Melody Galaxy
Disclaimer: I do not own Super Smash Brothers. That goes to Nintendo. The only characters I own are those from the Golden Land, angels from Skyworld including the royal bodyguards, Angel Assembly and archangels along with all the other angels and of course the witch hunters. I also own Daedalus, Diamond, Pearl and Flauros.
Summary: The Guardian of Music is going to be performing on Melody Galaxy on a bright planet taking requests to reach out to separated lovers. Raven decides to use this to her advantage and make Melody Galaxy the battle ground that will eliminate a member of the Band of Six from existence not really caring how many people will be hurt in the process. The Smashers go there on a vacation trip along with a lot of begging from the Villager children. Upon entry, they are introduced to a fairy boy named Kite who forces a virginity test on everyone and prevents anyone who failed the test. Pit who originally was up to the idea of asking Kaleido if she could use her music to reach out to his "deceased" father Daedalus, he's far from please being rejected. Pit only forces himself in when he sees Daedalus enter the festival grounds without supervision. Daedalus is drawn to Melody Galaxy to reunite with Pandora once and for all, but his old time acquaintance Flauros intends to expose the tragedy that Daedalus might have directly or indirectly caused in front of Pandora and he'll murder anyone to achieve his goal. It's a shame that the Smashers ended up being dragged into this love tragedy that Pit actually foreshadowed before getting to Melody Galaxy…
Pairing: Pit/Pittoo/Lucina, Male Robin/Shulk, Ganondorf/Palutena, Magnus/Dunban, Henry/Female Robin, Mario/Peach, Fox/Sonic, Kite/Kaleido (OC/OC), Pandora/Daedalus and Flauros/Ellipse (OC/OC)
Rated: M (for mature) but E on Archive of Our Own (for any sex scenes)
Genre: Romance, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, (Dark) Humor and Angst
Warning: Sexual violence, extreme violence, gore, character death, yaoi, implication of rape, sexual themes and unintentional OOC
Compared to the other Super Smash Galaxy stories, Melody Galaxy will have five chapters due to how this is the conclusion of Pandora's arc of searching for Daedalus and vise versa. Just because this is the reunion story doesn't mean that Daedalus' arc is finished (his arc is done by Mecha Galaxy and we see it post Mecha Galaxy). Enjoy!
Chapter 3: Bargaining
There was nothing that Dunban had feared - or so he thought. He had always embraced death with open arms. While his greatest fears had often come true with those he treasured the most nearly dying on multiple occasions, his heart had started to harden to the point that such things wouldn't affect him. There was still one thing that Dunban thought he got over since it happened over ten years ago, however.
When Dunban was still a new recruit in the Colony 9 Defense Force, he had attracted the attention of jealous superiors. Try as he might to resist them…they ended up having their way before leaving him for dead in the water. If it hadn't been for Mumkhar, he probably would have drowned that night. That incident was why Dunban was so quick to trust his former friend even ignoring that Mumkhar's envy was growing ever so slightly by the day.
That obviously bit him in the ass, but at the very least Mumkhar never stooped so low to trigger Dunban's terrible memory. The war veteran would have been dead if Mumkhar spoke the same words and did the same gesture that Flauros was using against him.
"Don't worry. I'll be gentle."
Dunban's brain just turned off hearing those words. Flauros wasn't expecting the Homs to flail around while in his grasp. He cursed up a storm threatening to murder the demon if he continued to touch him like this. Flauros honestly couldn't care about what Dunban said. He just needed to deliver him to Diamond.
That is exactly what Flauros did. The demons needed to hold Dunban down so they could restrain him more than they already did. The leopard demon assumed that the war veteran had enough pride to keep his voice down, but the raven haired Homs was too busy lashing out to care who could hear him. The end result was gagging him so he they didn't have to hear his voice any longer and confiscating his weapon. Granted, Dunban still could have kicked the demons away, but it would be pointless to do so.
Flauros' boss would be under Melody Galaxy unsurprisingly. Diamond had a bad habit of attaching a part of Mecha Galaxy underneath the planet. The old man would be able to do everything from observing his targets and capturing them if he so desired. Melody Galaxy was actually an easy location for him because of how the rules of the planet allowed him to snatch virgin girls with relative ease. He was only interested in observing Homs though. While he wanted Shulk above all else for his master plan, Flauros bringing in Shulk's mentor was a pleasant surprise.
"Hope you don't mind this old alien instead of the one in Smash." Flauros had told Diamond with a laugh. "You only needed one Homs anyway."
"Ho-ho-ho. Of course. It won't take too long to tame this one."
Normally, Dunban would have been offended for being called weak or old. His state of mind at the moment was at its lowest from that one gesture. Flauros letting him go and being allowed some time alone in a dark, isolated room had done him some justice, but it wouldn't be long until his weakness was exploited. The raven haired Homs cursed his luck being caught so easily. The worse was that his pride would not let him tell the others about what happened.
"Ho-ho-ho. Why are you giving us a mean face? We promise we'll be gentle."
Again, the demons promised they would be gentle. From Dunban's terrible experience, telling someone they would treat you gently was a lie. No one was capable of being gentle in his mind except maybe Magnus (but he wouldn't ask the mercenary for something as good as that because of his pride again). The demons were proving their point with how they were grabbing him by the hair and dragging him to the machine that Diamond prepared specifically for the raven haired Homs. Just from the looks of it, Dunban knew that things were going to go to hell really fast if he didn't think of a way out. His body was frozen with the rough treatment after being promised the opposite. Diamond's smile widened seeing the fearful look in his victim's eyes.
"Ho-ho-ho. Maybe playing around with you won't be a waste of time after all."
