Chapter 4
The cafeteria was empty apart from Ayden and some of his fellow Fighters from the Dark team. Everyone else was either out in the Practice Range or in a Light vs. Dark match. Pit stood by the doors to his team's armoury, waiting for the next match to end. When the Light team's cheers of defiance welled up from the arena, Ayden got up from his lunch break and headed into the Dark team armoury to greet and mourn with his team on yet another loss.
Dark Pit emerged from his own team's armoury and walked over to Pit.
"That's the fifteenth match they've won," Pit stated.
"I know, don't remind me," Dark Pit snapped with a sour tone. "It's almost like she's invincible!" He was obviously referring to Diana.
"Look out," Alexis cautioned, rushing out of the Dark team armoury and heading straight to the buffet table to grab herself some lunch.
Diana followed sleepily, and Pit took her by the arm and dragged her to an unoccupied bench, while Dark Pit went over and sat down with Alexis.
"What gives?" Diana complained, looking disdainfully at the all-you-can-eat buffet. "I need lunch. I'M STARVING!"
Pit clapped his hand over her mouth and looked around frantically, hoping that no one had overheard.
"I need you to tell me something," Pit demanded.
"I'm all ears, Featherbrains," Diana replied with a rather snappy edge.
"Is Alexis, in any way, related to Livn' Hell?" Pit asked tentatively, looking a little too desperate to find the answer.
Diana froze, her mind going blank except for her sister's warning before the previous match. ~Whatever you do, Diana, do not tell him anything about me! ~ That's what her sister had said, and she intended to do just that.
"Hunger calls and I answer," Diana concluded, getting up from the bench and heading off toward the cafeteria.
The buffet table was just within sight when Diana felt Pit's firm hand on her shoulder.
"If you want to know about it so much, why don't you ask her yourself?" Diana snapped, turning to face Pit.
His lips met hers, and no matter how hard she tried, Diana couldn't pull herself away. Pit's grip was too strong for her to break, seeing as she was still quite exhausted from taking on two Dark Fighters at a time. Just as Pit's tongue tickled her lower lip, she could only manage one thought before his tongue invaded her mouth.
~What the hell? ~
… … … … …
Back over at the lunch tables, Alexis was chatting with Dark Pit, and he was daring her for another arm wrestle. She refused, and felt slightly guilty when he sighed in despair.
"If you want to know so much, why don't you ask her yourself?"
Alexis looked over by the secretary's desk and her anger immediately took a skyrocketing leap for the heavens. She had turned just in time to see Diana turn to face Pit, and the unthinkable happened; he kissed her. No matter how many times the image played over in her mind, Alexis couldn't suppress a shudder of disgust. Dark Pit looked at Alexis, and then to the scene she was looking at quite furiously.
"I'll be right back," Alexis growled, getting up from her lunch once again, although this time, she wasn't cheerful at all.
She began to run toward Pit, spreading her wings as they started to glow with an orange tint. Her power was transferring to her wings as she grabbed Pit by the collar of his tunic and rammed him into the nearest wall. She raised her right fist, searing white-hot flames sprouting from it, and she started to bring it down towards the angel's face, but she felt something gnawing at her insides and stopped. It was almost as if the past was coming back to her in this very moment.
Before anyone could look to see what was going on, Alexis let her fist slam straight through the wall, missing Pit's wildly shaking form by a mere inch. Diana stared in fear as her sister stood there and whispered threateningly in the angel's ear, his eyes wide in sheer terror, almost as though he'd just witnessed the unspeakable. Diana's eyes filled with tears when she thought of what her sister might have done to Pit.
Blood thundered in Pit's ears as Alexis kept him pinned against the wall and whispered to him, knowing he was the only one hearing these words.
"Next time, I promise you with every feather on my wings that I will not miss your head." Alexis growled, her anger becoming evident, not only in her voice, but also by how tightly she gripped the collar of his tunic. "So, Featherbrains, unless you want me to burn you into a fine powder and use your ashes to spice up my next meal; stay away from my sister!"
~Help me Lady Palutena, ~ Pit thought in petrified fear, hoping the goddess of light could hear him.
As if she could read his mind, Alexis smiled triumphantly and let him fall to the floor in a quivering heap, taking a step back and standing there without another word while people gathered around him to see what had happened. As he watched her, the painful memories of what happened on that day 13 years ago returned with an even more cruel sting than ever before.
"Die, Featherbrains!" Livn' Hell shouted, raising a blade from the angel's Palutena Bow for the final blow.
Back in the years of Livn' Hell… He remembered it now! Livn' Hell was the only one in Skyworld's records who had such an ominous character. It was ironic that Alexis would be so on edge –as if she wasn't enough already– seeing as it was the 13th year since Livn' Hell died, and his spirit tended to possess the weak of heart. But how was that even possible? Alexis wasn't weak of heart at all, in fact, she was a lot stronger than Pit and his twin combined!
As Pit slammed back into reality, he realized there really was more to Alexis than meets the eye, and he now knew who'd she'd been since the beginning: Livn' Hell. He had knew that Skyworld would come to ruin if Livn' Hell was truly unleashed, but most of all, he had a much more personal score to settle with the legendary Dark Fighter. Pit reminded himself that he would personally see to it that she was severely punished.
His consciousness was already starting to slip when he heard Lady Palutena calling to him.
"Pit, are you okay?" Lady Palutena asked, lightly shaking Pit to see if he would wake. "Say something!"
The angel let out a soft whimper, and the words that came out were barely any more than a whisper as he attempted to warn his goddess.
"Livn' Hell… Alexis."
When Pit fell silent and eerily still, the whole crowd that had gathered around him remained in tense silence as the lights flickered once, twice, once more, and went out. Dark Pit saw something out of the corner of his eye, and he looked to see Alexis standing a little ways off, her head bowed and her hair covering her eyes. Lady Palutena heard the dark angel start a sentence, but before he could even utter a word, there was a soft thud, and Lady Palutena looked over to see him fall to the ground, unconscious.
Ominous laughter sounded from somewhere behind the group and they all jumped when they saw Alexis much closer than anyone would have liked. Lady Palutena stood up and looked her in the eyes. She seemed a little different than before, and now that the goddess of light stood about a foot from her, she saw what had changed. Lady Palutena gasped inwardly when she realized who Alexis resembled.
Alexis now wore the same outfit as any angel would usually wear, yet the colors were black, purple, red and little hints of silver here and there. Lady Palutena knew this tunic all too well, and now that it was registered in her head, she knew who she had been since the beginning. Alexis was the child she had allowed to participate in Light versus Dark, the child who loathed Pit with her very soul, who protected her until the last minute, and yet she had betrayed Lady Palutena in the end. Alexis was her worst enemy, rival and nightmare all at once. She was the one, the only, Livn' Hell.
"Livn' Hell," Lady Palutena hissed, looking at her former servant with such hatred that she almost flinched. "You were no longer to return to Skyworld, as I recall, and yet, here you stand on my grounds again. Why?"
Livn' Hell smirked, looking from the Goddess of Light to the two angels that had passed out and back.
"Face the facts, Lady Palutena," Livn' Hell muttered smugly, her eyes aglow with pride. "Where's the fun in the LVD tournaments anymore? You need me. But right now, I think we should focus on the captain of your guard."
Without another word, Livn' Hell picked up the two angels and kicked open the double oak doors, and flew off before anyone could object.