes so, about the internet page. Each smasher has their own page where they write a little bit about themselves. Usually they make it a little bit different than what is discussed in the interview but it doesn't have to be! Some smashers have talked about what they have accomplished in their own world while others talk about their favourite colours! It's really up to you."
Pit nodded, "I have a question. What's the internet?"
Master Hand just hovered in the air awkwardly as he seemed to stare at Pit, trying to figure out if he was serious. After a moment he recovered himself and said, "Hmm. I would have thought that with your scrying pool you would have seen someone using the internet."
Pit shook his head as he said, "Nope, never. I usually only use the scrying pool to check up on my troops. I also use it to see the state of various parts of Skyworld and to watch matches."
Master Hand's voice turned pensive. "I see, well I guess we'll have to put you in a room with someone who knows how to use a computer. I think I'll put you with Red, he's a newcomer as well."
Pit had no idea who 'Red' was but nodded anyways, he didn't want to seem like a picky jerk before he even got there. "Is there anything else I should know?"
Master Hand shook himself in the same motion as a person would if they were shaking their head. "Not for the moment, here's your teleporter –" a small necklace appeared around Pit's neck as Master Hand snapped his fingers, "– it will transport you to outside of Smash Mansion along with whatever items you choose to bring in one bag or suitcase. Please pack several similar outfits of different colours for team battles along with clothes that you can wear around the manor."
Pit was confused. "This is the only type of clothing I wear," he said as he gestured to his toga.
Master Hand waved himself dismissively. "Yes, many of the contestants are like that. However, some just choose to have 'everyday' clothes along with 'fighting' clothes. This is not mandatory I was just letting you know it was an option."
Pit nodded, that made sense.
"Well, I think that's it," Master Hand said jovially, "I'll see you in a month. If I've forgotten to tell you anything I'll contact you."
Master Hand snapped and he disappeared leaving Pit alone with his thoughts.
SSBBSSBBSSBBSSBB
The month seemed to pass in the blink of an eye for Pit. News had spread quickly that Pit was going to be off in a tournament and everyone seemed happy for him. Pit was stopped by many angels young and old wishing him luck as he raced around Skyworld trying to make sure everything would run as smoothly as possible while he was gone.
Pit had wondered what his final smash would be but Palutena refused to tell him. Every time he asked she would just smile mysteriously and say, "You'll know," leaving him with even more questions than answers.
Palutena surprised him even more the day before he was to leave.
She had called him to the palace, which was an unusual but not unheard of request. Pit had been called there before in the past, but that was always when there was something like an attack that needed his immediate attention. Desperately hoping that that was not the reason for Palutena's summons, Pit flew to the palace at record speed.
When Pit arrived he saw that Palutena was already waiting for him. She said nothing when he had kneeled before her and simply held out her hand. A glowing, golden orb appeared above it and slowly took the shape of a magnificent blue bow that was outlined and decorated with gold. It had no string but Pit's other bow only had a string when he pulled an arrow out of his quiver so that he could use it also as a double sword.
Pit stared at the beautiful bow in awe and slowly reached out to grab it when Palutena nodded at him. As he did this, two golden rings appeared around his arm.
"This bow is unique, just like you Pit," Palutena said with a smile. "It has no string and requires no arrows. Simply think about shooting an arrow and one will appear ready to fire. The arrow will be magical and as a result, it will bend much easier as you direct it with your thoughts. It is similar to your other bow in the fact that you can use it also as blades for close combat."
Pit could barely stutter out his thanks, but Palutena understood. She wished him luck in the tournament and the ordered him to get some rest so that he would not be tired for his first day. Pit ran off excitedly with his bow in hand and flew home with a giddy smile on his face. His new weapon was perfect.
Pit woke up early the next day and carried his bag with him wherever he went. He didn't know when his necklace would activate and he didn't want to leave without his belongings. He was sure Master Hand could summon them, but it would be extremely embarrassing for Pit to have to ask him to do that.
At quarter past midday, the necklace activated and Pit vanished in a swirl of light.
'Here I go,' Pit thought excitedly as colours began to swirl around him.
SSBBSSBBSSBBSSBB
amethystdreamstar: Another short chapter, only 4000 words. Seems it's a pattern for me to start off with really short chapters, oh well.
I don't know much about Skyworld, so I created some things simply to add depth to the story. The whole part about Skyworld being heaven was completely made up (I hope you don't hate me for that), because I just thought 'why else would there be angels?' Pit will probably never interact with this part of Skyworld and it will probably not even be mentioned.
About the things that I mentioned specifically:
If you're up in the clouds, how would you get trees to burn fire for light? I reasoned that there must be some special angel-magic (part of 2) and burn without fuel but will burn things as well
How could at least some angels not have magic? I mean come on, Pit's wing's glow blue when you use them as the special move, how is that not magical? I made it so that only some angels can use magic and Pit is not one of them so he will have pretty much the same moves as in Brawl.
I don't think I forgot anything else but if I did just ask me in a review but please don't just send me one saying " - is so freaking stupid what were you thinking?" At least tell me why and remember, this is fanfiction so I think that I'm allowed to make up/change a few things.
Normally I don't update this quickly but, I figured that since this is so short and I got a new labtop so I won't use this one anymore that I might as well put this chapter up now so I don't lose it like I lost my other one -.-
I probably won't make this slash. I don't mind reading it if it has a good plot but a) I don't think I could write it at all and b) I had a couple of reviewers tell me not to make it slash so I won't unless I get some huge, overwhelming response from a large number of people that would never happen telling me to make it so :P
I don't know if that means that I'm going to rule out romance completely, I guess we'll just have towait and see. It won't be a major aspect of the story, probably just a side plot or something.
Please review :)