As the day went on, Kaleido became more restless and for good reasons. The closer it came to the concert, the more Kaleido feared for her friend Kite's life. Kite was putting his life on the line for this concert despite being an Apostle. He was hunted down by the witch hunters and they would stop until all the Apostles were slaughtered. They were deemed too dangerous 2000 years ago even though that was far from the truth. Most of the members who wanted to reason with authority were put down leaving the pragmatic Apostles left to hide. Kaleido put herself at risk for allowing Kite a place to stay. She wanted to help those around her despite her Guardian status. Her boss had disapproved of her working with Kite in the music department, but if they swore to protect each other, they should have been fine.
This was different. Kaleido felt like if she were to perform tonight, she would lose her friend forever. She wanted to remove this feeling. The only way she could do that was to persuade Kite not to go with his plans. The fairy was too stubborn for his own good.
The bubblegum pink haired girl paused feeling an ominous aura behind her. This was followed by ravens cawing and black feathers falling from the ceiling toward her.
"R-Raven…" She began. "What a pleasant surprise…"
It wasn't a pleasant surprise. Raven was the reason why Kite was so adamant about completing his mission in the first place. Her words were so appealing that it ignored common sense.
"Your friend is doing this for the universe." Raven told her harshly causing the Guardian of Music to step back from the force of her words. "His sacrifice will not be in vain."
"…How can you say that? Is he just a pawn to you?"
"…In the next timeline, his life will be extended for his noble deed here."
"How do you know that?!"
"…You should know better than anyone. I'm a time traveler."
Raven was feeling rather smug this time around. She just needed to remind Kaleido of her position before disappearing again. Now, all she needed to do was watch the events fold. If all went well, Flauros would be no more at the cost of Kite's life in this timeline. Kaleido would not accept it. She wanted to chase after Raven and plead with Prism in the Golden Land to change Kite's fate. She would not have the time to do so especially since she heard a knock at her door. Sighing in defeat, she resigned to her fate as she turned around and opened the door.
On the other side was one of her best friends that were nearly lost by time. Amazon Pandora was someone she respected during her glory days before the Great Evil had attacked 2000 years ago. Granted, Kaleido's situation in the past was rather ambiguous (like her overall appearance), so it was unknown how she met the powerful Amazon or what happened that caused her to become a Guardian in the first place. The only thing people needed to know was that when Pandora survived her encounter with Dark Pit, she was freely able to move around mostly under Ares' command and see her childhood friend again.
The idol wanted to ease her friend's pain, but found it difficult to do so. Pandora had asked for one thing and one thing only: Finding her lost love. In the past, Pandora had denied ever being in love with Daedalus. Now she needed to see Daedalus again or returning to her original form would be for nothing. Kaleido found their forbidden love to be delightful. An angel and a demon together was unheard of although the judge Abbigale was engaged to the demon Shax before he was brutally murdered by the evil Kensei.
Kaleido had sworn her music would bring lovers back together no matter how far apart they were. Pandora never wanted to believe that, but now she was getting desperate. Here she was now completely exhausted from running around the galaxy. Her eyes were pleading for the Guardian of Music to pity her and do something with her heartache. Kaleido was at a loss of words though.
"Pandora…"
"Kaleido, I know this is sudden, but do you think that one of your numbers can be for me?" She asked while trying to keep the arrogant façade up. "I need you to find someone and that fool said that I needed to find him here in Melody Galaxy. If I don't find him now, I'll never find him again!"
"Pandora, calm down and tell me what you mean." The bubblegum haired girl tried to start but would not get the response she wanted.
"I can't calm down! I got a bad feeling being here and I needed to let you know! I know I'm selfish, but I beg you to sing just one song that might catch his attention!"
"But…"
"You come up with songs on the fly! Please!"
Kaleido groaned realizing she wouldn't be able to change her friend's mind. "I'll see what I can do…just…don't attract attention to yourself until then."
Everyone was gathering around the concert area at the designated time. The most anticipated performance that Kaleido would perform was happening soon and everyone wanted to stand in the front. After going on all of those rides, Dark Pit wanted to be in the very front. Lucina wasn't so eager and told him to wait. Olivia and Inigo had left to go perform with the bubblegum haired idol, so the least Lucina could do was go to the front and watch them perform. She wondered how well Inigo would fair given his stage fright.
While rushing toward the concert, Dark Pit had collided with someone and caused them both to fall over. The dark angel remained dazed and confused at who he bumped into. Looking down, Dark Pit thought he was suffering déjà vu in that moment. A young girl who looked to be his age (or maybe a little older) with light blue hair and purple eyes. She had a flat chest like Lucina, so nothing softened his blow. She seemed startled to bump into the black angel like he was with her.
"Sorry…" Dark Pit murmured as he got off her immediately. "I was rushing to go to the concert."
"This is why I told you not to run." Lucina could be heard in the background. "Help her up!"
"I am! No need to be pissy…" Dark Pit grumbled as he extended a hand out to her. "Are you okay?"
"Of course I'm okay! This happens often!" The girl exclaimed as she gave him a huge smile. "I'm Lana! I'm certain we have met in the past, but this is me introducing myself to you again."
Dark Pit and Lucina tilted their head in confusion. They must have known her from somewhere since the name did strike a chord…but nothing was coming out at this very moment.
"I'm Lived Twilight or Li for short. The girl behind me is my girlfriend Lucina. I'm sorry…but I don't think we have met before…"
Lana visibly froze before she forced herself to continue smiling. Dark Pit felt his heart break wondering if that was the best thing to tell her. Lucina too was trying so hard to figure out who this Lana person was, but to no avail.
"It's okay. You'll regain your memory of me eventually." Lana reassured herself more than Dark Pit. "Same goes for you, Lucina."
"Ehh?"
Lana looked behind her and waved to the person behind the female lord. "I got to go now. I'm with my girlfriend here. You will remember her too, Dark Pit."
"I…will?"
"Linkle! I'm over here! Wait for me!"
Before Dark Pit could ask Lana what she was talking about, the white witch had took off to meet with her girlfriend. Lucina couldn't help but laugh how this girl was literally a female version of Link only with pigtails. Of course, this girl being an identical stranger was just a coincidence. One would think the two would head in the same direction as Dark Pit, but they headed in the opposite direction…for some strange reason. Lucina wondered if the blonde girl was lost…but it was best not to dwell on a subject like that.
"…That girl…" Dark Pit began, "I felt like I knew her from somewhere."
"You had the same feeling too?"
"Yeah…Luci…maybe I…" He shook his head realizing what he was thinking was stupid. "Never mind. We should head to the stage before it gets crowded."
The two Smashers set off to the concert and it wouldn't be long until they got there. People have started gathering around, but most of the Smashers have yet to arrive. It was ironic when Rob and Shulk arrived first despite not being huge fans of loud places instead of them.
"I forgot Olivia was performing." Rob grumbled. "And I got tired of the House of Mirrors. I got to stay here in Chrom's place since that idiot is nowhere to be found."
Lucina couldn't help but chuckle at how casual Rob was being. She failed to notice that Shulk was tense. Granted, Shulk didn't have any sort of vision, but he was still concerned for the male tactician after the incident earlier on this afternoon.
It would not be long until the area around the stage became crowded (and still no Chrom). The dance routine was first before Kaleido started singing for her audience. The Music Guardian was still going to be flashy for her audience that had shown up early.
The dance was going to be something different, but it matched the people who she asked to perform with her. All the dancers were asked to wear a rather revealing outfit that revealed their belly button. The color of the outfit was there choice of course. All the backup dancers had this oddly designed mask to cover their face. They could still see what they were doing though. Kaleido was the only one who had her mask open. Her mask looked like a Kabuki mask with the red lines and rather demonic face painted on it.
"WELCOME, EVERYONE! THANK YOU FOR COMING TO KALEIDO'S CONCERT!" Kaleido projected in third person to get her fans riled. "BEFORE WE GET TO THE MAIN COURSE, A SERIES OF DANCES WILL BE PERFORMED! PLEASE STAND AWAY FROM THE STAGE TO NOT MESS WITH THE DANCERS AND ENJOY THE SHOW!"
If there was one thing Shulk observed, it was that if you weren't Kaleido, you were going to be the backup dancers wearing masks to not reveal yourself to the crowd. To be fair, this dance actually required them to wear a rather odd shaped mask that covered their face. Dark Pit was so distracted by the main star that he missed some familiar figures that were participating in the dance.
"Ah, Shantae is here as well." Rob commented as he pointed to the dark skinned girl in the back who had gotten into the rhythm of the Arabian themed dance. "I wonder where Roy is."
Shulk would expect the Young Lion was still eating with Ryu therefore missing the half-Genie perform at this very moment. It was Roy's loss.
Other dancers besides Kaleido and Shantae included Kite, Olivia and Inigo of people Shulk could name at the top of his head. Inigo was the only male dancer there, but it wasn't that apparent with how he was in the back. With the mask on, he could keep up with the other dancers with relative ease. Lucina was surprised at how quickly he memorized this dance in such a short amount of time. There would be more than just this one, so she wondered if Inigo would have enough endurance to keep going.
The other dancers included Pandora (who was hoping Daedalus was in the crowd watching her) and a very curvy woman who stood out due to the tentacles wrapped around her body. People thought it was part of the costume when it was a hint that someone powerful was in the crowd watching.
Pittoo was mesmerized by the catchy tune to not notice someone in his mind calling to him about this powerful person. Rob had forced himself to watch the dance to not think about what happened this afternoon. At this moment, Shulk had gotten a vision that would occur later this evening. There was nothing but screaming and Kaleido calling someone a murderer. Many Smashers would get hurt from someone's rampage. Pit was on stage in tears begging someone to save a person named Daedalus. Dark Pit would be on the ground in critical condition and Rob…was shot by a demon in the distant. Shulk trembled after receiving the vision and wanted to leave immediately. Seeing how happy the white haired tactician was, he chose to not say anything at the moment. Perhaps after the dance routines he could talk to Rob about the vision and get him out of the sniping range. Unfortunately, Shulk would never get his chance.
While the performance was going on, Pit decided that in order to get any information out of his father that they needed to be alone. Unless he could see the stage without being seen, he wasn't going to talk at all. It may have been cliché, but going on the Ferris wheel would allow Daedalus to scout for the woman he was searching for while giving them privacy. As the two angels were being loaded onto the Ferris wheel, Pit couldn't help but notice the strange expression the guy gave them as he closed the door behind them.
"Please keep your body inside of the cart at all times." He repeated to the two before waving them off and focusing on the next person to load onto the Ferris wheel.
The trip to the top of the Ferris wheel was sluggish. Every time the Ferris wheel stopped, someone would get off the ride and someone was loaded onto the cart. It continued until there were no more people in line due to the majority of people being at the concert. The music could still be heard from a distance and Kaleido's magic was able to project a far distance. It would not be long until the Ferris wheel reached the top and conveniently stopped.
Daedalus' attention was toward the crowd that was the size of ants with how high the two were. Using Tinker, he would be able to scan the area and search for Pandora. He frowned at first realizing that he might be too far, but his heart skipped a beat when Tinker picked up a familiar aura.
"Are you going to talk to me, or are you going to be drooling over your long lost love?" Pit asked sarcastically upset that he was seeing the back of the fallen archangel yet again. "Honestly, why would you love a demon of all things? That cost you your reputation and your family."
"Do you think I cared about that?" Daedalus suddenly asked causing Pit to jump at the tone he was using. "I may have been the greatest inventor in heaven, but I was nothing to everyone there. Everyone was jealous of my brilliance and left me to rot under Kensei's command! I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for Pandora!"
Pit flinched at the name given to him. It couldn't have been the Pandora that he fought during the war against Medusa or the one that indirectly created Dark Pit using the Mirror of Truth. Maybe there was another woman named that but…
"Pandora…she gave me a purpose in life." He spoke softly. Recalling the tall Amazon in his mind filled him with glee. A warm smile threatened to return to his normally cold face. "She saved me from my despair and made me realize what I could do for others…I want to see her again…but not like this…but knowing she's this close and listened to my message to meet up here…makes me so happy."
"Old man…"
"She filled me with hope, Pit. That's why I was willing to throw everything away just to meet her again."
"…So it's okay to throw me away when I needed you the most?"
Now it was Daedalus' turn to be taken aback by Pit's venomous words.
"Old man, you are the most selfish bastard I have ever known!" Pit suddenly shouted as he got up from his seat. "You were my hope back then! You left me with that witch who abused me because you neglected her and she took it out on me! When you gave me any attention, she hit me! She told me to go die and whenever I ran to you for comfort, you shut the door on me like you are now! You are so blinded by this love for a fucking demon, that you can't see that you're making your own son suffer!"
"…You have Palutena and Dark Pit." Daedalus interrupted. "I already told you that. I should not have to repeat myself."
The chocolate haired archangel would have to repeat himself though. He told Pit that at least ten timelines ago when they were reunited because Diamond wanted to mess with Daedalus' psyche and find an excuse to observe the Smashers and collect data on them. In that timeline, Daedalus wanted to stay with Pit and Dark Pit after bonding with them in such a short amount of time. The personality that got to know them was fake as far as Daedalus was concerned. Once he regained his real personality, he became ashamed. He learned what happiness was without Pandora by his side. This was unacceptable. He had no right to be happy with the son he failed to raise in his youth and the clone that Pit created because of the woman he loved. Pit had a bright future ahead of him…if he could just let go of the pain of the past, then he would be set for life.
"…How do you know about Pittoo?" Pit questioned suspiciously. "I never told you about him…"
"I know these things. I'm a genius. Remember?"
"That means nothing!"
Daedalus noticed that Tinker was going to go off and say something that the inventor was thinking. He turned the machine off before that happened. Pit continued to ramble on about Daedalus' shortcomings, and honestly…he could care less. He had made up his mind that he would see Pandora one last time and disappear from existence. He just wanted to apologize for making her suffer. Daedalus would accept his life in eternal hell once those words were delivered to Pandora.
"…I need you dad."
Daedalus snapped out of his thoughts hearing Pit address him as "dad" instead of "old man". Pit's fists were shaking. The angel captain was ready to punch a hole in his father's face. It never came. Instead, he tried to hold back the tears that would threaten to fall.
"…Lady Palutena and Pittoo are important to me…but you're my only dad…no matter what I say…just once…just tell me that you care…just once tell me that I…"
He cut himself off realizing how foolish his request was. Pit felt like he was suffering from déjà vu. Had he begged his father to acknowledge him before? He wouldn't know. It might have been in his dreams as far as he was concerned. Just once…he wanted his dad to tell him how proud he was…
Daedalus might have said something though. The tension in the Ferris wheel was suffocating. A part of him still cared for his son despite his priorities being skewed. He reached out to his son wanting to bridge the gap between them…but fate wasn't going to have it when the Ferris wheel started moving again. It won't be long until they were at the bottom.
How long were we talking? Daedalus asked himself as he pulled his hand back into his lap. How long was the concert going for? Is the concert already over? If the dance portion of the concert is over, I might not have much time…I have to see Pandora now…
Now Daedalus was conflicted though. If he left to pursue Pandora, he would leave Pit in this sorrowful state. He abandoned Pit in the past, so this shouldn't affect him now. Yet, it affected him very much, and he would not be able to find Pandora until he found some way to apologize to his son. Being the coward he was, Daedalus doubt he would be able to do so. He sighed in defeat as a result and hunched back in his seat. Because he forgot to turn Tinker back on, he would not expect the guests waiting for them at the bottom of the Ferris wheel.
The performance came to an end and so did the Ferris wheel ride. Pit grumbled at how he got nothing out of his father in the end and almost cried in front of him instead. Pit felt so disgraced that he wouldn't be able to talk for a while. He needed to if he wanted info out of his father. Daedalus was going to stay until he reunited with Pandora, but his father felt like he gave his son enough time to speak with him. If only Daedalus wasn't so focused on his lost love, he would be able to see that Pit still wanted to talk with him.
As the two got off the ride, they were greeted by a certain demon that immediately caused Daedalus to freeze up. Pit vaguely recalled who he was, but seeing his dad's reaction allowed him to piece together that this demon spelt trouble.
"Evening, Daedalus. It's been a while."
"F-Flauros…what are you…"
"Don't finish that sentence. You know what I want from you."
Daedalus closed his mouth. He didn't realize that he bit the inside of his cheek because of Flauros. His old friend, now enemy was in front of him and had every intention of wanting to humiliate and kill the fallen archangel for the crimes he committed. It was a witch hunter's job after all. Pit wouldn't stand for it…at least until he got the information he wanted out of his dad.
"Excuse me!" Pit shouted getting the leopard demon's attention. "I know we might have met in the past, but I don't like being ignored!"
Flauros gasped. "Oh! The Captain of the royal bodyguards and this asshole's son is here too?"
He didn't sound all that surprised given he saw all the Smashers were at the carnival. Granted, a few of them were missing due to not wanting to attend such a dull event (and Flauros wouldn't blame them).
"Gee, I'm honored I get such a nice greeting from a witch hunter." Pit growled. "Alright, pack it up! I know my old man is the most unlikable person, but I need you to leave. I still need him alive."
Daedalus had every right to complain about his son verbally abusing him at this point. The fallen archangel failed to voice his complaints when the sound of large footsteps came their way. Pit's smug expression dropped immediately hearing the footsteps of a Minotaur. Flauros really did come prepared for his faithful encounter.
"Don't worry. None of them are Steel." Flauros snarked. "However, I might have to call him in Captain if you resist."
It wasn't just Daedalus he wanted. This was the perfect opportunity to snag Pit. His plans for Daedalus were just beginning and Pit's father certainly did not want his son involved. Pit's phobia was kicking in even if the Minotaur was not the Minotaur he feared the most. Quickly the Minotaurs surround the two angels and Pit let out a small cry for help. Flauros laughed at how easy it is to tame the angel captain with just the mention of Steel.
"Man, do I love triggering people today!"
Pit's warning to Lucina rang through her head when Kaleido asked the crowd what they wanted to hear her sing. These songs were not written or originally sung by the Music Guardian, but she would be able to rehash the song to create a different feel to the melody.
Her diehard fans screamed out the names of many songs. Kaleido heard each and every one of them and smiled how some of them were from popular anime and video games.
Dark Pit had the loudest voice in the crowd and he kept chanting one song over and over again.
"SING SIMPLE AND CLEAN! SING SIMPLE AND CLEAN!"
"Oh Gods…" Lucina muttered to herself realizing that Kaleido probably heard the black angel's request over everyone else. Dark Pit sounded like a harpy more than an angel at this point, and the female lord wished that she took Cloud's headset. His music would sound better than whatever J-pop song that Dark Pit requested.
"IT LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE ASKED FOR SIMPLE AND CLEAN!" Kaleido declared. "HOPE YOU GUYS ARE READY TO SING ALONG!"
It probably wasn't Lucina who was suffering for the next five minutes, but she felt like it was just she against everyone in Melody Galaxy. She covered her ears hearing Dark Pit sing out of tune.
"WHEN YOU WALK AWAY, YOU DON'T HEAR ME SAY, PLEASE! OH BABY! DON'T GO!"
Lucina wished her life would just end right there seeing as her ears were the first to give up on her first.
"Dark Pit…please…stop singing…"
"SIMPLE AND CLEAN IS THE WAY THAT YOU'RE MAKING ME FEEL TONIGHT! IT'S HARD TO LET IT GO!"
Rob would glance where the horrible screeching was coming from and immediately felt bad for the female lord. She was literally put in Chrom's shoes at this point, but he could do nothing but smirk. Shulk just shook his head in annoyance.
"What awful singing…" Shulk muttered. "How did Dark Pit have such a bad singing voice when Pit is amazing in comparison…"
"Well…seeing as how Dark Pit can read…" Rob started but shut his mouth due to being drowned out by the crowd.
Most of the Smashers were glad when the song was over. The crowd's rowdiness had died down because Kaleido intended to sing her own song next. Her eyes pierced the audience before she started to project her voice to the crowd.
"This next song…is for a friend." Kaleido warned the audience as she looked over to the side where Pandora was standing. "I have stated on multiple occasions that those who are too scared to convey their feelings to one another turn to me so I can sing for them. As the Guardian of Music, I desire my music to bring people together and find happiness." She smiled knowing that she had a perfect song for the crowd. "Please listen to my new song."
Dark Pit's sparked hearing that his idol had a brand new song not released to the public. He was so excited that Lucina had to place her hand on his shoulder so he wouldn't run off.
"I was the rogue who stole from the rich.
I was the vigilante who delivered justice when the law failed to.
But I was a hero to one person though.
And then I realized what I wanted to do…
I want to be your hero.
I want to be your savior.
Please don't run away from me.
I will change my behavior.
If it means being with you.
Oh why won't you respond to my voice?
Why are you so scared?
Have I done something to hurt you again?
I was prepared…
So prepared for you to turn away…
But you still cared.
You turned around after I continued running.
And smiled…"
Kaleido wasn't done with the song, but she knew she was causing an impact. This was…a rather sad love song. With context, it was easy to see the hero was Pandora in the song and Daedalus was the man that Pandora had fallen for. With how she sung the lyrics, no one could tell who the gender of the singer was.
"I want to be your hero.
I want to be your savior.
Please don't run away from me.
I will change my behavior.
If it means being with you.
I know I have done some terrible things in the past.
The rumors are flying around that say you're no different.
Have you sinned for my sake?
Please don't become indifferent.
That is not the person I have fallen for.
To see a person so magnificent…
Give into sorrow and despair
Is something a hero cannot allow!
I will save you!
Just wait for me.
I want to be with you.
But you have to want to be with me!
So please…hear my voice…
And extend your hand out to me…
Please…"
Kaleido understood the pain that Pandora was going through. The Goddess of Calamity had no idea that tears were falling down her eyes. Everything she wanted to say to Daedalus was being projected in a song. If this song didn't touch the fallen archangel, nothing would.
"I want to be your hero.
I want to be your savior.
Please don't run away from me.
I will change my behavior.
If it means being with you.
Because I love you…
…I love you…"
And the rest was history. The audience that was so rambunctious remained silent as Kaleido took in a deep breath. Dark Pit noted how the song had a similar theme to Love is a Beautiful Pain, but the lyrics were different to send a message from one person to another. It was wonderful music nonetheless.
The audience decided to clap instead of let out wild cheers. This was probably for the better because Kaleido would start to get a little emotional. Kite had to leave his post to go and comfort the Guardian of Music.
"I'm sorry, Kite." The Guardian of Music apologized weakly. "I got overly emotional…"
"No, it's fine. You did great. You just need to remember you still have a concert to run." The fairy told her.
Kaleido smiled warmly at her partner. If they weren't on stage, she would have embraced the feminine angel. Pandora observed the two with envy. Even with that beautiful song being sung, Daedalus still hadn't shown up. She sighed in defeat realizing that it was foolish to think that a song could bring her and Daedalus together.
Pandora was going to find out she would reunite with her long lost love soon. It was Palutena that realized too late that something wasn't adding up after the song. The crowd being happy for her was one thing, but she felt this negative aura that was aimed toward the stage.
"Is there something the matter, Goddess of Light?" Ganondorf had questioned before he too would realize something is up.
"Oh no! The stage! Stop the concert! A witch hunter!"
Palutena wished she was quick to warn the pop idol. A sniper rifle was being aimed toward her chest. Kite's good hearing had allowed him to hear Palutena's warning. Palutena, Ganondorf and Rosalina were not anywhere near the stage, but the fairy knew what he must do.
"KALEIDO, WATCH OUT!"
Kaleido was taken aback by her friend pushing her out of the way just as a fire bullet was flying toward her. Kite took the blow to his wings. It wasn't an ordinary bullet though. It was a bullet meant to harm witches and sorcerers from the Golden Land. In other words, Kite's wings would soon be set on fire.
The minute Kite's wing burst into flames due to the fire bullet the crowd immediately erupted into absolute chaos. The Minotaurs present got to work with slaughtering as many people as they could in an attempt to grab whatever angels they could possibly take back to their lair should they get out of there. The panic had caused people to turn on each other as they pushed and shoved to get away from the concert area.
Some of the Smashers immediately got separated from each other due to the pandemonium. Lucina had made sure to keep Dark Pit close to her so this wouldn't happen. She noted how he nearly shut down when the negative energy engulfed Melody Galaxy.
"Dark Pit, we need to move!"
"B-But…"
Lucina wasted no time drawing Falchion. She had to get Dark Pit to safer ground. The fact the Minotaurs were looking at him made her realize that she would have to get her hands dirty to protect the dark angel. Grabbing Dark Pit by the wrist, she forced him to follow her. He had to comply due to the female lord holding onto him so tightly.
A few Smashers still insisted on staying calm in the midst of the chaos. Zelda had attempted to pacify the people who were willing to listen, but when they would push past her, Link would be the one to protect her with the Master Sword in hand. This only applied to the demons that approached the Smashers and wanted to murder them in cold blood.
Mario, Peach, Fox and Marth all tried to get the tourists to calm down. Peach was the most successful, as she was able to get some of the people to walk in a single-file line to safety while the other Smashers would protect the rear. The Smash children were Peach's highest priority of protecting. They could probably handle a few of the demons, but when bullets were flying and no one was cooperating, they needed to be evacuated before any action was done.
Shulk growled hating how he got a vision at the last minute. He wanted to move, but he received another vision showing that if he moved from his spot, the same bullet that pierced Kite's wing would hit Rob straight in the forehead killing him instantly.
"Monado Shield!" Shulk shouted as he covered himself and Rob with a protective barrier before pulling Rob into an embrace. "Rob, stay close to me!"
Shulk's action caught Rob by complete surprise. He could only make a small sound like a scared animal before Shulk felt something hit the shield. Monado Shield was strong enough to protect him from a fatal blow, but he was still going to get injured. Thankfully, the bullet just grazed his shoulder. He wasn't going to move from his spot if Rob was going to be shot at again.
"S-Shulk!"
Rob's brain still hadn't quite processed fully what was happening around him fast enough. All he knew was Shulk was slowly walking the two away from the concert in such an awkward fashion that whatever was shooting at them wouldn't hit the white haired magician.
"Shulk…did you get a vision…"
"Rob, just listen to my instructions." Shulk told him simply. "I won't let them hurt you. Not now…not ever…"
This was the first time these demons would attack the Smashers and a high profile target like Kaleido. The blond must have had been referring to an incident in the past where he had failed to protect his most cherished person. If this feeling of déjà vu was making him act in such an overprotective manner…
Alvis, can you see where the bullets are coming from?
"Yes. They're coming toward you at one-o-clock…and there's going to be one sniper."
If that's the case then…
Rob yelped feeling Shulk pick him up with one arm while holding onto the Monado with the other. Was this even possible or was he getting help from someone else?
"Monado Speed!"
The Monado boy's body began to radiate a blue aura. This speed form allowed him to hurry off before the bullets could even hit him. Unfortunately, one stray bullet was still going to hit him in the same place in the shoulder. The only place Shulk could run to (thus keeping him out of the fight) is the house of mirrors. If the attention were only focused toward the concert, then no demon would bother to look in that place.
Even if Shulk was injured, it didn't change Rob's heart from missing a beat. His breathing was becoming heavy as he observed the taller Smasher. Sweat started to pour down his face as he tried to handle everything himself. Rob had to hold on tightly, so he wouldn't fall out of Shulk's firm grip, but he wanted to help the blond instead of weighing him down.
"Rob, what are you-"
Rob only needed to hold onto Shulk with one arm while he used his free one to start his healing spell.
"Get us to safety, so I can heal you." Rob demanded. "I will not let you bleed to death for my sake."
"But in the vision you will be…"
"You're protecting me now, right? Just focus on yourself. You can't help anyone if you're getting bullets pumped into your back."
Luckily, Shulk only had one bullet lodged into his shoulder. If he thought about the pain, then he would be screaming now. He slowly nodded his head as they finally reached the house of mirrors and out of sight from the demons. The demons shooting at the blond groaned realizing that they would need to get down from where they were to deal with the seer personally. They couldn't with how chaotic the crowd was, so it was a mission failure on their part.
While the pandemonium engulfed the concert, the Band of Six members felt like it was time to reveal themselves to Kaleido while she was distracted by her friend's injury. Only three of them showed up. Flauros was the leader in this scenario with the two sex demons Passion and Compassion not too far behind him each with a chain in their hand that was hiding something…
"Hey Flauros, is she the one?" Passion asked.
"Are we going to deflower her?"
"Now, now you two, we can't taint a lady on her own stage…yet." Flauros told the sex twins. What we can do is kill her fairy friend and get revenge on the angels that have sinned here."
Most of the angels that were in the crowd have fled though. This meant whoever was captured would be tormented in front of the Smashers who could do nothing but watch. Palutena hesitated to fight the witch hunters. The last thing she wanted was for her to go to war with Ares because of the Band of Six. Alas, if a Smasher or anyone she knew died on her watch, then she would have to turn her weapon against her brother.
Kaleido shivered as Flauros approached her. Her legs refused to move and she would not let go of her friend and flee. Kite wouldn't be able to move from his spot for a while. If only someone could bide some time for her then maybe…
"KALEIDO!"
The idol looked up from staring at the Apostle and smiled weakly. "Pandora!"
Anyone from Pit's universe jumped at the name. Nobody expected the blue haired Amazon to step up on stage with a sword in hand. In fact, no one expected her to be a hero. Pandora's eyes were locked onto Flauros as she took a step in front of her friend.
"Flauros…"
"Oh, Pandora! You're alive! How did you get your body back? I heard you were nothing but flames for a while. You're looking as young as ever." Flauros spoke.
"You still talk way too much you damn leopard." She growled. "Why are you here? Melody Galaxy is a place of happiness! Not a place of bloodshed you idiot!"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to kill Kite." Flauros answered. "I'm here to extract my revenge against those who did nothing on that day." He sighed realizing that Pandora wasn't there to witness Ellipse's death. As a result, she could not be his target. "As much as I would like to catch up, I would like to kill Kite now and be on my merry way."
"I can't let you do that."
"I know…which is why I'm telling you right now that if you take another step and interfere, I'll kill Daedalus."
Pandora's eyes widened at the mention of her lost love. She gave him a noblewoman's laugh as a response before preparing to impale her rival in the chest. "Very funny, Flauros. He's not here…so there's no point in bluffing."
"You think I'm bluffing? Here, let me show you I have him as a pet now. Passion!"
Pandora could not believe her eyes when Passion pulled on the chain. The Minotaurs and other demons behind the two sex demons blocked the hostages they had. Passion had Daedalus caught in her leash while Compassion had pulled his hostage out.
"PIT!" Palutena could be heard shouting as she was this close to warping onto the stage to join Pandora. Ganondorf had seized her arm before she did anything reckless. "What are you doing Ganondorf?! Unhand me!"
"…Is it wise for the Goddess of Light to jump into the affairs of angels and demons?"
Before Palutena could answer, Rosalina had answered back.
"…We can only watch Palutena. We cannot afford to mess things up."
"But Pit…"
"He will be fine." Ganondorf insisted. "Dark Pit is still in the crowd. He will strike when they have their guard down."
Sure enough, Lucina had taken Dark Pit into the nearby bushes. As easy as it would be to find them, the demons had their attention to the stage now. Kaleido was more important than the clone of Pit and the human he was with. Like Palutena, he was this close to jumping out and attacking the demons, but Lucina held him back and told him the same thing Rosalina and Ganondorf were telling the green haired Goddess.
Flauros turned toward the empty crowd and continued. "Again, if you move Pandora, I will kill Daedalus right now. The Smashers…and I know they're watching…the ones who haven't turn tail and fled…if you try to interfere with my justice, your angel captain will have his blood on my spear."
Pit flinched at the threat. If only his phobia didn't get the best of him…he wouldn't be used as a hostage. He could feel Dark Pit nearby too…if Pit died here, then his younger twin would die too. If only he didn't stand up for his father who did not care about him at all. He could only watch as Passion handed the chain to Flauros so he could harm the fallen archangel.
"…What do you want?" Kaleido had to ask seeing the lengths Flauros was going to make everyone he knew suffer. "Why would you do this here?! This is a concert filled with hopes and dreams! Why would you want to destroy that?"
"Simple. I lost my hopes and dreams because of this scumbag of an archangel here! Falling because of his crimes won't satisfy me! I will make him suffer in the same way he made Ellipse suffer! I will obtain my justice and revenge right here on stage!"
The Music Guardian shook her head in a disapproving manner. "Why would you think Ellipse would approve of that? She was one of the kindest Apostles around-"
"And that got her killed!" Flauros interrupted. "I don't want to hear your bullshit about what would make her sad or being told there is a way to see her again! Apostles can't come back to life once they're killed! The Golden Land was designed to prevent reincarnation…but the angels took advantage of her kindness and got her killed…never again will I…" He smiled sinisterly as he continued to yank Daedalus by the collar. "All angels are to blame!"
Flauros was dead serious with getting rid of Daedalus right in front of Pandora. Blood had already spilt but he wanted more. If he was in the right mind, he might have delayed Daedalus' death, but his rage was binding him. All he saw was the archangel who murdered his beloved Apostle. With the collar chain in one hand and his flaming spear in another, he proceeded to bring down the spear of justice down on the archangel. Pandora froze realizing how helpless the situation was. Nothing she said could calm her old friend down.
"NO! STOP!" Pit screamed as he tried to move from his bindings. "DON'T YOU DARE KILL HIM!"
Daedalus waited for the flames to burn his flesh. Before that could happen though, a tentacle shot from the crowd and grabbed the spear in his hand. The tentacle immediately caught fire, but not before it grabbed the spear out of the leopard demon's hand and chucked it to the side. The tentacle ended up becoming detached from its owner in order to not burn her.
"You really think that a witch hunter is going to get away with burning someone? Please."
Flauros' expression beamed realizing that a witch was here with her Furniture. Glancing at where the burnt tentacle was, he was pleased to see a mostly naked woman with dead tentacles wrapped around her body conveniently covering her private areas. Behind her was a little girl with Rapunzel blonde hair and green eyes. Her yellow dress was decorated with Star Bits, skulls and a beautiful emerald brooch placed in the center of said dress.
"S-Stop the fighting!" She exclaimed. "Stop hurting the people here, witch hunter! This isn't right!"
"Oh…it's Cube's little sister." Flauros mocked causing Kite to react poorly at hearing the name of the man he used to serve. "You're here with your sexy prop I see. Run along now, before you get hurt. This is not a playground after all."
"Cone…Malinche…" Kite murmured weakly. "Get out…this is my job…"
The little girl refused to leave. Her legs were trembling but she had enough of this madness. "N-No! I'm going to stay until the issue is resolved! People got hurt because of you! People are dying!"
"Well yes. People do die when they are killed." Flauros said in a sarcastic tone. "Cube didn't get to teach you that unfortunately."
"Don't insult the Mistress!" Malinche hissed as she was ready to attack.
"Stand down, Malinche." Cone spoke.
"But…"
Cone was naïve as Cube was. Kite established this just observing her from the corner of his eyes.
"Kite, you shouldn't be standing up." Kaleido warned her friend. "Just rest. I can handle it."
"You can't…" Kite growled as he forced himself to stand up. At the same time, Flauros dragged Daedalus by the chain and reclaimed his spear. "Flauros…please stop…Ellipse wouldn't want this…and you know this."
"Hey, little girl," Flauros began ignoring the Apostle of the Fairy Sky completely, "were you ever told the true story of how Ellipse died?"
"Ehh?"
"It's a tragic tale. One filled with nothing but sorrow and despair. An Apostle was taken from us by the wicked angels while everyone stood around and did nothing. The same can be said about this Apostle over here…who fled to not be burned along with Ellipse." The sinister glare returned to his face as he threw the spear toward Kite without warning.
Again, Pandora's reflexes were too slow to prevent Kite from being impaled in the chest. The fairy let out a startled cry as the spear landed in front of the little girl. Her eyes widened seeing Kite attempt to not fall down with the spear, but his strength was already fading away. Before Kite died by his mighty spear, he intended to recite the events that occurred that terrible day he lost his long lost love…
Me: TBC with 9779 words.
Li: I'm so glad I got to sing Simple and Clean.
Me:…Me too. Notes!
1. Kaleido, again is listed as "Ambiguously Human". She was not brought up in the Addiction story due to the focus being Pandora/Daedalus. The Guardians didn't exist until after Samael was sealed by Palutena, and I brought up in the previous chapter that she is a well-known fibber, so it's difficult to pinpoint when she became a Guardian under Ceres.
2. If you haven't noticed, Lana is perfectly fine with Linkle by her side. Since Super Smash Galaxy is near the end of most of the character development she has, Lana doesn't necessary have a co-dependent crush on Dark Pit now. Her small cameo here is a reminder that she, Cia and Ash will have a large role in Mecha Galaxy, but this shows that she and Cia aren't paying attention to Dark Pit as much as they use to because of believing that Lucina, Reyn, Lucas, Arachne and Kaguya can take care of him better with their ultimate weapons.
3. The dance is from the song志方あきこwhich is a song by Akiko Shikata. Now recall in Snowy Night Galaxy that Dark Pit sang to Lucina is also by Akiko Shikata. In a sense, the songs Kaleido tends to sing include Akiko Shikata, Koda Kumi, Cliff Edge, Utada Hikaru and many other Japanese singers. This dance comes off as incredibly exotic though hence why there are many dancers and less singing.
4. Dark Pit having a terrible singing voice is actually brought up in Snowy Night Galaxy while not having any music talent is brought up in Piano Man. Dark Pit sacrificed artistic skills for logic as shown with his ability to read and uses his brain better than Pit in these situations. Lucina got the wonderful melody in Snowy Night only after Dark Pit attempted to perfect his voice to sing for her…and here…well…yeah…
5. Yes I wrote the song that Kaleido was singing. This is the reason why this story took so long to write. I dreaded this moment because I wanted to write something original. The original intention was to have her sing Love is a Beautiful Pain like what was played during Piano Man as a callback, but I decided that the BGM would be similar to this song instead. I wanted the song to have a Disney feel to it too, but I don't know how that turned out.
That's it. Reviews are appreciated. Ja ne!